"Nailbiter: Blood in the Water" threads in the same place w/out advancing the narrative all that much

There's blood.  And violence.  A man even gets chopped to pieces in front of Agent Barker, so much so that she begins to have delusions of grandeur when it comes to thirst for blood.  And Agent Finch even begins to eat his own fingernails just to get a reaction out of Edward "Nailbiter" Warren, the infamous serial killer from Oregon who slipped through the cracks of the judicial system, and whom he's trying to torture in order to uncover certain secrets about just why so many serial killers originate from here.  Nailbiter: Blood in the Water gives us a lot of spooky imagery, but it somehow doesn't drive forward the narrative structure (with the exception of hinting at who's whose father, mother or daughter; such a revelation hardly has much significance at this point).

Writer Joshua Williamson and artist Mike Henderson keep plugging away with their serial killer capital of the world - Buckaroo - where all sorts of murders still take place, and in which Nicholas Finch, aided by the local sheriff Crane, tries to uncover the mystery of how his associate Carroll came to have his arms and legs chopped off, which resulted in him ending up in a (temporary?) coma.   There's also Father Fairgold, and his vigilante church group, dressed in matching yellow and red robes, and resembling a holy superhero troupe.  And let's not forget the ominous dark figure in a devilish mask, protecting his identity from anyone who may see him, all the while freely slicing through them with his large machete.  These elements all add up to create a dynamic series of scenes, full of mad energy, albeit with less tension and true suspense than Williamson had hoped for.  Henderson's artwork, at least, is consistent, and not as distracting than some of the less-than-inspired writing we read here.

The most interesting element of this third volume is Agent Barker's fantasizing about violence and murder, an idea that seems fitting, given this small Oregon town's ability to spawn so many blood-thirsty murderers thus far in its existence.  Will Finch and Crane finally crack the Buckaroo code and get to the bottom of it all?  Will Warren show them the secret of the town's history and tell them why he's ended up the way he has?  Will Williamson and Henderson finally give us a volume of Nailbiter that's worthy of all the hype?  I suppose I'll find that out in the next issue, although you'll have to excuse me if I don't exactly run to the comic book stores in anticipation.
C+

"Harrow County: Twice Told" expands on Emmy's dark universe...

Harrow County is a creep, atmospheric comic.  I felt this way months ago when I read the first volume, Countless Haints, and I'm even more sure of it now.  The follow up, Twice Told, introduces new characters, including Emmy's long lost twin sister, Kammi, whose soul unfortunately isn't made up of the same, kind material.  It is a very effective and engrossing tale of good vs evil where both entities originate from the same bloodline, which makes their conflict all the more dramatic.

Cullen Bunn (writer) and Tyler Crook (artist) continue to build on the Harrow County universe they've set up in the first issue, and expand the witch mythology with great detail and just the right amount of heart.  Bunn's realization of Kammi - who suddenly appears in Harrow County one day and introduces herself to Emmy as her twin sister - feels authentic, as she's the complete antithesis of her kind and considerate sister.  Kammi ultimately is the archetype of a modern professional woman who's so power hungry she doesn't even realize how fallible she really is, and Crook illustrates the various emotions on her face with perfect conviction.  It took someone as powerful as Hester Beck's corpse to drag Kammi down from this world and into hell, a feat that proves only true evil can ever really bring another evil down.

Of all the Dark Horse comics on the market right now, I can honestly say that Harrow County is my favorite.  It is a simple tale, but full of fascinating theories about various evils and underworlds that may exist right under our noses.  Emmy is also a terrific heroine, a young woman that the upcoming generation should admire and look up, for her heart and soul truly appear to be completely resistant to power and corruption.
A-

"Superman: Earth One" Volume 1 is the early beginnings of Supes for the millennium generation

Superman is the superhero for the ages. So far, we've seen countless stories about Man of Steel's true origin, all fascinating in their interpretation, and all as different as can be.  Superman: Earth One, Volume 1 is the most futuristic and contemporary one of them all, placing Supes in the shoes of today's millennium generation, a youth so worried about their purpose in life they've completely lost sight of what they're exceptional at.

Writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist Shane Davis give us a younger, more boyish Superman than we're accustomed to seeing.  As he finds himself newly arrived in Metropolis, looking for work, he tries out for a football team, where he attempts playing every single position, and he also applies at a laboratory or a science research facility, where his expertise at creating and solving complex formulas impresses his potential employer to the point that he's immediately offered a job.  The problem is, young Clark Kent simply wouldn't feel fulfilled doing such mindless jobs, regardless of how high his salary would be.

Davis' artwork is more than noteworthy.  He creates and paints each frame with great detail and accuracy, and as a result his Superman feels real, more human than we could've anticipated.  By the time the evil Tyrell attacks Earth with his numerous spaceships, requesting that the planet's citizens turn Superman over to him in exchange for his mercy, the story shifts gears into full-mode action, resembling the recent Man of Steel movie from 2013 in structure and even spectacle of explosion and battle and even one-on-one combat.  The only thing is, this comic book is better.

