Christopher Sebela

Well this was fun. Fast paced, characters with a lot of heart (if not a lot of luck), an appreciation of great food, and a new take on the secret heart of the Portland food truck scene. I love stories about strong community, and even though the communities in this book are struggling in a lot of ways, you see the caring, the shit-giving, the dark side that brings them together. Even better, you see them climbing to a place where they can dictate their own terms. That's satisfying.

Advanced show more Reader's Copy provided by Oni Press. show less

This crossover event joins “anything starring Machiko” as basically the most essential AVP comics in my opinion. This had a very cinematic scope that is exactly what you are probably looking for out of this franchise but is often actually lacking in other comics. And I also love how interconnected everything is but also that you could read any one of these individual series and still get a complete story and not feel like you were missing anything.

This one stars everyone that made it off show more of LV-223 in Prometheus: Fire and Stone, especially the asshole scientist and the mutated half-android/half-Engineer.

The philosophical diatribes the pair exchange while trying to murder each other and fighting a bunch of Aliens and Predators was surprisingly compelling. The scientist is, as I may have mentioned one or two times, an asshole. He does manage to deliver one extremely meaningful quote, though, which I actually had to write down: “No matter how much you change, you can’t change who you are. All you can do is live with it. As long as you can.”

Oh, yeah, and the Engineer/android hybrid has some Xenomorphs with him who eventually turn on him, and some Predators show up and one of them gets turned into a Predator/Engineer hybrid and we’re not even gonna get into what happens when the scientist tries injecting himself with the Engineers’ black goo and yeah, there’s a lot going on here and it’s pretty action packed and it has a really distinct mood which is often something AVP comics have sadly failed to achieve. I dig it. show less

After five billion years of this sitting on my TBR shelf, I finally read it, and now I'm smacking myself that I didn't read it sooner!

Shortly in the future, the job economy has devolved into gig apps, one of which is the crowdfunded assassination app, Reapr. Charlie Ellison, a social butterfly and a gig working queen, wakes up to discover she has a Tolar bounty on her head. In order to try and survive, she hires Vita, a bodyguard with a 1.4-star rating on the app Dfend. Insanity ensues. I show more really enjoyed the action of this comic, and the action is so wild it's nigh unbelievable. I also love the mystery slowly brewing behind both Charlie and Vita. Why does Charlie have a million-dollar bounty opened on her? What's going on with Vita's past? What is Charlie not telling Vita about how she could have gotten a bounty dumped on her head? It appears a lot of people don't like Charlie, but I honestly do. She's got the persona of being just a vapid party girl, but it's very clear this girl has an "always be hustling" mindset and is most likely much smarter than she lets on. To be able to flow and gain people's trust and become their "bestie" so fast is a skill not many have. There are also side characters that have, as of this volume, completely mysterious origins! I'm totally going to get my hands on the second volume when I can! show less

I’ve always enjoyed Ms. Marvel when she appeared in the various Avengers runs. I was excited when I saw that not only was she getting her own series in the Marvel Now launch, but she would finally be CAPTAIN Marvel. I had high expectations, which were met and exceeded by this new take on the character. I originally read this run in summer of 2014 and was happy to add this trade collection volume 1 to my library (though I really want an omnibus – get on that, Marvel!).

Issues one through show more six are fantastic. It’s tough to pull off time travel stories without falling on your face, but DeConnick has done one of the best I have ever read. After being convinced by Captain America to take on the “Captain”, Carol inherits a T6 plane from her personal hero, pilot Helen Cobb. During her first flight, something happens that propels her to 1943 where a band of female soldiers are holding off Japanese soldiers with alien tech. And it only gets better from there with Carol jumping around in time, meeting the brave women who had to face extreme sexism to even become pilots, and learning about herself in the process.

Not only was I happy to see Carol finally become the Captain, but her redesigned costume is awesome. I particularly like the retractable “cowl” when she flies or goes into battle. And the sash around her waist isn’t just for decoration, Tony Stark designed it! I don’t usually comment on artwork since it’s so subjective, however, I loved it. Not only is itt beautifully rendered, but it also works perfectly for every part of the story.

The second half of the run, issues seven through twelves, was a little uneven. It began with a standalone adventure with Captain Marvel and another superheroine I wasn’t familiar with, Monica. And it featured the same art I was so impressed by in volume one. The story has great action sequences and Carol’s sense of humor is on display, much to my enjoyment. Where the book faltered a bit (for me) is in the remaining issues where we learn Captain Marvel can no longer fly. I’m not a fan of superpowered characters suddenly losing powers in order to contrive a plotline. And, it didn’t help that the artist changed at the same time. And it was a DRASTIC change. The two styles couldn’t be further apart. The new style reminds me of Ignacio Noe, whose art I don’t care for. It just wasn’t a good fit for Captain Marvel. That said, the ending teased the return of a villain integral to Carol’s past that has a lot of potential and which is expected to crossover with the Avengers series. And, DeConnick has earned some trust with her stellar writing up to this point.

Overall, though I’m hesitant about where the storyline may go, I’m still very impressed with Captain Marvel and will definitely continue the series. Highly recommended! show less