Back of the Box Digital Edition

Comixology Goodies for August 2018

By Lori Marie Blair
August 13, 2018

Each month Lori Marie randomly chooses a couple of issues from Comixology's free section and reviews her grab bag goodies. At the time of the review, there were 128 free issues on offer at Comixology. Lori Marie chose numbers 37, 68, and 105.

#37 Fubar Press's Alterna AnniverSERIES is an exciting collection of comics that explore what could have happened if things went fubar. In the free issue, we are given a treat of a tale. In Mother Russia, written and illustrated by Jeff McComsey, the only bit of color is the war-red cover art featuring a communist and fascist zombie march. That's right, the black and white work opens in 1944 Stalingrad, a time of war, siege, cold and starvation. Svetlana Orlova, a former ballerina, now tower sniper, sees a baby a toddling among the crowds of the dead. She takes several headshots to remove the immediate threat, but she must leave the tower. She does! Heroically, she fights off the zombies while protecting the child, but she is eventually overwhelmed and about to lose when a dog named Thor leaps to their rescue. Thor's owner holds open the door to safety, Svetlana dashes inside holding the baby tight in her arms. The identity of her savior is shocking. Though he knows all about her. How will this unlikely quartet survive? Fascinating and imaginative and elegantly drawn, Mother Russia also gives the flavor of the Slavic culture. Very good. Anyone interested in a unique story, history, war or zombies will enjoy.

#68 Chakra the Invincible Created by Stan Lee for the Indian market, Chakra the Invincible marries the East and West by introducing superheroes to Eastern culture and chakras to the West. Like similar Lee heroes, Chakra gained his powers after he had an encounter with catalyst, in this case, lightning, that ignited his chakra suit! Packed with content, the issue is generous with stories. The first, written by Ashwin Pande is infused with Indian culture. When Chakra sees just how big his foe, the giant lady, is he tries a diplomatic approach rather than immediately getting into a physical confrontation. Chakra explained he is the protector of Mumbai, but the villain didn't care and flicked him away. What I appreciated was the diplomatic approach, and a superhero viewed through a different cultural lens. Colorist Sesha Sainan Devarajan chose bright, crisp, clean colors that add a sense of youthfulness and vitality to the first story. An excellent interview with Stan Lee follows in which he gives insight into his inspiration for the comic. Chakra the Invincible is for young readers. Short, lively, and fun, the stories are in the style of classic Archie Comics.

#105 I, Frankenstein: Genesis Three stories by Kevin Grevioux are included this Darkstorm comics collection: "Naberius", "Leonore", and "Adam". "Naberius" opens in The Alps, present day (2014) with two Crescent Order agents prowling through the snow looking for Adam, Frankenstein's monster. We learn about Gargoyles, the guardians of humans who are at war with demons, and we go back in time to bear witness to a crime committed and a bargain made. The collection continues with the story of Leonore the Queen of the Gargoyles. When she was young, she made a mistake and was banished by The Gargoyles. Instead of shrinking away, she used her time to improve her skills. After she figured out the demons planned to trick the gargoyles into killing humans, she bravely broke her exile to inform the gargoyles of the nefarious plot. Next, we delve into the nearer past for the story of Adam, son of Frankenstein. "Adam" is a bittersweet love story about acceptance and humanity or perhaps a story of provocation and vengeance. Or maybe a story of loneliness. Fantastic series, recommended for fans of horror, history, literature and epic battles of good vs. evil.