Lobo #5 Review

 

Lobo #5 Review

Writer: Skottie Young

Artist: Jorge Corona

Colorist: Jean-Francois Beaulieu

Letterer: Nate Piekos

Cover Artists: Jorge Corona & Jean-Francois Beaulieu

Variant Cover Artists: Sanford Greene, Chloe Brailsford & Phan Tuan Dat

Swimsuit Variant Cover Artist: Mirka Andolfo

Editors: James Reid, Kathleen Wisneski & Paul Kaminski

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $3.99/$4.99 Card Stock

Release Date: July 15, 2026

 

The Main Man has been through a rough patch. He lost his reality TV show. He got rehabilitated on Plinko Astra. And he nearly lost Dawg to that Fraggin' Kryptonian Girl "Kar-En." But you can't keep the 'Ol Serpent of Czarnia down! So, what's next for Lobo? And after searching for a Box of Crows at the Fortress of Solitude, will the Main Man work with Maynard again? Let’s leap into Lobo #5 and see!

 

Story

After the dust settles on the corporate merger, Omni Omega+ Entertainment Corp becomes a subsidiary of Galactic Rodent Productions. Lobo may not have completed the psychological questionnaire as Dr Bixwell preferred. Nonetheless, he's got his bounty hunting license back. Better yet, his popularity has never been higher. Despite OOEC's constant interference with Lobo's bounty hunting methods, Mr Kzzt’s new bosses want to give his Main Man TV series another season.

 

Mr Kzzt wants to keep his bosses happy in Lobo #5. Yet Lobo overreacted when Mr Kzzt put the TV show and Lobo's bounty-hunting career on hold during the corporate merger. So, Mr Kzzt must decide how to take Lobo back while maintaining his self-respect, or avoid hiring the bounty hunter without angering upper management.

 

If Mr Kzzt is in a pickle, Lobo also stands on unsteady ground in Skottie Young’s story. After enduring rehabilitation therapy on Plinko Astra, Dawg initially rejected his efforts at reconciliation. Lobo couldn’t deliver the Box of Crows to his latest employer. Nor has he carried out a successful bounty hunting gig since. But while Lobo tries to rebuild his relationship with Dawg, other people intrude on his solitude at Chug ‘N Slug. And despite their appearances, they are more than they seem in Lobo #5.

 

Art

Pennants fly around a corporate tower. A yellow emblem on a red background, composed of triangles and lines, symbolizes the recent change in ownership. Despite the sunlight shining through the windows, hanging globes and downlights illuminate Mr Kzzt’s office. A metal dome adorned with video monitors covers his eyes. Below the stacks of fan letters, a sign next to a large button on his desk correlates with the face appearing on his dome monitors.

 

As Jean-Francois Beaulieu adorns Jorge Corona's whimsical art with vibrant colors, Lobo hunches on his stool while Dawg sprawls atop the tankard-piled bar. Despite the many-eyed smiling bartender in a bunny suit, Lobo frowns until a woman with many lips appears. Violet clouds rise when she presents her surprise. And while the yellow-clad Mr Kzzt sits next to his big red button, and Lobo meets two adversaries differentiated by yellow and red, more guests join the party, wielding red and yellow weapons.

 

Nate Piekos fills white and colored dialogue balloons with generously sized black uppercase letters. Yellow narrative boxes and banner-sized letters locate us in time and space. Letters grow bold for intonation and swell when Lobo laughs, gets caught in a simple rhyme, and realizes the origin of all his troubles. Sound effects accompany gunfire, the rattle and clang of a chained hook, and a display that makes Lobo smile. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.

 

Final Thoughts

Lobo lost his license. Emperor Aquaman laughed at him. Dawg’s loyalties wavered, and Supergirl forced him to play nicely with others. After suffering the humiliation of rehabilitation, Lobo needs something to make him feel alive and valued again. Instead, Lobo gets caught in a masquerade, where nothing is what it looks like, and he's got one last desperate opportunity to recapture the good life in Lobo #5.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Lobo #5. 

 

For what happened last time, see my review of Summer of Supergirl Special #1. 

