Modville Ashcan Review

 

Writers: Jesse Negron & Joe Matsumoto

Artist: Hendry Prasetya

Colorist: Eko Puteh

Letterer: Tyler Smith

Editor: Dave Elliott

Publisher: Mechanical Cake LLC and Scott Free Productions

 

A House bill established an Autonomous Humanoid Zone in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Thousands of artificial humans, or Mods, have abandoned their posts to join the tight-knit community called Modville. How do the Mods live in their sanctuary? What trials do they face? Let’s leap into the Modville Ashcan and see!

 

Story

In Jesse Negron and Joe Matsumoto's story, floods have struck New Orleans. Abandoned by its human population, the Mods settle in this damaged district. They live a life much like humans anywhere. Yet the Human government polices the district.

 

The Modville Ashcan takes place in 2169 when the American Republic has taken over from the United States. Police cars fly or hover above roads like landspeeders. When violent crimes occur, Juris Operators question victims, witnesses, and suspects by delving directly into their minds.

 

In a world that has endured traumatic change, humans have not learned the value of equality or living together in peace. Villains stalk their prey, and Juris Operators, or Snoops, strip people of privacy by invading their minds. It's a practice as damaging to those questioned as the Juris Operators. But it's all in the name of holding together a troubled nation.

 

Art

Hendry Prasetya and Eko Puteh open the Modville Ashcan with grand scenes of New Orleans. The cinematic widescreen shots set the stage for Humanoid interaction. Teens congregate in this decaying district illuminated by neon lights. As they interact in person and via communicators with holographic projectors, someone watches the Mod youth.

 

The Modville Ashcan features photographic art that shows the hyperreal, decaying world the Humanoids inhabit. It features the text of the House bill and shows the teens’ personalities and vulnerabilities. It also focuses on the Juris Operators, portraying the tools of their trade and delineating the dangers they face in the near and long term.

 

As Ridley Scott's atmospheric worldbuilding style flows through this glossy, magazine-size ashcan, Tyler Smith casts uppercase letters into white dialogue balloons. Green narrative boxes reveal hologrammatic interaction. Jesse Negron closes out the Modville Ashcan by sharing his TV and Filmmaking journey, including his relationship with the Scott Free production company and his plans for his graphic novel series. Thanks to Mechanical Cake LLC and Scott Free Productions for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

The glossy, magazine-style Modville Ashcan invites us into a future world that evokes Blade Runner and Batman, promising an exciting forthcoming graphic novel series.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

Peanuts: Snoopy And The Red Baron Preview

This sounds fun! I read these slim paperback volumes when I was in elementary school! Can't wait to revisit them!

Here's all the info from Titan Comics:

 

PEANUTS: SNOOPY AND THE RED BARON

Author/Artist: Charles M. Schulz

Publisher: Titan Comics

HC, 64 pages, FC, $9.99

ISBN: 9781787742727

On sale April 29, 2025

 

64 pages of classic Peanuts comic strips featuring everyone’s favorite Beagle, Snoopy. This Facsimile edition, the 18th volume, features 64 pages of Sunday Peanuts newspaper in full-color strips first published in 1966.

 

THERE’S NEVER BEEN A WAR BOOK LIKE THIS ONE!

 

How could there be? There’s never been a war hero like Snoopy. With verve, dash, courage (and maybe an old bone) ACE PILOT SNOOPY hurls his famous Sopwith Camel into the sky to challenge the infamous RED BARON in his infamous Fokker Triplane.

 

What happens shouldn’t happen to a dog.

 

But it does.

 

And it’s sensational.

 

The book was originally published back in 1966 by Fawcett World Library.

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

Peanuts: Snoopy and the Red Baron is on sale April 29, 2025 at bookstores, comic shops and digital.

 

Order now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million and Forbidden Planet for UK.

