Reviews May Vary: Comics I'm All About Right Now

So you know what a subscription service is, right? Also known as a sub service, pull list, etc. It's the list of books that your local shop keeper makes sure are set aside for you on a regular basis. My sub service is at Comics Etc on Main Street. They have one of the worst web sites in 2016 but keep an active Facebook Page and a Facebook group for those who are so inclined. The store itself is big and carries a wide selection of books, and geeky extras. They also keep a whole lot of trade paperbacks, which are my format of choice for most things. However, if you care about the condition of the books on the shelves, this is not the store for you. Everything is crammed together and needs to be culled like nobodies business. For straight readers though, not collectors, this means that lots of older books haven't been marked up as back issues.

Anyway, I usually follow books in trade paper back (TPB) form, the collection of several single issue books, because I can't manage to stay on top of a story in 32 page bursts with 4 - 6 weeks in between. A down side of reading things in TPB, though, is that I have to wait an extended period of time for the collection to come out... and WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING IN SAGA RIGHT NOW!!?? I DON'T EVEN KNOW!! ::breathe::

I have a few TPBs on my sub- service because I also can't manage to remember to keep track of when they are scheduled to come out... are there people who keep track of these things on their own? They are better geeks than I, letmejusttellya. I also recently added a butt- ton of titles to my sub- service to start following in single issue. There really is no rhyme nor reason. It's also interesting to me how I'm willing to pay for comics and trades but scoff at the retail price of "regular" books. I am an enigma.

With comics, there are some titles I picked up to support the character (like Storm) or a favored artist (like Terry Moore). For me to pick up a new book, it needs to be recommended by someone I think has good sense, or it needs to look awesome. As in, the pictures need to look awesome. I come to books for the pictures, let's be honest. But I stay for the story. Here are a few new titles I'm glad I judged by their covers.

Monstress written by Marjorie Liu
I first learned of this book via twitter and picked it up at my local comic shop after the 3rd one came out... but had to wait for them to get the second one. I LOVE the art in this (Japanese co-creater Sana Takeda). It's very anime- esque with bold colors and cutesy eyeballs. The story so far is about a one- armed girl who may or may not be harboring evil within her. Like, literal evil, and her dead mother might be mixed all in it somehow. The setting is a world where humans suck the life force out of people who are part human- part creature.. seriously, there's some fucked up stuff going on that I can't even explain right. Plus, there is a little character who is part fox.

Black Canary written by Brendan Fletcher
I'm currently getting this book in singles. I love the art work. This is my first time following Dinah in her own book though I know this isn't her first book. I'm thinking that I might go back and read some more of her stuff.

Devil Dino and Moon Girl written by Brandon Montclare and Amy Reeder
The first issue of Devil Dino and Moon Girl dropped in November 2015. Before that there was much buzz about the fact that it looked like a rip off of an old Marvel book about a dinosaur and a little boy, which I never read and don't even really care about. But it seems that this new version is considered a reboot of Devil Dinosaur. So, suck it, fanboys. This book also picked up buzz because it's got a little black girl with natural hair puffs as the primary character. Lunella is a brilliant daughter with two brilliant parents who is STEM- strong and a little too sure of herself. SO far it's a super fun read with a relatable character. Also, I want a dinosaur, please.

Rat Queens, written by Kurtis Wiebe
I am late to the [Rat Queens] party with two trades already published. The book has had a couple of different artists all of whom I really love. The story so far is about 4 women of various backgrounds who are in an "adventuring" group. By background, I don't just mean skin tone. One is a Smidgen, whatever that is. There's also a priestess and a sorceress. The land has trolls, and orcs, and giant floating squid. The women are bad-ass and unapologetically violent, sexual, and supportive of each other. I barreled through the two trades and anxiously await the third one, set to publish in April 2016.