For new releases 3/16/22!
We are back with your Weekly Round-Up, our top 4 picks of the week! You guys might notice some *trends* in Lauren and Joe's picks this week ;) Let's get into it!
Lauren’s Picks
DC Comics
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Dan Mora
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
This issue felt like a giant, warm hug, particularly because of Dan Mora’s art. Not only does he draw environments and spaces well, but the characters?? Oh my gosh, his specialty truly is in character art. The second I saw Lois Lane’s face, I nearly swooned. Not out of thirst (even though, yes), but because she looks so… good. So REAL. so much like a real-life Lois Lane. And that goes for all the characters of this issue. I really enjoy seeing Batman in his blue suit again. I’m a sucker for it. Storywise, it’s action-packed with a killer cliffhanger- there’s absolutely nothing to complain about and only glory to bask in. Absolutely looking forward to more of this!
Image Comics
Writer: Tyler Burton Smith
Artist: Vanessa Cardinali
Colorist: Simon Robins
Letterer: Steve Wands
I described this book as a “mind-fuck” on my Twitter after I initially read it and I stand by that. It’s an absolutely bat-shit, mind-fucking, crazy, creepy story, and I LOVE IT! If you were a fan of the comic Vinyl, this is a must for you. Imagine that you had nightmares and wanted them stomped out- well guess what? In this series, people LITERALLY go in your head and stomp out the monsters/people/things that are scary in your nightmare. But, if people can stomp them out, that means they can come to life too, right?? Or at least that monsters ARE real??? Slumber is a trippy read that will make you question what it means to Slumber and I can’t recommend it enough. You want weird, trippy, creepy, insane horror? This is it!
Aftershock Comics
Writer: Erica Schultz & Van Jensen
Artist: Aneke
Letterer: Cardinal Rae
This. Series. Has. Blown. My. Mind. As someone who is 100% NOT a journalist, but absolutely fascinated with the profession and so many’s desire to find the truth within it… This book RULES. Not only is it so focused on journalism and detective work, but it’s fast-paced, action-packed, bad-ass, AND heartwrenching! I don’t know how this creative team managed to fit it all into one book, but they did. This third issue upped the stakes from 100 to 9000 and I couldn’t stop turning the pages. If you’ve been missing out on this indie, stop, drop, and roll out to your comic shop to get it! You will NOT regret it!
Image Comics
Writer: David M. Booher
Artist: Zoe Thorogood
Colorist: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Shawn Lee
Original story by: Joe Hill
This story has me in a blanket, on the floor, cuddling ice cream while watching the reunion scene with Avalance on Season 6 of Legends of Tomorrow. Oh my goodness. My HEART. I am in PAIN. and I wouldn’t change a thing! This series cuts right at your heart strings, and just when you think you’ve sewn together some new ones, it cuts them harder than EVER in this third issue. This story is absolutely gorgeous and this is David M. Booher at his best. His words are unbelievably beautiful and gutting in this issue, and series as a whole. Zoe Thorogood’s art remains some of the absolute best and makes Booher’s beautifully gutting words that much more REAL. It makes you FEEL and have to sit there feeling. This is not only my top book this week, but one of my top series of the year.
You can find Lauren, Your Friendly Neighborhood Bi, at all her links here:
Joe’s Picks
Marvel Comics
Writer: Ram V / David Micheline / Ty Templeton
Artist: Francesco Manna / Ron Lim / Ty Templeton
Colorist: Dijjo Lima / Israel Silva
Letterer: Joe Sabino
This was a great first issue. I was intrigued and excited at the idea of Ram V writing a Carnage series, but was particularly interested to see how it compared to his Venom which I recently dropped off of. If you've read the issue you'll know what I mean when I say it feels a bit weird to say I "enjoyed" reading it haha, but I absolutely love the idea of Carnage as this free thing that's just on the loose.
It makes it inherently more terrifying to me, the idea of him just becoming a malevolent being or force of nature, not because he has a serial killer for a host but because that's just how he is choosing to be. Something more abstract and not as easy to rationalize, especially when there's no human under there at all, just pure symbiotic evil.
I hadn't heard of the artist Francesco Manna before Supermassive from Image a few weeks ago, but it made me really excited for his work here and it didn't disappoint. It felt dynamic, animated and the coloring by Dijjo Lima was just generally rich and vibrant and worked really well for the story, making it feel grounded but also had some great and scary scenes, of Carnage and a couple of times otherwise.