 

The Killer: Affairs Of The State II #1 Review

 

Writer: Matz

Illustrator: Luc Jacamon

English Translator: Edward Gauvin

Letterer: Andworld Design

Cover Artists: Luc Jacamon, Tyler Boss & Christian Ward

Publisher: Archaia (Boom! Studios)

Price: $4.99

Release Date: May 21, 2025

 

When he cannot sleep, a man wanders through the woods. A full moon lights his way as he hops from one rocky outcropping to another. He brings a gun and wonders about the wolves that inhabit the night. But after trekking miles from his mountain cabin, he gazes through binoculars at a house he has visited before. What will he do when he sees human traffickers beating one of their victims? Let’s lace up our hiking boots, leap into The Killer: Affairs Of The State II #1, and find out!

 

Story

After witnessing cruelty, the man hikes back home. His employers sent him out here for a reason. He isn't supposed to be seeking out company. Nor does he want it. He tells himself that humanity suffers from cancer, and he is as sick as anyone else. Perhaps with an ever-growing global population, his profession makes sense. But when he returns home, he finds another vehicle parked outside. Despite the necessity of his work, it also has its dangers.

 

Matz relates his story through his central character’s eyes. He doesn’t give the man a name. Nor does his character talk much, except when telling his employer what he needs. The man's musings grapple with the incurable nature of the human condition. As his thoughts range from prehistory to today, the man views himself as an artisan in The Killer: Affairs Of The State II #1. He is a skilled craftsman that the human traffickers cannot replace with an unskilled workforce. No matter how poorly he regards his fellow humans, he clings to this fact even if it makes him no better than anyone else.

 

The man's wandering monologue hints at how lost he feels. His latest target is likely evil. Yet he realizes that no one ever pays him to kill those as evil as the human traffickers. Despite the futility of trying to change the course of human non-evolution (as he sees it), a situation arises that upsets his clinical reserve. He knows he cannot become involved. Yet what he faces affects him, nonetheless.

 

Art

As the character hikes through the early morning hours, Luc Jacamon lavishes muted color palettes on historic panoramas in The Killer: Affairs Of The State II #1. When the man’s thoughts on humanity reach modern times, the illustrator juxtaposes brightly colored scenes of refugees crammed into boats with vacationers relaxing on the beach. Luc Jacamon paints the moonlit night purple, as white headlights and red taillights spear the darkness. But as he treks home, a thin stream of white rises from a distant building amid the light and dark blues of the snowbound hills and mountains.

 

Our character inhabits the clean modern lines of his brick and stone house. He gazes out the plate-glass windows at the surrounding landscape. When the man travels to the city to prepare for his next assignment, he photographs historic monuments of humanity's achievements. The man also photographs the target and the nearby streets before embarking on his long drive home. Despite all our time with him, we rarely see the central character’s entire face in The Killer: Affairs Of The State II #1. The rest of the time, his eyes hide behind the reflective lenses of his glasses or helmet visor.

 

Andworld Design fits a thin, uppercase font in white boxes. An arrow slithers toward the speaker's face from dialogue boxes. The small words occasionally enlarge. But like the rectangles framing his thoughts and words, the man wants to escape notice, not attract attention. Yet larger letters fill the air or the occasional rounded dialogue balloon, reminding the man that he cannot control everything in his carefully ordered world. Thanks to Archaia and Boom for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

When a hitman struggling to justify his profession discovers a human trafficking operation on his doorstep, he begins to wonder how long he can keep blaming society for humanity's ills in The Killer: Affairs Of The State II #1.

 

Rating 8.8/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Howl #5 Review

 

Writer: Alisa Kwitney, James Finn Garner & Bryce Ingman

Artist, Colorist & Cover Artist: Mauricet

Short Story Illustrations: Joe Orsak & Elliott Mattice

Letterer: Rob Steen

Design: John J Hill

Production: Rob Steen

Editor: Tom Peyer

Publisher: Ahoy Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: May 28, 2025

 

The last time Ziva and Bert made love, her cigarette knocked him out. She doesn't understand how something her doctor prescribes for late periods could infect her boyfriend. A bottle of wine cured Bert's ills. But then it did something worse. The incident prompted Bert to channel Mr Darcy while proposing to her. Appalled by Bert's duplicity, Ziva calls her parents and learns that the same illness has infected her father. Can Ziva protect the world against Jane Austen fans from outer space? Let's grab a bottle of wine, leap into Howl #5, and find out!

