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This week’s theme? When my favorite things combine. One of the best things about comics is the opportunity it provides creators. People can take chances to explore concepts that would be far more difficult for any other medium. Sometimes it does not work. When it does though it can be something special.
What that let’s get to the list.
(Editor’s Note: Solicitations are provided by the respected Publishers)
Writer: Tyrone Finch
Artist: Sebastián Piriz
Publisher: Ahoy Comics
Solicitation: Is this another exciting new superhero universe? No—just a buddy comedy about two unlucky henchmen trying to make their way in the world! DEADWEIGHTS takes a hard look at what happens after the fight when the villains are tired of being villains, and the heroes aren’t as heroic as they want you to think. Written by Tyrone Finch (Swine, Station 19) and gorgeously drawn by Sebastián Piriz (We Ride Titans). Featuring the first of six “mug shot” incentive covers by Richard Pace (Second Coming), which will form a linked image.
Why it Made the List: Ahoy is one of my favorite current comic publishers. Beyond just enjoying a bunch of their books they have done a lot to make the issue format with your time and money with a great deal of extras from prose stories to food recipes. I am unsure what will be included with this issue but what makes me interested is the concept. Comics that focus on characters in stories that are usually nothing more than cannon fodder are typically a great time. You can poke fun at a genre while still existing inside of it. Then when you add the context of villains trying to move away from that life there’s a lot of opportunity to create something unique.
Writer: Jeff McComsey
Artist: Chris Ferguson
Publisher: ARTISTS WRITERS & ARTISANS INC
Solicitation: Don’t miss the second chapter of a generation-spanning crime story! To get his wife out of trouble, handyman Cole dug into his deceased criminal father’s “little black book” of underworld contacts. Now the syndicate that employed Cole’s father has gotten wind of the book’s existence, and they’ll stop at nothing to get it back. Cole and his wife must face the consequences of their actions — both psychological and in the form of a gang of armed roughnecks that’s about to descend on their home.
Why it Made the List: I enjoyed the first issue of Little Black Book. It was a cold open issue that set the stage for the chaos that will no doubt begin with this issue. To start we got a story focused on what seemed like normal people living their lives. It was important because it would make what follows all the more impactful to show how quickly someone can go down a road they never thought they would travel. The AWA books I have enjoyed the most have had this type of vibe. I love that this comic series focused on people and did not involve much or anything supernatural. Chris Ferguson’s art worked well and did a lot to make the human drama engaging. When the calm before the storm is that effective how good will it get when the storm comes? Looking forward to finding out.
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Rafa Sandoval
Publisher: DC Comics
Solicitation: BRAINIAC ATTACKS! Brainiac’s Lobo army invades Metropolis in an action-packed oversized issue! The Super family and all the heroes of Metropolis join the fight, but will they be enough to hold off Brainiac’s lethal and crazed soldiers?! Can Superman and Lex learn what Brainiac is searching for? He’s not bottling Metropolis, so what is he collecting instead?!
Why it Made the List: I rather enjoyed the last run on Action Comics as Jason Aaron got to write Superman for the first time. This isn’t Joshua Williamson’s first time of course as he is writing the other Superman title on the shelves right now. I have been enjoying that so I know he can write a good Superman story. Brainiac as a villain scares me a bit because his stories can often be very repetitive to what we have gotten before. Knowing this is meant to lead to a larger event makes me hope we will get a different approach to the character. Brainiac is similar to Galactus in that if you are going to use him your story better measure up to make his presence matter otherwise you will make him feel less special as a character. Rafa Sandoval is a great artist t if you what some big oversized action as this issue promises. I have said time and time again recently it is a great time to be a Superman fan. I hope this storyline will further prove the case I am making.
Writer/Artist: Peach Momoko
Publisher: Marvel
Solicitation: THE ULTIMATE X-MEN GO BACK TO SCHOOL! High school, that is! It’s a new school year for Hisako as she tries to get a grasp on her new powers… Where she meets a cool, white-haired punk girl named Mei (A.K.A. Maystorm), who understands all too well the challenge Hisako faces. And they team up to embark on a creepy adventure to learn who is behind the creepy shadow that has been haunting — and taunting — them!
Why it Made the List: This is unlike any X-Men book I have ever read and I love everything about that. If you told me this was a story Peach Momoko created without any intention of it being a Marvel book, but then just threw some X-Men names on a few characters when this opportunity arose I would not be surprised. Some may look at that as a bad thing. Why make an X-Men book that does not feel like an X-Men book? I can understand that argument but my question is why have an Ultimate universe if you are going to do a different version of what we have gotten already? I have enjoyed the other Ultimate books but neither Black Panther nor Spider-Man feel all that different than their 616 counterparts. Most importantly I found the story that was being told rather engaging. It was an effective mixture of folklore and horror with a tint of Marvel. Superheroes maintain when they can adapt. This is a type of comic that can bring people in that would never read a Marvel book otherwise. That’s a good thing for everyone.
6. The Bat-Man: First Knight #2
Writer: Dan Jurgens
Artist: Mike Perkins
Publisher: DC Comics
Solicitation: MONSTERS TERRORIZE GOTHAM IN THE DARK KNIGHT’S EARLIEST DAYS UNDER THE COWL! Monster men continue to terrorize Gotham City, but with the body count rising, the GCPD is no closer to solving the mystery behind these seemingly undead assailants, and the Bat-Man and Gordon are the only ones willing to brave the criminal underworld to crack the case. It’s after a near-death brawl saving the mayor from the monster men that the Bat-Man must face a stark reality… are his fists and willpower enough to save Gotham?
