by Gavin Foo

 *WARNING - SPOILERS!*

Writer & Artist: Kaare Andrews
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

Danny Rand aka Iron Fist, has appeared in numerous titles and events since his last solo series, The Immortal Iron Fist. Though he frequents Avengers teams and I particularly liked his role in AvX and the storyline that emerged from it, there hasn't been a solo title for quite some time - and I say to that, ’tis about time!

Kaare Andrews has not only given us a current and evolved Iron Fist, he is writing it all and covering all art duties. 

by Gavin Foo

 STARLIGHT #2

Writer: Mark Millar
Art: Goran Parlov
Colours: Ive Svorcina
Letterer: Marko Šunjić
Cover: Bill Sienkiewicz
Variant Cover: Goran Parlov

Hopefully, you are one of those people last month who picked up the first issue - if not, you are missing out. Mark Millar has followed it up with an issue that is equally as spectacular.

Last month we saw the establishment of Duke McQueen, an American Air Force pilot who more than a few decades ago, was transported to another world and dimension, Tantalus - and promptly had adventures and saved that world. The issue though, was much about loss as he had just lost his wife, and reflecting upon where his life has taken him. Let it be said that he had a choice to stay but chose to return to his love on earth. 

by Gavin Foo

*WARNING - DEFINITE SPOILERS*

B.P.R.D. HELL ON EARTH #117

Writer: Mike Mignola / John Arcudi
Art: James Harren
Colours: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Clem Robins
Cover: Rafael Albuquerque
Variant Cover: James Harren & Dave Stewart

The Reign of the Black Flame [Part 3 of 5]

This issue starts with a large boom, literally and figuratively. 

Iosif takes centre stage for most of it as he starts off with an interrogation of the captured Leopold Kurtz. He uncovers a major piece of information in regards to the body the Black Flame inhabits which origins stretches back to Garden of Souls, through Killing Ground, and then ‘loaned’ to Zinco in Return of the Master. It seems he may even have a hidden agenda as he lies to Johann about the body, knowing Johann’s at tachment to it. Then follows a full-on, one-man army battle as he engages Zinco troops and then 2 ferocious monsters of the Black Flame’s creation.

by Gavin Foo

“WOK”. That is the sound of many a reader, experiencing Hellboy and the Mignolaverse for the first time - your skull-bone simply dislocating from your neck-bone, somersaulting through the air like some absurd acrobat and upon hitting the ground, rather a ‘plink-plonk’ of bouncing and a rolling to a halt. You didn’t expect it, you simply couldn’t have, but it hit you like a hundred tonne fist of doom yet so caressing in its embrace.

Sure, that introduction reads ridiculously, but what can be said that hasn’t already been said before about the great Mike Mignola? I remember my first taste of his artwork in the early 90’s, the original graphic novel Wolverine - The Jungle Adventure with Walt Simonson. I was not yet mature enough to fully understand nor appreciate the beauty within his lines, but one thing that I did realise was that this was something special to behold, and it remains one of my favourite stories today, visually and otherwise.

by Gavin Foo
*WARNING - POSSIBLE SPOILERS!*

ABE SAPIEN #11
Writer: Mike Mignola / Scott Allie
Art: Max Fiumara
Colours: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Clem Robins 

To The Last Man [Part 3 of 3]
The horror increases exponentially for the town of Payton, Arizona. Undead hell is unleashed in one swift move as Abe bears witness to it all. He is seen in one panel, stricken with grief and overlooking from shadows, while the narration reads “you’re doomed to find neither friendship nor loyalty”, a line spoken in a different place yet sits perfectly in the context of Abe’s current situation with  his change, the events in Payton and the adage of this title since its re-inception.

by Gavin Foo

 THE WAKE #6

Writer: Scott Snyder
Art: Sean Murphy
Colours: Matt Hollingsworth
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Cover: Andrew Robinson

I gave up. I gave up trying to guess what could be in store with this issue - and I’m really glad I did, because this world has unfolded in a totally different manner that I could never have expected. 

We are now in the last half of this 10-part series, and now we are fully introduced to Leeward, our new protagonist. It is 200 years later, in a world and landscape changed beyond recognition. Snyder and Murphy have even created new colloquialisms for this new world, and new infrastructure. 

by Gavin Foo

*WARNING* Definite spoilers!

