ComicStylings

Comic book lover, reviewing what I read. Hope you enjoy!

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Agent 47 - The Birth of the Hitman #1

Agent 47 – The Birth of the Hitman #1

Agent 47 – Birth of the Hitman #1 Written By: Christopher Sebela Art by: Jonthan Lau & Ariel Medel Colour by: Omi Remalante Publisher: Dynamite ————————————————- Released at the end of October, this story Arc seeks to expand upon the Origin Story of Agent 47 “Hitman” of Video game fame and his Handler Diana Burnwood. This was a lukewarm start to the series. There is a wealth of great stuff to…

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Nola #1 - A good set-up for things to come.

Nola #1 – A good set-up for things to come.

Nola # 1 Creator: Chris Gorak Story: Pierluigi Cothran Art: Damien Couceiro Publisher: Boom! ________ This story as the title suggests follows Nola in New Orleans post Hurricane Katrina. #1 sets the groundwork for Nola’s origins through a series of flashbacks to pre-Katrina. As a young woman in New Orleans, how does she ultimately turn into this masked figure that appears after the hurricane?…

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ApocalyptiGirl – An Aria for the End Times

Creator: Andrew MacLean Publisher: Dark Horse

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“Those who sow a seed tarnished and abused reap a garden of equal beauty”.

I feel nothing I can say will do it justice, in short, READ THIS!

MacLean has created a stunning world, a work of art, it was a pleasure to immerse myself in his creation for too-short a time. This book is truly stunning. .. His use of colour is expert. Blue hues capture the darkness perfectly whilst vivid greens for the reclaimed areas and a mute yellow in the dustier post-apocalyptic cityscapes are on point

MacLean was able to wrap me up in the characters almost instantly, as a “cat-daddy” myself I found the interactions between Jelly Beans and Aria very endearing. I haven’t felt so emotionally invested in characters for quite some time. The way he weaves opera through the work adds a richness to the story which takes it to another level.

The drawing, simple with a child-like quality is reminiscent of Australian artist Reg Mombassa. The action sequences whilst very intense and vivid, refreshingly lacked the usual explosions of colour and chaos you can become accustomed to with the mainstream titles. This allowed me to keep track and stay invested in the action without tuning out.

But enough of me. Just read this now. It is both a work of art and literature. One of the best graphic novels I have ever read.

ApocalytpiGirl – An Aria for the End Times ApocalyptiGirl - An Aria for the End Times Creator: Andrew MacLean Publisher: Dark Horse _______________________ "Those who sow a seed tarnished and abused reap a garden of equal beauty".

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Sin City Volume 1: The Hard Goodbye Story & Art: Frank Miller Publisher: Dark Horse

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“He’s crazy with the pure, sweet hate of it all”.

This is Volume 1 of Frank Millers signature series, Sin City. “The Hard Goodbye” focuses on Marv as he seeks to avenge the death of Goldie, the only woman to ever show him a little kindness.

There is a reason this is renowned as one of the seminal graphic novels of our time. A classic noir revenge story, gritty, brutal and violent beyond belief. Don’t expect any happy endings or fairy tales here.

Millers monochromatic style adds a dimension to the violence, the contrast highlighting the blood and edgier aspects of the story. It’s has become a seminal work and the art immediately recognisable.

The writing is Miller at his absolute best. Short, sharp and immediately to the point. There’s no flowery language in this series, Marv is a simple man who gets to the point and doesn’t mess around, “that there is one damn fine coat you’re wearing”.

10/10 a must read for all fans of graphic novels.

Sin City Vol. 1 – The Hard Goodbye Sin City Volume 1: The Hard Goodbye Story & Art: Frank Miller Publisher: Dark Horse __________________________…

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Review - Hacktivist

Review – Hacktivist

Hacktivist Story by: Alyssa Milano, Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing Art by: Marcus To & Ian Herring Publisher: Boom! ————————- This story follows the lives of billionaire computer developers Ed Hiccox & Ed Graft. By day they are founders of the latest social media sensation ‘YourLife’, but by night they work as the black-hat hacking collective known as ‘sve_Urs3lf’, looking to forment revolution…

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Justice League – A Good, Solid Start.

