Sunday, April 28, 2019

Friday Slice of Heaven, Slice into the Woods 4/26/2019

Welcome back, Donist World Denizens! For those of you new to our site, I’m Donist, and I am joined by Donist World CFO the Reverse Obie* (my friends’ Boston terrier whose fur recently swapped colors) and by our marketing director/administrative assistant/party planner/Yes-we-saw-it Tulip (my dog, Reverse Obie’s sister). Good morning/afternoon/evening and welcome back. Yup. We saw Avengers: Endgame, after a spicy chicken and bacon melt and a couple of beers at Hollister Brewing Company, of course. We loved it and that's all we're going to say about it. The crazy thing is that I make these Marvel Studios releases somewhat of a personal holiday, my own personal tradition. Here’s how it plays out: I take the Friday of release off of work, watch the previous movie in the morning, take my puppy executive team for a walk, sneak out after distracting them because dogs are not allowed in the movie theater, hit up Hollister Brewing, see the movie, and come home pretending I didn’t see the movie so Tulip and Reverse Obie don’t get their feelings hurt. After that, it’s business as usual until the next movie drops. So, grab a tasty beer and some pizza, run out to see Avengers: Endgame, sit back, relax, and afterward read some great comics. Thank you for reading!

*Obie, through his dabbling in arcane magics mixed with ancient corrupt business practices, has had not just the colors of his fur switched, but a complete overhaul of his work ethic as well…I think I’m kinda okay with the mishap.

***Possible Spoilers Below***

Friday Slice of Heaven



Ascender #1

(Written by Jeff Lemire, illustrated by Dustin Nguyen, lettered and designed by Steve Wands, edited by Will Dennis, published by Image Comics)
When I first heard that Descender was ending, I felt disbelief, then a little panicky, then I got angry, then I settled into sadness, and finally acceptance; I hit almost all of the stages. My favorite comic on the shelves was ending and I did not know what I’d do without it. So, I read and continued to be thrilled with each remaining issue as it dropped and was blown away by the ending, but was left with many questions…until I saw the solicit for Ascender. Praise be.
Where Descender was a sprawling, sci-fi space opera centered around robots and technology, Ascender switches gears with a universe now void of tech as magic rises to take its place and new—and some old—characters become the focal point of the story. Ascender is a semi-change in genre to a fantasy world where “ships” are actually living creatures (dragon-like monsters that require feeding) and the sorcerous might of the witch known as “Mother” holds the universes in her sway. Mila, the protagonist of the series, is the daughter of Andy (once a feared Scrapper) and Effie (the half human, half robotic Queen Between) and is very much bored with her father’s isolationist mentality and his refusal to make their lives easier by bending slightly to Mother’s will. But, Mila’s boredom looks to end with the mysterious arrival of one of my favorite characters from Descender.
I fell in love with the first half of this epic adventure with but a few pages of the first issue, a love that carried all the way through to Descender’s end. That same love is repeated with the second half, Ascender, as well. Lemire and Nguyen’s tale promises conflict and tragedy and glory and adventure all rolled in a new, positively gorgeous, watercolored fantasy package that I can’t wait to explore. All of that said, although you can probably dive into this issue without having read what came before, I STRONGLY encourage that you experience the wondrous Descender first, which you can do with the six readily available trades.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


Venom #13

(Written by Cullen Bunn, illustrated by Iban Coello, colored by Andres Mossa, lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles, published by Marvel Comics)
I know some of you are thinking, wait, where’s Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman? Well, apparently, their working on something else for two or three issues, while this “War of the Realms” event is going on. Granted, I am not reading this event, but knowing that Bunn is involved (I LOVE his The Sixth Gun) told me that everything would be fine. And it is. There are ice giants and dark elves and fire monsters running around, and Eddie Brock is without the aid of his symbiote’s great power to even the odds. Unfortunately, Brock can’t let the forces of evil’s injustices go unpunished. Thankfully, a mystical crystal might even the odds a bit, but the same might be true for someone with a particular score to settle against Brock. Coello is a strong standin for Stegman, and Bunn’s story made what could have otherwise been your typical “Event” filler issue into something that was quite exciting indeed.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


