Review: The Strain: The Fall #4

It’s official. The entire series is a setup. The final chapter, The Strain: The Fall #4, is just more of the same. I was hoping with all this setting up that the final chapter would be this explosive ending. But it’s all of the same problems, and it doesn’t really end. I get that the story continuing in another series sells more, but I personally would not continue this because the entirety was boring confusing and therefore unpleasant.

I’m going to try and keep this short because I’ve covered a lot of this in prior reviews and try and keep it fresh for the people who actually follow these reviews. This comic brings in all the characters that have been previously introduced, but there seem to be some convoluted connection scheme between them that isn’t entirely clear. It’s too scattered and thinly spread to fully understand for me. This might just be because I’m still a comic novice, but it was impossible for me to keep up who’s whom and why they know them. It overall just appears to lack focus and a key element to every story: A PROTAGONIST. If someone asked me who the story was about, I would probably say something along the lines of about 5 random groups of people who kill these creepy tongue things in New York City for some reason I’m not fully sure of.

What else do you want in an action comic? Violence! There was finally some proper fighting but it seemed fairly aimless. Usually when people fight it’s for a purpose, but this was just fighting. I mean there was some clear intents from a few select characters, but for others there seemed to be little reason; it wasn’t even for shits and giggles or some kill number goal. It wasn’t a big focus even, almost like the author just had to fill his quota for number of panels with blood.

Beyond that there wasn’t much more substance. All that was left was list of cliffhangers for the next series: Angels. I mean, that’s basically it. I wished there was more to ending of this because I was holding out hope that the ends would justify the means, but the finale was just as much a dud as its predecessors. Guillermo Del Torro failed to deliver for me and I wish I could hold The Strain: The Fall in higher regard.

You could probably guess this but I would not recommend this comic (or series) and a cover price of $3.99 is far from worth it. If you want to read Angels, you might have better luck just reading a synopsis; It may even be less confusing because I honestly understand very little of what is going on in this comic.

Brendan is Bigmacd101, a writer for the Red Shirt Crew and tired of being thoroughly confused.  He has not yet decided if he will be following the next series in the strain series.  Hunt him down on Twitter at @bigmacd101 if you wanna hear more of the things he says.

Review: Itty Bitty Hellboy #2

Art Baltazar and Franco do it again with the second installment of Itty Bitty Hellboy. The freaking CUTENESS OVERLOAD that is cult-classic character miniaturized begs the question of: why haven’t more people done this. The fact that they were able to take the Hellboy series and make it funny is quite a feat that seems so easy when you put them as cute characters on colorful landscapes. Itty Bitty Hellboy is like Calvin and Hobbes for grown-ups, or even, well, Hellboy for kids. That overlap adds to the brilliance because Hellboy has been around long enough to become a classic, but not too long to become obscure leading to the nostalgia value for all the mature readers and the interest value for the young ones. This comic taps into a unique niche that caters to all crowds evenly, and does so brilliantly.

The writing makes it so that the character traits are still intact, while putting on a scale of childhood games (and not apocalyptic forces). Hellboy, for example, maintains that belligerence and stubbornness as his character intrinsically has, but instead of being a hot-headed renegade, he is closer to a small annoying child. That being said, it puts in on a relatable scale because it reminds you of your childhood, or how children you know act. This also makes every character likable regardless because it adds that additional, personal touch to it.

The comedy of it all happens in semi-stand-alone stories where the punchline is so ridiculous that you know only kids would do something like that. Needless to say, even though the focus is on comedy, there does appear to be a bigger overarching plot to the comic, but its so subtle that you don’t really pay attention to it, just sorta figure it’s there.

I talked a bit about the art in my prior post which I recommend giving a skim if you want to get into this series. Overall, I just love this comic. It’s lighthearted and fun while staying true to it’s namesake. I highly recommend to anyone for the cover price of $2.99. It’s one of those comics that you read it once and can read again in a month and it will still be funny. Art Baltazar and Franco, I hope you keep up the good work!

Brendan looks forward to more cuteness and fun when the next comic is done. If you want to keep up with all his antics, follow him on twitter (@bigmacd101). Hopefully he will be doing something more creative soon, so keep an ear to the ground. 