Unlike Straczynski's writing, which isn't necessarily subpar, but only less noticeable compared to Davis' art, the visuals in this first Volume are exceptional, and are the driving element that push the readers' eyes towards the artwork to the point where the text is merely secondary.  That is a true definition of a successful comic book, even for someone like me, who doesn't necessarily consider Superman as their favorite superhero.
B

Dark Horse's historical "Rebels: A Well Regulated Militia" is dull, flat and forgettable

Seth Abbott just may be the dullest comic book character I've ever come across.  He's way too quiet and indifferent, and his demeanor in regards to his wife's affection and his mission as a colonist fighting the British army in the years before the American Independence are simply too passive.  The man isn't a man at all (for one, he's only seventeen at the story's beginning), but even worse than that, he's got nothing interesting to say, do or believe.  The only character insight we get is through flashbacks scenes involving him and his father, but unfortunately, those are few and far in between.

Writer Brian Wood's Rebels: A Well Regulated Militia - illustrated by various artists such as Andrea Mutti, Matthew Woodson, Ariela Kristantina and Tristan Jones - is a mixed bag.  While the artwork is impressive and well above par, the story and script are too slow, packing too many characters and battle scenes and amounting to a boring whole that is less than satisfactory.  Seth's wife, Mercy Abbott, is a lovely woman, but just as her husband, she doesn't have much to do or say.  Their marriage takes place way too quickly, without any build up, and as a result leaves us with very little to identify with.   When the two of them go skinny dipping early in the story, the result should be somewhat sexy and seductive, but is instead flat and uninteresting.  Just as the characters themselves.

Rebels looks great, but feels stale.  Just like an expensive Hollywood movie, it is all style and very little substance; I would be less than honest if I told you what the story here actually entails.  George Washington appears briefly as an angry general, but other than that, the colonists battle the red coats, Seth remembers his youth when his father's toughness would strip him of his adolescence, and Mercy spends years all alone, raising her and Seth's child for some six years, while the latter is off fighting in the war.  There is very little actual drama or suspense, and plenty of boredom for its readers (sigh).  Perhaps this historical account of the War for Independence isn't cut out to be a comic book.
C-

"Corto Maltese: Beyond the Windy Isles" is about corruption, war, delusion and unrequited love

It's starting to get good.  I mean, really good.  The Corto Maltese series, which hadn't exactly impressed the pants off of me (even though I did like the first two issues, The Ballad of the Salt Sea and Under the Sign of Capricorn), is getting more and more complex in story and character depth.  The latest installment, Beyond the Windy Isles, introduces many new friends and foes of Corto's, and reaches new heights in originality and quality.

Hugo Pratt's famous sea adventurer begins this adventure in Venezuela, and, accompanied by Professor Steiner (whom we met in the previous episode, Under the Sign of Capricorn), Corto agrees to help Levi Colombia in his search for the legendary Eldorado.   In the process, Pratt will introduce our hero to magic mushrooms, native Indios, large bone crushing boa constrictor snakes, where Corto will come close to dying, as he often does.   At one point, as he runs into a daughter of a woman that used to love him, he once again proves to be more charming than is necessary:

"My mother loved you very much, Corto, but you messed up her 

life.  Are you now determined to screw up her daughter's 

life, too?  Your questions are very dangerous."

Pratt has done an exceptional job of advancing and progressing the story and plot of each episode.  It's easy to see that this is no comic for children, no subject matter for the young and naive, and as such should only appeal to the older, serious readers.  When Corto once again runs into Soledad Lokäarth, who's on trial for witchcraft in Barbados, and who remembers him as John Smith (from the previous episode) when she nursed him back to health after he suffered a case of amnesia, he genuinely looks confused.  Corto honestly does not recognize her, despite how much his ignorance of her may break her heart.  Pratt doesn't just show us old acquaintances who've ran into each other accidentally; he places them in the most dire of circumstances, where death lurks very near by, and doesn't negotiate with anyone, be they friend or foe.

"... this man was happy... he looked into the sweet dream

lagoon and saw things the way he wanted them to be..."

But perhaps the most memorable and eloquent part of Beyond the Windy Isles involves a mad British soldier, Robin Stuart, stranded on the Sweet Dream Lagoon, and suffering from fever and other psychedellic ills that have driven him out of his wits.  As Corto Maltese pays him a visit, accompanied by a friend guide, he attempts to help the poor soldier by getting him off this island that has produced so many hallucinations and visions, causing him to delve deep back into the madness labyrinth of his past.  Here he is visited by the friends from his war squadron, but mostly by Evelyne, that enigmatic love of his youth who's remained the one memory of his that still keeps him together.  This sequence is imagined and executed with convincing clarity, which is even more beautiful and poetic considering that when Stuart finally dies, with his eyes wide open, it is with Evelyne at his side, just as she was during the height of their romance.

