This week the Wednesday Comics Reviews team tackles an eclectic bunch of releases, ranging from the finale to Summer Shadows, to the latest entry in The Horizon Experiment, Finders // Keepers, and more! Warning: there may be spoilers.

Are you a weekly comics sicko? You’ve come to the right place. This is where The Beat’s review team writes about the new #1s, finales, and other notable issues out in shops from non-Big 2 publishers…enjoy!


The Horizon Experiment – Finders // Keepers #1

Writer: Vita Ayala
Artist: Skylar Patridge
Colorist: Jason Wordie
Letterer & Designer: Becca Carey
Publisher: Image Comics

Review by Khalid Johnson

Writer Vita Ayala and the rest of the creative team flip the action-adventure genre and archetypes of Indiana Jones and Lara Croft on their heads with The Horizon Experiment – Finders Keepers #1, which features art by Skylar Patridge, colors by Jason Wordie and letters by Becca Carey.

“That belongs in a museum.” A famous quote indicative of a disastrous philosophy and centuries of colonialism and plunder that have seen graves defiled, cultural artifacts stolen and atrocities committed. To the credit of the most recent video game installment of Tomb Raider (Shadow of the Tomb Raider), there is an honest attempt to reconcile cultural responsibility with Lara Croft, and as storytelling in the mainstream continues to expand itself to the perspectives of those historically disadvantaged or overlooked, we will continue to move the bar to make room for justice and responsibility with how history is constructed and told, and in the stories that we create. I believe these stories will help us chart paths to a better future, no matter how dire the odds.

Finders // Keepers, a one-shot part of Image Comics’ Horizon Experiment, sits earnestly with that reality, and challenges it and the institutions that reinforce it. Our protagonist Ines, who wants recognition for her brilliance and discovery, finds herself and her Puerto Rican identity at odds with the museum work that she has toiled so hard to do, leaving home in the pursuit of what feels like her destiny. We’re given room to engage with how these institutions can serve to crush revolutionary spirit and absorb resources and identity in the monotony of these systems until something ignites that fire again.

This is such an interesting angle to connect to because it’s so real and tangible — frankly this entire one-shot is. The ignition for Ines is an artifact connected to her culture and heritage, one that Ayala invented for this story instead of mining Puerto Rican culture for an existent artifact. This care is throughout the story and pulses through its heart and is a testament to how close they feel to the story they’re telling. Partridge’s art with Wordie’s colors and Carey’s lettering is the pulse that makes the heart beat here; vibrant colors, breathtaking two-page spreads, moving us through chase sequences and trippy, fantastical visuals in the climax, make this whole issue come alive.

I love how the issue introduces breaks in presentation to give us Ines’ notes and information gathering in formats that play with the storytelling and drew me further into the world that was being crafted. What the team leaves us with is a tight one-shot that moves across different points in Ines’ life until we conclude with a hero who serves as the inverse of the action-adventure heroes that precede her.


Howl #1

Writer: Alisa Kwitney
Art: Mauricet
Letters: Rob Steen
(Text stories ‘Gently Down the Stream’ written by Kirk Vanderbeek with illustration by Carol Lay, ‘Life on Mars’ by Bryce Ingman with illustration by Ameilee Sullivan)
Publisher: AHOY Comics

Review by Clyde Hall

With all the New Year ballyhoo firmly in the rearview, we can be forgiven for putting cynical suits of armor back on and stepping skeptically toward 2025 ‘firsts’. First comic book review of the year, for example. But allow me to wish for you the kind of First Comic of 2025 experience that writer Alisa Kwitney and illustrator Mauricet brought with Howl #1. 

Good comics always find ways of capturing real world truths and observations, from the sublime to the satirical, between their page gutters. Great comics do the same, but deeper and more personally, peeling back layers which resonate your own experiences. That may seem like a lot of credit given to a science fiction/horror/humor title, but in this case, it’s earned. 

Kwitney invests a lot of her own personal history in the tale of Ziva Rodblatt, her paramour science fiction writer Bert Jeckley, and their bohemian associates in Greenwich Village circa 1959 (see this piece: HOWL is bohemian sci-fi based on real life parents in AHOY’s latest comic). Being of Kwitney’s generation, I found the humor and the nuances in the character interactions genuine. Genuine enough to rekindle the countercultural revolution era comprising my childhood and the circles my parents travelled in during those years. 

