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eddycurrents · 6 years

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For the week of 10 September 2018

Quick Bits:

Archie: 1941 #1 is fairly morose and downbeat in tone and execution as a recently graduated Archie Andrews seemingly sleepwalks through this opening chapter, depressed and anxious about the future, both in terms of what he wants to do with his life and with the growing fear of the war in Europe. It’s not bad, elevated by wonderful art from Peter Krause and Kelly Fitzpatrick.

| Published by Archie Comics

Birthright #31 returns after an extended break, opening a new arc following Kallista and Brennan, while diving into the backstory of Mastema. I like Joshua Williamson taking us off down this thread and the art from Andrei Bressan and Adriano Lucas is as beautiful as always.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Cemetery Beach #1 is a very entertaining start to this new action/sci-fi mini-series from Warren Ellis, Jason Howard, and Fonografiks. It’s been a while since I’ve seen some of Ellis’ dialogue be this funny, but it’s very welcome.

| Published by Image

Champions #24 tackles the increasing problem of school shootings with the added intersection of a world with superheroes. Now, that may sound like a recipe for disaster, condescending patronizing or an after school special with saccharine solutions, but that’s not what’s presented here. Jim Zub, Sean Izaakse, Marcio Menyz, Erick Arciniega, and Clayton Cowles instead present a thoughtful story of the helplessness of the situation, that you really should pick up and read for yourself.

| Published by Marvel

Crowded #2 is as good, possibly even better, than the first issue as we get further development of Vita and Charlie’s characters, and a broader understanding of many of the facets of the series’ world. This really is a great comic, wonderful humour, amazing premise, interesting characters, and beautiful art. Christopher Sebela, Ro Stein, Ted Brandt, Tríona Farrell, and Cardinal Rae have something special here. Don’t sleep on it.

| Published by Image

Exiles #8 is a good jumping-on point, as the team’s history is explored and the issue sets up a new group of antagonists in the Watchers. Saladin Ahmed is doing a great job of building these characters and making their unique alternate realities interesting. Nice guest art this issue from Joe Quinones, Joe Rivera, Jordan Gibson, Chris Sotomayor, and Muntsa Vicente.

| Published by Marvel

Fantastic Four #2 has a couple things in its opening page that could be considered problematic, the first in its depiction of an alien race that could be an analogue to the racial stereotype of Native Americans as the “noble savage”, the second is of the sexualization of a child. Neither are particularly endearing in how they’re presented and I’m kind of surprised they made it to print.

That being said, the rest of the issue is pretty good. It’s the kind of sci-fi adventure you’d expect from the FF, though it does feel like we’ve been dropped in at the end of an adventure we’ve never seen, and it has beautiful artwork from Sara Pichelli, Elisabetta D’Amico, and Marte Gracia.

| Published by Marvel

Hot Lunch Special #2 is just plain great storytelling. Eliot Rahal, Jorge Fornés, and Taylor Esposito are crafting a crime story here that is the perfect storm of characters, plot, and execution. It’s dense and heavy, navigating through the Khoury family and their shock at the death of their youngest, masterfully told through both dialogue and art.

| Published by AfterShock

Iceman #1 isn’t a bad start to a new series from Sina Grace, this time with Nathan Stockman and Federico Blee joining him for the art duties. While still cracking wise a bit, this seems like it’s going in a much more serious direction than some of Grace’s previous series. Great art, and an interesting hook for a new group trying to “cleanse” mutantkind.

| Published by Marvel

Infinity Wars #3 gives us the twist in the tale that’s going to deliver most of the tie-ins and spin-offs for the series, as Gamora remakes the world and causes the fusion of various heroes. It’s an idea we’ve seen before in things like the merged DC/Marvel Amalgam universe, which could be fun depending on where the creative teams take it.

| Published by Marvel

MCMLXXV #1 is kind of a mash-up of different 70s exploitation film genres, creating an interesting action horror story from Joe Casey, Ian MacEwan, Brad Simpson, and Rus Wooton. MacEwan’s art is very nice, reminding me a bit of Troy Nixey, with some interesting character designs and wonderful depictions of the action.

| Published by Image

Mech Cadet Yu #12 concludes the series with a final battle between the robos and the Sharg, again following the important themes of teamwork and sacrifice. This has been a very entertaining, action-packed story from Greg Pak, Takeshi Miyazawa, Raúl Angulo, and Simon Bowland.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Oblivion Song #7 is the big answer to the Transference, maybe, as the series turns itself on its ear again with more sweeping changes. I really quite like how Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo de Felici are keeping us on our toes as the series keeps pressing forward.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #309 concludes this two-parter focusing on Sandman, with gorgeous art from Chris Bachalo and his army of inkers. This one’s a lot more action-oriented than the quiet reflection upon death in the first chapter, but it’s still very satisfying.

