Andy Mansell Comic Reviews

Before I'd read this issue, I would have figured that the biggest problem the Kingdom of Ooo had would be flies and/or ants. But there's trouble aplenty, and our heroes are missing. I plan to stick around to see how it all turns out and so should you. Sweet!

Adventures ino the Unknown! Vol. 3 is an enjoyable book of fun horror stories; a worthwhile collection, but still not quite worthy of the big price tag.

B.P.R.D. 1948 is another successful backstory mini-series; Mignola and company continue to focus on characters and the results are very good.

Bad Houses is a terrific comic that comes up just a bit short of being a classic. Ryan and McNeil's work is funny, intriguing, and painful.

A surprisingly entertaining and potentially multi-layered read, but there's a bit too much unnecessary crimson ink on the page.

An entertaining but frustrating and uneven introduction to a series about a telekinetic superman working for the Secret Service.

Buffy Season 9 is better than Season 8 and overall a lot of fun, if a bit inconsistent.

A mediocre bunch of comics in a volume with no direction. Any Golden Age junkie should go for the cheap Kindle version.

No comic book for old menConan is airbrushed out of his septuagenarian years and the Savage Tales morph into season 5 of Downton Abbey.

A solid premise, good execution, and a believable character relationship make Colder a fun and frightening read.

Creepy enters the era of editor Louise Jones and the stories just hum with excitement and good, unclean horror. Well worth a green photo of Ulysses S. Grant!

This is THE Ditko reprint book everyone must own. The post-Spider-Man and Dr. Strange Ditko shows off his immense talent in 15 tales from Creepy and Eerie magazines.

Yet another historically important but truly mediocre archive reprint from Dark Horse (incredible Biro covers, though!).

The great run of Crime Does Not Pay is still 1.5 volumes away. Wait for volume 8!

A solid one-shot that is quite good, but cant possibly achieve the level of all the advance hype.

A paperback edition of the Dr. Solar Archives; typical 60s super-hero silliness, but not as fun as one might hope.

Domovoi is an adult fairy tale that is not strictly for fans of Hellboy and Fables, and is a treat for anyone who loves great storytelling.

A solid, entertaining collection of EC horror comics at or near their peak. Well worth the money for any classic comic connoisseur.

Richard Corben reinterprets Poe and does a bang-up jobyou may disagree with his vision, but the comics will entertain and maybe even challenge you.

Eerie Archives Volume 14 is a solid collection of mid-'70s Warren comics that are almost worth the hefty price tag.

A first issue of an acclaimed comic book that will leave new readers scratching their pointless ears.

Alex Raymond reaches his stylistic peak before going off to war. This belongs in every serious comics library.

Not really a horror comic, not really a superhero comic, and not really a memorable reading experience.

High concept meets poor execution in the first issue of Ghosted; lets do lunch.

Ryan Browne's God Hates Astronauts is really funny, really vulgar, and not for everyone, but its target audience will enjoy it immensely.

Yet another blow-by-blow action epic adaptation of a video game light on everything except explosives.

This book is a gentle and frightening fairy tale that digs deep and resonates within the characters as well as the readers. Hellboy: The Midnight Circus is a fiery gem in a tasteful, subtle setting that leaves us feeling melancholy, scared, and wishing our parents were around to comfort us.

This is a magical reading experience for all agesthe next issue can't come soon enough!

A marvelous Jaime Hernandez 10-pager sends this series back into hiatus with style.

Featuring exciting, well-written, and beautifully drawn tales of Tarzans youthful ward, Korak Son of Tarzan Vol. 2 shows off the comic genius of Russ Manning.

An influential and justly famous series begins its ascent toward comic greatness. A must-have for every comic library.

Vol. 3 is even better than the previous omnibus. This series belongs in every serious comic library.

The 6,000-page samurai manga epic hits the 2,500-page mark and the series just keeps on getting better and better.

A good mystery story with inconsistent art that makes for a fun summer read.

At best, this is far too much of an okay thing, with a sticker price too high for most of us (but ohthose Manara women).

Witty, clever, uniquely told, and, above all, hotter than it needs to be. The next issue can't come soon enough.

Another new twist on the Flash legend, but the wooden characterization makes the premise a rather hard pill to swallow.

The 90s begin and Schulz is in fine formnot peak Peanuts, but quite entertaining and an improvement over the previous decade.

Help me Dr. Zaiusthis competently written and drawn book provides ZERO editorial context and leaves new readers dangling from The City Tree (whatever the hell that is).

Another intriguing, entertaining, and frustratingly uneven issue of this intriguing, entertaining, and frustratingly uneven series.

Another terrific early work by Gaiman and McKean, and even better than Violent Cases.

A well-crafted comic with a genuine love for the four-color Silver Age as well as early science fiction concepts, Six-Gun Gorilla is a must-read.

Very good but, disappointingly, not great. Slayground lacks the complexity of the previous three entries. Still, its Parker and Westlake and Cookeoh my!

Station to Station is a solid 26-page science fiction adventure tale told in an entertaining fashionan enjoyable comic book escape.

Tarzan by Hal Foster is an absolute classic of comic storytelling; an ideal first edition for any newspaper strip collection and well worth the money.

An important collection of Milligan & McCarthy's early workdense and difficult, but still provocative 30-odd years on.

With The Black Beetle

A well-executed, fun to read late Marvel Conan story that is left frustratingly incomplete.

Another solid mid-'80s collectioneven better than the last volume...but it ends with (yet another) cliffhanger.

The Fifth Beatle is a genuine embarrassment. Who was Brian Epstein? This graphic novel doesnt tell us, but his tragic life sure will make a swell movie!

A solid, inexpensive, and handsome collection of James Bond dailies from the mid-seventiesa decent place to start a strip collection.

The first volume of the Original Daredevil Archives is a delightful volume, but is it worth $50 to you?

Another solid post-Thomas/Buscema collection. Better than vol. 14, its an ideal and cheap read for a long holiday car or plane ride!

The best volume of the S&K Library so far. It is with these Science Fiction stories that Jack Kirby's art begins to morph into his ground-breaking '60s style.

Usagi Yojimbo

A beautifully drawn, nicely colored, well-told but hopeless tale of super-men in a post-apocalyptic London. Dark, angry, painful, and altogether pointless.