Best New #1 Comics of October 2018

in

By Zack Quaintance — October saw the big two sort of stepping back with their superhero stuff and either lining up new books for the months to come (DC) or pushing forward with strong titles they’d launched this summer (Marvel). As a result, our list for the best new #1 comics of October 2018 is all indie stuff, which, in truth, is our favorite kind of list.

It’s also a really smart group of books this month, featuring another killer new series from Vault Comics, the latest addition to Shelly Bond’s Black Crown imprint, and a couple of very funny writers (Kyle Starks and Mark Russell) taking a pair of licensed properties and making top-tier comics.

Anyway, on to the books!

Quick Hits

Shuri #1 by Nnedi Okorafor and Leonardo Romero caught me by surprise, at once capturing the tone of the character from the movie and making a comic all its own. I also think there’s a vague reference to what’s really happening in the main BP title, which, intriguing...

Also in Marvel #1s, I liked Shatterstar #1 (of 5) by Tim Seeley, Carlos Villa, and Gerardo Sandoval. Great art, and a concept that is basically Fraction/Aja’s Hawkeye, but with multiverse shenanigans...

Meanwhile, contributing writer Bo Stewart dug Dead Rabbit #1, and you can check out his Dead Rabbit #1 review here...

And I had a review of Blackbird #1, another notable debut this month, steeped in neon and Southern California...

Planet of the Apes: The Time of Man #1 was a nice surprise, too. I don’t usually pay attention to licensed property comics, but this one had an all-star lineup of writers (David F. Walker, Dan Abnett, and Phillip Kennedy Johnson) delivering vignettes. As it turns out, it was well worth my time...

Black Mask Studios is a publisher a like a great deal and maybe don’t talk about enough. I wrote about some of their books in our New Comics Discoveries October 2018, including last month’s Devil Within #1...

Infinite Dark #1 by Ryan Cady and Andrea Mutti was a somber adventure in deep space/melancholic tones...

While Dead Kings #1 was another entry in Steve Orlando’s growing canon of stories about revenge, with art by Matthew Dow Smith...

Meanwhile, the Marvel Zombie #1 one-shot was almost an anti-revenge story and very much a good time. Written by W. Maxwell Prince of Ice Cream Man and illustrated by Stefano Raffaele. A good book for Halloween but also just generally for fans of zombie fiction...

Last, here’s our **official** ranking of the X-Men: Black #1s from last month:
Mojo #1
Emma Frost #1
Juggernaut #1
Magneto #1
Mystique #1
On the whole, I liked X-Men: Black quite a bit and certainly more than I expected to, even if it was a little cash-grabby. I liked it in the larger context of the X-universe, because it sort of worked to rebuild the X-villains and position many of them with motives for combating the X-heroes soon, presumably in stories stemming from next week’s Uncanny X-Men #1 relaunch.

Top 5 Best New #1 Comics of October 2018

The Lodger #1
Writer: David and Maria Lapham
Artist: David Lapham
Publisher: IDW’s Black Crown Imprint
Price: $3.99
We’ve been big fans of nearly everything that veteran comic editor Shelly Bond has done with her IDW imprint Black Crown, which launched at this time last year (pre-dating our Best #1 Comics monthly series). As good as books like The Euthanuats and House Amok have been (appearing here during their own launch months), The Lodger feels like a complex and massive story all on its own. The book is the work of David and Maria Lapham, of Stray Bullets fame, and it certainly lives up to their legacy within the crime noir genre.

Simply put, The Lodger is intriguing. Previews for the title have promised a story about murder, shape shifting, transience, and travel blogging, almost as if someone pulled a set of disparate ideas out of a hat. The Laphams, however, weave it all together so well with sheer storytelling proficiency and flair, creating a world rich with mysterious characters and a forlorn tone to match the impermanence of their lives. We can’t recommend The Lodger highly enough, especially to readers who enjoy a more literary brand of comics.  

Lone Ranger #1
Writer: Mark Russell
Artist: Bob Q
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Publisher: Dynamite
Price: $3.99
Here we go, time to beat the Mark Russell is a genius at creating satire via seemingly taxed and maybe even corny old properties drum, again. Frankly, this could very well be the last time we point that all out, because what Mark Russell is doing with Lone Ranger has just become so commonplace for him. So then: what, you ask, is Russell doing with Lone Ranger?