For Lobo's assault on the Fortress of Solitude, see my preview of Lobo #4. 

For Lobo's origin story, see my review of Lobo #3.

For Lobo's epic fight with Emperor Aquaman, see my preview of Lobo #2.

For how this series started, see my preview of Lobo #1.

 

Lobo #3 Review

 

Lobo #3 Review

Writer: Skottie Young

Artist (The Present): Jorge Corona

Colorist (The Present): Jean-Francois Beaulieu

Artist & Colorist (The Past): Nicoletta Baldari

Letterer: Nate Piekos

Cover Artists: Jorge Corona & Jean-Francois Beaulieu

Variant Cover Artists: Lee Bermejo; Nicoletta Baldari; Denys Cowan, Norm Rapmund & Francesco Segala

Editors: James Reid, Kathleen Wisneski & Paul Kaminski

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $3.99/$4.99 Card Stock

Release Date: May 20, 2026

 

After the Omega Tournament, Lobo's return to bounty hunting got an upgrade when Omni Omega+ Entertainment Corp acquired the bounty hunting industry. In a perfect fusion of capturing bail jumpers and entertaining viewers, OOEC deemed Lobo worthy of a reality show. But then Mr Kzzt, the legal department, and the executives tinkered with Lobo's fragging awesomeness.

 

When someone placed a bounty on Emperor Aquaman, OOEC sent Lobo to apprehend Arthur Curry. But amid their epic battle, OOEC merged with GRP. The board cancelled all bounty hunting contracts and sent Lobo packing. Amid the industry shutdown, how will Lobo fill his days? And how will he keep Dawg in pet chow? Let’s leap into Lobo #3 and see!

 

Story

Like so many actors who dreamed of stardom, Lobo ends up in a low-budget motel. Out of work and unable to pursue the career he loves, Lobo spends his days drinking and watching TV. Then Dr Bixwell from the Omega+ Department of Bounty Affairs calls. Following the corporate merger, they are relicensing members of the Intergalactic Bounty Union. But first, Lobo must pass a psychological evaluation. After ticking off some of the standard questions on his form, Dr Bixwell asks Lobo to recall a significant event that shaped him into the man he is today.

 

In Lobo #3, the Czarnian bounty hunter recalls life as a fourth grader. Young Lobo has lots of energy and dislikes people who tell him no. Despite his history of violence, his teacher has fought for him to enjoy the same formative experiences as his classmates. When Lobo’s teacher takes his class to the zoo, Miss Tribbs warns him that he cannot expect any special favors. But instead of respecting her decision and being on his best behavior, Lobo's boundless curiosity gets the better of him.

 

Skottie Young’s story examines the innocence of youth. As a child, Lobo is fascinated by the world around him. He acts on his feelings and doesn’t consider the cost to others. Unfortunately, his utopian society has cast aside its criminal justice system. And rather than redevelop one to police one boy’s actions, the Czarnian High Council hopes to steer Lobo toward embracing the code of conduct that has enabled their world to become a paradise. But young Lobo differs too far from the norm. And lacking someone willing to embrace his worldview and bridge the gap between his outlook and theirs, the boy wonders why he should embrace Czarnian values in Lobo #3.

 

Art

When Lobo descends into a crater and rents a motel inside Azzplague Major, he boards up the door. Then, dressed in long johns, Lobo spends his time drinking. After his TV studio makeover, Starro-shaped hair surrounds a pitiable expression. Lobo talks tough to Dawg and uses a sword to accept a video call. But the psychologist on the screen, no more than a face surrounded by conduits and machinery, redefines Lobo's definition of hard times. So, he rips off his onesie, perches on a bottle crate before the monitor, and speaks with the psychologist.

 

Jean-Francois Beaulieu lavishes bright colors on Jorge Corona's larger-than-life scenes. In a red region of space, Lobo's growling pet rests on a red cushion. The blue face and life-sustaining machinery offer Lobo hope of resuming his career. Yet the fluid in the surrounding storage jars reminds readers how losing a career can demoralize someone in Lobo #3.

