Indie Comic Book Reviews

The NuWorld Chronicles is a labor of love almost 30 years in the making. An ode to the comics of the 90’s that inspired it, NuWorld is a version of Earth that’s history and therefore future was altered by a number of events. Picking up in 1985, The NuWorld Chronicles introduces the reader to it’s world by way of mankind's greatest creation: The Meta-Human. Created to fight the battles ordinary men could not, the veterans of the great Meta-Human army are now home from their conflict The Great War. The fate of the world itself hangs in the balance as humanity decides what to do with these new super humans now walking among them. An Entire Universe. In One Title. Upon reading issue one, I was curious to see what sort of story it would tell. Although the futurustic alternate earth setting isn't something that I naturally gravitate toward, the premise of the story was very interesting.  The overarching plot of "Meta-Humans" against ordinary humans proved to hav...

I was absolutely blown away after reading the first two issues of Peter Taylor's "Wren". A historic based fantasy story set during the Black Plague and burning of London in the late 1600s. I took some time to chat to Peter about what it took to bring this book to life. What made you decide to start writing comic books? I actually wrote twelve pages of what became Wren issue one over thirty years ago (only the first three pages survived to the final version), but ‘life’ intervened, albeit in very positive ways, and I wasn’t able to make the time to progress it further. When my kids grew up, I thought about starting over but I was neck deep in my IT career and any spare time I was playing hockey and just enjoying my wife’s company (something you miss while bringing up 3 kids). But when the pandemic presented the opportunity (I was working from home and we couldn’t see our grandkids) the idea of writing ‘something’ sprang back to my mind … and given the story of ...

For the first time in history, the world looks to science for a way out of hell! The newly formed Royal Society are enlisted by the British Government and the Military Establishment to contain a pandemic that has consumed London and threatens the world. Enlisted to search for answers - and hope! But when science is ignored, the bravest are silenced and even the truest can be corrupted - everything is at risk and nothing is as it seems! Question what you know! London will burn, but was the fire misfortune foreseen or planned? Who is in control and what is to gain? Discover the sinister truth behind the history of the City and the Society that changed the world! Upon seeing the setting for this story, I was a little intimidated by the idea of the time period. History was never my strong point and I was concerned I wouldn't have an interest in an English history adaptation, particularly the Black Plague! However, after reading the first two issues, I was pleasantly surpris...

The Black Duchess is an ongoing series by writer Bob Getty. Issue one, titled Palace Pandemonium, tells the tale of a convicted thief released from prison to continue their life of crime. The main character, Callie, has her sentence reduced thanks to the influence of an anonymous character who pressures her to steal a diamond to pay off her debt to him. Overall I thought this was an interesting take on a story told from a perspective of a criminal and the pressures this particular one is under to commit the crimes they do.  Callie isn't categorised as evil in my opinion, she's simply just a skilled thief who is now under obligation to return to a life of crime. Grey characters like this are always interesting because they're neither "good" nor "evil" and it's a credit to Bob to write a character in this manner which is both refreshing and thought provoking. The artwork was also very interesting. The illustrations provided by JP Vilchis, d...

The Table is an 8 issue web comic set during the mid 80's. A group of high school seniors will try their best to end the civil war that has been tearing apart their country and their lives. After reading this web comic from writer, Gustavo Soria, I found myself slightly underwhelmed with the story overall. However, after some serious balancing, I've narrowed down what I consider to be the pros and cons of The Table. On the negative side, I wasn't keen on the character designs. With the exception of their vigilante personas, I found it very difficult to differentiate between the characters when they were out of costume.  Often I couldn't tell if I was observing Alberto or Manuel for example, and it caused a bit of confusion for me as a reader. The vigilante costumes were colour coded, which made it a bit easier to follow, especially as the whole book is in black and white.  The other thing I took issue with was the amount of spelling and grammar mistakes. I a...

