Top Comics of November 2018: A body horror extravaganza

By Zack Quaintance — As the year winds down, some clear favorite comics have emerged for us, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, you’ll see that born out in the Top Comics of November 2018 (as well as in the Top Comics of 2018...coming at the end of December!). What have we liked the most this year? Apparently, it’s all things Vault, Immortal Hulk, and the start of what is fast becoming a madcap and epic Superman run.

What is perhaps more telling about the overstate of comics (and not just our tastes) is that outside of the regulars, our Top Comics lists have also featured a steady rotation of creator-owned comics, with books like Hot Lunch Special, Ice Cream Man, Seeds, and all things Jeff Lemire regularly finding their way into our top 5 section. This month is no exception, with the conclusion to the excellent body horror tale Come Into Me landing among our favorites. Anyway, did I mention we’ll have year-end lists (shameless, I know)? Because we will. Lots of them coming at the end of this month!

And now, onto the comics!

Shout Outs

I wrote an Amazing Spider-Man #10 review, so I’ll be brief, but this issue right here sums up why I like this new run.

I also wrote a Cover #3 review, so I’ll be brief again, but this is probably the best comic about making comics I’ve yet read.

I don’t get excited about anniversary issues with multiple stories/artists, but Avengers #10 (#700) made it count. For the first time since Hickman, it feels like we’ve truly started a new Avengers era.

The first arc of this book felt Twin Peaks-y, but with Gideon Falls #8, the creators have found new territory all their own—and the comic is better for it.

X-Men Red #10 makes me wish they’d have just transitioned this book into the new Uncanny title. It’s that good.

Writer Scott Snyder says his Justice League run will be quieting down next; if that’s the case, Aquaman Justice League Drowned Earth #1 was the perfect totally bonkers and grandiose adventure to go out on...for now.

As it speeds toward its third anniversary, Ta-Nahesi Coates’ Black Panther run has gone full-blown sci-fi epic...and it just keeps getting better. See, Black Panther #6.

I wasn’t crazy about the plot of this series, but New World #5 makes our list on the merits of Tradd Moore’s imaginative art alone.

Black Hammer: Age of Doom #7 sees Jeff Lemire teaming with Rich Tommaso to go full-blown Grant Morrison-meta, speaking to the nature of stories, storytellers, and the meaningfulness of the character who inhabit our minds.

One day, you just look up and all of a sudden your favorite comic at DC (Superman and Batman aside) is Hawkman. Hawkman #6 continues the best adventure this character has had in years.

Top Comics November 2018

5. Fearscape #2, Friendo #2, and These Savage Shores #2
Writers:
Ryan O’Sullivan, Alex Paknadel, & Ram. V
Artists: Andrea Mutti, Martin Simmonds, & Sumit Kumar
Colorists: Vladimir Popov, Dee Cunniffe, & Vittorio Astone
Letterers: Andworld Design, Taylor Esposito, & Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: Vault Comics
The trio of books from the creator collective White Noise Studio (via Vault Comics) cumulatively captures our no. 5 spot. We don’t usually like to give comics without at least an arc behind them top placement, but all three of these series have been so fantastic (track down more nuanced takes in our reviews section) that we just couldn’t resist.

4. Mister Miracle #12
Writer:
Tom King
Artist: Mitch Gerads
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC Comics
Tom King and Mitch Gerads wrap-up their meta sad superhero epic Mister Miracle...which may have spanned planets and generational warfare...or may have all taken place in Scott Free’s head as he grappled with sliding into middle-aged existence. The true nature of what actually happened here (or, rather, what didn’t happen) is deliberately obscured, and we like this 12-part maxiseries all the more for it. It’s probably below King’s earlier work on The Vision in our all-time sad superhero family rankings, but this is still a very good series nonetheless.