Criminal #4

(Written by Ed Brubaker, illustrated by Sean Phillips, colored by Jacob Phillips, published by Image Comics)
This iteration of Criminal looks to tell a complete story in every one or two issues. At times, characters we have met throughout the comic’s thirteen-year span come in and out while introducing new characters along the way. Here we join Ricky Lawless after a five-day crystal bender and planning to hit a check cashing operation when a local tough guy interrupts Ricky’s sleep-deprived hallucinations. Let’s just say…things go bad. If you’ve read any of the seven delightful noir Criminal trades, then you know you’re about to embark on one of the best crime comics of all time.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


The Terrifics #15

(Written by Gene Luen Yang, illustrated by Stephen Segovia, colored by Photobunker, lettered by Tom Napolitano, published by DC Comics)
Confession time: I had resolved to drop The Terrifics once Jeff Lemire had left the book. Fortunately, I had forgotten to inform my LCS of this decision and this issue appeared in my pull. I decided to be nice and bought it anyway; I’m glad I did. I was unaware that Yang, creator of American Born Chinese, was the writer and that The Terrifics were in good hands. This story is fun and ridiculous in the best of ways with Yang nailing the characters’ voices and personalities while Segovia and Photobunker keep the mood light and fun. So, yeah, my plans to bounce on The Terrifics are to be delayed. You can definitely use this issue as a jumping on point and will be just fine.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


That’s it, Denizens. Now, go on, scoot! Get out there and check out Avengers: Endgame before some fool spoils it for you. See you next time.



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Saturday, April 20, 2019

Friday Slice of Heaven, Slice into the Woods 4/19/2019

Welcome back, Donist World Denizens! For those of you new to our site, I’m Donist, and I am joined by Donist World CFO the Reverse Obie* (my friends’ Boston terrier whose fur recently swapped colors) and by our marketing director/administrative assistant/party planner/Endgame Enjoyer Tulip (my dog, Reverse Obie’s sister). Good morning/afternoon/evening and welcome back. You might have noticed that we haven’t done any “Comics Lust” installments for a month or two and have jumped back into “Friday Slice of Heaven”—even though we’ve been posting on Saturdays and Sundays. The reason is that “Comics Lust” actually takes quite a bit of planning and researching and sifting through long boxes, short boxes, stacks, and shelves, and the way things have been going lately time has been something I have had to claw, dig, scratch, and fight for lately. Tulip and Reverse Obie both agreed that returning to taking a look at what we read over the past week would be a more effective use of our time as we try to get life to return to a more normal pace. That said, there is one book in particular that I was dying to read this week and that was shorted at my LCS, but it’s on order and I will get it soon…I hope. Thankfully, there were a few things we enjoyed that you should know about. So, grab a tasty beer and some pizza, sit back, relax, and while you’re at it check out some great comics. Thank you for reading!

*Obie, through his dabbling in arcane magics mixed with ancient corrupt business practices, has had not just the colors of his fur switched, but a complete overhaul of his work ethic as well…I think I’m kinda okay with the mishap.