 

Story

Ziva didn't realize an alien entity had taken over her boyfriend's body. Worse, the alien pretended to be Bert, making their relationship a lie. But with her parents in danger, there's no time for Ziva to nurse her grief. A chance meeting with cigarette-smoking bikers gets Ziva a ride to Ettingers Resort Hotel. But can Ziva convince the bikers to aid her cause?

 

Ziva arrives amid an alien invasion of the resort. In Howl #5, the alien invaders belong to a community of spores or fungus that overtakes the host entity's consciousness. The simplest solution would be to kill anyone overtaken by the spores. But while battling the alien invaders, Ziva realizes that when the spores invade their hosts, they don't overwhelm their personalities. Instead, they give them another dimension.

 

Alisa Kwitney's zany science fiction story portrays change as part of life. It also reminds us that the roles we choose to play, whether they work or relationship-related, define and limit us. Our consciousness may not be composed of thousands of spores. Still, we are creatures of immense complexity, gifted in innumerable ways, and capable of doing many things.

 

Art

Mauricet’s art transports us back to the 1950s in Howl #5. Bikers in black leather jackets with oiled hair evoke the Fonz, while the monsters that spring from their converted hosts evoke pulp-era Sci-fi. Ziva imagines herself as a spacewoman attacked by a bug-eyed monster. But then, her former boyfriend was a science fiction writer. As chaos breaks out at the resort, Ziva and the bikers demonstrate the deadly effects of second-hand smoke. While anxious to embrace her daughter, Ziva’s mother bashes anyone sprouting spores or tentacles with her purse.

 

Secret Fortress One-Star Reviews On Airbnb

If you grew up watching Batman episodes on TV, spending the night in Bruce Wayne’s Batcave might sound like a blast. In James Finn Garner's one-page prose story, the Bearman has rented out his crimefighting hideaway to travelers. Joe Orsak's illustration suggests what the Bearman's secret headquarters might look like. The travelers, tourists, and fans who deride the Bearcave’s defects as a plush resort remind us that reality often falls short of our imagination.

 

The Gnome Problem

When Sebastian meets Grimble, he fears the bearded little man. But with his wife out of town, he decides to take a chance and befriend the lone gnome. His act of bravery and friendship introduces him to gnome culture and helps him realize why his tiny friend grows a beard. Elliott Mattice contributes two illustrations to Bryce Ingman's two-page prose story about the similarities between two species and how someone from one culture can benefit another.  

 

Final Thoughts

As the battle for humanity's hold on Earth reaches a crescendo, Howl #5 ponders how we continue to change as we grow. Two short stories about our relationships with superheroes and gnomes round out this delightful alien invasion science fiction series.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Howl #5.

Exquisite Corpses Ashcan Review

 

Writer: James Tynion IV

Artist & Cover Artist: Michael Walsh

Colorist: Jordie Bellaire

Letterer: Becca Carey

Cover Artists: Michael Walsh, James Stokoe, Eckman Lawn, Malavia, Jae Lee, Yoshi Yoshitani

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $4.99 ($6.99 with playing card)

Release Date: May 14, 2025

 

A woman and her family want to course-correct the country. She knows how to play the game. But she needs the right person to help her achieve her goal. The woman has a candidate in mind. But he has rejected all her subordinates’ offers. Can she convince the man to help her turn her country around? Or will he send her to the hospital like he did her underlings? Let's grab a bag of candy corn, leap into Exquisite Corpses #1, and see!

 

Story

Every five years, the thirteen families lock down a small town. These affluent dynasties select their game pieces, then let them play. Anyone who wanders across the gameboard is collateral damage. (Or, for some of the game pieces, a bit of fun.) The game is a gladiatorial contest, and the family whose game piece clears the board rules the country for the next five years.