| Published by Marvel

Runaways #13 begins a new arc with some incredible guest art from David Lafuente and Jim Campbell. Along with the return of Alex Wilder, this drops in another old threat for the team, leading to one of the more action-packed issues of the series so far. Still, amidst the chaos, Rainbow Rowell still has a laser-focused eye for character development, giving us some interesting reactions to Wilder’s return.

| Published by Marvel

Scales & Scoundrels #12 concludes this two-part arc with Dorma and with it the series for the foreseeable future. This has been a great all ages fantasy adventure series from Sebastian Girner, Galaad, and Jeff Powell, and I wish it had have caught on better since the quality has been extremely high. Great characters and beautiful art, I do hope they find a way to bring it back in some form, and I highly recommend people to check out the series in the collections.

| Published by Image

Volition #2 is another beautiful comic. The artwork from Omar Francia is gorgeous with a nice polished sheen to the colours that enriches this world of sentient machines.

| Published by AfterShock

Weapon H #7 continues to be more entertaining than anyone probably thought possible. Though I really quite like Cory Smith’s art, I’m thinking that Ario Anindito’s is even more suited to the weird, alien creatures of this turn in the story.

| Published by Marvel

The Wrong Earth #1 is a solid debut, kicking off new publisher, Ahoy’s, foray into comics. It’s a nice package with a lead story, a back-up comic, some interviews, a one pager, and a short story. It gives nice value for what you’re picking up, especially when you consider the talent involved.

The lead story from Tom Peyer, Jamal Igle, Juan Castro, Andy Troy, and Rob Steen is the main draw, though. It’s a rather brilliant premise of a superhero crossing alternate realities, switching from a kind of Adam West Batman-esque quaint, bright world to a much darker grim and gritty world, and vice versa. It’s executed very well, capturing the tone and atmosphere for both takes perfectly.

The backmatter also nicely enhances the experience, particularly the back-up comic featuring Stinger from Paul Constant and Frank Cammuso, presented in a kind of retro comics fashion. And a suitably bonkers adventure prose story from Grant Morrison, with illustrations by Rob Steen.

| Published by Ahoy Comics

X-23 #4 pushes further to paint the Cuckoos as out and out villains now. Which is a bit of a shame, much like with Emma Frost, but I can’t deny that Mariko Tamaki isn’t doing something interesting with them and the story overall. Also, Juann Cabal and Nolan Woodard continue to deliver stunning artwork.

| Published by Marvel

X-Men Blue #35 takes a moment for each of the time-tossed original five X-Men to chat with their present day counterparts about going back to their own time, while flashing forward to the seemingly nightmarish future that would exist if they stayed. Obviously with Extinction going on events are a bit out of order, but I still like the handle Cullen Bunn has had on these characters.

| Published by Marvel

Other Highlights: Accell #14, Amazing Spider-Man #5, Astonisher #10, The Beauty #23, Dejah Thoris #8, Charlie’s Angels #4, Daredevil #608, Domino #6, Farmhand #3, GI Joe: A Real American Hero #256, Head Lopper #9, Joe Golem: The Drowning City #1, Journey Into Mystery: Birth of Krakoa #1, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Tempest #2, Low Road West #1, Mage: The Hero Denied #12, Moth & Whisper #1, Ms. Marvel #34, Nancy Drew #4, The New World #3, Ninja-K #11, Old Man Logan #47, Proxima Centauri #4, RuinWorld #3, the seeds #2, She Could Fly #3, Sleepless #7, Star Trek: The Next Generation - Terra Incognita #3, Star Wars: Darth Vader #21, Star Wars: The Last Jedi #6, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #36, Venom: First Host #3, Wasted Space #5, The Weatherman #4, The Wicked + The Divine #39, World of Tanks: Citadel #5

Recommended Collections: Anthony Bourdain’s Hungry Ghosts, Dissonance - Volume 1, Dry County Complete, DuckTales - Volume 3: Quests & Quacks, Elsewhere - Volume 2, Infinity Countdown, Infinity Countdown Companion, Kick-Ass - Volume 1, Koshchei the Deathless, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers - Volume 6, Oblivion Song - Volume 1, Slam: Next Jam, Star Trek: The Next Generation - Through the Mirror, Star Wars: Darth Vader - Volume 3: Burning Seas, Star Wars: Thrawn, Strangers in Paradise XXV - Volume 1: The Chase

d. emerson eddy did not start a joke that started the whole world crying.

#This Week in Comics

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