Comics Review: "PANTHA Volume 2 #1" is the Year's First Great Debut Comic Book

PANTHA VOLUME 2 #1
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: Thomas Sniegoski and Jeannine Acheson
ART: Igor Lima
COLORS: Adriano Augusto
LETTERS: Dezi Sienty; Carlos  M. Mangual; Taylor Esposito
EDITOR: Matt Idelson
COVER: Judy Jong
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Jorge Fornes; Vincent Aseo; Alvaro Sarraseca; Elena Pianta; Ken Haeser; Jamie Biggs; Rachel Hollon (cosplay)
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2022)

Rated Teen+

Pantha was a Warren Publishing comic book character who was an adversary of classic Warren character, Vampirella.  She began as an alien shapeshifter from Vampirella's native planet, and she could morph into a black panther.  Pantha first appeared in Vampirella #30 (cover date: January 1974).

Pantha's origin was rewritten and she became an ancient Egyptian queen who was cursed by the goddess, Sekhmet, because of the murders she committed.  Pantha must walk the world forever, trapped between the forms of human and panther.  She will never know home or peace, burdened by the fury of a goddess and the rage of the innocents she ordered slain.

Pantha, like Vampirella, is now belongs to Dynamite Entertainment, which gave the character her own six-issue miniseries in 2012.  Pantha returns in a new comic book series, entitled Pantha Volume 2.  It is written by Thomas Sniegoski and Jeannine Acheson; drawn by Igor Lima; colored by Adriano Augusto; and lettered by Dezi Sienty, Carlos  M. Mangual, and Taylor Esposito.

Pantha Volume 2 #1 opens two months prior to the main story aboard Tikhon Airlines Flight 1075, somewhere over the Baltic Sea.  The “Children of Ta-Nakht” holds the flight and the passengers hostage, which is just the beginning of the diabolical plans.

In present day, Toortooga, Florida.  Pantha resides at the Toortooga City Zoo as a six hundred pound black panther, hiding away from the world.  She is plagued by her ancient past when she was Maatkar Samira, living in Thebes, Egypt, as the queen to Pharaoh Diogenes Hamset II.  In 1458 B.C., Samira envied the peasant girl, Tarin, who gave the king what she could not, a male heir.  Summoning the goddess, Sekhmet, protector of the pharaohs, Samira commits a series of unforgivable sins.

Now, Pantha has a chance for redemption.  Someone or something is killing the Egyptian gods, and it falls upon Pantha to save the pantheon.  In exchange for her help comes the promise of redemption and freedom from her curse … a redemption and a freedom that come with a cost, of course.

THE LOWDOWN:  In July 2021, Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department began providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  They recently provided me with a PDF for Pantha Volume 2 #1, which is only the first Pantha comic book that I have read.

Pantha Volume 2 #1 is easily one of the best first issues that I have read in the last few months.  Writers Thomas Sniegoski and Jeannine Acheson just freaking kill it.  I mean there is enough good stuff in this first issue alone to create at least four more series.  Sniegoski and Acheson sold their souls to write this first issue, and they more than got their money's worth.  There is no way the second issue can sustain the high level of this first issue.  If these writers kill that second issue, then, clearly there will be a need for some occult investigating.

Speaking of soul-selling, artist Igor Lima is excellent.  His storytelling had me flipping pages until I nearly climaxed at the end.  If I smoked, I would already be on my second cigarette.  Adriano Augusto beautifully colors Lima's art with museum-quality results.  This comic book is so awesome that it needs three amazing letterers:  Dezi Sienty, Carlos  M. Mangual, and Taylor Esposito.

Don't walk.  Don't run.  Drive like a maniac (without causing an automobile accident) to your local comic shop and get Pantha Volume 2 #1.  Or calmly visit comiXology and read a digital version.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Dynamite's dark fantasy titles will want to read Pantha Volume 2.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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Comics Review: "ELVIRA MEETS VINCENT PRICE #4" is Ancient Evenings of Fun

ELVIRA MEETS VINCENT PRICE #4
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: David Avallone
ART: Juan Samu
COLORS: Walter Pereyra
LETTERS: Taylor Esposito with Elizabeth Sharland
EDITOR: Joseph Rybandt
COVER: Dave Acosta
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Dave Acosta; Juan Samu; Anthony Marques and J. Bone
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2022)

Rated Teen+

Chapter Four: “Inglorious Bastet”

In 1981, actress and model Cassandra Peterson created the “horror hostess character,” known as “Elvira.”  Elvira gradually grew in popularity and eventually became a brand name.  As Elvira, Peterson endorsed many products and became a pitch-woman, appearing in numerous television commercials throughout the 1980s.

Elvira also appeared in comic books, beginning in 1986 with the short-lived series from DC Comics, Elvira's House of Mystery, which ran for eleven issues and one special issue (1987).  Eclipse Comics and Claypool Comics began the long-running Elvira: Mistress of the Dark from 1993 to 2007.  In 2018, Elvira returned to comic books via Dynamite Entertainment in the four-issue comic book miniseries, Elvira Mistress of the Dark, that actually ran for 12 issues.

