Comic Review: Drive #1

This was originally posted as a review for Word of the Nerd. Reposted here with slight modifications.

• Written by Michael Benedetto
• Pencils by Antonio Fuso
• Inks by Emilio Lecce
• Colors by Jason Lewis
• Letters by Frank Cvetkovic
• Publisher: IDW Publishing

Drive started its life as a novel, then was adapted to a movie, and with Drive #1, IDW is now adapting the novel to comics. While the novel is considered a classic and the movie has a lot of critical acclaim, the comic is unfortunately not up to those standards.

Interesting Comics This Week (9-23-15)

Mentioning a comic here doesn't necessarily mean I will be reviewing it, and not being here doesn't necessarily mean I won't. Instead, this is meant as a simple look at what sticks out about what is coming out this week.
 
Action Lab:

Princeless Be Yourself #4
Despite having only read the Raven: The Pirate Princess spinoff, just about everything in the Princeless series jumps out at me as something to pay attention to right away. This one is the final issue in a miniseries, so while I can't speak to it out of experience, it's still worth looking at, or noting down to keep an eye out for the trade.
 

Comic Review: Over the Garden Wall #1

This was originally posted as a review for Word of the Nerd. Reposted here with slight modifications. 

• Creator: Pat McHale
• Writer: Pat McHale
• Illustrator: Jim Campbell
• Colors: Danielle Burgos
• Letters: Warren Montgomery
• Publisher: Boom! Studios

I had trouble at first figuring out exactly what I thought about Over the Garden Wall #1, based off the Cartoon Network miniseries. A lot of that comes down to it looking like a kids' comic, which has a lot of negative connotations in the industry now. That term isn't meant as a negative here, since it doesn't have the unintelligent sense of humor that you might suspect out of a kids' comic, but instead is just in a style that appeals to kids, without sacrificing any wit or intelligence in the humor. 

Comic Review: D4VE2 #1

• Story and Letters by Ryan Ferrier
• Art and Colors by Valentin Ramon
• Published by IDW Publishing

Even after reading through it a couple times, I can't tell you what exactly D4VE2 is. It is about robots, and is quite out there, even by comic standards. Trying to summarize it is a losing battle. I will likely check out the next issue, though I find it difficult to explain exactly why.

Comic Review: Tokyo Ghost #1

• Created by Rick Remender and Sean Murphy
• Writer: Rick Remender
• Artist: Sean Murphy
• Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth
• Letterer: Rus Wooton
• Publisher: Image Comics

The only comics I've read by Rick Remender are this and Low, and both have given me the impression that I do not like what he writes. He's not the only creator, but there are similarities deeper than just the writing. A lot of people like him, but so far I have not, and Tokyo Ghost does nothing to make me want to come back for another issue.

Comic Review: Awake #1

• Story: Susan Beneville
• Art: Brian Hess
• Letters: Jaymes Reed
• Flatting: Darne Lang
• Publisher: Action Lab

Awake is only the second comic I've read from Action Lab (the other being the surprisingly good Princeless: Raven the Pirate Princess), but I'm getting a feel for one thing they do well: All-Ages comics. They're not perfect, but they're so much fun I'm more than willing to overlook the flaws.

Comic Review: Boy 1 #1

This was originally posted as a review for Word of the Nerd. Reposted here with slight modifications.

• Writer/creator: H.S. Tak
• Art: Amancay Nahuelpan
• Colors: Sebastian Cheng
• Letters: Dezi Sienty
• Editor: Denton J. Tipton
• Producer: Jeremy Entin
• Publisher: IDW Publishing

 Science fiction often exists for the sake of making fantasy stories feel more grounded. From the beginning, Boy-1 seems to be straddling that line, trying to bring fantastical things to life while actually starting in real science and moving forward. It focuses on genetic engineering, though exactly the role that it plays in the plot is not really clear quite yet.