 

As Nicoletta Baldari portrays Lobo's recollections, Miss Tribbs points toward sea life contained within force fields. Lobo's eyes widen when he ponders petting one, while a grimace crosses his face when Mrs Tribbs says no. The boy’s actions produce expressions of fright among his teacher and classmates. Yet the joy he feels shows on his face, and the creatures Lobo adores. While green light surrounds Mrs Tribbs in her green-and-yellow outfit, violet and indigo dominate the children's storybook art.

 

Nate Piekos fills white dialogue balloons with generously sized black uppercase letters. Yellow narrative boxes locate us in time and space. Letters grow bold for intonation and shrink for lowered voices, while giant-colored letters accompany Lobo’s irrepressible enthusiasm. Sound effects fill panels as Lobo takes his first steps toward his future career. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.

 

Final Thoughts

In the Omega Tournament, Lobo fought for a crown to control reality against a hero he admired. When he resumed his career, his life paled before the Heart of Apokolips’ visions. After OOEC took over the bounty hunting trade, Mr Kzzt tantalized him with another vision of greatness. But when reality once again disappoints him, the former bounty hunter revisits the events that inspired him to abandon a society that constrained him in Lobo #3.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Lobo #3.

 

For Lobo's TV Reality Show career, see my preview of Lobo #2.

 

For how this series started, see my preview of Lobo #1.

 

For Lobo's battle for the Omega crown, see my preview of DC K.O.: Wonder Woman vs Lobo #1.

Aint No Grave TP Review

 

Writer: Skottie Young

Artist: Jorge Corona

Colorist: Jean-Francois Beaulieu

Letterer: Nate Piekos

Editor: Marla Eizik

Cover Artist: Jorge Corona

Publisher: Image

Price: $16.99

Release Date: December 4, 2024

 

When Ryder coughs up blood, the Doctor hands her a death sentence. Still, it’s not all bad. Ryder can take his medicine and maybe extend her lease of life. But bartering for a few more months seems like another raw deal. So, how does Ryder face her cryin’ husband and daughter? She leaps on her horse and rides away. Ryder doesn’t care if she’s gotta beg, borrow, or steal to press her claim to a happy life. She wants the years she is owed with darling Darius and little Joey. Where will Ryder’s quest for life take her? What trials must she undergo to cheat death? Let’s saddle up our horses, ride into Aint No Grave TP, and find out!

 

Story

Ryder made her name by robbing banks, stagecoaches, and trains. Then, she found true love and left her career of crime to become a wife and a mother. Ryder embraced life on the farm, away from the centers of civilization she thumbed her nose at. She played housewife to Darius and raised their daughter. She and her husband might quarrel. Joey might get rambunctious and muddy her dress. Still, the family muddled through whatever problems came their way unless Ryder backslid into her old ways. Then came the Doctor’s declaration. Ryder knew a death sentence when she heard one. Heck! She’d sent more than a few people the Grim Reaper’s way!

 

In Aint No Grave TP, Ryder searches her liberated loot for two coins from Cypress. They are meant to pay her toll for the afterlife. She wants them for a ploy. Darius argues that dyin’ isn’t like the other problems Ryder has ignored or worked around. But for Ryder, it's all or nothing. She vows to cheat death. Darius forces her to tell Joey goodbye. Like the Terminator, Ryder insists she will return.

 

As Ryder travels through prairies and badlands, she navigates a trail of grief. Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance mark her journey. When she reaches Cypress, Ryder resumes her outlaw career. She tries to win a game everyone loses. Yet she can't escape the siren song of a man who guides souls toward eternity in Aint No Grave TP. 

 

It's easy to admire how Ryder demolishes obstacles in her way. Like Judas Priest, society often hails those who ignore the rules while charting their paths to success. But there is always a price to be paid for one’s actions. And like the corporate executives who reap fortunes while their workers get by and their shareholders go bankrupt, Ryder must answer one final question. Why should an outlaw get a second crack at life?

 

Art

Jorge Corona shows Ryder riding past hoodoos and natural stone monuments while crosses and headstones mark untended cemeteries. She insulates herself in layers of clothing as she rides between narrow defiles and past animals on grazing lands. Ravens watch as Ryder nears an arch with sand streaming down like a waterfall. She compares two dead trees with the emblem on her coin. Then, a tear tumbling down her cheek, Ryder leaves her horse behind and trudges toward a gunslinging hay mound.

