Ameli Sky #3 - Crank up the screams

We are back again with issue #3 of my favorite indie treasure Amelia Sky written by Jermaine Boyd, art by Gwynn Tavares, letters by Kuen Tang and edited by Brittany Matter. It’s great to be back reading  Amelia Sky a fantastic series that has been slowly increasing the terror and unease over the first two issues but suddenly cranks the horror all the way up to 11 for issue #3 and doesn’t let up for a moment.

We return to our hapless heroine Amelia, moments after her escape pod crash lands back to earth, waking up in another nightmare situation. Managing to overcome her first scrape with danger Amelia meets up with Aaron who, finding the injured girl, agrees to take her to meet his family at their safe house. Aaron has plenty of ideas about what caused the end of the world and it doesn’t take long for Amelia to realise that Aaron’s safe house may not be as safe as Aaron promises.

Returning again is the magnificent Gwynn Tavares who manages to make the most beautiful art while still tearing the images directly out of my worst nightmares. The art is absolutely haunting, able to instill a feeling of unease with every panel and gives Tavares an oppertunity to show off more of her artistic chops with the introductions of some hardcore gore. Gore can be difficult to portray in comics needing to find the appropriate balance less it becomes either revolting or comedic and with a significant increase in the blood and guts, issue #3 manages to perfectly tread the line between being ghastly and still being readable. 

 

I've had this exact nightmare

 

With the fate of Elanor and her lovable canine companion Ace currently unknown (#saveace) issue #3 focuses entirely on Amelia and begins to slowly reveal more of her powers and abilities which only unearths more questions about the mysterious girl. As more clues are dropped readers may begin to guess at Amelia’s origins, is she a government experiment, an enhanced cyborg or even human at all? Whatever the answer it is clear there is a deep and complex story unfolding before our eyes.

 

Ugh I hate getting my nails dirty too

The only downside I truly have with the Amelia Sky series is that I need to wait so long between issues as they are funded through Kickstarter which can mean months between issues and honestly the fact that this series hasn’t been picked up by a publishing company yet is truly a crime.

I give Amelia Sky #3 4.5 out of 5 Aces (#pleasesaveace)

find out more about Amelia Sky here.

Amelia Sky #1

Amelia Sky is written by Jermaine M. Boyd, illustrated by Gywnn Tavares, lettered by Aw's Zakk Saam and published through Kickstarter.  I've gotten terrible comics off Kickstarter before and I've also gotten some great ones, but never have I gotten a comic that had such a good marketing campaign that it would make some movies jealous. With the mysterious "A" popping up on my Facebook feed and the ever present question "Who is Amelia Sky?" I was so excited to finally find out the answer to that question when I got my hands on issue #1 of Amelia Sky.

Amelia Sky begins with a large scale protest taking place, in New York in the year 2021, as a couple run into a nearby building with their unconscious daughter, Amelia. As the couple argue about their next course of action the military opens fire on the gathered crowd causing the building to begin to collapse around them separating them from the still unconscious Amelia. Amelia awakes a month later in a now abandoned and snow covered New York with no memories or idea of where to head next until she comes across Ace, a large dog, who seems to know exactly what to do when they are cornered by horrible monsters known as Shriekers. As Amelia and Ace flea they are rescued by Elanor, Ace's owner, who informs Amelia that she missed the end of the world.

Amelia Sky is a BEAUTIFUL comic and I am currently completely obsessed with Gwynn Tavares' art style. The colour pallet is extremely dulled almost to the point of being black and white with only the odd hues of reds, yellows, purples and greens standing out among the almost greyscale images. The panels take on a misty almost dream like quality while perfectly capturing the eerie silence of an abandoned world that makes you feel an uncomfortable shiver run up your spine. While still amazing on paper Amelia Sky seems to have been designed to be read digitally with the added aid of a lit screen to make the panels clearer and the colours brighter. So while I always love my paper comics I recommend grabbing this one digitally to truly appreciate it or just do what I do and get both.

Amelia herself is, so far, mostly a mystery in regards to who or what she is but what is clear is that she is a frightened yet determined girl as shown by her dedication to finding parents that she doesn't really remember despite all the dangers she knows she will face. Elanor, despite her sweet demeanor, is unexpectedly well experienced with firearms and clearly has some kind of military experience, which hints at a very interesting backstory, and is willing to put herself in very serious danger to help this young girl she has just met. Elanor seems like she will continue to be a great support and guardian to Amelia through the comic and I hope to see their relationship continue throughout the series. The character I love the most is Ace and if anything happens to that beautiful dog I don't think I'll get over it.