Well, as hinted at above he’s using a seemingly-taxed and maybe even corny old property (this time, The Lone Ranger) to create a satire steeped in nuanced history and commentary on power structures, how the west was won, and oppressing others for the sake of your own gain. It’s similar thematic ground to Russell’s work on the phenomenal Flintstones series, and it’s as smartly-written and intensely character-driven as one of our favorite books of the year, Russell’s Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles. This, dear readers, is a smart and essential comic that you should be buying. Oh, and get ready to think about barbed wire more/differently than you ever have before.

Mars Attacks #1
Writer: Kyle Starks
Artist: Chris Schweizer
Colorist: Liz Trice Schweizer
Publisher: Dynamite
Price: $3.99
Whoa, what is this? Two licensed properties on our best new books list in the same month? Plus also a shout out to Planet of the Apes in the quick hits section? Yes, it’s all happening, not because we’ve stopped being such severe buzzkills, but because publishers continue to put some of our absolute favorite creators on these kinds of titles. Now, we have the hilarious Kyle Starks teaming up with Chris Schweizer on a new Mars Attacks comic.

This book is great though, rich with the humor that has made Starks’ creator-owned work—including Rock Candy Mountain and Sex Castle—such an utter joy to read. Schweizer’s art is a great fit for both Starks’ sensibilities and the world of Mars Attacks, too, giving life to fearsome aliens as well as the scripts many gags. What impressed me most about this comic was how rooted in the main characters it felt, going out of its way to make us care about the old man and his son at the center of the first issue. This book is off to a great start.

Murder Falcon #1
Writer/Artist: Daniel Warren Johnson
Colorist: Mike Spicer
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
Murder Falcon #1 is the second-ever debut comic to earn our vaunted 10/10 review, joining last month’s Fearscape #1 from Vault Comics. This book is just a perfect storm of things we enjoy: the artwork of Daniel Warren Johnson, cornball jokes about rocking super hard, and a deeply personal emotive story about loss. It’s the last item that gives this book a surprising and powerful center that has us intrigued about where this story plans to go.

These Savage Shores #1
Writer: Ram V
Artist: Sumit Kumar
Colorist: Vittoria Astone
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: Vault Comics
Price: $3.99
Last (alphabetically) but certainly not least is These Savage Shores. Earlier this year, Vault Comics announced new series from four U.K.-based writers. The first three books were all great, starting with Deep Roots, and then Fearscape and Friendo. These Savage Shores is the last of the bunch to launch...and it’s also one of the best new comics of the year.

This is a vampire story steeped in imperialistic entitled oppression, from the viewpoint of the oppressor...until it suddenly swerves and takes a different approach. We don’t want to spoil things—because we really do want all of you to check this one out—but let’s just say that right up until the final pages, These Savage Shores is not what you think it is.   

Check out more of our many 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. He also writes comics and is currently working hard to complete one.

Top Comics to Buy for October 24, 2018

in

By Zack Quaintance — This is, admittedly, an odd week, because I’m writing this way sooner than I normally put this column together, due to leaving for Ireland tomorrow (which by the time you read this will be several days ago...which, ultimately, hurts my head). Anyway, this week’s group of books should be taken with the caveat that seismic shifts in the world could potentially occur between now and then, rending all these choices moot (but they probably won’t). Also, apologies to colorists and letterers this week, but those details are way too hard to find online before review copies make their way to me, so I don’t have those either. Gah, the pains of taking a vacation!

Anyway, this is a good week in that we get selections from two of the longest-running series at the Big 2: DC’s Action Comics and Marvel’s Amazing Spider-Man. So, that’s always nice. It gives the week almost a classic feel. Meanwhile, we’re also getting some newness, too, coming in the form of Lodger #1, which seems the Laphams coming to Shelly Bond’s fantastic Black Crown imprint, and Mars Attacks #1, which sees the always-hilarious Kyle Starks writing that property. I know I’ll enjoy both, and I’m hoping that Lodger in particular finds a nice big audience and becomes a hit.

Now onward to the books!

Top Comics to Buy for October 24, 2018

Action Comics #1004
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Ryan Sook
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
Superman confronts Lois Lane and wants answers: Where is Jon Kent? What happened during Lois' trip into space with Jor-El? Why didn't she contact the Man of Steel when she returned? And most importantly, does she still love him? Or is the world-famous reporter looking to let Clark Kent down easy? Lois and Clark's relationship gets redefined in this issue illustrated by acclaimed artist Ryan Sook!
Why It’s Cool: I only vaguely understand the concept of shipping, but I guess I ship Clark Kent and Lois Lane? I don’t know, who knows, does anyone know? I just like romantic love as a nice little accent to my stories, and this issue seems poised to have a great take on one of the longest-tenured and most-romantic (if done well) relationships in all of fiction. Plus, Ryan Sook is a favorite artist of mine.

