Space Circus
Screenplay by Richard Rothstein
Story by Richard Rothstein & Stanley Resnicoff
Written by Eric Hutchins & Matt Anderson
Illustrated by Ivan Escalante
Colors by Zac Atkinson
Letters by Tony Garza
Cover by Ivan Escalante
Viper Comics
Release Date: June 25, 2014
Cover Price: $7.95

Sometimes you get the opportunity to review something amazingly fantastic and sometimes you get to review something that’s complete dog shit. Then there is the rare chance to review something that makes you reread the comic four or five times in various states of inebriation and you still don’t understand what it is you read… but you don’t hate it.

Space Circus is a prime example of the last option. I’ve reread this thing a few times now and I still don’t quite know how to qualify it in a category of either “HOLY SHIT BALLS! THIS IS AMAZING!!” or “Well… that’s 45 minutes I could have spent in chemotherapy.” This book is literally the Nicolas Cage of indie comics.

Star Trek #30
Parallel lives, Part 2 of 2
Written by Mike Johnson
Story Consultant: Roberto Orci
Art by Yasmin Liang
Colors by Zac Atkinson
Letters by Gilberto Lazcano
Cover by Cat Staggs
IDW Publishing
Release Date: February 26, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

The previous issue of IDW’s Star Trek comic book series began the Parallel Lives storyline by introducing us to Jane Kirk, Captain of the USS Enterprise, and her crew. This issue, Star Trek, written by Mike Johnson, brings to a close one of the finest ‘episodes’ to come out of the divergent J.J. Abrams timeline.

When confronted with Jane Kirk and her predominately female crew, the first thing I noticed was the realization that I am a total misogynist. I didn’t realize it (my wife knew), but I suppose I was living denial. Having all the genders reversed showed how male-dominated crew positions on the Enterprise tend to be. Something I would not have noticed before.

Transformers: Dark Prelude
Trade Paperback | Kindle Edition
Written by James Roberts, John Barber and Nick Roche
Art by Steve Kurth, Chee, Nick Roche, David Daza, Matt Frank and Agustin Padilla
Inks for Orion Pax by Juan Castro
Colors by J. Aburtov, Graphikslava, Ronda Pattison, Len O’Grady, Zac Atkinson, Thomas Deer and Joana LaFuente
Letters by Shawn Lee
Series Edits by John Barber and Carlos Guzman
Collection Edits by Justin Eisinger and Alonzo Simon
Cover by Nick Roche
IDW Publishing
Release Date: August 14, 2013
Cover Price: $19.99

Transformers: Dark Prelude collects the storylines of Orion Pax, ThunderCracker, Megatron, Bumblebee, TrailCutter and Hoist in an overarching story that spans millions of years, from the distant past, to now. Each story shows a major event from each character’s life. This allows for a more in-depth view into each character’s make up and driving forces.

The abrupt changes between the different stories can be a bit much but do help to distance each story from the last. This was also helped by each character’s changes in appearance between stories. These stories add to lore of this Transformers universe in a wonderful way.

The Amory Wars
In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 #9 (of 12)
Created by Claudio Sanchez
Written by Claudio Sanchez and Peter David
Art by Aaron Kuder
Colors by Zac Atkinson
Letters by Johnny Lowe
Cover by Chris Burnham
Evil Ink Comics/Boom! Studios
Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 30, 2011

The Amory Wars – In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 starts to move into its last leg and you can tell. Claudio Sanchez and Peter David turn up the excitement in this issue, while beginning to wrap up the 12-issue miniseries in the best way possible.

The issue starts as all others have with the narration by main protagonist Claudio Kilgannon explaining the events of the book to Apollo, the dog of former girlfriend Newo Ikkin. But in this issue, you can tell there is something different. Something has changed within our hero. And that something is Claudio finally realizing and confronting his fear, and his necessary acceptance of his growth into the protector against the ultimate villain, The Supreme Tri-Mage Wilhelm Ryan. While the turning point for action was a couple of issues ago, issue #9 is the turning point for the characters.