I appreciated the short story at the back, but I agree with comments I've seen where the issue could have been done without it. This was a $4.99 issue though, whereas the subsequent issues are only $3.99, so hopefully, that won't be a problem going forward.
Image Comics
Writer: David M. Booher
Artist: Zoe Thorogood
Colorist: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Shawn Lee
Original story by: Joe Hill
Through writing for this site I check out the advance Image pdfs when they get released every week, and that's how I've been keeping up with this series, because I'd heard good things about it. I'll be honest, I appreciated it and liked it but didn't find it as amazing as I heard some people did.
But holy shit what an issue this was. Like, wow. This issue was all about driving home the emotion of this situation and new status quo our main character finds themselves living in, and when I say it hit those emotions, it hit them hard. That's not to say the first two issues didn't have emotion, because they did, but there was something about this one that absolutely knocked me over.
I mean, the writing, the artwork, not to mention the lettering, where it feels like a very minimalistic font. That perfectly fits the same tone conveyed by the artwork, the background and sky is barren, the texture of the characters and everything in general has a very rough, feel to it.
That just lack of refinement makes it all the more real, the emotion all the more raw. I feel like it's interesting because like I said about the barrenness of the backgrounds, the most bleakness conveyed in this story is during the day. When people have to face the harsh reality of this new world. But not in a typical "dark and gritty post apocalypse" way or whatever, but just heartbreaking realism. People were taken away and there's no way around that.
So yeah, I'll admit I didn't think too much of the first couple issues so didn't know what to expect but from this third, but wow. An emotional gut punch of an issue in the subtlest of wording and art choices, and one that makes me very excited and intrigued to see where this is going to go over these next final couple of issues, especially considering that ending.
DC Comics
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Dan Mora
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Lauren sums it up really well, this first issue really was just like a warm hug. In an era with endless reboots, renumberings, relaunches and more, this was just a fun superhero story, plain and simple. I’ll honestly go ahead and say this has some of the best talent in the industry at the moment working on it.
If you enjoyed the art in this issue, you HAVE to go check out Once & Future, because it was such a joy to see Mora and Bonvillain bring their spectacular artistic talents over from that book to this one. It’s so gloriously vibrant, bright, animated, dynamic, it just simply and perfectly radiates that hope and optimism that’s so integral to the superhero comic.
Not even mentioning the lettering by Bidikar. Since it is a big two comic, he doesn’t get to do anything especially noticeably creative (compared to his indie work, on something like say Home Sick Pilots) but it just adds to the amazing talent, and the work and effort that was put into this book. It’s so clean, and crisp, and it’s just so well done.
From all that I mentioned, the time period of continuity it’s set in, and the wild comic book shenanigans that occur, I’m very excited to see where this is going to go, because to me this was just an absolutely fantastic start that was such a joy and so fun to read.
Image Comics
Writer: Dan Watters
Art & Colors: Caspar Wijngaard
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
There was one main thing I was thinking about with this issue, and that’s how it would be so easy for other creators to take some of the ideas and concepts of this series, and make it entirely action-focused. All style, no substance.
This series is absolutely not that. Mid-way through the final arc and the climactic fight is actually in the background. But not in a way that makes you restless or desperate to get back to it, because the emotion is so developed here. The attachment to these characters over the last dozen issues has just grown and grown, to the point where you feel the heart, and the character, and the depth and emotion of what is happening. It’s so impactful, and I’ve just loved seeing these characters grow.
That’s not even mentioning the fantastic artwork and lettering by Wijngaard and Bidikar. It really is just a spectacular sight to soak in each and every time a new issue comes out. The whole aesthetic of the book is so clearly defined and effectively carried out, through every scene, whether that’s through the art, the colors, the lettering, it’s all just such a treat. Everything is just so well done to make such an enjoyable and high-quality comic book experience.
It feels naturally bittersweet, because like I’ve mentioned this is the final arc, and with this issue, we are racing towards the conclusion. But I’ve adored everything about this series ever since it started, and I’m very excited to see how it all wraps up over the next couple of issues. My absolute favorite book on shelves, check it out if you haven’t already!
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.
Comments