***Possible Spoilers Below***


Friday Slice of Heaven



Unnatural, Volume 2: The Hunt

(Everythinged by Mirka Andolfo, color assists by Gianluca Papi, letters and production by Fabio Amelia, published by Image Comics)
You might remember me mentioning my love of this series on the “Donist World Year-End Roundup - Part 2“ near the end of 2018, and nothing has changed aside for a deepening appreciation of this positively gorgeous comic. The first volume introduced us to a world of anthropomorphic animals where an overreaching, totalitarian government (basically like where our current trash administration wants to take us) has decreed that all cross-species relationships—and also homosexual relationships of any sort (again, trash administration)—are unnatural and a punishable offense. Enter the sexy-as-hell pig woman, Leslie. You see, Leslie has been plagued/enticed by some blush-inducing dreams about a big, bad wolf. She tried to ignore them and enter the dating pool as the law prescribed until a bizarre organization/cult tried to abduct her, acquaintances started dying, and she discovered that the blue blood coursing through her veins allowed her to bring out the wolf inside to the detriment of those seeking to harm her.
Unnatural Volume 2 includes issues 5–8 of the series and succeeds in pulling you deeper into the intrigue of Leslie’s possible possession by a wolf spirit who once loved another pig woman with blue blood many years ago. The socially relevant and compelling mystery of Andolfo’s story is enough to warrant picking up this series, but once you catch a glimpse of her line work, her stunning painted art, and her lovely character designs you will be hard pressed to put the book down. I especially loved a two-page flashback sequence where the creator used no hard lines, only flat colors, to tell the story of the wolf and his love, Bes; it has to be seen to be believed.
Damn, I love this comic.
Unnatural is a refreshing departure from the books I usually read and the third and final volume is one I eagerly anticipate getting my hands on the day it is released…whenever that might be. If you are looking for a lightly erotic, taut, supernatural thriller involving the pig girl or wolf boy of your dreams, then look no further then this fantastic series. Be sure to start with the first volume!
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


Guardians of the Galaxy #4

(Written by Donny Cates, illustrated by Geoff Shaw, colored by David Curial, lettered by VC’s Cory Petit, published by Marvel Comics)
Donny Cates can do no wrong as far as I’m concerned, which is saying something given that I am incredibly wary anytime someone other than Jim Starlin delves into anything involving Thanos, with the exception of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s take on Guardians of the Galaxy. Now, I have no idea what all happened in the event leading up to this exciting take on Marvel’s current cosmic darlings with a new line up of heroes (Star-Lord, Groot, Beta Ray Bill, Cosmic Ghost Rider, Moondragon, and Phyla-Vell) as they venture out to prevent an even more powerful group of “Guardians” from hunting down and killing Gamora who is in hiding. The art is beautiful and has great action sequences as many of my spacefaring favorites get caught up in the fight to prevent Thanos’s rebirth. Dang, all I need is for Adam Warlock to pop in for a bit and I’ll be a happy camper. So much fun.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


Gideon Falls #12

(Written by Jeff Lemire, illustrated by Andrea Sorrentino, colored by Dave Stewart, lettering and design by Steve Wands, published by Image Comics)
The third arc of this psychological horror thriller kicks off with a character we have never(?) met and not a mention of Father Fred or Norton to be found anywhere. I’m totally cool with this. Instead, in 1886, another priest enters the Black Barn to find its inhabitant, The Man Who Smiles in the Dark, feasting upon one of his colleagues. From there, the priest embarks upon a cerebral journey to other times and worlds that offers a partial glimpse into the Black Barn’s purpose. Criminy! To quote Homer Simpson, “Brilliant! I have absolutely no idea what’s going on.” Not completely true, but… Anyways, Sorrentino’s art is beautiful and haunting and Lemire’s story has me desperate to know what’s happening and what’s going to happen next. I’m 100% in. You can catch up with the first two trades before the television show that was announced last year arrives.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


East of West #42

(Written by Jonathan Hickman, illustrated by Nick Dragotta, colored by Frank Martin, lettered by Rus Wooton, published by Image Comics)
The long hinted at split between the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is finally told in a flashback as Death faces off against War, Conquest, and Famine in a fight to the death…of sorts, given all of the players are currently walking around with quite differing appearances. We also learn of the Chosen’s involvement in Death’s downfall and why the Horseman has such hatred for…well, almost everyone. Dragotta’s fight scenes are both brutal and beautiful and Martin adds a special muting of the colors to make it clear that what you are seeing is in the past, much like looking at old, fading Polaroid Instamatic photos to a stunning degree. The end is in sight as the final 47th issue approaches and this complex epic continues to escalate to an explosive confrontation between all of the players. You can experience this incredible series through the trades or the hardcovers and see how it all plays out.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


That’s it for this installment, Denizens. Have a great weekend and I’ll see you next time.



