Zombies vs. Robots: No Man's Land edited by Jeff Connor

Zombies are popular right now.  It’s undeniable.  With Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead being unbelievably successful in multiple media, and the overflowing of zombie-related prose, comics, videogames, tv shows, movies, etc., it’s clear that you can have some success with zombie fiction.  Almost as popular are robots, and the idea of the robot overthrown/robot apocalypse.  So why not just geek out and put it all together?

That is exactly what Chris Ryall and Ashley Wood did in Zombies vs. Robots and its sequel, Zombies vs. Robots vs. Amazons, with both series being collected in Complete Zombies vs. Robots.  It is a story of a devastated world in which a robot society has arisen around the key objective of protecting the last remaining human child.  The story is fun, fast-paced, and doesn’t worry about being serious.

And fans wanted more.  So more comics came out, but in a wonderful move by IDW, they also started releasing prose works, starting with the anthology Zombies vs. Robots: This Means War! And continuing in a string of releases.  The most recent book is another anthology, Zombies vs. Robots: No Man’s Land, edited by Jeff Connor.  This set of stories ranges from the very beginning of the zombie outbreak all the way through the series, including a stop into the realm of Zombies vs. Robots vs. Amazons, this reviewer’s favorite entry in the comic series.

While the anthology is clearly aimed at readers of the original comic series, No Man’s Land is very accessible to new readers, as well, in large part because of the wonderfully simple premise of the entire universe: robots fighting zombies.  It doesn’t need to be any more complicated to be fun.

While some of the stories can be a little tedious, overall this is a fun if not-standout collection that is perfect for readers of the Zombies vs. Robots comic, or any reader who wants to see heavy metal/undead conflict.

Rat Queens, Volume 1: Sass & Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch

Fantasy comics have long had a strong representation in the graphic fiction market, but so many of the standard tropes have not evolved, but have stagnated, bringing the genre to a standstill while comics of other genres are advancing all around them.  One of these problematic areas is fantasy comics’ depiction of women.  Far too often, women are only appearing in comics as bar maids falling out of their blouses, damsels in distress, or for no real reason other than to pose suggestively while wearing the bear minimum of clothes.  Or, on the rare occasion that a woman held the role of protagonist, you frequently get something along the lines of Marvel’s Red Sonja, which was more about underwear-sized armor rather than a strong female protagonist.  Recent years have seen some growth here, in comics such as Dynamite’s Red Sonja, where we finally see a smart, capable female warrior in a series with depth.  With Gail Simone currently doing the writing, this likely will only get better, both in representation and story quality.

A new series that is running along with this is Rat Queens, from writer Kurtis J. Wiebe and artist Roc Upchurch.  Rat Queens features a group of five women who like to drink, get in trouble, and make money, all of which frequently seem to involve quests.  The first collection, Sass and Sorcery, introduces the readers to all of the cast, from a magic-using Cthulhu worshiper to a dwarf warrior, and gets the adventure of with a bang as the Rat Queens struggle to find who is trying to kill them.  Full of humor and adventure, Rat Queens will appeal to general fantasy readers, as well as fans of team-oriented books with plenty of witty banter.

Rat Queens should prove to be a popular new fantasy series, and is exactly what the genre needs: a funny, well-told action epic that isn’t afraid to be all about women.

Dumbing of Age, Volume 1: This Campus is a Friggin' Escher Print by David Willis

Webcomics have an appeal all their own.  Like the comics in newspapers, they pop up every day, but with the plethora of options, readers can personalize their daily webcomic reading, whether they are looking for the offbeat humor of XKCD of the science fiction action of Fighting Stranger.  Very specific niche markets can be reached through the power of webcomics, as well, such as the wonderful Dork Tower.  And sometimes, people want to fall in love with a cast of characters as they go through the brand new experience of moving away from home and starting at college, and for that they go to Dumbing of Age.

Dumbing of Age, Volume 1: This Campus is a Friggin’ Escher Print is a collection of all of the Dumbing of Age strips run during the webcomic’s first year of existence.  Introducing the characters, the story moves forward as the characters grow in friendships and relationships, learn about college, and grow up together.  You are quickly drawn into the story by both the humor and the well-rounded characters.  You can come for the laughs, and stay to find out how everything works out for this new group of friends.

The collected edition includes some commentary and other bonuses that make this both a nice collection for followers of the webcomic and new readers alike.  Dumbing of Age, Volume 1: This Campus is a Friggin’ Escher Print is a condensed collection of humor and relatable characters that readers will love and find themselves drawn back to time and time again.

Dogs of War edited by Mike McPhail

Everyone has heard the typical response to anthologies: Some stories are good, some aren’t.  With so many different writers, it is more or less guaranteed that no reader will enjoy every story, and most of the time you find a few that just don’t work for you.  I came across this very situation with the last anthology I read, L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume 30.  It is the nature of multi-author collections.

So when I read and loved the first story, Christopher M. Hiles’ “The Shepherds,” I figured that I would be coming across a dud soon.  When I finished “Brothers” by Danielle Ackley-McPhail, the final story in the collection, I realized that those duds never showed their face.  Editor Mike McPhail’s Dogs of War is brilliant military science fiction from start to finish.

