Gef Fox's Top 5 comics of 2013

My Fave Five Comic Books of 2013

Gef Fox

Wag The Fox

Ever since Katie and Sharon invited me to review comic books for I Smell Sheep, I've been having a blast doing something that I just never had the chance to do when I was a boy: read comic books!

It's like I'm making up for lost time. And it's nice to live in a century where a thirty-something fella can read a comic book without having scorn heaped upon him. I get enough of that for reading horror novels, anyway.

Okay, so to be clear, the vast majority of comics I have read this year were published by Image and Dark Horse, though I have had the chance to read some promising titles from publishers like Valiant, Top Cow, Zenescope, and others, so please don't take this as any kind of definitive list or anything. It's just me cheer-leading the books I managed to read. So, here we go.

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#5 Kiss Me, Satan by Victor Gischler (Dark Horse) - This series was custom-made for me, it feels like, because it is an amped-up urban fantasy that makes no apologies for how entrenched in the genre it is. I can only imagine the fiendish glee Victor Gischler and Juan Ferreyra take with putting the story on the page. It's only three issues into the five-part series as I write this, but it's already a standout for me.
Gef's reviews of Kiss Me, Satan

#4 Fatale by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image) - I'm late to this series, but what I've read has been a delight to a devilish degree. The overtly melodramatic noir is so well-suited to the medium, I'm surprised. I would go bonkers if there was a TV or film adaptation of this series, but I have to wonder how a general audience would react when the allusions to supernatural elements rear up at certain points. Bah, screw adaptations--the comic book is superb.
Gef's reviews: Fatale

#3 X by Duane Swierczynski and Erin Nguyen (Dark Horse) - I'm already a fan of Swierczynski's novels, so when I caught word he also wrote for comic books and he had a new series coming out, I just had to check it out. I'm glad I did, too. The hyper-violent revenge thriller is at times so over the top, I feel like I should be repulsed, but there is just enough humanity injected into the story that I am simply captivated.
Gef's reviews: X

#2 Skullkickers by Jim Zub and Edwin Huang (Image) - I think it was Skullkickers #19 that first introduced me to the irreverent humor of Jim Zub. This series has been one of the most genuinely hilarious comic book series I've ever read. Heck, one of the funniest book series, period. If you enjoy fantasy adventure with drunken dwarves, you're gonna love this series.
Gef's reviews: Skullkickers

#1 Ten Grand by J. Michael Straczynski, Ben Templesmith, & C.P. Smith (Image) - I like my urban fantasy gritty, and Ten Grand might be the grittiest. Up until very recently, it was illustrated by the incomparable Ben Templesmith, whose artwork such a bleak and mesmerizing portrayal of this universe. Now, the helm has been passed to C.P. Smith, just as the main character ventures into Hell to save his lady love, which has been a bit of serendipity, offering a refreshing twist on the visual tone of the story. Straczynski's writing remains unchanged, meaning brilliant. I am hard-pressed to imagine a series that could impress me more.
Gef's reviews of Ten Grand

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And there you have it. I'm sure other lists of this sort look entirely different, but I'm going with my gut and basically putting my personal tastes in comics on display here. Aside from Batman and the occasional X-Men comic, I don't get wrapped up in the superhero genres. I have been far more drawn towards the books that work to tell stories a little more grounded, yet just as fantastical.

So, what are your favorite comic books from this past year? What have I been missing out on and need to hunt down once it's out in trade form?

Comic Review: Before Skullkickers (Skullkickers #24)

Before Skullkickers (Skullkickers #24)
Story By: Ron Marz
Story By: Todd Dezago
Story By: Jim Zubkavich
Art By: Lee Moder
Art By: Stjepan Sejic
Cover By: Edwin Huang
Cover By: Jim Zubkavich
Image Comics

Price: $3.50
Diamond ID: JUN130461
Published: August 28, 2013

Before Skullkickers: A return to our classic legacy numbering just in time for a new set of Tavern Tales! Four short stories by top flight talent detailing the earlier adventures of our heroes.- See more


Skullkickers keeps up the satire with its latest issue, this time with some Watchmen-inspired cover art and four short stories that have fun with the origin story and the prequel. There are four stories, each penned by a different writer, and each given a unique art style by different artists.

