Memorial
Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Rich Ellis
Colors by Grace Allison
Letters by Neil Uyetake, Robbie Robbins, and Shawn Lee
Edits by Mariah Heuhner
Cover by Michael WM Kaluta
Collection Edits by Justin Eisinger & Alonzo Simon
Design by Neil Uyetake & Robbie Robbins
Introduction by Bill Willingham
IDW Publishing
Release Date: September 26, 2012
Cover Price: $24.99

It’s always a safe bet to trust your gut. Way back in February I wrote a lukewarm review of the new Fantasy book from Chris Roberson (Superman, co-publisher of Monkey Brain Comics) Memorial #3. I said, in essence:

What I just read is the middle of a larger story. It was ok, but it’s too early to say if the bigger book will be any good just yet.

I suspected it would deliver, but I’m kind of a coward sometimes. Add to that, for whatever personal reasons Fantasy is not a genre I’m usually drawn to. I have massive respect for your Elf Quests and Conan The Barbarians for their craftsmanship, but for as far back as I can remember it’s never been my bag, y’know?

Locke & Key, Vol. 5: Clockworks
Written by Joe Hill
Art by Gabriel Rodriguez
Colors by Jay Fotos
Letters by Robbie Robbins
Series Edited by Chris Ryall
Collection Edited by Justin Eisinger
Collection Designed by Robbie Robbins
IDW Publishing
Release Date: July 24, 2012
Cover Price: $24.99

Right off the bat I’m putting a light spoiler warning at the top for Locke & Key Volumes 1 – 4. If you haven’t read them yet, get on it.

Remember reading that issue of Locke & Key where they play with the head key for the first time? The key that goes into the back of anyone’s neck, makes the top of your cranium disappear like you’re the Kool-Aid Man and allows you to remove memories and emotions and oddly allows you to peer into your own mind? And that, best of all it’s a magic that only kids can see? It’s one of my fondest memories reading the series so far. It cemented that while the book would also feature edge-of-your-seat terror with truly warm characters you feel like you know, there’d also be space for a particular form of magic: an enchanted, childlike sense of magic. If you’re like me and you wait to read the book in those handsome trades, well, ta-da, Locke & Key Volume 5 Clockworks is here.

Spike: The Complete Series
Written by Brian Lynch
Art by Franco Urru, Nicola Zanni, and Stephen Mooney
Colors by Andrea Priorini, Andrea Tentori, and Fabio Mantovani
Letters by Robbie Robbins and Neil Uyetake
Cover by Jenny Frison
IDW Publishing
Release Date: July 31, 2012
Cover Price: $29.99

Seldom do I ever get to review things from the Buffyverse. And when I do, I relish it like nothing else. Spike: The Complete Series fits the bill just fine and was a wondrous read from start to finish. I’m not the biggest Spike fan, but this series might just have turned me around on “William the Bloody.”

So, like Angel in Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Spike starts this book off with a soul. Not in the whiny way that Angelus had a soul. More of an “I’ll still kick your arse to hell” kind of thing. With a couple of companions (Beck and Betta George) to ride this roller coaster with him, he takes on Wolfram & Hart, the notorious evil law firm. Taking place mostly in Sin City (Las Vegas) we watch as Spike and the gang run into problem after problem while trying to right wrongs in a city that has no respect for that idea.

Star Trek/Doctor Who: Assimilation 2 #1
Written by Scott & David Tipton with Tony Lee
Art by JK Woodward
Lettering by Shawn Lee & Robbie Robbins
Covers by JK Woodward, David Messina & Joe Corroney
IDW Publishing
Release Date: May 30, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

As the world’s first and foremost NON fan of Doctor Who, I went into Star Trek/Doctor Who: Assimilation 2 #1 expecting to like the Star Trek parts and hate the Doctor Who parts. Well, you learn something new every day, right? While I’m not going to go out and buy one of those weird R2-D2-like trashcan things from Doctor Who, I now have a different view of the franchise than I did before.

What I loved about this issue is that it starts off with NONSTOP action, something that’s not really the norm in the Star Trek universe, but it’s a heck of a lot of fun. This issue, the Star Trek part anyway, takes place in the Next Generation universe. Writers Scott & David Tipton, accompanied by Tony Lee, lay out a really interesting comic here. There’s two big A-List villains teaming up, but we’re not sure how or why – a nice mystery that will come into play later in the series, I’m sure. Then, we switch over to the Doctor Who half of the story. I found this surprisingly entertaining. Again, I know next to nothing about Doctor Who and I came away from this issue actually liking the character of The Doctor. Now THAT’S writing! If you can make a reader interested in a character that they had NO interest in, you’ve done your job and then some.

Smoke And Mirrors #1
Script by Mike Costa
Art by Ryan Browne
Illusions by Jon Armstrong
Letters by Robbie Robbins
Color Assists by Aaron Daly
Covers by Ryan Browne, Fiona Staples
IDW Publishing
Release Date: March 21, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Who needs electricity when you can have magic?! The first few pages of Smoke And Mirrors #1 takes everyday knowledge and turns it upside down. Suddenly, science is pointless and magical charms are all the rage! But is something more sinister going on here? The game is afoot!

We open to see the spokesman for The Trade Circle giving a speech to a visiting class of children. It enables the reader to become quickly oriented into this altered world that exists with magic as its primary power source. The brief explanation jump starts the story and we watch as one of the students, Ethan, rocks the boat, so to speak. Prying too deeply into the business of The Trade Circle, he quickly finds himself in trouble. But it also ignites the spark that all children have, the spark of curiosity.