Amazing Spider-Man #8
Writer: Nick Spencer
Artist: Humberto Ramos
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
The heist of the century is ON! Who are the Thieves Guild of New York? Spidey might dying trying to find out.
Why It’s Cool: This ongoing Amazing Spider-Man run is absolutely a delight, a blast of the humor and minor pathos and battles with guilt that made me first love the character. Nick Spencer does Spidey’s voice very well, which goes a long way. The recent villain-heavy issues have been the funniest yet of this young run. Highly recommend.

Lodger #1
Writers: David and Maria Lapham
Artist: David Lapham
Publisher: IDW’s Black Crown Imprint
Price: $3.99
A handsome drifter murders his way through the midwest while hiding in plain sight as a travel blogger, leaving families in shreds and body bags in his wake. Ricky Toledo was fifteen when she fell hard for "Dante"-until he killed her mother and got her father sent to prison for it. It's three years later, and Ricky will stop at nothing to get revenge. Lodger is a dark, grimy, psychological thriller-a game of cat and mouse between a broken young woman and a serial killer-and like all the best crime noir... a twisted love story.
Why It’s Cool: I was in the room at SDCC when veteran Black Crown editor Shelly Bond unveiled this title for the first time, and her excitement was evident. Bond knows comics, as do the Laphams, who have put together one of the most interesting crime noir stories of all time with Stray Bullets. It is going to really be something to see what they all have come up with here together. It’s also worth noting that Black Crown’s last two books - Euthanuats and House Amok - have been absolute gold.

Mars Attacks #1
Writer: Kyle Starks
Artist: Chris Schweizer
Publisher: Dynamite Comics
Price: $3.99
Spencer hasn't finished a dang thing in his life. So when he goes to visit his dad to see if maybe he can borrow some money, the last thing on his mind is global survival. Now Spencer and his father are on the run, trying to avoid being spaceray'd by a bunch of destruction happy Martians, heck bent on zapping them dead!
Why It’s Cool: Have you read Rock Candy Mountain or Sex Castle? Kyle Starks is one of the funniest original voices in comics. Mars Attacks also seems like a great fit for the work he does. Exciting to see what he and collaborator Chris Schweizer have come up with here.

Sentry #5
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Joshua Cassara
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
Bob Reynolds and the Sentry are both dead...so it's time for something new to rise in their place!
Why It’s Cool: This book, initially announced as an ongoing, ended up being a mini-series that didn’t feature the same artist throughout, which is all kind of to really uncool, but a finale is a finale and we love Jeff Lemire, so we’re still excited to see how he ends things here.

Top New #1 Comics

  • Black Panther Vs. Deadpool #1

  • Books of Magic #1

  • Dead Kings #1

  • Judge Dredd Toxic #1

  • KISS Blood and Stardust #1

  • Old Lady Harley #1

  • What If? Thor #1

  • Whispering Dark #1

  • X-Men: Black - Juggernaut #1

Others Receiving Votes

  • Batgirl #28

  • Babyteeth #13

  • Cold Spots #2

  • Die! Die! Die! #4

  • Justice League Odyssey #2

  • Olivia Twist #2

  • Punisher #3

  • Redneck #16

  • Terrifics #9

  • Titans #28

  • Usagi Yojimbo #7

  • Wonder Woman #57

  • X-Men: Red #9

  • X-O Manowar #20

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.

Top Comics to Buy for October 3, 2018

in

By Zack Quaintance — Fall has always been the time of year that I most closely associate with reading comic books. I’m from the Midwest (Chicago suburbs, to be exact), and the weather in that part of the country turns windy and chilled in October, with the leaves changing colors and falling from the trees as winter bears down upon us. Furnaces go on, jackets and sweaters come out, and time for reading, writing, and introspection goes way up. It’s great.

It’s also (obviously) Halloween month, and it’s always fun to see what comics publishers do around that. This week, our Top Comics to Buy for October 3, 2018 certainly has some scary stuff in store for readers, from ongoing fantastic work out of IDW’s Black Crown imprint to a weekly month-long crossover that takes Wonder Woman into some of the scarier spaces in the DCU. The end result is another very strong week for comics readers in a year that’s been full of those.

Let’s check it out!

