Alienated

 

Alienated is one of the best comics I've ever read. I am anxiously awaiting release #2 in May. In this release the arrival of aliens on earth shakes the world. All of the alien bodies found were deceased except for one, aptly named Alien. He was found hiding in a man's closet. A disconnected family of a grandfather, TJ, and his grandkids, Lily and Winter, get together and decide to hide it from the curious world. The big question here is whether they can keep Alien hidden.

The story ended abruptly with Alien trying to communicate with the family. He was unsuccessful but the family thought they understood him. We have a cliffhanger concerning the nature of Alien's statements but we have to wait a few weeks to find out.

Release #1 has setup the series and the characters well. Now that we have the backstory in mind, the rest of Alien's needs and desires can be focused on in future installments of this 5 release series. 5 out of 5 stars.

Shang-Chi

I don't know why I didn't read this comic when it was first published in 2021. Gene Luen Yang is a favorite cartoonist of mine but I don't normally read super-hero stories. I finally read the book and it was fantastic. This book collects the following releases: Shang-Chi (2020) #1-5, Shang-Chi (2021) #1-12, Marvel's Voices: Identity (2021) #1 (Shang-Chi story), Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings (2022) #1-6, Shang-Chi: Master of the Ten Rings (2023) #1.

The publisher's summary:

The comic-book saga of Shang-Chi and the legendary Ten Rings. An ancient and evil secret society has remained in hiding since the death of their leader, Zheng Zu. But now a successor has been chosen: Zheng Zu's son, Shang-Chi! In a fractious family reunion, Shang-Chi gets to know the siblings he never knew he had! But who among them can he trust - and who is trying to kill him? As Shang-Chi assumes his rightful place as the leader of the Five Weapons Society, his fellow super heroes - including Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four - start to see him as the bad guy! And when he gains control of the massively powerful Ten Rings, every bounty hunter and assassin in the Marvel Universe is determined to take them from him!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book so perhaps I should reconsider my bias against super-hero stories. The artwork was exquisite and I loved all of the monsters. Dike Ruan did a great job drawing the comic book panels. Sebastian Cheng was the colorist and he added bright colors to every page. 

Shang-Chi is an awesome story and is suitable for kids. 4 out of 5 stars.

Endless

Endless is a 5 volume Comixology Original comic that was published in 2024 and 2025. Author Curt Pires is one of my favorite cartoonist. His stories are always entertaining and this one is no different. It's fantastic.

The publisher's summary:

When a heist to steal an expensive piece of scientific technology goes wrong, Henry Quan, a selfish career criminal, is unmoored in both space and time. Thrown in and out of parallel lives across the multiverse, he struggles to find his way back home and find out what exactly happened to him. 

Endless is a science-fiction story that shows the 5 ways that thief Henry Quan has died. Each of the 5 issues depict Henry in a new life in a new universe but always making the same mistakes and getting killed in the process. 

Henry's story begins with him rushing to deliver a package. If he is late, he has to pay the delivery cost. Henry lives in a not-to-distant future where temperatures are rising, the cost of living is out of control, and folks can’t get by without stealing. In order to earn money to keep his mother in a senior facility, Henry accepts a job from a friend to steal a black box that contains some sort of technology. Of course, the job does not work out well and he is thrust into another universe.

I read all 5 volumes and all of them were entertaining. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Dark

The Dark is a political thriller in comic book format. The plot concerns a worldwide cyberwar the U. S. has with Russia. 

The publisher's summary:

A short time after this international internet shutdown event known as "The Dark", we follow Carver, a former special forces super-soldier who after losing his eyes during this event, gets caught up on a mission hunting down Camille, a NSA analyst who has stolen dangerous information. With a potential war with China on the horizon, Carver and Camille are thrown together to get the world back on track while a shadowy force that is manipulating events is hot on their heels.

I loved this futuristic story. The plot is based on the use of the Stuxnet computer virus that Israel and the U. S. used against Iran several years ago. However, in this novel Russia has used it against the entire world. No more Internet use or electricity. Bioluminescence is used by the characters to tackle the dark. I am assuming the loss of the Net puts everyone in the Dark. Politics also plays a major part in the story. The U.S. is gearing up for war with China and has bombers on the way there. Texas has split from the U.S. Then we see a soldier with a service animal who's eyes glow. The soldier is hunting a transgender woman who just wants to become physically who she truly is. 

You can always tell when the illustrator is a man. The male characters are completely covered with body armor but the female character is always in a bikini. Sometimes she's just wearing underwear. It's unclear why female soldiers don't need to wear body armor. Kristian Donaldson is the artist. The colorist Lee Roughridge used a pallette of blues, teals and purples which I loved. The style of the art has a futuristic feel and I wondered whether it was drawn from a computer. That said, the art matched this futuristic story.

The Dark is light reading despite the political story. U am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

Delver Season One

Delver Season 1 is a Comixology Original comic. It collects releases 1 through 5 and there are 5 seasons of this 2019 comic. It is kid friendly; no foul language, violence or sex. 

The publisher's summary:

When the door to a living dungeon surfaces in the tiny hamlet of Oddgoat, village girl Temerity Aster has two choices: abandon the only home she's ever known to carpet baggers and sellswords, or carve out a place for herself and her family in the new and dangerous world of delving. 

The story opens with a boy being sent to the family's root cellar for ingredients needed for dinner. He finds an entrance to the Dungeon and tells the family when he returns. Soon neighbors are talking about it and the gossip spreads. People begin coming from all over the world to try and gain their fortunes in this dangerous place. The story focuses on Merit, a fifteen year old girl who decides to try her fortune as a Delver as the Dungeon irrevocably changes the life of those in the community. 

The first thing I noticed was that the main family of the series is dark skinned while the people who come out of the dungeon are crazy looking white people. This theme is carried out throughout the 141 pages of the comic. I thought it was hilarious. So what is delving? It is searching for treasure in the dungeon. In order to enter and exit the dungeon you have to find the door. To make matters difficult, the doors move and close frequently. Most of the time you are rich beyond belief when you exit the dungeon so everyone wants to enter. 

I cannot wait to read all 5 seasons! Delver is a cute comic for all ages. 5 out of 5 stars.    

Bad Mother

Bad Mother is a 2021 comic series featuring April Walters and her teenaged daughter Taylor. The story opens with April grocery shopping when armed robbers appear. All the staff and shoppers are on the floor hoping not to get shot when the police arrive. A shootout ensues in favor of the cops. When April gets home she realizes that Taylor is not home. She reviews her text messages from Taylor and sees Taylor's response to leave her alone. The next morning Taylor is still not home so April tries to make a missing persons report at the police station. She is told to wait 48 hours but instead April embarks on a harrowing mission to find her. April's journey that takes her through the underworld of her suburban community and sets her on a collision course with a massive crime syndicate and its lethal matriarch. Tested to her limits and beyond, April discovers that hell hath no fury like a mother scorned.

I loved this story! I read it in one sitting because it was so intriguing. April is not your ordinary soccer mom. She will go to any extreme to keep her kids safe. She also is one hell of a fighter who gets in rumbles with crime figures but manages to come out on top. The pacing was fast and with the colorful comic book panels this book is fantastic. The plot was very well thought out with plenty of twists and turns and the characters were realistic. This book is a winner.

5 out of 5 stars.