Onyx #1 Written by Chris Ryall
Art by Gabriel Rodriguez
Colors by Jay Fotos
Letters by Shawn Lee
Cover art by Gabriel Rodriguez, Ashley Wood, Charles Paul Wilson III, Alan Robinson, and Sal Buscema IDW Publishing
Release Date: July 1, 2015
Cover Price: $3.99
At the end of Onyx #1 you’re going to hear a bit of a thud. That’s the mic dropping.
Writer Chris Ryall finally brings this labor of love to shelves of comic stores around the world, and boy, can you tell that Ryall loves this book. There’s some comics that I read where I can tell that the creators are just showing up to collect a paycheck, then they’re outta there and on to the their next project. Not so with Ryall and Onyx.
It’s the year 2083 and Earth has more than a few problems. Overpopulation. Lack of food. Lack of space. Oh, there’s also the small issue of an alien invasion, too. Thankfully, along comes the galactic warrior Onyx to help save the planet. Unfortunately for Onyx, the International Global Defense Corps isn’t that keen on Onyx and decide to try and put a stop to it.
V Wars #3 Written by Jonathan Maberry
Illustrated by Alan Robinson
Colored by Jay Fotos
Lettered by Robbie Robbins
Covers by Ryan Brown and Kevin Eastman IDW Publishing
Release Date: June 18, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99
Can one man change the ideals of two warring factions? In IDW’s V Wars #3, written by Jonathan Maberry with illustrations from Alan Robinson, the humans and the vampires continue their bloody onslaught against each other.
Taurus Harper, a soldier whose entire platoon is slaughtered by an anarchist V-Cell, is recruited to the V-8 squad – the elite military force known for taking out vampire threats quickly and efficiently. As Professor Swann gets to know Taurus, he is overwhelmed by the man’s genuine humanity and understanding that not everything about the V-War is black and white; however, Taurus himself may not be all that he seems.
Mars Attacks KISS Written by Chris Ryall
Art by Alan Robinson
Colors by Jay Fotos
Cover Art by Ray Dillon IDW Publishing
Release Date: January 9, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99
Outside of my obsessions for heavy metal, sci-fi, and horror, I habitually find myself gravitating towards two distinct styles of media in entertainment: the dark, disgusting, and macabre; or the stupidity of plain ridiculousness and irreverent humor. So when fellow GoD of Thunder, Dave3, hurled out his list of comics available to review recently, it should be no surprise that my eyeballs became magnetized to a title that read Mars Attacks KISS.
I have been a KISS fan for 26 years, which is way more than half of my current lifespan, and so naturally my first two thoughts were, “Wait! Is this about the band KISS?” and “That is the most ridiculous comic title ever conceived – I love it”.
And it is indeed about the hard rock/heavy metal band I’ve obsessed over for nearly three decades – being faced with the skull-faced, brain-headed, ack-ack-speaking monstrosities from the film of the same name.
To put it guilelessly, when I scored this review for Geeks of Doom, it was like giving a jigsaw puzzle with alphabetized pieces to someone with OCD.
Mars Attacks The Holidays One-Shot
Written by Fred Hembeck, Bill Morrison, Ian Boothby & Dean Haspiel
Art by Fred Hembeck, Bill Morrison, Tone Rodriguez, Alan Robinson & Dean Haspiel
Colors by Phil Elliot, Ronda Pattinson, Kote Carvajal & Allen Passalaqua
Letters by Fred Hembeck & Chris Mowry
Covers by Bill Morrison, Dean Haspiel, Fred Hembeck, Phil Elliot, Alan Robinson, Kote Carvajal & Chris Giarrusso IDW Publishing
Release Date: October 31, 2012
Cover Price: $7.99
Mars Attacks The Holidays runs the gambit. From goofy to heartbreaking and back again, it’s one heck of a great read. And I have to tip my hat to IDW Publishing for putting out an actual HOLIDAY special this year! They’re one ahead of any other company out there in that respect.
OK, there’s a LOT of ground to cover, so I’ll try and get right to it and not bog you down too much. First off, there’s four stories here, each representing a different holiday. Included are Halloween, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Fred Hembeck’s Halloween story is typical Fred Hembeck. It’s set in the 1950s and follows a Happy Days like family on a trick or treat excursion, and later a Halloween party where things go…awry, thanks to three Martians who tag along. It’s funny and goofy from the first panel to last, and is, in my opinion, the best in the book.
Ghostbusters #1 Written by Erik Burnham
Art by Dan Schoening
Colors by Luis Antonio Delgado
PCOC pages by Tristan Jones
Letters by Shawn Lee
Covers by Dan Schoening, Luis Antonio Delgado, Nick Runge, Alan Robinson IDW Publishing
Release Date: September 28, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99
“Who you gonna call?” That’s right, folks. Ghostbusters #1 begins a new ongoing series from IDW Publishing. I know what you’re thinking…didn’t someone try to do this a while back…like several times? Yeah, but not like this. Someone really watched their movies, didn’t you Erik Burnham? He perfectly captured the nuances of all the original characters. It’s like you can hear them talking. No, I didn’t really hear them. Geez, I’m not quite THAT crazy. But wow, I felt immediately immersed in the story and really embraced his dialogue between the characters. Simply well done, sir.
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press