I’ll admit, when I first was assigned to review Monocyte #1, I hadn’t seen a comic like it in a while, and probably wasn’t ready to. Growing up in the 90’s, the surrealist style of H.R Giger was all the rage. Aliens had come out just four years before 1990 and, at the time, you couldn’t pick up a comic without seeing hints of Giger’s twisted influence.

It was great for a while, but after a certain point, the style began to seem dated, especially as Jim Lee and Image were introducing the world to the bold and vibrant styling of Wild C.A.T.S and Stormwatch. I have always preferred capes and utility belts to brooding, gritty vigilantes stalking the streets of New York, Detroit, and Chicago. Swap a pistol for a ray gun and you’ve got my attention. I had no place in my heart for the brutal reality and endless darkness that was found in comics like Zero Hour and Judge Dredd. So, when I first opened issue one of Monocyte, it all came flooding back. The darkness, the agony, the complete hopelessness, it was all there.

Soul Stealer
The Collectors Edition
Written by Michael Easton
Art by Christopher Shy
Black Watch Comics
Release Date: August 1, 2012
Cover Price: $59.99

If you were to list the themes that were present in Soul Stealer, combined they would all seem like an impossibly tall order to fill. Concepts such as life, death, love, time travel, mythology, humanity, friendship, and betrayal all make an appearance within this book. Nearly every major theme that shaped some of the greatest literature and films throughout history are present in Soul Stealer, but at its core this graphic novel can be summed up in one question. If you lost true love how much of your humanity would you be willing to lose to get it back?

Soul Stealer at its core is simply and truly a love story. This is not a love story in which angst-ridden heroes lament lost loves. You also won’t find hip young men and woman shooting cleverly ironic quips at one another before gracefully tumbling into bed with each other. Soul Stealer portrays the beautiful universal truth about love, but not before stripping its main characters of anything and everything pleasant in this world. Everything comes at a price in Soul Stealer and love is no exception. The luxury of growing old with someone is bent and perverted in such a way that by the end of this book, what could traditionally be defined as happiness quickly becomes agony. Soul Stealer is gracefully written in a way that leaves its characters broken but empowered, destroyed yet reborn.

Kranburn, #1-3
Created by Ben Michael Byrne
FEC Comics
Release Date: July 15, 2012
Cover Price: 99¢

With the end of the Mayan calendar quickly approaching, reading post-apocalyptic comics, in theory, should elicit some less than positive emotions. But, as it typically is with comics and their readers, what should be never is. The success of post-apocalyptic comics like The Walking Dead and Sweet Tooth are always constant reminders that the end of progress makes for good reading. In that same vein of roving gangs of marauders and the collapse of civilization we have Ben Michael Byrne‘s Kranburn.

This indie comic from FEC Comics is a brutal gray-scale look into life after the fall of society. With constant nods to Mad Max, Kranburn is an unsettling look at the sacrifices we must make in order to preserve our humanity. When I say that Kranburn makes continual references towards movies like Mad Max, I am not kidding around. The opening panels of this comic introduce the story’s main character, Brand, as he races from wasteland bandits in an armored car. This comic repeatedly pays homage to the books, movies, and television shows that built the post-apocalyptic wanderer genre.

We’re heading in to the final day of San Diego Comic-Con and with all the excitement going on at the convention show floor over the last few days, it can be easy to miss some of the great cosplay at this year’s con. Thankfully, Geeks of Doom has got your back with a selection of some of (in our opinion) the best cosplayers in the exhibition hall so far.

See photos here below for more than a few Dark Knights, an Elvis Vader, and about half of The Justice League, and be on the lookout later for even more cosplay photos from this massive convention.

Be sure to check out all our SDCC coverage.

The Massive #1
Written by Brian Wood
Art by Kristian Donaldson
Color by Dave Stewart
Cover by Brian Wood, Kristian Donaldson
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: June 13, 2012
Cover Price: $3.50

Brian Wood is no stranger to catastrophe. Well, more accurately his writing is no stranger to catastrophe. Collapse, whether it is political, social, financial, or personal, typically accompanies his work. His latest project, The Massive, has been long awaited and is now finally here. This time, Wood takes an entire planet on the verge of destruction and looks at it on a miniature scale. Instead of focusing on the endless outcomes that global breakdown could have on societies, Wood follows a small group of environmentalists searching for answers. The Massive #1 is Wood at his best. He is taking something infinitely beyond most people’s comprehension and giving it a name. The Massive #1 is not a flawless comic for what it is, but it is perfect for what it will be.