Issue #1 of Amelia Sky isn't revealing any secrets just yet and is clearly the start of what is going to be a fantastic post-apocalyptic/Sci-Fi series that I can't wait to get my hands on.

I give Amelia Sky Issue #1 4.5 out of 5 Aces.

Get your own copy of Amelia Sky here.

Deathgift #1 - My life is so dark man

Deathgift #1

Deathgift is an independent comic written by Scott Duckett, art by Headkutter and published by Overdark Comics. I back a lot of comic books from crowd funding websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo as it is a great way to support independent creators both local and international and because I enjoy Internet shopping that I don't need to actually pay for for up to 30 days. I've picked up some of my favourite comics from crowd funding campaigns such as Carmen and Fly The Colour Fantastica and a few average comics but I'm pretty easy to please (especially with creator owned comics) so I've never really felt annoyed that I spent money until I received my copy of Deathgift.

The cover is actually pretty cool though

Deathgift begins with an introduction from our main character (who is never named) explaining that he is immortal but the luster of living forever wore off hundreds of years ago and a lot of dark things about how life is meaningless. The introduction continues to set the scene explaining that he is in Metatron a city that was built around a maximum security prison after it was taken over by the prisoners. The main character wakes up in an alley, after being shot in the head, and begins running from the police after a shots fired call leading them on a high speed chase in his car, The Commander.

The spread of the car is pretty good which makes me think the rest of the comic was written around it

The art of Deathgift is not bad but is so dark its actually hard to see whats going on so much so that I feel like this was intended to be digital format and read on a screen with a back light. There is actually a panel that has a half deleted text box in it and one thing that I really dislike is a "finished" product that has mistakes like that as it just makes the whole thing look unprofessional. There is a fantastic two page spread in the center of the comic of the car, The Commander, and seems like the entire comic was made around doing this spread of the car.

I hope that half deleted text box didn't have any important dialogue

The only thing we know about the main character is that he hates the corrupt world that he is forced to continue living in yet seems to continue making it worse by committing the very crimes he seems to despise and blows up a bunch of cops, the people that are trying to make the world better.

I'm very forgiving, easily pleased and usually when I'm not a fan I tend to just think "ehh not my cup of tea" but I really don't see anyone except 14 year olds who's parents "just don't get them you know" actually enjoying Deathgift. The introduction at the beginning just seems like it was trying to include as many grotesque words as possible with one of the first sentences referring to the world as a "puss filled scab of despair". For me the whole thing just seems, for lack of a better word, emo. For a comic advertised "A story of an immortal lost soul whose life won't let him go. Packed with dark humor, violence, stunning visuals and gripping stories." I found it lacking in everything except the violence.

I give Deathgift 1 out of 5 THE PAIN...'s

My life is nothing but pain man.

 

Lady Castle Issue #1

Ladycastle Issue #1

I've always loved medieval fantasy. It may have started with The Fellowship Of The Ring, it may have started with my grandmother's love of the royal family and English history, or perhaps there is just something appealing to everyone about riding horses, fighting monsters and saving princesses. Doesn't being the hero appeal to everyone in some way? To be the one that slays the beast, defeats the bad guy and saves the princess? I was always a little disappointed as a child in the lack of women running around killing dragons and fighting with swords and that's what drew me to Ladycastle. Ladycastle is written by Delilah S. Dawson, Illustrated by Ashley A. Woods, Lettered by Jim Campbell and published by Boom!.

Princess Aeve is the eldest child of King Mancastle and sings of her life locked away in a tower while her father searches for a suitable prince for her to marry. She has been locked away to be kept pure since she was twelve with a promise that she can leave once she is married to a prince she has never met. As the King searches for a suitable prince he takes all of the men in the castle with him, leaving the women in the castle alone to follow the rules set by the King. One day the last knight Sir Riddik returns to the castle and informs the women that the King and all the men have been eaten by a dragon and that a curse has been placed on the castle and its inhabitants. Upon hearing this tragic news Sir Riddik agrees to take upon the mantle of King but the Lady of the lake has other ideas and names Merinor, the blacksmith's wife, instead.