 

James Tynion IV introduces his characters and the stakes in this sixty-page debut. The representatives of the thirteen families are as diverse as the residents of this “small town in a lonely corner of America.” Once, each of these families ruled a state. Now, they wage a quinquennial battle for leadership and spend the intervening years helping the winning family enforce its policies.

 

While recasting the organization of a political regime as a contest played out on Halloween, Exquisite Corpses #1 begins a conversation about who determines how we live our lives. The families thanked Sheriff Hill for his service, gave him money, and a new identity. Then, like European immigrants told the First Nations, they moved him elsewhere. Big Bruce believes he is the dictator of Oak Valley, but is ignorant about the game. Mike at Pump King suspects how the system works. But no one pays attention to him because he lacks money and power.

 

While we meet colorful characters like fun-loving Xavi, who works at the Haunted House at 666 Main Street, and Craig, who is more responsible, the primary character is Massachusetts. Her best years may be behind her. Still, she wants to exert her vision upon the world. But to do that, she must convince the man she believes can be her winning game piece to represent her in Exquisite Corpses #1.

 

Art

Mike slouches behind the counter at Pump King. Sheriff Hill hands him an envelope before he leaves town. The years etch the gray-haired woman's face as she climbs from the helicopter, clad in white. She pours a drink from her bottle before looking at the automatic weapons on a dining table. New York prances into the players' club like Jack Nicholson, while Rhode Island, dwarfed by her fur coat, lets her son take the lead. The man whose family will abdicate stands before a wall of monitors, dressed in a suit and a turtleneck shirt. His eyes hide behind glasses.

 

Jordie Bellaire applies limited colors to Michael Walsh’s portraits of small-town life and the thirteen families. The grays, browns, greens, and beiges of the woman’s meeting with her would-be game piece represent his profession. Neon colors energize the more flamboyant families and introduce their game pieces like glam-metal rock concert posters. Jason’s orange hair shouts his joy of Halloween, while his mother’s hair reminds us that a man others see as a pumpkin makes her work on the holiday. The orange-and-gray candy corn symbolizes not only the game, but also people's understanding of how their supposed leaders rule the United States in Exquisite Corpses #1.

 

Becca Carey fills white dialogue balloons with delicate uppercase letters. The words grow bold for intonation and italicized for transmissions. Skatepark graffiti lettering introduces the professional and psycho killers who kill for money, fame, sport, thrills, beliefs, or their desired futures. Sparse sound effects show how the Sheriff views power, a leader's call to attention, and a sign that the battle for our country has begun. Thanks to Image Comics and Tiny Onion for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Americans vote for political candidates. Then government leaders argue or draft policies contrary to the voters' expectations. Whether rich or poor, influential, or going about their daily lives, the characters in Exquisite Corpses #1 are recognizable. They are our leaders, neighbors, and the killers who make headlines. James Tynion’s story paints a compelling portrait of life in the United States that feels frighteningly real.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Conan The Barbarian: Eastern Horizons Review

 

Writer: Walter Simonson
Artist & Colorist: Jerry Ma
Letterers: Richard Starkings & Tyler Smith
Publisher: Titan Comics & Heroic Signatures
Price: $3.99 (digital only 1-shot)
Release Date: May 21, 2025

Hungering for luxury, Conan bribes a guard for a night in the king of Ophir's seraglio. But when the Cimmerian awakens, he fears tongues will wag. Conan takes his horse and heads toward the city gates. But before he can leave Ianthe, a beggar grabs his wrist. What does the man want? And how will he influence the Cimmerian's plans? Let's get our swords and battle axes, leap into Conan The Barbarian: Eastern Horizons #1, and find out!

