Episode 233: Reviews of Afar, Underwinter #1, and Helena Crash #1 - a podcast by Stergios Botzakis & Derek Royal

This week Andy and Derek check out three recent titles for listeners with divergent, yet discerning, tastes. They begin with Leila Del Duca and Kit Seaton's Afar, an original graphic novel coming out next week from Image Comics. Both of the guys enjoyed the story, although Derek feels that the narration is unbalanced. It's almost as if the creators hadn't ultimately decided where to take their fantasy or which character's perspective they wanted to privilege. Andy feels that this "incompleteness" may be due to future plans for the story, that this may be the first installment in a series of graphic novels.

Next, the Two Guys turn to the first issue in the latest series from Ray Fawkes, Underwinter (Image Comics). While the creator's art style here is reminiscent of his earlier miniseries, Intersect, the storytelling is more immediate and accessible. In what purports to be an ongoing horror series, this first issue of the initial arc does everything that it needs to do and nicely sets the stage for what's to come. Both guys are impressed!

Finally, Derek and Andy strike a lighter note with Fabian Rangel Jr and Warwick Johnson Cadwell's Helena Crash #1 (IDW Publishing). This is a fun story, a futuristic tale in some unspecified world where coffee is illegal. The title character is a smuggler of the banned java, and her fearless, caffeinated attitude, along with the luchador crime boss she freelances for, makes for some wacky reading.

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