Vincent Price (1911–1993) was an American actor and a legendary movie star.  Price was and still is best known for his performances in horror films, although his career spanned other genres.  Price appeared in more than 100 films, but he also performed on television, the stage, and on radio.  Thus, he has two stars on the “Hollywood Walk of Fame,” one for motion pictures and one for television.

Elvira and Vincent Price team up for the first time in the comic book miniseries, Elvira Meets Vincent Price.  The series is written by David Avallone; drawn by Juan Samu; colored by Walter Pereyra; and lettered by Taylor Esposito with Elizabeth Sharland.  The series finds Elvira and Price searching for a long-lost cult movie, “Rise of the Ram,” because it contains an incantation that can save the world from destruction at the hands of the ancient Egyptian god, Amun-Ra.

Elvira Meets Vincent Price #4 (“Inglorious Bastet”) opens at “The Pyramid Fields of Abu Sir.”  Vincent Price has been vanquished … or so it seems.  Now, all that stands between Amunet and her plans to revive her hubby, Amun-Ra, from the “Western Lands” is Elvira, screenwriter Ahmed Alhazred, and Anipe the tour guide.

As Amunet reads “The Spell of the Final Day” from “The Book of the End of All Things” scroll, Elvira has a reunion with someone who can help her.  Amun-Ra rises and the entire world watches, via a “Deathflix” stream.  Will Vincent return in time to help save the day?  Can Vincent return?

THE LOWDOWN:  In July 2021, Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department began providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  One of them is Elvira Meets Vincent Price #4, which is the fourth issue of the series that I have read and one of many Dynamite Elvira comic books that I have thoroughly enjoyed.

In my review of Elvira Meets Vincent Price #3, I said that I could read another 100 pages of that delightful comic book.  I feel the same way about this fourth issue.  The witty and perfectly humorous writing of David Avallone and the pitch-perfect comedy storytelling of Juan Samu make this final issue a total winner.  If there were justice in comic book awards, Avallone and Samu would at least get some kind of nomination as best writer-artist team.

The sterling painterly colors of Walter Pereyra and the spry lettering of Taylor Esposito with Elizabeth Sharland complete this superb creative team.  While we await the fifth and final issue of this series, dear readers, let's enjoy the afterglow of the fantastic Elvira Meets Vincent Price #4.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Elvira and of Vincent Price and of David Avallone's Elvira comic books will want to read Elvira Meets Vincent Price.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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Comics Review: "DEJAH THORIS Versus JOHN CARTER #6" is an Excellent Last Issue

DEJAH THORIS VERSUS JOHN CARTER, VOL. 1 #6
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: Dan Abnett
ART: Alessandro Miracolo and Vincenzo Carratu
COLORS: Dearbhla Kelly
LETTERS: Simon Bowland
EDITOR: Nate Cosby
COVER: Lucio Parrillo
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Joseph Michael Linsner; Alessandro Miracolo; Max Fiumara; Sebastian Fiumara; Lucio Parrillo; cosplay by Rachel Hollon
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2022)

Rated Teen+

Based on the characters and stories created by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Dejah Thoris and John Carter are characters that first appeared in the serialized novel, Under the Moons of Mars (The All-Story, 1912), written by Tarzan creator, Edgar Rice Burroughs.  When it was first collected and published in hardcover, the novel was re-titled, A Princess of Mars (1917), the first of Burroughs' “Barsoom” novels, which were set on Barsoom, a fictional version of Mars.

Dejah was the title character of A Princess of Mars, the princess of the Martian city-state/empire of Helium.  John Carter was a Confederate veteran of the American Civil War who was transported to Mars via “astral projection” where he got a new body that was similar to the one he left behind on Earth.  John made several trips back and forth between Earth and Barsoom, and Dejah and John were married and had two children.

John Carter first appeared in comic books in the early 1950s, and Dejah has become a prominent comic book character since 2010 via Dynamite Entertainment.  Now, the star-crossed lovers are the stars of Dynamite's new comic book, Dejah Thoris Versus John Carter.  The series is written by Dan Abnett; drawn by Alessandro Miracolo with Vincenzo Carratu; colored by Dearbhla Kelly; and lettered by Simon Bowland.  The series finds Dejah and John caught in a war to save Mars from an ancient race, “The Longborn,” that has returned to reclaim the planet, and their surprising ally, the rogue scientist, Rotak Gall.

Dejah Thoris Versus John Carter #6 opens at the time-lost ruined palace of Dar Shadeth, in the mountains of Caldium, far in the distant west.  On the orders of Dejah Thoris, the “Holy Thern,” Kantos Kan, prepares to level the ancient ruins using radium bombs.  This will forever trap the threat of Longborn, but it will also trap Dejah and John Carter … who could both already be dead.

However, in the laboratory of the evil mastermind, Rotak Gall, Carter is alive and well and is desperately battling the Longborn.  Meanwhile, Dejah and Rotak are battling a crazed clone of … John Carter!  Can our heroes save Barsoom (Mars) and themselves?

