New Comics Review: Robyn Hood, The Fade Out, Little Nemo

This is an interesting week for comic books. Three new titles hit the shelves, and are quite interesting to say the least. From Zenescope we have Grimm Fairy Tales Robyn Hood #1, IDW's Little Nemo Return to Slumberland, and Image's The Fade Out.

Grimm Fairy Tales Robyn Hood has gotten it's ongoing series after it had a 5 issue comic book set that took off well. The story so far is that Robyn Locksley, a New York native, was brought to the realm of Myst to save Nottingham from evil. Now in her ongoing series, Robyn has teamed up with a witch, Marian Quin, and returns to her hometown. (If you haven't caught on already, Robyn Hood is a woman in these stories.) Okay, here's what makes this an awesome comic: Robyn is sarcastic and witty, she's best friends with Marian, Marian possesses magical powers being a witch and all, there's humor, and lots of butt kicking. This is definitely a story you can sink right into. Robyn and Marian run an investigation service for "unusual emergencies," and when a wiccan named Sam comes to them for help, the girls are thrust into a magical crime scheme. There's a drug being sold on the streets, that's not your ordinary drug. It's clearly magical, and it sucks the soul out of the user. Someone called The Priest is making sure it's sold on the streets because he's harvesting souls for something, but what? Read it and find out!

Now everyone remembers the old movie Little Nemo Adventures in Slumberland. Well, he's got his own comic book now. Princess of Slumberland wants a playmate, so her servants try to bring Nemo back to Slumberland. One problem: he doesn't want to go. He doesn't even remember Slumberland or the Princess. He begrudgingly goes, but every time they try to bring him back, he wakes up. Will Nemo ever reach Slumberland? We'll know in issue #2.

Finally there's The Fade Out. I have to admit, at first the story is a bit confusing, which could be because the main character starts out hungover and confused about the previous night. Although, what makes this a great read is that it's done as a film noir. It has that old Hollywood feel. You know, the classics like Casablanca...that's the sort of style this has, which is great. It's a breath of fresh air. The story is about a group of people that work on a film: Charlie the screenwriter, Earl the movie star and womanizer, Val the starlet, Gil, a drunk writer, Dotty who's a publicist, and Phil the head of the studio security. The story opens up with Charlie, suffering from an intense hangover and unsure of what happened the previous night. He tries to remember the party he went to, but he can only remember a fight between two other people, and helping Gil who was drunk and in the back alley. When Charlie finds Val's dead body, he quickly wipes away all traces of himself and hightails it out of there. At this point it's safe to assume it was Val's house. Much of Charlie's memory is like a thousand pieces to a puzzle. He's told by Phil to deny that Val was at the party that he can't even remember. So now the studio is covering up what happened. Charlie reads the police report that claims Val committed suicide, which is not how he found the body. Charlie clearly has found himself involved in a murder, which is being covered up. Why? He even finds women's underwear in his pocket, but he has no idea how, or who's they are. One guess is that they belonged to Val. It's like a classic Whodunnit, but when you can't remember the night before and wake up next to a dead body, the odds don't look good. It's worth a read, so check it out!

You can find all these comics and others at Timezone Gaming in Fords, NJ.

New Comics Review: Jennifer Blood and Masumi

With DC Comics and Marvel deep into comic issues, this week we'll take a look at indie comics. So many people don't realize the amazing comics that are by other companies, with the exception of The Walking Dead. Indie comics are usually rated mature, which isn't a bad thing. It can often be quite refreshing to see some more adult themes. Two new comics out tomorrow August 6th at Timezone Gaming are:

Jennifer Blood by Dynamite appears with it's first issue. It's written by Steven Grant, and art by Kewber Baal. Speculation around the Internet leading up to Jennifer Blood's release, has been that she looks like a female Punisher. Well, I can attest to that. I was excited for this new comic, merely for the fact that it's a woman who looks like she kicks ass! Who wouldn't want to read that? Now days comics are embracing women and girls as their audience, so it makes perfect sense to bring more female characters into the fold. Now Jennifer Blood was a normal woman, married and with children, only she was murdering vigilante at night. In the opening we learn she also killed her husband, but we don't learn why. She's been on the run, and presumed dead. While in hiding, she discovers someone posed as her, which will now cause authorities to hunt her down. By the end of it Jennifer comes out of hiding, and we can only imagine where she'll be headed. One of the catchy elements to this comic is that Jennifer narrates throughout the issue. We get a look inside her head and emotions. I give it a 10 on a 10 point scale.