Story
Instead of trying to steal from Conan, the man gives him a gold coin. Between coughing fits, the man explains that he has waited for someone like Conan by the Eastern Gate. He mentions gold, dragons, and a princess before he collapses and dies. Conan wonders if the man has the plague. But the foreign coin overrides the Cimmerian's fear of sickness or capture. So, before he leaves Ianthe, Conan visits a scriptorium.

In Walter Simonson's story, legends about fabled cities of gold inspired Conan to leave Cimmeria. When Yaktan compares the coin with an old map, he mentions ancient legends involving cities of gold. With the royal guards likely searching for him, Conan opts to seek the cities that prompted him to leave Cimmeria and explore the Hyborian world.

Conan The Barbarian: Eastern Horizons follows Conan's journey into uninhabited lands. As Conan encounters mysteries and discovers the truth behind the dying man's oracular pronouncement, the Cimmerian demonstrates his morals by protecting the endangered.

Art
Jerry Ma's style thrusts closeups into scenes. After beginning with Conan riding his horse through the air before the royal palace, he later interposes cutouts of Yaktan reading his scroll and Conan fingering his chin before a vision of a city carved into a rocky hill. As he rides his tall, densely muscled horse past barren trees and sandstone hills, Conan encounters soldiers who recall the Mongols that swept across ancient Europe in Conan The Barbarian: Eastern Horizons.

Ianthe features impressive ivory and gray buildings. Gray birds fly through grand arches while people enter and leave the palace guarded by stone lions. Jerry Ma hints at Conan's speed and one of Conan's nicknames by showing an image of him cast in the same gray of the lions behind Conan battling a thief.

Jerry Ma's palette also features bright colors. Red fills the background as Conan strikes a man. Pink fills the skies and tinges the clouds over this unexplored region. Light and shade flow across faces and skin like fluids of differing density in a fish tank, giving faces and muscles an ever-changing, organic appearance in Conan The Barbarian: Eastern Horizons.

Richard Starkings and Tyler Smith fill dialogue balloons and narrative boxes with uppercase black lettering. Conan's thoughts appear in old school clouds, while the dying man's tiny words fill balloons with a curving arrow. Mauve and maroon sound effects accompany spraying crimson, yellow letters arise from the gold encircling Conan's wrist, while a click and a hiss conjure a creature rarely seen in a Conan story. Thanks to Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures for providing a copy for review.

Final Thoughts
Walter Simonson delves into the history of the Hyborian Age, mining forgotten gods, legendary cities, and magical creatures to create a strikingly original tale in Conan The Barbarian: Eastern Horizons.

Rating 8.5/10 

To look inside see my preview of Conan The Barbarian: Eastern Horizons.

The Red Badge of Courage GN Review

 

Writers: Steve Cuzor & Stephen Crane

Artist: Steve Cuzor

Letterer: Vitro Hache

Translator: Montana Kane

Publisher: Abrams ComicArts

Price: $19.99

Release Date: May 14, 2025

 

Eighteen-year-old Henry Fleming works on his mother's farm. His mother relies on him to help her plow the fields and tend the animals. With the southern states abandoning the United States, tending a patch of land seems a paltry endeavor compared with reuniting his country. But his mother needs him. What can he accomplish as a raw recruit, anyway? Is Henry important to his country? Or is he just a naïve idealist searching for meaning in his life? Let's grab our rifles, leap into The Red Badge Of Courage GN, and find out!

 

Story

After joining up, Henry sits in camp and goes out on maneuvers. He peels potatoes like he did on his mother's front porch. Finally, his friend announces that they're going into battle. His fellow soldiers wonder if Jim Conklin's scuttlebutt is true. But this is the chance Henry was waiting for. Now, if he sees the battle through, he can live a life of significance.

 

Yet there’s more to winning than enthusiasm and idealism in Steve Cuzor’s retelling of Stephen Crane's novel. As they prepare for battle, a fellow soldier presses letters for home into Henry's hands. Wilson believes he will die today in The Red Badge of Courage GN.

