Vertigo: Progetti Futuri 2.0

[Azrael]

Books of Magic #1
Written by Kat Howard
Art by Tom Fowler and Jordan Boyd
Lettering by Todd Klein
Published by Vertigo Comics
Review by Justin Partridge
'Rama Rating: 7 out of 10

The Merlin Timothy Hunter returns to comics in the slight but intriguing Books of Magic #1. Though Tim has had a myriad of adventures since his debut in 1990, writer Kat Howard smartly strips all of that away for now - unmoored by his former Vertigo Comics continuity, Tim is now back to being a mere student in London, struggling to regain his power. Howard isn't really giving us much else to go on this debut, but the supernatural vibe and eldritch energy of the original miniseries is there. And when you marry that energy with Tom Fowler and Jordan Boyd's expressionist pencils and stone washed colors, you have a debut that nails the tone of the line and brings a major Vertigo Comics player back into the fold.

Once upon a time, there was a boy and a gang of trenchcoated magicians. The magicians gave the boy a choice; to return to his mundane life or to choose magick and become the Merlin, the most powerful magician of all. He chose magick and now... it is gone. While I would have loved to have seen some of Tim's bigger developments like his ties to the Faerie realm and the Children's Crusade introduced in this new canon, Kat Howard's jettisoning of these heavy continuity chains does wonders for the accessibility of this issue.

By starting from the baseline of the original Books of Magic miniseries, Howard essentially reintroduces Tim as a blank slate, aware of his choice toward power and floundering in the mundane world. As an entry point for new readers this debut really works like gangbusters. But by stripping all that away, Howard is working with pretty much a bare stage, which hinders the issue when it comes to plot. She gives us a bit of table setting with the titular books and explicitly makes Tim aware of his "invitation" from the Trenchcoat Brigade, but that's about it. Howard really does a great job setting the mood of the title and establishing Tim's new canon characterization, which falls somewhere between the naive child of the original series and the chippy teen wizard of runs like Life During Wartime and John Ney Rieber's time on the ongoing. But mood and character does not a great issue make, and if it had just a touch more development, this review would have a much different tone.

That said, the potential for this new Books of Magic is there, and artists Tom Fowler and Jordan Boyd really work hard to nurture that potential with their artwork. Taking advantage of the script's explicit connection with the first miniseries, Fowler and Boyd open this issue with an extended homage to the four original issues. Presented almost like a fairytale retelling of Tim's first adventures, Fowler and Boyd really open this issue with five dazzling pages that both provide a nice context for the new series and starts the new run with some bonkers displays of magic, alternate dimensions, and murder, all inset in collages or panels that look like they were scanned from a Guttenberg Bible. It is a really ambitious opening and sets the bar high for the kind of visual craziness the title could get up to.

From there the pair downshift into a more mundane and grounded art style, hammering home Tim's new boorish school life. These pages somewhat sap the energy from the issue, but really sell Howard's new direction and show that Boyd and Fowler are capable of both school-based hijinks and high-concept magical details. I would have liked for the issue to have at least one more magical sequence just to send the issue out on a high note, but at the very least, this debut is a fine display of Tom Fowler and Jordan Boyd's prowess and eye for visuals, both in and out of the realm of wizardry.

Though not perfect, Books of Magic #1 is still a solid, tonally sound new effort from the "Sandman Universe," one that brings back a major player in the Vertigo Comics roster and works hard to make his reintroduction instantly accessible for people who may have never heard of Tim Hunter before now. Let's just hope the next issue makes good on the potential introduced in this debut and doesn't slip back into obscurity like its magical leading man.