Top Comics to Buy for October 3, 201

Blackbird #1 (Read our review)
Writer: Sam Humphries
Artist: Jen Bartel
Layout Artist: Paul Reinwand
Colorists: Nayoung Wilson, Jen Bartel
Letterer: Jodi Wynne
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
In this neo-noir fantasy, Nina Rodriguez is positive that a secret magic world ruled by ruthless cabals is hiding just beneath the veneer of Los Angeles. The problem: everyone thinks she's crazy. The bigger problem: she's not crazy - she's right. Can she unravel the mystery before the Great Beast catches up with her?
Why It’s Cool: This is a gorgeous book with an aesthetic that contrasts its tone in a way that does real work for the overall mood of the story, making it feel alternately vibrant and forlorn. There’s a grandiose vision at work here, and, after a great first issue, we’re super excited to see where it goes.

Euthanauts #3
Writer: Tini Howard
Artist: Nick Robles
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: IDW - Black Crown
Price: $3.99
There's nothing worse than someone coming into your life and solving all your problems. The mess of inheritance burdens Thalia with the ghosts of Mercy's past while Indigo presents the future. Saga meets The Sandman in a series that explores death, dynasties, and psychonautic mindspaces.
Why It’s Cool: The first two issues of Euthanuats were a fantastic 1-2 punch of intriguing premise and structural composition that seemed to set this book up for a lengthy run. With fantastic Nick Robles art and Tini Howard doing her best to find poignant space between life and death, we’re so happy this book seems poised to be around for a while to come.

House Amok #2
Writer: Christopher Sebela
Artist: Shawn McManus
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: IDW - Black Crown
Price: $3.99
The Sandifers weren't always nuts. They were made that way, by stories, conspiracies and coincidence. As Dylan continues to recount how she spent her summer vacation full of murder, the truth behind how she and her family infected each other with madness come out. Secrets and blood run deep, but family is forever, no matter how deranged they might be.
Why It’s Cool: House Amok #1 was as dark a tale of childhood as we’ve come across in recent memory, using assured narration to examine ways that young realities are inherently shaped by parents, and what happens when those parents doing the shaping have unhinged and dangerous views. Simply put, House Amok seems to be a horror book wherein the main characters are the ones enacting the horrors, and what’s at stake is innocence.

Lone Ranger #1
Writer: Mark Russell
Artist: Bob Q.
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Publisher: Dynamite
Price: $3.99
A sparking new adventure from multiple Eisner Award nominee MARK RUSSELL (The Flintstones) and BOB Q (The Green Hornet '66 Meets The Spirit)! 1883. The advent of barbed wire is creating havoc in the Texas panhandle. A corrupted state senator conspires with dirty ranchers to make land unnavigable for open rangers and native tribes, passing new laws allowing cattlemen to kill anyone caught cutting the wire. Good people are getting hurt, and The Lone Ranger must act. But to truly stop this rampant villainy, he'll need to go all the way to the top, and rely on an old friend for help... Featuring a brilliant silver foil logo!
Why It’s Cool: Writer Mark Russell is easily one of the keenest satirists tell stories in any medium, and with his past fantastic work on licensed properties like The Flintstones and Snagglepuss, he’s shown a preternatural aptitude for taking old franchises or characters and finding new ground that’s searingly relevant for 2018. We expect no less from Lone Ranger, a franchise primed for that sort of handling if ever there was one.

Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark: Witching Hour #1
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Jesus Merino
Colorist: Romulo Fajardo, Jr.
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99
Hecate, the witch-goddess of magic, always knew a day would come when the monsters she stole her magic from would return. Now she must activate the Witchmarked, humans within whom she secreted vast stores of power. And the most powerful of the Witchmarked? Wonder Woman!
Why It’s Cool: We’ve been loving all things Justice League since Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, and Josh Williamson redirected the line with the No Justice weekly event, spinning out a main Justice League title, a cosmic Justice League Odyssey book, and, our personal favorite, the mythic and magical Justice League Dark. This October, Justice League Dark and Wonder Woman will be telling a five-part Witching Hour story, and it starts here! We’re so there for this one...

Top New #1 Comics for October 3, 2018

  • Batman and The Maxx: Arkham Dreams #1

  • Dead Rabbit #1

  • Death Orb #1

  • Errand Boys #1

  • Jook Joint #1

  • Lollipop Kids #1

  • Shatterstar #1

  • Sparrowhawk #1

  • Umbrella Academy Hotel Oblivion #1

  • What If? Spider-Man #1

  • What If? X-Men #1

  • X-Men: Black - Magneto #1

Others Receiving Votes

  • Batman #56

  • Border Town #2

  • Cosmic Ghost Rider #4

  • Death of the Inhumans #4

  • Deep Roots #4

  • Eclipse #11

  • Green Arrow #45

  • Justice League #9

  • Magic Order #4

  • Nightwing #50

  • Paper Girls #25

  • Tony Stark: Iron Man #4

  • The Unexpected #5

  • Walk Through Hell #5

  • Walking Dead #184

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.

