I for some reason have not been reading a lot of comics from Vault.  I do not have a defensible explanation why.  There are only two titles I'm actively pulling: Money Shot and Finger Guns..and based on what I've read today, at least one more Vault title is making the list!

After we meet some of the ordinary citizens, things descend into a large bath house where we meet some zodiac-themed beings (either gods or nobles; like Cancer, Capricorn and Leo) where they are on the verge of something ritualistic, which we don't get to see...and we finally discover the nature of the item our opening characters pulled from the rock...and it don't look good!

I'm intrigued enough by this title to add it to the pull list for a couple of issues.  I'm intrigued by what the zodiac characters have to do throughout all of this, in addition to how the discovered object will shake the village in the near future.

If you like science fiction stories, or stories with a great deal of Mythos, then Engineward should definitely be on your radar. The story gets more interesting with each little nugget we discover about the past, and there is some sort of unknown complexity to the relationship between the individuals of the village AND the zodiacs.

The art in this book is also quite excellent, as the action scenes have nuance, the environment around dialogue-heavy panels, and just the contrast of the dusty old village to the opluent house of the zodiacs really pops.

Preorders for this book close on the 22nd, so you should quickly reach out to your LCS to make sure you have a copy!

I don't know how many times I can start one of these posts with my usual "here's why I love indie comics" love letters.  But receiving an email from this book's creator asking for a review, made me feel something different.  I felt a sense of kinship with the author, very simply, from the "why he wrote this story" explanation at the bottom of his email.  He says "Having recently become a father, I wrote these stories intending to capture some important life lessons for my daughter when she's older."

That is one of the greatest reasons why you could write.  There's a hot discussion in the culinary world about whether or not you cook for yourself or the guest...and which answer is the best.  I've seen shallow versions of the same discussion in the comic community, but I think Ryan's motive behind creating this book and sharing with the world is a true combination of both.  I remember feeling the same way Ryan did when my first child was born after many difficulties to have a child, and then how I felt with my daughter born 10 weeks early, and then how I felt when my wife told me she was pregnant with our 3rd child (we didn't think we could have kids naturally...)

I'm prepared to die on a hill for my kids.  Each day there is a hard look in the mirror at all of my actions, where I find myself asking if I did everything not only to better their lives each day, but if I did something that would raise them to be an amazing human being in the future.

Aside from my "crying on the couch with Oprah" moment, I am really excited to talk about today's First Creation from Ryan Bis (and his team):

Curiosities #1 is six introductory character arcs, which all get woven together in an intriguing fashion when all is said and done.  All six of the stories are written by Ryan, with a different combination of artists on each one (thus the lengthy byline).  What happens in this book really works for the story it wants to tell.

Curiosities is set in the Hive, a large city of 12 districts that all have their own unique backstories.  This world almost feels cyberpunk-esque in terms of some of the high levels of technology on display (but lacks the body modification present in most cyberpunk takes). Each story focuses on one of six characters who will have some larger role to play in the future. 

You have a young man who can use crystals to put on magical displays of brilliant light (and has a sweet pet!). A woman recently terminated from her job debating whether or not she wants to see simulations of her life (imagine this is your life + total recall). A young artistic woman who is sick of her job. A young telepath who's fled a prison (but she didn't know it) and found more of her kind. A man who is attempting to pull all of the strings, and struggling to understand why everything doesn't go according to his plans, and a woman who is an inspector of sorts who isn't afraid to shoot whilst asking some questions.

How do these 6 divergent stories work together?  Ohboi that epilogue though!!!!! I'm really excited to see how it all shakes out!

This book does a lot of awesome things, THE ART is one of them!!!!!!!!!

While each artist sings in their own style, it feels like it was all drawn and colored by 1-2 people.  So the fact that a 68 page book with so many different hands on it felt so tight is amazing. What gets me are the massive cityscapes, I'm drawn in.  You can feel each of the character's plights, but you can also feel the storm brewing which will threaten the stability of the Hive!

I think this story has the ability to build into a 20-30 issue or more story to look at how each of these characters work alone or together to transform their fate.  I'm impressed with what I've seen, and I think you should definitely throw $3 bucks at this book and see if it sticks for you!  As soon as I push post, I'm going to spend the money on an on-demand print copy because I think it's that great!

I've reached out to Ryan about an interview, because I want to see where his ideas came from, and how he teamed up with the rest of the creative engines of this beautiful book!

