It’s the Holiday Season which means it is a very joyous and stressful time of year. Despite it starting earlier every year always feel like there is far too much to do and not enough time to do it. Maybe it’s because there are so many great comics to read. Speaking of which let’s get to the countdown of this week’s Top 10 Most anticipated comics.
Editor note: All Description portions come directly from their respected publishers
10. The Wrong Earth: We Could Be Heroes #2
Writer: Tom Peyer
Artist: Jamal Igle
Publisher: Ahoy Comics
Description: Masked crimefighters from three worlds wage a war to wrest control of campy Earth-Alpha from its cackling, moustache-twirling villains! This AHOY anniversary epic offers thrills and laughs of its own as it resets the WRONG EARTH chessboard for the next series. EXTRA: a new chapter of “Partially Naked Came the Corpse,” AHOY’s 5th anniversary prose serial!
Why It Made the List: Similar to The Nasty last week I am continuously impressed with all the different ways The Wrong Earth finds new life. When it first came out five years ago I thought it was a great mini-series but did not see it lasting all this time. At this point, it has gone well beyond just being a parody or inspiration of the legacy of the Batman world and has become a unique creation in its own right. The other great thing with monthly books from Ahoy are the additional stories they include. Partially Naked Came the Corpse has been one of their better prose series so happy to get that add-on bonus as well.
9. Space Usagi: Death and Honor #1
Writer/Artist: Stan Sakai
Colorist: Emi Fujii
Publisher: Dark Horse
Description: As a general of the Shirohoshi Clan’s space fleet, it’s Usagi’s responsibility to keep the lord and his family safe. Now tasked with the education and protection of the lord’s heir, Usagi must remain vigilant at all times to protect the heir from a murderous plot and an unexpected betrayal.
The rabbit ronin’s classic adventure in space–now in color!
Why it Made the List: As someone who has never read the previous Space Usagi issues I love these reprints. Stan Sakai also appears to adjust his style a bit with Usagi out in the great beyond. The last issue had a double splash page, which is not something I believe I have seen in a Usagi book before. It’s been a great clash of old and new school. For those who have never read Usagi Yojimbo before this is a great entry point.
8. The Devil That Wears My Face #3
Writer: David Pepose
Artist: Alex Cormack
Publisher: MAD CAVE STUDIOS
Description: With the future of the Vatican in dire peril, the demonic Legion has gleefully turned the Curia against itself. But following his harrowing escape from captivity, Father Vieri returns to Rome with a dangerous plan to retrieve his stolen body – a plan that will force him to create an all-new identity to capture the Devil. With the mysterious Iscariot Blade at his side, can Legion’s treachery survive the deadly designs of the Marques de Lazarus? Or will the intrigue of the Inquisition thwart even the best-laid plans of an exorcist?
Why it Made the List: David Pepose and Alex Cormack are both having a great year, and this is quickly developing into their best book. I love myself some demonic conflict. I may be the only person to enjoy that 2003 Heath Ledger classic The Order. So this plotline has been right up my alley, and it helps it is so awesome as well. A lot is going on so I am continually surprised by how smoothly it has been executed. Plus I never get tired of looking at Alex Cormack’s art.
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Gabriel Hernandez Walta
Publisher: Dark Horse
Description: While Agent Weaver attempts to search for the vanished pair, Birdie and Dom are trapped by another horde of monsters at the roadside circus. There, they encounter a truly mind-melting individual who might be an ally in their escape…but might also be another aspect of the terrible madness surrounding them.
Why it Made the List: Jeff Lemire and Gabriel Hernandez Walta have done some great work together like the Barbalien: Red Planet series. Despite that, it took me a few issues to be fully invested in Phantom Road. Perhaps my expectations were too high but by issue three the story began to click and my investment grew. The second arc has been ever stronger than the first. Something that I fully expected to happen. It goes to show the benefit of patience as a reader.
Writer: Jordan Thomas
Artist: Shaky Kane
Publisher: Oni Press
Description: SHOWDOWN AT THE SKINLESS CITADEL! The Man From Maybe and his compadres have tracked the world-ending threat-Heart of the Purple Claw-to a cesspool that passes for a city: the Skinless Citadel. Filled with the worst that humanity has to offer, it’s enough to make a Dino-Naut blush! Surrounded on all sides by infected reavers and scavengers, with billionaire madman Harvard Denny bearing down on them in his own twisted version of the Enola Gay, our heroes do their best to stay alive in an increasingly inhospitable environment. It’s carpet bombs galore as the whole insane adventure gets blown SKY HIGH!
