The Tithe #1 // Review

New this week is “The Tithe” brought to by Matt Hawkins and Rahsan Ekedal from Image Comics and Top Cow Productions.  This first issue follows a group of hackers who target corrupt super churches and give the money they take to charities.  Basically this is a modern version of the classic Robin Hood tale that we've been told minus the appearances of Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman.  The Pastor Tibbett character is very much in the shade of Joel Osteen and his form of religious prosperity teaching.  Obviously he hasn't been found funneling money to an island, but you get the point. 

The hacker group known as Samaritan robs the church and gains access to the vault.  They then hack the projection screens and show the good pastor in a scene of decadence.  They proceed to detonate a bomb which causes a mass of confusion.  During all of the confusion the line “It's the Muslims” is a very telling statement for our current attitude of the masses unfortunately. 

The FBI is brought in to investigate and Pastor Tibbett proclaims innocence during all of his interviews.  There is some connection made between the Samaritan group and an FBI agent before we learn where the group is heading next.

With the overtly religious tone of this comic, it might not be for everyone.  I'm just putting that out there right now.  However, if you can see beyond the very obvious social commentary then this might be something you want to pick up.  The group's actions certainly are done in a moral gray area.  They have guns, they threaten violence to the families of the corrupt and even set off a bomb.  At the same time, they expose corrupt leaders who are essentially stealing from people, then take this money and give it to charities.  This comic walks a very fine line, and it does so very well.  Pastor Tibbett is not at all likeable despite the fact that he is robbed.  He's a slick, fast talking evangelical pastor in charge of a super-church. 

Rahsan Ekedal does a great job with the art in this issues.  It's nothing fancy, but it's well done.  The showing of the congregation passing their money to the collection plate while singing praises is captured perfectly.  The church is well drawn and doesn't take your attention away from the characters.

The first issue of Tithe shows some real promise and does a great job of introducing us to the story.  It should be interesting to see where they take this story on future issues.

Like this review? Then pick up both The Tithe #1 and Variant #1 covers now!

Tithe #1 (Cover A - Ekedal) - $3.59
Retail Price: $3.99
You Save: $0.40

Tithe #1 (Cover B - Ekedal) - $3.59
Retail Price: $3.99
You Save: $0.40

Posted by: Jeff

Comic Book Day: March 25th

Jem and the Holograms #1

 

Thanks to PreviewsWorld.com here is list of comics out today! What will you be bringing home?

 

Here are our top picks for the week! pick up your copies below!

Batman Eternal #51 - $2.69 This month in BATMAN ETERNAL: The epic Bat-story over a year in the making comes to a stunning end!

Walking Dead #139 - $2.69 A new arc begins as our world gets even bigger.

Inhuman #13 - $3.59 Great jumping on point as all the threads in INHUMAN year one are woven together! The NuHumans are a valuable currency in the new world order and someone is working hard to control their destiny.

Tomb Raider #14 - $3.59 " Tomb Raider is the quintessential example of a reboot done right."-Gaming Trend The second issue in a new arc from the writer of the Tomb Raider 2013 video game-Rhianna Pratchett! Lara and her friends must leave London in order to save a friend's life from a mysterious organization! However, there is danger lurking in the shadows that threatens to destroy them all!

Deadpool #44 - $3.59 First: Deadpool let loose in an oil field! Then: Deadpool & Shiklah enter the Tomb of Scariness! Guest-starring Omega Red and damned dirty bamfers! Parental Advisory

Samurai Jack #17 - $3.59 Jack and the Thief team-up to discover the mysteries of the secretive man known only as the 'Master of Time.' Is this finally the way home for our solemn samurai?