3. Superman #5 / Action Comics #1005 / Supergirl #24
Writer:
Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: Ivan Reis & Ryan Sook
Inkers: Joe Prado & Oclair Albert
Colorists: Alex Sinclair & Brad Anderson
Letterers: Josh Reed
Publisher: DC Comics
Immortal Hulk aside (more later), my other favorite thing happening in superhero comics right now is Brian Bendis’ dual run on Superman and Action Comics (plus Marc Andreyko’s ancillary run on Supergirl, which was also strong again this week). I know it’s not to everyone’s tastes, but I’ve found this run to get increasingly satisfying as its continued. Action Comics seems bent on touching as many corners as the Superman mythos as it can and updating them in ways suitable for 2018. Superman, meanwhile, is working hard to tell a tense adventure story that really leans into the hero’s role as a cosmic entity. Together, it’s turning into a clear new era for one of modern fiction’s oldest characters, brimming with ideas.

2. Come Into Me #4
Writers:
Lonnie Nadler & Zac Thompson
Artist: Piotr Kowalski
Colorist: Niko Guardia
Letterer: Ryan Ferrier
Publisher: Black Mask Studios
With a healthy body you feel nothing. Like it’s not even there. And with that, writers Lonnie Nadler & Zac Thompson pen one of the most relatable and poignant lines I’ve read about health all year. That line, like much of the rest of the excellent four-issue series Come Into Me, wouldn’t be possible without the nuanced interiority this story has aspired to and reached. It does all that with straight up solid writing and artwork, just good all around visual storytelling. That line is also noteworthy because of the larger metaphor it speaks to, one about complacency in the face of things going well. Indeed, what also makes this comic (and the miniseries it concludes) strong is its thematic interests.

The first and most obvious of these is the biotech angle, the one that involves a new innovation that enables consciousness to switch bodies. Look past that, though, and one finds subtler questions about empathy, ambition, data privacy, cooperation, and entrepreneurial tech values, all of which are applied with grand vision to a narrative apt for 2018. I, admittedly, have a tendency to extrapolate metaphors to be about the state of our country. But this story is about two very different people vying for control over one body in violent, chaotic, and untested ways, searching for a commonality as forces (perhaps beyond their control...at least in part) cause rot to set in. They work toward understanding even as reality makes it clear that two such disparate entities in one body might not be feasible. What could be more timely?

Oh, and I found the ending to be absolutely perfect here. To my mind, the best fictional storytelling leaves readers with far more questions than it does answers, and this series definitely does that, albeit quite grotesquely.

1. Immortal Hulk #8 & #9
Writer:
Al Ewing
Artist: Joe Bennett (w/Martin Simmonds)
Inker: Ruy Jose
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letterer: Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
I just keeping waiting for Immortal Hulk from Al Ewing and Joe Bennett to ease off the excellence even a little bit...and it just doesn’t happen. Now here it is yet again making one of our top monthly comics lists. Something that’s becoming clear about this comic (and making it my absolute favorite superhero book right now) is that it also has an ambitious scope, one that spans beyond stringing together single issues (which it’s definitely doing, btw). In November, some of the scope became clearer, with the stories in Immortal Hulk #8 & #9 elucidating plot material with implications on both past and future chapters.

Ewing and Bennett have apparently set out to tell a structured long-form tale about the Hulk, one that spent its first few months re-inventing the character as a full-on monster, both for the man who hides him inside and those who encounter him outside, one that isn’t just born from anger but now seems to be some sort of supernatural entity, almost biblical in the scope of its malice. That’s all great, and maybe able to stand alone on those merits. What the team also did last month was absolutely nail the biggest horror moments, akin to a traditional superhero comic that figures out how to make both conversations and slugfests compelling. Issue 9 also gives me hope that there’s no shortage of stories for this book, showing once again how good this book is when it pulls over shared universe characters into the titular undead Hulk’s orbit.  

Check out our Best New #1 Comics of November 2018 plus more of our monthly lists here.

Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as BatmansBookcase.

REVIEW: Fearscape #2 Brims with Imposter Syndrome…in a Good Way

Fearscape #2 is out 11/7.

