Rant-Reviews--What I Read The Past Couple of Days

A Quiet Moment

I think we all know that life can be busy, I know mine is. Therefore, when I don't have anything I immediately need to do I try to get in some reading as I of course love comics and books. I had a quiet moment or two the past couple of days  that allowed me to read some new comics I acquired this week. Therefore, let's dive-in to discussing some comic-books, shall we?

What I Read

Farmhand #2

Written and illustrated by Rob Guillory, known by many for his artwork on another Image series, "Chew," this comic is incredibly weird...which means it is perfect for me. A fascinating blend of humor, horror, and mystery, it centers on a farm that uses advanced stem cell technology to grow human body parts from literal plants, plus how the son of the farm's founder has a strained-at-best relationship with his Dad. The comic juggles high-concept sci-fi, family drama, corporate intrigue, and a good deal of jokes but Guillory balances it all out perfectly to give readers a comic I so far adore just two issues in. The book is an ongoing series with a lot already going down, so I'm excited to keep reading based on what's been foreshadowed so far!

5 out of 5 stars.

Beast Hunter X #1

I'm almost always a fan of Mike Wofler's writing and/or artwork, with his comics that carry a strong sci-fi and/or horror-focus often being a favorite of mine. His latest comic, "Beast Hunter X," has an interesting concept with a mixture of known horror monsters (vampires, werewolves) having to come together to face a new and scary creature. It raises a number of questions/mysteries and is jam-packed with all kinds of fighting and gun-play. In the back-matter Wolfer discusses how he was going for a 1980's horror-vibe like the old flicks full of creatures and nasty explosions. I would say Wolfer nails the tone perfectly and the art mostly compliments his writing with it sometimes being a bit scratchy for my tastes but otherwise solid (Demi Mandir does art). It's a delightful first issue and if Wolfer's past work is any indicator, this is going to be a great series!
4 out of 5 stars.

Automa #5

I greatly enjoyed my interview with Charles Forsman I did previously, which included us discussing his comic only Patreon supporters (or stores that support the Patreon who want copies to sell) could acquire. This series, "Automa," is that comic, and considering how good it is I'd encourage everyone who is able to contribute $3 Forsman's way to do so--that way they'll be able to love this book as much as myself. This issue has a lot of trippy visuals as the protagonist, Lee, deals with the fact that his robotic-arms from the future are basically taking over the rest of his body (if you read the comic it makes sense). Forsman is a fantastic illustrator and these surreal dream-style sequences are a treat to read, even if it is at the expense of further plot development this issue. It's rad stuff however, and if you go support his Patreon you too can enjoy, "Automa," as much as I do.
5 out of 5 stars.

Michael Cray #10

While the main, "Wildstorm," book written by Warren Ellis has been amping-up more and more with a war brewing between two secret organizations that monitor/control Earth and Space, its spin-off comic, "Michael Cray," has been more low-key, having our protagonist stop twisted versions of DC heroes in this strange world. At first the book followed a routine where for two issues Cray would fight someone and move onto the next threat with an over-arching theme slowly becoming apparent that there was a whole lot more going on than met the eye, and since about issue #7 the big plot has become apparent with Cray fighting an alien parasite within his brain that may actually tie back into the main Wildstorm book in some ways whilst also dealing with quite evil versions of John Constantine and Diana Prince. It's been a good read and it wraps-up in just two more issues, so I hope it, "Sticks the landing." Based on how enjoyable the book has been so far I'm not worried, however.

4 out of 5 stars.

Predator: Hunters II #1

With a new #1 to kick off its second volume of the, "Predator: Hunters," mini-series, Dark Horse continues this series intriguing take on the Predator concept, namely it pits the alien/aliens against humans who know from the start what they are up against. This is admittedly a hokey, "Hunter becomes the hunted," concept, but it actually works quite well with the Predator, as so often the character is the cat in a game of, "Cat-and-mouse," resulting in it being a fun twist when the tables are turned. What's left of our team from volume 1 now heads to Afghanistan and it seems there are other parties interested in the Predators as well. This issue also has some exciting and gory Predator-action so I was pleased with the mixture of plot, blood, and general mayhem.
4 out of 5 stars.

Fantastic Four #1

I just recently talked about how it felt like there wasn't much hype for the return of the Fantastic Four in their own comic. After I made that post I had one personally anonymously comment on the blog to say they were excited and my friend James Doe (real name) told me on Facebook he was pumped too..so yeah, I guess at least two people in the world are clamoring for a, "Fantastic Four," comic. Having read the Dan Slott-scripted comic I now can conclude that it is alright, but nothing amazing. The issue is mostly place-setting for the team to reunite and we witness Doctor Doom retake Latveria in an epilogue that was pretty cool because things actually happen in it. Otherwise, little occurs besides the Thing getting engaged to Alicia Masters--which is sweet--and it becoming apparent the team will finally reunite in the next issue. For a big-deal #1 this is a pretty quiet and low-impact return of this book. It wasn't bad though, just relatively unimpressive AKA average. Now I'm just curious what my aforementioned chum, James, thought of it.
2.5 out of 5 stars.

Relaxation and Writing
Some people hate writing, but I enjoy it so I took this free time to offer my thoughts on some assorted comics. I hope you enjoyed reading my opinions and are now inspired to seek-out (or even avoid) some books.