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The first week of the year was a bit light. I am guessing a Holiday Hangover kept a lot of books from coming out. We are making up for it this week because it was a challenge to limit this list to ten. A lot of great books were left off the list. So with that let’s see what made it.
Editor note: All Solicitation portions come directly from their respective publishers
Writer: Jay Baruchel, Van Jensen
Artist: Alessandro Micelli
Publisher: Dark Horse
Solicitation: Boy and Girl make a last stand, with the Paternoster and his murderer-army descending on their new home. It’s all-out war as Boy and Girl push their killing skills to the max. But two teenagers against a phalanx of assassins and CIA goons. Not great odds. Will they survive? You’ve gotta buy the issue to find out!
Why It Made the List: Tear Us Apart was one of my surprise series of 2024 and now it is sadly coming to an end. Never have I been invested in the plight of characters just named Boy and Girl to this level before. I hope by the end that they get actual names. That would be a nice moment. Alessandro Micelli’s style both with his lines and colors has made this book sing. He has a knack for both large-scale action and small tender moments as well. With this being the last issue this is not the best time to jump in, but if you missed this series highly advise checking out the trade when it comes out. I could imagine this would read even better with that format.
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: R.B. Silva
Publisher: Marvel COmics
Solicitation: THE FIGHT FOR KRAKOA HAS BEEN LOST! Ten years ago, the mutants returned from their exile to try and reclaim the Earth from the forces of Orchis. They failed. Now, within the victorious Orchis with their gauntlet choking the world, Nimrod and Omega Sentinel put their plan within a plan into action. They are to summon their binary god to consume everything in their accession. All that stands between them is the X-Men. What can they do? They’re the X-Men. They’ll find a way. That’s their power. So begins a story beyond time and space, with the rise of powers beyond our petty human intelligence.
Why it Made the List: 2023 is coming up X-Men. How many will be left with all things are said and done? That is yet to be seen. I enjoyed last week’s Fall of the House of X #1 and now we are getting the Rise. Immortal X-Men has been one of the best comics in the X-Men line so I feel safe in saying this will continue that trend. It is still weird seeing Iron Man on an X-Men team but they are making it work. Let’s see if the rise will be as compelling as the fall.
Writer: Ryan K. Lindsay
Artist: Sami Kivela
Publisher: MAD CAVE STUDIOS
Solicitation: A John Doe slaying lures a journalist into a world of political intrigue, a wi-fi-enabled grotto, and a station locker full of secrets. For Bucky, an editor of the crime beat at “The Truth,” it’s all in a day’s work…
…but he also happens to be a deer.
Will he chase down his last story in this antler noir series? Deer Editor is perfect for fans of Blacksad and Chinatown.
Why It Made the List: There are two big reasons this made the list this week. The first is the title of the book. That’s an A+ pun in my humble opinion. (Yes I love puns. I live a simple life) The second is the reference to Blacksad a series I very much adore. That is also setting a very high bar for this book so there is a risk wit that comparison. Mad Cave has impressed me a lot as a publisher as of late, and as mentioned we know this creative team has quite the pun game so I have faith it will follow through. I feel like I should be ending this with some pun but that is a skill I do not have. Maybe that is why I appreciate them as much as I do.
Writer: W. Maxwell Prince
Artist: Martin Morazzo
Publisher: Image Comics
Solicitation: THE END OF THE SIDEWALK The end of the end of the series about endings. Here, the team behind **ICE CREAM MAN **creates something only they could—a dark, morose take on a beloved book of children’s poems. It’s an ICE CREAM MAN CROSSOVER; a parodic play with near-perfect rhyme scheme; the terminal issue of a bunch of…terminal issues. The end is here; we hope you enjoy our swan song.
Why It Made the List: The series all about endings is coming to an end. I guess that checks out. What better way to end this book than to bring together the entire Ice Cream Man team? Will there be a crossover? Probably not and that’s okay. As a major fan of Shel Silverstein that cover speaks to me personally so I wonder if we are getting a story fitting for his style. Considering this series as been so good with each issue if they are saving the best for last this will have
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: John Timms
Publisher: DC Comics
Solicitation: SUPERMAN SUPERSTARS BEGINS! JASON AARON WRITES SUPERMAN FOR THE FIRST TIME, JOINED BY FAN-FAVORITE ARTIST JOHN TIMMS! THE WIZARD, BIZARRO! Jason Aaron writes Superman for the very first time, teaming up with all-star artist John Timms to present a startling new vision of the Man of Steel’s strangest foe. When Superman’s doppelgänger discovers a dark secret about himself, it unleashes the most dangerous version of Bizarro the world has ever seen.
