Sirk TV Comic Review: IDW Advance Previews [10-16-18]

The aspect of perception and how one sees characters can both inform and influence the idea of how they act or seem to persist in any given situation. The tendencies within these 4 comics below progress distinctly because of the ideas that came before them, both effective and bridged gaps....Star Wars Adventures - Tales From Vader's Castle #3 - Beware The Briar Witch With the tale of the young Han Solo on another smuggle gone wrong, the tone is exactly right. Unlike "Solo" [the film] which jumped in tone between the drama and the humor (getting some of it right along the way), this filters in this story more like Seth Green's "Star Wars- Detours" which was scrapped after the Lucasfilm acquisition by Disney. Granted this is just a story within the overall siege the rebels make on Vader's castle on Mustafar. But the Briar Patch intention, even in its ode to "Song Of The South", shows the idea of be wary of that which seems too good to be true. The essence of Chewbacca seems really emotive in the art here because it is slightly stretched and skewed. "Beware The Briar Patch" is a tale of warning created against a large backdrop but a cool side story nonetheless.Ghostbusters - Crossing Over #7 The melding of the different incarnations of the Ghostbusters within several inter dimensional rifts actually is less chaotic than one might think. The idea of new recruits shepherded by the original team but also the team being perceived in different times and dimensions including The Real Ghostbusters is quite interesting. Watching a Janine character who is more brazen and less cautious interacting with Ray Stanz from a certain time period does create an interesting perspective. The different ghosts and the sarcastic tone as usual seems to come through. The continuing interaction with Death and the idea in the fact that he can't be captured as it will create a bottleneck is an interesting concept but there is a fate for us all.TMNT - Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 Like the launch of the new animated series on Nickelodeon, this iteration takes a different approach. Since Splinter is not yet seen in this episode, the appearance of Man Bun, a pet store owner turned mutant sent by Maxum, the puppet master, to test the turtles makes sense and the art is fluid and furious in its chaotic nature. Like the series, April O'Neill provides a sense of groundedness as a darker evil lurks below the surface but as it is just the first issue, the bigger texture of its mythology within the Rise has yet to make itself known.Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #87 The storyline with this volume seems like one ,ore of war and the gritty colors in red and brown reflect this. The Turtles are out in the open and working with other mutants with a sense of purpose. They have become soldiers and are grown up in the truest sense of the word. There are still their idiosyncrasies but these turtles are more sure which makes their actions seem that much more intense and viable. The Krang are still the Krang but much more methodical in their focus and infighting adds a new dynamic to it even though the battle seems like it might be lost.

By Tim Wassberg