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Hey, look at that! Two in a row. If you missed my article last week you can see I will be counting down my most anticipated comics each week. One thing great about comics? There’s always a new week and always something to be excited about. If anything what has been the biggest challenge is narrowing this list down to ten! Had to lose some great books in the process but with that said here is this week’s list!
Editor note: All Description portions come directly from their respected publishers
10. Tear us Apart #2
Writer: Jay Baruchel, Van Jensen
Artist: Alessandro Micelli
Publisher: Dark Horse
Description: The good news first: Boy and Girl have escaped from the secret death cult that trained them as assassins. Now for the bad news: They’re wounded and lost in a blizzard in the Canadian wilderness with wolves and a gang of murderers hot on their heels. Not great! Will they survive? Will they eat stew? You’ll have to read the issue to find out!
Why it Made the List: (Review of Issue One) Anytime you have a celebrity like Jay Baruchel attached to a comic it is hard to not wonder if it is just a stunt to gain attention to an otherwise mediocre comic. It has happened before, and it will happen again. As you can see in my review of the first issue that so far does not appear to be the case. Transitioning to comics is not easy so having creators like Van Jensen and Alessandro Micelli on your team certainly helps a great deal. I have been a fan of Micelli’s work ever since I read the rather underrated series The Ballad of Sang. Was rather impressed with the way he crafted an action scene, and that has only continued with his work in this book.
9. Ghostlore #5
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Leomacs
Publisher: Boom Studios
Description: With Lucas and Harmony having parted ways, Shane continues enacting his sinister plan, with Harmony in his sights.
Meanwhile, while Harmony finds herself invited into the home of another who can see ghosts manifest, she encounters yet another ghost story, and her views on family take on an entirely new light.
Why it Made the List: Water is wet, and Cullen Bunn is really good at writing horror stories. What has made this series work is the time it took to focus on the main characters before diving into the supernatural. Having that foundation set made these last few issues that much more enjoyable because you have people you are majority invested in dealing with compelling conflicts. The best horror stories tend to be those that would still work without the scary parts in them. Ghostlore accomplishes that due to the complex father and daughter dynamic that has been built since the first issue.
8. The Devil That Wears My Face #1
Writer: David Pepose
Artist: Alex Cormack
Publisher: MAD CAVE STUDIOS
Description: The year is 1740, and the Vatican is in turmoil. Grappling with a profound crisis of faith, outcast exorcist Father Franco Vieri is dispatched on a mission of grave importance — to rescue a Spanish nobleman from the clutches of the sadistic demon known as Legion. But when the exorcism goes tragically wrong, Vieri finds himself trapped in a stranger’s body… and learns what horrors lie ahead when the Devil wears his face. Equal parts Face/Off and The Exorcist, Ringo Award-winning writer David Pepose (Moon Knight: City of the Dead, Savage Avengers) and Bram Stoker Award-nominated artist Alex Cormack (Sea of Sorrows, The Crimson Cage) conjure a harrowing tale of terror, action, and body-swap intrigue that will leave comic readers at the edge of their seats.
Why it Made the List: October is one of the best months for comics because we get so many great horror books. Really hope this will be one of them. Not only does the concept have promise I really love this creative team. I have been following David Pepose’s work since his Spencer & Locke series and it seems like each year he keeps leveling up. Similarly loved Alex Cormack’s work on series like Road of Bones and Sea of Sorrows. He is perfect for any horror book so plenty to be hopeful for with this one.
Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Max Fiumara
Publisher: Image Comics
Description: The one who raises his hand takes the credit. They make speeches about the common good to seduce you and to make themselves stronger. The Old Gods feed on your naive hopes. They can’t be defeated.
Why it Made the List: If you were to hand me this series and not tell me the creators I do not think I would have ever guessed this was a Rick Remender comic. I also realize that is rather unfair to him because the more you look at his career the more you see how much variety is there in not only genre but storytelling design. One consistent is he always works with great artists like Max Fiumara who are perfect for the material. I am still trying to figure out what this story is going for fully but I have been intrigued since the beginning. This is a type of comic that fans of Rick Remender, like myself, will enjoy as well as those who do not typically gravitate towards his stuff.