 

When battle commences, Henry's superiors bark conflicting orders before bullets and cannonballs take them down. Smoke fills the air, obscuring his fellow soldiers and the enemy. Henry follows his comrades' retreat, only to end up alone in the woods. Now he feels like a deserter, not the soldier heaped in honors he hoped to become.

 

The Red Badge of Courage GN portrays the Battle of Chancellorsville through Henry’s eyes. Confusion reigns as his poorly trained company charges into battle. Their general observes the battle from far away, moving his companies like a gambler playing craps. Even nature mocks Henry as Union cavalry threatens to mow down the stumbling wounded.

 

More than once, his mother's insistence that the South is more than a match for the North comes back to him. Henry realizes that he has little choice but to see the slaughter through in The Red Badge of Courage GN. Yet on the eve of this battle, one of the "enemy" offered him advice on how to survive the war.

 

Art

Steve Cuzor’s detailed art conveys the realism of Stephen Crane’s novel. Despite the valiant spirit of Henry and his comrades, Cuzor presents an unglamorous depiction of battle. Every fold in the men's uniforms and tents contrasts with the rugged, untamed land surrounding them. Shadows and darkness remind us that night offered few light sources except campfires. Panels focus on the people fighting on both sides of this conflict, while specks of dust swarm through the air amid battles. Bullets tear through people, producing a tiny plume of speckled ink, while explosions tear apart silhouettes.

 

While people remember the political causes of this war, The Red Badge Of Courage GN focuses on the soldiers charging through panels with their rifles and bayonets. Although other colors occasionally intrude, shades of green dominate the monocolored panels that pack the pages. No Black soldiers serve alongside those fighting and dying for their contrasting ideals. Yet before the Northerners head into battle, a black minstrel perches atop a barrel of gunpowder playing his fiddle for smiling white soldiers.

 

Vitro Hache populates white dialogue balloons and narrative boxes with black, uppercase letters. Henry’s thoughts appear in Manga-style diagonal-shaped balloons. Words grow bold for emphasis, enlarge for volume, and shrink for distance as Henry overhears a general’s disparaging thoughts on the battle and the men he serves alongside. Thanks to Abrams ComicArts for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Generals and political leaders may record history. Yet the compelling stories of war concern those serving in the ranks. Like young Henry Fleming, these brave souls crouch behind the bulwarks or risk flying bullets and explosions. Instead of showing armies achieving decisive battles, The Red Badge of Courage GN focuses on a young man’s desire to become the person he envisions, regardless of whether anyone else values his contributions.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my preview of The Red Badge of Courage. 

Buy The Red Badge of Courage from Abrams Books.

Godzilla: Here There Be Aliens #1 Review

 

Writer: Frank Tieri

Artist: Angel Hernandez

Colorist: Heather Breckel

Letterer: Steve Wands

Editor: Jake Williams

Production & Design: Darran Robinson

Cover Artists: Fero Pe & Angel Hernandez

Publisher: IDW

Price: $4.99

Release Date: May 14, 2025

 

Bob Jones works for Project Colossus, a United States government department founded to prove the existence of monsters. He has researched the subject extensively, gathered eyewitness testimony, and charted their involvement with Humans throughout the centuries. Despite all his findings, the leaders of other government departments scoff at his assertions. Can he retain his agency's funding and help prepare the United States for the next kaiju attack? Let's grab a camera, leap into Godzilla: Here There Be Aliens #1, and find out!

 

Story

Frank Tieri’s story begins by putting Bob in the crosshairs. His government department has drained money from other projects. That money could go to far better uses than trying to prove what seem like urban legends. Bob’s trouble is that he lacks indisputable proof that kaiju exist. Although cameras date back two thousand years, the daguerreotype didn't make cameras commercially viable until the nineteenth century. Even then, it would be a long time before photography became popular.

 

Bob lives in the 1950s. Cameras and movie cameras are becoming available. Still, there haven't been sufficient kaiju sightings to yield even one clear image of Godzilla. So for his briefing, Bob must rely on artists' depictions to convince his superiors that Project Colossus is worth the taxpayers' money.

