ANGEL & FAITH VOLUME 1: LIVE THROUGH THIS
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PUB DATE: July 3, 2012
ISBN: 9781595828873 
AUTHOR: Christos Gage
CONTRIBUTORS: Dan Jackson, Phil Noto, Rebekah Isaac, and Steve Morris


The Angel & Faith comic book series takes place during the Season 9 Buffyverse, where the renegade slayer Faith is helping Angel recuperate his way back to being good after being possessed by the “Twilight” during the season 8 comic book storyline, in which all magic was destroyed. Faith inherited Rupert Giles’s estate along with the watcher’s files after he was murdered by Angel. In the four part issue Live Through This, after defeating a demon that Giles once fought, Angel starts having visions of Giles and Jenny Calendar, whom both died by his hands. Feeling regret, Angel looks for away to bring Giles back and to make amends to the others that he hurt when he was “Twilight.”

    This series is set in London, where Angel is trying to clean up the streets by fighting the local demons with the help of Faith when she isn’t busy partying. Angel searches for Mohra blood in hope that he can reanimate Giles’s body. They are introduced to two new villains Nash and Pearl who are taking advantage of the no magic Earth.

TITLE: Adventures into the Unknown! Archives Volume 1 
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PUB DATE: June 6, 2012
ISBN:  9781595829306
AUTHORS: Edvard Moritz, King Ward, Mac Elkan 
CONTRIBUTORS:  Al Feldstein, Al Ulmer, Bruce Jones, Fred Guardineer, Leonard Starr, Paul Reinman


Back in the 1940s a comic titled Adventures into the Unknown! hit the stands. It was published by B&I Publishing (aka American Comics Group) and was one of the earliest horror comics. The stories were more traditional and stayed away from the blood/gore horror of today, and relied more upon ghost stories and gothic novels which eventually became a popular series. Just like other comics, Adventures into the Unknown! was criticized for its violence, but it (unlike others) survived the Senate of Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency hearings of 1954. The series eventually ended in 1967 after 174 issues.

Dollhouse Volume 1: Epitaphs

PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PUB DATE: April 11, 2012
ISBN: 9781595828637 
AUTHORS: Andrew Chambliss, Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen
CONTRIBUTORS: Andy Owens, Cliff Richards, Michelle Madsen, and Phil Noto

I only got a chance to watch few a episodes of Dollhouse during it’s original run, so I was quite interested in Epitaphs which takes place between the series episodes Epitaph One and Epitaph Two: Return, which were both set in the year 2020

Set in the future, where most of the population has been brainwashed by mental virus delivered through phones. In the process your entire memories are wiped out, but you are reprogrammed to be zombie-mindless killers. A small band of survivors are trying to undone the damage that has been done.

TITLE: Star Wars: Invasion Volume 3- Revelations
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
RELEASE DATE: April 25, 2012
ISBN: 9781595828828 
AUTHOR: Tom Taylor
CONTRIBUTORS: Chris Scalf; Colin Wilson; and Wes Dzioba 

 
TITLE: Star Wars: Knight Errant Volume 2--Deluge 
AUTHOR: John Jackson Miller
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics 
PUBLISHED DATE: June 5, 2012
ISBN: 9781595826381
ARTIST CONTRIBUTORS: David Daza, Iban Coello, Ivan Rodriguez, Joe Quinones, Michael Atiyeh, and Sergio Abad



Set in the beginning of the Old Republic, a 1,000 years before the birth of Luke Skywalker, this epic tale centers around a young female Jedi Knight named Kerra Holt, who is attempting to fight against the evil Sith Lords. The Sith Lords are trying to control large portions of the galaxy while continuing a war with the Republic. In the five issue series titled Deluge, Kerra Holt returns to the ocean world of Aquilaris, the planet she once called home, which is currently under control by the Sith Lord Daiman.

As soon as Kerra arrives she jumps into a battle against the Sith Lord’s army and she allies with other Republics. Her people have been enslaved and she’ll do anything to save them. Soon, she realizes that there is another enemy - a Hutt. Now determined more than ever, Kerra must go against all odds to stop them from flooding her home planet.

TITLE: Locke & Key Volume 5: Clockworks
PUBLISHER: IDW Publishing
RELEASE DATE: July 24, 2012
ISBN:  9781613772270
WRITER:  Joe Hill
ARTIST: Gabriel Rodriguez




IDW Publishing and NetGalley have kindly let me review the upcoming Lock & Key Volume 5 graphic novel which consist of six issues. Only the first issue, Chapter One - The Locksmith's Son, was available for me to review, which is set in the year 1775 at Lovecraft, Massachusetts Bay. Sixteen year-old Ben Locke and his younger sister Miranda watch helplessly as their parents are hanged by the redcoats. Ben promises to settle his father's debts which leads them 120 feet below ground, where they meet Colonel Adam Crais and what is left of his minutemen. The Colonel and his army had dug up a strange door, and when it was opened, it unleashed bloody thirsty demons. Ben Locke is a son of a locksmith and he is determined to create a lock strong enough to hold the door shut forever.

Private eye Dorcas Potts and her sidekick, Erik, are racing through the countryside roads in a fast convertible, as they try to locate the twins and Muzz Elliott. There are twists and turns around every corner, and there are dangerous robbers after the diamond.

In this fast-paced third installment of The DoppleGanger Chronicles, author C.P. Taylor takes you on a dark and mysterious ride, mixing in great storytelling. The book is a mixture of a graphic novel and a Sherlock Holmes novel. The illustrations by Daniel Boultwood and Tony Lee are superb, giving the story a gothic, eerie feel. The dialogue is witty and clean-cut. I had never heard of the series before reviewing it, but I am now a fan. It’s cleverly put together for both children and adults to enjoy reading. I highly recommend read it!

First came the successful DVDs, and now the “Disney Fairies” have their very own graphic novel. The first issue has four stories in it. In “Prilla’s Talent,” Prilla is sad that she is the only fairy without a talent. The story goes on to explain each of the fairies’ gifts. In the end, Prilla discovers that she has always had a very special talent of her very own.

In the second story “Like the Wind,” the reader is introduced to fastest fairy of them all - Vidia, the fairy that can never be trusted when you really needed. She is irresponsible. When one of her own gets in trouble, Vidia must change her ways and rescue her friend.

The third story “The Sound of Friendship,” revolves around Tinker Bell. The Bluebell Festival is approaching and everyone is getting ready. Terrance, the male fairy, is having a hard time trying to ask Tinker to the Festival. The Festival bell is broken, and Tinker and Terrance rush to fix it before the festival is a disaster.

In the last story “Best of Friends,” Tinker and Rani are the best friends, until Rani starts avoiding her. Tinker and Prilla spend the rest of the story trying to find out why.

I haven’t read a graphic novel since I was a kid. “Prilla’s Talent” is aimed for female readers, but boys might like the character Terrance. The illustrations are colorful and well drawn. The plots in each of the stories are simple, but fun to read. There is a great message of friendship in every story. I recommend this book to anyone who likes “Peter Pan” or the “Disney Fairies.”

Note: I would like to thank the Author Marketing Experts for sending me this complimentary copy to review.