Die!Namite: Blood Red #1 Review

 

Writer: Fred Van Lente

Artist: Marco Finnegan

Colorist: Ellie Wright

Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry

Cover Artist: EJ Su, Godtail, David Cousens & Will Robson

Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment

Price: $4.99

Release Date: November 5, 2025

 

Jennifer races through the ruins. When she reaches a fence of sharpened wooden poles, she utters a desperate cry. Warriors spring into action. The women attack the males transformed into shambling corpses with a taste for Human flesh. They rescue Jennifer and bring her inside. What will the newcomer find in this enclave of healthy Humans? And what of the inhabitant who isn’t Human? Let’s grab our weapons, leap into Die!Namite Blood Red #1, and see!

 

Story

When the X virus struck, it attacked males, cutting short Humanity’s future. As in Y: The Last Man, healthy males are in short supply. Women must stick together to defend themselves and protect the few males who can ensure Humanity's survival. But preserving these remnants of civilization demands ruthlessness wielded by an iron hand.

 

In Die!Namite: Blood Red #1, Vampirella’s voice guides us through this apocalyptic tale of Deadmen hunting, swarming, and hungering for their next meal. Inside the enclave, Vampirella hides a dark secret. She was an ambassador for her planet. Now, she is a refugee, forced to take on detective work to survive.

 

Fred Van Lente’s story puts Vampirella on the back foot. She needs the safety of Purgatori’s enclave to survive. Yet she wants to protect someone from her ruler’s harsh justice. So Vampirella plays things cool. She asserts her importance by pursuing investigations vital to the enclave’s future. Vampirella knows that if she displeases them, her hosts could throw her outside to become the Deadmen’s next meal. Or worse, she could lose her last link to her homeworld in Die!Namite: Blood Red #1.

 

Art

Dark figures stumble down a broken road between tilted telephone poles. Crumbling tower blocks rise in the distance, their exposed infrastructure a reminder of the collapse of civilization. The Deadmen stumble or crawl after a woman fleeing in jeans and a string top. A small purse holds her few possessions. When she reaches the gates, a diesel truck with a grapple bucket on the front roars into view. Warriors cling to each door, while a third fires the roof-mounted machine gun.

 

While Marco Finnegan reveals the essentials of this brutal world, Ellie Wright lavishes bright colors on the silhouettes and thick inks in Die!Namite: Blood Red #1. The colors glow as the women radiate vitality in this dying world. The face of their benefactor emerges from a smudged, dirty billboard rising above the barbed wire barriers. Vampirella’s cosmic route back to civilization juxtaposes with a glowing gladiatorial arena.

 

Jeff Eckleberry fills these spectral glimpses of the wasteland with black uppercase letters in white dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. Words grow bold for intonation. They swell and threaten to burst balloons when danger threatens. Sound effects fill the hazy air and silhouetted backgrounds in this Mad Max zombie apocalypse. Yet Vampirella strides through it all in her long red coat and dark boots, seemingly impervious to the dangers surrounding her, in this futuristic sci-fi noir. Thanks to Dynamite Entertainment for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

In a bleak future, an alien who can never return home helps her foreign hosts eek out each new day of existence, so that someday, somehow, a brighter future can dawn in Die!Namite: Blood Red #1.

 

Rating 8/10

 

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

Power Rangers Prime #6 Review

 

Writer: Melissa Flores

Artist: Jo Mi-Gyeong

Colorist: Ellie Wright

Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

Designer: Madison Goyette

Editors: Caroline Butler, David Mariotte & Matt Gagnon

Cover Artists: Dan Mora; Nimit Malavia; Keyla Valerio; Alessio Zono; Miguel Mercado; Erica D’Urso; Bon Bernardo; NRG; Smunchy

Publisher: Boom! Studios

Price: $4.99

Release Date: April 30, 2025

 

Ryan is an enthusiastic member of the Eltarian Youth Corps. As a VR Trooper, the young Human boasts more firepower than the Eltarian Guard. When Rita Repulsa’s space dumpster crashed into a dumpster in Angel Grove, Ryan’s squad wanted to pursue the Space Witch. Then, Valentina gave him a lead on a Power Ranger.

 

Mark is a half-Aquitan refugee. After spending time in an Eltarian Detention Center, he got accepted by Angel Grove University. Mark rescued his dog Doobie and the Power Ranger Lauren from an Angel Grove dumpster. His roommate Orion and his new Eltarian friend Jun praise his bravery. But even after he grasps a Zeo Crystal and becomes the Blue Power Ranger Prime, Mark remains paralyzed by fear. How will he fare when Ryan’s VR Troopers capture him? And will Ryan take his bad day out on Mark? Let's grab our Morphers, leap into Power Rangers Prime #6, and see what happens!

 

Story

Ryan has everything he wants. Jun’s mother, an Eltarian Admiral, esteems him. He has a glamorous job that many Humans would kill for. But then his girlfriend becomes the Yellow Power Ranger Prime. So when he takes Mark into custody, Ryan asks Mark to tell him everything he knows about the Power Rangers. The Admiral may be able to protect Jun, but Ryan needs to apprehend the other Power Rangers to keep Valentina out of the Angel Grove Detention Center.

 

Ryan tries hard to bond with Mark in Power Rangers Prime #6. But the refugee doesn’t buy it. The Aquitan has lost his family and his world. It’s hard to imagine the Eltarians letting Mark resume his studies at Angel Grove University or his internship at Angel Grove Natural History Museum. So, what does Ryan have to offer Mark?

