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A review by kittykult
Amazing Forest by Erick Freitas, Ulises Farinas
4.0
Amazing Forest is a rerelease of a sci-fi comic anthology of the same name from 2013. The story order has changed, but everything else appears to remain the same. It appears that The Katzenjammer Virus and Cowboxing are the only two which were not published in the original comic run. Each of the pieces contains unique art and a bizarre short story. My favorites include Ronnie the Robot, Tank, Van Dark, Fishbone, Edith and the Murder Bot, and the Wish Goblin, but many of the stories are interesting and fun.
1. Tank - 4/5, story about a virus and the survivors who suffer from the worlds it has destroyed and then created. I really enjoyed the art style.
2. Wolf Mother - 3/5, good story about motherhood, with an interesting twist.
3. Ronnie the Robot - 5/5, touching story about a soldier trapped in a mecha suit who returns home to his family.
4. Bird Watcher - 2/5, a birdwatcher happens to discover a bird that looks a little bit like himself. Weird but not really in a good way.
5. Detective Dunk - 3/5, an under appreciated detective is tasked with solving a bizarre crime, it was funny but not spectacular.
6. Van Dark - 4/5, an evil overlord no longer appreciates the bureaucracy of his job.
7. Stardust - 3/5, a superhero decides to make his own world but becomes frustrated at how life often brings war and suffering.
8. Agroman - 3/5, I really liked the art but it was a strange story, about a warrior placed under a bizarre curse by a dark wizard.
9. Ben Franklin, Dragon Hunter - 2/5, an alternative history story. The art is interesting looking but sometimes confusing and felt too open-ended for me.
10. Giant Laser Rifle - 3/5, a kid who likes to tell tall tales has one come true unexpectedly.
11. Fishbone - 4/5, a fisherman feeds his wife a strange fish he catches, and wakes up to two wives. He finds himself torn between them both. The ending part was confusing.
12. 1935 - 3/5, a black and white tale about a traveling group of scam artists in the 30s who pull a “woman tied to train tracks” heist that goes wrong.
13. Edith and the Murderbot - 4/5, a “Murderbot” goes door to door seeking shelter from the cold, but everyone turns him away convinced he will harm them. But the one who does not has a secret.
14. Caballo Del Morte - 2/5, a town falls prey to the seduction of a mysterious horse. Just ew.
15. Dog Eat World - 3/5, a super bizarre story that asks “what if our dogs owned US.”
16. Last of the Huggaboos - 3/5, a soldier becomes convinced the evil teddy bears he is hunting are something else entirely. It is similar to the plot of a Black Mirror episode, "Men Against Fire," which is one of my favorite episodes. I would have liked more about this story.
17. Villain’s Friend -3/5 - a villain who has succeeded in world domination finds it isn't all it's cracked up to be.
18. The Wish Goblin - 4/5, disturbing story about a child who finds a goblin in a story and makes a wish. Be careful what you wish for when Wish Goblin is listening.
19. Snow Jokes - 3/5, a child who builds a talking snowman and preserves him in the freezer gets more than he bargained for when his child decides to use the snowman's head to build his own friend. A funny and dark twist on Frosty the Snowman.
20. Robo Dreams - 3/5, an android seeks his wife. But did he ever have one to begin with?
21. The Katzenjammer Virus - 2/5, a politically-staged virus that causes people to turn into murderous cats is warded off by a lone soldier with a secret too terrible to be exposed. It was like that episode of Steven Universe where he grows cat fingers, but graphically violent.
22. Cowboxing - 3/5, animals on a farm watch their owner start a boxing club and become inspired. The ending was dumb, but it started out funny. I'd have liked it better if the Cow had saved the farm.
23. Space Night Sonata - 3/5, an astronaut discovers the relaxing solitude of space after an accident
24. Nonbelievers - 3/5, a humorous Christmas story, Santa teams up with Krampus.
Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.
1. Tank - 4/5, story about a virus and the survivors who suffer from the worlds it has destroyed and then created. I really enjoyed the art style.
2. Wolf Mother - 3/5, good story about motherhood, with an interesting twist.
3. Ronnie the Robot - 5/5, touching story about a soldier trapped in a mecha suit who returns home to his family.
4. Bird Watcher - 2/5, a birdwatcher happens to discover a bird that looks a little bit like himself. Weird but not really in a good way.
5. Detective Dunk - 3/5, an under appreciated detective is tasked with solving a bizarre crime, it was funny but not spectacular.
6. Van Dark - 4/5, an evil overlord no longer appreciates the bureaucracy of his job.
7. Stardust - 3/5, a superhero decides to make his own world but becomes frustrated at how life often brings war and suffering.
8. Agroman - 3/5, I really liked the art but it was a strange story, about a warrior placed under a bizarre curse by a dark wizard.
9. Ben Franklin, Dragon Hunter - 2/5, an alternative history story. The art is interesting looking but sometimes confusing and felt too open-ended for me.
10. Giant Laser Rifle - 3/5, a kid who likes to tell tall tales has one come true unexpectedly.
11. Fishbone - 4/5, a fisherman feeds his wife a strange fish he catches, and wakes up to two wives. He finds himself torn between them both. The ending part was confusing.
12. 1935 - 3/5, a black and white tale about a traveling group of scam artists in the 30s who pull a “woman tied to train tracks” heist that goes wrong.
13. Edith and the Murderbot - 4/5, a “Murderbot” goes door to door seeking shelter from the cold, but everyone turns him away convinced he will harm them. But the one who does not has a secret.
14. Caballo Del Morte - 2/5, a town falls prey to the seduction of a mysterious horse. Just ew.
15. Dog Eat World - 3/5, a super bizarre story that asks “what if our dogs owned US.”
16. Last of the Huggaboos - 3/5, a soldier becomes convinced the evil teddy bears he is hunting are something else entirely. It is similar to the plot of a Black Mirror episode, "Men Against Fire," which is one of my favorite episodes. I would have liked more about this story.
17. Villain’s Friend -3/5 - a villain who has succeeded in world domination finds it isn't all it's cracked up to be.
18. The Wish Goblin - 4/5, disturbing story about a child who finds a goblin in a story and makes a wish. Be careful what you wish for when Wish Goblin is listening.
19. Snow Jokes - 3/5, a child who builds a talking snowman and preserves him in the freezer gets more than he bargained for when his child decides to use the snowman's head to build his own friend. A funny and dark twist on Frosty the Snowman.
20. Robo Dreams - 3/5, an android seeks his wife. But did he ever have one to begin with?
21. The Katzenjammer Virus - 2/5, a politically-staged virus that causes people to turn into murderous cats is warded off by a lone soldier with a secret too terrible to be exposed. It was like that episode of Steven Universe where he grows cat fingers, but graphically violent.
22. Cowboxing - 3/5, animals on a farm watch their owner start a boxing club and become inspired. The ending was dumb, but it started out funny. I'd have liked it better if the Cow had saved the farm.
23. Space Night Sonata - 3/5, an astronaut discovers the relaxing solitude of space after an accident
24. Nonbelievers - 3/5, a humorous Christmas story, Santa teams up with Krampus.
Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.