[Azrael]

Vertigo's HEX WIVES a Thinly Veiled Depiction of 'Patriarchal Society'


https://www.newsarama.com/42504-vertigo-s-hex-wives-a-thinly-veiled-depiction-of-patriarchal-society.html

[Azrael]

Review: HEX WIVES #1


9/10

http://www.comicosity.com/review-hex-wives-1/

[Azrael]

HIGH LEVEL #1
written by ROB SHERIDAN
art by BARNABY BAGENDA and ROMULO FAJARDO JR.
cover by GUILLAUME OSPITAL
variant cover by FRANCESCO MATTINA Hundreds of years after the world ended and human society was rebuilt from scratch, a self-interested smuggler is forced to traverse a new continent of danger and mystery to deliver a child messiah to High Level, a mythical city at the top of the world from which no one has ever returned. Don't miss the start of a new series from writer Rob Sheridan, co-creator of Nine Inch Nails' groundbreaking Year Zero alternate-reality game!
ON SALE 02.20.19
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | MATURE READERS
This issue will ship with two covers.
Please see the order form for details.

[Arkin Torsen]

Bella cover

[Azrael]

VERTIGO's AMERICAN CARNAGE Explores the Intersection of Racism & Politics


https://www.newsarama.com/42820-vertigo-s-american-carnage-explores-the-intersection-of-racism-politics.html

[Azrael]

Books of Magic #2
Written by Kat Howard
Art by Tom Fowler and Jordan Boyd
Lettering by Todd Klein
Published by Vertigo Comics
Review by Justin Partridge
'Rama Rating: 8 out of 10

The Books of Magic stops being theoretical and starts getting practical in its punchy second issue. Picking up directly after last issue's cliffhanger, in which a magical assassin takes aim just outside Tim Hunter's window, writer Kat Howard stops just talking about magic and starts showing people actually throwing it around. Of course, magic has consequences and Howard starts to delve into that too, facing Tim down the barrel of magical murder by his newly attuned screwdriver "wand." Propulsively rendered by Tom Fowler and Jordan Boyd, Books of Magic #2 avoids the sophomore slump with razzle-dazzle and more than a little Vertigo Comics angst.

If the first issue was all about establishment, Books of Magic #2's main mission is following through with said established characters and world. And largely, it succeeds - Howard wastes little time diving into the morally gray world of magic, personified by our two leads. The issue's opening neatly folds Tim's ongoing training with the unseen, violent world that is literally outside his window. As he attempts to study the Book of Magic, the assassin springs into action - only to be whammied by the magickal wards Dr. Rose has placed upon the blissfully unaware Tim's apartment building. It shows that Howard has a bit more action in mind this time round, and it is given a crackling kineticism by artist Tom Fowler and colorist Jordan Boyd.

But in addition, Books of Magic #2 also starts to make good use of that Vertigo Comics label with some gory exposition and spell-slinging, marking a notable change from this series' low-key debut issue. Though Howard is still being cagey about exactly who is after Tim, she at least shows us what our leads are capable of and what they will be bringing to the ongoing plot. Howard's Tim is all raw potential and eagerness as he rebukes Rose's advice to take it slow - and for his hubris, he falls right into a trap of blade wielding monks. He then defends himself... and possibly kills dozens of them in the process. It isn't quite as darkly fun as Rose's literally reading the entrails of the assassin from the opening, in a vicious, but visually stunning bit of visual storytelling from Fowler and Boyd, but it is better than the scant introductions of the debut. Better still, Howard has established the theme ("Magic has consequences") and then followed through on it for both the leads. For those turned off by the debut issue's static pace, Books of Magic #2 really starts to pick up the pace.

And that pace owes a real debt of gratitude to Fowler and Boyd. From page one, Fowler's pencils have a real forward drive. Fowler's take on Tim embodies the jittery energy of an angsty teen, all headstrong and hormonal in his pursuit of magic. But at the same time, Fowler shows us Tim's heart in a quiet, heavily shadowed and sickly lit scene between Tim and his father. Fowler doesn't break out of the panel grid structure much during this issue, aside from a sequence of Tim studying the Book of Magic inset into the appearing text of the book. But that aside, the grids have enough propulsion or emotion or insane magic and gore in them to hold a reader's attention. Boyd brings it all home with his consistently inky, but tonally sound colors. He sears neon blues into bolts of magic energy and deep coppers into the blood and entrails of Rose's "fortune telling." The pair still haven't reached the giddy cosmic heights of the original series just yet, but these little touches and set pieces from them tell me that they will be ready once the scripts call for it.

