Claymore vol. 1: The Silver Eyed Slayer

Writer and Artist: Norihiro Yagi
Publisher: Shonen Jump Advanced

What's it about?
In a pre-industrial world in which monsters called yoma infiltrate human settlements in order to hunt and feed on human viscera, female warriors known as Claymores (after the huge swords they carry) are employed to hunt and kill the yoma. Half yoma themselves, these warriors have the strength and speed needed to fight yoma, and the ability to sense them out when they're hiding among humans. The warriors' inhumanity, clear in their lack of pigmentation in hair and skin and their shining silver eyes, makes it hard for humans to trust them, and leaves them outcasts in the society they work to protect.

Read right to left!

If it sounds familiar to you, you probably already know whether or not this series is for you.

Clare is a warrior that the Organization sends to a village for a routine yoma hunt, where she meets Raki, the young boy whose parents were the first victims. His gratitude to her when she saves him, combined with the village's distrust when they realise how close he was to the yoma, causes him to follow her out of the village and into her dangerous world, where a hesitant friendship develops between a boy who has lost everything and a girl who has shut herself off from the world.

Vertical

Writer: Steven T. Seagle
Artist: Mike Allred
Inks: Philip Bond
Lettered by: Ken Lopez
Colored and separated by: Laura Allred
Publisher: Vertigo Comics

What’s it about?
Vertical is a little original project from the minds of Steven T. Seagle and Mike and Laura Allred.
Part conceptual project, part life segments.

It is quite an innovative comic, which doesn't really to innovate as much as simply exploring the format.
It is a fun experience all in all. Telling a simple enough and straight forward story/content and having fun with its form.

Vertigo's story focuses on Brando Bale, artist and daredevil living in the city during the Cold War era.
It's the struggling life of young artists trying to get a sense out of live will tension, economics and war loomed over new generations.
Brando makes art by putting his life in danger, doing public stunts-happenings.
One day, he meets Zilly Zane, aspiring actress.
The forces behind his life's goal and dreams will finally meet a stop, as Brando will ponder at this crossroads of life.
He needs to either cease to put his life in danger and embrace life, or continue this useless quest...

Incorruptible volume 1: Boom

This is another crosspost, from Civilian Reader, re-formatted into our usual style.  The original post can be found here.  As before, we're cross posting because the book fits the remit of the site, and CR kindly offered us the review.  He has this to say about himself:  

I’m a British globe-trotter, who is passionate about all things genre-related (novels, movies, comics, etc.) and loves to tell people about them.

Writer: Mark Waid

Artist: Jean Diaz

Inker: Belardino Brabo

Colourist: Andrew Dalhouse
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

Publisher: Boom Studios

What's it about?

What if the world’s greatest supervillain decided to become the world’s greatest hero?  Meet Max Damage, Sky City’s most notorious super-powered criminal. Known for everything from manslaughter to terrorism, no one could match Max’s appetite for chaos. But that was before the Plutonian, the world’s greatest hero, turned his back on humanity and slaughtered millions, leaving Max a changed man. Now, the world’s salvation may lie in the hands of its most infamous supervillain. Can someone who once ruined so many lives now truly become Incorruptible?

Faced with a post-Plutonian, post-apocalyptic city filled with petrified survivors, Max starts out on his new path, putting a stop to the machinations of those who would prey on people’s fear for profit.  We see a weary resignation in Max, as he has to deal with people’s understandable trigger-happy reaction whenever they see him – he’s trying to make things right, but people only see the supervillain and insist on shooting him. Repeatedly. (It’s so hard, being a reformed villain…)

Incorruptible is a companion series to Waid’s longer-running Irredeemable (reviewed here).  Needless to say, if you like comics, superheroes and great writing, you need to be reading Irredeemable. Seriously: it’s incredible.

Irredeemable: The Definitive Collection

This is a cross-post from Civilian Reader's blog, reworked into the New readers... format.  You can find the original post here.  We're cross posting because the book fits the remit of the site, and CR kindly offered us the review, instead of writing a brand new one (why re-invent the wheel, after all).  You should check out his blog, he likes the Discworld, therefore he has impeccable taste.
He has this to say about himself:  

I’m a British globe-trotter, who is passionate about all things genre-related (novels, movies, comics, etc.) and loves to tell people about them.

Writer: Mark Waid

Artists: Peter Krause and Diego Baretto
Inker: Andrew Dalhouse

Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

Publisher: Boom Studios

What's it about?

What if the world's greatest hero decided to become the world's greatest villain? When the Plutonian, the world's greatest hero, snaps and turns into the world's greatest villain, only his former teammates have a chance at stopping his rampage. But while on the run from the world’s most powerful and angry being, will these former teammates discover his secrets in time? How did he come to this? What became of the hope and promise once inside him? What happens to the world when its saviour betrays it? What makes a hero IRREDEEMABLE?

I’d been considering this title for a long time, and when I finally managed to try it out, it was this mega-edition. I really liked the idea behind the series – it seemed so simple and yet innovative at the same time. After reading this book, I quickly realised that all the hype about the series is completely justified. The story is gripping, original, moving and superbly rendered. This exceeded my already high expectations. This was a very difficult review to write, as I really just wanted to say, “This is incredible. Buy it.”

Killroy and Tina

Killroy and Tina

A webcomic by Justin Pierce

What's it about?
Killroy, alien despotic overlord, gets bonded with a 17 year old earth girl called Tina Matthews.  this bonding means that Tina gets Killroy's powers (laser eyes, super strength etc), but if they go further than 5 miles away from each other, they each lose their superhuman abilities.  If one dies, the other dies.  There are a few unexpected side effects, like Killroy gaining some of Tina's physical characteristics.
Killroy has to learn to live with Tina and her mother, work out the intricacies of earth culture, and Tina has to deal with the new events thrown up by Kilroy's presence.

It's essentially a hero's journey.   Tina grows into her new skills, worries about her responsibilities and eventually takes up the vigilante mantle.  She doesn't like Killroy, she's resentful of him upending her life and she won't give him a fair chance.  Her mother grows to like him, and her boyfriend, Brandon, gets on with him very well.  Later on we meet another alien, Querty, some female furies, Tina's rubbish classmates and future selves of Tina.  All mixed together, they've got to get on, deal with school and jobs and taking a drive (not easy when Brandon's around, as he has a habit of, well, making weird things happen). 

Updated review information: Superman/Batman/Supergirl

We've updated the information on further reading in this Superman/Batman/Supergirl review.

Incidentally, did you know that story has been released as a DVD?  They changed the name and called it Superman/Batman: Apocolypse (presumably because the marketing people think girls have cooties) but it is the same story and it's really really good.  It's all ages so would be a great gift for the younger superhero fan in your life.

That Deaf Guy

A webcomic

By Matt and Kay Daigle

http://www.thatdeafguy.com

What's it about?

That Deaf Guy is about the everyday adventures of a Deaf man with a hearing son and wife.  It is created by husband and wife team, Matt and Kay Daigle.  Matt draws, Kay writes.  Matt was born Deaf, his wife is hearing, and together they create a comic strip about everyday life - raising a small child, managing money, working out Halloween costumes, appropriate winter finger wear, and being Deaf.

Heh heh. "glittens"