Review: Itty Bitty Hellboy

Itty bitty Hellboy, by Art Baltazar & Franco, is where geekdom meets hilarium. If you’re hoping that the person reviewing thing this comic is a person that is a Hellboy fanatic then I recommend looking for another review. Truth be told I asked my dad who on the cover he recognized, and even that was not a whole lot. I will say this, this single comic made me want to get know the rest of the hellboy franchise, so remember that when trolling me on the comic.

I could not wait to review itty bitty Hellboy when I saw it was available, because it didn’t need the experience of a drone wars or buffy expertise, yet had the elbow room to improve the comic hilarium. I, personally, do not know Hellboy, but I am a huge fan of the sunday comics, from Garfield to the Peanuts. Itty Bitty Hellboy is the perfect combination of Sunday comic and cult, nerd following.

Contrary to my other reviews, I think I should review the art first. Its colourful, geometric characters make it fun and light hearted. It reminded me of when I used to read the funnies in the newspaper or read collections of Calvin and Hobbes or Shoe. I know it’s Hellboy, but it’s SO FRIGGIN’ CUTE! Just looking at the art, I could feel nostalgia oozing from my pores.

The stand alone style works well for a comedy, with 2-4 page stories that are just light hearted and fun. It still has the “good guy vs. bad guys” construct, but the opposing bases are a refrigerator box and a dishwasher box. It’s like when you were a kid playing make-believe with your friends, but with the lovable Hellboy characters (because they don’t have to pretend to have superpowers).

Bottom line, this comic, or anthology of short stand-alones, just makes you feel good, and in the end, what’s better than that? At the $2.99 cover price, you get 6 of these stories. Considering its half a dollar per funny, it is a must for any Hellboy fan or funny pages enthusiast. I definitely recommend it and hope for more work from the authors.

Brendan will soon be reunited with maristplayboy at which point let the insanity ensue. Currently, he’s deciding if he should read every Calvin and Hobbes comic again or refamiliarise himself with Hellboy. Until then be sure to keep an ear to the ground for him.

Review: The Strain: The Fall #2

For those of you that read my first review, just know that this one won’t be much better. Needless to say they filled in some plot-holes that came up from the first comic, but it still leaves a lot to be desired. There are certain things I understand cannot be changed at this point plot wise, and credit where it’s due, the authors (Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan as read on cover) do their best to handle that. The main issue I have at this point is continuity, and style of writing. Otherwise it seems that the second verse is the same as the first in many ways.

As with the first comic, the story looks at many “vampire cliches” without using (what I think are) actual vampires. All this was explained in my previous review, but the plot cliches seen here are a bit different, or at least modified from the ones seen earlier. For example, there’s the age old “elder vampires” punishing those who “lost control” coupled on with the “recruitment of a slayer” to kill for the elders. Put that with the savage tribe in the sewers and the rouge who wants to overcome his affliction and you have your choice of supernatural stories to read before bed. It’s not a bad thing; cliches are used because they work, but not all at the same time.

Another thing I don’t get is why there are still new characters being introduced. I know they got to keep it fresh, but its like they said “lets ignore the 90% of character that didn’t work and throw in some new ones”. The lack of focus on any one character really hurt the first comic for me, but since they didn’t even bother to bring most of them back, I don’t see why I should have cared for any of them, or why I need to care about any of the new ones. Will the bring the original cast back later? or was it just a sentimental anecdote to set the mood for the real story? I have no way of telling. The way that the characters are being over-looked its making it hard to get enthralled in the plot.

The issues I have with this comic are the same as it’s predecessor, and I am unimpressed with the sequel. Similarly, I will give it “would not recommend” because as a series, I don’t see an interest. If you wanted to get into it, you could easily start on this one and ignore the first one, but overall, don’t waste your time, or your $3.99, not until something redeeming comes out.

Bigmacd101 (I’m talking anywhere and everywhere) finally feels like a real red shirt when, for the first time, a comic was reserved for him! Now beware of personal projects (pending approval) coming up, he hopes, soon. Until then, this review has his stamp and he hopes to get some new followers (@bigmacd101… or real life if you know what I look like).

