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Read like hell this week because there’s so much to catch up with. Every week I feel like it gets harder and harder to narrow this list down to ten. It’s a great problem to have because it means there are a ton of comics to read.
Editor note: All Description portions come directly from their respected publishers
With that here are my Top 10 Most Anticipated Comics…
Writer: Alyssa Wong
Artist: Jan Bazaldua
Publisher: Marvel
Description: HIGHEST, FURTHEST, FASTEST! The Captain gets a permanent glow-up designed by superstar artist Jen Bartel! And that’s not all that’s changed. Brand-new look—brand-new creative team—and a brand-new status quo. Carol Danvers is one of the powerhouses of the Marvel Universe, a woman capable of harnessing the energy of the sun. So if you’re coming for Earth? She’s the first one you take off the board. Someone’s figured just how to do just that. Introducing a new supporting cast and villains both beloved and dangerously fresh, Alyssa Wong and Jan Bazaldua’s exhilarating series kicks off here!
Why it Made the List: I was a huge fan of Kelly Thompson’s run on Captain Marvel, and instead of jumping into another major run Marvel did some mini-series before this relaunch. I have rather enjoyed Alyssa Wong’s other current series with DC Spirit World so curious to see how this turns out. Carol Danvers is a hard character to get right. A lot of great creators have tried and struggled to find success. Hopefully, that will not be the case here.
Writer/Artist: Jock
Publisher: DSTLRY
Description: On an impoverished and distant planet, where menial workers scratch out a living resupplying starships, the best place to be is GONE…and that’s exactly where 13-year-old ABI wants to be.
Along with her street-tough friends, Abi stows away on a colossal luxury space-liner for a chance at a better life. Unbeknownst to her, some of her “friends” are not who they seem. Abi suddenly finds herself branded a saboteur as she desperately struggles to evade the ship’s deadly crew and to stay alive!
Beautifully written and drawn by JOCK – Eisner Award winning artist of SNOW ANGELS & BATMAN: ONE DARK KNIGHT – GONE is in an action-packed sci-fi adventure where a young heroine confronts betrayal, discovers her true allies, and fights against all odds discovering that nothing is farther away than…home.
Why it Made the List: I am really intrigued to see how DSTLRY does as a publisher. Some of their ideas I am not fully sure about like how they will handle digital comics, but sometimes you have to take chances to stand out. They at least got one thing right in getting a bunch of great creators on their book. Anytime we can get Jock on interiors I am all for it. Plus on a science fiction epic? That I have to see.
Writer: Jim Zub
Artist: Roberto De La Torre
Publisher: Titan Comics
Description: Years after the battle of Venarium, a weary CONAN returns to his homeland to seek rest and solitude. However, a mysterious scout rides in to warn the Cimmerians of an imminent threat on the march from the Pictish wilderness. Will CONAN and his new ally be able to hold off this new horde of invaders?
Why it Made the List: I have been quite enjoying this run on Conan. Roberto De La Torre has been a treat giving this book a perfect throwback look that leasn into the modern style. The recipe to make Conan work is not the most complex but it can be easy to go wrong. Jim Zub and Roberto De La Torre kept it simple so far but diversified the narrative to keep it exciting. As someone who does not have extensive knowledge of the history of Conan, I cannot say how it stands up to the most classic of runs, but as someone who simply wants to read a good Conan story it has worked for me.
Writer: Ollie Masters
Artist: Plerluigi Minotti
Publisher: BOOM! STUDIOS
Description: Fleeing a botched robbery in New York City, a junkie, her dying partner, and a dementia-ridden old man pull into a coal mining ghost town in central Pennsylvania.
Obscured by the caustic mists spewed forth by the coal-seam fire from the 1960s-still burning-Trier is the perfect place to lay low, score a fix, and take a hostage… or is it?
Why it Made the List: I am all for another straightforward crime story! I loved Ollie Masters’s Snow Blind and this seems very similar to that in style and execution. One of Snow Blind’s greatest attributes was its sense of place and location. This taking place in a coal mining ghost town in central Pennsylvania makes me hope that skill shows itself once again. I have never read a comic from Plerluigi Minotti before but the preview pages have a lot of promise.
6. Universal Monsters: Dracula #1
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Martin Simmonds
Publisher: SKYBOUND
Description: THE BIGGEST NAMES IN COMICS RESURRECT THE MOST ICONIC MONSTERS!
THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH creators JAMES TYNION IV (W0RLDTR33, Something is Killing the Children) and MARTIN SIMMONDS reteam for an extra-length miniseries about the monster who started it all! When Dr. John Seward admits a strange new patient into his asylum, the madman tells stories of a demon who has taken residence next door. But as Dr. Seward attempts to apply logic to the impossible…his surrogate daughter Lucy begins to fall under the spell of the twisted Count Dracula!