 

Godzilla: Here There Be Aliens #1 is the story about Bob's life. We view nearly the entire tale through his eyes. Frank Tieri conveys Bob's frustration, worries, and realization that his best efforts may lead to failure. His wife seems loving and supportive. But she realizes the stakes for him. And it's not just his career and marriage that matter to Bob. In an era when husbands are often the sole breadwinners, Bob also has a young son to care for.

 

Bob's struggle is as much a search for facts as a need to confirm his beliefs. He shares the same problems facing scientists and priests. People want hard facts, not faith. All he can offer them is his beliefs. In Godzilla: Here There Be Aliens #1, Bob's life has been leading up to this. Perhaps Project Colossus will continue. Or fate will hand Bob a chance to shine.

 

Art

Angel Hernandez reveals Bob’s struggle to convince his superiors as they sit around a briefing table. Clad in matching gray suits, the men see a detailed Black and White drawing of Godzilla, a sketch of the monster breathing fire, and a blurry photograph. Historical figures surround Bob as he clicks the slide projector remote and shows them a drawing of an ancient symbol. Yet the men, seated before flags and a symbol of the United States, regard him with stony expressions.

 

While his wife reclines on the couch, Bob hunches with a hand on his head, staring at their yellow recliners. As his wife tries to cheer him up, Bob glances at the Black And White TV showing the 1950s' most beloved couple. But when the camera shifts to a news report, Bob watches as Heather Breckel portrays the yellow and orange barrage streaking across a maroon sky. After leaving his colorful home, Bob walks beneath an orange sky and meets someone clad in maroon.

 

Steve Wands portrays Bob's worst fears, as yellow laughter fills the briefing room in Godzilla: Here There Be Aliens #1. Wands reveals uppercase black dialogue in edgy white balloons and narrative boxes. The words grow bold for significant words as Bob seeks to assert the significance of his beliefs. Yet his son's bold utterance reminds Bob of how other government researchers view him. Thanks to IDW for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

In popular fiction, governments often disguise the facts to control the populace and prevent widespread panic. In Godzilla: Here There Be Aliens #1, Bob Jones struggles to prove what government leaders have tried to repress throughout history. But first, he must overcome his prejudices about popular beliefs and the stated purposes of other government departments.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

For another cover see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Howl #5 Preview

 

Cover: Mauricet

Howl taps into the rich alien invasion craze that inspired so many great Black and White sci-fi movies. It also reminds us an earlier era when guys thought that a woman's no meant yes, and doctors thought that cigarettes might actually be good for you. 

Aside from a great story, Ahoy Comics also bundles extras with their comics. As with The Toxic Avenger Pin-Up Special #1, you'll find two short prose stories in Howl #5. Here's all the info from Ahoy Comics:

HOWL #5

Writer: Alisa Kwitney

Artist: Mauricet

Letterer: Rob Steen

Publisher: Ahoy Comics

Release Date: May 28, 2025

Price: $3.99

SERIES FINALE: It’s Earth’s last stand against the body-possessing mushroom invaders as a vacation resort becomes the ultimate theater of war! Ziva leads the fight to defend her home, her world, and everyone she loves, against… everyone else she loves!

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

Thanks to Ahoy Comics and Superfan Promotions for sharing this preview with us.

For another great Ahoy Comic, see my review of The Toxic Avenger Pin-Up Special #1.

For more on the Howl series, see my preview of Howl #4.

Uncanny Valley #9 Review

 

Writer: Tony Fleecs

Artist: Dave Wachter

Letterer: Pat Brosseau

Cover Artists: Dave Wachter & Tony Fleecs

Publisher: Boom! Studios

Price: $4.99

Release Date: May 7, 2025

 

Dewy told Oliver that he belonged on the farm. Unlike his grandfather’s dog, Oliver has never felt like he belonged anywhere. So when the crows that found him in the human world swoop in and start carrying away the farm animals, Oliver flees into Pixiedust Forest. Can Spriteleigh and her father help Oliver return to his family?

