Image Comics: S-Z – Collected Editions Reviews

“In pure 90s comics style Erik Larsen takes the action up a notch with always more sex (a lot more!) and violence. Dragon is the typical action-flick hero: muscular, almost invincible, street smart, with a strong sense of justice, and a killer with the ladies. Despite all that, he does feel really bound-to-earth, making him an endearing character that we care about.

New characters are being introduced in almost each issue, sometimes too many at once and often without much background, which can make it hard to keep up with what’s going on. It’s supposed to be an original indie comic, but a few issues in and it already feels like a single part of a larger universe. There’s a lot of guest appearances from other Image comics characters, and references are made to what’s happening in other books. To make it even more confusing, there’s no cover or separation between each issue, so unless you read the whole book in one sitting, you’ll have to take a guess of where to take a break. Other than that, the main story, while not really original, is correct and sort of concludes at the end of this volume.

Larsen has a really distinct art style, which perfectly fits the time period and the story. This black & white collected edition may not be the best option though, as some characters kind of look similar to each other so it’s sometimes difficult to guess who’s who. His also doing the inking, so large panels and splash pages look great.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️out of 5

—Raphael C. @raph_reads

“This was a tough one to go through. All the negative points of the first volume seem to be amplified in this one. The story goes everywhere and nowhere at once, there are too many characters featured in each issue, the crossovers seem forced, and OK we get it Dragon likes to have sex, but is it really necessary to always cut in on him having fun in bed with a different woman?

I definitely felt like a lot was going on between issues, to the point that I sometimes wondered if my book wasn’t missing some pages. Notably, there was an issue related to the crossover Mars Attack Attacks Image which didn’t make any sense while being a pivotal point in the series. Some plots come out of nowhere and others tend to be forgotten in the mess. There’s more focus on secondary characters, but since there are so many the space allowed for each is limited, making it difficult to feel involved in their storylines. At this point the art was the only thing keeping me here…”

⭐️out of 5

—Raphael C. @raph_reads

“This volume is slightly better than the previous one, but not by far. Erik Larsen starts to clean up the mess, tying up some loose ends, reducing the number of characters appearing and keeping most of the action focused on the main story, and ending this volume with a big finale.

Dragon is still the main attraction of the series, but some support characters finally start to stand out a bit more, and I even surprised myself caring about them at times. Unfortunately, Dragon’s girlfriend list keeps getting longer, and the same plot twist is happening to a lot of them… which is getting a bit annoying.

A new feature compared to the previous volumes is a cover gallery at the end of the book. Too bad it’s also in black and white, but I guess it’s better than nothing.”

⭐️⭐️out of 5

—Raphael C. @raph_reads

“Yes, yes, yes! This volume feels like what Savage Dragon should have been from the beginning. Erik Larsen finally lets go of the 90s style of big guns and big cleavages for a more old-school approach. It starts with Dragon waking up in an alternate universe, making for sort of a soft reboot. The narration is different – each issue featuring a single plot that works towards the progression of the main storyline – as well as the art style, with more traditional 6 panels pages, and some layouts & designs very reminiscent of Jack Kirby. There also seem to be some changes in Larsen’s inking, and I could swear some issues were conceived to be read without the colors. And each issue starts with a title on the first page, so it’s finally possible to clearly know what issue you’re reading.

For many issues the cast is reduced to just Dragon and a couple of support characters, but most of those still featured in this volume are the most interesting ones. Even though the last third of the book gets closer to the style of the previous volumes, the massive issue #100 at the end concludes all the storylines started since issue #1, letting the door open for a new beginning. And for the first time I’m really looking forward to what’s next!”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️out of 5

—Raphael C. @raph_reads

“There was a fair amount of hype around Skyward when it first showed up back in 2018. The series was even up for an Eisner! But forget the hype. Instead, just suspend your disbelief and don’t overthink this tale of an alternate Earth without gravity. Henderson writes a cheerful script and Fabela’s art is pretty, but don’t expect Skyward to be groundbreaking. It’s a fun (but fast) read!”

⭐️⭐️⭐️out of 5

—Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide

“Book one asked you to forget physics, book two asks you to forget evolution. Skyward is still a fun book, but it’s getting harder to fight its case. And it just barely gets…”

⭐️⭐️⭐️out of 5

—Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide

“It feels like we should’ve had more chapters! Equal parts surprises and cliché. Largely decent, but a little jumbled. It’s a nice, easy book to read and the threads come together, but it does feel a little unfinished.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️out of 5

—Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide

“Two respected writers join forces to tell a surreal sci-fi mystery about an America that no one’s been able to get into for decades. With a virus spreading across the rest of the world, whatever’s on the other side could be the only thing that’ll save the dwindling population. Only problem is, I couldn’t get past the halfway point of volume 1. I picked this up more for Camuncoli’s art than anything else, but the story couldn’t keep me in. The book is more focused on how cool the ideas are and forgets to give us any likeable characters. I was rooting for no one.”

⭕out of 5

—Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide

“Image Comics’ print collection of Monteys’ Panel Syndicate series. The landscape book features five unconnected (or are they?) stories that warn just how badly we could screw up our future. Imagine Black Mirror but weirder. It’s entertaining stuff, but the final issue turns into a heart-breaking kick to the head that earned Universe a place on my shelf.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️out of 5

—Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide

“The creative team behind the ‘Winter Soldier’ and ‘Death of Captain America’ bring us a tale of a middle-aged female spy in the ‘70s that’s riddled with shadows, mystery, double-crosses and double-agents. Having two daughters has steered my comic purchasing choices toward books with strong female leads. Now, this isn’t something I’ll be letting my five and eight year old girls read for some time yet, but it’s great to see a strong female character in a tale set in an era when the men were the cool spy guys. And it’s also one who’s in her… late 40s, early 50s? And still kicking spy ass. Velvet defies the clichés and shows a lot of promise.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️out of 5

—Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide

“As we find out more about Velvet’s past, she discovers the secrets of the previous ARC-7 agents. It’s important to pay attention to this incredibly layered story. It’s far from a throwaway read and you’ll benefit from going back for a second run through when it’s all over.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️out of 5

—Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide

“A satisfying ending to a tense spy series. To give you any more than that would spoil the surprises. Aim to read all fifteen issues in one sitting, if you can.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️out of 5

—Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide

“Well, how did I not see that coming? Vaughn & Martin get their shot at the Walking Dead and make it count! You can get this for whatever you want to pay on Panel Syndicate, but I like a book in my hands and this was worth every penny. Great standalone story.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️out of 5

—Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide

“WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE is a post-apocalyptic setting where we don’t know what happened but there are children who all formed families / houses and there are “strangers” who provide food and new children to the families. It isn’t known what happens when you’re an adult and there are a lot of mysteries being set up but no context or pay-off given so far.

There are some interesting parts but it’s easy to start mysteries, the difficulty lies in resolving it somewhat. Eventually the only thing that i did like was Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou’s lettering (though to be fair, the man is really good!)

I do like how both writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Tyler Boss are both credited as the storytellers but the comic tends to get a bit snobbish at times as well. For example, they work with “chapters” but sometimes you only get a page or 2 in before they spam the fact that it’s a new chapter and so forth, it completely disengages you with the story!

Overall, the set-up and idea of the comic was interesting, but the execution was really not my cup of tea.”

⭐️⭐️out of 5

—Lav, @lav_and_leia