 

Jean-Francois Beaulieu lavishes a loaded palette on Aint No Grave TP. While Darius and his wife frolic beneath a cloudy blue sky, a black sun hangs in the scarlet sky over Cypress. Yellow windows glow in the beige, tan, and green buildings that climb the hills of this Pellucidar (sadly) without dinosaurs. Scraps of parchment flutter down, their edges eaten away by yellow and orange after blotches of scarlet form like mold near a gold star. A black goat with glowing red eyes clatters across rooftops of the wood frame buildings and leaps across a glowing cerulean river toward an obsidian steamboat. Beautiful colors adorn every panel of Ryder's journey, whether filtered memories or undeniable reality.

 

Music notes in beige rectangles accompany burlesque dancers and a tinkling piano in the scarlet and magenta gambling hall. Nate Piekos casts generously sized black and colored letters into polygonal balloons in Aint No Grave TP. Ryder's words flow like the river she avoided as she shrugs off bullet wounds. Sound effects enhance laughter, roundhouse punches, and gunfire, while a hissing engine foretells a seemingly inescapable destiny. Thanks to Image Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

When a former outlaw gets a death sentence, she rides to the gates of hell to bargain for her life in Aint No Grave TP. The spaghetti western speaks to how we relate to changes in our families, careers, and society and how we deal with grief and loss.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

For cover art from individual issues see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Aint No Grave #4 Review

 

Writer: Skottie Young

Artist: Jorge Corona

Colorist: Jean-Francois Beaulieu

Letterer: Nate Piekos

Editor: Marla Eizik

Cover Artist: Jorge Corona

Publisher: Image

Price: $3.99

Release Date: August 7, 2024

 

The Sheriff in Cypress told Ryder she arrived too early to take the train, so the stablemaster suggested she take Her Blind Majesty instead. After Ryder won her marker on the casino boat, the concierge threw her off, and she washed ashore near a stone and wood tower. Can Ryder earn a reprieve from death from the master of the underworld? Let’s saddle up, ride into Aint No Grave #4, and find out!

 

Story

A ghost town surrounds the tower. Ryder enters an abandoned saloon. A lamp reveals her tired and wounded face in the mirror behind the bar. She takes the bottle and glass from the bar and has a drink. Then she pours another. Why not? She doesn't have to pay for it, and no one is here to stop her.

 

The alcohol and the glass remind Ryder of her home. She sat inside the house she wanted. As Ryder drank alone, she coughed blood on her hand. Enraged, she threw the glass across the room and overturned the dining table. But Ryder’s rage died when her daughter opened the door. Joey stood at the doorway, watching her mother drink alone in the ruins of the saloon.

 

Ryder runs outside. She chases Joey through the rain, only to stumble and fall in the mud. On her journey to Cypress, music accompanied a procession of souls marching toward a river. This evening, Ryder follows a melody into the dark tower. Joey stands beside a lanky, desiccated guitarist, playing his steel strings as his fingers bleed. A tear appears beneath his hat brim as he gently weeps while Ryder's distraught daughter cries a river.

 

In Aint No Grave #4, Ryder struggles to make sense of a nightmare. But she doesn't belong in the tower any more than with Darius. Ryder stole from others, killed anyone who tried to stop her, and thumbed her nose at the system. She married a man who valued society's opinion over her identity. They brought a child into their domestic delusion. Ryder created a dream because she couldn’t build a reality. So, in her final moments, she is trapped in a nightmare of her own making.

 

Art

When Ryder spotted the tower, it resembled the pillars thrust up through the surface by Sybok’s god. But as she nears, darkness falls. Amid the torrential rain and crackling lightning, the silhouette evokes a plant. Arrayed in her voluminous coat, Ryder resembles a flower rising from the soil, awaiting the sun's rays to stretch forth its petals. Blood and mud cake her face. Small square shots of the whisky glass link larger panels of Ryder staring at a bottle in the saloon and her home. In the aftermath of her tempestuous rage, Joey's shadow stretches across the room, backlit by daylight. While in the saloon filled with broken furnishings and furniture, the lightning propels her daughter's shadow toward the bar.

