Added on April 22, 2013  Ryan Thomason  #15 , 7 , 7 percent , Adventure Time , Andrea Mutti

From the Comic Hold: Conan, Adventure Time, TMNT: Krang and 7%

Diversity, that is what was in my comic hold this last week. I picked up Conan the Barbarian #15, Adventure Time #15, TMNT Mini-Villians #1 (Krang) and 7% #2.

Spoilers Ahoy!

Conan the Barbarian #15, Dark Horse Comics

Conan find himself locked up in the fortress as Belit had him beat up to all hell and tossed in there for safe keeping. In this issue we get a little bit of background about how the father of Belit came to love her mother, her conception and then eventual being told to leave and never return.

So much for that.

Apparently her father is happy she’s back, and since she was first born, she gets that keys to the kingdom since her “older brother” born on the same night to the actual queen is dead.

Whatever, you want to know about Conan, right? We’ll you’re still seeing the softy side of Conan that is so devoted to his love for Belit that he actually put’s his life in her hands. It’s the touchy emotional stuff you don’t get out of the character much and it really gives him a more down to earth human feel. Since being a barbarian killing machine just isn’t enough these days. Eventually Conan is tossed out and left to die in an incoming sandstorm, a gift from Belit’s father. Sure beatings being killed on the spot.

Though, like all love stories, this one still hasn’t met it’s end, as Belit somes riding up to him after he is released. Most likely she slipped out against her fathers wishes, and we get Conan on both knee’s asking for her love and forgiveness.

Yeah, this isn’t the Conan you expect huh? But honestly, this is one of my favorite Conan stories so far. Brian Wood has been knocking the adaptation out of the park, and the art by Andrea Mutti gives us a slimmer Conan compared the last couple of issues, but very nice visual backgrounds that really appealed to me.

Adventure Time #15, Boom! Studios

Not so much a new arc, but more of a pre-story arc that is just basically an awesome jumping off point for the next issues. The princesses are having a big tea party of sorts. Wait, tonights (4/22/13) Episode of the Cartoon Network version of the show is called “Princess Potluck” similar, yes, but different in many ways.

Well, this comic version has Magic Man as the bad guy. A bad guy who gets so annoyed with Lumpy Space Princess that he tries to cast a spell on her to silence her. Finn and Jake, in heroic JakeSuit action intercept the spell and lose their ability to talk. THOUGH, they gain the ability to talk in very descriptive emoticons.

BMO approved winky emoticon style.

I had fun reading through the comic with Finn and Jake talking picture equations that make up the meaning of what they’re trying to say. For instance, a Magic Man head + a butt = :( , So they said Magic Man is a butt and that they’re sad. Really, this is just a fun issue to read and have some more weird fun.

Plus, it’s not very often that you get to see this many of the princesses all squished into one area and wonder at what exactly their kingdoms are like. Maybe I’m just the type that wants a giant map of Ooo and where all the kingdoms are carved out. Seriously, where would Skateboard Princess live? What is her kingdom like? Who/what do they rule over? Is anything better than the Candy Kingdom that Princess Bubblegum rules over? Is she the Princess of Princesses? Ok, I’m overthinking it all.

If you’ve been waiting for a jumping off point into the comics of Adventure Time, this is a great one to start on before the next Arc (next issue) starts a new batch of fun.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Villian Micro-series #1 (Krang) IDW Publishing

Ever wondered what made Krang tick? What made Krang the evil ruler/conqueror that he is today?

I learned some stuff about the Krang’s history that gives me a little more respect for what I always thought as an annoying sounding useless brain with weird tentacle arms that has to use a robot body to get around. Krang was once a spoiled youth of the empire that his father ruled over. His father disapproved of him, called him weak and useless, and honstly Krang never seemed to prove himself useful. That was until he decided to sneakily join a group of soldiers that was doing a sneak attack on a prison planet that had been taken over by one of the biggest enemies of the empire. The group is surprised when they get jumped themselves, everyone destroyed, except for Krang.

Now, this is where all of my youth of assuming the guy was useless gets turned on it’s head. He’s using his tentacle arms to sharpen spears, jumping out and killing rats for food, barely surviving a toxic swamp. Capturing then RIDING a giant lizard to kill the leader of the rebellion on the prison planet, and then taking the army as his own.

He’s a bit more than I ever imagined. For that, this issue is well worth the read. If you’ve ever wanted to start considering impressing your friends with your vast knowledge of the TMNT universe. (Seriously, who DOESN’T?) then you should start picking up these one shot Villains issues. Even if you’re like me and the only person you really have to impress is your 5 year old that is starting to get into TMNT Animated show on Nickelodeon. You can impress THEM, who doesn’t want to make their kids think that they’re the smartest dudes ever?

Seven% #2, Red5 Comics

Let me just start off by saying that Seven % is artistically one of my favorite comic books right now. I typically don’t care about art as long as the story is good, but damn, both story and art have been coming along beautifully so far. We’re starting to see how the leadership of Stone Corp, a giant corporation in The Union flexes it’s muscles in the pursuit of the Psion Machine that is buried along with the hidden city of SubTerra. The Psion machine actually releasing the symbiote that fully attaches with UNION Soldier 034 and does achieve 100% activation of the full potential of the human brain. This comes with a price though. Soldier 034 doesn’t much like being cut off from the Central Command, the full activation has essentially cut him off from something he’s had since birth.

What happens when for the first time in your life you’re not only clear of mind, but have gained powers that have elevated you to a state of being that nobody will ever be able to understand? You talk to a bird.

Ok, it’s a bit more than that but it’s just the start of what I think is a visually and mentally compelling story. Red5 isn’t a huge publisher by all means, you should just hop onto ComiXology and download the digital versions, it’s well worth the price for some pretty compelling Sci-Fi.