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Pick Your Pickle and Prepare for Puns: Pickleball's Board Game Just Launched. A fast, fun, irreverent board game that celebrates the joy of Pickleball. Fans of silly puns, pickles, and fast-paced games alike have a new game to add to their list of must-haves: HotShot Pickleball. This delightful card-drawing board game is quick to learn and gives a surprising amount of opportunity to lightly strategize as you race to the ball and attempt to hit it back over the net to your opponent. The debut release from indie studio Midnight Trading Co., HotShot Pickleball was made while game designer Robert Gelb was recovering from an Achilles injury sustained, ironically, by playing Pickleball. For those who haven’t heard of pickleball, it's the fastest-growing sport in the world, with over 32 million players last year. HotShot Pickleball is a lively, family-friendly game that combines the fun of the sport with a cast of quirky, pickle-themed characters like Stew Cumber, Kim Chee, and Corni...

Guest Review: Grifter #15 - Suicide Isn't Painless

Grifter #15 Review


Grifter #15 Cover
They shot my freaking ear! Original Review by Grifter78 at Comic Vine

With Liefeld's influence gone, Frank Tieri is able to steer this book on a course even if it's scheduled to sink with next month's cancellation. But I was hoping for a strong finish for the series and everything seemed to be improved with this issue. Tieri has done his best to string together the mess this series has been so far and even Maraty Mychaels' art seemed to be improved as well.



This book has been all over the place since Liefeld took over. I always had a feeling that most of the books missteps were due to his influence and this issue proves it. Frank Tieri takes over solo writing duty here and it shows. For once there was a clear narrative to the story and I liked the "Then" and "Now" structure he laid out. It gives us a nice peak into Amanda Waller's history post-Team 7. It also shows that because of her position in the government, she has her hands in many different aspects of the DCU. This includes information on her former Team 7 teammate, Grifter.

The ironic thing is Grifter has been put through the wringer in his title, both in the real world and in the comic world. In the real world he's been the victim of bad editorial decisions which led the title having no established foundation. In the comic world, Grifter has been jerked around and lied to by just about every person he's encountered. It has led to some confusion in-story but with the revelation Tieri gives in this issue, it shows why Grifter as a character has been so screwed-up.

I'm actually excited to see how Tieri ties is all up. I learned recently that #15 was originally going to be the last issue. But thankfully, someone in DC's offices had mercy and allowed next month's issue to give the title a proper ending. For the first time in months, I'm excited for the next issue of Grifter, even if it's the last.

Rating 3/5


What I Thought

Cover - 4/5
Art, Colors, & Inking - 2/5
Layout & Flow - 3/5
Story - 3/5
Verdict - 2.9

While I understand covers are normally supposed to be eye catching to get you to buy the comic, I really hate it when the cover art is so much better than the interiors. This issue suffered on multiple points, first most of the Suicide Squad didn't even look like themselves, I mean Harley was missing pupils in a few panels. I also had a problem with the use of shoe-pants, and there were a few scenes like the flashback with Waller that either the artist, the inker, or the colorist was lazy and didn't give anyone shoes. My second gripe is the coloring, at times it seemed to work really well, but other it seemed muted and understated. Otherwise this was an interesting issue to see the interaction of Waller and Grifter since their Team 7 days. With only one issue left I hope the clear up some of the loose ends about who Grifter really is and the Daemonite threat. With the series already canceled I can securely say just pick up the TPB.

Purchase Grifter #15 on Amazon


Joe David Soliz is a blogger at http://www.wildstormaddiction.com/ and a comic book reviewer at Comic Vine. The use of this review has been authorized by the original author.

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