Often when attempting to portray female characters as strong and independent there seems to be a thought that all femininity must be removed from the character, implying that femininity is weak. This is why I love the designs of many of the characters in Lady Castle, as it doesn't follow this trope at all. While some characters are designed with a more masculine style many of the characters still wear dresses and do traditionally feminine things such as making their new flag a pink unicorn. Feminism is about choice, be it choosing to cut your hair short and dress in a masculine style or wear your hair long and wearing the daintiest feminine dress possible. This is something Ladycastle gets very right, in that presenting yourself in a masculine or feminine way doesn't make you less of a strong and independent woman.

time to knight up or shut up

The character I find most interesting is Princess Gwyneff. She is a tomboy and takes full advantage of her freedom while expecting her sister to give up the same things she takes for granted. Gwyneff is neither malicious nor spiteful, however she is perfectly okay with encouraging her sister to marry a man she has never met simply because it would stop her father forcing her to do the same. This is a perfect example of people that "just want feminists to stop complaining" but are completely willing to take advantage of the freedoms this "complaining" has accomplished for them. Gwyneff is not bad just misguided in her thinking that things will get better if others make sacrifices so she doesn't have too.

Ladycastle is an fun comic with an important message and manages to maintain an interesting story while not diluting the ideas of feminism and sisterhood. This is a great comic for little girls to be shown that they can be whoever and whatever they want and a great comic for everyone else who enjoys the occasional shout of "Girl Power!".

I give Lady Castle 3.5 out of 5 magical swords

Find out more about Ladycastle here.

In The Local Pocket #11 - After The Snow #1

After The Snow #1

After The Snow is a local comic written by Dale Maccanti, art by Trevor Wood and colours by Anthonie 'Nemo' Wilson and published by White Cat Press. I love fairy tales and always enjoy reading different versions of the well known ones be they old or new, dark or whimsical, book or comic book form. Needless to say I was pretty excited when I found out some local creators had done their own take on classic the Snow White.

After The Snow takes place 15 years after the well known fairy tale with a now ageing Snow-White now ruling her kingdom with her husband, Leo. Snow-White's kingdom is far from the happily ever after she was promised as the crown is in serious debt to Snow-White's father and there are murmurs of an uprising. However Snow-White does not concern herself with the working of the kingdom preferring to spend her time on things such as her fading beauty, her husband's possible infidelity, that she has been unable to conceive a child and of course apples. While the fate of the kingdom teeters on a knife's edge a group, possibly of dwarfs, spies some humans cutting into their enchanted forest and decide its time to do something about it.

And then the humans ruined everything again

Many comics that take on classic fairy tales with a darker retelling often fall into the same trap of removing every colour that isn't dark blue or grey. After The Snow manages to side step this common trope by allowing colour to shine through and I love that this comic uses the art and expressions of the characters to set the tone rather than a simple lack of colour.

After The Snow is just enough of a separation from the Disney movie that it feels like a very different story but close enough that everybody knows how Snow-White ended up the queen. This gives the reader all the needed back story but enough room that the they know that this is not the same sweet little Disney princess that can hit a high note. Snow-White is no longer a blank slate of a princess but a complicated character with complicated wants and desires, she struggles with concerns over ageing and in consequence concerns for her marriage and while capable of great kindness, she is also capable of great malice over a crime as simple as selling a red apple.

Disney has forever left its imprint on the story of Snow White and After The Snow cleverly weaves just enough into the story to make it familiar while still telling its own story which can be a struggle for comics based off such well known material. I'd recommend After The Snow to fairy tale fans, fans of high fantasy and anyone who has ever asked "and then what happened?".


I give After The Snow 4 out of 5 red apples.

You knew it was going to be an apple

Pledge to After The Snow on Kickstarter and find out more about White Cat Press here.

We all eventually become our parents

Hulk #1

She-Hulk is great, Volume 1 Law and Disorder by Charles Soule is a fantastic read that can be both serious and funny. So when I found out That Jennifer Walters was taking over the mantle of Hulk rather than She-Hulk I was pretty excited and thought I'd pick up on the new series and oh boy, was it not what I was expecting.

