Bagged and Boarded Comic Reviews: Witch Doctor, a ton of Buffy, and More

New comic book Wednesday has come and gone. The dust at your local comic shop has settled. An eerie silence descends as you finish reading your last superhero book of the week. Now it's time for something a little more sinister. Welcome to Bagged and Boarded: comic reviews of the sick, spooky, twisted and terrifying!

Witch Doctor: Mal Practice No. 3
Dr. Morrow is charged with protecting the Earth. He's got this giant sword he pulled out of a stone and he's got the Pandoracopeia (you know, the book that holds all the secrets of alchemy) kicking around in a dusty old medical bag. As both a doctor of the medical and magical arts, his aim is to help all those who need him, be they humans or monsters. Now, as a showdown looms with a mysterious group of people who want the Pandoracopeia, Morrow and his crew plan a tricky triple-cross. Bets on whether it goes according to plan?

Bag it or board it up?
I have really been "sleeping on" this comic (as the kids say). Holy shit, this is good! The artwork in this beauty crackles with energy, and the sometimes-maniacal facial expressions of the good doctor are both hilarious and stress-inducing. There is some truly insane stuff that goes down in the second half of this issue, and if you haven't read the back issues leading up to this you'll be okay (but I recommend going back and doing a little digging). This is a fun, action-packed, dark arts-laden gem of a comic, and I can't wait to read future issues.

Buffyverse Sampler
Holy smokes. This is your chance to get into "season 9" of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer universe. This huge one-shot contains the first issue of four separate Buffy-centric series of comics. There's issue 1 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which follows the girl herself. Issue 1 of Angel & Faith, which follows the two as their paths intertwine with the rest of the world, leaves Angel with some very hard choices to make and a giant tentacle monster. Issue 1 of Willow shows the dynamic red head in a magical world. And Issue 1 of Spike shows the blondie boy adrift in space, on a spaceship.

Bag it or board it up?
I've reviewed some of these comics in the past, but I feel like this sampler platter is worth reviewing here. These are all pretty good first issues in a series that cares more about its fans than any other series kicking around today. Of all the first issues, I still like Issue 1 of Willow the best, but I'm a fantasy geek… so of course that would be my favorite.

Judge Dredd No. 3
Nefarious villains in Mega-City One have created clones of the relatives and loved ones of the wealthiest members of society. Demanding huge ransoms, the group of kidnappers promise to torture the clones if they don't get what they want. So it's up to Judge Dredd to bring all the cash and take down the bad guys, which is the type of thing he's best at.

Bag it or board it up?
I don't normally review Dredd comics on here because, even though I love them, I don't think they're usually very horror-centric. But kidnappers who genetically engineer clones and then promise to torture them? Yep, that'll fit into this column! It's like an action-packed comic of Repo! The Genetic Opera with Judge Dredd kicking everyone's asses! Check it out!

Godzilla No. 9
The giant monsters from space have arrived! Run! With Godzilla trapped in a containment unit and all the major cities of Earth being ripped apart by giant space monsters, it's up to… well, I don't really know who it's up to to save the world. There's the merc hired to hunt down monsters, the scientist who may have developed a way to make the monsters more peaceable, and a Japanese government official who wants to control the monsters for his own gain. Times are looking pretty bad over here, aren't they?

Bag it or board it up?
A week of good comics! Who knew! Even this Godzilla title is worth reading. The destruction and mayhem are illustrated with glee and abandon, and the dialogue between the merc and an old man who's car he's trying to hijack is legitimately funny. This is a fun comic in a genre that can sometimes be bland, dry, or boring.