Flash Gordon Annual 2014
Written by Chris Eliopoulos, Ben Acker, Ben Blacker, Jeff Parker and Nate Crosby
Art by Chris Eliopoulos, Faith Erin Hicks, Lee Ferguson, Jeremy Treece, Craig Rousseau
Colors by Jeremy Treece, Marissa Louise, Omi Remalante
Letters by Chris Eliopoulos, Simon Bowland,
Cover art by Marc Laming & Jordan Boyd
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: November 26, 2014
Cover Price: $7.99

Flash Gordon Annual 2014 is a really more than just an annual. It’s a love letter to the franchise from the creators that all had their work published in it. And, boy, there sure were a lot of them. With five different stories covering the whole Flash Gordon universe, almost nothing goes untouched. But, is it worth the $7.99 price tag and your time?

Angry Birds #1
Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Paco Rodriques, Marco Gervasio, and Cesar Ferioli
Colors by Digikore Studios, David Garcia Cruz, and Julie Gore
Letters by Rovio Comics, and Pisara Oy
Covers by Paco Rodriques, Pilot Studios, Jose Holder, Jon Sommerive, and Andrea Freccero
IDW Publishing
Release Date: June 11, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

Angry Birds #1 is 100% less frustrating than the game is. BUT is it as much fun? Let’s find out…

Writer Jeff Parker is the PERFECT fit for this comic! He gives us three shorter stories in the issue that remind me a lot of some old Looney Tunes or Tom & Jerry cartoons. He gives each and every bird a unique and different personality, and every single one of them is pretty funny. The pigs, obviously, play the villains of each story. The best part about the book is that it’s FUNNY. I’m not sure that I’d want to read a serious, superhero-like Angry Birds comic — in fact, I know I wouldn’t. This comic keeps the tone of the game, which is light-hearted, joke filled, and FUN!!

Flash Gordon #2
Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Evan Shaner
Colors by Jordie Bellaire
Letters by Simon Bowland
Packaged & Edits by Nate Cosby
Covers by Marc Laming, Roberto Castro, and Ken Haeser
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: May 21, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

Flash Gordon #2 finds Flash, Dale, and Zarkoff really out of their element, and that’s saying something considering that they’re on a whole different planet in a whole different galaxy!!!

This is a very big turning point for me. This is the issue that writer Jeff Parker turns the corner and gets his own “books.” He’s such a great author that now he’s among the select few writers for me who, when referring to a comic book, I would call it a “Jeff Parker book.” The story here is great. Imagine a fish out of water story in a fish out of water series!!! Now THAT’S talent!

Flash Gordon #1
Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Evan Shaner
Colors by Jordie Bellaire
Letters by Simon Bowland
Edits by Nate Cosby
Covers by Gabriel Hardman, Jonathan Case, DeClan Shalvey, Marc Laming, Stephen Mooney, Ken Haeser
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: April 9, 2014
Cover A | Cover B
Cover Price: $3.99

Let’s be honest, I KNEW I was going to like Flash Gordon #1, but what I had NO idea about, was that I was going to absolutely LOVE it! Seriously, in one issue it’s all ready my favorite Flash comic since the 1980s.

OK, so you’re launching a comic series that is based on something that is, at it’s very core, FUN. Light-hearted. Lively. And, witty. So, your obvious choice? Jeff. Parker. The man who has written a ton of comics, none of which have made anyone want to shoot themselves in the head. He’s the guy who brought all the fun, charm, and wit out of the Batman ’66 TV show and put it into comic form! But, let’s stick to this book.

Kings Watch #5
Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Marc Laming
Colors by Jordan Boyd
Letters by Simon Bowland
Edits by Nate Cosby
Covers by Marc Laming & Jordan Boyd,Ramon Perez
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: April 9, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

Kings Watch #5 is seriously one of the most stunning comics that I’ve read in MONTHS. And I read a LOT of comics. It’s not your usual licensed comic fare. I really hope that Dynamite picks up this ball and runs with it; they could get a lot of mileage out of the conclusion of this series.

Jeff Parker turns in an absolutely incredible script that had more twists and turns than I could possibly count. This is not your typical “all the heroes save the day” comic. I never saw any of this coming in the issues leading up to this issue. Now I wish that this mini series was actually an ongoing, because I think there’s more than enough story here to carry one for years.