The Monolith
Written and created by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray
Artwork and Cover by Phil Winslade
Introduction by Jim Steranko
Coloring by Chris Chuckry
Lettering by Nick Napolitano & Phil Balsman
Designed by Bill Tortolini
Edited by Joey Cavalieri & Harvey Richards
Image Comics
Release Date: July 25, 2012
Cover Price: $17.99

It’s odd when DC attempts to ground their weird and exciting fictional universe, full of Kryptonians, Lantern Corps, and Ambush Bugs, in some sort of “˜real’ world. How one defines what’s ‘realistic’ is subjective, of course, and has led to approaches like Batman: Year One and Identity Crisis. As you can see, the typical story involves the same line-up of characters in their same fictional locations. There’s a new direction in The Monolith that writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray took. They created a new character, based not-so-loosely on the Jewish legend of The Golem, and the action in the book is smack-dab in the actual New York City (with Depression-era history attached to boot!).

So how does this stack up? It’s got some good qualities and some bad. And how is this an actual DC book and not, say, a Vertigo title? Well, it’s subtle and shows up around the edges, but I’ll get to that in a bit.

Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Fool Moon #5
Written by Jim Butcher and Mark Powers
Pencils by Chase Conley
Inks by Nick Nix and Chase Conley
Colors by Mohan
Letters by Bill Tortolini
Cover by Tyler Walpole
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: February 22, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

If there is trouble to get into, Harry Dresden will find it. This month in Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Fool Moon #5, Harry most certainly manages to get caught right in the middle… as usual. One of the key action parts of this storyline (yes, it’s based on a book that I freaking LOVED!) takes place in this issue and Chicago’s only practicing wizard finds himself between a rock (not “The Rock,” as in Alcatraz, though the reference was intended) and a werewolf. Well, he tangles with a loup-garou at a police station, anyway.

Army of Darkness #1
Written by Elliot R. Serrano
Pencils by Marat Mychaels
Inks by Chris Ivy
Colors by Gabriel Belluco
Letters by Bill Tortolini
Covers by Tim Seeley and Marat Mychaels
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: February 15, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Hey, everybody loves Ash, right? And everybody loves the Evil Dead movies, right? So, you should love Army of Darkness #1, right? Right!

Elliot Serrano takes a VERY different approach to this franchise, and I applaud him for that. He could have just gone with another run of the mill Ash vs. Deadites tale, but no, he made this issue fresh, different, and exciting. There’s just one problem. I have no idea what’s going on. At. All. I’ll be honest, I haven’t kept up with the Army of Darkness miniseries that Dynamite has published lately, and maybe I should have. Don’t get me wrong, you’re not going to be completely lost, you get the gist of what’s going on, but it just feels a little like you’re missing something.

Kato #14
Written by Ande Parks
Art by Lee Furguson
Colors by Rainer Petter
Letters by Bill Tortolini
Covers by Ale Garza
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: October 26, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

OK, now THIS is the bad ass Kung Fu ninja book that you’ve been looking for. Disguised as a superhero comic, Kato #14 is actually like watching a really good martial arts movie. There’s action from start to finish, with some surprises thrown in for good measure.

Writer Ande Parks delivers a fantastic story. Also with the action comes surprises in the few pages that are not solid action, where he actually does some nice character development between the original Kato, and his daughter, Mulan.

Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Fool Moon #4
Written by Jim Butcher and Mark Powers
Art by Chase Conley
Colors by Mohan
Letters by Bill Tortolini
Cover by Chase Conley
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: October 5, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

Let me start by saying I love everything Jim Butcher has written. This was no exception. Obviously, the story was slimmed down and adapted to comic form but the source material is still there. Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Fool Moon #4 is all about Harry Dresden and Tera West finding MacFinn after his transformation into a loup garou (a very nasty type of lycanthrope). Of course, with Harry, nothing is ever simple.

A bit of confusion leads Tera to attempt to attack Harry. He, however, doesn’t have time for it and decides to avoid the confrontation. Quickly realizing the police are looking for them, they decide to split up after finding MacFinn. Unfortunately, MacFinn gets caught…which leads Harry to calling his almost-girlfriend, Susan, for help.