A Fistful Of Comics: December 2014

 A slightly belated look at the comics I picked up last time I was in Southampton.

 We shall start with a title I've never heard of before  - but I just found the cover irresistible.

 Sally Of The Wasteland #4

 What it's about:  A motley collection of survivors try to avoid being eaten by mutants in some sort of Post-Apocalypse Louisiana.

What I thought: The cover immediately caught my eye. A young woman looking very pleased with herself standing over a beastie who just got a fire-axe to the face. That definitely looked like the sort of thing I might enjoy reading.

 That purchasing approach has backfired on me in the past but luckily for me "Sally Of The Wasteland" lived up to the promise of the cover. Despite me having no idea who these people are, why one of them seems to be dressed like a schoolgirl and why big green things keep trying to eat them, this comic was fun.

 Any post-apocalypse scenario needs to have a decent mix of people you actually like and dickheads who need to get eaten painfully. I can confirm that SOTW achieves this.  

  The artist isn't bad at all, the story manages to balance bloody action and character moments and the dialogue has frequent flashes of snarky humour - always a bonus. 

I plan to pick up a few more issues first chance I get. Among other things, there's something weirdly satisfying about a flesh-eating mutant calling "Dibs on the buttocks"

 Lady Zorro #4

 What it's about: A beautiful swordswoman leads the people of Mexico against a brutal mercenary army. The usual Zorro stuff, really.  

What I thought:  Ever since I saw the first ads I'd been wanting to have a look at Lady Zorro. I'm a sucker for a sexy swashbuckler, so this seemed ideal. All the fun of Lady Rawhide but I could read the comic in public without people scowling at me.
  I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed.  Lady Zorro is basically Lady Rawhide in more clothes. Or Zorro with nicer hair. Either way, there was nothing about Lady Zorro that would make me choose it in favour of the other two.  Good  guy  girl with a rapier foils naughty men and rallies peasants. That's it.
 And while the cover is pretty good, the art inside didn't really gell with me. It's not horrific, I just couldn't get on with it. 

  You might like it. I can't see me ever buying Lady Zorro again.

Lady Z nicks somebody's coach. 

Red Sonja #13

What it's about: A local wizard has been using the local peasants in his ungodly experiments and they hire Sonja to have a word with him. Unfortunately the dying wizard has a final curse to dish out and the rampaging redhead is on the receiving end. Lucky her.

What I thought: I'm really enjoying Gail Simone's run on Sonja, this issue included. From the opening scenes of a damp, annoyed Sonja slogging through the mud and the rain to the moment the curse kicks in and then the interesting new plot development at the end, this was a great read.
 The dialogue is particularly good, especially Sonja's highly snarky inner monologue, and it's matched up to some pretty good art too. Walter Geovani is especially good at faces.
 A title i plan to keep reading, even if the chainmail bikini only ever appears on the covers.

Note the practical adventuring gear.

Note also that Sonja is one cough away from being a flaming redhead for real.

 Sonja acquires a sidekick. Does she look happy to you?

And finally

Harley Quinn #12

  What it's about: Harley has managed to convince an amnesiac Power Girl that they are a crime-fighting duo. In this issue the dynamic duo manage to get dumped through a portal into a Galaxy that looks in need of a few Guardians...
What I thought: I picked up the las tissue purely because of Amanda Conner's Power Girl art. This issue continues the fun and games as the most lovable psychopath in comics teams up with the most lovable boobs in comics. The whole issue is a none-too-subtle rib on Marvel (a certain recent movie in particular) with lots of daftness, snappy dialogue and one of the more interesting team ups of recent years.
 You just know it's going to end badly but up until then, I'm enjoying the ride.

Harley and PG do a bit of brainstorming

Then meet a giant pizza.

 That's all folks.