Why it Made the List: This is the type of book that makes me love comics. There are so many weird and wacky things that would probably not work in any other medium. If you are a person who enjoyed early indie comics that looked to break all the rules the vibe of this will click with you. One that looks at convention as a stepping stone to become something far more interesting.
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Alex Maleev
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Description: Emma, aka “Masterpiece,” is a brilliant and driven 16-year-old. She has paid for school with her next level inventions and is well-known for her funny and honest webcomics. Then, one day, Zero Preston, one of the most famous billionaires on the planet, confronts her with the truth about her world. Emma discovers she is the only daughter of two of the greatest, most charismatic master criminals of all time. Her parents were the authors of the greatest casino robbery of all time, the greatest museum heist of all time, AND they took Preston for a cool billion… before they disappeared never to be seen or heard from again.
Why it Made the List: You love it when the band gets back together. Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev have made magic together in the past including one of my favorite runs ever on Daredevil. Now I am curious to see what they can do with a brand new series and none of the constraints of superheroes. I hope they can repeat past success once again and I expect that they can.
4. Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees #2
WriterArtist: Patrick Horvath
Publisher: IDW
Description: Horrified to learn that she’s not the only serial killer in Woodbrook-and insulted, frankly, by the rookie’s flare for the dramatic-Samantha hits the pavement to silence the competition before they ruin her quiet, perfectly curated life. But the insufferable latte-chugging local busybody Cherry Gherkins is poisoning the town with her own theories about the murder, and things are about to get messy. Grab a cup of cocoa and curl up with the second chapter of Patrick Horvath’s twisted tale of a cozy animal community in crisis!
Why it Made the List: I included issue one of my most anticipated list because the cover and the premise super intrigued me. When I read issue one I got everything I was hoping for and more. This is a type of book that could easily be devalued as nothing more than a gimmick. It is taking a property that is more designed for children and turning it dark and twisted. That is the starting point, but the execution is superb. Having a great premise gives you a lead when writing, but many great premises do not yield great products. So far this has taken that lead and taken off with it.
Writer: Maria Lapham, David Lapham
Artist: David Lapham
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Description: After his gambling addiction brings David to the lowest point in his life and decimates his personal life, he’d do anything for one last chance at setting things right but the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
He may just be in luck-if he can call it that; the grapevine yields illicit fruit as he learns of a heist, one involving a tunnel system that no one knows better than former NYC subway veteran David…
In this brand new hardboiled heist series with a supernatural horror twist perfect for fans of Phantom Road and Newburn, the hit Stray Bullets creative team of David & Maria Lapham explore how seeking atonement can lead people to do desperate and dangerous things.
Why it Made the List: The holidays are a time for reunions and that includes the world of comics. We have Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev and the team behind Stray Bullets working together again just this week. What is old is new. This also does not appear like they are just trying to rehash the same story either. Looking forward to seeing how this all turns out.
2. The Enfield Gang Massacre #5
Writer: Chris Condon
Artist: Jacob Phillips
Publisher: Image Comics
Description: With the gang’s ranks gutted by Ely, Mowbray, and the Union Army, Enfield faces a dark revelation.
Why it Made the List: Please don’t end. We are getting closer and closer to the end of this series and I am sad to see it. This has scratched my love of the Western genre itch so well, but this marks the penultimate issue. Jacob Phillips’s art comes alive with this genre. I think it comes down to the lighting. People often talk about how natural light can improve the aesthetic of a movie, and I feel that the same can be said for a comic. The difference here is that natural light has to be recreated. Not an easy feat. I do not know what the future holds for the world of That Texas’s Blood. If they want to revisit this period or one like it once again I would be for it.
Writer: Simon Spurrier
Artist: Charlie Adlard
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Description: In a macabre kaleidoscope of soul-seeking hallucinations, Ellie takes a theological hammer to the idea of satan, confronting her mind’s interpretation of the absent and cruel Creator.
If Ellie can find some internal salvation in all this, it might give her an edge against Cillian and his hivemind.
Regardless, she’s going to discover something shocking about Alfie’s fate…
Why it Made the List: if you read my review of issue number ten you would have seen how much I adore this book. While this series is reminiscent of comics of the past, it is telling a story that is very much of the now. Similar to The Enfield Gang Massacre this appears it may be heading towards its final issue. With how this series is progressing I can understand why they would want to end it. Still, I will be selfish and hope for at least another arc or two. It has been one of the best comics on the shelves since issue one and that has not slowed down. Might in fact be up there as one of the best books Boom! Studios has published.