Curiosities From Another World is a unique story written by Ryan Bis and it tells the tale of a city descending in to chaos from the perspective of six different characters. Do they have what it takes to combat the emerging threat that jeopardises their home? Upon reading this story, I was very surprised with where it went and how events unfolded. To begin with, reading the individual stories was interesting and I preferred some over the others in terms of enjoyment. Some stories drew me in, others not as much and one or two were written in a way that left me wanting to explore it further, which is a credit to a good writer.  The artwork was good and especially when dealing with an original universe full of interesting looking locations and creatures, it maintained a great consistency throughout. It also had a great mixture of colours which blended in nicely.  I did enjoy the underlying themes the book addresses and how it's conveyed in a subtle manner as opposed t...

Returning once more to discuss the superhero story, Sonica, I had the pleasure of catching up with creator Guy Fogel who explains in depth, what went in to the creation of the super heroine. Thought Process "The idea for Sonica originally came to me in 2013 – it was the second year I was running with Sherman's Pit through the local con scene, it was doing ok for a niche book but I realized I was never going to make comics into my primary work if I only do niche stuff. I decided early on that I won't focus on fanart or make something that's too derivative. I wanted to tailor an adventure specifically for Israeli fans, that's inspired by their favorite fandoms. but is still its own, local thing.  And then there was the Israeli Superhero Conundrum, that creators have been trying to crack since the 70s. A lot of indie titles tried to go the super-soldier approach – the IDF are everyone's local heroes, and we all feel connected to that narrative because ...

Murderhooves is a brief one-shot story written by Sonya Kinsey. It tells the retrospective tale of a fantasy based war horse and contains very powerful dialogue that adds to the strength of the character. It's this dialogue that really shines through as believable within the confines of this fantasy world.  The artwork that accompanies it isn't the most high-definition or immensely detailed. However, what's presented is a stylistic and gritty representation that works perfectly for this brief story and it's a testament to that balance between good art, dialogue and story that keeps the reader immersed.  If you're looking for a marathon of storytelling reminiscent of bigger stories such as Watchmen or Lord of the Rings, then this isn't for you. However, if you can spend a bit of time to get a glimpse of a prologue related story, featuring a dynamic lead character that can throw realism in to a fantasy and almost parody based world then this is definit...

After reading Northstarr: Acquisition, I caught up with co-creators Robert Getty and Madeline Salvage to get an inside look at this sci-fi action epic. Inspiration for Northstarr: Acquisition According to Robert, "Kung Fu movies, noir and Western tropes were taken liberally. We came up with the first draft of the story when we were sixteen. So of course things from our childhood were a big influence. Although it went through changes, the core of 'Two mercenaries with a past get superpowers and have to fight an evil dictator' That was always there." Maddie says that "Northstarr started as a passion project during our college years to distract us from the joys of A Levels. It drew on our favourite things we loved from comics and the other worlds you could create to escape in. Neither of us had faith in a hero type character so we began to explore the world inside Northstarr and Slash’s head." Influences "I was a huge fan of the Teen titans show when I was...

Everyone loves a story with unsavoury characters. Damaged, messed up characters, who are working through their personal issues in the most spectacular of ways, badmouthing and blaspheming as they go. And Northstarr is as unsavoury as they come. Follow the Mercury Division and its members Northstarr and Slash as they try to stop the TRF from controlling the known universe. A mission filled with manipulation, murder and a whole heap of foul language. On the whole, I really enjoyed this book for what it was, which was an action-packed space adventure. It blended in all the elements of a badass team, great one-liners and some funny yet subtle references. That being said, there were aspects of this book I think could have been executed better.  There was a lack of development for some of the side characters, specifically with Ramirez, her relationship with Northstarr is something I believe could have been atleast addressed. For the purpose of spoilers, I wont mention it here...

It is around us all the time - on the radio, in the elevator, at the club, on our ringtones  and inside our head. It makes us move, dance and sing along with it, remember, feel and be inspired by it; yet we do not know where it came from - what was the magic that created the One True Sound, and what is its true power. Only one girl has heard it in its entirety, and lived to tell the tale. This is the story of Sonya Sol. Upon seeing the front cover of this book and reading the summary, I was very intrigued with what it could potentially offer to a wider audience. The very idea that the protagonist has these powers that are sound and music dependent was a fascinating concept.  I'd like to begin by saying that I would have liked a better understanding as to what happened between Sonica's parents, I felt that the chemistry between Sonica and her father wasn't particularly strong, but perhaps that's down to their circumstances. However, I would have liked to have...