Artist: Alex Cormack
Publisher: MAD CAVE STUDIOS
Description: The year is 1740, and the Vatican is in turmoil. Grappling with a profound crisis of faith, outcast exorcist Father Franco Vieri is dispatched on a mission of grave importance — to rescue a Spanish nobleman from the clutches of the sadistic demon known as Legion. But when the exorcism goes tragically wrong, Vieri finds himself trapped in a stranger’s body… and learns what horrors lie ahead when the Devil wears his face. Equal parts Face/Off and The Exorcist, Ringo Award-winning writer David Pepose (Moon Knight: City of the Dead, Savage Avengers) and Bram Stoker Award-nominated artist Alex Cormack (Sea of Sorrows, The Crimson Cage) conjure a harrowing tale of terror, action, and body-swap intrigue that will leave comic readers at the edge of their seats.
Why it Made the List: October is one of the best months for comics because we get so many great horror books. Really hope this will be one of them. Not only does the concept have promise I really love this creative team. I have been following David Pepose’s work since his Spencer & Locke series and it seems like each year he keeps leveling up. Similarly loved Alex Cormack’s work on series like Road of Bones and Sea of Sorrows. He is perfect for any horror book.
Writer: Kyle Starks
Artist: Steve Pugh
Publisher: DC Comics
Description: Peacemaker took on Deathstroke (kinda), Chemo, and even the War Wheel, and can now confidently call himself a hero. But with all the death and destruction in his wake, was it all worth it? More importantly, is anyone going to come to his birthday party?
Why it Made the List: I’m sad. But also happy. Wish they had a word for that. Anyways…I feel that way because we are getting another issue of Peacemaker Tries Hard but it is also the final issue. If you at all enjoyed the HBO series this has everything that the show did and more. It has been funny, poignant, and extremely off-the-wall at times. Steve Pugh also remains a fantastic artist who never gets the credit he deserves. To be able to draw funny is not easy, especially when your story exists within a superhero world. Pugh has made it look easy with books like this.
5. G.O.D.S. #1
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Valerio Schiti
Publisher: Marvel
Description: JONATHAN HICKMAN RE-INVENTS THE COSMOLOGY OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE! WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE-POWERS-THAT-BE MEET THE-NATURAL-ORDER-OF-THINGS? The infinite détente between THE-NATURAL-ORDER-OF-THINGS and THE-POWERS-THAT-BE nears an end. Old acquaintances are reunited during a Babylon Event. The Lion of Wolves throws the worst parties. Don’t look under the table. There’s a John Wilkes Booth penny on the ground. This ENORMOUS EXTRA-SIZED first issue features DOCTOR STRANGE, who, while not boring at all, is easily the most boring person in the book.
Why it Made the List: I have zero idea what to expect with this book. Marvel has had one-page teasers in some of their books and I still don’t fully grasp what exactly they were trying to accomplish with that, but it’s a Jonathan Hickman so I am going to give it a shot. I am getting similar vibes to the S.H.I.E.L.D. series Hickman did that I did enjoy–despite its many delays. This could end up being one of the best books of the week or be completely nonsensical. Figure that makes #5 the perfect placement considering that.
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Leonardo Romero
Publisher: DC Comics
Description: BLACK CANARY’S ALL-NEW TEAM ON THEIR FIRST MISSION! Black Canary has built an all-new team with a very specific and very dangerous first mission: extraction! Their target: [REDACTED]! She’s being held on [REDACTED] and guarded by a battalion of [REDACTED]. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, then we’re explaining it wrong! It’s a terrible mission! And before it can even be launched, the Birds have to gather a few mysterious supplies and see some old familiar faces…that they punch!
Why it Made the List: (Review of Issue #1) As you will see with my review of the first issue I really enjoyed what this team put together. A great-looking book especially when you have the colors of someone like Jordie Bellaire and the experiments she has been doing. Issue two will be really telling because now that the team is together how well does the story work? When you have an intriguing group of characters and someone like Kelly Thompson, who is a master of great dialog, my assumption is things will work out just fine. At least for us…maybe not for the Birds of Prey.