Best New #1 Comics of August 2018

in

By Zack Quaintance — I love any month wherein indie publishers sweep our top five best new #1 comics list, and this is (obviously) one of those months. I’m not sure how often this happens, but it’s always a treat. This month, simply put, brought one of the best crops of new creator-owned debut issues I’ve ever seen...two of which were even by the same writer!

What’s also great is the diversity of publisher among our top 5 best new #1 comics of August 2018, with books coming from usual suspects like Dark Horse and Image, and from other sources too, including AfterShock Comics, Scout Comics, and IDW’s Black Crown imprint. Yes, not only do we have a top 5 consisting entirely of indie books, we also have a list that features five different indie comics publishers!

The state of comics is strong, friends, strong indeed. We are truly lucky to be fans of this storytelling medium in such exciting times. Now then, let’s get to the list!

Quick Hits

It's been a while since I've enjoyed a big Marvel event as much as the first two issues of Infinity Wars, both of which came out this month. I attribute this to killer Deodato art and an increasingly strong overall state of affairs within the Marvel Universe.

The DC/Looney Toons specials were a delight, yet again. The Lex Luthor/Porky Pig Special #1 and the Catwoman, Tweety, & Sylvester Special #1 don’t hit Batman/Elmer Fudd levels of greatness, but they’re both quite good.

In my Extermination #1 review, I wrote about liking it because it seemed like minor cleanup of X-continuity in preparation for November’s relaunch of Uncanny X-Men. If that’s what this series ends up being, count me in for all five issues.

After what he did with Mike Allred in Silver Surfer, Dan Slott has 100 percent of my trust when it comes to nailing the family dynamic at the heart of the Fantastic Four. The first issue did nothing to change that.

I’m currently working my way through the original Sandman for the first time (I know, I know), one issue per night, and the reason why is because I found the Sandman Universe #1 teaser issue so intriguing.  

I loved Matt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins’ recently-concluded series Grass Kings. They’re back now, with a completely new book, Black Badge, and I’m all in. Read my review of Black Badge #1.

I have a new rotating gig writing the DC Round-Up for my favorite comics website, The Beat, and I got Pearl #1 with my first crop of books...and I loved it! Read my first DC Round-Up, in which I discuss Pearl.

Cold Spots #1 was appropriately chilling, promising more horror to come and living up to its title.

Leviathan #1 is one of those new books that brings together a creative union so perfect it seems like it's been going on for years.

West Coast Avengers #1 is a perfect use of every character in it, and a natural evolution of this franchise. I’m glad it exists.

Top 5 Best #1 Comics of August 2018

Crowded #1 by Christopher Sebela, Ro Stein, Ted Brandt, Triona Farrell, & Cardinal Rae

As someone currently working a full-time job, plus three other work-for-hire writing side gigs that involve logging keyboard time fairly regularly at all hours (nights, weekends, etc.)...this late capitalist horror story about a young woman targeted by a crowd-sourced assassination app who subsequently contracts a defender via another separate app...well, it hit close to home for me.

My own economic and professional perspectives aside, Crowded #1 is simply a well-done comic. The pacing spares no tension, giving us just the right amount of info before throwing us into rapid action, and the bits Sebela and team reveal about their two lead characters are equal parts relatable and fascinating. What this book excels at most, however, is emphasizing the absurdity of what it’s like to work in 2018, extending the gig economy to a logical-yet-horrific extreme that should make every reader afraid, or at least introspective the next time they call an Uber.

Hot Lunch Special #1 by Eliot Rahal, Jorge Fornes, & Taylor Esposito

Hot Lunch Special, as I’ve said on Twitter, blends a generational American immigrant story with Midwestern crime noir evocative of Fargo. The result is a comic unlike any other on the stands today. Essentially, you come to this book for the mafioso murder/extortion plot line, and you stay for the touches of sincere graphic memoir—or maybe vice versa.

Even with severed appendages inside sandwiches appearing pretty near the story’s start, it’s to Hot Lunch Special’s credit it feels understated, as a good Midwestern story should. This is due in large part to the impressive work Rahal and Fornes do building character, particularly with the younger members of the family. An organized crime story is just so much more compelling when you start to tangle up those who are born into it, who maybe don’t realize the extent of the dirt and certainly didn’t ask for it. Rahal and Fornes know this well, and it makes for a great comic.

