Flash Gordon Archives, Vol. 5
Written by John Warner, Bruce Jones, George Kashdan
Art by Carlos Garzon, Gene Fawcette, Al Williamson, Frank Bolle, Al McWilliams
Introduction by Michael T. Gilbert
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: December 14th, 2011
Cover Price: $49.99

Collected in Flash Gordon Archives, Vol. 5 are 10 issues of the Whitman Flash Gordon series (28-37) including issues 31-33 which were an adaptation of the 1980 Flash Gordon movie. Talk about a treasure trove of excitement! Nearly 300 pages of classic comics reprinted and restored, and believe me, the book is totally worth the price.

These are, obviously, stories from another time. Comics were written a lot different then. There were no suck thing as “story arcs.” A comic was either a story told in one issue or a story that simply never really stopped, just continued from issue to issue.

Occultist #2
Story by Mike Richardson & Tim Seeley
Script by Tim Seeley
Art by Victor Drujiniu
Colors by Andrew Dalhouse
Letters by Nate Peikos of Blambot
Cover by Steve Morris
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: December 14th, 2011
Cover Price: $3.50

The Occultist #2 is wall to wall action. It gets going on the first page and doesn’t stop until the last. Unfortunately, I was left a little confused by the issue.

While I read and enjoyed the first issue, this issue would’ve benefited greatly by some introduction of the characters as you go footnotes or panels. There’s a lot of characters in this book, and it’s very hard to keep track of them at some points in the issue. Yes, there’s recap paragraph inside the front cover, but it just recaps the overall story, it’s not character-specific. Other than that, writer Tim Seeley does a fantastic job with this issue. The pacing is perfect, and the story is well written.

Star Wars: Crimson Empire III-Empire Lost #2
Written by Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley
Pencils by Paul Gulacy
Colors by Michael Bartolo
Cover Art by Dave Dorman
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: November 30, 2011
Cover Price: $3.50

The Crimson Empire saga from the Expanded Star Wars Universe resumes with Issue #2, the second part of a six-part story entitled Empire Lost. In the previous issue, we learn where former Imperial Royal Guardsman Kir Kanos has been hiding, when Boba Fett brings him to secret Imperial headquarters. Meanwhile, Mirith Sinn, the New Republic operative from the previous Crimson Empire chapters, is now in charge of security for Chief of State Leia Organa Solo; while her brother Luke Skywalker senses a disturbance in the Force at his Jedi Academy on Yavin IV.

The Occultist #1
Story by Mike Richardson, Tim Seeley
Script by Tim Seeley
Art by Victor Drujiniu
Colors by Andrew Dalhouse
Letters by Nate Piekos of Blambot
Designer: Justin Couch
Created by Mike Richardson
Covers by Steve Morris, Jenny Frison
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: November 9th, 2011
Cover Price: $3.50

The Occultist is one of those comics that has something for everyone. Horror, magic, mystery, and most importantly, hot girls. Everybody wins! I hadn’t read the previous Occultist one-shot, but I was very impressed with this issue.

What I liked most about this The Occultist #1 is writer Tim Seeley’s ability to catch the audience up on what has happened previously with the character without talking down to them or wasting pages recapping last year’s one-shot. This book is all over the place and it’s a really fun read. We get not only plenty of time with the main character and his story, we also get a good amount of time with the villains and supporting cast and find out their motivations.

Star Wars: Crimson Empire III-Empire Lost #1
Written by Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley
Pencils by Paul Gulacy
Colors by Michael Bartolo
Cover Art by Dave Dorman
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: October 26, 2011
Cover Price: $3.50

Being a Star Wars geek, the 1990s were a great time to be an Expanded Universe enthusiast. George Lucas had opened the gates to authors, writers, artists, and video game designers to assist in developing the canvas of the Star Wars saga beyond the span of the movies. There are several highlights from those years, and one of the titles that stand out from that time was the Crimson Empire comic book series.

Dark Horse Comics had taken a solid hold on the comic book front as far as Star Wars was concerned, and many fans believed that FINALLY the galaxy far, far away was at long last being treated with the serious outlook it deserved. While the novels paved forth a road for Luke Skywalker to resurrect the line of the Jedi Order, the comics complemented this, and in some cases, expanded past it.