Comic Review: Akaneiro #3

Akaneiro, by American McGee, is unique comic and is hard to review and compare when I haven’t read something like this in comic form before. I have read novelisations of the “Red Riding Hood” reinterpretation or adaptation stories (Red Riding Hood by Catherine Hardwicke), as well as seen similar spin offs on television (Once Upon a Time, CBS 2011-). This comic has that flavouring of Japanese culture with it, as well guild-based fantasy set up with multi-weapon party mechanics. With so much going on I’m surprised I could follow it.

The comic opens with a epic battle scene with some pretty moving coming of age imagery. While it is very easy to see the transformation of the protagonist, the story isn’t too clear on the why or how of it, just that it definitely happens. After this transformation, the subsequent antagonist arrive, but the scene almost immediately changes to some kind of final battle, with no reasoning or warning.

The final enemy is combated with a full on guild attack from the warrior group showcased in the series, and is over pretty quickly, making it seem inconsequential. After which the story attempts to tie up loose ends and finish things off by going back and fixing everything that had happened thus far.

Overall the story was very rushed, cluttered and organised in a sloppy manner. The was so much going on and so much that needed to fit that you never got a proper feel for one specific event. It’s one of those comics where if one page was missing for whatever reason, you wouldn’t be able to piece it back together.

All things considered, I would give this comic a conditional recommendation. Reading it stand alone left something to be desired as well as made it hard for me to really know what was going on other than there was a battle, then there were repairs. If you had read the rest of the series, or were just especially keen on little red herself, I would say go for it, but otherwise I think it’s $3.99 you may want to put toward another comic.

Brendan, or as his fans know him, bigmacd101, keeps reviewing until the cock cries. Next time you see him, he will be Brendan 2.0 (but without the point). Follow him on Twitter (@bigmacd101) and enjoy his last review as a teenager.

Review: The Strain #1, The Fall

I’m so excited to be reviewing this comic, because unlike my prior reviews, I actually hated The Strain #1, The Fall. Now since this is the first I’ve read of either Guillermo Del Toro or Chuck Hogan, I can’t say that they are by any means bad comic book writers (I mean I could never do what they do), but for entertainment value, this comic can only be described as swing and a miss.

www.darkhorse.com

Let’s start at the beginning. The Comic opens up to this long description of the journey of some sacred occult text that has the feel of a biblical lineage story. It may as well have been written “tablets begot texts, which begot book, which begot fire, which begot murder, which begot…” until we get to the end point of still knowing nothing about this text other than it’s still lost and it is needed to beat this parasite outbreak. In theory the journey would be interesting and worth finding out about if it weren’t in such a passive voice. It is honestly a waste of space that can be summed up in 1 sentence, “The book is important.”

Now that we know the solution to the main problem of the novel, we are introduced to what the actual problem is. Yes, the solution is revealed before the problem. Turns out, the city of manhattan is overrun with vampires. That’s right, another author suckeling from the tit of vampires before it runs dry; on one hand, at least they are staying with trends, and on the other hand, seriously another vampire story?! Well rest assured, you can just cut both hands off. Here’s the definition of a vampire in this comic: a corpse of a human, taken over by a parasite and looks like a zombie, that mindlessly kills with a razor tongue, with no evidence of actually drinking blood, and is only weakness is the sun. No fangs, no consciousness, nothing about the soul, no weakness to the holy. Catering to (and writing for a blog for) a demographic that grew up Buffy, this parasitic bastardization of a vampire is about as bad as Twilight, there I said it.

Moving past that not-actually-a-vampire issue, we reach a city destroyed by riots with rebel group trying to save everyone cause apparently humanity has lost it’s common sense enough to just say “let’s not try to piss off the thing that is killing everyone.” On top of it all, the protagonist has to fight off his late wife who is now infected and his son wants to hug this decaying bloodthirsty corpse of his mother, because nothing says “hug me” like a murderous zombie. So there are these crazy drones that do nothing but kill for no reason and out of nowhere, there is some leader who miraculously held on the his consciousness and has some diabolical plan, but don’t ask me, I honestly have no clue. As far as the rest of characters go, the little developement they’ve been given hasn’t exactly made me like them. They mostly seem belligerent and blindly following some self proclaimed messiah with a sob-story so they can go down in history as being a part of someone who actually did something when everyone else just ran to their deaths.

www.darkhorse.com

But at least the art redeems it some, right? WRONG! Don’t let the cover fool you, the art leaves something to be desired. The simplicity of the art is on such a level that you can’t actually know what someone properly looks like unless their face is the only thing in the frame. This just makes the characters seem all the more generic.

