Comic Review: Morning Glories!

There will be some spoilers in this post, so be warned!

Morning Glories is the hot comic book title right now. Of any other new or new(ish) book out there, I feel like this one has received the most praise. After the Boston Con, The Editor and I decided to pick up the first trade to see what all of the hype was about, and let me tell you, it's certainly worth the read!

Morning Glory Academy is a prestigious prep school that is hiding a lot of dark secrets. The story focuses on six new recruits. These recruits begin to realize right away that there is something not quite right about the school. When they call home their parents don't remember who they are, and one girls parents are murdered to teach her a lesson.

As the story goes on things begin to get even more sinister. One of the new recruits gets kidnapped after trying to drown herself, and the others have to go on a mission to save her from the school. If that isn't enough, it seems that there is a supernatural entity that is attacking students as well.

As the story progresses you find that some of the upper classmen (including the new girls' RA) who aren't quite right in the head, and that all of the kids attending the school have the same birthday. There is a lot going on in this story, but all of it keeps you on your toes, and gets you excited about the next issue. I don't want to give anything more away, so I'll stop there before I do.

It's a great thriller, and if you're into the whole "independent comics" thing like I am, you'll appreciate the originality of the series. It brings you in and keeps you guessing the same way that "The Unwritten" does. And with a end to the series planned (author Nick Spencer has 100 issues planned, with a definite ending), it's suer to keep you on your toes until the very end.

Comic Recommendation of the Week: Hack/Slash

Happy Saturday everyone! So, last night as The Editor and Evan T. remotely played Red Dead (romantic Friday night, I know) I took The Editor's advice and started reading Hack/Slash. Hack/Slash is a story about Cassie Hack and how she survived a slasher attack. Since she survived the attack, she is now on a mission to kill all of the slashers out there to protect the innocent from being killed themselves.

 
The daughter of a slasher herself, Cassie wonders if that is part of the reason she kills. She worries if it is something so ingrained in her that she'll ever be able to quit. All of the slashers in the comic are done movie style, so most of them are able to return from the dead, including Cassie's mother (there is an explanation for that in the series, don't want to spoiler it for you).

There is a supernatural element to the series as well, as people make deals with the devil to gain success. Whenever a deal is made, the devil demands a "quota" of souls, meaning lives must be taken to maintain success. One of the most lovable characters in the series is actually a hell hound names Pooch who has been sent to earth to hunt Cassie, but finds his living accommodations with her friends too nice to do so.

Cassie is aided by Vlad, her protector, and gentle giant. Other people in Cassie's posse include Georgia, Cassie's best friend/sometimes girlfriend/stripper, and Lisa and Chris, whom Cassie saved from a slasher, and they now run Hack/Slash Inc., the website where people can go to report slashers and have Cassie look into the case.

It's super violent and kind of racy, but the story is truly entertaining. I devoured nearly two omnibuses last night, so you know it's good.

Bi-weekly Comic Book Review Spectacular!

Most comic book nerds will tell you that Wednesdays are new comic book day, and they are completely right. However, I like to save money on my comics (in addition, there are really no good comic books shops in Albany), so I have them shipped to my house bi-weekly. It's actually pretty great since I'm insanely busy during the week. It's like a little mini Christmas a couple of times a month. Let's take a look at this week's order!

Fables Covers by James Jean- I have been waiting for this book for nearly two years. The first printing sold like hotcakes, and for a long time the only place you could find it was on eBay for a couple hundred dollars. Being the dork I am, I would love to have a first print of it, but a second print is just as good. James Jean one of my favorite artists on the planet. Fables is the best comic book I've ever read. The creative writing skills of Bill Willingham, with the artwork of James Jean, is a mix for some of the best imaginative experiences I've ever had. When I saw the "Covers" book in the box, I flipped through it, then held it like a baby and stroked it, and told it how much I love it. Seriously.

Awesome.

 Wizard of Oz Plush Dolls- Yup, I'm a girl. And as a girl, I like adorable things. I placed the order for these all the way back in February, and ever since then, every Friday I sit patiently by the front door waiting for the UPS man to bring them to me. They're finally here! And they're teh kewt. 

Ignore the Alice's for now, I don't have them.. yet...

 The Unwritten #18- From the first issue of Unwritten, I knew it was going to be something great. Here is the synopsis; Wilson Taylor was a famous author who wrote a series of childrens books and disappeared at the height of his success. The main character in his books was named "Tommy Taylor" after his son Tom. The books are about a wizard named "Tommy Taylor" who is a great wizard, and has wizarding friends and goes to a wizarding school, and has a nemesis (imagine Harry Potter). Meanwhile, the real Tom Taylor is a minor celebrity due to the success of his fathers books. Some of the fans actually think that he may be the real wizard, Tommy Taylor. The story follows Tom and his trials and tribulations, and figuring out what is reality and what is fantasy. 

Also featuring super cool artwork!

Grimm Fairy Tales #50 and 51-  Each issue of Grimm Fairy Tales has two parts: a frame story and a fairy tale. The frame story revolves around Sela, who has been given the ability to help people by showing them fairy tales with a lesson about their life. She struggles with the fact that people ignore her advice and ruin their lives anyway, and begins using her ability to dispense justice. Each comic has a version of a classic fairy tale, such as "The Little Mermaid" or "The Three Little Pigs". I chose this series for Russell H. to begin his foray into the world of comics. It has lots of chesty women, and is pretty violent, but is still a really cool story with really cool artwork. 

Chesty LaRue

iZombie- iZombie is a story about a gravedigger in Eugene, Oregon named Gwen. Her closest friend is a ghost named Ellie who died in the 1950's. Gwen is mostly undead. Not in the violent "All I want to do is eat your brains" sort of way, but in a way that she doesn't have to kill. Instead, Gwen uses her job as a gravedigger to eat freshly dead brains a couple of times a month. The biggest problem with that, is that she retains some of the victims memories, which makes for some pretty interesting run in's with the deceased person's family members. 

She's pretty hot for a dead girl.

Sweet Tooth #14- Sweet Tooth is my favorite new comic of the past year. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic society where human/animal hybrids exist, and people hunt them. Gus is a sweet 9 year old boy with antlers, a rare human/animal hybrid. He is raised in a very ignorant Christian household by his father, until his father passes away, leaving Gus all by himself. That is until Tommy Jepperd, a drifter, enters Gus' life.  The two are on the run from hunters and mad scientists who want to harm Gus. Tommy leads Gus to "The Preserve" where Gus finally meets other hybrids, and finally discovers the horrors of the hybrid species and why his father wanted to protect him from the others. Jeff Lemire offers a great story with very original artwork. Jeff is the one artist I was sad to see was not at the NYCC.

That's about all I've got this week. there will be Supergirl and The Walking Dead in two weeks, so we can talk about that when they get here! Tomorrow will be a segment I would like to call "Nerding 101". I'm still trying to put together a solid structure here, so bear with me for a couple more weeks! Hope you're all having a great weekend!