The second comic on the review list is Masumi Blades of Sin #1. It's published by Zenescope, presented by Grimm Fairy Tales, and written by Joe Tyler, artwork by Sergio Osuna. The Forward explains that Masumi Yamomoto that was trapped in a hellish dimension for about two hundred years. Now she's returned to earth in attempts to begin a new life. Well, just like with any story, her past comes back to haunt her when she finds out the man she loves was killed by a demon named Legion. She defeated Legion, but it merely trapped him within her samurai swords. She is sworn by the laws of the Yamomoto Clan to make sure Legion never escapes. This is also reflected in the cover, because her samurai swords show what looks like the reflection of demons. It's pretty cool if you ask me. Now, the one thing that's similar to comics we know is that Masumi has white streaks in her hair like Rogue, but...her main color hair is black. I can live with this, even though it bears resemblance to Rogue. I dig Rogue, so Masumi should live up to that, or better! Once the action starts, and it starts almost immediately, Masumi explains that her ancestor weakened Legions power by dividing it up into Deadly Sins. Okay...that's cool. I didn't expect that. Seven of these were let loose into the world, while the eighth was infused in her swords. The sins are Sloth, Gluttony, Lust, Greed, Pride, Envy, Wrath, and the one fused into Masumi's blades is Despondency. Masumi's family was also killed because of Legion, but a cousin of hers still remains. When Masumi visits her, she finds out that there is more going on than meets the eye. This comic is packed with beautiful artwork, an intriguing story that keeps you wondering what will happen next.

Definitely pick up both Jennifer Blood and Masumi this week. They may only be a short series, but still worth the read! It's especially good if you don't want to get too deep into a series, (like DC Comics New 52 that are up to issues 32 already.) Give them a shot and try something new. You might surprise yourself.

Till next time geek on, my friends!

New Comics: Low and Grimm Tales of Terror

    This week I'm reviewing two new comics Low and Grimm Tales of Terror. These comics hit the shelves tomorrow Wednesday, July 30th at TimeZone Gaming. As you know, each week I review new comics that come out every Wednesday. If you want to request a review of a specific comic, then send us a message or comment below.

    Low is written by Rick Remender, and art done by Greg Tocchini, and created by the both of them. Low is published under Image Comics, so naturally I had to take a look at it. It's set somewhere in the future, and the sun continually expands causing the earth to slowly be consumed. Humans have retreated to the deepest depths of the ocean in search of a permanent home. The cities under the sea are vast and protected by radiation shields. We're introduced to a family that for generations has been dedicated to searching for safe places to live on earth. They are the Caines, and out on a mission where they also begin training their children, they are caught in a trap and forced to give up their blood bonded weapon: a suit that only works for the blood of a Caine. Now the lives of the Caine children are at stake. I definitely recommend picking up this comic. There's no telling where it will lead. With the sun destroying the earth with each passing second, and dealing with an alien race, the Caines and the other humans must find a way to survive. It's a different take on an apocalyptic scenario, so I dig it. I think you will too!

    Next up is Grimm Tales of Terror. Published by Zenescope Grimm Tales of Terror is indeed terror-ific! Written by Ralph Tedesco, and artwork by Antonio Bifulco. Many people are used to the Grimm Fairy Tales comics that re-vamped old fairy tales we knew as children. Now they're back at it again only this time it's about horror stories. The first story makes a nod to Edgar Allen Poe and his book The Tell Tale Heart, although it's left up to the reader to find the connection between the famous story and the one being told in the comic. It's not clear who the woman is in the beginning, but she seems to know a man (Richard) that bumps into her, although he doesn't know her. She makes some cryptic comment about him having to handle the funeral arrangements for his wife Linda. Richard is confused and the woman dodges his questions by telling him a story. She tells him a tale of a woman who thought she killed her husband because he "changed." Well, that's intriguing to say the least. We don't learn why or what caused him to change, but we get to see the monster he's become. It's a quick horror story, but has a great twist. When we come back to Richard and the woman, it ends quickly, but not before they throw in a twist in that plot as well. This is a must read for any horror fan.

What do you think? Will you be picking up these comics this week? If not, then what other comics have caught your eye that releases tomorrow? Let us know your feedback in the comments below.

Till next week...