THE LIFE AFTER #2 (Oni): The first issue of Josh Fialkov and Gabo’s THE LIFE AFTER was one of the best first issues I’d read in a while—a twist on purgatory guest-starring Ernest Hemingway and some mysterious figures. But this one? Whole different ballgame. Hemingway’s still around for comic relief, but there are also tentacle monsters and a horrifying dreamscape full of teeth and blood and misery. People are jumping off bridges for eternity, and there is a not-so-subtle indication that “God” is a giant pile of mouthy flesh. In short, this is one weird book, and that makes it a must-read. I honestly can’t wait to find out what happens next, as cliché as that phrase is. I hope it involves more monsters and Hemingway with a shotgun, because what else do you really need in life? 9/10
THE SAVIORS #5 (Image): Before this issue, I would have said very clearly that your enjoyment of this book depends entirely on your opinion of classic black and white science fiction movies from the 1950s about alien invasions. Because it’s just like that, I would have said: creepy and cheesy and full of conspiracy. Except after this issue, there has been added an angle that would never have flown in those 50s movies. Let’s just say that the main character, Tomas, begins the issue by exclaiming “F—! I wish I’d smoked more pot,” and now he has to save the world from lobster-esque reptilian invaders in his own… er… “affected” way. J. Bone’s retro art has been a perfect match for this madness throughout, and what a fantastic twist James Robinson has wraught. 8/10
RAI #4 (Valiant): A brilliant series from the beginning, thanks to Clayton Crain’s impenetrable paints and Matt Kindt’s uncanny knack for world-building. And it all comes to a head, here. Rai passes through scenery that changes as swiftly as his thoughts do; both bullets and snowstorms are equally vivid, and finding a conglomeration of coils that supposedly birthed him is almost too much for this Rai to handle (because yes, there have been others). Perhaps the most frightening and affecting moment—what I often dub as the “Oh, sh–” moment—is when neo-Japan dumps its industrial waste, and you realize exactly how they’ve been operating all these years. It’s fairly horrifying, and it works because Crain’s art is so gorgeous. The people, the landscapes are staggeringly beautiful. The truth, that inescapable beast, is ugly. 9.5/10
POP #1 (Dark Horse): Wow. Just wow. POP is a neon, cocaine-drenched satire of cinematic proportions that boasts panels lining up like a 60s television show checkerboard and crunchy dialogue that sings “Rhinestone eyes like factories far away” and then “Your body isn’t a temple; it’s a roach motel.” Curt Pires, bless him, steals from so much great science fiction it’s impossible to keep track—THE FIFTH ELEMENT, THE MATRIX—and that’s exactly why the result works: paired with Jason Copland’s art, it’s all been condensed into a grand neocultural salad of sadism that will have you laughing aloud at the obvious celebrity parallels (“Dustin Beaver”) and cringing when a bionic bug is ripped from a girl’s arm. That’s great comics, people. There are assassins dressed like members of a goth band. I wish I had written this. 9.5/10
TRANSLUCID #5 (BOOM!): I’ve found it difficult, thus far, to explain what I love so much about this series. I’ve meant to review every issue up to this one, but then my words get lost in the back of my throat and I lose intelligence. All that comes out is guh. TRANSLUCID deals simultaneously with an original superhero origin story and the story of his very last encounter with said superhero’s ultimate supervillain, except sometimes the scenery changes and you feel like you’re on drugs, and then it goes back to a poor kid at an orphanage, and there’s this weird feeling of romance to the whole thing like you’re reading a comic about doomed lovers instead of antagonists. Kudos to writers Claudio Sanchez and Chondra Echert for tantalizing me so much I couldn’t bear to NOT know how it ends; even more kudos to artist Daniel Bayliss and colorist Adam Metcalfe for giving this story such groovy visual accompaniment it’s like you’ve pulled out your old copy of DUMBO and put on the pink elephants sequence without realizing it. One more issue to go. HOW DOES IT END? DO THEY PROFESS THEIR UNDYING LOVE? I MUST KNOW. 8.5/10