 

Oliver’s grandfather and mother cannot find more portals to the cartoon world. Nor can they create any. As they drive through the human world, wondering how to reunite with Oliver, Pecos Peet tries to close the distance to his daughter. But Peggy, who has changed her name to Margaret, pushes him away. Can Pecos Pete and Margaret reach the cartoon world before the First sacrifices Oliver? And is the First correct? Are both worlds in danger? Let's grab our pencils and paintbrushes, leap into Uncanny Valley #9, and find out!

 

Story

Margaret often changed jobs and hometowns while singlehandedly raising Oliver. Oliver accepted a dare from the boys at his new school to make friends. But after he leapt off the footbridge, Oliver pulled himself out of an imprint in the ground. The other boys went to the hospital. Margaret has survived her fall from a much higher bridge in Uncanny Valley #9. The leap of faith has allowed her to pick up a paintbrush and paint a portal to the cartoon world.

 

In Pixiedust Forest, Oliver wanted to use the sprite crystal to return to his mother. But when the Ogres attacked, he sacrificed himself to save Spriteleigh and her father. Oliver wonders at his options as he sits in a cell. Despite all his attempts to avoid capture, Oliver is the First’s prisoner in Tony Fleecs' story. The First tells Oliver that he has a role to play. Dewy counsels Oliver to trust the First. Despite the First's plan to emulate Abraham and Isaac at Moriah, Dewy believes that Oliver will survive the First's act of Human sacrifice.

 

Oliver’s grandfather followed the First’s bidding when he traveled to the Human world to retrieve Oliver. But unlike his dog, Pecos Pete has lost faith in the First. He has seen how much the First has changed from a carefree pilot in "Steamboat Willie" to crafting magic in "Fantasia." Like Saruman, the First's years of study in his tower have transformed the happy mouse into a remote figure who commands a ghoul army.

 

The First claims that sacrificing Oliver, a child born of both worlds, will help the cartoon world lead the human world to embrace a healthier approach to life. Yet the First also admits there is power in hurting others in Uncanny Valley #9. While Pecos Peet and Margaret wonder how to find a way past the First's army, the cartoon farmer looks back on his life and realizes that he has made all the wrong decisions.

 

Art

As white replaces brown, a bird's eye view shows the bridge spanning a river. But unlike the browns and grays that dominate Margaret's world, the paintbrush dripping white primer has conjured a portal of vivid blue and magenta. Amid the curves of the cartoon land and sky, a dark castle rises in Uncanny Valley #9. The sharp, straight lines outside echo the iron bars before Oliver. Little is straight in the cartoon world. A purple patch on the gray floor that defies iron shadows evokes the glowing blue crystal the sprites helped him find.

 

Like Oliver, Margaret stands out as she surveys the castle amid stone ruins. Dave Wachter's more nuanced colors link her skepticism and misery with Oliver's. By comparison, Pecos Peet's bright coloring, particularly his blue overalls, links him with his dog Dewy. Both once embraced the First's design. Pecos Peet's rapid movements and deforming shapes demonstrate how cartoon characters shake off pain and eradicate injury. In a world where the First can paint away someone with his brush, and the creator can make someone disappear with his pencil eraser, does Oliver's human-world coloring suggest his susceptibility or immunity to death?

 

Pat Brosseau fills white dialogue balloons and narrative boxes with uppercase letters that embolden for inflection and swell for volume. The first speaks white uppercase letters into cloudy black balloons and boxes. Traditional arrows turn serpentine when emotions rise. Sound effects help us hear characters travel through portals and embrace the No Pain No Gain motto, while music notes bring hope for a better tomorrow in Uncanny Valley #9.

 

Final Thoughts

Whether our actions are predestined or arise from free will, our words and actions affect others. As the First hurts and kills others for the greater good, Uncanny Valley #9 urges us to confront our fears, lest we lose our uniqueness and become captives to power or blind faith.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

For another cover see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.