House Amok #1 by Christopher Sebela, Shawn McManus, Lee Loughridge, & Aditya Bidikar

Annnnnd here we have another entry from writer Christopher Sebela, this time via IDW’s en fuego Black Crown imprint, which landed a book in last month’s Best New #1 Comics with another favorite of ours, The Euthanauts. The hits will likely keep coming for Black Crown too, what with the Laphams rolling out a crime noir book this fall about a nefarious shape-shifting travel blogger (I know, right?! sounds amazing). But I digress.

House Amok is visually rich with the work of veteran artist Shawn McManus, colored so effectively here by Lee Loughridge, one of the industry’s best at using different tones to establish flashbacks and mood. In addition to the stellar art, Sebela deploys a precocious narrative voice, a child writing about her literally crazed family in an innocent diary, trying to parse her own little healthy reality amid the violence the older relatives she’s supposed to trust continue to justify are perpetrate. Lyrical and dark, I’m all in on this comic.

Long Lost Book 2 #1 by Matthew Erman & Lisa Sterle

Speaking of lyrical and dark, our next new #1 is more of a continuation than a pure debut, but we like it so much we had to include it. And, hey, isn’t more of a continuation than a pure debut an accurate summation for nearly every new superhero #1 of the past two or three decades? Anyway, Long Lost is everything that’s healthy about indie comics right now rolled into one brilliant sequential graphic story.

In this book, readers find experimentation with form, effective-yet-subtle visuals that convey mood, patient characterization, and ideas that are mysterious and haunting. By design, much of the nature of this book is still to be revealed, yet the ride we’ve been on now through seven total issues has been thoroughly engrossing, incorporating ideas about the past, moving on, and sisterhood. Do yourself a favor: find and binge every issue of this comic. And do it while spending a long and quiet weekend somewhere, nostalgic and alone.

Seeds #1 by Ann Nocenti & David Aja

Ann Nocenti and David Aja’s Seeds #1 is the type of comic that will bug your eyes, expanding your consciousness and giving you occasion to slow down and run your hand over its pages and pages of stunning and provocative visuals. This book is probably best classified as near-future science fiction, a genre thriving in comics right now. Something about Seeds, however, feels different; as if these creators were given an actual glimpse of a future, complete with logical societal changes that are as of now impossible to predict.

Maybe that’s what makes Seeds feel so obviously brilliant—its world feels realistic, yet very much the product of the creators’ minds, sharp and visionary as they are. This is a four-part series, and after one issue I’m unequivocally on board for all of it. Nocenti and Aja are both towering talents who’ve contributed seminal works to mainstream superhero comic books, and now they’ve gone off-map. Be excited and afraid.

Check out more of our monthly lists here.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: House Amok #1 by Christopher Sebela, Shawn McManus, Lee Loughridge, & Aditya Bidikar

in

House Amok #1 is available Aug. 29, 2018.

By Zack Quaintance — Simply put, writer Christopher Sebela is on fire, rolling out some of the most compelling creator-owned books in all of comics with a nigh-unparalleled range of themes, concepts, and genres. His summer started with the historic high seas/frontier revenge story Shanghai Red, continued with the satirical late-model-capitalist nightmare Crowded, and culminates now with the morbid reality-bending familial murder story, House Amok.

House Amok pulls the difficult double duty of orienting the reader with traces of recognizable tropes while mercilessly pushing into original circumstances as its story demands. Our leads are the Sandifers, a dysfunctional family the exact likes of which I’ve never seen, not in any medium, made unique not by the macabre violence they’re perpetrating—horrifying as it is, it has been done—but rather their justifications. That’s what makes this story so urgent and vital. Not only do the Sandifer parents utterly believe in some contorted and bloody logic, they’ve made it a matter of survival for themselves, their oldest son, and their younger fraternal twin girls, our protagonists.

It’s this decision that makes House Amok so compelling on essentially two separate fronts: first as a story of depravity and survival, and second as a tale of precocious innocents trying to parse the truth of their parents' dysfunctions. While there is little universality in the horror elements within House Amok, it’s this feeling of having to forge a world view from within the imperfect lens provided by one's parents that most (if not all) readers will relate to, hard. I could even see the story broadening into a look at shared delirium among certain segments of society. I’m certainly looking forward to seeing where Sebela and team take this narrative potential. 

From a craft perspective, House Amok is impeccable, as have been all the books from IDW's Black Crown imprint. Shawn McManus is a confident and veteran artist, and it shows in his linework, which conveys deep terrors from within a mundane childhood framework, and Lee Loughridge contributes much with a standout set of muted palettes and fitting color tones.

