The Occultist #1
Created by Mike Richardson
Written by Mike Richardson and Tim Seeley
Art by Mike Norton
Color by Allen Passalaqua
Letters by Nate Piekos of Blambot
Covers by Steve Morris, Paolo Rivera
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: October 2, 2012
Cover Price: $3.50

I’ve got a confession to make here, I chose to review this comic based solely on the title. I love horror comics and when a book is entitled The Occultist #1, I immediately think of Lovecraft, Cthulhu, and the like. So I dove in with some preconceived expectations, most of which never presented themselves. But hey, can’t blame a guy for trying…right?

Now, I don’t want you to get the wrong impression here. This wasn’t a bad book, quite the contrary. It just wasn’t what I was expecting. The main character, Rob Bailey, is in possession of an ancient artifact called The Sword. He’s described as a “mild-mannered college student,” but that just made me think of a certain super man masquerading as a newspaper reporter. I assume this was done purposefully, sort of tongue in cheek you might say. But Rob is a young man trying to unlock the secrets to this cryptic power he has been given. He’s not flying around saving the world…he’s saving it one haunted house at a time.

After one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns EVER, Image Comics is teaming with God Hates Astronauts creator Ryan Browne to bring the beloved web comic to comic shops everywhere this October!

Check out the full press release below.

For the past six years, writer/artist Ryan Browne has been hard at work creating one of the most fun, unique, and critically acclaimed web comics out there, God Hates Astronauts. And now it’s finally finished and ready to be delivered right to your door as a fancy 180-page hardcover collection, after a Kickstarter campaign to secure the funding necessary to actually print it.

Not satisfied with just sending his already done files off to the printer, Browne has went back and make some coloring tweaks and BRAND NEW lettering. He also got some fantastic creators to draw 18 two page origin stories for some of the characters in the book. Artists like Tim Seeley, Jenny Frison, Tradd Moore, Christopher Mitten, Zandor Cannon…the list goes on and on.

Continue below to see a Kickstarter video and an image of what the final product looks like.

Revival #7
Story by Tim Seeley
Art by Mike Norton
Colors by Mark Englert
Letters by Crank!
Edited by 4 Star Studios
Design by Sean Dove
Cover by Jenny Frison
Image Comics
Release Date: February 20, 2013
Cover Price: $2.99

After reading the last issue, I didn’t think Revival #7 could get any creepier. All right, I was wrong. WAY wrong.

Writer Tim Seeley does a great job of rewarding long-time readers, and that’s something that’s pretty rare in current comic writing. Yes, anyone coming into this issue might be a little confused at first, but they should be caught up and into the story by about the first third of the book. In this issue we get some pay off to a storyline that’s been running since the beginning and, of course, we get a couple more mysteries thrown into out faces out of left field. One of the things that I love the most is that Seeley is an artist himself, and he knows how to write for an artist. Sure, it’s an artist that’s sitting in the same studio with him, but I really think that’s a huge plus for the overall entertainment value of the book. This issue is packed with some great suspenseful moments, ones that you just don’t get in comics right now. Thankfully, they’re not the kind of “chainsaw busting through someone’s skull” moments, they’re more the “who’s behind that door” moments. Although, don’t get me wrong, there is PLENTY of gore for anyone who’s looking for it. PLENTY.

Robert E. Howard’s Savage Sword, Volume 1
Written by Paul Tobin, Scott Allie, Mark Finn, Marc Andreyko, Joe Casey, Robert E. Howard, Jeremy Barlow, David Lapham, Joshua Williamson, Dave Land, Peter Doree
Art/Illustrations/Pencils/Inks/Colors by Wellington Alves, Ben Dewey, Greg Scott, Pop Mhan, Tony Parker, Fabio Cobiaco, Patric Reynolds, M.S. Corley, Sean Phillips, Tim Bradstreet, Tim Seeley, Robert Atkins, Rebecca Buchman, Michael Atiyeh, Dave Stewart, Grant Goleash, Michelle Madsen, Jose Villarrubia, Brian Miller, Hi-Fi Colour Design, Dan Jackson
Letters by Richard Starkings and Comicraft
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: January 9, 2013
Cover Price: $17.99

Okay, first off, the individuals listed above were done so in the order in which their stories were placed in the anthology, subdivided by the type of work they contributed. No offense was implied towards any person who might have been placed incorrectly in this review. There, I’ve been about as politically correct as I can be. All characters are based upon the work of Robert E. Howard. This is, after all, Robert E. Howard’s Savage Sword, Volume 1.