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Verhoeven, Kat – Towerkind #6

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Towerkind #6

In case you’ve been reading the comics along with these reviews (which would be weird, only reading one issue of this series a week, but I’m not one to judge) and have been wondering if things really were building up towards a unified story of some kind, this issue makes it clear that the answer is “yes”. This issue is all about Dina and that one kid. You know, the two who chatted through the tin cups and had their adventure back in #2? Anyway, this time around we can see that she has transported them to another location. Once there she asks him if he can translate some graffiti, and when it’s clear that he can’t she goes off on her own to ask a mysterious somebody who can help her. The rest of this short issue is spent with this guy stuck in this strange area where’s transported them (as he can’t get back without her), taking in his surroundings until she returns. So there are strange powers here and there, some sort of central mystery (or a few mysteries), and an impending sense of doom where nobody can quite nail down the details of it. I’m thoroughly along for the ride now, and you should maybe think of hopping on too if you aren’t already reading this.

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Verhoeven, Kat – Towerkind #5

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Towerkind #5

Another issue, another chance to get a bit more clarity on a few of the characters involved in this opus. Am I allowed to call this an opus if it’s a series of mini comics? Eh, it’s my website, I can potentially misuse words if I want. Anyway, this time around we get some solid information on a couple of the kids that have been hanging around in the background, Duk and Daniel. We see them playing jacks outside until some jerk almost runs them over as he’s leaving the parking garage (with the way this series is going, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if whoever is driving that car factors into things too). One of them gets a cut on his knee, which leads the other one also mysteriously getting a cut on his knee. The rest of the issue is spent with the two of them exploring how far this connection of theirs goes, with another decidedly odd thing ending the comic. Oh, and these two kids are not related, just in case I didn’t make that clear. Kat even explained a bit of her thinking on the inside back cover, which has been illuminating every time so far. I’m thoroughly enjoying watching her build this story up brick by brick, and it may have taken me a few issues, but these covers are really growing on me too. I initially thought that they were just piles of junk that might be found around any tenement, but there’s a lot more going on in these images. They’re also wrap-around covers, so you’re only seeing half the picture. Buy the comics and see the whole thing! Or look around more online if you want to be cheap about it, I’m sure the complete images are out there somewhere…

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Verhoeven, Kat – Towerkind #4

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Towerkind #4

This time around we finally start to get some hints that Tyson (the king of the tenement from past issues) may be a human being after all, although it’s still hard to shake the sense that he’s not a very good one. It turns out that he either has a girlfriend (Maha) or a girl that he is interested in, but he clearly has no sense of how to talk to her. That’s OK, as it’s also clear that she has no idea how to say no to the creep, and I can’t see this ending well. Maha is also fascinated by a couple of kids blowing bubbles beneath her window, as these bubbles contain images of life of other people in the tenement (odd but not terrifying) and a large meteor heading straight for them (terrifying). The sense of magic and/or things hiding beneath the surface is stronger than ever this time around, and I am slowly losing my struggle to keep these reviews more or less weekly and am in serious danger of just finishing the whole thing in a chunk. Hey, it’s Kat’s fault for telling such an engaging story.

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Verhoeven, Kat – Towerkind #3

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Towerkind #3

More new characters are introduced this time around, and the line between reality and the perception of these characters continues to be as blurry as can be. In this issue we’re introduced to an unnamed woman who finds a dead bird outside on the apartment grounds. She strikes up a conversation with this bird, asking it how it died, and gets an uncomfortable (but plausible) answer. She also asks it if it wants a grave, and what type of grave it would like to have if it does. This leads to a conversation (with herself) where she remembers another burial and the lengths she went to to keep that creature company, but then the king of the apartment complex shows up and ruins things, as he has a tendency to do. That kid is quickly becoming one of those characters where some kind of comeuppance is going to be required to make things right. Unless the story is going in an entirely different direction, which is entirely possible, as I still have another 10 issues to read before I find out. Three issues in and I’d say that it’s safe to recommend this series, and I’m once again debating whether or not to step up the pace of these reviews so I can see what happens next. If the story keeps humming along like this I won’t be able to help myself.

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Verhoeven, Kat – Towerkind #2

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Towerkind #2

Two issues in and I’m already starting to think that I’m going to have to review these issues more quickly than just once a week. Or maybe just review more than one of them at a time? I’ll figure something out, but it’s clear already that things are going to happen slowly and that it would probably be a more rewarding experience if I read this series in bigger chunks. That being said, what’s going on this time around? Our hero from the last issue (the kid who was reading and wouldn’t bow to the “king”) slinks away from his confrontation in tears. He runs into a German priest (who is speaking German, so I have no idea if he tried to give advice or was just talking about the weather), then goes back up to his apartment. A tin can comes down to him as he sits on his balcony, and he starts chatting with a neighbor girl who isn’t allowed to use a cell phone. The rest of the issue is them going off on an adventure, once again raising the question of what powers the people in this complex actually have and how much of this is the illusions of kids with plenty of imagination and a lot of free time on their hands. I’m clearly enjoying this quite a bit, as it’s not like I’d be clamoring to review something more often that I was hating, but I still have no idea where it’s going. Maybe that’ll end up being a letdown, but it’s always hard to tell this early, and either way it looks like the ride is going to be a blast.

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Verhoeven, Kat – Towerkind #1

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Towerkind #1

Have I mentioned that I love it when people send me entire series that they’ve already completed? Because if that’s a position that you find yourself in (with a finished or mostly finished comics series), you should maybe keep that in mind. Mostly because I’m always happy to have a theme day, so for the next three months I’ll be doing weekly reviews of this series. Unless I get really caught up in it and end up reviewing it in bigger and quicker chunks, but my plan is weekly for now. Anyway! All that rambling and not a word about the actual comic. This is a series about a group of young teenagers living in an overcrowded clump of high rises. In this issue one kid declares himself the king and asks the other kids to bow to him. This goes pretty well until one kid defies him, which leads to what can only be described as an act of super strength (unless dumpsters are insanely light in their neighborhood). It’s an intriguing start, especially because the violence does not go at all in the way that you might suspect after that act. These are a bunch of kids, after all, and most kids aren’t used to the consequences of any kind of violence. Lots more to come about this series, and it’ll be interesting to see which way this one goes. So far it looks like only subscriptions are listed at her website and not single issues, but I’ll check into that to make sure…

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