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Sunday, April 14, 2019

Friday Slice of Heaven, Slice into the Woods 4/12/2019

Welcome back, Donist World Denizens! For those of you new to our site, I’m Donist, and I am joined by Donist World CFO the Reverse Obie* (my friends’ Boston terrier whose fur recently swapped colors) and by our marketing director/administrative assistant/party planner/cleaning hater Tulip (my dog, Reverse Obie’s sister). Howdy, Denizens. My puppy executive team and I have been hard at work preparing a captivating slide deck concerning our standing as a Fortune 320,000 company and…we have…uhhh…okay, we’ve totally been slacking on the business end of things as we finally completed our just-in-the-nick-of-time grand rewatching of Game of Thrones seasons 1–7! Yes, just last night we finished S7E7 while dining on the carnitas/black bean/jack cheese/salsa pizza I made from scratch and finally opening the Brewery Ommegang “King in the North” barrel-aged imperial stout we had been saving for just this occasion. Now, I need to get to the beer store for some New Holland “Dragon’s Milk” for Sunday’s premiere of the final season. I guess we’ll have to get back to business as usual come Monday morning. So, grab a tasty beer and some pizza, sit back, relax, and while you’re at it check out some great comics. Thank you for reading!

*Obie, through his dabbling in arcane magics mixed with ancient corrupt business practices, has had not just the colors of his fur switched, but a complete overhaul of his work ethic as well…I think I’m kinda okay with the mishap.

***Possible Spoilers Below***

Friday Slice of Heaven



Murder Falcon #7

(Everythinged by Daniel Warren Johnson, colored by Mike Spicer, lettered by Rus Wooton, published by Image Comics)
It’s always bittersweet to get a new issue of the phenomenal Murder Falcon. On the “sweet” side of things, a new issue of this damn fine series is a victory in and of itself, as each issue contains all of the energy of music-powered beings beating the stuffing out of malicious monstrosities from another dimension while bringing such raw, earnest emotion that you will be brought to the brink of tears. Daniel Warren Johnson is my current favorite artist with his intricate backgrounds, stunning character and creature designs, and his ability to bring an emotional wallop with but a single close up panel of a character smiling. As much as I love Warren Johnson’s use of scraggly lines to depict speed and motion, his writing on this series is just as strong with a ridiculous story—heavy metal heroes with magical instruments that summon good monsters to fight bad monsters—that makes you love each character you meet as you cheer their victories and audibly gasp when things don’t go so well for them. I guess you can say I like this comic book a little bit. Oh, yeah…the “bitter” part of Murder Falcon? With each issue that comes out, there are fewer issues remaining in the series; issue #8 marks the end. You MUST read this book. I know there will be a done-in-one trade at some point this year, but I really want to see a double-feature, oversized hardcover of this series combined with the equally heavenly Extremity.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


