For new releases 11/24/21!
We are back with your Weekly Round-Up, our top 4 picks of the week! We had some crazy stuff come out this week...comics being hailed as "book of the year", set-up for a brand-new Marvel event... so much amazing content! Let's get into it Pull-Heads!
Lauren’s Picks
DC Comics
Writer: Brandon Thomas
Penciller: Denys Cowan
Inker: Bill Sienkiewicz
Colorist: Chris Sotomayor
Letterer: Rob Leigh
This line almost lost me last issue, but man, did the creative team bring back the FIRE this third issue! Hardware is my current favorite of all the Milestone Returns books. Curtis’ anger and desire for complete justice is something that I find intoxicating and relatable in the best way possible. Brandon Thomas does a magnificent job with his characterization, while the artistic team of Cowan, Sienkiewicz, and Sotomayor do a PERFECT job capturing each characters’ faces and the world around them. I love the designs to this book- it feels and looks like the 90s but sounds just like now. This was the perfect time to bring Hardware back; if you’ve been missing out on this run, get in NOW!
Ablaze Comics
Writer: Xavier Dorison
Art: Felix Delep
Colorist: Felix Delep and Jessica Bodard
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Man oh man, I was nervous about this one! I actually got a preview of this before it came out and wrote about it on another site I write for (you can read it here), but I’ll say it again: I hated the book Animal Farm, and I was reallllyyyy worried this would be like it in all the wrong ways. Well, Animal Castle is similar to Animal Farm, but only in the best of ways. The characters all feel beyond real and, as an adult, it’s wild to be able to relate to a cat or a goose, but here I am! I really love that they don’t dull down the “adult themes” in this one. Sexuality, cruelty, and so many adult pains are all prevalent in this one! Grab your issues for that cliffhanger at the end though- my heart is STILL hurting from it!
DC Comics
ALL THE CREATORS! Some include G. Willow Wilson, Stephanie Phillips, Wes Craig, Danny DeVito, Max Fiumara, Emma Rios, Wes Craig, Dan Mora
Look. These specials usually don’t do much for me, alright? These small stories seem like.. Pandering for my money and pandering for hype. Well, let me tell you, there were over 6 stories in this, and 3 of them stole my heart… and this is STILL my #2 book of the week! Poison Ivy’s, Ra’s Al Ghul’s, and Talia Al Ghul’s stories took me OUT in the best way possible. I got to go to a whole buffet, see the stars, get tucked into bed… it was an evening!
Ivy’s story broke my heart. I absolutely love the approach creators are taking with Ivy today- the anti-hero/villain that really just wants to help people and refuses to trust the system to do it. She KNOWS she can’t trust the system to do it. She doesn’t want to hurt innocents; she wants to hurt those who deserve it. And beneath all that, she wants love too. She’s a big ol softy. As a woman, I can say I very heavily disliked Poison Ivy in the past as the “man-seducer” she was portrayed as, but nowadays.. She’s one of my favorites.
Speaking of favorites… My favorite Batman villain is Ra’s Al Ghul, and the brilliant story with him in this issue reminded me of why! No other villain is Batman’s equal. No. other. Except for Ra’s. They are equals in almost every way; they simply just want to carry out their visions differently. If you don’t know Ra’s or don’t know him well, read this story. If you know him and miss good content with him, read this.
And I KNOW I’ve been missing good content with Talia Al Ghul, too! I loved her story in this as well and I’m just thrilled she’s making a comeback in the DC Universe, AS SHE DESERVES!
All in all, I had a blast with this issue. And that was just me talking about 3 of the stories here! What are you waiting for? Pick this one up! There’s something for everyone in it!
