Last Days Of An Immortal
Written by Fabien Vehlmann
Illustrated by Gwen De Bonneval
Archaia Entertainment
Release Date: December 4, 2012
Cover Price: $24.95

Have you ever chosen a book because of the title? I have told folks for years that they should never do that or, even worse, judge a book by it’s cover. Yet, this time through, I did just that. Though, you have to admit, Last Days of an Immortal is a pretty catchy name. Being a total shot in the dark, I had zero expectations for this comic. Talk about being surprised.

To be perfectly honest, I had never heard of Fabien Vehlmann or Gwen De Bonneval, but I am very familiar with Archaia Entertainment. And after reading the synopsis on the back, I realized I had received a science fiction graphic novel. Now, I’m not a huge sci-fi guy but I do have some love for the genre, so I plunged in head first.

Hawken: Genesis
Story by Dan Jevons, Miles Williams, and Khang Le
Written by Jeremy Barlow
Illustrated by Francisco Ruiz Velasco, Alex Sanchez, Kody Chamberlain, Sid Kotian, Bill Sienkiewicz, Bagus Hutomo, Michael Gaydos, Federico Dallocchio, Nathan Fox, and Christopher Moeller
Colored by Grant Goleash, Derek Dow, Eddy Swan, Chad Fidler, and Logan Faerber
Lettered by Deron Bennett
Cover by Khang Le
Archaia Entertainment
Release Date: April 9, 2013
Cover Price: $19.95

Hawken: Genesis is a graphic novel based on the popular free online multi-player game, Hawken. While the game allows you to go to war, controlling a massive, robotic killing machine, Hawken: Genesis explores the origins of why you are fighting in the first place. Archaia Entertainment pulled together a solid team for this graphic novel with the story written by Jeremy Barlow and illustrations provided by a slew of fantastic artists.

“Come to Illal. Come to Paradise.”

A Ninja Named Stan
Written by Mike Wittenberger
Art by Delia Gable
Letters by Mike Wittenberger
Cover by Delia Gable
Edited by Amanda Hendrix
Archaia Entertainment
Release Date: March 27, 2013
Cover Price: $14.95

You can tell, just by looking at this book, that A Ninja Named Stan is a labor of love by the creators. And, usually that’s when a comic book shines. This book, however, could use a little bit more shining.

Writer Mike Wittenberger tells the tale of Stan, an all-around loser, who is driven over the edge emotionally and decides to become a ninja private eye. Sounds good, right? In theory this should be an awesome comic; unfortunately, the execution keeps it from living up to its true potential. I realized about halfway through that this book isn’t really a Ninja P.I. book, it’s a love story, and a pretty cute one at that. However, the writing is a little sloppy and it takes WAY longer than it should to get to the point. This could’ve been a two-issue series, there’s really no need for it to be a full-length trade. Having said that, there are some adorably cute romantic moments between Stan and his love interest, Andrea. The thing that bothered me most is that on occasion, there’s some very gratuitous bad language. Now, I’m NOT a prude by any means, but the needless use of it almost made me feel uncomfortable.

The Grand Duke
Written by Yann
Illustrations by Romain Hugault
Edited by Paul Morrissey
Translation by Edward Gauvin
Letters by Thomas Mauer
Archaia Entertainment
Release Date: November 14, 2012
Cover Price $24.99

The solicit for Archaias’ new European import The Grand Duke describes the book as “A Romeo-and-Juliet story set against WWII aerial dogfights.”

If that does not immediately grab your attention, then we’re looking for entirely different stories in our comics, you and I. Well, it got my attention and while that’s maybe not a 100 percent honest way of pitching the story, it got it’s foot in the door for what turned out to be an astonishingly great read.

Set along the Eastern front beginning in 1943, Luftwaffe Oberleutnant (Read: German [Read: NAZI!]) Adolph Wulf and Comrade Lilya (Read: Commie!) of the dreaded 588th known as the “Night Witches” – an all women battalion that, apparently, was a thing – have grown rather disillusioned with their situations in the war. Wulf, rather palatably, despises the Third Reich and fights solely for love of his homeland and motherless daughter. Lilya is realizing that even in Stalin’s socialist paradise there are still glass ceilings for women even after they’ve held bloody and terrible front lines down.

Hopeless, Maine: Personal Demons
Created by Tom and Nimue Brown
Written by Tom and Nimue Brown
Illustrated by Tom Brown
Letters by Deron Bennett
Archaia Entertainment
Release Date: November 27, 2012
Cover Price: $19.95

Created and written by Tom and Nimue Brown, Hopeless, Maine: Personal Demons is the story of a little girl named Salamandra who lives on a hidden island just off the coast of Maine. The denizens of Hopeless haven’t seen the sun in forever. The parents of this gloomy island are constantly disappearing giving rise to a booming orphan population. And on top of all that, demons inhabit the entire island. Yes, actual physical demons with pointy teeth and huge appetites flit about the town and loom ever-present through the entire story.

Salamandra is a little girl who is found living alone in a sizable Victorian house. This is how a young woman by the name of Nightshade finds Salamandra. “My mother wants to drink me,” is one of many odd things the little girl says throughout Hopeless, Maine. Another odd bit about Salamandra is that she commands great magic. This is learned after a rather unfortunate occurrence with the good samaritan Miss Nightshade’s chair. The decision is made then and there that Salamandra cannot stay there so she is whisked off to the town’s orphanage where our story slowly, slowly begins moving forward.