The Crow: Memento Mori #1
“Memento Mori,” Part 1
Written by Roberto Recchioni
Art by Werther Dell’Edera
Colors by Giovanna Niro
Letters by Giovanni Marinovich
“Buried Virtue”
Short Story and Art by Matteo Scalera
Colors by Moreno Dinisio
Letters by Giovanni Marinovich
Covers by Werther Dell’Edera and Giovanna Niro; Davide Furnò; Matteo Scalera and Moreno Dinisio; Roberto Recchioni; Drew Moss
IDW Publishing
Release Date: March 28, 2018
Cover Price: $3.99

There are many iconic comics and characters that rose to fame in the nineties, but this one is one of my favorites. In The Crow: Memento Mori #1, we get to see the newest incarnation of James O’Barr‘s death defying creation. The premiere issue of this series contains the first parts of two very different tales.

Mother Russia
Written and Illustrated by Jeff McComsey
Cover by Drew Moss
FUBAR Press | Alterna Comics
Release Date: November 18, 2015
Cover Price: $11.99

A little over two years ago, I wrote a little Kickstarter Spotlight for an up and coming graphic novel/comic series. Change out your calendar a couple of times and you get the present day incarnation: Mother Russia. I can definitely attest to the fact it is everything I expected and more. I had previously seen some of the pages, but I just read the final product and thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. Keep reading and I’ll explain why!

IDW Publishing has done a fine job since taking over the license for James O’Barr’s The Crow, with a bevy of new series based on the classic property. IDW has announced their next series for the goth spirit of vengeance with The Crow: Pestilence coming in 2014. The miniseries will be written by novelist Frank Bill (Donnybrook), and this will mark his first comic work. Art on the series will be provided by Drew Moss (The Colonized), with covers coming from The Crow creator O’Barr.

Pestilence takes the Crow down to Juarez, Mexico for another round of revenge, and that’s about all we know so far. We can assume some tragic figure is going to die tragically and then come back to life and kill a bunch of people as is par for the course with The Crow.

The Colonized #3
Written by Chris Ryall
Art by Drew Moss
Covers by Nelson Daniel, Jay Fotos, Gabriel Rodriguez, Dave Sim
IDW Publishing
Publication Date: June 5, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

The Colonized is essentially a Zombies Versus Aliens yarn, with humans caught in the middle. Or, more accurately, it’s a Zombies Versus Humans story with aliens caught in the middle. Whatever the case, the third chapter of the new IDW series finally grabs plot fundamentals and puts them to use in a tale that sends up and borderline-parodies the stereotypes of 1950’s horror and sci-fi movies.

Set in the rural remote town of Carbon Falls in Montana, the humans are essentially a community of separatist militiamen that wish for zero interference from the Feds, though the focus of their community is (somewhat ironically) on sustainability and all-things-green. A group of aliens launch their plan to make contact with humanity, though their efforts are messed up by the coincidental event of the dead rising from the graves to feast on the living.

The Colonized #2
Aliens and Humans Versus Zombies
Written by Chris Ryall
Illustrated by Drew Moss
Colored by Jay Fotos and Nelson Daniel
Lettered by Tom B. Long
Covers by Dave Sim and Zach Howard
IDW Publishing
Release Date: May 1, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Zombies and aliens and separatists, oh my! Chris Ryall and Drew Moss are back and they’ve surely picked up the pace since issue number one. If you enjoyed the first installment of this rollicking adventure, you’re sure to delight in the mayhem that ensues in The Colonized #2.

The self-governing town of Carbon Falls has recently been overrun by a horde of zombies and a crashed alien spaceship. Carbon Falls’ appointed leader, Hux, continues to butt heads with self-proclaimed leader, Randy Roy; their ideals, southern drawl, and an armory of weapons force the men into a standstill as they discover that the alien’s malfunctioned tractor-beam was the cause of the zombie outbreak. Eventually deciding to hide the aliens until the group can help them leave Earth, they make their way back to the home of Hux’s recently deceased father. Randy Roy “” still heated that the aliens “caused” one of his friends to die “” triggers a ruckus when he makes a violent decision. Startling discoveries are made and if all of these peculiar characters weren’t enough, someone else is secretly roaming around their territory as well!