By Zack Quaintance — Fearscape #1 debuted last month(ish) as a bonafide hit, selling out, necessitating a second printing, and earning copious praise from comic book creators and reviewers (many—if not all—of whom are aspiring creators too) alike. This was, perhaps, unsurprising. Fearscape’s first issue spoke directly to the feeling of yearning to be an inspired creative genius, and, well, falling short. Simply put, us readers had been there. It was painfully relatable emotional territory for the book’s target audience: monthly indie comics folks. That familiar state of mind was then expertly accompanied by a high stakes fantasy quest in another realm (which most indie comics folk also enjoy), and—BOOM!—narrative dynamite.

A first issue as good as Fearscape’s is a blessing and curse, though, reeling in the audience while setting the bar almost impossibly high for a follow up. In other words, some regression is to be expected. The same tricks that felt so surprising in the debut are less effective. There’s a bit of that in Fearscape #2, but the smart initial construction of this book’s tone, plus an equally smart twist at this issue’s end, make for another thoroughly engaging read. And really, I haven’t stopped being impressed yet with the pitch-perfect narrative voice writer Ryan O’Sullivan has created, nor the way he uses it.

To recap: protagonist Henry Henry (perfect name for a writer, the Guy in Your MFA Twitter couldn’t have done better) went to the home of his bed-bound mentor and stole a manuscript to pass off as his own. Before he successfully absconded with the work, he found himself confronted by a ghostly extra-dimensional muse recruiting Earth’s best storyteller to represent mankind in a fantasy realm called the Fearscape, where storytelling ability is needed to stave catastrophe off from afflicting the real world.

The plot is enough to make for compelling comics. Fearscape, however, adds a deeper character layer with the way it portrays its protagonist’s roiling imposter syndrome. Henry Henry constantly overcompensates with his pretentious narrative voice while outwardly acting like a total jackass. You can see why he does and says things, and it makes sense, even if you can’t help but resent him for it. Here’s a great example: an early sequence has Henry Henry brusquely telling his guide, Try to keep up, muse...followed in the next panel by this narration [The asthma attack which immediately followed the prior scene has been omitted for the sake of narrative cohesion.] It’s creative, meta, narratively-effective, and riddled with self-resentment. It’s perfect.

Fearscape continues to read as if O’Sullivan is taking a deep inventory of the worst and ugliest parts of his own motivation to create...then cranking them to 11 and putting them in a comic. You can practically feel the self-loathing (in a good way), especially as Fearscape #2 comes to its conclusion. And it’s this sincerity that separates this story from the hacky work it worries it may become. This book is rich with words and ways of thinking seemingly culled from ghosts of painful undergraduate creative writing workshops. These moments emotions are honest, staggeringly so.

Andre Mutti is also just such a versatile artist, given a chance to really shine in the fantasy landscapes and characters found in this issue. Mutti’s character designs are impressive, but it’s the level of clarity the artist’s storytelling techniques lend to the ending sequence (which has real potential to confuse) that really stand out.  

This second issue has me curious about the future of the book, too. This is certainly not a Fountainhead-esque experiment about the value of individualism and uncompromising work, but there’s definitely a point of view about artistry coming into focus. To me, the real mystery seems to be not how the world will be saved from the Fearscape or who will be the storyteller to save it, but rather what the real life creators have learned about craft and aspirations along the way. And, really, isn’t that what most stories are all about? Anyway, I’m so far lost in self-reflective theories here, I may need a long walk...

Overall: Fearscape #2 builds on one of the year’s best debuts to deliver another adventure in metafiction, one perfectly tailored for an indie comic audience. The protagonist’s imposter syndrome is so ugly and sincere that writerly types can’t help but relate, regardless of how painful it becomes, and there’s real honest beauty in that. 9.0/10

Fearscape #2
Writer:
Ryan O’Sullivan
Artist: Andrea Mutti
Colorist: Vladimir Popov
Lettering: Andworld Design
Publisher: Vault Comics
Price: $3.99

For more comic book reviews, check out our review archives.

Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as BatmansBookcase. He also writes comics and is currently working hard to complete one.

Top Comics to Buy for November 7, 2018

By Zack Quaintance — I’m not going to lie: I was so caught up with anticipation for Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp to start their run on The Green Lantern, that I kind of lost sight of the other books that were coming out this week. So, you can imagine my surprise when I sat down to look at the slate for this first Wednesday in November, and I found other highly anticipated titles waiting for me too.

