Image Round-Up - July 10th 2013

The Image Round Up column aims to get some words down on Image Comics book published for the week. This weeks reviews are handled by William Tournas and Hansel Moreno. They'll be dropping non-spoilery reviews the day before the books are available so you can best make up your mind on what to buy tomorrow. We offer this service because Image has been putting out some amazing content lately and it will be nice to shine a light on every single title they produce. This week our intrepid team looks at  East of West #4, Chew #35 and Sheltered #1

This week the team decided Sheltered #1 is COVER OF THE WEEK! Read William's preview for more info!


The reviews are graded according to the following scale:

Must Read. -- Do not miss this hot piece of comic action!
Buy It. -- For memories sake.
Check It. -- This is a toss up. Up to you really.
Byrne It. (skim it on the rack). -- Look at it but don't leave with it.
Avoid It. -- Steer clear.

East of West #4

Written by: Jonathan Hickman
Art by: Nick Dragotta
Colours: Frank Martin
Letters: Rus Wooton

William Tournas: When we last left Death, he was begging an all out assault on New Shanghai to rescue his love Xiaolian, that he thought was long dead. 

The latest issue of East of West, continues this assault and shows that Death is not one to be trifled with. The Assault is a backdrop as Xiaolian's father laments on everything that brought them here to now.

Hickman continues to craft a fantastic out of this world story, while still keep it grounded. Each issue explores more keeping you satisfied, but also hungry with burning questions about this rich universe.

Dragotta's art styling continues to amaze, with each panel having so much detail that you could spend hours looking at the pages. The battle scenes are made even more gorgeous by Martin's amazing colour palette, while Wooton's letters seem to leave you hanging on every breath of the characters.

Verdict: Must Read.

Sheltered #1

Written by: Ed Brisson
Art by: Johnnie Christmas
Colours: Shari Chankhamma
Back Up Essay: Ryan K Lindsay

William Tournas: The residents of Safe Haven are "Preppers", people who have been preparing for any-and-all end of the world scenario. What they weren't ready for is the breakdown of their hierarchical structure. 

This is the story that Ed Brisson brings to life. A Pre-Apocalyptic tale filled with the dark side of humanity, that doesn't pull any punches.

Johnnie Christmas expands on the narrative  with fantastic art that sits well with the story, and suburb attention to details. His ink work seems to change to suit the situation of the story, something that had me more intrigued as to where the story was going. 

Shari Chankhamma's colours invoke the emotion of the story and the turmoil these characters go through. This is the first time I've seen her first work, and I think I will be getting more books that she's involved with in the future.

Ryan K Lindsay is also on board, providing back up essays based around an in-story podcast listened to by the characters. A nice touch on a showcase of a book.

I highly recommend this book. What Brisson & Christmas have created here is nothing short of amazing.

Verdict: Must Read

Chew #35

Written by: John Layman
Art by: Rob Guillory 

Hansel Moreno: This weeks CHEW is a mystery to me. We didn't receive a copy to review and I am now plotting the best way to sneak out from work for an early "lunch" and make a mad dash to the comic store. Yes, I can easily buy it digitally but what will I shove under John's and Rob's noses and have them sign as I awkwardly praise them?

CHEW has a solid, no nonsense 34 issue run. We've had laughs, scares, gore and even some heart felt tears. John and Rob have something special going on and over half way through it's run it is never to late to get in to CHEW.


Verdict: Must Read

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