House Amok’s greatest strength, however, is the voice of its narration, which guides readers through the madcap reality-skewing imagery of this story with an orienting calm, poetic and assuring in a way that made my brain tingle. The twist at House Amok’s end is fittingly subdued, yet the unexpected nature of it is such that it ranks as one of the most chilling cliffhangers I’ve read in a #1 issue all year. Closing though: Egad, did I love this comic.

Overall — House Amok is a comic so rich and immersive that its ending will ambush you, leaving you demanding the second issue. It’s a childhood horror story that raises questions about fears, realities, innocence, and shared delusions. It is, quite simply, yet another must-read title from IDW’s Black Crown. 9.5/10

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

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

Best New #1 Comics of July 2018

in

The new comics fireworks started July 4th and just kept coming. Groan, I know. But anyway, the most impressive thing about this month’s new #1 was the wide variety of stories they told. So many boxes got checked by these books: New Orleans plus horror and drugs? CHECK. Encouraging new direction for Amazing Spider-Man? CHECK. Ethereal exploration of death that reads like literary magical realism in graphic format? Somehow also CHECK.

July’s variety of #1 comics speaks to a major change in the industry: a broader and expanding audience is fostering broader and expanding demand. You know what that means? That’s right—broader and expanding supply. Or, more and weirder comics. With this in mind, it’s easy to be bullish on comics right now, and the entries on our list today re-enforce why.

Let’s do it!

Quick Hits

The Long Con #1 came out the Wednesday after SDCC, telling a story about a never-ending apocalyptic con. Its timing was perfect and its concept sharp. Read our full review.

Cliche alert! Catwoman #1 was a (fancy?) feast for the eyes. The story and art—both by Joelle Jones—were phenomenal. Most importantly, though, Jones gets Selina...the aesthetic, narration, villain...nigh-perfect.

I saw Donny Cates at SDCC on a panel about Image Comics. Someone was late...so Cates, obviously, put Pantera on his phone and growled into his mic, WELCOME TO IMAGE. This is also the aesthetic of his latest Marvel #1s: Cosmic Ghost Rider and Death of Inhumans, which are both madcap and grandiose.

Mariko Tamaki and Juan Cabal had to follow Tom Taylor’s excellent 3-year run on All New Wolverine. Tough challenge. In X-23 #1, however, the team meets it, preserving the best of Taylor’s work (the heart) while also heading in a horror-tinged new direction.

Everyone said read Bone Parish #1 by Cullen Bunn Jonas Sharf. They said it was excellent, frightening in a way I wouldn’t expect. Everyone was right. Bunn’s latest horror book (of an estimated 19) is frightening in a way you won’t expect, either. Now I’m the one urging you to read it.

Speaking of horror, check out Clankillers #1, a gritty story about gaelic mythology. Read our full review.

Ever think to yourself: I’d love to read Miami Vice meets Fast Times at Ridgemont High? Of course not, few probably have, but someone is writing it as a comic and it’s a winner. The Mall by Don Handfield, James Haick, and Rafael Loureiro is a solid debut, rich with ‘80s camp. Recommended.

James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez nailed Justice League Dark #1. In a summer of strong new directions for DC, this is one of the strongest, with stellar art and gleeful depictions of the publishers oft-underused bench.

Vault Comics (one of our favorites) has had a great year, and Submerged #1 is the latest book to become a part of it. Vita Ayala and Lisa Sterle craft a story with intriguing family dynamics, a natural disaster, and a potpourri of mythos. 

It’s tough to evaluate Brian Michael Bendis’ debuts via Superman #1 and Action Comics #1001. Bendis is a prolific and veteran writer, a student of superhero history who thinks in eras, not in single issues. So far, he’s established tones and started unveiling his the vanguard of his plans. The full scope of his aspirations, however, largely remain to be seen.

Top Five Best #1 Comics of July 2018

Unnatural #1 by Mirka Andolfo

This book lives in an intriguing world of dystopian reproductive laws, one that has enabled Italian comic auteur Mirka Andolfo to craft a story that is at once poignant, tantalizing, and horrific. This issue is the first of 12 parts, and I knew about halfway through reading it that I was onboard for the long haul.

To quote our Unnatural #1 Review: Andolfo clearly has strong thoughts about the intersection of sex and government, but she is also well-aware that those thoughts are best served by first and foremost telling an entertaining story. As a result, Unnatural #1 is not to be missed. And we very much stand by that.