Overall, I would not recommend this comic for $3.99. Even if the series does end up getting better, this piece seems overall unimportant. Not only that, it just wasn’t enjoyable; it lacked some of the key elements to make a comic good: artwork, dynamic characters with development, plot, etc. I hope the next comic redeems this one, until then I would say skip this one and move on to something more worth your time.

Brendan, know in the weberverse as bigmacd101, is so freaking pumped to write his first “would not recommend” review. He’s kinda scared the the authors might read this, so in case you don’t hear from him in a while, it’s probably because he has gone into hiding. He will let you know he’s alive and safe on his twitter (@bigmacd101) so you can sleep easy. 

Review: Bloodhound

Bloodhound, created by Dan Jolley & Drew Johnson,  in the simplest sense is a beautiful combination of the classic comic, a cop drama, and a prison story genres. The comic is a display of skilled genre mixing in the literature alone, but it is then maximized by the artists’, Leonard Kirk and Robbin Riggs, attention to detail that could tell the whole story without words. The comic is truly an immersive experience that hooks you from the beginning and keeps you in suspense until the very end.


Bloodhound is about a former FBI agent, too good at his job, that was convicted for the murder of his partner. The FBI needs him again because he’s the only one that can catch this killer thats on the loose, but is held back due to his probationary leave. His methods are unconventional, and don’t follow protocol, but get the job done. The bad guy is given in bits and pieces, just enough to keep the motivation to find him. I don’t want to ruin anything, but this is definitely a suspense filled plot that keeps you guessing until the very end.

Personal character development starts immediately with the standard sanity interview for prisoners. You then get see physical skill in the following scene which shows you his combat skill. While this is pretty cliche, I does give you a feel for the characters early on. The pace moved at a rate where the story neither dragged nor left readers behind.

The characters are clearly portrayed through their histories, tone, wording, and body language, giving them each a unique personality and voice regardless to their duration or importance to the story. The depth and believability that each character is given puts them on a relatable and understandable level, whether you are suppose to love them or love to hate them. It is clear how a character is to be viewed as most of them are constructed to be generic allusions to the stereotype of similar characters in the same genres, such as the FBI agent that plays by the rules, the hardened inmate, or the racy teenager, which makes these characters easy to digest.

Last, but definitely not least, the artist has the same skill level that reminds me of the classic superhero comic. Growing up reading the original Teen Titans, the nostalgia value makes everyday feel like living in metropolis and complex martial arts look like amazing feats of super skill while I was reading. The art that is maintained through the story really brings the characters alive. Sets of frames without words sometimes tell more or the story than dialogue does. From a polar change in expression, to a panic glance, to even just the brush of two hands, the art really pulls you in. There is nothing more to say than if you don’t purchase this comic, at least look at a preview to see just how amazing it is.

While someone might say this comic is a bit cliche at many points or that this story structure has been done to death, I was thoroughly entertained because I saw it as a more skilled rendering of a classic story delivered in a media form for a story usually in cinematic or television series setting. I would definitely recommend this comic because the value of the art and story is well worth the cover price of $19.99.

Brendan, known on the interweb as bigmacd101, is a staff writer for the Red Shirt Crew. He has recently rediscovered his love for writing and is grateful to get back into it with a little help from his friends. He hopes one day to be reunited with his twitter @bigmacd101. Hopefully you will be seeing more of him soon, with a bit of surprises in the works.