Check out my review of #justiceleague . A good movie and solid foundation to build on.

**WARNING** – This contains spoilers towards the end, further warnings before you get there.   The hype and anticipation for the first ensemble DCEU release had reached fever pitch and after all the waiting we finally get our chance to see the finished product. Ultimately, I was not disappointed by a good solid start, albeit with a few hiccups.   The standout really is the characters themselves,…

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Review: Y The Last Man - Book 3 

Review: Y The Last Man – Book 3 

I finished off “Y The Last Man” Book 3 while at the Terminus Hotel, Fitzroy over a Fixation Brewing IPA . Turned out the bartender was also a Brian K. Vaughn fan!  Only in Melbourne.  This was by far the best book of the 3 Ive read so far of this series. Well researched and written by Brian K. Vaughn, especially as we delved into the intricacies of vastly differing topics from scientific research…

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Review: Supermand: Red Son

Review: Supermand: Red Son

One of my purchases from Oz Comic Con was Mark Millar’s “Superman: Red Son”, obviously this is a well known, much loved work and I’m late to the party, but as you’re aware if you have read some of my other posts, I’m not exactly Superman’s biggest fan. Putting that to one side, I am very interested in the Cold War and particularly the history of the Soviet Union so this story ticks a few of the…

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My thoughts on 'The Dark Tower' - Movie vs. Book

My thoughts on ‘The Dark Tower’ – Movie vs. Book

So I caught “The Dark Tower” in cinemas and frankly I was pretty underwhelmed by it. It was obvious, even before I read the book, that the movie was glossing over an enormous amount of lore trying to get a 2hr movie together. I left the cinema dissapointed but interested in the story so I grabbed the first book in the series “Gunslinger” This is the opener to Stephen Kings epic Fantasy/Western…

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Review: Y - The Last Man 

Review: Y – The Last Man 

The originality of the titles coming from Image at the moment are incredible. I find myself gravatating to the Image section of my local store and spending ages there perusing the range. The adult themes they explore and the seriousness of the subject matter really do prove that the humble comic book can now rightly be refered to as a graphic novel and a work of art in its own right. With time to…

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Volume 2 of DC’s Batman Rebirth, titled “I am Suicide”, written once again by Tom King and art by Mikel Janin. King continues his great run with the Batman title, first we had the introduction of the new Gotham and Gotham Girl which was imaginative and expanded the Gotham Pantheon in a useful way. In the second volume we face old heroes and villains, including some of the more obscure old friends, but re-imagined in thought provoking and entertaining ways. Along with an entertaining expedition to Santa Prisca to re-capture Psycho Pirate from Bane, off Venom and running the Island Nation/Prison, its a nice return to the Bane origin story. the main focus of the story however, is the relationship between Batman and Catwoman. This is wonderfully written and engrossing, it gives a deep insight into psyche of both characters and importantly how they relate to one another. It feels like King is bringing Selina and Bruce closer than any writer before to some sort of long term intimate relationship, it will be interesting to see where this relationship develops and what it will mean for Gotham and for the Batman, There is also an amusing cut sequence which showcases some of the more obscure and entertaining Villains in Gotham which I found entertaining. The volume is well drawn and Mikel Janin’s attention to detail is commendable especially in large scale Santa Prisca fight scenes. The movement he is able to elicit from the fight scenes keeps the novel well paced in the action sequences. Once the story flips to the slower relationship sections, the dark colours of the night fit the mood and the writers tone perfectly. His rendering of the bodies of Selina and Bruce is erotic without being gratuitous and adds to the story rather than simple titillation. This book was highly entertaining. It developed my understanding of the Dark Knight on a deep psychological level and his relationship with Catwoman will hopefully lead to further insights into both characters. #batman #brucewayne #gotham #catwoman #selinakyle #bane #santaprisca #dc #dccomics #dcuniverse #comics #comic #comicart #comicpanel #graphicnovel #graphic #books #book #bookreview #bibliophile #reading #romance

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Review: Batman Rebirth Vol. 2 - "I am Suicide"