Part of the Defending the Future military science fiction anthology series, Dogs of War takes the theme of dogs (or other companion animals) in combat, and runs with it in seventeen different directions, each one fascinating.  Some, like the aforementioned story by Hiles, felt like the start of a much bigger story, and readers will be keeping their eyes peeled for more from these authors.

Authors embraced the ideas of robotic dogs in combat, birds of prey performing recon, entire units made up of nothing but augmented animals, some even exploring the boundaries (or lack thereof) or human and canine soldiers in the future.  Readers concerned that Dogs of War would be a sappy collection of military science fiction dog lover stories are missing out on the massive breadth of content, the engaging conflicts and fascinating futures, and a host of talented authors.  Military science fictions fans will love this anthology.

ComiXology Submit Single Issue Reviews #3

The Dead #1

When Sam dies, he is surprised to wake up in a room in what appears to be a giant house, which he soon discovers is a far from safe place to be.  Written by James Maddox with art from Jen Hickman, The Dead presents a very interesting view of the afterlife, reminiscent of Guy Adams’ The World House that was reviewed here a few years ago.  This is a fun book with a great setting, and is well worth checking out for fans who like a little surreal in their comics.

Department O, Vol. 1: The Body Politic #1

Department O is a secret agency set-up to protect England from supernatural and occult threats.  While the idea of a supernatural secret agency isn’t one that is new, the story written by Jamie Gambell is fun, with plenty of mystery, and the quirky art from Andrew MacLean fits well and gives the story a great feel.  Fans of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen should find much to enjoy here.

Diskordia #1

Jackal Black is a young man trying to find the quickest path through life, when he falls through the cracks of reality and enters a whole new plane of existence and meets a girl with an octopus on her head.  The story only gets stranger from there.  Andrew Blackman writes and illustrates Diskordia, which proves to be one of the weirder comics out there, but is oddly fascinating.  Definitely not for younger readers, those of you on the lookout for something very different from the usual comic fare should give Diskordia a look.

Doc Unknown #1

Look for pulp action with a twist of the weird?  Then pick up Doc Unknown.  Written by Fabian Rangel, Jr., with art from Ryan Cody, the first issue, Doc has to stop a snake mob boss from stealing a priceless treasure at the museum, which precipitates a much larger adventure ahead.  All the fun with none of the seriousness, Doc Unknown is a great read if you want to avoid the heavy, moody, darker side of comics.

Beyond the Rift by Peter Watts

Peter Watts has been making a name for himself in science fiction.  He hasn’t exploded into the SF stratosphere like John Scalzi or Charlie Stross, but his he has been slowly building a reputation of strong science fiction with a detailed science element to it, particularly with a focus on biology.  He is also one of the authors I found myself most intrigued by, and I couldn’t wait to get a chance to finally explore some of his fiction.

Beyond the Rift presents a wide swatch of fiction from the entire length of Watts’ career, from very early stories (“Flesh Made Word” and “Nimbus”) to much more recent ones (“The Things”).  From the beginning of the collection, with the opening story, “The Things,” Watts’ chops for writing hard science fiction are evident, as is his love of the genre, writing a new version of John Carpenter’s classic film, The Thing, itself based on John W. Campbell, Jr.’s “Who Goes There?” 

The collection expands from there, showing a seeming fascination with the merging of the future of life sciences and religion, with many of the stories featuring a mix of both.  Of particular note were “The Second Coming of Jasmine Fitzgerald,” which featured a woman who has found a way to program the universe, “A Word for Heathens,” in which religious extremism is taken into the future, and “Hillcrest v. Velikovsky,” a very short story in which a man is on trial of murder after his museum exhibit allegedly killed a woman.

In some of the stories, Watts’ storytelling gets a little mired, and the reader has to drag themselves to the end of the tale, but in many of the others a fascinating idea is well explored.  This makes the end of the collection all the more disappointing.  Watts’ afterword, “Outtro: En Route to the Dystopia with the Angry Optimist,” is more-or-less exactly what is says:  Watts takes a significant amount of time to be very angry about a number of things, and tries to justify himself as an optimist in a world slowly building towards the dystopic.  Watts takes time to ridicule those with opinions that differ from him, make fun of people who are religious, hate on all of North America, and otherwise be abrasive, disagreeable, and close-minded.  Any appreciation of Watts’ writing is lost in the muck that is his afterword.

Fans of hard science fiction with a focus on the life sciences will likely find many enjoyable stories here, but they unfortunately appear to come from the mind of a rather unpleasant person.  This reviewer will be avoiding Watts from here on out.

Batman: Battle for the Cowl by Tony S. Daniel

After Batman dies, who will take up the mantle?  Following the events of Batman: R.I.P. and Final Crisis, Gotham City’s crime element is growing without the presence of the Dark Knight.  Dick Grayson, current Nightwing and former Robin, seems to be the obvious choice to everyone, but he is unwilling to take on the roll.  As he struggles with this, someone else takes on the role of Batman, and begins killing criminals.  Nightwing and Robin have to find out who this new threat is and stop him.

Most people won’t be too surprised with how Batman: Battle for the Cowl plays out, and the ending certainly isn’t a shocker, but Tony S. Daniel presents a wonderfully entertaining story that will keep readers moving along.  This story is pretty mired in continuity going back a ways, so new readers won’t find this the most accessible, but for readers who have been making their way through the Batman titles for a while will find a lot to enjoy here.