 

He may be in custody, but Mark isn’t powerless. In his earliest memories, his mother shared her fears with him. She also instilled a belief that freedom was more important than submission. His mother chose to live on Aquitan because the Eltarians ruled Earth. Mark has lived with fear all his life. But in Power Rangers Prime #6, Mark remembers that fear is a choice.

 

Art

Jo Mi-Gyeong portrays Mark as a youngster swimming in the ocean. Mark breathes with neck gills while his mother wears a scuba suit and regulator. Amid Ryan’s interrogation, Mark’s childhood memories interweave with his mother’s stories. The Eltarians who welcome him to Earth appear concerned for his wellbeing. As Ryan questions Mark, the VR Trooper exemplifies strength, resilience, and caring. Yet Ryan’s eyes hint at his fears for Valentina, and his frown suggests that he blames Mark for her plight.

 

Darkness hangs over Mark's future in Power Rangers Prime #6. Yet Ellie Wright brightens Mark with purple gills. She links Mark with the magenta and lavender sealife on Aquitan and a fellow alien refugee at Ellis Island. Blue proves the dominant color, portraying Aquitan’s oceans, Mark’s cell, the rain falling when he arrives on Earth, the city where he was born, and the Eltarian Guards who rescued him. Given all the blue in his past, it’s easy to understand why Mark chose the blue Zeo Crystal over the others Rita Repulsa offered Lauren’s friends.

 

Ed Dukeshire communicates this story about how we relate to our government by placing uppercase black letters into white dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. The letters grow bold, swell, change color, and rarely shrink as Mark faces his damaged past and present. Sound effects help us hear launching missiles, explosions, an alien scream, and a chair pleading for oil. Thanks to Boom! Studios and Hasbro for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Like Mr Spock, Mark is a man of two worlds. He possesses a childlike innocence and helps those in need. Yet when he gets frightened, he relies on an inhaler to restore calm. Becoming the Blue Power Ranger Prime was the beginning of a journey. In Power Rangers Prime #6, Mark must fight for the freedom his mother valued or accept the subservience the Eltarians demand.

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

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

Immortal Red Sonja TP Vol. 1 Review

 

Writer: Dan Abnett

Artists: Alessandro Miracolo, Emiliana Pinna & Luca Colandrea

Colorist: Ellie Wright

Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry

Cover Artist: David Nakayama

Publisher: Dynamite

Price: $19.99

Release Date: September 20, 2023

(Previewsworld.com's stated Release Date: November 1, 2023)

 

Riding through a storm, Red Sonja spies a house in the woods. A wizened man carrying a staff offers to let her spend the night, but only if she tells him a story. The hitch? It must be true! Why did the man reject her money? Let's leap into Immortal Red Sonja TP Vol. 1 and find out!

 

Story

Sonja has left Hyboria far behind. Compelled by a cursed shirt of chain mail, she has traveled to the land of Logres. She can't remove it until she finds someone to free the spirit from the cursed armor and let it live again as the reborn king.

 

Her host explains that the High Paindragons once ruled this land, and the last king was Arthr, son of Uthr. His nephew Mordread killed him with dark sorcery amid a devastating war. The kingdom fell, and the land became a cursed wilderness. Alas, only his house testifies to this once prosperous land.   

 

So begins Dan Abnett’s tale in Immortal Red Sonja TP Vol. 1. The British author delves into Arthurian folklore as he pits the She-Devil With A Sword against ogres and giants, the Lady of the Lake, the Green Knight, and more. If she can find Merlyn, perhaps she can finally remove the armor shirt she’s worn for nearly a year. At the very least, she wouldn’t have to listen to the talkative spirit anymore!

 

Red Sonja action figure available at Entertainment Earth

 

 

Art

Alessandro Miracolo, Emiliana Pinna, and Luca Colandrea imbue Immortal Red Sonja TP Vol. 1 with All Ages Appeal. Rough-hewn characters are expressive and undergo dramatic transformations. Haunting monsters wield weapons that will test our Hyborean heroine's prowess. Sonja's armored blouse suggests a night out with friends, but nightclub owners might confiscate her sword. While lacking in detail, landscapes and buildings draw you into English lands before invading Anglo-Saxons redrew its borders.

 

Ellie Wright loads her palette with a wide range of colors. Grey mist rises from the cursed land. Sonja's cloak and hair match her Chestnut horse, while the opponents she fights are often green. White haze often mutes battle and light sources, but objects and people glow at night.

 

Black uppercase letters inhabit white dialogue balloons in Immortal Red Sonja TP Vol. 1. Smaller lowercase white words in black narrative boxes convey the cursed armor's conversation. While eye-catching, Jeff Eckleberry’s first three chapter titles demand concentration. But his colorful sound effects enliven clashes between monsters’ weapons and a sword that emerged from a pond. 

 

 

 

An extensive cover gallery featuring artists like Joseph Michael Linsner, Junggeun Yoon, and Jae Lee proves a treasure trove in Immortal Red Sonja TP Vol. 1.

 

Final Thoughts

The She-Devil With A Sword hacks and slashes through the worst that Arthurian folklore can throw at her and learns the surprising nature of curses in Immortal Red Sonja TP Vol. 1.

 

Rating 8.3/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.