 

Jean-Francois Beaulieu lavishes a nuanced palette on Jorge Corona’s expressive, dramatic, and haunting art in Aint No Grave #4. Ryder traded her traveling clothes for a black suit and white blouse aboard Her Blind Majesty. She throws on her gray coat but charges through the blue night and into the tower. Amid the patchwork interior, a guitarist in a gray suit and one of Snake's old top hats plucks chords without a pick. He wears a red scarf around his neck, sits on broken wood, and rests his feet on train tracks. Ryder lost her red scarf when she donned her funereal finery. Yet Ryder will regain it, and the leather gloves evoking her sunflower dress amid her desperate fight for another crack at life.

 

Skottie Young’s silent script for Aint No Grave #4 gives Nate Piekos time for a drink and a game of cards in his neighborhood saloon. His rough-hewn logo adorns the cover, and his weathered chapter title stretches across the dark tower on the opening page. Black music notes shine against an orange-yellow background, their white frames evoking the cards that led to the players' eternal doom aboard Her Blind Majesty. Yet after the action-packed nightmare, large white uppercase letters in a black dialogue balloon suggest that the time for Ryder to board the train has arrived. Thanks to Image for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Aint No Grave #4 makes us question everything we thought we knew. Like another hand dealt by Madam Gates, events may play to Ryder’s advantage or her detriment. As her life flashes before her eyes, Ryder refuses to stop fighting until she meets the one she came to Cypress to see. Does she have another card to play? Or is Ryder destined to tread the same path until she accepts that this is a game she cannot win?

 

Rating 8.2/10

 

For another cover see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Aint No Grave #3 Review

 

Writer: Skottie Young

Artist: Jorge Corona

Colorist: Jean-Francois Beaulieu

Letterer: Nate Piekos

Cover Artist: Jorge Corona

Publisher: Image

Price: $3.99

Release Date: July 10, 2024

 

The stablemaster in Cypress gave Ryder a hellish steed. Ryder rode over the houses, bars, banks, stores, and other buildings that climbed the slopes of the hellish town. She got shot in the process, but she reached Her Blind Majesty. Can she earn a reprieve from death on the fabulous riverboat? Let’s saddle up, ride into Aint No Grave #3, and find out!

 

Story

Ryder's daughter means the world to her. She'd do anything to have more time with Joey. So when Doc Francis gave her a year to live, Ryder abandoned Joey and Darius to get another shot at life. As she travels down the river on Her Blind Majesty, Ryder's thoughts return to how Joey leaped into the muddy creek in her new dress. So what if it cost a packet, and she and Darius were behind on the mortgage? Ryder dived in and swam with her.

 

In Aint No Grave #3, a doctor tends to Ryder's wounds. A steward garbs her in an evening suit. Slaves toil in the steamboat's engine room. Ryder passes courtesans offering their favors on the way to the casino, where she joins a card game. After leaving her husband and daughter to bargain with Death, Ryder bets she can win a marker to use however she wants. Losing the game doesn’t bear thinking about. But Ryder doesn’t plan on losing.

 

In Skottie Young's mythological western, Ryder doesn't abide by society's rules. She takes what she wants regardless of the cost to others. Doc Francis argued that she couldn't win this fight. But Ryder has survived every battle that led her here. The steamboat's owner, Madam Gates, believes Ryder can't win. But Ryder knows how to turn the tables on her opponents. She'll do anything to win that marker and use it to beg, borrow, or steal a life extension.

 

Ryder’s husband means the world to her. Yet in Aint No Grave #3, memories of arguments with Darius haunt her. Unlike her, Darius cares about the rules. He savors the journey, while Ryder focuses on the destination. But winning by thumbing her nose at society makes her an outcast. Darius wants to belong. He cares about fitting in. He thought Ryder intended to turn over a new leaf. There was a reason they bought Joey that new dress. But Ryder doesn't share his belief in its importance.