Why it Made the List: This seems like a partnership made in heaven…well maybe Hell but the good hell. Taking something as acclaimed as the Universal Monsters and linking them to James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds is a very smart move. Both of them have had a lot of success in the comic industry already with the series Department of Truth. Although a comic like this is a bit tricky. If it is not broken don’t fix it, so why change a story that has worked so well for generations? At the same time why just retell the same story in a different medium? Hopefully, they can find a balance of both.
Writer: Ram V.
Artist: Filipe Andrade
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Description: The next masterpiece from Ram V and Filipe Andrade (The Many Deaths of Laila Starr) continues as Rubin and Mo journey deep into the scorching Rajasthan desert in search of a mythical pepper, but supernatural detectives Dilshan & Dilkush are hot on their trail!
Meanwhile, their driver, Manish, takes them on a historical journey concerning those who ferry the peppers through the fiery landscape.
Why it Made the List: It can not be easy to follow up such an acclaimed comic like The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, but that is exactly what Ram V. and Filipe Andrade have done with Rare Flavours. So far it is a very different story despite some stylistic similarities. The craft is apparent but have yet to have that emotional attachment that was so present with The Many Deaths of Laila Starr. Hopefully, that develops more with this issue. So far though it’s been quite an original concept.
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Chris Samnee
Publisher: Image
Description: The Johnsons finally return home, but what will they find when they arrive?
Why it Made the List: With all the talk about Robert Kirkman’s work on G.I. Joe and Transformers as well as the Invincible adaptation has made Fire Power a bit of a forgotten comic. That to me is quite sad because I think it may be Kirkman’s best comic book yet. With this ending at issue thirty things are very much ramping up. It seems the family dynamic will be the central focus on this issue which I am all for as it has been the strongest part of the narrative. Chris Samnee is doing some career work as well with this book. That man was made to draw action. This is going to make a fantastic collection once it is all finished.
Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Artist: Rafa Sandoval
Publisher: DC Comics
Description: SUPERMAN VERSUS CLARK KENT! When the mysterious young Norah Stone drains Superman’s strength and unleashes an impostor tyrant Superman on Metropolis in his place, a powerless Clark Kent is forced to face the monster alone. Who is Norah Stone? And can Clark protect his identity while fighting this impossible battle? Featuring Gene Luen Yang and Viktor Bogdanovic’s return to the Super-Man of China!
Why it Made the List: I adored the last issue of Action Comics, which has been the norm for this run. Seeing Clark Kent play the role of reporter was a welcome change of pace, and it ended on a great cliffhanger. A big reason it is so high on this week’s list is I truly do not know where this story is going. We learned that Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s run will be ending in December so hoping he ends as strong as he began.
Writer: W. Maxwell Prince
Artist: Martin Morazzo
Publisher: Image Comics
Description: They’re cute, they’re cuddly, and they’re caught up in a conflagration of candy cannons and cartoony combat! But who are the Figglybumps? And what happened to their creator?
The hit horror-adjacent anthology is back-and sadder than ever.
Why it Made the List: October is the month for the horror genre, and we have gotten plenty of comics to keep the spooky season alive. Ice Cream Man has been doing just that for years now as one of the best horror books of this generation. To tell a complete story in one issue of a comic is a remarkable skill. To do that so consistently to such a high level should be impossible. You can pick this issue up without reading anything else and you will be fine. This issue’s concept is quite strange even for this series. Let’s see how it turns out.
Writer: Rich Douek
Artist: Alex Cormack
Publisher: Dark Horse
Description: Bobby Ray had it made. One last big job, then it was splitsville, set for life with his girl by his side! Then everything went wrong, and poor Dahlia took a bullet to the brain as they made their escape. Thing is, dear Dahlia didn’t stay dead. Now Bobby’s found himself plunged into a battle of otherworldly proportions, and if he wants to get out of dodge with his skin intact, he’s gonna have to Drive Like Hell!
Why it Made the List: Who are some of your favorite creative teams? People like Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips are at the top of that list, but there are plenty more that are must reads for me like Rich Douek and Alex Cormack. With Road of Bones and Sea of Sorrows being great reads I cannot wait to see what they do with this series. Those used the environment heavily to tell their tale and it makes me wonder how will this comic work. Seems like it may be a bit more action than horror but the idea of a demonic car chase sounds like something I do no
Other books I am excited about that did not make the list: Wonder Woman #2, The Immortal Thor #3, Void Rivals #5, Uncanny Spider-Man #2, Uncanny Avengers #3, Radiant Black #26, Jean Grey #3, Captain America #2, Predator vs. Wolverine #2, The Penguin #3, Newburn #12, Giant Robot Hellboy #1. Edenwood #1, The Schlub #3, Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #1, I Hate Fairyland #10, Marvel Unleashed #3, The Lonesome Hunters: The Wolf Child #4, Marvel Zombies: Black, White & Blood #1