"Elvish Graces" kicks things off with a young Kusia in training, learning the ways of assassins from a tyrannical instructor. by Ron Marz and Stjepan Sejic. The humor remains, but the change in artwork here really offered a more classical feel to the heroic style of the story and setting.

"Dagnabbit T' Hell" by Adam Warren and Remy Mokhtar offered a more visually familiar, with a foul-mouthed gunslinger fending off a devilishly determined wildcat that appears hellbent on devouring him one article of clothing at a time.


After that there's "Choose Your Partner" by Todd Dezago and Jeff Cruz. A bit of an anime vibe--manga, I suppose, since this is a comic book after all--and a pub setting with Rex chatting up a lass while his Dwarfen sidekick rumbles with the rest of the patrons. Cute, violent, and funny. Not a bad combination.


"Dimensional Theory 101" has series co-creator Jim Zub and artist, Lar Desouza, teaming up with a classroom oratory from the tentacled menace himself, Thool. Or is it herself. Itself, let's go with itself. Anyway, the only really interesting bit from this story was a bit of a teaser for the next story arc.

Skullkickers #24 is a fun distraction while waiting for the next adventure to kick off. Nothing that measures up as a must-read, but any fan of the series will not dare pass up reading it, and newcomers could certainly find themselves drawn to the series by checking this one out, too.

review: Skullkickers #23review: The Mighty Skullkickers #1 (Skullkickers #21)
Review: Savage Skullkickers #1 (Skullkickers #20)
4 Sheep

Gef Fox

Wag The Fox: a den for dark fiction

Comic Review: Skullkickers #23 (Dark Skullkickers #1) by Jim Zub

Skullkickers #23: (Dark Skullkickers Dark #1)
Story By: Jim Zubkavich
Art By: Edwin Huang
Art By: Jim ZubkavichImage Comics
Price: $3.50
Diamond ID: APR130431
Published: July 3, 2013

Yup, we're beating this re-re-re-re-boot dead horse one... more... time. DARK SKULLKICKERS DARK - it's the comic the industry needs, it just doesn't know it yet! Our fourth story arc ends and darkness begins! Secrets are revealed, continuity is poked and, of course, violence is unleashed. For die-hard collectors keeping up with our old sequential numbering, no problem! Our B cover legacy variant is a classic issue twenty-three.

I missed Skullkickers #22, and as such got a little bit lost at the start of Skullkickers #23. I can only assume it was similarly awesome, or I managed to avoid the lone stinker since I started reading the series.

Either way, Rex and Kusa find themselves reunited with the Dwarf at the top of the mountain. Now, I'm not too sure what they were expecting to find after slogging and slugging there way past all kinds of nasty obstacles, but I'm pretty sure a saloon full of drunken revelers was fairly low on the list. And yet that's precisely where they wind up.

Considering the irreverent nature of Skullkickers, I shouldn't be surprised, but surprises is what Jim Zub specializes in. And Edwin Huang's specialty remains his electric illustrations. Each issue features characters and settings that leap off the page, aided by colors from Misty Coates and Ross Campbell that ought to be the envy of every Saturday morning cartoon.

The climax of "Eighty Eyes on an Evil Island" sees a barroom brawl as window dressing around an existential conversation between Kusa and the elfin narrator of this whole story. As for how it all wraps up and leads into the next story arc, well you'll just have to read it to believe it. Just when I think I have things figured out, cue the swerve and we're off in a wild new direction.

If you haven't checked out Skullkickers yet, it looks like the next issue might be a great place to start. If you can track down the back issues of his series though, all the better.