As a history and government teacher, I love satire, I love books that get political, I love using them as ways to engage my students.  Even if the books take a strong position or bias in one direction or the other, it still creates a teachable moment.  Today's book (produced through an indiegogo campaign) offers a perfect vehicle for such a discussion.

It's one of the best satirical works since Bushisms!

2. I am loving the art in the book.  First, I love that Ronald Rump looks like the lovechild of Dennis the Menace and Richie Rich. 2. The cartoony-ness of this book makes it perfect to make Trump..I mean Rump look like a spoiled child throwing real fits (like 200 million folks coming to his party, and fart jokes). And the game show/reality show is a stroke of hilarious brilliance.

3. The satire is 100% on point, if you want to take the absurdity of the last several years in American Politics, and put it into a scope which would make it much more believable...this book encapsulates it perfectly down to every hamberderish detail.

Finally, to bookend the first point, the word search, scrumple, maze and ads in the back of the book makes it not just poignant satire, but embraces nostalgia perfectly.

I think this book has huge potential to make a splash.  I'm someone who reads books featuring Constantine on and off again, but he's too big of a fuckup drunk for me to stay in on it all.  This book will definitely fill my void for a mystical detective.  I think the little bits of backstory we get is enthralling and I want to know what the disease is and whoever the F the creepy dudes at the end are.

This is probably the most drawn I've been into a story from a number one across the last year.  The art is hot!  From the grittiness of someone hunting their subjects into the night, to magic, to plagues to the grotesqueness discovered after the gym, is all intriguing as hell!

I will be pulling this book and definitely throwing it to the top of the stack each time it comes out.  We need more witch detectives!

The term dryfoot, has a two simple dictionary definitions: one with dry feet or the bottom of a piece of pottery unglazed.  But when I see the phrase, I think of a law from 1966 known as the Cuban Adjustment Act.  The Cuban Adjustment Act becomes more commonly known as the "wet foot, dry foot" policy.  This policy was specifically created for refugees from Cuba, for if they took the 90 mile oceanic voyage, as long as they had one foot reach dry land (one wet foot, one dry foot) they would be granted amnesty/refugee status.  This policy explains the massive influx Cuban immigrants into and around Miami in the 70's and 80s.

As we get to meet the four teens who don the cover, they are in the midst of a heated conversation at the batting cages, where we learn both who they are (Mariana, Angel, Diego, Fabian) and some small facts about each of them (seriously, wtf can Angel find redeeming about the ET Atari game?).  Where they eventually sit to discuss their plan to rob a drug lord (the man from the opening panels) and leave Little Havana for good.  As they begin discussing the specifics, someone come's to fight Fabian, because he was "flirting with his girl" and what breaks out is the classic 80's brawl vs the bully in an exciting action sequence.

The fight breaks up, and the teens scurry home still communicating the only way they could. WITH THE WORLDS LARGEST WALKIE-TALKIES. From there, is where we start to hear their true plan to take down the kingpin...but to get the in's on their scheme, you need to pick up Dryfoot #1​.

I enjoyed this book for so many reasons:

1. The story is a fun ride.  This feels like the opening 15 minutes of every 80's movie I've ever loved, but this is one I've never seen before. It does a good job swiftly introducing you to the major players in the story without bludgeoning you to death with backstory.  I also like that it introduces the robbery quickly because it gets you wondering how they are going to pull it off instead of letting it linger across three books and we wonder what they are eventually going to do.

2. The art!  For as much as the story screams 1980's Miami, it would not be successfully conveyed without the bang-up job both the artist and the colorist provide.  It feels like every image I've seen of that period.  They take the aesthetic of Miami Vice and shape it in their own direction.  One thing they do exceedingly well is showing some of the pain and/or frustrations each of the characters are feeling when they return home. Everything about the art team's stylings pops for me!

3. Can I get a shout-out for the letterer? Each touch feels golden, from the narrator's dialogue boxes, to the radio chatter, to regular dialogue, to the subtle shift between the English and Spanish typesettings, all was great! (and I feel like letterers do not get enough love!).

As I have noted in previous reviews, I really think Mad Cave Studios is bringing the heat with unique storytelling, dazzling art, and books that are really catered to their readers.  Dryfoot is the debut offering from 2019 Mad Cave Talent Search Winners in Lujan and Caicedo and from what their first offering provides, it is now easy to understand why they were among the winners!