I’m talking specifically here about the first issue of the new Marvel Knights 20th Anniversary, mini-series, which is being show-run by Donny Cates with future issues from Matthew Rosenberg, Tini Howard, and Vita Ayala. Also, new Immortal Hulk! That comic is so good that it’s reach a rare point where each individual issue feels like a weighty event, not unlike the best of my favorite creator-owned titles, the likes of Southern Bastards, Monstress, or Saga.

Anyway...without further adieu...let’s do it up!

Top Comics to Buy for November 7, 2018

PICK OF THE WEEK
The Green Lantern #1
Writer:
Grant Morrison
Artist: Liam Sharp
Colorist: Steve Oliff
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99
In this debut issue, when Earth's space cop, Hal Jordan, encounters an alien hiding in plain sight, it sets off a chain of events that rocks the Green Lantern Corps-and quite possibly the Multiverse at large-to its very core. There's an inter-galactic conspiracy afoot, as well as a traitor in the GL Corps' ranks, so strap in for more mind-bending adventures in this masterpiece in the making.
Why It’s Cool: Well, for starters just look at it. Liam Sharp’s artwork is bringing a level of detail and psychedelic imagination we’ve never seen in DC cosmic, and it’s really something to behold. This is book is also being billed as back-to-basics approach that simultaneously expands DC’s space enforcer mythos to new and farout locales. More over, it’s Grant Morrison taking yet another DC character and teasing out the core essence of a classic character while simultaneously telling new stories in a modern context. It’s going to be a beautiful and complex thing.

Fearscape #2
Writer:
Ryan O’Sullivan
Artist: Andrea Mutti
Colorist: Vladimir Popov
Letterer: Andworld Design
Publisher: Vault Comics
Price: $3.99
Heroic plagiarist Henry Henry faces his first trial in the Fearscape! Within The Weeping Castle, home to The Children of Prometheus, Henry Henry encounters wondrous and fanciful creatures-including The First Fear. With courage and calm, he endures the heart of darkness, refusing the easy temptation of light. No Legs can outrun-no Mind can outwit-no Heart can outlove our hero.
Why It’s Cool: Fearscape #1 earned a rare 10/10 review from us, and so we’re obviously really excited to dig into the second issue. If it grows from the foundation laid in the first chapter, this will be deeper dive into territory, a story about what it’s like to tell stories, and a razor sharp one at that. *Special Note* this comic was initially solicited last week before being delayed by one, but we’ve seen an advanced copy and like it more than enough to include it again here.

Immortal Hulk #8
Writer:
Al Ewing
Artist: Joe Bennett
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letterer: Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
Bruce Banner is dead. His corpse has been dissected, his organs catalogued, and his inner workings are being studied by the scientists of Shadow Base. Bruce Banner is no longer a threat. That just leaves the IMMORTAL HULK…
Why It’s Cool: This book is a serious contender for the best superhero book today, as well as in the conversation for best monthly comic, period. We’ve been over and over this, but it really is that good. Expect to see it on our list whenever it comes out unless something major changes.

Marvel Knights 20th #1
Writer:
Donny Cates
Artist: Travel Foreman
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $4.99
In celebration of the legendary imprint founded by Marvel's CCO Joe Quesada, a new crop of talent stands poised to tell a groundbreaking story across the Marvel Universe! In the cemetery, the blind man does not know who he is, or why he has come to this particular grave at this moment. He doesn't know the burly police officer with the wild story who has approached him. Or the strangely intense man who sits in the rear seat of the patrol car, his eyes flashing green. But all of that is about to change. Because Matt Murdock is beginning to remember...In a colorless world without heroes, the spark of light...must come from the dark…
Why It’s Cool: Marvel’s brightest star right now is arguably writer Donny Cates, who has a no-nonsense conversational omniscient narrative style and a keen talent for capital B, Big ideas. Now, the publisher is deploying Cates to honor the 20th birthday of its legendary (to readers in their late 20s or early 30s, anyway) Marvel Knights imprint, and it all starts here with this issue.

