Now time for TNC’s: POTW Pellet Reviews! Thank god I have a series like Strange Tales to make reviewing much more interesting.

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“Who Will Watcher the Watchermen?” (Nick Bertozzi): I’m really happy they brought this back for this series. It was funny the first time and it’s funny now. Having the real watcher go on these shady goings with the fake Watcher was a lot of fun. (5/5)

“Dear Logan” (Rafael Grampa): Wow…..Just…..wow. You know this is a fantastic way to get introduced to a comic creator. Everything about this beginning is just so damn gorgeous. So much detail, so much going on in every panel; it’s astounding. But it’s also very disturbing as Grampa has a sick sense of violence towards the end of this. The girl continuously stabbing Logan really made me a sick. That’s never happened before with me in a comic. Just fantastic stuff though overall and I really want my hands on Grampa’s other work. Also, look this cover! Just amazing. (Story: 5/5; Art: 5/5)

“The Fabulous Frog-Man” (Gene Luen Yang): Just a nice, little humourus take on a very bad villain. I’m not even sure if Leapfrog exists but I like how Yang tries to make this kid honorable but fails at everything. There is a lot of paraell’s to Squirrel Girl in this, especially with that hilarious panel of Frog-Man defeating high caliber villains. The art by Yang is pretty good too; very cartoony and also has a surreal side to it. Love the end panel of this. (Story: 5/5; Art: 5/5)

“Silver Surfer” (Frank Santoro): It’s a little slow and melodramatic; but look at the art! Love the painted feel and I do mean painted. Almost like every panel is a canvas of a piece of artwork. Surfer getting sucked into Galactus’s world is a nice touch. (Story: 3/5; Art: 5/5)

“A Distraction” (Kate Beaton): This, Rafael Grampa’s, and another (discussed shortly) are the real highlights of this comic. If you’ve never seen ‘harkavagrant.com’ then I urge you to go read it. Some hysterical webcomics about history; but here Beaton takes a jab at Marvel Comics. There are so many great panels in this. It’s all in the acting when it comes to Beaton’s humor. There are some good lines, but really look at the character’s eyes when it comes to the jokes. Kraven jumping on top of the woman is a great example. I hope we see more of Beaton doing Marvel parodies in the future. (Story: 5/5; Art: 5/5)

“The After Party” (Jillian Tamaki): There are some great panels in this and a great use of color. You know you got a good artist when Kirby dots are used A LOT. Overall though the story isn’t that compelling, and maybe it’s just because my lack of interest in Dazzler. But can’t get enough of those final panels in this story. (Story: 2/5; Art: 5/5)

“Red Skull” (Shannon Wheeler): You want old school? You want the ‘evilest of evil this side of evil town’? then come read Wheeler’s hysterical and over the top homage to Silver age comics. This is a truly bizarre take on the Red Skull and the ending is really dark if you think about it. I just like how Skull is really pudgy from the moment we see him. Not the best strip in the whole issue, but a good series of chuckles non the less. (Story: 4/5; Art: 5/5)

“The Marvel of Mysterio” (Couldn’t figure it out who did this): Another, surreal and bizarre, take on a supervillain’s powers. Had a bit of a hard time figuring out the ‘plot’ of this but I enjoyed it well enough. (Story: 3/5; Art: 4/5)

“Fight or Run: Marvel Edition” (Kevin Huizenga): Another weird strip where I just didn’t get the point of this. It was really cool to watch and I love Huizenga’s style. Overall though I just didn’t get the premise. (Story: 2/5; Art: 5/5)

“A Civilized Thing” (Jeff Lemire): Oh man, oh man. You get your money’s worth and then some with this short. Good lord this is a gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous, piece by Lemire. It’s in his niche to do a winter landscape involving mountiees. But you can’t complain where the pencils and coloring just mix perfectly. Then you have Man-Thing! I want Lemire to do a fucking Man-Thing series now because of this. Looks so god damn good. Seriously, go buy this for this strip, Rafael Grampa’s, and Keat Beaton’s. Worth every penny. (Story: 5/5; Art: 5/5)

“Meanwhile…in the Park!!!” (Jhonen Vasquez): More insight into the disturbed mind of J. Vasquez. There are truly some disturbing, but hilarious sequences in this. From Wolverine consuming hotdogs to a Sentinel killing a child; it all fits into the humor of Vasquez. I did love the Sentinel wanting to get a better rep for not killing Wolverine. The MODOK story from last year was better by JV; but this is still just as disturbing. (Story: 5/5; Art: 5/5)

“Galactus/Magneto” (Nick Gurewitch): A nice way to cap off the issue with the a Perry Bible short. Not the funniest done by Gurewitch; but still pretty gorgeous to look at. (5/5)

While this is not as perfect as the first trip to Strange Tales; this was still a blast to read. A visual tour de force by some of the best indie artists in the biz. Not every story is perfect, but it’s worth the price for some fantastic artwork. A definite POTW choice for me.