The story also involves an alien invasion B-movie scenario echoing childhood weekends watching cheesy black-and-white films on the Monster Horror Chiller Theaters of local TV affiliates. Just as the Outer Limits narrator once demonstrated, such outside forces can take control of both the vertical and the horizontal, probably also the military industrial complex and the workers in both blue and white collars. But this time, the invaders are focused on a different target. After all, the most challenging part of conquest would be dominating the rebellious free thinkers, poets, and dreamers just coming into their own during the late 1950s and early 1960s. If they can overcome and understand this portion of the herd, surely the rest of humankind will be a breeze! 

Fortunately, Ziva and a few others notice changes which begin as the first extraterrestrial infections take hold. Unfortunately, their warnings are ignored based on gender, social standing, and their general nonconformity in a period when being different was both peer group and Un-American Activities Committee punishable. How well Kwitney sets this tone was reflected in my initial take that the elements are a mixture of multiple Invasion of the Body Snatchers: The McCarthy-era setting of the 1956 film, hitched with the social insight of its 1978 remake. 

In interviews, Kwitney also credits The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel approach she took with the material and a spirit of collaboration the medium provides between all members of the creative team. The illustrations of Belgian artist Mauricet are pitch-perfection and as siren song compelling as “Let’s All Go to the Lobby!” matinee animations. His facial expression captures, sci-fi pulp covers, self-help paperbacks, and  home and workplace trappings of the time are flawless. 

Nostalgic? On one level, sure. But also with wry, cutting commentary regarding ills of the era from protagonists poised to call it out in the decade to come. If the aliens think they’ll have things all sewn up by overcoming the bohemian and beatnik leaders of the movement, Ziva will prove that our would-be E.T. overlords share the Terran mycelial tendency to be unenlightened. 

Howl #1 is a comic launch that would have made both Roger Corman and Carson McCullers smile, the former delightedly and the latter soulfully. With companion short fiction sci-fi/humor pieces by Kirk Vanderbeek, Carol Lay, Bryce Ingman, and Ameilee Sullivan, this is a an irreverent AHOY firecracker of a book. It sets my expectations high for another comics year, one that I hope includes more reads as smart and skillfully accomplished as this one.


Summer ShadowsSummer Shadows #4

Writer: John Harris Dunning
Artist: Ricardo Cabral
Colorist: Brad Simpson
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Review by Jared Bird

The dark and sensual Summer Shadows reaches its conclusion this week, after three issues of sinister and simmering tension. Nick, firm in his resolve, is pushed to help Anthony no matter what, and after an invitation to a private island he will have to face his fears.

The story of Summer Shadows comes to a satisfying conclusion here. It might not be as visceral as those wanting a gore-filled, bloodbath conclusion would want, but it instead goes for a more emotive ending that really hones in on the series’ themes. That’s not to say there’s no gore or violence, because there is and it hits incredibly hard when it happens. It is a story about vampires after all, so there will always be blood. The ending is conclusive enough that it feels satisfying, but it also leaves some ambiguity – and it’s going to leave you thinking about it for a while.

The writing by John Harris Dunning is great, as it has been for the whole series. He’s got a great sense for writing a good, impactful narrative voice that feels literary but unpretentious. His dialogue is sharp and characters have their own distinct speaking styles. His plotting might come off as slow, but I prefer to see it as deliberate – he’s building tension and letting it simmer, leaving it to linger in your mind as it goes on. It’s a very unique take on horror for comics, which usually try to go for more fast paced, thrill based stories, and it’s refreshing.

Ricardo Cabral’s artwork continues to be one of the biggest strengths of Summer Shadows. With excellent color work from Brad Simpson, Cabral consistently creates a visual feast for the eyes. His character and expression work is consistently fantastic, but he really shines at creating a compelling atmosphere. There is an intense dread that radiates from the scarier moments of this series, which are often when Cabral is allowed to flex his artistic muscles and create some truly unsettling images without much dialogue or narration. It’s an excellent showing from Cabral, who may not necessarily be known for his horror work – which is a shame, because he’s incredible at it.

Overall, Summer Shadows comes to a strong conclusion, with the same mysterious and thrilling atmosphere that has cloaked the whole series up until this point. Those expecting a more explosive ending might be disappointed, but instead Summer Shadows goes for something more subtle and far more emotionally riveting. John Harris Dunning continues to carve out a style of horror unique for himself in the comics scene, and Ricardo Cabral continues to impress with stylish, atmospheric artwork that can perfectly adapt to the story he’s trying to tell. If you have yet to check out the series, you absolutely should. Reading comics about vampires will never hurt you, after all.