 

Art

The river reflects the steamboat and a malformed soul from Cypress. The shore provides a glimpse of the train tracks the sheriff in Cypress mentioned. Ryder was supposed to wait until she died to enter Cypress, then wait until she was due to board the train to continue her journey. Instead, Ryder traded the rustic wooden buildings of Cypress for the elegant furnishings of Her Blind Majesty. Amid the grandeur, servants cover their faces. Madam Gates hides her features behind an enormous hat and glasses. Only the players in this casino royale show their faces. That is, until they lose, and their features get enveloped by the furnishings. Then, those waiting on the upper floor balcony can take their chances on the casino floor.

 

Ryder looks tired and sad in her red-splattered gray jacket, red shirt and scarf, and black slacks. She awakens with renewed energy and determination in a grey suit, white frilly shirt, and black vest. Aboard Her Blind Majesty, Ryder doesn't need to bundle up to keep warm while disease ravages her. Nor is she bound by a voluminous green dress or a waist-length ponytail. She may not look happy as she gambles for her life, but neither does she look as miserable as when Darius preached at her, and Joey looks to her father for forgiveness.

 

While Jean-Francois Beaulieu lavishes a loaded palette of rich colors on Jorge Corona’s detailed art in Aint No Grave #3, Nate Piekos deals generously sized black uppercase letters into polygonal balloons. Emotions and raised voices swell words and change color. Music notes spill through the buoyant casino. Cards tumble noisily through the air to show a winning hand. Choking and a snake-like arrow reveal that another gambler may soon join the ranks of those below who hide their expressions behind diver’s helmets and bare their backs to the overseer’s lash while feeding the hissing engine. Thanks to Image for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

In Aint No Grave #3, Ryder bargains for her life. Ryder's new life with Darius and Joey seemed idyllic. Yet her arguments with the husband she left behind haunt her. Was her marriage destined to end in tragedy, even if Doc Francis hadn’t handed her a death sentence?

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

For another cover see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Giant-Size Little Marvels #1 Guest Review

 

Writer: Skottie Young

Artist: Dax Gordine

Colorist: Jean-Francois Beaulieu

Letterer: Nate Piekos & Joe Caramagna

Cover Artist: Skottie Young

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $6.99

Release Date: June 26, 2024

Guest Reviewer: Dragoncache's Gal

 

Readers are given four fun bite-size stories in Giant-Size Little Marvels #1 featuring our favorite Marvel heroes and villains. What are the stories about, you ask? Well, let’s leap into Giant-Size Little Marvels #1 and find out!

 

Story

In the first story, we find Captain America trying to make a movie of his origin story with the help of the Avengers and a few X-Men for special effects.   Capt.’s perfection starts to wear on the team, and he finds himself locked out of the clubhouse. 

 

In the second story, Tony Stark is having a competition to see who can design and create a new Iron Man suit for him. The competition participants include Spider-Gwen, Captain America, Black Widow, and Bruce Banner.  Read Giant-Size Little Marvels #1 to find out which new suit Tony will get to wear next.

 

We find ourselves out at Knowhere in the third story, where Rocket and Groot are negotiating with the Collector for ‘That Thing’. The Collector strikes a bargain, if Rocket and Groot bring him the ‘Death Stone’ he will give them what they are looking for. So off Rocket and Groot go on an adventure to find the ‘Death Stone’, check Giant-Size Little Marvels #1 to see if they find what they are looking for.

 

In the final story in this issue of Giant-Size Little Marvels #1, we get to visit Doctor Doom in his castle along with Magneto, Thanos, and several other villains. The discussion turns to who is the ruler of the world, but a twist is thrown in for the reader to enjoy.

 

Art

Artist Dax Gordine does a good job of bringing the world of the Little Marvels to life while keeping the characters in Skottie Young’s characteristic style.  The scenes are brightened and brought to life by Jean-Francois Beaulieu who uses bold crisp colors with enough shading to make objects appear three-dimensional.

 

Nate Piekos & Joe Caramagna use capital letters with some bolding to make it easy for the reader to follow the dialogue between the characters.

 

 

Final Thoughts

Along with the fun stories, I enjoyed seeing how many different Marvel characters I could spot in the pages of Giant-Size Little Marvels #1.  Pick up a copy and see if you can find your favorite characters.