The opening issue left me a bit cold, but I am warming up to the new era of Books of Magic after its second issue. We have a bit more of an idea of the kind of dangers lurking outside Tim's door as well as his, and Dr. Rose's, capabilities. Second issues are always critical, especially for rebooted series, but Kat Howard, Tom Fowler, and Jordan Boyd take the foundation of their debut and build upward on it nicely, putting Tim and the readers in the thick of this magical mystery that can only get weirder, and hopefully better, from here.

[Azrael]

American Carnage #1 Exposes the Ugly Side of The American Dream

https://www.cbr.com/american-carnage-1-review/

[Azrael]

Review: HEX WIVES #2

8.5/10

http://www.comicosity.com/review-hex-wives-2/

[Azrael]

Goddess Mode #1



https://www.cbr.com/goddess-mode-1/

[Azrael]

Goddess Mode #1
Written by Zoe Quinn
Art by Robbi Rodriguez and Rico Renzi
Lettering by Simon Bowland
Published by Vertigo Comics
Review by Justin Partridge
'Rama Rating: 10 out of 10

"I really wish you wouldn't do your Beep-Boop Bulls--t in our apartment..."

Magical girls, metadata, and world-building get filtered through an eye-searing techno-thriller lens in the debut of Vertigo Comics' Goddess Mode. Written by noted game developer and author Zoe Quinn and penciled and colored by the reunited Robbi Rodriguez and Rico Renzi, this debut is a funny, expansive, and instantly engaging science fiction yarn about a world under siege by a tech corporation and a mysterious illness that has decimated the population. While I get that "evil corporations" and "viruses" aren't exactly the first thing you would think when you hear the word "funny," Quinn's script and her leading ladies are almost aggressively charming, quipping and fighting through her well-built world, rendered in Rodriguez and Renzi's blazingly cool artwork. Positively teeming with ideas and breathtaking artwork, Goddess Mode #1 is one of this week's standout releases.

Meet Cassandra Price. She's an absolute mess. Buried in debt and left without a father thanks to something called the Tucker Brady Syndrome, she is forced to work meaninal coding jobs and artificial intelligence maintenance for the company Hermeticorp, controllers of the series' VR Internet 2.0 called Azoth. But Cassandra quickly finds that something is rotten in the state of Azoth as digital daemons and arcane like symbols beneath the coding have wrought havoc on the system, giving rise to a gorgeously designed group of digital magical girls who are working to "fix the world."

From the jump, Zoe Quinn is throwing a ton of information at the reader as most of what I just detailed above is introduced within the first page. But fortunately for readers, Quinn is quite good at making all this info never feel like bald-faced exposition. A lot this talent is centered around her leading lady Cassandra, who doles out the world-building in droll, truly funny narration. This not only brings readers deeper into the world with relative ease, but allows Cassandra a lot of time in the spotlight, highlighting her charm and Quinn's wit. A first-timer in comic books but a well-seasoned prose author, Quinn really excels both with her character work and establishment of the world of Goddess Mode, never sticking on one idea too long and moving the action of this first issue along at a brisk pace, aided by the naturally propulsive art of Rodriguez and Renzi.

But better still, for the world this debut issue presents, the science fiction Quinn seeds here feels substantial and well-researched. A lot of some of the later reveals like the corporate-branded nanobots injected into bodies to keep them alive, connected and working, as well as the clear class divides between Cassandra and her higher-ups read very pointedly. While Quinn's games has proven she has a steady hand at farce and pathos, this debut also shows a real aptitude for socially conscious sci-fi, topped with a snarkily relatable lead character. It is all very Transmetropolitan and if this first issue is any indication, it can only get weirder and even more idea-heavy in future issues.