Welcome readers, and appreciative viewers of sequential art! ‘The Fine Line’ is a column delving into the depths of and celebrating the works of the artistic person(s) that work so hard, day and night, line after line, page after page to deliver unto us our weekly comics!

Hellooooo there! Here we are again, picking up where we left off with part 2 of our little insight into the works of Sean Murphy. Last week, we covered a couple of his earlier works, stopping just shy of mid 2011, after Hellblazer: City of Demons. A few months later, Survival of the Fittest emerges from the ominous  shadows - a limited series for Scott Snyder & Rafael Albuquerque’s American Vampire. Set during the first years of World War II, the tale drops Agents Felicia Book and Cashel McCogan of the Vassals of the Morning Star deep into the heart of Romania, where they must retrieve a scientist rumoured to have found the cure to vampirism. 

by Gavin Foo

Welcome readers, and appreciative viewers of sequential art! The Fine Line is a column delving into the depths of and celebrating the works of the artistic person(s) that work so hard, day and night, line after line, page after page to deliver unto us our weekly comics!

In this first instalment of the Fine Line, we will be looking at one Sean Gordon Murphy. From the East coast of America - in his relatively few years in the industry, has visualised some amazing works, and as of late collaborating with writers such as Grant Morrison and Scott Snyder, often with colour infusion by the great Dave Stewart.

Already early in his career he had delved into creator-owned comics, both writing and drawing Off Road in 2005. This was furthered by more experimentation in the fields of inking and colouring, contributing to a greater overall understanding of his craft, style and work ethic.

by Gavin Foo

ABE SAPIEN #10

Writers: Mike Mignola / Scott Allie
Art: Max Fiumara
Colours: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Clem Robins

Man or monster? In this issue, we follow Abe Sapien further into his journey of self-reflection since he awoke from a lengthy slumber and absence from the BPRD team. Still dealing with the events of his shooting, Abe has now stumbled upon the town of Payton, Arizona.

After befriending J.J., the town’s resident lawman, the second part of this current arc opens with flames, destroying a possible threat that emerged from a bunch of dead horses. What follows is a bit of a celebration of sorts, Abe and J.J. having a chat over drinks, in which they share some personal stories. A side of Abe we haven't really seen before, the shift in his demeanour possibly a front for the darker issues he is currently dealing with.

Meanwhile, the more sinister elements in this arc reveal themselves in the forms of one Gustav Strobl - a seemingly immortal figure who first appeared in the pages of Witchfinder, one revived Agent Vaughn from the previous arc… and a couple of zombies. 

The shifts in tone and mood are highlighted well by colourist extraordinaire, Dave Stewart - with his signature reds bleeding out of the paper, which includes creepy floating tadpole creatures whilst Max Fiumara moves the story along through well paced panel work.

The issue ends with a ritual performed by the youngsters that have been camping out at the Payton golf course from issue #9, and more curiously, the frog that was placed in a cooler in that same issue, reappears and is put into an open grave, the final resting place of their (latest?) victim. - 8/10

by Gavin Foo

Un-death. Pretty much sums up this series in a nutshell. Fortunately, it isn’t as simple as that - as it is as quirky and unusual as the term “un-death”. Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash), and Mike Norton brings us a tale that is neither a ghost story, zombie fest or an iteration of Twin Peaks… yet it is all of them all at once.

Revival unfolds in the little town of Wausau, Wisconsin; where sisters Dana and Martha (otherwise known as ‘Em’) Cypress face an event in which the dead start coming back to life. “This sounds familiar”, you ask, almost immediately thinking of zombies, yet these ‘Revivers’, as they are referenced as in the book, retain all their memories and there are only a handful of them. No one in the town can pinpoint the exact moment of when it all went down, but after the event, anyone who had died stayed dead. So why these select few, and what exactly is going on? 

Enter the CDC (Centres for Disease Control & Prevention), promptly declaring the town a quarantine zone, effectively trapping the citizens in with whatever horrors await them, also in turn keeping out any possible outside expertise and the media, some of which believe this is some sort of miracle, and others, a more sinister beginning.