4 and 1/2 Sheep

Guest Reviewer: Gef Fox

Wag The Fox: Den for Dark Fiction

Comic Review: The Mighty Skullkickers #1 (Skullkickers #21) by Jim Zub

The Mighty Skullkickers #1 (Skullkickers #21)
cover A
Story by: Jim Zubkavich

Art By: Edwin Huang

Cover By: Edwin Huang & Jim Zubkavich

Variant Cover by: Chris Stevens
Price: $3.50

Diamond ID: FEB130409

On Sale: April 24, 2013

Series: Skullkickers

Image Comics

MIGHTY SKULLKICKERS: A classic relaunch that blazes a new trail with familiar fan favorite sensibilities. A bold, new direction, a continuing story and a brand new adjective! Our twenty-first issue is brand a new #1! Our B cover is a variant with the original numbering, in case readers want their issue super-duper "old school."

Rex and Kusia have made peace with the tribe of talking apes that were ready to stop their skulls like melons in the last issue. But Rex had to prove his worthiness by passing the test inside the Pool of Great Reflection. Kusia got a free pass, because apparently elves are already in the apes' good books. So, Rex winds up having to duke it out with his doppleganger down in the pool, which comes with its own unique challenges, and ultimately Rex walking away with "Double guns, Baby!"

Meanwhile, their dwarf comrade in arms has finally washed up on shore looking a little green around the gills. On the bright side, at least he doesn't have gills, though the glowing red eyes are a new accessory since getting expelled from Hell.

Cover B

A little less action, but even more humor, is what comprises this Skullkickers issue. And it looks like Rex and Kusia have an army of apes to back them up in their impending battle with Thool. But hard to say how the dwarf fits into the picture, as he has a headstart over them in getting to the fortress that lies at the center of the tropical island of doom.

The least engaging issue for me so far, but considering how phenomenal the previous issues were, the bar is set incredibly high and this is still a darned good book to keep fans of the series salivating for more. And the artistic reference material included at the back of the issue was equally comical. Eagerly anticipating Secret Skullkickers #1 (Skullkickers #22).

4 Sheep

Guest Reviewer: Gef Fox

Wag The Fox: a den for dark fiction

Comic Review: Savage Skullkickers #1 (Skullkickers #20)

Savage Skullkickers #1 by Jim Zub (Skullkickers #20) 
Story by: Jim Zubkavich

Art By: Edwin Huang

Cover By: Edwin Huang & Jim Zubkavich

Variant Cover by: Chris Stevens
Price: $3.50

Diamond ID: JAN130477

On Sale: March 27, 2013

Series: Skullkickers
Image Comics

SAVAGE SKULLKICKERS: a modern reinterpretation that gets back to the roots of these timeless characters. It's a bold new direction, a continuing story and a newly added adjective! Our twentieth issue is brand a new #1! Welcome to comic math.

"Eighty Eyes on an Evil Island: Part Two" picks up where the last issue of Skullkickers left off: with a ginger-haired dwarf plummeting into a hill of bones. No, wait, that's not right.

Rex and Kusia were attacked by sword-wielding gorillas. Yeah, that's right. Rolf the Dwarf from floating ass-up in the ocean for all of the last issue. Apparently drowned, he wound up in the underworld, naked and sober (only one of which bothered him). So while Rex and Kusia get their butts whooped by talking primates, Rolf rides the River Styx to the gates of Hell to face judgment. Unfazed--and still undressed--Rolf takes it all in stride, even when an old foe from earlier in the series shows up with unfinished business.

Zub's sense of humor is such a switch from the usual fare I've read, especially in comic books lately, and it blends really well with the high adventure aspect of the story. I'm not sure if I'd be keen on reading a no-nonsense version of this series, so the satirical and slapstick aspects are really appreciated.

The twists and cliffhangers in the book are accomplished to great effect too, with artwork that jumps off each page, particularly the ape encounters that send Rex on a test of skills that end the issue.

I'm instantly in love with this series, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

5 Sheep

Guest Reviewer: Gef Fox

Wag The Fox: a den for dark fiction