Week-In-Review: Crossed - Wish You Where Here / Deadpool #52 / George R.R Martins A Game of Thrones #4 / The Jungle Book #1

Crossed - Wish You Where Here #1+2 (Avatar)

Story : Simon Spurrier

Art : Javier Barreno

(Reviewed by Akshay Dhar)

It's not conventional to review a web-comic in a new releases list like this one, but I intend to make an exception for this one.

BE WARNED: This series is not for the faint of heart, it's meant for MATURE/ADULT readers and could be scarring to your psyche if horror and the unthinkable are not your cup of tea!

Crossed has been, since its terrifying and disturbing beginning, one of the most gruesome, brutal and in-your-face horror comics I've ever seen and every successive mini-series in the franchise has taken that first step by super-scribe Garth Ennis to heart and built fresh nightmares on top. Soon we have a new mini-series coming out title Badlands by a returning Ennis as we bid David Lapham – who has been helming this franchise for a while now – a thankful goodbye, but in the meantime this FREE web-series was a nice little surprise that almost slipped under the radar.

For all the sheer eye-ball popping freakishness that is the parent print comic that this spins out from, Wish You Were Here is a more simplistic type of tale. It follows the journals of a fellow named Shaky who is one of a group of survivors hiding out on a tiny mud-pile of an island called Cava in the heart of the Orkneys which is just over a mile long, three-fifths of a mile wide at its widest point. No trees, no features whatsoever. This is where a band of survivors resides – I won't say they live, because it's more like they are waiting to die, for life to leave them or be taken. It's just that killing oneself is easier said than done, a need to live is a powerful driving force.

And so we get to follow this weekly web-comic on their website and partake in this maddening look at humanity at its lowest point. Well told so far by Spurrier who really explores the 'setting up camp' and trying to lay low and hide from the Crossed, something rarely used in the franchise so far and he seems to be taking his time, swinging between bringing out the characters and showcasing all the gore and terror that this series is both loved and reviled for with fans.

If you love gory horror comics, you should really look this up and if you like it there's series a-plenty in the back issues of Crossed comics to catch up on. If you're a fan already though, you might enjoy this slightly different style of story to add some variety to the series.

SCORE : 7.2 / 10

Deadpool #52 (Marvel)

 Story : Daniel Way

Art : Ale Garza, Sean Parsons

(Reviewed by Anant Sagar)

Finally the new Deadpool is here! I was so happy when I saw it, ITS AWESOME! GO READ IT NOW! I GIVE IT 10 ON 10! ...there, review done...

[No it isn’t, don’t be an idiot!]

{Fine...}

So the little yellow boxes tell me I need to write a “proper” review. I honestly think Deadpool is amazing and saying just that is review enough. So, without further ado.

The Good:

Honestly, everything. I’m not trying to be biased, but I love Deadpool comics for the simple reason that they're fast paced, interesting and funny. The art is true to the new series and I quite enjoy it. The story is interesting. For non followers of Deadpool (shame on you!), Deadpool has been trying to find a way to kill himself. Which, is insanely hard for a guy with a healing factor that rivals our favourite Canuck, Wolverine. The reason, so that he can be with the love of his life Death. Weird, right? I know!! :D

And the amount of characters is awesome.

The Bad:

Again without bias, nothing! I love the story, I love the art I love the involvement of every character. I even love how crazy, clever, sneaky, smart and crazy (did I say that already?) Deadpool really is.

The Funny:

With Deadpool you have to know that the comic is going to be full of laughs. My personal fav’s are

Wolverine going, “this is a weak spot” as the uncanny X force burst through a whole bunch of ninjas.

Deadpool’s constant banter, with himself. Like “it’s do or die time” “[you mean do AND die]” “Yeah”.

After trying to kill the kingpin telling him, “just remember I’m the one who saved your life”.

Deadpool cursing Fantomex!

I say get the whole Deadpool DEAD saga (3 issues so far). Read them. Laugh your rear off!

SCORE : 9 / 10

George R.R Martins A Game of Thrones #4 (Dynamite)

Story : Daniel Abraham

Art : Tommy Patterson

(Reviewed by Akshay Dhar)

This is a title that needs no introduction and honestly, if you don't already know what this is then I can't imagine what kind of cave you've been buried inside!

Adapting the original books – the ones that were the inspiration for the monster-hit TV series – we find a fresh look at the realms of Westeros courtesy the good folks at Dynamite who have been making a solid name for themselves adapting stuff from John Carter Of Mars to Terminator comic to Total Recall to Army of Darkness and now this.

In a way this is a far closer adaptation of the original stories, something that in all fairness a TV series with limited episodes per-season, greater production time and huge cost cannot be compared to – and given how amazing the show was, I would not question it.

This version however brings more detail to the story-telling, it brings narration (voice-over/caption style!) that live-action never likes to carry, it brings a slightly slower pacing and greater detail – this last part being simply because you can create stuff on a page that you'd go broke trying to do in real life.

The basic story you all should be familiar with – this issue see's the departure of Jon Snow to join the Nightswatch soon after Eddard has departed with the King back to his capital. Meanwhile an attempt is being made on the life of his comatose young son and Tyrion Lannister is on the first steps of his own unique journey as well.

I miss seeing Stark and Tyrion portrayed by their live-action counterparts who were just incomparable, but on the whole this is a good and faithful rendition that will if kept at this level, add a new section of fans to the legion that the series already holds.

SCORE : 9 / 10

The Jungle Book #1 (Zenescope)

Story : Mark L. Miller

Art : Carlos Granda

(Reviewed by Akshay Dhar)

Just what we need. The Jungle Book rebooted. By a company that makes hot-female-centric fantasy-horror comics.

I admit that I've always had a lukewarm regard for the books that Zenescope put's out because of the fixation on hot women and horror and gore and it often felt like they were just re-telling old favourites and fairy-tales because original ideas are that much harder and require more real work. And I felt bad because they have amazing artists on staff. All this did become better when I saw the work of their star find – Raven Gregory – who wrote a series called Fly for them and showed that even with all that they could bring something entertaining to the table.

This book however I remained apprehensive of since I saw it up there this past week and having read it now, I still remain so – though a little less now then I was before.

It reinterprets the story in a strange new way, taking characters and some basics but then just jumps off the deep-end. Kidnapped children, brutal jungle wars and a huge wooden ship – mast and all that – crashing into the middle of a jungle scene. We have the familiar of Bagheera, the wolf pack that raises Mowgli and Shere Khan as big-bad tiger. But the similarities stop there. Mowgli is now a girl (as the cover gives away!) and the state of affairs in the jungle is quite unlike anything you or I would expect – a more mature and more fantastical tale comes through here and the basic set-up leaves me curious and wanting to see where this goes.

In that it does what a good #1 is meant to do and the artwork by Granda lives up to the standards that the publisher has been maintaining. His designs and animals come across well and the look and feel of the jungle itself is great, so no complaints at all in the art department – plus the introduction of the beloved Baloo character next issue has my interest, for now.

SCORE : 6.5 / 10