One of the things that we get a lot of are comics from various indy creators. I used to do a regular column, but that was before we started plowing ahead with so many other changes to the site. The constant battle to do more with less and not get any extra time to do it… ugh.
Anyway, I have quite a few books to throw at you and hope you are ready for them
Black Ice #1 and #2
I picked these up last year when I was at Wizard World Philly and am just now finally getting around to them in my stack of stuff. From Red Eye Comics and Joseph Mondin, Black Ice tells the story of an elite counter terrorism unit, almost like superheroes, who have to fight a band of terrorists led by The Monarch. This group has blown up subway trains in Philadelphia and taken hostages, including the mayor. Some really cool artwork and a story line that kept me interested, Black Ice has action and intrigue and a modern story that is relatable to a lot of things happening in the news today. I picked up physical copies, which are high quality, but you can get them digitally from Comixology. I read on their Facebook page that they were working on the artwork for #3 back in October 2014, I would say to look for issue #3 anytime. Definitely worth a read. My Rating: 3.5/5
Amiculus: A Secret History: Vol 1: Rome Aeterna
For fans of history and intrigue, this might be a series for you. This is volume one of a three part history of the fall of Rome. Check out the video trailer to see what this is all about.
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It is a very interesting and very intense story with action and blood and a boy emperor who really wants nothing more than to just play with his rocks. Worth a read for fans of history or even video games such as the Assassin’s Creed series. My Rating: 3.5/5
Centralia #1
The folks at On The Square Comics sent me a copy of their comic a few months back. Again, the pile was huge. This is an interesting story. It seems like Centralia is a planet or a country that has farms. People work these farms to bring in their crops for some kind of quota system. In this first issue we are also introduced to a crazy super powered king sort of guy in a spaceship. Not sure how he works into all of this but he does have cool laser beam eyes and fries some dude for not excelling at his job. There is a farmer named Lynch who is much more than he seems. He appears to be hiding from someone or something and is really a royal personage of some sort. He spends a lot of the issue jerking this one guy around, but I am unsure of this other person’s role. Later, that guy gets the crap beat out of him. There are also some women. Sorry, this was all around a very confusing story and I guess I will have to read issue #2 to get a better understanding. The art is black and white, but some decent pencils that are worth a look. My Rating: 2.5/5
Mulligan
This comic is still in the funding steps, but I wanted to let you all know about it. Robert Mulligan has an Indiegogo project currently open, fully funded, with 20 days left on it. You can be in the comic! That is always a cool thing. You can pop over here and check it out and decide for yourself if this is something you would be interested in. The story looks kind of weird and crazy, focusing on a world where a corporation turns people into fuel and where there are portals to other dimensions. The artwork is cool and something you should definitely check out, especially if you have ever wanted to be in a comic.
Zombie B.C. #2: Dog of the Dead
This is truly a great book. People can say all they want about the market for zombie stories being fully saturated, but this is the sort of tale that can still make you root for the hero, fear for them, and mourn the losses during the story. This is the tale of a K-9 officer, a dog working with the police, who loses his cop partner to the zombie virus. The man kills himself, but leaves the dog with food and water for a few days. Eventually, the dog leaves the house, looking for a safe place and food, but what he finds is an apocalyptic world populated by zombie hordes and desperate humans. The art is really great, and the depictions of zombies are perfect. Stephen Vold writes this tale and Steven Williams is the lead artist, giving life to this amazing story. This is one that you should really pick up. In issue #1, we saw the zombie virus in its infancy, back in prehistoric days as the cavemen had to deal with the creatures that hungered for flesh. Now, we see how this prehistoric virus can ravage our world and follow the adventures of a hero dog. My Rating: 4.5/5
Jennifer the She-Wolf #1
Jumping from zombies to werewolves, but with some zombies thrown in, Jennifer the She-Wolf is an interesting story from Luis M. Cruz. The story begins in the 1920s when, through an unfortunate series of events, Jennifer is attacked by a wolf, who she later learns is a man named Lykan. She survives only to find herself changed into a werewolf! The bulk of the story takes place in modern times and involves her having to face a horde of zombies. The artwork is good for a book in its infancy. There is a lot of room for story development, enhancements to the characters, and many many questions still to be answered. I love that I was not confused as I read through the tale, but the ending definitely left me wanting more. I would recommend that you click over to IndyPlanet or ComicFix and pick this up. My Rating: 3.5/5
That’s it for this week. I will work on collecting a few more for you for next Sunday and get this back to a semi-regular thing. I still have a couple hundred emails to sort through. I hope you like these and, if you are an indy creator, you can just send me a message at aaronclutter@comicbooked.com and I will see about getting you included in our Small Press Sunday column.
