John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction: Vortex #6
Written by Mike Sizemore
Pencils and Inks by Dave Kennedy
Colors by Pete Kennedy
Lettering by Janice Chiang
Edited by Sandy King
Cover Art by Tim Bradstreet
Storm King Comics
Release date: March 28, 2018
Price: $3.99

“Yes, and of some god shall wreck me in the wine-dark deep, even so, I will endure…” – Homer

John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction, the monthly comic anthology series from Storm King Comics rolls on with issue #6 of Vortex. We left our cast of characters on a deep space mining colony where something killed most of the crew and a tentacled beast is loose. Meanwhile there are even more threats looming back on the Benson, a space station across space. No time to fuss around, this issue is all action from jump street.

Demi-God #1
Written by Ron Marz
Art by Andy Smith
Colors by Michael Atiyeh
Letters by Steve Dutro
Covers by Andy Smith and Michael Atiyeh, Bart Sears and Nanjan Jamberi, Jeff Johnson and Michael Atiyeh, Bob Layton and Michael Atiyeh
IDW Publishing
Release Date: April 4, 2018
Cover Price: $3.99

In 2017, IDW Publishing partnered with Ominous Press to begin a new line of comics, one they are calling the Ominous Universe apparently. The newest installment in this line is Demi-God #1, a tale of power without the sense of heroism that we have come to expect in comics. If you will give me a few moments of your time, I will give you my opinion of this premiere issue that promises to be a little different, to say the least.

The Crow: Memento Mori #1
“Memento Mori,” Part 1
Written by Roberto Recchioni
Art by Werther Dell’Edera
Colors by Giovanna Niro
Letters by Giovanni Marinovich
“Buried Virtue”
Short Story and Art by Matteo Scalera
Colors by Moreno Dinisio
Letters by Giovanni Marinovich
Covers by Werther Dell’Edera and Giovanna Niro; Davide Furnò; Matteo Scalera and Moreno Dinisio; Roberto Recchioni; Drew Moss
IDW Publishing
Release Date: March 28, 2018
Cover Price: $3.99

There are many iconic comics and characters that rose to fame in the nineties, but this one is one of my favorites. In The Crow: Memento Mori #1, we get to see the newest incarnation of James O’Barr‘s death defying creation. The premiere issue of this series contains the first parts of two very different tales.

KISS/Army of Darkness #1
Written by Chad Bowers and Chris Sims
Art by Ruairi Coleman
Colors by Timothy C. Brown
Letters by Troy Peteri
Covers by Kyle Strahm and Greg Smallwood, Ken Haeser, Buz Hasson, and Blair Smith, Goni Montes
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: February 28, 2018
Cover Price: $3.99

You just cannot go wrong with a story about KISS, you know? But like peanut butter and chocolate, some things are even better with a pairing. This holds especially true in KISS/Army of Darkness #1. Entrusted with the power of The Destroyer, our fearsome foursome uses their power to protect mankind, rather than for destruction.

Incognegro: Renaissance #1
Written by Mat Johnson
Art by Warren Pleece
Letters by Clem Robins
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: February 7, 2018
Cover Price: $3.99

Of all the things I have written for this site, none have ever made me hesitate so much or so often. In today’s racially charged climate, it takes little to pit people against one another. Regardless of your position or stance in the political arena, this fact cannot be ignored. And while this comic book series is set almost a hundred years ago, it seems even more relevant today than it did even ten years ago. Incognegro: Renaissance #1 is, first and foremost, a murder mystery. But it being set in 1920’s New York serves to show the reader far more than just a homicide.

John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction: Vortex #4
Written by Mike Sizemore
Pencils and Inks by Dave Kennedy
Colors by Pete Kennedy
Lettering by Janice Chiang
Edited by Sandy King
Cover Art by Tim Bradstreet
Storm King Comics
Release date: January 31, 2018
Price: $3.99

“Yesterday upon the stair, I met a man who wasn’t there.” – Hughes Mearns

Another historic poetic verse puts in motion issue 4 of Vortex, the second story arc in John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction, a monthly anthology series from Storm King Comics. The verse opens Mearns’ 1899 poem “Antigonish” and has been referenced for everything from ghost stories to Lil Wayne rap songs. Here the “man who wasn’t there” could be the haunting presence on both the deep space mining colony and the Space Station Benson on the other side of the galaxy.

Time & Vine TPB
Story and Art by Thomas F. Zahler
Colors by Luigi Anderson
IDW Publishing
Release Date: January 24, 2018
Cover Price: $24.99

In a medium that is overrun with super powered entities and horrifying monsters, it is a breath of fresh air to get a small taste of the mundane. But, lest it seem common or stale to the reader, this particular tale weaves a bit of magic through the almost two hundred pages of which Time & Vine is comprises.

John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction: Vortex #3
Written by Mike Sizemore
Pencils and Inks by Dave Kennedy
Colors by Pete Kennedy
Lettering by Janice Chiang
Edited by Sandy King
Cover Art by Tim Bradstreet
Storm King Comics
Release date: January 3, 2018
Price: $3.99

Vortex is the second story from Storm King Comics’ new monthly anthology series, John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction, developed by the Horror Master himself with his wife and collaborator Sandy King Carpenter. Vortex is an 8-issue story harkening back to genre classics like Aliens, dealing with a mining station in space in which the crew disappears forcing Captain Jake Dixon and crew to lead the rescue mission. As is the tradition now, writer Mike Sizemore gives our introduction highlighted by a classical poet, this time William Blake: “In the universe there are things that are known and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors.”

Klaus and the Crisis in Xmasville #1
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Dan Mora
Letters by Ed Dukeshire
Cover by Dan Mora, John Cassady and Laura Martin, Frank Quitely
Boom! Studios
Release Date: December 6, 2017
Cover Price: $7.99

Now here is a comic that breathes all new life into the lyrical line “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” In Klaus and the Crisis in Xmasville #1, our hero is determined to right wrongs by kicking the most ass possible. If you have read the previous comic then you know he is a stubborn immortal with a penchant for getting what he wants.

Klaus has no vested interest in the mortal world, for the most part. But when one of his favors is called in, he is forced to see that a century old enmity has been revived and that which he thought was finished, is in actuality not. But this is a can of worms that he is not quite initially prepared for, though that changes quickly.

John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction: Vortex #2
Written by Mike Sizemore
Pencils and Inks by Dave Kennedy
Colors by Pete Kennedy
Lettering by Janice Chiang
Edited by Sandy King
Cover Art by Tim Bradstreet
Storm King Comics
Release date: October 25, 2017
Price: $3.99

Vortex is the second story in Tales of Science Fiction, Storm King Comics’ new monthly anthology series developed by the Horror Master himself, John Carpenter, and his wife and collaborator Sandy King Carpenter. Vortex began last month bookended by quotes from Milton’s Paradise Lost, so obviously it’s a cheery story filled with pure happiness… okay, no. Borrowing from a classic sci-fi premise, Vortex tells of a mining station in space in which the crew disappears forcing Captain Jake Dixon and crew to lead the rescue mission through a rift in space. Vortex is an 8-part story, so writer Mike Sizemore took his time to give our main characters proper introductions and motivations. It’s time to re-enter the Vortex, with issue #2.