I hope none of them are claustrophobic.
Afterburn 2015 Preview
Afterburn Press (Spring/Summer, 2015)
An anthology preview of comics released by Afterburn Press. I’m not really sure what else to say. This is one of the those publishers I haven’t heard of so I don’t know anything about them. That’s one interesting thing about going through Drive Thru Comics’ free side library. The biggest name they have on the comic side is maybe Top Cow. Anything with the big names are RPG sourcebooks. So I’m learning about comics I have never heard of before, like I do on Fridays with the Golden Age comics.
I think that’s enough padding for the homepage. Let’s get these reviews started. I’m doing a lot of anthology style comics this week.
Skystorm Origins
(WRITERS: Robert W. Hickey & Bill Nichols | ARTISTS: Willie Peppers, Chris Dreier, & Aero Zero)
We’re not going to get any full stories, are we? At least if I had some idea as to what the two sides are fighting over. Merlin has something a sorceress wants, a family and their friends have superpowers or magic of some kind to stop them. I know names and that’s it. I’m not really drawn to anything here except the art is okay by indie standards.
Paradox Wars
(WRITERS: Robert W. Hickey & Bill Nichols | ARTISTS: Mitch Byrd, Robert W. Hickey & Bill Nichols | COVER: Uko Smith)
They didn’t even call the letterer for this one. Not that any are credited in the whole preview. Even the signs are just blank papers. So we have two scantily clad women shooting guns, fighting dinosaurs, riding dinosaurs, cooking dinosaurs, and then fighting some dudes. I actually have less idea what’s going on that the first book. Even a page of text explaining…anything would be nice about now.
Clay’s Way! (Collection Magazine)
(WRITER/ARTIST: Robert W. Hickey | CO-ARTISTS: Jackie Hernandez, Chris Dreier, & Steve Steglin)
So some shadow goblin things steal some kid’s book, he chases after them since he and his stuffed panda that just came to life couldn’t stop them. The panda insists this isn’t like their other adventures but the kid won’t let him explain why. I know more than the other two and I’m still confused. This one actually goes way too fast rather than taking too much time.
Blood & Roses: Paradox Wars
(WRITER/ARTIST: Robert W. Hickey |CO-ARTISTS: Brad Gorby, Bill Nichols & Jerry Foley)
One caption box! All they needed is one caption box to tell me what the heck was going on! These look like the same two women from the first story, so do they have two comics or what? Well, at least I know what’s happening. A woman from the past and a woman from the future are sent by the time lords (no, not those guys; no TARDIS here) fight a dinosaur (what a shock) to save a little girl, but even when they win that, something is coming. I’m almost invested because I know enough about what’s going on to know who to cheer for. Also, only as bloody as it needs to be and they censored the curse words. I can go for that.
Parts Unknown
(WRITER: Beau Smith | ARTIST: Brad Gorby)
Only two credits and neither of them are Hickey OR Nichols? Fascinating. In this story, stuff happens. Some dude is skinned alive, a bunch of cops fight a gang, and the lady cop in the struggle later shows up at an AA meeting or something. I can’t get invested in any of it because it jumps from moment to moment way too quickly.
Stormquest: Timestorm
(WRITERS: Tom & Mary Bierbaum & Robert W. Hickey | ARTISTS: Greg Land, Willie Peppers, Bill Nichols, & Jerry Foley)
Our last story. Our time traveling magical superpowered people are back. We learn there’s some kind of time storm the government is protecting, they want to register people with superpowers. something breaks through the time storm, attacks a woman…yeah, it’s more of the same. Except now everyone is in static 90s poses and suffering from Youngblood Disease since someone forgot to give them pupils. It’s also Greg Land among the art team, so who knows how many of these were traced from some else’s photographs rather than just using the right one as reference?
overall
This is not a good way to promote your universe to anyone new. Only one story gave me any idea of what’s going on. It’s a sampler of other issues, but not pages that tell me anything. A simple caption box explaining the backstory in one paragraph was enough to at least make me curious. I hope they stepped up their game on these eventually.
BW Media Spotlight 