Dodging Bullets #1

G’day Crusaders,

This is Dodgy in the mix, mixing it up with the very first Dodging Bullets. Five indie Comics will be scored as a whole and each book will be judged as a Pull or Skip in your Local Comic Book Store. The books listed are Dark Horse Presents # 33, G.I. Joe # 4, Groo: Fray of the Gods TPB, Hellbent # 1 and World Reader # 1.

DHP # 33Â by various writers and artists, Proudly Published by Dark Horse Comics.

SKIP -Sadly this is the Final issue of Dark Horse Presents, for a multiple award-winning anthology series it does come as a surprise. There are six stories in this book such as: Too Much Coffee Man: Exterminator; Trekker: The Volstock Payoff; Brooklyn Blood; There’s a Gorilla on the Cover!; Savant and Finder: Chase the Lady.

The opening story Too Much Coffee Man is interesting but not enough for me to want to buy this mag, the same goes with Savant and Finder. However, Trekker and Brooklyn Blood are pretty cool as they include nice action sequences and splash pages!

The best story in this book is There’s a Gorilla on the Cover! – wow! I admire the originality, the entire story is told by a series of eight different comic book covers.

Honestly, I wish this would be a PULL being the final issue. I care very little for half the stories in this book. Â DHP’s saving grace would be to follow 2000AD’s method and add a back-up stories of Dark Horse’s marquee line such as X, Alien, Predator, BPRD or Hellboy as well as creator made works. I know its easyÂ to suggest this, the weekly 2000AD anthology series still include Judge Dredd!

G.I. Joe # 4 written by Aubrey Sitterson with art by Giannis Milonogiannis and Lovern Kindzierski and letters by Shawn Lee. Proudly Published by IDW Publishing.

Having collected the toys and watched the animated series as a child, this is a real treat as the Dreadknocks are chasing the Joes in order to free their prisoner Crystal Ball! The story is well written, nothing is obvious and ends with wanting more, the art is pleasant especially the chase sequences!

Unlike typical G.I. Joe, this story includesÂ more supernatural and less military/terrorist elements which is why I’d give it a big PULL! There are monsters and Decepticon’s own Skywarp also makes an appearance. I really enjoyed thatÂ OG characters such as Gung-ho, Snake Eyes, Roadblock, Lady Jay and Scarlett are in it, and Quick Kick kicks some Dreadknock butt!

Groo: Fray of the Gods by Sergio AragonÃ©s, written by Mark Evanier with colors by Tom Luth and letters by Stan Sakai. Proudly Published by Dark Horse Comics.

Groo the Wanderer and his faithful dog Rufferto roam from town to town, he finds himself in a village to rid of a king who sees himself as a god. As usual Groo is feared by the masses, with his dullard behavior heÂ keeps creating problems in the process. I am a massive fan of Sergio AragonÃ©s, the Mr Bean of cartooning as the images alone make me laugh hence even without words therefore this is a PULL. There is a lot going on in this book, there is page by page with laugh out loudÂ moments throughout to enjoy and the large panels with a fair amount of detailing AragonÃ©s style will please fans.

AragonÃ©s and Evanier make a spectacular team with a book that is fun to read!

Hellbent # 1 by Skyla Madi with art by Ash Madi, Proudly published by Tightrope Comics.

Barkeep Ash and his Personal Trainer girlfriend Red are madly in love, they cannot keep their hands off each other and they are alsoÂ gym buddies. Continuing from the previous issue (Hellbent # 0), the witchcraft that possessed King Daryan sending him mad is now in modern time – what impact will that have on Ash and Red? Â For theÂ previous review click here:Â https://www.comiccrusaders.com/australia-day-review-hell-bent-0/ to find more.

TheÂ first few pages are confrontingÂ (reading it on public transport is not a good idea) with the sex scenes, Skyla’s experience as an international best selling romanceÂ it falls into place. This is a PULL, as there are Â plot twists in the end will keep you reading more! I appreciate the art and the fact it is not predictable!

World Reader # 1 by Jeff Loveness (creator) with art by Juan Doe and Rachel Deering, Proudly Published by Aftershock Comics.

What if you could talk to aÂ planet? A group of astronauts land on a dead planet and young Sarah has the ability to talk to the dead to understand what happened to the planet and she wont like what whats installed! This is an instant PULL, I enjoyed the animosity of the fellow astronauts who either don’t understand nor trust Sarah’s abilities yet you have the support of Harris’ optimism. The art by Doe and Deerings coloring is absolutely gorgeous, the emptiness of a world without life and when Sarah is in her zone communicating with the dead theÂ art is very much Jim Steranko Â style!

Aftershock Comics offer us aÂ visual masterpiece Â with a great storyline that cannot be missed!

Four of the Five books are on my Pull List! Any thoughts, please click the comment fields below!

Dodgy is a Senior ContributorÂ for Comic Crusaders spanning from Comics, Music, Manga, Action Figures and more.. He is also the proud host of the Indie Comic Podcast Flipside Focus and Marvel Comics Podcast on No-Prize Podcast and VP of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network.

Flipside Focus go to: http://www.undercovercapes.com/category/flipside-focus/
No-Prize Podcast go to: http://www.undercovercapes.com/category/no-prize-podcast/

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Dark Horse:Â http://www.darkhorse.com/

IDW Publishing:Â http://www.idwpublishing.com/

Tightrope Comics:Â https://www.tightropecomics.com/

Aftershock Comics:Â http://aftershockcomics.com/

Author Profile

Shane Tydeman

The Wonder from Down Under,
Dodgy is a senior contributor to Comic Crusaders. Co-Host of The Yeah-Nah Wepa Show! An advocate of indie comics and is creator of Indie Comics podcasts Flipside Focus, Sunderkatz and Think Indie Podcast!

An unapologetic movie fan, NBA fan, action figure, trading card fan! Also an advocate for Depression awareness!