Well, we had a few technical issues but Bullet Reviews #127 is live (better late than never, right?). It’s a pretty light week but we have a few titles that are pretty new to BR: Ghostbusters #7, Unwritten #52, Vampirella #34, and The Walking Dead #114:
GHOSTBUSTERS #7 (IDW)
The fine folks at IDW Publishing continue the adventures of the Ghostbusters and they do it with a style that is enough to forgive whatever forces are blocking a Ghostbusters 3 movie from being made. All out main characters are here and they have actually grown some. The original ‘Busters are still very much active but we have a nice supporting cast, including Janine with a more active role in things. The only thing that’s different now is the guy (jerk) from the first movie, Walter Peck, is now apparently running the show for the ‘Busters where he basically tells them where to go and when. This issue opens with Peck being reamed because the ‘Busters haven’t taken care of a ghost ship off the Rhode Island but when he’s on the phone with Venkman they get cut off during the explanation about the boat. From there it’s the usual gathering of clues, finding other ‘Busters who are able to join in the hunt and finally running head on into a boat filled with… ghosts.
I’m not a regular reader of this series but as a fan of the movies I think I’d be able to really get into this book. It has the same charm and humor of the movies and while I was reading this issue I swear I could hear all that iconic music from the first movie. Best of all, this book doesn’t fall victim to the annoying thing that a lot of comics based on movies fall to: retreading all the same lines and situations from the movie. It’s moving forward and I really enjoyed it! -Skott Jimenez
UNWRITTEN #52 (Vertigo)
The Fables/Unwritten crossover continues in a new reality where the Fables lost the battle against Mister Dark back in Fables #100. Tommy and his friends were able to free Bigby from the dungeon of Castle Dark in hopes that he may be able to help them defeat the Dark Man. This issue features all our players feeling out their enemies: Mister Dark doesn’t know who Tommy and Co. are and that bothers him. He begins to search out the answers as to who his new enemies are and the answers come rather fast, unfortunately. Meanwhile, Bigby has to admit that he has no plan and has no idea how to defeat Dark, I think it’s more that he is grieving over the loss of his family and hasn’t put his head on straight yet. But they make a last-ditch effort to recruit North, Bigby’s father, who tells them he cannot go against the guardian of his grand children. Mister Dark’s plans come together when Boy Blue shows up, which was a surprise to everyone considering he’s dead, and thanks to Tommy all hell breaks loose. By the end of this issue Dark knows his enemies and knows the secret of both the Fables and Unwritten. This story has been a lot of fun. It’s the first Unwritten story I’ve ever read and I have to say it’s a lot of fun. It’s also neat seeing characters I’m familiar with interacting with characters from another reality. Great read, fans of either series should be checking this one out! -Skott Jimenez
VAMPIRELLA #34 (Dynamite)
First: I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Dynamite title with such high numbering. It’s kind of nice, gives me hope for their Dark Shadows series, which I love. Anyway, for this book… I’ve never read an issue of Dynamite’s Vampirella so I’m coming in very late and very cold but it’s written in a way that allowed me to fully understand what’s going on here. After having seen a possible future where she is pretty much a Saint of the Monsters, Vampirella is hoping to create a community made of the monsters of the world, a place where they can be safe and, she hopes, work together and not constantly fight. It’s a noble idea and one with a lot of merits except there are people who would rather see this idea fail and put forth a plan to see that she fails.
Overall, it really is an interesting idea and not something I’d expect from Vampirella, while I only have a vague idea about her I always assumed she was less of a savior-type character than she appears as in this book. It makes her a more well-rounded character for sure.
While I’m most likely not going to be buying this book on a regular basis I will be looking at it from time to time because, to be honest, it really is an interesting book. It’s an easy read and gives new readers all they need to know about what’s going on so it is very accessible to new or curious readers. Vampire fans might be interested in it, unless they really like their vamps to be all emo and glittery. -Skott Jimenez
THE WALKING DEAD #114 (Skybound)
The road to All Out War ends here! A the players are on the board and all hell is breaking out (a lot of that going on these days). Rick and his people have made their stand against Negan and there is no turning back now! The opening battle is joined and everyone seems to get a little action, even the tiger Shiva! This issue was a very well done ‘intro’ issue to the upcoming All Out War story that will take our entire cast to levels of violence we’ve likely not seen in a while… or possibly ever! While we know where a lot of our players actually stand, the one group on The Hilltop lead by Gregory is still something of a wildcard. We know there are people there who are more than willing to inform Negan of anything and we know a jellyfish has more of a backbone than Gregory but what part will they play in the coming war? Time will tell but the moment of this issue was no doubt between Rick and Carl who has really begun to show his age and is really coming into his own. I’m beginning to wonder if this is a shade of things to come… -Skott Jimenez