Writer: Ryan North
Artist: Iban Coello
Publisher: Marvel
Description: What happens when a parallel world starts out different from our own but, through random chance and development, begins to resemble our Earth more and more closely? And what happens when those two universes begin to merge not just in style, but literally? It’s a fascinating scientific question that the Fantastic Four will have to consider as they swap places with their counterparts in this other world and find themselves battling for survival in the universe where everyone is a dinosaur, and not anthropomorphic ones, but literal full-scale dinosaurs with all their super-powers, wearing amazing super-hero costumes! Can Sue Storm defeat Brachiosaurus Iron Man? Can the Human Torch take down Lambeosaurus Captain Marvel, her head frill mimicking her human counterpart’s spiked hair? Can Reed Richards ever stop Quetzalcoatlus Black Widow, the deadly assassin of the skies? Beyond the dinosaurs and chaos and two universes merging, this issue also features emotional and heartfelt reunions with some missing members of the Fantastic Four family! So: Dinosaurs and catharsis, together at last. Plus: Sue Storm’s doctorate is finally revealed!
Why it Made the List: One of my biggest pet peeves with superhero comics today is how everything is written for the trade so stories have to be in four or five issue arcs. I really miss the one-and-done story. Somehow though this current run of Fantastic Four has been able to break that trend and go back to the old-school style of soap opera esc storytelling. So each issue tends to have a different A story while the world and characters are built up in the B and C stories. Also…it’s really good and easily my favorite superhero title on the shelves right now.
2. The Enfield Gang Massacre #3
Writer: Chris Condon
Artist: Jacob Phillips
Publisher: Image Comics
Description: Following a brazen and brutal act of psychological warfare by Captain Ely of the Texas Rangers, the Enfield Gang attempts to strike back from Fort Lehane’s rooftops
Why it Made the List: Two of my favorite genres are Noir and Westerns. With Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips’s That Texax Blood universe, they have been able to mesh both quite seamlessly. It’s just great having a straightforward Western on the shelves that is of such a high quality. That is not something that happens very often. Also, the colors of this book are so pristine. One of my favorite panels of the year comes from the first and it is just a cowboy lighting a cigarette, but it is lit in such a way you forget those shadows had to be manufactured by an actual person. Cinematography of the highest order inside a cowboy comic. You love to see it.
Writer/Artist: Daniel Warren Johnson
Colorist: Mike Spicer
Publisher: Skybound
Description: THE ALL NEW TRANSFORMERS ERA STARTS HERE!
Superstar creator DANIEL WARREN JOHNSON (DO A POWERBOMB, WONDER WOMAN: DEAD EARTH), alongside ENERGON UNIVERSE showrunner ROBERT KIRKMAN (VOID RIVALS, INVINCIBLE), reimagines Hasbro’s robots in disguise for a brand-new generation.
Optimus Prime was supposed to have led the Autobots to victory. Instead, the fate of Cybertron is unknown, and his allies have crash-landed far from home, alongside their enemies-the Decepticons.
As these titanic forces renew their war on Earth, one thing is immediately clear: the planet will never be the same. New alliances are struck. Battle lines are redrawn. And humanity’s only hope of survival is Optimus Prime.
Why it Made the List: I promise each week I do this I will not have a new number one on top of the list. Although it’s not like this is the first time either Usagi or Transformers have been seen in the pages of a comic–far from it.
My anticipation for this has nothing to do with nostalgia because I am not a huge Transformers fan. I watched Beast Wars as a kid but I preferred superheroes, G.I. Joe, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. However, I am a gigantic Daniel Warren Johnson fan. Loved everything he has done so far and now that he gets to shape a property like Transformers I could not be more excited.
This also just feels like the beginning of something special. Akin to when Saga was launched or even the Star Wars Marvel comics. Sales have already proven to be a massive success so now the comic just needs to be good. Looking at everyone behind this we have no reason to think that will not be the case.
Other books I am really excited for that didn’t make the list: X-Men #27, Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons #4, Ranger Academy #1, The Rocketeer: In the Den of Thieves #3. The Midnite Show #1, Alice Cooper #1, Abbott: 1979 #1