Little Bird #1

(Written by Darcy Van Poelgeest, illustrated by Ian Bertram, colored by Matt Hollingsworth, lettered by Aditya Bidikar, designed by Ben Didier, published by Image Comics)
I royally screwed up at first but got royally lucky this past new comic book day. You see, the owner of my LCS has a tendency to stick extra books in my pull and last month Little Bird was one of those books. I foolishly passed. I kept thinking I made the wrong decision and after hearing some glowing reviews for the book my suspicions were confirmed. Thankfully, a copy showed up with this week’s new releases and I am so glad it did. This beautifully plotted and narrated dystopian adventure miniseries(?) is set in a future where the United Nations of America—a United States ruled by the Vatican with a red, white, and blue flag bearing a cross instead of stars—holds near-absolute power over the populace. But when a young girl named Little Bird crawls from a hidden bunker to find her village destroyed and her mother gone, she knows what she must do: find and free a Canadian hero known as The Axe from a prison for genetically enhanced beings. The series is harsh, bloody, gruesome, and ultimately haunting, yet an unmistakable beauty emanates from Bertram’s art that is certain to draw some similarities to the works of Moebius, especially given Hollingsworth’s rich color palette. I’m definitely going to have to reread this one before the second issue comes out as there is a lot going within the story and visually as well. If you see a copy of this gem, then best snatch it up as they are probably a tad scarce. I cannot wait to see where the creators take us next, and I’m about to search out what else Van Poelgeest has written and Bertram has illustrated.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


The Green Lantern #6

(Written by Grant Morrison, illustrated by Liam Sharp, colored by Steve Oliff, lettered by Steve Wands, published by DC Comics)
Even though at times I have difficulty following whatever the hell it is that Morrison is trying to convey, I am still loving The Green Lantern, which is a crazy thing to say given that I mostly dropped off everything Lantern-related after Blackest Night. But after seeing some of Sharp's brain-melting, oh-so-gorgeous visuals on a preview, I knew I was in for whatever this story ended up being. Good thing I did. Wow. Sharp’s art continues to evoke my fondest memories of the old Warren Magazines and the old Heavy Metal vibe in the absolute best of ways. His character designs are stunning and his character acting and storytelling solid, all of which is reason enough to buy this trippy yet fun adventure tale, but when you have a look at Sharp’s intricate and beautiful/creepy (depends on the situation) backgrounds and insane starship designs, you’ll know you are looking at one of the most visually captivating series being published by the Big Two. Not only that, his women in this series are positively lovely, including the vampiress leader of the Blackstars, Countess Belzebeth, who can be alluring in one panel and an absolute creature of your nightmares the next. If you haven’t been following along, you can snatch up the issues with little trouble given the many reprintings and variant covers floating around, or you can hold out for the nifty hardcover that releases in July. Again, the story is quite cool—the parts that make sense, that is—but doggonit, Sharp is what will keep me coming back to this title as long as he stays on the book; he is the main reason The Green Lantern comes…
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


I’m also halfway through the second trade of a series I fell in love with a few months ago, but I’ll wait until I’m finished before speaking on it. I wish you all the best of luck watching Game of Thrones on Sunday evening…I think we’re all in for a heck of a wild and emotional ride. Thank you for reading.


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Sunday, April 7, 2019

Friday Slice of Heaven, Slice into the Woods 4/5/2019

Welcome back, Donist World Denizens! For those of you new to our site, I’m Donist, and I am joined by Donist World CFO the Reverse Obie* (my friends’ Boston terrier whose fur recently swapped colors) and by our marketing director/administrative assistant/party planner/cleaning hater Tulip (my dog, Reverse Obie’s sister). I’m guessing at this point you all are wonderin’ where the heck have you been? What the heck is going on? Yes, after nine years (holy moly, nine freakin’ years?!) of uninterrupted Donist World posts, I've now missed two posts in one month’s time. Let’s just say things have been very hectic and they might stay that way for the next month or so, but my Boston terrier executive team and I will do darndest to squeeze in the necessary time to tell you about the comics you need to be reading and maybe even some of the beer you need to be drinking…today’s beer, btw, is Backwoods Bastard by Founders Brewing and it is strong as Obie’s PowerPoint presentation skills, which means it is mighty dang strong. This post will be shorter than most, but I didn’t want the denizens to think we just up and vanished. So, grab a tasty beer and some pizza, sit back, relax, and while you’re at it check out some great comics. Thank you for reading!

*Obie, through his dabbling in arcane magics mixed with ancient corrupt business practices, has had not just the colors of his fur switched, but a complete overhaul of his work ethic as well…I think I’m kinda okay with the mishap.

