Here's this week's PICKS! Out of the comics I wrote about in my PULL list this week (which can be found here), these are my favorite reads. Most of these are linked to seperate reviews, because frankly, the series' I'm reviewing are so good, they deserve their own pages for reviews. This week. I'm reviewing Immortal She-Hulk #1, an Unkindess of Ravens #1, Bliss #3, and Batgirl #49! Continue Reading to get this week's scoop on comics!
Immortal She-Hulk #1 by Al Ewing, drawn by Jon Davis-Hunt and colored by Marcio Menyz
FULL REVIEW HERE!
Batgirl #49 by Cecil Castellucci, art by Robbi Rodriguez, colors by Jordie Bellaire
FULL REVIEW HERE, as part of an ongoing final arc review!
Bliss #3 by Sean Lewis and Caitlin Yarsky
The third issue of Bliss picks up directly where the second left off, with the Priestess of Lethe asking the Judge and the criminal's son for protection from the Goddess she once served. She tells them that Lethe has already killed both her brothers, and she needs the criminal Benton to stop her--because he's done it before. Benton's son doesn't know anything about this, and they don't have much time to discuss it, as clouds of crows stream into the building, breaking the windows. They kill the Judge almost immediately, with the Priestess dragging off the boy to safer quarters. The priestess says she'll fill in the parts of the story the boy doesn't know. As she starts her part of the tale, we get more insight into what exactly it was the boy's father was doing that required the memory-wiping Bliss drug. As it turns out, he worked for Lethe herself. A flashback to a time when the Priestess and her brothers spoke to him shows that he was their "fixer," erasing any problems from wandering eyes to probing researchers, obsessed sycophants to meddlesome housewives. On that last note, Lethe's Priests had declared Benton must kill his wife, who speaks against Lethe and the work that he does for her. In the scene, its clear Benton is desperate for Bliss, to let is erase the pain of the memories of what he's done to all kinds of people. In his desperation, he realizes the only way out is to do what they say, and kill his wife. At home later, we see the boy and his mother enjoying each other's company while she puts up laundry to dry in the yard. She's clearly a very good mother, playing with her bored son instead of shooing him away to finish her work. When her husband comes home earlier than expected, her face clearly changes, knowing the darkness her husband brings with him. Whatever her words against Lethe were, their relationship struggles clearly go past his ugly job. Ignoring his mother's downcast expression, young boy runs up to the car and tries to surprise him, but ends up overhearing his father discussing the upcoming murder of the boy's mother. Alarmed, he runs inside and warns his mom of what he overheard. She seems solemn in the news, but unsurprised. Quickly, they gather some things and leave before he's even inside the house. A stark series of panels show Benton in his parked car, head tilted back on the headrest, mouth open. Its a familiar scene, especially in modern days, where drug abuse is rampant. Too many times do children find a parent passed out on some chemical or another, unresponsive but apparently in heaven. The difference, here, is the black goo that runs from Benton's eyes--bad memories of what he's done for Lethe. The boy, Perry, and his mother drive to his grandma's house, and talk along the drive about what go them here. He tells her he's scared of what his dad might do, and wants her to know she's a great mother. The fear in the child's life is palpable, but even now, he asks her if she thinks they'll ever be a family again. His mother calls him sick, a term often used to describe addicts in our own world, and say's we won't get better. Back in the courthouse, a grown Perry speaks with the Priestess as they head for the dungeons, and his father. He says how his mother had taught him of monster such as her, who humanity had let in and allowed to continue their work because they though it was a harmless enough deal. But, Perry says, his mother knew the truth, and that it would catch up to them eventually. He continues his part of the story, that he and his mother arrived at his grandma's house. But it didn't take long for him to find them. When he does, the grandmother asks Perry to bring her the heaviest pan from the kitchen for a fight. On the road, driving like a madman, Benton gulps down more Bliss. He's using it like a proper recreational drug now, chugging bottles while raging out about how he feel he was wronged. All the while, the visual symbolism is clear to show the true culprit--the Bliss he drinks. The issue ends with Benton pulling up to the house, gun in hand. Bliss #3 expands on the world Lewis and Yarsky have been building while keeping it within the boundaries of being something we can recognize as similar to ours. As the backstory continues to get unfolded, I find myself asking more and more how the situation could have ended to leave Perry wanting to explain away his father's crimes. This doesn't feel like a "love solves it all" kind of story, so I fully expect pain and tragedy in the next issue. Bliss #4 comes out October 28th, when we'll learn more ab out Perry, his father, and Lethe.
An Unkindess of Ravens #1 by Dan Panosian and drawn by Marianna Ignazzi, colored by Fabiana Mascolo
FULL REVIEW HERE
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