New from IDW 6/11/2014

New from IDW 6/11/2014

Angry Birds #1

Angry Birds #1 is exactly what you’d expect; another mad grab to take money on a ridiculously popular game that doesn’t lend itself to story telling.  That said, the premise and subsequent comic are goofy enough to sell the book to the children that would think to buy it in the first place.  The stories are light hearted, aiming to simply make you laugh with the most Looney Tunes – esque slapstick comedy.  Great if you have a kid that steals your phone or tablet to chuck some angry birds.

The Crow Pestilence #4

Well, that was disappointing.  The climax of the Crow Pestinlence had about the amount of violence you would expect after seeing the movies or reading the other mini-series.  The twist here was surprising, I suppose, but it also took the wind out of the Salvador’s claim to vengeance.  At this point is only about him, which makes it a very shallow undertaking indeed. On top of that, Santa Muerte was neither explained nor expanded upon; her deal neither explained nor really fulfilled as far as I can tell.  It was just a disappointing ending to yet another half formed idea to wring money out of an iconic idea.

Dexter’s Laboratory #3

This issue is really entertaining.  I particularly enjoy that Dexter is reciting in his head what would be lab notes or some sort of explorer’s journal.  The way he describes running into everything in this Dee Dee dimension.  Everything from science being against the law and Mee Mee having a crush on Dexter to the cross dressing disguise and the Fairy Princess ally put Dexter way out of his comfort zone.  I literally laughed out loud at the final line of dialogue for the sheer absurdity of it.  Fun read for old fans of the cartoon and new fans of the comic alike.

Rocky and Bullwinkle #4

I am always surprised by how topical and political some of these stories can be.  Almost like fairy tales for the modern age.  In the Rocky and Bullwinkle story, the duo is dealing with Boris and Natasha starting a fast food chain specifically to make people fat.  This smacks dangerously like the Michelle Obama push for better food and eating habits.  The Dudley Doright portion is about framing Dudley, bestiality, and even has a few references to credit scores.  I am not a fan, but if the slapstick comedy is up your alley, this has got to be a fun series.

Sinister Dexter #7

This day-after-tomorrow noir is really a captivating read.  While the ideas and conflicts of the story aren’t really anything new, the framework makes them feel fresh.  I particularly enjoyed the first story where the twist is not a twist at all, but the absence of one.  The second story really adds to the world of the Gun Shark; laying down a lot of jargon like Minders, Reminders, and Final Thoughts.  I have to say this series has been hyper enjoyable and I’d really like to see the mini series become an ongoing anthology set.

Star Trek #34

Star Trek has been consistently incredible.  I did not start out as a Star Trek fan, in fact, I was in the Jedi camp for a long time.  But the recent relaunch of the movies and the ongoing that spawned from it have really raised the bar.  This issues interesting approach to family and the moral decisions of medical care based on the quality of life one might enjoy after said treatment was highly entertaining.  The character’s interactions with each other feel organic and exactly how they’d be in the movie.  Good show, once again!

Star Mage #3

I keep trying to find things that make this series interesting.  Unfortunately, this is the third issue of set-up, creating an exposition to launch from.  Unfortunately, this is really living up to my first analysis, Harry Potter in space.  He is back to learning the way of things and entering the school as a first year.  The backstory is that his brother took over the enemy and became their leader.  He can only effect the main character through dreams right now.  It’s all familiar territory with no branching out or risk taking.  It shouldn’t be an effort to like a comic, but here we are.

Transformers: Robots in Disguise #30

This issue was really action oriented, with the opening pages involving Devastator fighting the Decepticons that had the Autobots cornered; Decepticons that included Galvatron.  The humans were scrambling to hide what just happened, and all of the transformers got away.  From here, it was just a lot of Prowl talking about how his actions that seemed poorly thought out and needlessly reckless were particularly apt and yielded the best information.  I didn’t expect the spy, but I’m curious to see what the humans have been doing with Alpha Trion.

Wraith #7

Holy wordy!  This final issue in the Wraith series actually feels more like a story book than a comic.  Basically you learn of the man that sold the car to the driver and what his entire life has been like.  It is an interesting and illuminating story, with a bunch of moments that connect a lot of the imagery from the series to the driver.  There is a theme of people being dragged away from the conman, and over all it is an interesting story.  It really does feel like an epilogue, and I could be happy with the story ending here.