Sideways Annual #1
Writers:
Dan DiDio & Grant Morrison
Artists: Will Conrad & Cliff Richards
Colorist: Hi-Fi
Letterer: Travis Lanham & Dave Sharpe
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99
Sideways unleashes his "super" secret weapon against Perrus in an effort to free the oppressed people and escape to his home dimension. He'll get some additional help from the newly discovered Seven Soldiers, but only if someone makes a heroic ultimate sacrifice. Plus, a bonus backup story in which Sideways meets the Unseen!!
Why It’s Cool: Despite the absolutely absurd number of different fonts on this book’s cover (six? I think I see six…), this comic is actually pretty exciting. Sideways has unexpectedly been a strong series from its start, and now Grant Morrison is coming on to presumably cross the character over with his Seven Soldiers concept and probably also some multiversal shenanigans. We can’t wait.

Top New #1 Comics

  • Auntie Agatha’s Home for Wayward Rabbits #1

  • Battlestar Galactica Classic #1

  • Empty Man #1

  • James Bond 007 #1

  • Outer Darkness #1

  • Suicide Squad: Black Files #1

Others Receiving Votes

  • Border Town #3

  • Crowded #4

  • Deathstroke #37

  • Death of Inhumans #5

  • Dreaming #3

  • Farmhand #5

  • Giant Days #44

  • Infinity Wars #5

  • Justice League #11

  • Leviathan #3

  • Redlands #8

  • Sparrowhawk #2

  • The Walking Dead #185

  • Wrong Earth #3

  • X-Men: Red #10

See our past top comics to buy here, and check our our reviews archive here.

Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as BatmansBookcase. He also writes comics and is currently working hard to complete one.

Top Comics to Buy for October 31, 2018

By Zack Quaintance — So, there’s a fifth Wednesday in October this year, and it just so happens to fall on Halloween, which means a couple of things. First of all, it’s a fifth Wednesday so it’s kind of weird and a little sparse, depending on the publisher. Second, it means some books have planned well and have something spooky to offer!

As such, we’re getting some potentially scary comics this week, including the second title from the ongoing Vertigo Rebirth—Hex Wives—and the conclusion to a five-part Wonder Woman/Justice League Dark crossover. My own personal real fear, however, is probably best reflected by Fearscape #2, a comic about a deluded and desperate writer thrown into a fantasy dimension of sorts where his storytelling abilities must be used to defend the world. Gulp! Now, THAT is scary.

Anyway, enough rambling! Let’s get to this weeks must-buy books...

Top Comics to Buy for October 31, 2018

Fearscape #2
Writer:
Ryan O’Sullivan
Artist: Andrea Mutti
Colorist: Vladimir Popov
Letterer: Andworld Design
Publisher: Vault Comics
Price: $3.99
Heroic plagiarist Henry Henry faces his first trial in the Fearscape! Within The Weeping Castle, home to The Children of Prometheus, Henry Henry encounters wondrous and fanciful creatures-including The First Fear. With courage and calm, he endures the heart of darkness, refusing the easy temptation of light. No Legs can outrun-no Mind can outwit-no Heart can outlove our hero.
Why It’s Cool: Fearscape #1 earned a rare 10/10 review from us, and so we’re obviously really excited to dig into the second issue. If it grows from the foundation laid in the first chapter, this will be deeper dive into territory, a story about what it’s like to tell stories, and a razor sharp one at that.

Green Lantern / Huckleberry Hound Special #1
Writer:
Mark Russell
Penciler: Rick Leonardi
Inkers: Dan Green & Ande Parks
Colorist: Steve Buccellato
Letterer: Wes Abbott
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99
Set against the turbulent backdrop of the early 1970s, Green Lantern and Huckleberry Hound join forces to take a stand on the issues of that era. Returning from recent duty in Vietnam, veteran Marine John Stewart-now a member of the Green Lantern Corps-contemplates what, if anything, he should do about the issues tearing his country apart. Meanwhile, Huckleberry's comments against the Vietnam war have left him a celebrity outcast, and a visit back home to Mississippi puts him face to face with the Civil Rights Movement. What can one man-and one hound-do? Plus, part two of a Secret Squirrel backup story written by J.M. DeMatteis.
Why It’s Cool: This story builds on the excellent work that writer Mark Russell did in Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, which is one of our favorite series of 2018 so far. What’s changed is the time period, jumping forward to the ‘70s and the Vietnam War, from which Green Lantern John Stewart has just returned.