DC Comics
Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick
Art: Phil Jimenez
Colorist: Hi-Fi, Arif Prianto & Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
No questions asked, this could very well be the most beautiful book I’ve seen all year. Holy. Forking. Shirt! Each page is like an art mural that you could look at for days, YEARS on end. Phil Jimenez, Hifi, Prianto, Fajardo Jr… WOW. WOW. This book belongs in a museum. I absolutely LOVE what DeConnick has done with the story here. I’m not familiar with the original origins of the Amazons, so I don’t have any feelings about any possible retcons here, but the narration and dialogue with the Goddesses is... again, WOW. That really is the word for this book. I can’t believe I can relate to a Goddess’ dialogue and inner thoughts, but I can. Everyone should read this book, but this line was MADE for women. This is for us. READ. THIS. BOOK. PLEASE! I really hope this line is collected in hardcover because I will be grabbing that TOO!
You can find Lauren, Your Friendly Neighborhood Bi, at all her links here:
Joe’s Picks
Marvel Comics
Writer: Ram V
Artist: Bryan Hitch
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
It's Dylan's time to shine and I am loving that! Along with his pal Sleeper and the Venom symbiote, they're just trying to make it through each day without Eddie there to guide them. The cosmic tease at the end of #1 with Eddie was interesting, don't get me wrong, but I'm enjoying seeing a more grounded focus on Dylan, and the impact Eddie being the new King in Black is having on him. Back in the previous run it felt at times like Dylan was just being bounced around from event to event, but here it's a slower pace, it's much more built around him and I'm just very intrigued and excited to see where this is going to go. The artwork could be better at times, but overall it has a very cinematic feel to it and feels nicely distinct from the previous run to properly differentiate it. Good issue, once the dual narratives get up and running I have a feeling this could be a lot of fun!
Boom! Studios
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Dan Mora
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Y'all, this series is so much fun!! It's epic, it's adventurous, it's action-packed, I love all the characters and their different dynamics, and especially seeing where all the plotlines are going! Not to mention the artwork, which is some of the best on shelves these days, utterly spectacular! Mora and Bonvillain are an absolute dream team when it comes to art on this title, it's bright, vibrant, animated, dynamic, rich, how many more adjectives do you need! The artwork sells me on the book alone, but even then the story by Gillen is awesome and keeps me captivated and desperate to know more each month a new issue comes out! If you want some epic comic joy and fun on your pull list look no further than Once & Future, this latest issue had a bit of everything that I love and adore about this series!
DC Comics
Writer: Tom King
Art, Colorist: Greg Smallwood
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
What a beautiful book.
Like, it's just glorious. I love this kind of art style, with a smooth vibrant pastel feel to it, the colours feel so bright and full of life, it makes for such a soothing reading experience when you're soaking them in. Whether that's the lighting or the characters or anywhere it's just illustrated so gorgeously by Greg Smallwood.
As for the story, this feels exactly what I want from a Tom King book. I love the use of the one day per issue because I think it provides such a nice structure for reading month to month. I've said this a lot talking about limited series, but sometimes they can be one story roughly divided into however many issues, rather than a run of complete issues that all feel satisfying in their own right that come together to make that overall story.
So I think having to have each issue be a day ensures that each issue is going to be satisfying like that, checking in each month for a new day and watching it all come together. Normally King is an automatic trade wait, but it's that structure that fascinated me and captivated me into reading it monthly. Great book, beautiful relaxing artwork, can't wait to see where this goes.
Image Comics
Writer: Skottie Young
Artist: Jorge Corona
Colorist: Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Letterer: Nate Piekos
Hands down one of my favourite series of the year! While yes the route it went down was one I ultimately expected, it was executed so effectively it didn't feel generic or basic like I'd initially worried. It felt complex, how it was developed over this whole series, the exploration of it and how it all came to a head in this issue, perfect.
Then the artwork was just incredible. It's amazing because the style feels so animated and stylized, but that doesn't stop the colouring making it feel so full of life. It's so rich and immersive, it feels smooth and calm but there's so much detail and character to every scene. What I particularly loved is how the colouring set the atmosphere of the comic. The dark blues felt so cold, distant, and lonely, making you really feel for Ro, then the oranges felt that much more emotive, you can practically feel the fire as it overtakes and drowns out the deep blue. Just simply incredible. I mean just look at that epic cover to see how awesome the artwork is, so good!
An epic, well-rounded conclusion to a series that is not to be missed when the trade comes out!
Comments