Why It Made the List: I have said many times that 2023 was an amazing year to be a Superman fan and I hope the same can be said for this year. We are starting with a new era of Superman that DC is calling Superman Superstars where big names will be working on the Man of Steel. This issue we are getting a Bizzaro story by Jason Aaron and John Timms. Jason Aaron is coming back to DC to work on the big two right away. I enjoy his current Batman book so I hope the same will be said for this story. Personally not a huge fan of the character of Bizzaro but a good story is a good story.
Writer: Rob Williams
Artist: Pye Parr
Publisher: Image Comics
Solicitation: Escape the Smogzone with The Fast & The Robo-Furious! There’s no escape from The O and his robo-police! Petrol Head’s beloved ride faces destruction, Lupa must make the toughest choice imaginable and Petrol Head turns to his worst enemy for help. Ugh! And watch out, SuperCarStar is entering the race!
Why It Made the List: I thought issue one of Petrol Head was one of the best first issues of 2023 and the second issue kept that momentum going. This is a great time to be a fan of giant robots! Pye Parr is another name to add to the ever-long list of great creators from 2000 AD. I am not sure what it is about that world but it attracts some great artists. Every page has something interesting that makes reading a treat. The character designs are so creative and full of personality. Oh yeah and the story is good too! It’s hard to sum up everything that works so well with this book.
Writer/Artist: Jeff Lemire
Publisher: Image Comics
Solicitation: Francis Fox and her new friend attempt to escape their hiding place on her father’s farm while Helen DuPuis is visited by her own strange visitor in the hospital. Will Helen find out who shot her son Paul or will she lose even more of her tenuous grip on reality?
Why It Made the List: Image Comics is pulling out the big guns this week! It was hard not to add more of their books to this list so I tried to stay with best of the best. With Fishflies Jeff Lemire is not in a hurry to push the story along which is why it works as well as it does. He allows real people to have real conversations about real issues but injects just the right amount of the fantastical to make things interesting. I am in my happy place when I am reading a comic written and drawn by Lemire even when the book is as melancholy as Fishflies. Also each issue has been oversized so you get your money’s worth each and every time.
Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Max Fiumara
Publisher: Image Comics
Solicitation: There is a point in every life where we must choose between who we want to be and who it is easiest to become. There are dark places that once trapped within can feel inescapable. But anything is possible with a friend. Join superstar creators RICK REMENDER and MAX FIUMARA as they close out the first chapter of the new hit series!
Why It Made the List: This series makes me angry, but a good angry. That same type of anger you get from characters like Joffrey in Game of Thrones where you cannot wait until they get what is coming to them. The characters in this series aren’t as over the top as Joffrey but their actions are just as bad if not worse. There is this elite class that is so dismissive of everyone beneath their status they will use them up for the most trivial purposes. Cannot help but think they are making a clear message with this series. It might sound odd to want to read a comic to get angry again, but it is the right type of anger! Plus I’m sure it will be worth it in the end.
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Marco Checchetto
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Solicitation: THE NEW ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN FOR A NEW ULTIMATE UNIVERSE! Revolutionary writer Jonathan Hickman and acclaimed artist Marco Checchetto (DAREDEVIL) bring you a bold new take on Spider-Man, with the debut title of the new line of Ultimate Comics! After the events of ULTIMATE INVASION, the world needs a hero…who will rise up to take on that responsibility? Prepare to be entangled in a web of mystery and excitement as the all-new ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN comic redefines the wall-crawler for the 21st Century!
Why It Made the List: I have so many different emotions going into this series. Part of me is hesitant because I was not a big fan of the Ultimate Invasion series from last year, but then we are getting Marco Checchetto drawing Spider-Man so we at least know it will look great. I am not a person who thinks Peter Parker should be married, but I cannot deny the idea of an older Peter Parker appeals to me. Maybe because I’ll be able to relate to him more. I am just excited to see if this will work. It could be the next great era or a giant misstep.
Writer/Artist: Daniel Warren Johnson
Publisher: Skybound
Solicitation: When the Decepticons attack the Autobots at their weakest moment, an unlikely new hero joins the battle! With human and Transformer robots lives at stake, can Optimus Prime unlock the true power behind the Matrix of Leadership to save them both?
Why It Made the List: I am fully in with the Energon universe. I have not been this excited about G.I. Joe and Transformers since I was in Middle school. Daniel Warren Johnson has found a new home in this world and I could watch him draw fighting robots all day. I am all for ‘important’ comics that try to focus on important issues. I am also a fan of just having fun with comics as well, which this provides time and time again. Not that there is not a story as well. It is trying new things with this world but staying true to what made these characters so iconic. Plus they are not doing too much too soon. We are seeing some small connections between all these different parts of the Energon universe without a full-out war right away. That’s going to make the major event I assume is coming even more satisfying.