"...there's something about you... that attracts me too much... 

I can not afford the luxury of falling in love 

with a vagabond like you, Corto Maltese!"

Beyond the Windy Isles clearly elevates the previously good material from The Ballad of the Salt Sea and Under the Sign of Capricorn into nearly great graphic literature, and promises even better adventures up ahead.  Corto Maltese is no longer a mysterious, enigmatic charlatan, which I, mistakenly, at first understood him to be.  He's a man of conviction, compassion and general good will towards all fellow men and women.  Well, towards women he does have a certain charm and hold that the rest of us male mammals can only dream of possessing.   I suppose them's the breaks for the world's most prolific and well known graphic novel sea adventuring captain.

"... I am a great sorcerer - I can make my enemies die of 

a heart attack, fly into the air... I can make them disappear 

and I can tame scorpions... but when it comes to questions of 

love I'm the most incompetent person in the world of sorcery!"

A-

"Hellboy: The Chained Coffin and Others" is an homage to classic short tales of Poe and the likes

Mike Mignola's Hellboy: The Chained Coffin and Others is a series of short horror and suspense tales involving his Red Demon from hell that recall the spooky short stories of Edgar Allan Poe.  Here we have witches, werewolves, talking corpses and other undead members of the occult and what not.  It's a simultaneously spooky and charming variety pack of creatures that lurk in the dark, but displayed on pages with memorable artwork in vivid and splendid colors.

The Corpse, first of the short stories, puts Hellboy on a case where he has to rescue a missing child, and the only way he can do that is to bury a talking corpse in a designated spot.  It is a humorous and creepy story, but mostly charismatic, like its well known hero.  Iron Shoes is such a super-short tale that it was over before I could figure out what it was actually about (no, seriously: it lasted three blinks of an eye!).  In The Baba Yaga, Hellboy has to fight an old evil witch in a Russian cemetery, an incident which results in him shooting her eye out.

A Christmas Underground is another very short story, and in it we witness our favorite Red demon search for a dying woman's daughter.  The Chain Coffin, however, gives us several hints into Hellboy's past, and just who his parents may be.   A large demon, with ominous horns, refers to him as his "favorite son".  The longest and most epic of the tales in this issue is The Wolves of Saint August.  Taking place in the European Balkans, it deals with a group of villagers who were cursed by an old Saint, and as a result became werewolves.  A remaining living werewolf murders Father Kelly, a friend of Hellboy's, and this forces our favorite BPRD agent to take the former on in a bloody fight.  It's a creepy and effective tale, and the clear highlight of this Trade Paperback.

Hellboy is still an enigmatic comic book to me, for its interior images continue to race ahead of its dialogue, and lead to scenes that are out of sync as far as text and image are concerned.  The lead character himself is still very likable: his use of humor and wisecracks, sprinkled throughout, is a refreshing touch to this otherwise action packed series that apparently relies a little too much on a one-on-one combat scenes.  But then again, as long as the hero continues to use his overly large right hand to punch monstrous demons in the nose, its readers will continue to adore it.  There's no need to develop it further (sadly).
C+

"Southern Bastards: Here was a Man" is a pulpy, old-fashioned Southern violent tale of anger and vengeance

Earl Tubb has the ultimate face.  Chiseled and crafted by the winds of time and the tough side of life, he has the demeanor of someone who's always angry, with squinty eyes that barely appear to be open.   A native of Craw County, Alabama, Earl's been absent from his hometown for some forty years, and only after returning in order to help his ailing uncle does he realize just how little has changed there.  The weird thing is, his hatred for the place has never waned.

In the first Volume of Southern Bastards: Here was a Man, writer Jason Aaron and artist Jason Latour create a place forgotten by time and the tides of progressive change: a town where violence, corruption and love of high school football is just as distinctive as the citizens' passion for barbecued ribs and fried pie.  Earl's plight to try to save his hometown from the rotting infestation of crime and murder - where the law turns a blind eye - forces him to resemble the hero lead of Walking Tall, a man who took the phrase, "Speak softly and carry a big stick" a bit too literally.  In a way, the man is a modern day backwoods superhero of sorts, but what he lacks in super-ability department he more than makes up with plain old guts and complete disregard for his own safety.

Latour's art is murky and dark, but very detailed and gritty, which is more than fitting for the series' violent and rough subject matter.  The characters properly appear to be the uneducated brutes living in a world where roughing someone is the best expression of oneself.  Also, dog feces is something we see here more than once, and it understandably symbolizes the underlying structure of Craw County's justice system.

Aaron's characters may not be the most original, because Southern Bastards' overall story is somewhat familiar, but I don't think we've ever seen a hero this old before.  Coach Boss is also a neat villain, a man so obsessed with winning that there's not much difference to him between leading his team to victory or killing an associate who's failed him, then burying them under the football field's bleachers.  Here was a Man is a fitting intro to this series, a story so rich in blood and guts that even a Northerner could appreciate it.
B+