Ice Cream Man #8
Writer:
W. Maxwell Prince
Artist: Martin Morazzo
Colorist: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Good Old Neon
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
All around town, folks are in crisis. But this ambulance ain't stoppin' for no one, baby. ICE CREAM MAN continues with another dreary confection.
Why It’s Cool: This psychological (almost existential) horror anthology book is also one of our favorite comics of 2018! Every issue has been memorable, ranging from downright chilling to full-one filled with dread, and Ice Cream Man #8 is no exception. Not to spoil anything, but this single issue could be this fantastic series’ thesis statement. Highly recommend it.

The Terrifics Annual #1
Writers:
Gene Luen Yang, Mark Russell, & James Asmus
Pencilers: Joe Bennett, Doc Shaner, & Jose Luis
Inkers: Matt Santorelli, Scott Hanna, Richard Friend, & Jordi Tarragona
Colorists: Hi-Fi & Nathan Fairbairn
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99
It's three startling Terrifics tales, kicking off with a deadly nightmare at Stagg Manor! When a plot to steal Plastic Man's powers goes awry, the Terrifics' new home and everyone in it are at the mercy of stealthy plastic monsters. Looks like Sapphire picked the wrong day to host a Halloween dance for her Stagg Industries internship program! Next up, discover the secret origin of Java the caveman, and the secret he's keeping will shock you. Last but not least, we uncover Tom Strong's hidden adventure in the Dark Multiverse-hold on to your holy socks!
Why It’s Cool: Under the guidance of writer Jeff Lemire, The Terrifics is the stand-out book of DC’s faltering New Age of Heroes initiative. He’s just made it such a charming homage to the Fantastic Four. Now, some of our other favorite writers get to take a stab at doing the same with these characters, including Gene Luen Yang, Mark Russell, and James Asmus. It should be interesting to see what they all come up with!

Wild Storm #18
Writer:
Warren Ellis
Artist: Jon Davis-Hunt
Colorist: Steve Buccellato
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
You can never go home again, but John Lynch needs to go somewhere to begin the last act of his life. Jack Hawksmoor never really had a home, especially since he became something other than human.  As the war between IO and Skywatch gets hot, Marc Slayton has somewhere for Lynch to go, and Jenny Sparks may have a new home for Jack Hawksmoor...and Angela Spica.
Why It’s Cool: This book is yet another one of our favorite comics of 2018 (this week is one of quality over quantity, to be sure), and the end of last issue has us incredibly excited for what we see as the obvious end game for the title. This, sadly, is the last issue of the book until next January, but hoo man are we here for it!

Top New #1 Comics

  • Avengers Halloween Special #1

  • Hex Wives #1

  • Justice League / Aquaman Drowned Earth #1

  • Justice League Dark / Wonder Woman Witching Hour #1

  • Planet of the Apes: Time of Man #1

  • Sex Death Revolution #1

  • Spider-Force #1

  • What If? Magik #1

  • X-Men: Black - Emma Frost #1

Others Receiving Votes

  • Black Panther #5

  • Bone Parish #4

  • Britannia: Lost Eagles of Rome #4

  • Doom Patrol #12

  • Extermination #4

  • Faith: Dreamside #2

  • Heroes in Crisis #2

  • Lost City Explorers #5

  • Man-Eaters #2

  • Marvel 2-in-1 #11

  • Shanghai Red #5

  • Tony Stark: Iron Man #5

  • Vagrant Queen #5

  • West Coast Avengers #3

  • Wytches Bad Egg Halloween Special One Shot

See our past top comics to buy here, and check our our reviews archive here.

Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as BatmansBookcase. He also writes comics and is working hard to make one a reality soon.