I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the first, but I think that’s on me this time. The art is still the same beautiful quality, the writing is still true to the characters, the worldbuilding is still impeccable. It’s just, this volume happens to feature two things that I personally really dislike in stories. And on top of that there’s a cliffhanger! Number one thing that I don’t enjoy in stories almost 100% of the time: stories about gangs and organized crime. I just, […]
The West Texas Barbarian
I didn’t grow up a fan of fantasy, but I was vaguely aware of Conan the Barbarian. That’s because I grew up in Austin, where we have Conan’s Pizza. This very Austiny pizza place, which started in the ’70s, features a lot of Frank Frazetta-style Conan the Barbarian art in its decor. (Also Tomb Raider art, but that’s best saved for another post.) So, I growing up I was aware of the loin-clothed beefy man battling bad guys and holding onto ladies, if I was […]
Too Bleak for Me
Crime is a fact of the human species, a fact of that species alone, but it is above all the secret aspect, impenetrable, and hidden. Crime hides, and by far the most terrifying things are those which elude us. – Georges Bataille Thus begins’ Dark Horse’s Noir. The book, as the title and the cover suggest, is dark. Dark Horse’s mixtape of thirteen diverse stories from diverse writers and artists fixates on one theme – people are awful. Contributors include such big names as Brian […]
Jahan Cross is Back!
My review of Volume One of Agent of the Empire is available here. Imperial Agent Jahan Cross is back in Dark Horse’s Hard Targets . Volume one focused largely on the suave, brash, and tortured Cross. It was a fun, if slightly melancholy, spybro story. Volume two is all about Cross the intel man. In this arc, powerful families of Serreno are clawing for power amongst one another and to determine Serreno’s place in the Empire. Cross is sent in to help sort things out. […]