“300” by Mike Wieringo!

300 by Mike Wieringo is just what is needed today. Any day really.
Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views

300 by Mike Wieringo is just what is needed today. Any day really.

Black Cross by Chris Warner is a great character. I wish Dark Horse (or someone) would give us a compilation of all of his appearances. And I wouldn’t complain if Warner would do a new story or two to go with it.

I never grow tired of Matt Wagner‘s Batman.

Gotta love this Curse of the Werewolf piece by Neil Vokes!

Here’s a rate cowboy pencil sketch by the legendary Steranko!!

Marv from Frank Miller’s Sin City is one of my all-time favorite characters. I love seeing artists do their “take” on the big lug. Today we have Marv by Libertore.

YOU ARE HERE by Kyle Baker
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Noel Coleman has it all. He’s a successful artist. Helen, his beautiful fiancée, loves him. He owns an attractive house in the country. For the past year that Noel and Helen lived together, life has been perfect.
Noel plans to ask Helen to marry him. It’s just… he has secrets. Noel wants to come clean. But how do you tell your future (hopefully) wife that you were a criminal when you met her? Noel decides he’ll figure out how to tell her when the time comes.
So Noel informs Helen that he’s going into the city to clean the last things out of his apartment. When he gets back, he’ll pop the question.
Noel heads in to the city and runs into his old crime partner. They decide to have a drink. The more they talk the more Noel realizes he misses the life. His partner talks about a job he’s set up. He offers Noel a piece of the action if he wants to come. Noel is tempted. He decides once he comes clean to Helen, her reaction will decide the life he’ll live.
Then Noel learns that an infamous serial killer just got released from prison. The killer has made it known he’s going to kill the bum that slept with his wife. Noel is that bum! Noel realizes he needs to get out of the city and quick. Thank God Helen didn’t come with him.
Noel sees Helen at about the same time as he catches sight of the killer. Unfortunately the killer has seen them.
Noel will have a lot of explaining to do if they survive. And odds are they won’t.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
The art feels very Disneyish and yet the story is noir. The combination works. Baker sets us up to expect one thing and gives us another. The bathtub scene (in the preview below) is just one example. I love the cartoony style used in this tale. I also thought telling the story without word balloons was creative. Having the serial killer resemble Robert Mitchum was icing on the cake.
This isn’t a story for kids. There is sex and violence. Happy endings are for Disney and this is noir.
YOU ARE HERE gets my highest recommendation!
YOU ARE HERE by Kyle Baker rates 5 of 5 stars.
Rating:


One of the all-time best crime comics is 100 BULLETS written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Eduardo Risso. Here Risso gives us two characters from the tale, Megan and Cole.

Here’s a vintage piece by Jason Pearson. Leon and Matilda from The Professional!

Brik by Dan Panosian. I believe (and hopefully Dan will set us straight) that this was a character design he created. Like everything Dan draws, it’s very cool.

Marv from Frank Miller’s Sin City is one of my all-time favorite characters. I love seeing artists do their “take” on the big lug. Today we have Marv by Joelle Jones.

Now THAT is a great Curse of the Werewolf drawing by Shane Oakley!!

Here’s a sketch saved from the Zablo vault. It’s a pre-Dark Knight Batman by Frank Miller. This piece appears to be from the late 70s or very early 80s.

This is wonderful. Bravo! Jorge Fornés nailed it.