As a follow-up to Snake Oil #2, I was anxious to see where this series was going to go. It’s obviously the work of someone with an eye for the basic Understanding Comics mechanics of sequential narrative, which has a made each of Chuck Forsman’s books I’ve picked up so far an engaging read. Three … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #42: ‘Snake Oil’ #3

Diving into this issue got me a little misty-eyed for 52, and based on that sentiment alone I was predisposed to liking this new mini. In addition to Tony Bedard being a writer I automatically approach with high expectations, The Great Ten #1 came off my reading stack from last week with several distinct advantages. … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #41: ‘The Great Ten’ #1

I read the first Snake Oil volume a long time ago and have been admittedly lax tracking down its follow-ups, which now go up to issue #4. As Chuck Forsman, the series’ creator states inside, this was the final part of his thesis at The Center for Cartoon Studies. Understanding his work from that perspective, … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #40: ‘Snake Oil’ #2

Why I didn’t see this premise turning into a full-on post-apocalyptic Furry drama up until this issue totally escapes me, but as of the last page of Sweet Tooth #3, I’m seeing this book with new eyes. The Lost Boy kids were completely absent from this issue, which is almost entirely focused on Sweet Tooth … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #39: ‘Sweet Tooth’ #3

“Well, they can’t all be like the burning army of Chien-Chi.” –Professor Bruttenholm This Abe Sapien one-shot, which came out from Dark Horse last week was remarkably fulfilling on several levels (not surprising, since it’s written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi), even if the suspension of disbelief hoisting the ending comes off as hastily … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #38: ‘Abe Sapien: The Haunted Boy’

Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds must have spoiled me on giant crossover spin-offs, because the full stories from these now-wrapping “Blackest Night” books just aren’t cutting it for me. Granted, this one had much more of a structured finish than Blackest Night: Titans, but the whole New Krypton thread ending was framed as a … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #37: ‘Blackest Night: Superman’ #3

“Go ahead and play the universe’s largest violin for me.” –Hal Jordan I want less Indigo Tribe talking and more Hal Jordan talking. Also, more bickering between Sinestro and Hal. This issue felt like a lot of broken up scenes more than it really worked as single read, but the core Hal/Sinestro vignette was worth … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #36: ‘Green Lantern’ #47

Oh boy. Before I start sounding like I didn’t enjoy Blackest Night: Titans #3, I liked it a lot — but the ending was a one-two punch of confusion. [Also: *SPOILER WARNING*] In stark contrast to Blackest Night #4, the cover here was on the mark. I have absolutely no idea what happened with Dove’s … Read more100 Days, 100 Comics #35: ‘Blackest Night: Titans’ #3