Black Beetle #4 No Way Out

Before I go any further, let me just say that I only read the last comic in this story arc; that being said, I don’t feel as though I have any questions about the plot leading up to this. The comic is set up very similar to the noir detectives of the 1930’s. Because of that, the author really does well in having the art reflect the setting of the piece. I enjoyed it enough that I honestly wished that I had read the prior comics leading up to this one (having the pleasure to only read the immediate prior #3 after the fact). Regardless, the final comic in this particular series does well to tie up all the loose ends and put a nice bow on it.

http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/Previews/22-595

The opening begins exactly where the comic left off last issue with an abandoned house being guarded by the same incompetent mobsters that plague every comic series ever. However, the author chooses to use their characters to reveal key information, while using violence not as a means to add excitement, but to further the plot. The story isn’t violence driven, but instead uses it as a subtle tool to show the skill of the protagonist as the hardened and cultured detective to the city of sin. The characters have real depth, and by making it less about the fighting, the conflict becomes internal and moral instead of external and righteous (the difference being how zealous it is).

As I said, this is very noir style writing, so the art needed to reflect that. The darkened scenery draws focus to the important details: the hardened jaw line, the baggy eyes, and the look of skepticism that characterize our hero. The lighting and setting plays well into the disguise of the Black Beetle, and the directional lighting helps make out the emotions of the masked character Labyrinto. Often, minimalist art draws away from the story, but this style shows us that by ignoring the small, unnecessary details, we can notice the large ones that shows off the true nature of a character.

The character of the Black Beetle seems to be pretty well-developed by this point, but when the true identity of Laberinto is revealed, it answers all the questions of motive, how the clues connect, and even where the name comes from. I won’t go into too much detail, but I will say even without reading the prior comics, it’s a juicy reveal.

This one comic made me want to read the 3 comics leading up to it as well as follow in any possible future exploits of the Black Beetle. For $3.99, I think that this comic is worth it as part of the series, and as a tribute to the writer on its own. For those of you who enjoy mysteries, connecting clues, and busting bad guys (with a flair for the noir style), Black Beetle is a hero that you should definitely get into.

Brendan, known in just about every single username as bigmacd101, is a newer recruit of the Red Shirt Crew. He hopes that your review of his first review is up to par with those seen elsewhere. If you hope to hear more from him, he is trying to get reacquainted with his twitter under (you guessed it) @bigmacd101 

RSC Let’s Play #1: Cards Against Humanity ULTIMATE GAME!!!

Our first ever Let’s Play! This week, the gang plays Cards Against Humanity. And this time, it counts! It’s despicably hilarious. Warning: These jokes are purposefully crude/racist/God knows what else. They do not represent anyone’s personal views and should be seen as comedy.

Thanks to Matthew for creating the music and images for the opening 😀

The players:
Chase Wassenar – MaristPlayBoy – http://www.twitter.com/RedShirtCrew
Matthew Bryant – Baker Street Holmes – http://www.twitter.com/BStreetHolmes
Jeni Hackett – Science Whyzard – http://www.twitter.com/allonsyjeni
M – Spoon – No twitter
Grey Carter – Writer of Critical Miss – http://www.twitter.com/GreyTheTick
Cory Rydell – Artist of Critical Miss – http://www.twitter.com/Cory_Rydell
Clayton Donaldson – HulkyMoon – http://www.twitter.com/HULKGAMECRIT
Brandon Carey – NewDarkCloud – http://www.twitter.com/NewDarkCloud
Brendan McDonald – Bigmacd101 – http://www.twitter.com/Bigmacd101

RSC Let’s Play #1: A Trial Game of Cards Against Humanity

Our first ever Let’s Play! This week, the gang plays Cards Against Humanity. It’s darkly hilarious. Warning: These jokes are purposefully crude/racist/God knows what else. They do not represent anyone’s personal views and should be seen as comedy. Thanks to Matthew for creating the music and images for the opening :D.

The players:

Chase Wassenar – MaristPlayBoy – http://www.twitter.com/RedShirtCrew

Matthew Bryant – Baker Street Holmes – http://www.twitter.com/BStreetHolmes

Jeni Hackett – Science Whyzard – http://www.twitter.com/allonsyjeni

M – Spoon – No twitter

Grey Carter – Writer of Critical Miss – http://www.twitter.com/GreyTheTick

Cory Rydell – Artist of Critical Miss – http://www.twitter.com/Cory_Rydell

Clayton Donaldson – HulkyMoon – http://www.twitter.com/HULKGAMECRIT

Brandon Carey – NewDarkCloud – http://www.twitter.com/NewDarkCloud

Brendan McDonald – Bigmacd101 – http://www.twitter.com/Bigmacd101