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Reviewed by Adam Stone
Author: El Torres
Artist: Gabriel Hernandez
Cover Artist: Gabriel Hernandez
Cover Artist: Ashley Wood

Size: 32 Pages
Price: $3.99

Ok, I only picked this up because it had an Ashley Wood cover. IDW has been more miss than hit for me, lately. Apart from Locke & Key, and the David Lapham 30 Days Of Night, nothing's really grabbed me. A quick flip through sucked me in with Gabriel Hernandez's deceptively simple looking art. Some of the backgrounds look very sketchy, but detailed. A very purposefully basic look.

The plot of this book has been done in a ton of films, comics, books, short stories, board games, RPGs, computer games, etc. A police officer who can talk to the *yawn* dead. Many of her fellow officers don't believe her, and those that do, aren't sure she's trustworthy. But we, the reader, can see that she's telling the truth, and that it haunts her.

The main character, Chris Luna, has a noirish or horror movie name. She looks like the actress who would play the weird girl who talks to dead things in a movie. Everything about this comic is cliche. And, yet, El Torres writes it in such a way, I couldn't help but love it. He seems to really care about his character, and wants you to understand her. I get the idea he might be from Maine, himself. If not, good on him for giving me the impression that he knows what he's talking about.

All in all, this book was a very pleasant surprise from an artist and a writer I've never heard of before. I'm probably choosing this as my pick, as there wasn't a stand-out awesome book that out-awesomed everything else, and I think people should check this book out.

Reviewed by Adam Stone
Written by Christopher Yost
Art by Ramon Bachs
Cover by Francis Manapul
Variant Cover by JG Jones

Size: 32 Pages
Price: $2.99

I've been really happy with the post-RIP Batman universe. Ok, so part 2 of Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader wasn't the best issue ever written, and there were a few yawners in the BoTC one-shots, but for the most part, it's been pretty interesting. And last week's Batman and Robin, while not life-changing, was definitely a good read, that would seem to indicate a really cool first arc of Morrison's new title. Eventually, though, we must come upon a terrible post-RIP Batman issue.

Luckily, this is not it. Christopher Yost's foray into the mind of Tim Drake-Wayne is well thought out. He goes on an international adventure to sort out his head, and try and track down his mentor, whom he believes is still alive. Crime ensues. Guns are fired. Maidens are rescued. There's also a wonderful Damien/Tim/Dick interaction that calls to mind every well-written younger/middle/eldest child dynamic in modern literature.

While not a mind-blowing read, it seems to be a setup for another strong series. I look forward to seeing what fun Yost has in a non-X-Men universe.

Artwise, this was a satisfyingly average book. The two former, and one current Robin look too alike for my taste, but, I suppose, logically, they're supposed to look very similar, in order to keep the public from knowing when they changed up Robins.

Reviewed by Adam Stone
Written by Mike Carey
Art by Peter Gross
Cover by Yuko Shimizu

Size: 32 Pages
Price: $2.99

I'm really enjoying Carey's book-within-a-book, word-within-a-world approach to this comic. It's the story of a man who has grown up believing that he is the basis for his father's fantasy books, which are largely reminiscent of the Harry Potter series. In the first issue, he discovered that his father (who disappeared years ago) may not actually be his father, and his entire life may be a lie. Or,. he might be The Messiah.

Carey's writing feels...for lack of a better term...true. And truth is the central theme to this book.

Artwise, while the style is classic Vertigo, the panes are laid out in a really eye-catching manner. Also, the cover art is the best Vertigo art I've seen since Becky Cloonan's American Virgin covers