Rapid Wednesday Comics Reviews

  • Nights #12 (Image Comics): I’ll be honest here — the first issue of Nights left me cold when I read it upon release (back in October of 2023). It felt to me like an over-stuffed series struggling to fit too much in without letting readers know what it wanted to be about. However, after seeing some strong chatter about the full run of the book over the holiday break, I decided to give it a second look — and I’m really glad I did. Nights is an eclectic book that does sort of over-stuff it’s issues, but it has an inherent energy to it that rewards anyone who is game for some comics maximalism. It’s a good series, and this week’s extra-sized Nights #12, the second arc finale, is its best issue yet, upending the status quo and fully giving readers a comic where something happens. If you’ve read this book from the start, good on you! I think you probably loved this finale. If you skipped out on it early like me, you’d be well served to give it another look. —Zack Quaintance
  • Star Trek: Lower Decks #3 (IDW Publishing): The next issue in the ongoing Star Trek: Lower Decks run is once again written by Ryan North, but this time, it features art by Jack Lawrence and colors by Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way alum Charlie Kirchoff. Meanwhile Clayton Cowles continues to do an excellent job lettering the series, as does Johanna Nattalie on the design & production. In issue three, “Natura Abhorret” (I get it), the U.S.S. Cerritos undertakes the first part of an adventure involving several previously-unmentioned planets. The sci-fi conflict the crew faces is an exceedingly interesting one, based on the principle of false vacuum (oh, now I get it). While the conflict does seem a little “upper decks” considering the possible scale of the consequences, I’m willing to overlook that because it was such an interesting narrative catalyst. I am a little confused about when the story occurs. The issue’s stardate and Boimler’s lack of facial hair seem to place it before Season 5. However the presence of Tendi and dialogue referencing “Dos Cerritos” seems to suggest it is set during Season 5. But maybe that’s just the magic of stardates? The brief glimpse we get of Clarew is fantastic, and I loved the Starfleet-branded meals our heroes enjoy in the ship’s cafeteria. I also enjoyed the meaty roles given to Rutherford, Tendi and T’Lyn. Plus, North continues to include some hilarious and obscure Franchise references (buckle up, fellow Star Trek VI devotees). As usual, my biggest complaint about this issue is the lack of back matter… there’s just so much untapped potential there! Give me more Cerritos food replicator adverts, I’m begging you! But overall, this series continues to be a salve for those of us still smarting from the all-too-early conclusion of the animated series. Avery Kaplan
  • You Won’t Feel a Thing #1 (DSTLRY): Scott Snyder and Jock reunite for a new DSTLRY book this week that is among the bleakest comics I’ve read in a good while. It’s a cat and mouse serial killer story, only the main character who is chasing the murderer is dealing with unreliable head space. He’s a seasoned investigator who is old now, in an assistant living facility and experiencing a brain tumor. He’s grappling with his memories of a case he could never solve — hell, he couldn’t even prove the serial killer was real the way he believe him to be — going in and out of reality. Our inciting incident here is when the killer suddenly strikes again, proving he wasn’t just some drifter. The artwork is as cold and icy as the concept (except for one pretty memorable sequence). It all adds up to an appropriate January release for those who want to lean into this difficult time of year, like a new season of True Detective, where the theme is age comes for us all and there isn’t as much banter. Rounding out the creative team here we have pencil assists by Dom Reardon, colors by Lee Loughridge (with Jock), and letters by Andworld Design. —Zack Quaintance

The Prog Report

  • 2000AD 2415 (Rebellion Publishing): There are on occasion validating moments reading The Prog week-to-week, moments that remind me why I enjoy doing this, and one came this week on the first page, wherein a character explained how he lost his arm: “Oh, an undead skeleton judge from another dimension grabbed it and it decayed and fell off.” Just a perfect mix of humor, self-awareness, and reverence to past continuity. This was in Judge Dredd: Soft, by writers Rob Williams and Arthur Wyatt, artist Jake Lynch, colorist Jim Boswell, and letterer Annie Parkhouse. But that line was just a nice bit of opening levity in what was otherwise a very tense and very good story, moving ahead the ongoing fallout from A Better World. I’ve written about it before, but I’m digging this one. Meanwhile, Fiends of the Western Front remains excellent, and I promise I will write about it here soon (almost certainly next week). This week’s cover (above) is by Cliff Robinson and Dylan Teague. As always, you can pick up a digital copy of The Prog here. —Zack Quaintance

Read more entries in the weekly Wednesday Comics reviews series!

Next week the Wednesday Comics review crew tackles a new Wizard of Oz-related comic, the finale of Tom Scioli’s Godzilla Monsterpiece Theatre, and more!