***Possible Spoilers Below***

Friday Slice of Heaven



The Immortal Hulk #16

(Written by Al Ewing, illustrated by Joe Bennett, inked by Ruy José, colored by Paul Mounts, lettered by VC’s Cory Petit, published by Marvel Comics)
This might very well be my all-time favorite run on the Hulk. Now, granted, I haven’t read the Peter David stuff (yet) or the Bruce Jones stuff (yet) but, man, if this isn’t one of the best things Marvel is putting out. Banner and Doc Samson are on the hunt for the deceased Rick Jones who might not be as deceased as everyone believes given that Banner, Samson, Betty Ross (maybe) have all come back from the dead given their exposure to gamma radiation. The problem is that Jones’s grave is empty and it looks more like it was exhumed than clawed out of. Bennett’s depictions of Banner’s transformation into the Hulk are truly the stuff of nightmares in the best of ways and the Hulk and Samson’s fight with the (no spoilers) are downright insane. I look forward to this book every damn month. There’s a reason this book won so many awards in 2018. You need to be reading this.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


Conan the Barbarian #5

(Written by Jason Aaron, illustrated by Mahmud Asrar, colored by Matthew Wilson, lettered by VC’s Travis Lapham, published by Marvel Comics)
Hey, we might as well keep the kick-ace Marvel train a rollin' with the phenomenal Conan the Barbarian. Aaron and Asrar keep the creepy-ass children from the first issue as a side plot as we launch into a standalone tale of Conan on the high seas, alone, and facing off against a diabolical beast that corrupts everything it touches and which could spell the end of the world if comes into contact with any sort of life. Okay, I liked the Conan comics from the ’70s, but dang if this book doesn’t make me want to scramble to snatch up the omnibus editions that have recently been released to give me something to read in between issues of this great take on our favorite Cimmerian. Loving it.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


Lazarus: Risen #1

(Written by Greg Rucka, illustrated by Michael Lark, colored by Santi Arcas with Tyler Boss, lettered by Simon Bowland, published by Image Comics)
Remember when the last issue of Lazarus (soon to be an Amazon Prime show) came out? Me neither. But that in no way means I forgot about this taut thriller of a story that remains ever-horrifying in the way it continues to predict the trajectory our world has taken as the world’s wealth becomes increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few. Yes, Lazarus is science fiction, but aspects of it are based on actual fact and that which is on its way to becoming fact, which is scary indeed. I believe the series is now coming out quarterly, has a $7.99 price tag, better cover stock, and 64 pages of nerve-shattering intrigue. You can supposedly jump into the series with this issue, but I strongly suggest you start from the beginning with the five original series trades to become fully acquainted with Forever Carlyle—the nigh unkillable Lazarus—and the rest of the characters featured in this phenomenal and terrifying thriller.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


Criminal #3

(Written by Ed Brubaker, illustrated by Sean Phillips, colored by Jacob Phillips, published by Image Comics)
Criminal is back! At least it did two issues ago (duh) with issue one that picked up a tale with the not-one-to-mess-with Teeg Lawson as he tries to right a wrong committed by one of his kids. Then, in issue two, the creators interrupted that story to bring us the tale of an aging comic book legend as he decides to get his “stolen” art pages back much to the chagrin of his former assistant. Issue three picks up where issue two left off as the comic creator’s rampage pulls his assistant deeper into a seedy world far from what he ever expected to encounter at a prominent comic book convention. What happened to the story in the first issue? No idea, I’m sure they’ll get back to it, but regardless of what story Brubaker and Phillips are telling in the world of Criminal, I will be there to follow them along whatever devilish path they wish to take their seedy and sordid characters down. When it comes to crime comics, nothing comes close to Criminal
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


That’s it for this brief installment and I hope to see you next week—or at least the week after that given how things have been going lately. Thank you for reading.



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