For new releases 2/2/22!
This was Joe's first NCBD Birthday!! If you missed saying Happy B-Day to him this week, be sure to go find him on Twitter and give him your nerdiest wishes! It was the cherry-on-top to a fantastic comic week! Here is your Weekly Round-Up, our top 4 picks of the week! Let's get into it!
Lauren’s Picks
Marvel Comics
Writer: Victor LaVelle
Artist: Leonard Kirk
Colorist: Rain Beredo
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Designer: Tom Muller
Man, I have so many feelings about this issue. God. I am uncomfortable and I am in pain and that’s how it’s supposed to be. This issue is written so cleverly overall, but god did it hurt to see some of the brutality of Victor Creed again and WHO he inflicts it on. That said… I like where this is going, in terms of possibly defining The Quiet Council, their role, and the Krakoan laws and punishments as a whole. This issue is brutal. It’s unforgiving. It will probably hurt to read. But it’s necessary, just like it’s necessary to figure out what they are going to do if they won’t keep The Pit… right? If you’re reading X-Men stuff, this series is a necessary read!
Aftershock Comics
Writer: Tim Seeley
Artist: Corin Howell
Colorist: Mark Engert
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
I had no intention of reading this until I saw it at my LCS on Wednesday. Man, Aftershock is KILLING it with these magazine-sized one-shots! This one was creepy, twisted, but so so good. I was nicely surprised when I saw it was a story of a vampire, but told in a much different way than I’m used to. The inner narration Tim Seeley writes is all too relatable and Howell's art is the perfect balance of realism and supernatural horror. A worthy addition to your collection that will keep you thinking even after it’s finished!
Marvel Comics
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Rafael De Latorre
Colorist: Federico Blee
Letterist: VC’s Clayton Cowles
ELEKTRA, GIRL, YOU ARE SO WHIPPED FOR MATT MURDOCK ITS RIDICULOUS!! … but same, girl. Same. Whew. Mannnn oh mannn do I love me some Elektra Natchios and Zdarsky continues to not disappoint. It’s interesting how carefully he walks the line with her, though; she’s so close to full redemption, and yet somehow still feels so far away. Yet, she continues to make morally good decisions. It’s fascinating and I can’t wait to see where this leads after Devil’s Reign! But also, I’m gonna need to see Matt simping over Elektra soon, cause we KNOW he’s just as whipped as she is. Lord help them. <3
Boom Studios
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Art: Jonas Scharf
Colorist: Alex Guimaraes
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
This series has been one of the biggest surprises. It started off well, then dropped off, but I kept up with it digitally and man am I glad I did! The horror, brutality, and violence have kicked in full force and it’s fantastic! If you read one of Cullen Bunn’s MANY current series, this should be it. I’ve been in a horror mood lately with my comics and this is itching that scratch beautifully, and not just in physical horror and monsters, but also in psychological horror. Bunn, this is one of your best!
You can find Lauren, Your Friendly Neighborhood Bi, at all her links here:
Joe’s Picks
Image Comics
Writing & Letters: Iolanda Zanfardino
Art & Colors: Elisa Romboli
I am just loving this series. It's so bright, the art is so rich and the comic just generally is so full of joy and gay wholesomeness. That's the easiest way to get me to check out a comic, I've got to be honest. If you didn't already know that. So when a series has "A chaotic LGBTQ+ road trip!" as its first sentence, you know I'm sold and it hasn't disappointed yet! It seems now we're at that bittersweet time in the life of a mini-series, where I'm going to miss it a lot but excited to see how it ends! Smooth gorgeous art with refreshingly bright colors with a certain glow to them I just love, makes it such a soothing and entertaining read. This has been a great read so far, check it out if you haven't already!
DC Comics
Writer: Mark Russell
Artist: Steve Lieber
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
I had no idea what to expect from this series, but I'd heard such good things from the likes of Russell and Lieber, so I was looking forward to checking it out and it's been an interesting read so far. The first couple of issues really established the premise, with the last one focusing on a particular character. I loved how this had a bit of a wider view about the ideas presented as a whole, and that ending was just brilliant, especially considering the way things have been going leading up to it. Really looking forward to seeing where this goes, another one to check out if you haven't already!
DC Comics
Writer: Tom Taylor
Art: Bengal
Colorist: Arif Prianto
Letterer: Wes Abbott
This series is so good! One of my favorites at the moment for sure, another hit from one of my favourite writers in Tom Taylor. At first glance yes Putri is off this issue, but I love when fill-in artists are worked into the structure of the story, in this case, a flashback issue, and I think in this case it really worked. It honestly didn't look too different to me, it still had that regal feel that I loved to see. It reminded me a bit of how I'm comparing the artwork in House of Slaughter to the main title, noticeably different, but still the same atmosphere and similar style where you can tell they're related.
Since this was a flashback issue, it could have been lots of overly verbose exposition, but I think it was handled well. It really felt like I was being told the story, I've been so captivated by this series and that just continued here. It's struck that perfect balance for me where I know it's going to be a spectacular read in collected form, but there's enough compelling material to keep me coming back month to month, where it feels like complete chapters of a grander story which I'm getting my money's worth out of. Great stuff, definitely recommend!
Image Comics
Writer, Designer, Archivist, Researcher: Jim Valentino
Writer, Researcher of “Thirty Years of Awards” section: Kat Salazar
Editing: Melanie & Megan Hackett
This feels like a very unconventional pick of the week, due to the nature of the book, but I just found it such a fascinating read that for me there was no other choice. The insight behind all the drama of the early days, the break up with Marvel, the secret meetings and early dealings, the early days of Image all the way through to what it would become, via all the inner turmoil and changes that would come over the years to follow. Then as if all that wasn't interesting enough, I loved seeing how many of my favourite characters nowadays got their start with their own Image series as their first comic book, some I already had heard of and some I was surprised by!
I really enjoyed the way this was put together, from the timeline to the backmatter. It took me a solid hour to read through (that was reading time, anyway, it was a bit longer because I paused and took a couple of breaks every so often), but well worth it. As someone who only got into comics several years ago, where the early days of Image were seemingly a long time ago, this was a thoroughly interesting, intriguing, and fascinating read that I'm glad I took the time to read through and absorb. If you're curious, have a bit of spare money, and see this on the shelf next time you're in your LCS, check it out!
What were your top picks this week? Let us know what we missed! You never know; your recommendation could end up on our lists in the future!
Come find us both on Twitter and let's talk comics and good times :)
You can find Lauren, Your Friendly Neighborhood Bi, at all her links here: beacons.ai/friendlynbhdbi
You can follow JoeLovesComics over on Twitter for (albeit shorter) thoughts on comics he loves.
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