• Shaolin Cowboy #2
• ATOMIKA #1

• Lullaby #1
• The Incredible Hulk #79

Shaolin Cowboy #2
Publisher: Burlyman Entertainment
Creator: Geofrey Darrow
I won’t go into how detailed Geofrey Darrows art is, if you haven’t experienced it by now, I suggest you do, and quickly. After writing about the first issue, I figured I wouldn’t write about this second issue, but the conflict between the former rock star, our Shaolin Cowboy and King Crab, whose training at a Shaolin temple for the sole purpose of exacting his revenge on the cowboy, was worth the cover price alone. What would inspire a solitary crab to undergo the rigorous training involved in order to be able to match up against the cowboy? Read it, it is totally entertaining and down right silly. I think the horse is the real brains of the outfit though. -KEVIN-

Lullaby #1

Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Mike S. Miller and Ben Avery
Art: Hector Sevilla
Oh great, another take off on the whole “Alice in Wonderland” story. A girl falls down the proverbial rabbit hole but instead of taking the path of Alice, she actually ecomes part of the Queen of Hearts royal army, fighting a battle between all the other game pieces, and deciding that she, after becoming the hand of the queen, decides she knows what she wants, to find her way home. How did she find herself “lost”, a car accident that took two cars over the side of the road. Just moments before the crash, she catches sight of a boy her age in the other car; a boy who would find himself on his own path in this fairy tale world. Both of their paths seem to be destined to cross. I’ve never been much of a fan of the books that Image has put out as a publisher, but lately I am seeing things that I have enjoyed, from “Pigtale”, “Lions and Tiger and Bears” to this new title “Lullaby”, it’s impressive that they are bringing such works to the public, and titles that are seemingly aimed to a younger audience. Perhaps they should, instead of producing so many titles, concentrate on quality ones such as these. -KEVIN-

ATOMIKA #1

Publisher: Speakeasy Comics
Writer: Andrew Dabb
Pencils: Sal Abbinanti
Inks: Buzz
The first thing that caught my eye was the Alex Ross cover, with the nice contrast between the red and what looks like grey charcoal, then I open up the cover and immediately am scared that somehow someone is emulating the work of Bart Sears. Luckily that was just the opening splash and the last page that gave me that impression. I started reading the book thinking that I would just breeze through it and move on, but I actually found myself going through it a couple of times, because I was in awe of the depth that the story and art, together, brought to this tale. This is the story of Russia and the building of a “God”, a man made god, within the depths of the earth. Beginning after the last great war in 1929, an unnamed boy finds himself within those depths, being molded into the form of a new power for the motherland; one that will not be turned away. While my initial fright over what the art would be throughout this issue, I quickly found myself being drawn into the story. While, if you really sift through it, there isn’t much actual story here, but the depth is conveyed by the artwork instead. This has been one of the better surprises so far this year. I suggest, if you have even the slightest intention of checking out this book, you do soon, the initial printing has sold out and although they will go back to press, I would imagine they would disappear just as fast. -KEVIN-