Code Monkeys Save World #1- "...I Will Get Our Savior."

After a smashing success on Kickstarter, Code Monkeys Save World debuts this week to the world. Based on the songs of Jonathan Coulton, writer Greg Pak and artist Takeshi Miyazawa deliver an action packed(no pun intended but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t laugh when I wrote that) tale of talking monkeys, evil geniuses, and invading robot aliens.

Charles is your everyday monkey trying to get through his 9 to 5 job and find love when alien robot invade to enslave members of the human race. I’ve been waiting for this comic for a while but unfortunately missed the Kickstarter deadline. This was definitely worth the wait. Pak brings a lot of comedic yet frustrating moments showing Charlie trying to go about life while people never let him forget he’s a monkey. We’ve all been through those days where it just goes on and on and while we try to get things done we just want the day end. That’s where Pak succeeds. He makes the main character 100% relatable even though he is a monkey.

Miyazawa does a fantastic job at drawing a character that you forget is human and don’t mind that you did. The expressions are spot on and never fall flat. His strongest moment comes during a sequence involving this Code Monkey doing what he does best to find the woman of his dreams. There was one thing that didn’t sit right with the coloring. The character Matilde seems to stand out in every panel she’s portrayed and doesn’t seem to mesh with her surroundings. But it’s a minor thing that has no effect on the quality of the book itself.

This is simply comics done right. It’s a simple premise with great execution. If you aren’t reading this, do yourself a favor and buy this issue.

Last Line...8.6/10

Superman/Wonder Woman #1- "We Have Nothing But Time."

Charles Soule, continuing on his quest to write every comic, and Tony S. Daniel, fresh off his arc on Action Comics, team up to tell this story of two of the world’s most powerful people trying to make things work in secret.

It’s been over a year since Superman and Wonder Woman met with the kiss heard ‘round the world and started a controversial relationship. Since then there have been less than a handful of issues actually dealing with that relationship. We’ve been told about their relationship and the effect it could have on the world, but we’ve yet to actually see any of it in action. Superman/Wonder Woman is the beginning of the first full attempt to show us these two characters belong with each other.

A book of this nature is a bit trickier than your run of the mill team book, such as Justice League. Focus isn’t shifted from one person to the other over the course of an issue, or even an arc. These two larger than life characters demand equal focus and time. Charles Soule manages to accomplish this well by splitting the issue into two very different sequences. One sees the action and all of its godlike feats, while the other seems smaller and intimate. In that latter setting, Soule shows the concern and respect for each other.

Tony S. Daniel does an outstanding job at showing off the strength and abilities of these characters in the action sequences. However, some of the quieter moments don’t fare at well. Some of the more subtle facial expressions that should be there, especially in a few tender exchanges between Diana and Clark, are missing.

Superman/Wonder Woman #1 is a great first issue that takes DC’s power couple and elaborates on their relationship in a way sure to win over ever the biggest of naysayers in the issues to come.

Last Line…8.1/10