THE LOWDOWN:  In July 2021, Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department began providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  One of them is Dejah Thoris Versus John Carter #6, the sixth issue of the series that I have read and only the sixth Dejah Thoris or John Carter comic book I have read.

Issue #6 is the final issue of Dejah Thoris Versus John Carter, and writer Dan Abnett offers a slam bang ending that spans time and space.  I have to admit that I don't want this series to end because it is simply such a fun read.  Abnett's blend of sword and sorcery and pulp science fiction works in ways that I didn't think it would.

Artist Alessandro Miracolo and colorist Dearbhla Kelly translate Abnett's script into explosive comic book storytelling that not only got stronger with each issue, but always seemed to jump off the page.  Simon Bowland's lettering rings in the new year with fonts that will leave your imagination's ears ringing from this epic ending.

The ending of Dejah Thoris Versus John Carter invites the possibility of a fun follow-up that will be full of mystery and new things.  In the meantime, enjoy this, dear readers.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Dynamite's Dejah Thoris and Barsoom comic books will want to read Dejah Thoris Versus John Carter.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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Comics Review: RED SONJA Volume 6 #5

RED SONJA VOLUME 6 #5
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: Mirka Andolfo and Luca Blengino
ART: Giuseppe Cafaro with Salvatore Cuffari, Valentina Pinti, Francesco Paciaroni, Nathan Ramirez, Chiara Di Francia, Giovanna La Pietra, Fausto Michelotti
COLORS: Chiara Di Francia with Nicolo Laporini, Gianluca Papi, Francesco Carotenuto
LETTERS: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
EDITOR: Nate Cosby
COVER: Mirka Andolfo
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Joseph Michael Linsner; Erica D'Urso; Roberto Castro; Leslie Leirix; Ken Haeser; Mirka Andolfo; Tabitha Lyons (cosplay)
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2022)

Rated Teen+

Based on the characters and stories created by Roy Thomas, Barry Windsor-Smith, and Robert E. Howard

“Mother” Chapter Five

Conan the Barbarian #23 (cover dated: February 1973) saw the debut of a high fantasy, sword and sorcery heroine, Red Sonja.  Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith, Red Sonja was loosely based on “Red Sonya of Rogatino,” a female character that appeared in the 1934 short story, “The Shadow of the Vulture,” written by Robert E. Howard (1906-1936), the creator of the character, Conan the Cimmerian.

Red Sonja remained a fixture in comic books from then until about 1986.  There have been several ongoing Red Sonja comic book series, and the latest, Red Sonja Volume 6, is under the guidance of popular Italian comic book creator, Mirka Andolfo.  It is written by Andolfo and Luca Blengino; drawn by Giuseppe Cafaro; colored by Chiara Di Francia; and lettered by Jeff Eckleberry.  In this new series, Red Sonja accepts the bounty to bring a girl named “Sitha” to a broker who will send her to her true home.  The girl, however, becomes attached to Sonja and calls her mother.

Red Sonja Volume 6 #5 opens in the mountains between Britunia and Hyperborea at the edifice known as the “Mad King's Fortress.”  There, Red Sonja and her companions, Samosh the warrior and Setubia the old sorcerer, struggle to free Sitha from the influences of “Xamul,” the demigoddess of fire, wind, and fury that resides in her.

Now, Sonja and Sitha must go east, beyond the Vilayet Sea.  Between the foothills of the mountains of Kithai is a village, and there, only a priestess of Xamul can free Sitha, the “Daughter of Fire,” from Xamul.  But it is a place that only women can access, and first, they must face “the First Law.”

THE LOWDOWN:   In July 2021, Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department began providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  One of them is Red Sonja Volume 6 #5, which is the latest of several Dynamite Entertainment Red Sonja comic books that I have read.  This is also only the seventh issue of a Mirka Andolfo comic book that I have read.

Andolfo and Luca Blengino continue their epic story of sword and sorcery, which is also a mother and her daughter story (of sorts).  The writers offer big changes and move the story to new strange, faraway lands.  It is pure sword and sorcery and Robert E. Howard.

In issue #5, a bevy of artists and colorist unveil this story to readers, and they catch all of the epic scope of what Andolfo and Blengino are spinning for readers.  They don't miss a beat, and this Red Sonja series, with its offbeat notes, continues to be a winner.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Red Sonja and of Mirka Andolfo will want to try Red Sonja Volume 6.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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BOOM! Studios Shipping from Diamond Distributors for January 5, 2022

BOOM! STUDIOS

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NOV210716 MAGIC THE GATHERING (MTG) #10 CVR C HIDDEN SPARK VAR $4.99

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Dark Horse Comics Shipping from Diamond Distributors for January 5, 2022

DARK HORSE COMICS

JUN210381 ART OF OVERWATCH HC LTD ED VOL 02 (C: 0-1-2) $99.99

SEP210304 EC ARCHIVES WEIRD SCIENCE TP VOL 01 (C: 0-1-2) $19.99

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Dynamite Entertainment Shipping from Diamond Distributors for January 5, 2022

DYNAMITE

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