 

Rating 9.5/10

 

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

 

 

Aint No Grave #2 Review

 

Writer: Skottie Young

Artist: Jorge Corona

Colorist: Jean-Francois Beaulieu

Letterer: Nate Piekos

Cover Artist: Jorge Corona

Publisher: Image

Price: $3.99

Release Date: June 12, 2024

 

Ryder's horse refused to pass between the trees on the outskirts of Cypress. So, Ryder left her horse behind and trudged through the desert. She found a wooden shack and a water tower. Ryder gave the guard a coin minted in Cypress. The guard stamped its staff on the ground. A narrow pass opened between the adjacent sandstone hoodoos. Can Ryder reclaim her life now that she has gained entry to Cypress? Let’s saddle up, ride into Aint No Grave #2, and find out!

 

Story

Doc Francis gave Ryder a year to live if she took his treatment. But that’s not good enough for Ryder. So she searched her outlaw loot for a coin from Cypress. Then Ryder left Darius and Joe behind to bargain for her life. And Ryder only knows one sure means of persuasion.

 

While the guard follows her into Cypress, its inhabitants sense something different about her. They gather around. The lawman greets her with his rifle. "It's not your time," he tells her. Well, Ryder knows how to persuade him.

 

Things happen quickly in Aint No Grave #2. Burning wanted posters flutter through the air. They bear Ryder's portrait and the promise of 2 Markers Reward. But that's for her death. Ryder's worth nothing to them alive. So, all the townspeople produce guns, and Ryder doesn't have enough bullets to persuade them like she convinced the lawman. She flees, using a knife until she can reload her revolvers.

 

There’s an enchanting dream logic to Skottie Young’s story. One thing that grows clear is that Ryder has trust issues. Like many of us, she refuses to accept anything she doesn't want. But then, Ryder's life was filled with uncertainties. In the Old West, a gunslinger could be an outlaw one minute and a Sheriff the next. A short stay in jail could suddenly become a lynching. Doc Francis’ traveling medicine show didn’t inspire confidence. The only thing Ryder could count on was her family's love. She's determined to accomplish the impossible to gain a lifetime with Darius and Joey.

 

Art

Ryder passed a defile filled with skulls and bones on her journey between the hoodoos. But in Aint No Grave #2, the citizens of Cypress don’t resemble Aragorn’s glowing Army Of The Dead. The lawman comes closest, with his dry, whitened skin stretched over a gaunt (or skeletal) frame. Others display wrinkles and sagging flesh. Yet, whether their skin is desiccated or filled with boils, tumors, or sores, or their bodies have swollen with excess weight, the townspeople attack with manic energy. Their actions make it clear they want those markers. The lawman said Ryder wasn't ready to board a train. Was he referring to the ones that rumble through Cypress or those that chug across the river outside town? His statement awakens a memory of a shootout with a lawman during her career as an outlaw.

 

Jean-Francois Beaulieu lavishes a loaded palette of rich colors on Jorge Corona’s art in Aint No Grave #2. Like the Rocinha favela in the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk, Ryder runs and fights through a town that fills the chasm and climbs toward the black sun. Vivid coloring paints the vertically evolving town's neverending nightlife. Background colors change amid a stream of slow-motion silhouettes that reveal every moment of Ryder's frantic journey. Like Cypress, those who carry responsibility do so literally. The guard was so laden with belongings that it resembled a brown hill of dried grasses. The gaunt sheriff, dressed in white to compliment his desiccated frame, carried weapons, ammunition, and badges of authority. Ryder meets another person who bears the weight of his responsibilities on his shoulders. Adorned in brown and lavender, he inhabits purple shade. But what he gives her, like the sky overhead and the river outside town, has glowing blood-red eyes.

