Tango of the Matadors' second issue starts readers off with the sense that time has rapidly been passing in the monster-infested world. Adelita, Ramon’s young daughter from the original series, is old enough to tackle matador training under Arturo’s watchful eyes. Meanwhile, the Volgante’s children continue terrorizing the people of Guatemala as Ramon and his companions head toward her stronghold to attack the giant fly.
As the end of this arc approaches, it's time for the bleakness of Die to meet the epic fantasy battles of past entries into the genre. With the battle on the border between Eternal Prussia and Angria now in full swing, it's up to Ash, Izzy, and their armies to win the day, despite the obvious challenges that come with full-scale warfare.
If series like Undiscovered Country reflect the times we are living in politically, The Clock reflects one of the other major aspects that is currently impacting life: outbreak. This series focuses on something that hits so close to home it might as well be standing next to you, airhorn blaring: an outbreak of an incredibly lethal form of cancer is making its way through the world, with researchers and scientists unable to find a cause or a cure. This outbreak has taken many lives and threatens so many more. One of the many lives taken is the spouse of a top researcher of this outbreak, and her death sends shockwaves as one of the brightest minds in the world is now so deeply affected by this outbreak that it threatens to completely derail the ability to fight whatever it is.
The fourth issue of Matt Kindt and Wilfredo Torres’ Bang! introduces the final member of the team: Paige Turnier… get it? It’s a cheeky poke at your murder mystery madams like Jessica Fletcher from Murder, She Wrote or Agatha Christie’s Marple. Turnier is an aging Chinese woman with an incredibly sharp mind and a few other tricks up her sleeves. Though like Dr. Queen who was introduced in the last issue, she downplays her position. Dr. Queen did it for a certain level of anonymity, Turnier, so as not to make anyone feel uncomfortable with her heightened intellect, puts on a sort of silly French accent reminiscent of Inspector Jacques Clouseau. I find it interesting that the two female characters have to downplay their positions. I wonder if something more will come of that. Either way, Turnier is a fun character, very different from the other three added to the pool to fight against Goldmaze, a secret organization very much akin to James Bond’s SPECTRE.
Welcome back to the colorful science fiction series about a crew who harvests pieces from the bodies of dead space gods. These stunning, glowy gods are - you guessed it - only found when they are dead. No human in living memory has ever seen one alive. In issue two, we move from a story teaser with very little info into the beginning of what this story is. We get a solid dose of character development (and which of them know each other if you know what I mean), as well as some almost poetic moments.