Hank Essman Comic Reviews

Arkham City: the Order of the World brings everything crashing to a close. It's an Arkham Asylum story. There's no way things were going to end quietly.

Bonyeer the Aromatic is an irreverent journey through a zombie-infested Death Valley starring two outcasts with serious medical problems. At least one of them is a doctor. Of sorts.

In a post-Cletus haze, the Carnage symbiote has decided to move on to greener pastures, They won't stay green for long.

Carnage #2 is no longer a game of cat and mouse. But it still brings two animals killing each other to mind.

Carnage Forever spins a spooky little tale and hints at where Carnage goes next. All a day in the life for a man made of blood.

Damn Them All #9 continues the slow burn in a series that has only managed to get more interesting over time. It's worth reading for those interested in the Hellblazer tradition of rat bastards solving occult mysteries.

DEGA is all about desperate survival against an unstoppable, existential threat. In space.

Doris Danger does her damnedest to undercover giant monsters and government conspiracies. Will she succeed? Probably not. Because she's in a never-ending ironic hell called comic books.

Pineapple wands and post-apocalypses never gelled quite so well.

Flavor Girls #2 is a fun little training sequence of an issue, with less focus on fighting, and more on worldbuilding and causal luncheons.

Flavor Girls #3 is a satisfying, fruit-themed brawl against an alien general. What more could you ask for?

Frankenstein guides a young girl through a world of strange creatures and delicious-looking fruit. Let's hope they're not poisonous.

Grim is a stylish look at reapers for-hire in a mundane afterlife.

Grrl Scouts: Stone Ghost is a psychedelic roller coaster fueled by funk and the smell of newsprint. Roll with it, and you'll have a damn good time.

Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1957-Forgotten Lives takes an enjoyable breather from a years-long narrative to let the characters talk about where it's found them.

Hellboy: The Silver Lantern Club is a briskly paced little story that shows the Mignolaverse isn't all looming shadows and foreboding futures. There's a goofiness to it that will never quite go away.

Hulk: Grand Design crams two decades into 40 pages, acting as a scrapbook of the character's highlights.

Land of the Living Gods keeps up its brisk pace with mysterious resurrections, organ trafficking, and an old-fashioned bar fight.

A spooky little girl pops out of a coffin in a dilapidated old port town. What could go wrong?

Miss Truesdale shows that appearances can be deceiving. Especially when reincarnation's involved.

A tale of Entitlement, misplaced anger, and ultimate corruption. As told through an island of monkeys. That's good comics, folks.

The sinister, titular corporation has finally fallen. So goes the best-laid plans of mice, men, and monkeys.

A grizzled old agent gets a second chance at working in the field. Though his new partner will keep him from feeling too young...

Weaver's free-flowing short stories have finally blown back into town.

Pink Lemonade #1 is a love story between a girl and a bunch of old cartoons on VHS. Which is about as pure a love as you're going to get.

A fun exercise in style that teaches readers to never underestimate an foe. Even if they're named "Doggy."

Seven Sons trades church bells for cash registers. But hey, if Jesus is coming back, might as well sweeten the deal with a 50% off sale, right?

Slumber's cast isn't here to ask what our dreams say about us. They're here to shoot the annoying bits and get a paycheck. Hopefully not give in to stress.

Horde of soulsuckers on your tail? Get yourself a nice, big set of wings.

The Shaolin Cowboy gets a third title: Father. Hopefully he'll make for a better dad than he did a monk.

All these visions of ancient evils and the distant future, and all Elijah wants to do is play the Blues.

The voice of God has descended amongst the living, and he's got hands.

Tokyo Interstellar Immigration plays with its formula while sticking to a core appeal of ray guns and crustaceans.

A whole menagerie of D-list villains are out to annoy Venom. He's probably going to do a lot more than annoy them back.

West of Sundown is a western that opts for midnight over high noon. Expect more fangs than fistfights.

Pineapple Jesus has his giant, paper hands full when he has to fight off a bizarre moon-man. Which leaves his office completely unguarded, aside from the office's combination greaser/slacker.

The WildC.A.T.s are back. A little less covert, but just as wild.