MIX

“Miami Vice Remix” #3 continues the series’ energy-filled run of high stakes undercover Miami street action, juggling several different plots to surprisingly efficient results. The creative team of Joe Casey and Jim Mahfood, both known for their renegade creative styles, continue their “why not” attitude of throwing together wild concepts and seeing what sticks as Crockett and his pet crockettdile Elvis square off against his ex-partner’s brother while Tubbs experiments with the Miami bath salts that have been plaguing the streets, turning users into Voodoo-fueled zombies. At no point in the last sentence was the plot of the comic book, based (loosely) on an ’80s NBC television show about cool undercover cops, hyperbolized or exaggerated. Casey, having used the first two issues to allow readers to get into the rhythms of his take on Miami’s most notorious police, begins pulling out all the stops in this issue. It takes no time getting to the action as Sonny must contend with his dea

Like the 1980s iconic and trendsetting television series that it’s boldly based on, Joe Casey and Jim Mahfood’s “Miami Vice Remix” #1 explodes with wall-to-wall color and style but does so with a flamboyance and attitude all its own. Back in the day, few — if any — TV shows, including “Miami Vice” itself, featured as many self-censored f-bombs as this comic or contained something so prominently akin to one of this decade’s dominant storytelling genres: zombies. No, Miami hasn’t been overrun by the undead, but Casey and Mahfood nevertheless go for something notably different from a straight-out adaptation or continuation of the series. It’s a daring take that’s not unlike the TV series when it debuted: it’s edgy, stylish and has a sense of cool despite its decades-old setting. With the characters likely already known to most readers, Casey doesn’t take any time out for leisurely introductions; instead, readers are reintroduced to detective partners Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs in

“BOOM! Box 2014 Mix Tape” #1 is an anthology of short comics and teasers from the BOOM! Box imprint. While the title alludes to the mix tapes of the 90s, the stories themselves aren’t retro at all. They share a manic, cartoony vibe similar to the approach of “Adventure Time” but with some stories that are just for adults. In “Hambourgeois & Chip” by Rian Sygh, grumpy Hambourgeois is paired with his loopy, excitable friend Chip. Their interaction is reminiscent of many odd couple character pairings, “Pinky and the Brain” in particular. The central conflict of possible cannibalism is riveting if off-the-wall. Sygh’s facial expressions and dialogue are superb at drawing the reader in. “Paz & Richard: A Midas Flesh Short Story” by Ryan North, Braden Lamb and Chris O’Neill is just a teaser that leads into the regular “Midas Flesh” title. North builds suspense efficiently and the information-dumping is confined to Paz and Richard’s teaching lecture. It works fine but more action

I still remember reading the “Comics’ Greatest World” mini-series that introduced the characters of “Catalyst Comix,” as well as the short-lived “Catalyst: Agents of Change” series that followed. Despite the recent revivals of “Ghost” and “X” from the same line of comics, I’ll freely admit that I never would have pegged these characters being the next ones taken out of mothballs. “Catalyst Comix” #1 has a fun story structure, though, and I feel like with time, Joe Casey, Dan McDaid, Paul Maybury and Ulises Farinas could end up with a real winner. “Catalyst Comix” #1 has three stories written by Casey; a main feature drawn by McDaid starring Frank Wells (the former Titan), plus shorter pieces with Maybury handling Amazing Grace and Farinas tackling the Agents of Change. All three are set simultaneously, showing different angles on an end-of-the-world destructive being named Nibiru on the evening of December 21, 2012. It’s a fun way to tell a story, giving one of the three pieces each

There are few things that can entice a certain type of comics reader like a Pixies lyric or a Smiths reference. From 2006’s “Phonogram” to Poseur Ink’s “Side A” & “Side B” anthologies, even “Scott Pilgrim,” the relationship between indie music and indie comics has been as strong as ever in recent years. That makes “Mixtape” #1 by Brad Abraham, Marco Gervasio and Jok, a comic that’s well-placed to find an audience. Set in the early 1990s (in flashback), “Mixtape” is a story about Jim Abbot, an introverted and somewhat lovelorn student entering his final year of high school. His affections are split between two girls: Adrienne, who likes the same music he does and Siobhan, an unrequited love, both of whom return to town after an absence. Teenage longing plays no small part in the story, which is decorated with indie music references and justifiably so: it is at that age when music arguably finds its greatest relevance (or, at least, it did back then.) What stops this being a simpl