Why it Made the List: The Bat-Man: First Knight #1 was a wonderful first issue. Considering the thousands of Batman comics it is nearly impossible to do something new with the Cape Crusader. This is doing something new by doing something old by bringing Bruce Wayne and the Batman mythos back to when the character was initially created. One bonus is it makes you realize just how long this character has been around and how much life has changed. When just having a car was considered an advancement in technology compared to most. My favorite scene was when he gets help from a Rabbi and they simply have a conversation. Knowing the historical context of this time there was so much within that moment yet the dialog never leaned in too hard. Hoping for more of that with this issue.
Writer: Tony Fleecs
Artist: Dave Wachter
Publisher: BOOM! STUDIOS
Solicitation: Oliver is a seemingly typical 12 year old boy… except for a mysterious family history that seems to start and end with his mother, and unexplainable powers, that is.
He can do things other boys can’t, to the point of landing him in some trouble. Baffled by the surreal cartoonish nature of his abilities and followed by a murder of peculiar crows, the mystery behind Oliver’s family history finally unfolds!
Why it Made the List: Animation is another artistic medium I adore. So a comic that centers on cartoons has a lot going for it. Tony Fleecs has proven himself as a comic creator with me with series like Stray Dogs and Feral. Unlike those books, this does not focus on animals however the love of classic animation is written all over those series. I have also had the opportunity to see the preview pages of this issue and they look phenomenal. Any artist who can seamlessly combine different styles on one page immediately gets my admiration. I am getting a similar feeling I did with another book that will be on this later. A feeling that this is a series that could be something special. I was right about that book. I believe I will be right again here.
Writer: Ryan North
Artist: Carlos Gómez
Publisher: Marvel
Solicitation: She came in trouble, all five feet, six inches of it. Even her name was a warning that things were about to get bad for me, real quick: “Storm.” Miss Susie Storm, standing there in a blue gown custom-made to take years off the life of anyone who saw her, big as life in my crummy office. The doll needed a private eye to find her boyfriend. Seems he’d pulled a disappearing act: one “Professor Richards,” a hard-luck egghead who’d somehow scored way out of his league. I didn’t want to take her case, but my bank account said otherwise, and besides: There was something about her. A sense of danger maybe, but also, a vulnerability. Call me a sap, but the world’s a rough place — and me, I didn’t want to make it any rougher on her. ‘Course, it wasn’t long before I wished I’d had the good sense to keep my distance…
Why it Made the List: As mentioned the theme this week is things I love combining in one comic. This time it’s my favorite current Marvel series doing a story within my favorite genre. Ryan North is writing a noir tale with Sue Storm playing the role of femme fatale. Sign me up all day for that. I am not sure if this is just a fun offshoot or somehow the Fantastic Four get lost in time, and not knowing is so great. The best thing about this series is that each issue provides a unique adventure. Now that adventure brings us to the day of PI’s and dames to should know better. Should be amazing.
Writer: Daniel Warren Johnson
Artist: Jorge Corona
Publisher: Image Comics
Solicitation: WHO WILL LEAD THE DECEPTICONS?
After last issue’s shocking ending, Starscream and Soundwave battle for leadership—and the result will change the Decepticons forever.
And the Autobots learn they may have more allies than they imagined…
JORGE CORONA joins DANIEL WARREN JOHNSON to begin the Energon Universe story that will have everyone talking!
Why it Made the List: This is a big issue for Transformers as Jorge Corona takes over art duties. Jorge Corona is a great artist and you can read series like Middlewest to see exactly that. So much of this book’s identity has been based on the artwork of Daniel Warren Johnson so I do wonder how things will change. I completely understand the change because when you look at how much Johnson puts on the page it would be impossible for him to do an entire year like that without a break. Also, this arc may be going for something a bit different so a change in style could help tell that specific story. Daniel Warren Johnson is still writing the book so the transition should not be too drastic. If they could pull it off there will be no stopping this series.
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Hayden Sherman
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Solicitation: What is the Keep’s endgame? How will it forever change or destroy Tyler and his family’s life? Will Detective Madoc be able to overcome his traumatic experiences in the Dungeons as a boy to unravel the Keep’s plans and stop this from ever happening to anyone else? The finale of the year’s most intense thriller is here!
Why it Made the List: I am so happy this series is ending. That may seem like a weird thing to say regarding a comic I am looking forward to reading. The reason is the amount of anxiety I get from reading this book. Dungeon does not do justice to the invention that is used in this series to trap and torture people, and when you add the fact we are dealing with a child in peril I am on edge hoping all things work out. Will they? I have my doubts. This has been this massive cat-and-mouse game as we travel the world over to search for the most intense serial criminal in recent memory. Hayden Sherman has been an artist I have been a fan of since the series Wasted Space. His storytelling has also been impressive. Since working with Scott Snyder his art has gone up an extra level. There are so many pages you can pour over. So that is one thing I will miss when this is over. The anxiety on the other hand…
1.Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees #5
Writer/Artist: Patrick Horvath
Publisher: IDW
Solicitation: Sam’s foe was quick and mighty clever.
Now Sam must skip town, maybe forever.
The town doesn’t trust her, they think she’s the one.
So Sam’s on her own, and alone she must run.
But maybe, just maybe, she’ll learn in the wild.
And return to that town, to face the devil child.
Why it Made the List: With Uncanny Valley #1 I mentioned there was another book on this list that I thought could be special before I got the chance to read it. Where the idea of concept and execution looked unique enough to make it stand out in an endless amount of comic books. That comic was Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees. So far that feeling has been proven to be right. With this being the penultimate issue I can imagine some major things about about to happen. We are heading straight forward to the climax and I could not be happier. Patrick Horvath’s artistic and storytelling abilities deserve so much credit, but I also want to shout out letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou who has added a lot to this book. He has modeled a lot of his sound effects and lettering choices to enhance the mood and themes of the story. All this makes it one of the best-looking books being made today.