 

Like Stan Sakai in Usagi Yojimbo, Nate Piekos shoots generously sized black letters into polygonal balloons. Emotion and raised voices swell words and change color. Gunfire blasts through panels more vibrantly than Beaulieu’s yellow lines of speeding bullets, and a colorful sign pays homage to a Western filmmaker. Purple laughter greets Ryder's assertion that she will triumph where all others have failed in Aint No Grave #2. Thanks to Image for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

While Ryder bought her way into Cypress, she won't find her enemy there. But her actions give others a means of repaying their debts in the mythological Spaghetti Western tale Aint No Grave #2.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

For another cover see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Aint No Grave #1 Review

 

Writer: Skottie Young

Artist: Jorge Corona

Colorist: Jean-Francois Beaulieu

Letterer: Nate Piekos

Cover Artist: Jorge Corona

Publisher: Image

Price: $5.99

Release Date: May 8, 2024

 

Ryder slows her horse when she spies a forlorn wagon on the ridge. Is it abandoned? Might it be a trap? She dismounts and discovers a cold firepit. Yet when she plucks a doll from the dirt, a girl appears. Then, the girl's mother steps out and raises her rifle. Can Ryder evade a shot at close range? Let’s saddle up, ride into Aint No Grave #1, and find out!

 

Story

Ryder made her name by robbing banks, stagecoaches, and trains. But she gave all that up to be a wife and a mother. Then, a disease caught her in its foul grip. She couldn't embrace her husband or play with her daughter without coughing up blood. The doctor was no use. "Take my medicines, and maybe you'll live another year." That wasn't good enough! After promising to return, Ryder abandoned her family to find a cure.

 

The girl by the wagon reminds Ryder of the daughter she left behind. The frightened mother proves little threat to the experienced gunslinger. Ryder leaves the two in peace and resumes her journey. That night, as she sits before a roaring fire, Ryder’s thoughts return to her family and why she left. A haunting melody wafts through the trees, interrupting her thoughts. Thousands of glowing people walk past like a procession of elves departing Middle Earth. One beckons to her, and she follows them to a river, where a man welcomes them. Should she join them? Should she merge with the water that brought her life?

 

In Aint No Grave #1, Skottie Young returns us to an age before modern medicine provided targeted remedies to infection and disease. Young shows us a land uncluttered by roads, cities, and technology. This world owes little to science. Myths and legends inform it. People learn from tradition and experience, and beliefs are more important than facts.

 

Yet the facts are that Ryder is dying. Despite the exciting life she once lived and the notoriety it brought, Ryder found her treasure in Darius and Joey. Perhaps she doesn't know how infections spread. Yet Ryder won’t let the disease take the either. She may be in denial. But she's got a plan. It's a long shot, but it's all she has. And it all starts with booty from her former life, stamped with the symbol of a faraway town.

 

Art

Ryder looks young and carefree in flashbacks. She plays with her daughter in a grassy field before a wooden house perched at the foot of snowcapped mountains. Her husband works on the fence surrounding their home. Yet soon, she'll ride out the wooden arbor and perhaps never see her husband or daughter again, except in her thoughts and dreams.

 

Jean-Francois Beaulieu loads a palette with appealing colors in Aint No Grave #1. Beaulieu enhances Jorge Corona’s expressive characters and dramatic landscapes. Set against the red and orange deserts and the verdant green forests, Ryder grows more determined with each passing page. She clutches the coins tightly in her gloves as she passes through portals—her husband's arbor, the skeletal remains of an abandoned house, a sandstone arch, and finally, two trees growing near each other amid a sea of sand.

 

Jorge Corona and Jean-Francois Beaulieu’s glowing, blue-white people walking through the forest captivate. You can understand their allure as they pass Ryder like sentient, anthropomorphic lanterns. When she awakens by the river, remnants of the dream drift toward the reader as the stream carries them between rocks and a fallen tree.

 

Nate Piekos works his magic spell in Aint No Grave #1. He casts generously sized black and colored letters into polygonal balloons. Musical notes in boxes waft through the forest the night of the ghostly procession. Her daughter's golden laughter tells you what Ryder’s fighting for, while Piekos’ reddish-brown Coughs remind you what Ryder’s fighting against.

 

Final Thoughts

Mythology swirls through the Old West in an epic tale of love and a gunslinging wife determined to keep it in Aint No Grave #1.

 

Rating 10/10

 

For another cover see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.