Marvel Comics Now Deadpool Artfx+ Statue - $47.99 A KOTOBUKIYA Japanese import! Now that the Avengers lineup is complete, Kotobukiya is expanding its Marvel Now! ARTFX+ line to include other mainstream Marvel Comics characters. First up is one of the most popular comic book superheroes in the business, Wade Wilson aka DEADPOOL! Formerly a member of the Weapon X program, the 'Merc with a Mouth' is a longtime assassin for hire and independent agent who's worked alongside just about every superhero and villain from the Avengers to X-Force and everything in between. Now the fourth wall-breaker invades your house with a fantastic new ARTFX+ statue! Created in 1991 by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld, Deadpool has never looked back and continues to appear in more and more books with his unique style and nonstop witty repartee, not to mention his trademark costume and extensive armory! Wilson makes a stunning debut in the ARTFX+ series as he crouches in preparation for an attack, drawing one of his swords from the sheaths on his back. Deadpool naturally......

Southern Cross #1: Review

New from Image Comics this week is “Southern Cross.”  In the beginning, we find lead character Alex Braith traveling to the moon, Titan.  She is traveling aboard the Southern Cross in an attempt to bring back her dead sister, Amber.  So, immediately this series begins with a bit of a mystery.  We find out that Alex is the rebel and that her sister, Amber, is the good one.  Somewhat of a cliched storyline, but we'll run with it for now.  

This plot and storyline have certainly been told before and the question for this series becomes, how will the story be told?  Will the characters be fresh and pull you into the story? Unfortunately, that just doesn't happen here.  Alex isn't the most personable character and doesn't exactly interact well with the other characters that are introduced in this issue.  She's very stand-offish and cold. While you understand her desire to know what happened to her sister, there is nothing else that is you can relate to with her character. We do discover that she had some issues on Earth, but nothing is explained further.  It's like the writers drop a seed and seem to forget that it was mentioned.  The inner dialogue is dry and doesn't pull do anything to make you want to know more about the character, except to find out what happened to her sister, Amber.

Overall, the art is decent in this issue.  The drawing of the ship and the loading of the ship is impressive, those aspects really are well done. There are some other scenes with the Gravity Well that look pretty awesome as well. As a whole, the colors are VERY dark throughout the issue, but the coloring does match the general feeling and atmosphere of the issue. The storyline is dark and the colors reflect that well. There is a scene where Alex shuts her door on her neighbor and with the way the door is closing it looks like the neighbor should be pulling his arm through the door but the panel doesn't portray that very well.  Instead, it looks like he was just placed there and the scene was drawn around him.  Scenes like that add to the overall lack of emotion that permeates throughout this issue.

As a whole, I think that “Southern Cross” is a decent first issue that is off to a precarious start. I'm left wondering is whether or not future episodes will make this series a compelling read?

Posted by: Jeff @jeff201

The Dying & The Dead #1

I picked up “The Dying and The Dead” today at my local comic store.  The guy at the counter recommended it along with several others, so I picked this one up to see what it was all about.  Jonathan Hickman is the writer behind this new series. This issue contains 60 pages, though it certainly doesn't feel that long.  The story progresses quickly and provides the reader with enough information to always know what is happening.  

The issue starts out with a cryptic, violent wedding sequence and an inner dialogue about relationships.  The opening was done perfectly.  It was poignant and brought about just the right amount of violence without going too far.  After that we meet the protagonist of the story, the Colonel, a man who is watching his wife die from cancer.  The story gets interesting, and visually breathtaking, when we learns that the cancer is terminal and we are introduced to a representative of an ancient race.  The Colonel is is taken to The City, where this ancient race exists.  The City is incredibly impressive and the art in this particular part of the story is absolutely amazing.

There's nothing too deep about the story, but there is enough there to be thought provoking.  There is dialogue that covers the Abrahamic religions and older mythology.  Colonel's interaction with these beings is short and terse and they seem to speak to him in a condescending or dismissive tone.  They don't seem to hold back where the Colonel is concerned and even go so far as to offer him a way out.  One character, The Bishop, and the Colonel have met but we aren't privy to too much of their past interaction.  Bishop offers The Colonel a deal and with this offering, the future of the story begins.

Posted by: Jeff @jeff201