War of the Worlds: Second Wave #2by Michael Alan Nelson & Chee
The biggest surprise here is the lack of color; while the first issue was in color on glossy paper like the rest of Boom's offerings, this is in black & white on regualr paper. Not that I mind black and white, but the art looks as though it was originally planned to be in color. I understand that Boom! probably cannot afford to put out a full color glossy book for $3, but I think the extra dollar would be worth it. Anyway, in all other aspects this is an improvement on the first issue. As the second wave of the alien invasion begins, Miles' story of survival is juxtaposed with events from his past, specifically therapy session when he was having sleep and marital difficulties. The characters in the book show varying degrees of being both shell-shocked and blase; they recently lived through this before, and expect any day now for the invaders to once again fall victim to germs. Chee's art also shows some improvement, This comic continues to show promise. (Too bad about the boring cover though...)
Rating: 3 (of 5)
Jeremiah Harm #3by Keith Giffen, Alan Grant, Rael Lyra & Joe Prado
Two of the alien fugitives continue their search for whatever it is they're searching for, while a third goes on a violent killing spree and Harm attempts to stop her. If senseless, wanton violence is your thing, then you might enjoy this. Me? I'm getting more and more bored with each passing issue.
Rating: 2 (of 5)
Talent #1by Christopher Golden, Tom Sniegoski, & Paul Azaceta
As the lone survivor of doomed flight 654, Nick Dane has a lot to answer for: he appears to have memories, including skill memories, of the other passengers; the government thinks that he was invovled in causing the crash; and a secret organization thinks that he's somehow involved in their shadowy agenda. This is a good first issue, setting up the premise quickly and drawing the reader into Dane's new situation. He's something of a cipher at this point, but with all of the other passengers' memories imposing on him that may be intentional. Azaceta's art is good, and will appear to fans of Michael Lark.
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)
Cthulhu Tales #1by many hands
With
Cthulhu Tales Boom! have taken the anthology formula that has served them well with their
Zombie Tales and applied it to the Lovecraft Mythos. And seeing as I'm much more predisposed to the Mythos than to zombies, it was an easy sell for me. The stories here range from the very traditional (Michael Alan Nelson & Andrew Ritchie's "The Beach") to the very much not (Casey Grey & Mark Badger's "Cthulhu Calls"). My favorite of the lot was John Rogers & Andy Kuhn's "Quality Time", a non-traditional tale that yet still rings authentic in the morally ambiguous way of the best Mythos tales. If you have any affinity for the tales of Lovecraft or his followers you'll no doubt appreciate this anthology.
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)(Review copies of the above comics were provided by the publisher.)
It's day Eighteen of the second annual YACB Free Comic Book Month!