Review: Batman Rebirth Vol. 2 – “I am Suicide”

My Wife and I took a trip away to Fiji and I took some reading with me so get ready for a few reviews, I got through quite a few. Especially now that the University semester has ended and I have the time to read things I actually want to read and not peer-reviewed Academic journals which certainly aren’t page turners. One of the books I took with me was Volume 2 of DC’s Batman Rebirth, titled “I…

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For a short time re-runs of #Batman were played after school when I was a kid, and this was in the 90's! My Dad taped the Batman '66 movie off the televison on our VCR player and the casette had started to wear out I played it so often. Remember, the UN were dehydrated into different coloured powders! and the Shark repellent Spray! #memories It was my first introduction to Batman, Adam West and comics in general, leading me to ask my parents for my first comic book, (where he fought the Penguin in Blackgate Prison if I remember correctly). Im sure a memory like this is shared by fans the world over. Adam Wests portrayal was iconic and introduced millions of people like me to comics. Thankyou Adam West. I Love this photo of him. #Repost @batman Rest In Peace Adam West, rightfully "The Bright Knight". #RIPadamwest #adamwest

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Review: The Coldest City

The Coldest City – During the last days of the Cold War, Lorraine Broughton an MI6 Spy is sent to Berlin to recover a list stolen by the KGB that could expose all allied agents in Berlin. Its the last days of the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall is crumbling. I love a good Cold War spy story. Tom Clancy’s “Red Rabbit” is a favourite of mine. This is a graphic novel in the same vane. A short read…

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Watching the Lego Batman Movie got me in the mood to research some of the more obscure and ridiculous Batman villians so here goes! First up is Mr. Polka Dot!! ... created by Sheldon Moldoff and Charles Paris, first appearing in Detective Comics #300 . His real name is Abner Krill he can turn the polka dots on his costume into a variety of weapons. #batman #detectivecomics #mrpolkadot #villian #comicart #nerd #geek #comics #graphicnovel #comics #supervillian #dccomics #dcuniverse #robin #gotham

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I was excited about the arrival of a live action “Ghost in the Shell” adaptation, from my reading of the reference material I was astounded by the complexity of the world that had been created and was excited to see how that would translate. As the movie came to an end I was impressed and disappointed at a missed opportunity. The CGI was cutting edge, a movie at the top of its game in this area and it was visually impressive. As a simple fan who seeks pure enjoyment without studying the mechanics too closely, I was awe struck by the beauty of the world that was created. Scarlett Johansson’s acting which has a lifeless quality at the best of times is perfect to play “major” a cyborg struggling to regain and understand human emotion. On the issue of “whitewashing” I did not see this as a problem, “Major” is a cyborg, completely synthetic, hence having no ethnicity, the reference material does not refer to or allude to Major Kusanagi’s ethnicity, the fact that she is drawn in typical Manga style does not in and of itself restrict the character to being Japanese. However, the story, which is so detailed and immense in the Manga, took a back seat to the action scenes in the film, looking for bang for buck and large audiences rather than substance. The similarities to “Ex-Machina” are obvious and this film showed us that a deeper analysis can be done without boring the audience. Whilst I am not suggesting it have that level of depth, there is space for an adult R-rated film (an M-rating is a travesty) that explores some of the ethical topics. We have the beginnings of a deeper story ultimately sacrificed for frenetic action sequences to keep the younger audiences entertained. “Ghost in the Shell”, should it franchise, has the potential to allow for a complex analysis of the role of A.I. into the future and the ethical dilemmas that society will be faced with as technology develops. Let’s just hope in any future outings we don’t see that worthwhile pursuit sacrificed for one too many action sequences. #ghostintheshell #manga #movie #moviereview #AI #nerd #geek #cyborg #comic #review #cyborg #scarlettjohansson #majorkusanagi #aramaki

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Review: Ghost in the Shell

I was honestly excited about the arrival of a live action “Ghost in the Shell” adaptation, from my reading of the reference material I was astounded by the complexity of the world that had been created and was excited to see how that would translate into a big budget CGI blockbuster. As the movie came to an end I was both parts impressed and disappointed at a missed opportunity. The CGI was…

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