New from IDW

Dexter’s Laboratory #1

Nostalgia is a powerful effect.  If you are like me, you watched Dexter’s Laboratory most nights on the Cartoon Network between Johnny Bravo and Ed, Edd, and Eddy.  Well, you’re friends at IDW are bringing you a four part mini series based on that celebrated show.  The issue starts out being about Dexter unlocking the full potential of his own brain.  Through the events of the book, however, it turns out to be about Dee Dee and her constant destruction of his experiments.  How far would Dexter go to free himself of his sister’s constant interruptions and disruptions?  I guess we will find out in the Dexter’s Laboratory!

Ghostbusters #15

As is the staple of Ghostbusters the crew is once again tangling with some extradimensional god, and while it is not Gozer this time, it’s the next best (or worst) thing.  Issue 15 brings us a step closer to the actual arrival of Tiamat, by bringing the original Gatekeeper and Keymaster for her brother Gozer to New York, and turning them into her puppets.  As you’ve guessed this has some repercussions with Venkman as he is involved with Dana Barrett.  You can almost feel the story pick up speed like an avalanche, leading towards the original building that Gozer stepped onto when he finally got into our world.  Fun story, fast paces, and very entertaining.

G.I.Joe #15

This issue has some chilling themes.  From children being indoctrinated into the Cobra way of thinking, to having to make the hard decisions on who you can save and who you can’t, the whole story is an exercise in dealing with being a human in a warzone.  The introduction of a new Cobra, Big Boa, who is exceedingly impressive as she out brawls Roadblock with ease, makes this a noteworthy issue, in and of itself.  The third act betrayal is shocking enough to drop your jaw and its aftermath will leave you with a chill knot in your stomach.  It’s the human side of Cobra that I found the most interesting this month.  If you’re a fan of the Joes already, you will most certainly be satisfied.

Judge Dredd:  Mega-city Two #4

After reading this issue, I am almost at a loss for words.  With Dredd marching into a “theme park” themed around old school forms of crime and disaster was going to be a little on the odd side from the get go, but what readers find themselves faced with is almost too much.  The fully action-oriented character of Judge Dredd, the brutal action sequences, and even one of the characters that he teams up with are all so serious and visceral.  The contrasts to these elements are the commercials, pieces of the theme park, two singing mascots, and even an entire fight scene being converted into a promotional scene for the park all push the story into absurdity.  That’s the genius of it.  The sugar coated portions of the theme park throw the reality of what it, and anything else it touches, is covering up even more heavily into the face of the reader, making all of it feel like bitter satire with a smile.  Don’t Dredd this title, it’s totally worth a read!

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #18

The story of My Little Pony has begun to become more complex little by little.  The point of this story arch is to deal with an alternate reality, much like DC’s Bizarro World.  In this new world, the villains are heroes and vice versa.  The most interesting part of this take on the multiverse is that the more people who exist in both worlds cross the barriers between them, the more connected the two worlds get.  Princess Celestia’s plan of dealing with this is to send the younger ponies into the world, having no counterparts there, with the Harmony Elements.  The relationship between Celestia and the alt world king Sombra, and a binding between the Celestia and Luna of the two worlds make this a problem not so easily solved.  For Ponies and Bronies alike, this comic is worth walking through the looking glass.

Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #28

Both Transformers titles have a tendency to be a bit wordy at times.  However, this isn’t an issue in Transformers: More than Meets the Eye.  Luckily the writers give the characters more than enough wit and personality to carry even the most basic conversation through to an amusing conclusion.  This issue not only explains the difficult political predicament that the Cybertronians were in at the end of the revolution, but has a huge focus on the newly reformed Megatron.  The insights are both poetic and powerful, showcasing the potentially fully reformed Decepticon.  Combine that with the hijinks and revisited storylines, long time fans have an awful lot to look forward to.

V-Wars #1

Few things are as popular these days as zombies.  Vampires are certainly a close second.  V-Wars #1 takes place in a world not entirely unlike that of Ultra Violet, where the vampires that have populated the world are caused by some sort of contagion, in the case of V-Wars, a contagion that activates a dormant gene that all mankind carries.  The first issue carries the advent of the vampire renaissance through to a civil rights debate that ends with equal parts Martin Luther King Jr. and Lee Harvey Oswald.  The ensuing war is unprecedented violence, taking into account many of the real world angles we deal with today; Politics, the Media, Profiling, and the Masterminds behind the scenes.  If you like a conspiracy story, and find yourself attracted to the macabre, you’ve found a great ongoing title from IDW.

The X Files: Season 10 #11

I myself have been a fan of X-files for years, even through the more questionable later years in the series.  Issue #11 starts off a new story arch with a formula that should be obvious to the die hard fan, as it is the same as basically every conspiracy episode in the television show.  The most interesting moments in this comic involve eyes that are completely black, which tweaks my memories of the movies, but I can’t quite put my finger on it, and the return of an old enemy.  The familiar feel of the issue as well as the interesting location, outside the United States, makes this a solid issue and a good place to begin.