Hulk is written by Mariko Tamaki, art by Nico Leon, colours by Matt Milla and published by Marvel Comics. The issue follows Jennifer's return to work after the events of Civil War 2, which involved falling into a coma after a fight with Thanos and waking to the news of  the death of her cousin Bruce Banner (the original Hulk). Jennifer's return to work at her old law firm is anything but a joyous occasion as she struggles with anxieties about getting her life back together and taking on cases again. Her first case back that should be a simple eviction case for an inhuman named Miss Brewn but, of course, this is not a comic about easily solved and simple court cases so we can expect more drama here in the issues to come.

Hulk is an understatedly beautiful comic, with a dulled colour pallet and nothing particularly spectacular or interesting in the first issue its easy to not appreciate how pretty it is. The facial expressions are nice, if a little cartoony, and Jennifer's hair just looks great and great hair always wins points with me. One criticism is how the background characters either have no faces or dot smiley faces, its like an army of 2004 msn characters :) :) :) :).

:-O

Hulk deals with some very serious and hard hitting issues such as grief, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder by dressing them up in a superhero costume and it works extremely well. Watching Jennifer trying to ward off an unwanted transformation is harrowing and is a great demonstration of how horrible a panic attack or the like can be for the person experiencing them. Most of my exposure to She-Hulk comes form A-Force, Patsy Walker A.K.A. Hellcat and the 2014 She-Hulk comics in which Jennifer is happy, friendly, supportive and a strong leader so seeing her as a broken woman trying to recover a traumatic event and no longer in complete control of her transformations is just straight up depressing.

Hulk issue #1 really wasn't what I was expecting but something I thoroughly enjoyed and I hope the series will maintain its high quality. I do worry that like a lot of books that deal with mental health as an important plot component that the story can become stale if there is no development or that the character's mental health issues will be completely solved with a single event, a trope I loathe.

I give Hulk Issue #1 4 out of 5 cupcakes

cupcakes are story relevant I promise

Find out more about Hulk issue #1 here.

If you or anyone you know is suffering from anxiety or depression please seek help at your local doctor or at Beyond Blue.

In The Local Pocket #10 - Job Dun, Fat Assassin #1

Job Dun, Fat Assassin #1

Job Dun, Fat Assassin is an Australian comic written by Mark Hobby, illustrated by Ben Michael Byrne, colours by Noelle Criminova, letters by Bolt-01. Job Dun is gross, one of the grossest things I've ever read so if you have a weak stomach turn back now and go check out my review of Huck, if not then read on.

Look I'm going to be honest with you I don't entirely understand what is going on in Job Dun. So far as I can tell Job Dun is an assassin/bounty hunter with an implant in his brain called a Spray Maker that lets the user "spray paint reality". This seems to mean that the user will see an glossed over version of the world with everyone being more attractive than they really are, when its online that is. Dun is hired by Lady Octavia to do a retrieval mission and bring back a man named Conos. Conos is now the leader of a strange cult that Job must now infiltrate to retrieve him.

Spray off Vs Spray on

The art of Job Dun is, look, I didn't want to review this comic, its gross. The main reason I didn't want to review this comic is because I didn't want to have to read it multiple times and look at how gross it is.  I've mentioned before that I'm not a huge fan of toilet humour but when done well like in The Pro, a comic I recently reviewed, it can work and work well, Job Dun however looks like the inside of a sewage system by comparison. There are boobs on almost every page, to the point that they randomly show up at any point in the comic. I'm normally all for surprise boobs but they need to serve a purpose. Any panel where Dun is not affected by the "Spray Maker" makes the world look grotesque, think dropping a lollipop behind a couch levels of gross. This is actual not a criticism of the artist Ben Michael's art, he does a wonderful job portraying this grossness. Michael's also does a series called Kranburn which is a fantastic post apocalypse series set in Australia which is just so, so good and I'd suggest going to read that instead.

Annnnnnnnd I'm out

Although I did finish the comic I didn't think much about the characters as I mentally checked out after Dun got splashed in the face with a strippers breast milk. I don't get this kind of humour in the same way shows like Ren and Stimpy never appealed to me, even as an adult but I can see how some people with a slightly twisted sense of humour may like comics like Job Dun.

Oh look sexy nuns, how...... Funny......

As for a rating for Job Dun: Fat Assassin I will leave it with, what I feel is a very fitting, quote from the movie Billy Madison: What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

Find out more about Job Dun: Fat Assassin here.