X #23
Dark Horse Comics
Words: Duane Swierczynski
Pictures: Eric Nguyen

X 23 Cover

Reading X is like riding (insert your favorite thrill ride here).  You can’t just casually open the cover and leaf through an issue of X.  There’s too much going on.  You need to brace yourself, psych yourself up, and get ready for a full frontal assault on your senses.  This is a book that takes you to the edge and doesn’t bother slowing down as it blows right past that edge.  It’s a rush; it’s exhilarating; a little frightening; and so damned satisfying.

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Curb Stomp #1
Boom! Studios
Words: Ryan Ferrier
Pictures:  Devaki Neogi

BOOM_CurbStomp_001_A_Main

Take Gem and the Holograms, replace their instruments with baseball bats, knives, and brass knucks, and put them on the wrong side of the tracks, throw in some attitude from The Warriors, and mix it up with a neo classic pop color palette and you get a little peek at Curb Stomp #1.  (Or at least a peek inside my bean when I was reading it.)

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Colder: The Bad Seed #5
Dark Horse
Words: Paul Tobin
Pictures: Juan Ferreyra

Colder The Bad Seed 5 Cover

Well, I almost made it through this issue without getting creeped out… Almost.  Yeah, there are fingers flying off like some morbid Kayak commercial (have you seen that one?  I freakin’ love that commercial… Anyway.) But that’s not what did it.  Nope.  Two words; Finger Worms.  Dammit guys!  (Shiver.)

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Rocket Salvage #3
Archaia
Words: Yehudi Mercado
Pictures: Bachan

ARCHAIA_RocketSalvage_003_A_Main

Rocket Salvage is the Hair Band on the Rockin’ Comics stage.  It’s loud and flashy with big, bold colors, and it likes to blow things up.  But underneath the visual spectacle, there’s a solid rhythm being laid down with some genuine artistry on lead guitar.  (That is if the rhythm was the story and the lead guitar was the actual art, then that’s where that analogy comes full circle… and hopefully makes sense.)

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