Every week, comic fandom is gifted with a slew of fantastic stories from a slew of fantastic creators. These days there’s just so much good stuff out there that it can be a bit overwhelming, especially if you’re new to comics. Thus AiPT! presents to you, Fantastic Five! A weekly column where we pick five fantastic books released during the week, and tell you why you should take a chance on them via a snippet from our reviews.
Enjoy, and happy reading!
Batman: The Curse of the White Knight #2
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Written and drawn by Sean Gordon Murphy.
The art by Murphy, with colors by Matt Hollingsworth, are out-of-this-world good. The opening sequence in the past is perfectly paced with exciting action that would be translated to film easily. The kinetic energy is quite sharp and that goes double for an action sequence later in the issue that has Batman narrowly avoiding death. It’s safe to say Murphy excels at drawing vehicles from the English ship Bruce’s ancestor rides in on to the military-style truck Azrael and his men use late in the issue. (10/10)
— David Brooke
Doctor Mirage #1
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Written by Magdalene Visaggio. Art by Nick Robles.
The writing in this book is incredible from start to finish, and the art is every bit its equal – the whole issue is breathtakingly gorgeous from the very first page. Nick Robles hasn’t done a lot of work prior to this series, but it doesn’t show at all. The characters are gorgeous with unique and visually appealing designs, the panels are laid out in a fluid and perfectly paced manner, and the big magical splash pages are gorgeously Ditko-esque while still carrying Robles’ own unique style. Robles adds an incredible amount of emotion to the book, as both Mirage and Grace are expressive and so visibly human on every page. Bellaire’s colors are fantastic throughout as well, making the magical world of the dead bright and vibrant and wholly different from anything else in the book. (10/10)
— Vishal Gullapalli
Doctor Strange #18
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Written by Mark Waid. Art by Jesus Saiz.
The visuals by Saiz are astounding (he’s paired with VC’s Cory Petit on letters). Skin tones look realistic, the emotion and body language is spot on and Doctor Strange looks fabulous in his new costume too. Saiz’s style is very realistic from the decor to the family dog which heightens the reality of an otherwise tricky plot to pull off. Much of the issue revolves around Doctor Strange destroying this poor family’s stuff and Saiz keeps that interesting as we move around the house. His incredible lack of care for their stuff is hilarious and when things break you’ll feel their pain. (10/10)
— David Brooke
Resonant #2
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Written by David Brian Andry. Art by Alejandro Aragon.
All through the world, another wave just hit. We don’t really know what this means, but we saw what it does to people. Many live their lives in fear, kill others to survive, and only trust those they’re absolutely comfortable with. In Resonant, there are careful preparation measures taken to ensures safety. Cicadas, now called chirpers, serve as warning signs. People need to be tied down to prevent hurting themselves or others. David Andry, Alejandro Aragon, Jason Wordie, and Deron Bennett have given us a world always on edge. There’s always the anxiety that the dark, inner voices we keep within will escape and only lead to destruction and chaos. Paxton has survived the wave and leaves a chirper for the man he had to knock out. The entire scene is portrayed through a position of power, dominance, and experience. (10/10)
— Ari Bard
House of X #3
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Written by Jonathan Hickman. Art by Pepe Larraz.
House of X #3 provides a taste of what Hickman’s run on X-Men proper will likely be. It’s the first issue to focus on the characters that readers already know, and gives many of them some wonderful chances to shine. It’s a far more straightforward issue than either House of X or Powers of X have been so far, and for longtime X-Fans who have been waiting to see how Hickman will treat the characters they love, it is immensely satisfying. This issue serves as the first “standard” X-Men story in over a month, and Hickman, Larraz, and Garcia have shown that this was worth the wait. (10/10)
–Vishal Gullapalli
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