But as great as Zoe Quinn's script is, this debut provides a tremendous reunion of Spider-Gwen collaborators Robbi Rodriguez and Rico Renzi. Jazzing up the opening narration from Cassandra is a cold open sequence of one of the aforementioned "magical girls" in the digital world, taking down a digital monster seemingly made entirely of tongues. On the very first page, readers are reminded of Rodriguez's stellar handle of action as the witch bounds and slices through the layout, kissed by Renzi's day-glo lighting and fill-in colors.

From there they downshift a bit, both artists' styles somewhat muting as we see the real world outside of Azoth. Rodriguez's pencils are much neater, almost smoothed off as we see the grime and emptiness of Cassandra's life. Rico Renzi matches the shift in kind, coloring the non-digital assets of the scenes with flatted, more earthy tones. The pair obviously provide a more substantial displays of their talents, Cassandra's discovery of digital "magic" which should be gracing desktop backgrounds by Thursday. But is this opening shift that shows just how well the pair can work together to sell a world and look of a book.

Sassy, smart, and more than a little pissed-off, Goddess Mode #1 is another thunderous debut for the new era of Vertigo Comics. Zoe Quinn, Robbi Rodriguez and Rico Renzi build up a rich, expansive world, chock it full of ideas, and throw a trash-loving mess of a woman into the thick of it - and the result is a beautiful blast to read from start to finish. There are a lot of great comics hitting shelves this week, but I'll be damned if Goddess Mode #1 isn't the best of the bunch.

[Azrael]

SIX DAYS: THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF D-DAY'S LOST CHAPTER HC
written by ROBERT VENDITTI and KEVIN MAURER
art and cover by ANDREA MUTTI
June 1944. World War II. D-Day. One hundred eighty two members of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division parachute into the French countryside—a full 18 miles southeast of their intended target. This original graphic novel from DC Vertigo is the true story of an obscure World War II battle that took place in the small village of Graignes, France, for six days and the men who survived to tell the tale.
In the worst misdrop of the D-Day campaign, a group of soldiers are rattled to the core to find themselves even deeper behind enemy lines than anyone had intended. Miraculously, the citizens of Graignes vote to feed and shelter the soldiers, knowing that the decision will bring them terrible punishment if their efforts are discovered by the Germans. That day of reckoning comes faster than anyone could expect.
As a small German militia passes through, the world's war comes to their remote town in the countryside, and for the next six days, the small band of American paratroopers and French citizens must fight for their lives to hold back 2,000 enemy combatants.
Six Days is a true story of survival, loyalty, the brutality of war, and a triumph of the human spirit so rarely brought to the comics form. Writers Kevin Maurer (the #1 New York Times bestseller No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden) and Robert Venditti (Green Lantern)—whose uncle fought in the Battle of Graignes and is a key character in the tale—completed comprehensive archival research in preparation for this unbelievable untold story of World War II.
ON SALE 05.08.19
$24.99 US | 136 PAGES
FC | ISBN: 978-1-4012-9071-9
MATURE READERS

[Cliff_Steele]

intrigante 6D. la cover di Mutti è fantastica

[Azrael]

High Level #2 (Published by DC Comics; Review by Matthew Sibley; 'Rama Rating: 5 out of 10)

The second page of this issue centres on the character of Minnow. Barnaby Bagenda and Romulo Fajardo Jr.'s splash page places her directly in the middle of Thirteen and Akan's conversation regarding getting her home to High Level; she's at the centre of this story. The idea behind the composition is blunt much like the rest of the book which operates with broad theming and characters that fill roles within the narrative because they need to more than being fleshed out. As such, the issue follows a trajectory of reluctance to bonding that sets the pair on the path towards High Level. Rob Sheridan attempts to imbue it with some emotion by way of what gets lost along in the process, but the aforementioned stock characterisation prevents it from landing. The bright side is that the series reunites artist and colourist following their rich and textured collaboration on The Omega Men. Other page filling images, one while on the road and another from up high, offer a glimpse of the larger world, suggest more depth than the plotting, that there might be something worth seeing on the horizon and are the main reason to stick around despite a mediocre start.

[123]

In arrivo una nuova serie sui WildC.A.T.S.