Ice Cream Man Vol. 1: Rainbow Sprinkles by W. Maxwell Prince My rating: 2 of 5 stars This is an anthology series where each issue is a self-contained story with different characters. What pulls them together as a collection is that they all feature the Ice Cream Man. While one of the stories was decidedly horror as a whole I'd rather call them weird tales. The first was the best of the four contained here. After that, they decreased in interest for me and I found the entire gimmick got old fast. I'll say that each story does have a bit of a thrill to make it a decent enough way to spend a qu ..read more

Lady Mechanika, Vol. 4: Clockwork Assassin by Joe Benítez My rating: 3 of 5 stars I've really enjoyed all the Lady Mechanika books. This one isn't quite up to par with the others as the plot is rather dull and it's very short leaving us without much character development. There isn't really any action until the ending. The illustration, however, is as one would expect. The steampunk outfits are gorgeous. The ending is non-finite leaving us with the distinct impression there will be a sequel. Not the best in the series but a fun diversion ..read more

Hit-Girl, Volume 1: Colombia by Mark Millar My rating: 4 of 5 stars It's great to have Hit-Girl back! Kick-Ass has retired and now she's looking for a new partner. However, she gets a case in Colombia and off she goes to get a whole wack of drug lords and gangs. Tons of violence with eyes popping out of exploded heads but the humour doesn't hit the mark of the original series. It has a flippant tone and some good oneliners but not the top-quality humour of the first. I can't wait for the second volume as she's off to Canada next time and who else could be writing it but Jeff Lemire ..read more

Hack/Slash vs. Vampirella by Shawn Aldridge My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was a lot of fun! Both characters are relatively new to me. I've read exactly one book for each, loving the Hack/Slash and not very impressed by the Vampirella. (I've since read another Hack/Slash). Here, though, Vampirella was an enjoyable character. The plot is a bit of fluff with the two teaming up to kill a demon who wants Vamp's heart to bring about the apocalypse. Fun banter between the girls but my favourite is the big Vlad. The art is typical cheesecake and blood and I loved the playing card theme ..read more

Dark Nights: Metal by Scott Snyder My rating: 3 of 5 stars Well, I'm not going to lie. This story is just not my thing. I like stories that take place on Earth 1 or in space but Dark Nights: Metal introduces us to the Dark Multiverse and it is whacko crazy. Batman's nightmares are real here and there are several weird dark Batmans at the helm of this craziness. Set in several realms of this multiverse the Justice League members are trying to combat the forces of evil. There are many familiar villains represented with one popping up all the time throughout. Look closely at the crowd scenes. I ..read more

No. 1 with a Bullet by Jacob Semahn My rating: 2 of 5 stars I could analyze this as it presents itself as something to be analyzed but it wasn't good enough to waste my time looking any deeper. The book is out to deal with an "issue", proof found in the ending of interviews, essays and "what to do if" articles. "Issue" books annoy me. If a book is poignant and has meaning then that's a good thing but don't start out with an issue and write around it to the detriment of the story. Anyway, the book deals with internet stalking and lack of personal privacy ..read more

Redneck, Vol. 2: The Eyes Upon You by Donny Cates My rating: 5 of 5 stars Just as excellent as the first volume. This one continues on the Landry vs Bowman feud from a different angle and some secrets never known before about the origin of that feud are revealed. Lots of violence and blood as expected from a vampire story but most of all this is a story of family loyalty, fealty and love. Excellent characters and a quick fast-paced read. Great developments leave me excited for the next volume ..read more

The Shadow: Leviathan by Simon Spurrier My rating: 4 of 5 stars I'm a big fan of The Shadow and always enjoy his romps. This book is a bit different; it brings Shadow into the 21st century. He's been gone because the world didn't need vigilantism but now he's back but with memory loss after being burnt to a crisp in his latest showdown. Everything is not as it seems though. This book attempts fairly well to be an origin story for those who don't know the Shadow's history. It does a good job of this without going into too much detail, flipping from past to present. The bit about the Leviathan ..read more

Bettie Page, Vol. 1: Bettie Goes to Hollywood by David Avallone My rating: 4 of 5 stars First things first, yes this is a lot of cheesecake fun! I've always been fascinated by Betty Paige but I had thought this was going to be fluff, humour and naughty bits. It turned out to be so much more. Betty goes to Hollywood and gets herself involved in espionage and intrigue. First, it's a space cult kidnapping her, then she infiltrates a communist plot and mad scientists. Exciting stories combined with light sexual innuendo made for fun reading ..read more

Dark Days: The Road to Metal by Scott Snyder My rating: 3 of 5 stars I've got to say this volume had me lost. I've read a lot of the Rebirth issues, obviously not all of them, but plenty enough to always know what is going on. This book starts with two issues which are prequels to a new miniseries about to start called "Dark Nights: METAL". All throughout I felt as if I was missing something that would have helped me to understand what was going on. The rest of the book is filled with previously published (from 2009 to 2017) stories which are supposed to be precursors to this new METAL serie ..read more