Captain America #1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates & Leinil Francis Yu

Early indications are strong for Ta-Nehisi Coates & Leinil Yu on Cap.

This debut fittingly dropped on July 4, and it’s the best single-issue Captain America story I’ve read since Ed Brubaker’s all-time great run ended. Ta-Nehisi Coates is a writer I first became aware of via his articles in The Atlantic, before then reading his non-fiction works, specifically Between the World and Me. When he came to comics in the spring of 2016 to write Black Panther, I enthusiastically added the comic to my pulllist.

And Black Panther has been decent enough, a little wordy and dull in parts as Coates struggled to reconcile the new medium with his writerly instincts. With Captain America #1, any and all growing pains are clearly behind him. Coates and collaborator Leinil Francis Yu have made a declarative statement with this book...this is going to be a dark and action-heavy take on Cap, one that will test Steve Rogers with problems that grow out of his past continuity as well as the modern state of the U.S. It won’t be heavy handed, no, on the contrary the book seems bent on making its thematic intent slow-burning and subtle. Come along if you dare. Read our full review.

Amazing Spider-Man #1 by Nick Spencer & Ryan Ottley

I think it was in one of those retailer columns on Bleeding Cool that I read about someone saying a back-to-basics well-done Amazing Spider-Man book could be the industry’s top seller. Well, we’re about to find out if that’s true. Nick Spencer and Ryan Ottley’s debut on Marvel’s flagship title is almost indisputably those two things: well-done and back-to-basics.

We here at Batman’s Bookcase, however, have now written two full pieces about why we like it, so rather than trying to find a facet of the comic we haven’t explored, we’ll just wrap up quickly here by pointing you toward our Amazing Spider-Man #1 Review and our 5-Panel Amazing Spider-Man Explainer.

This is easily one of our favorite covers in recent memory.

Euthanauts #1 by Tini Howard & Nick Robles

Remember way back at the start of this piece when I mentioned an ethereal exploration of death that reads like literary magical realism in graphic format? Well, here we are. The Euthanauts #1 is a unique comic, as self-assured as any debut issue in recent memory. It does understated and deliberate work familiarizing you with a relatable character, one who is maybe even a bit on the mundane side, before fitfully plunging you into a world where life and death intermingle.

Someone on Twitter asked me recently if this comic was good, and I told them yes, very good, but pretty abstract and best consumed in a way where it just sort of washes over you—read twice for good measure. That’s how I read it, and it has been haunting me ever since. I can’t wait to see what this creative team has in store for this story. Oh, and I should also note that as mesmerizing as Tini Howard’s ideas are, this without question seems to be one of those ideal books wherein her and artist Nick Robles lift each other, both seemingly poised to do career best work. Read our full review.

Relay #1 by Zac Thompson, Eric Bromberg, Donny Cates, & Andy Clarke

While reading Relay #1, I got a feeling I’ve maybe only previously had while emerging from a classic sci-fi novel. Basically, this comic reads like layered and complex sci-fi being doled out by an engaging plot line, one with evident shades of the masters of its genre, namely Philip K. Dick and Ursula K. Le Guin.

I really dug Relay #1, to the point when someone recently asked me what books I was reading (always a difficult question to answer on the spot), I stumbled around for a moment before just blurting out: Relay. For more on why I enjoyed the first issue of this book so much...that’s right...read our full review here.

Thanks as always for reading, and make sure to come back this week for our Best Comics of July 2018, period.

Check out more of our monthly lists here.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

May 2018 New Comic Discoveries: Funny Books

in

Humor in any medium is delicate, but especially so in novels or comics, where a joke must literally be spelled out. These mediums provide precious little help from timing, delivery, or any other human connection to help audiences sympathize with a joke’s teller. Also, as with any narrative, one bad joke early might sour a reader to all that follows. Humor, simply put, is risky.

For those reasons, I don’t often read humor comics. No Deadpool or Harley Quinn for me, and I often shrug when well-meaning friends recommend the genre. My track record with being glad that I read a humor comic is not great. I do, however, fancy myself a relentless optimist (as it pertains to comics, anyway), and so here I am with a trio of new comics discoveries for May that all have to do with humor.

If I were a funnier writer, I might try a joke here, but I know my limitations so I will instead end while still slightly ahead...onward!

Rock Candy Mountain #1 - #4 by Kyle Starks & Chris Schweizer

This book (which was recommended to me by Dan Grotes of WMQ Comics, by way of Will Nevin) is nothing short of a revelation, one of the funniest and most straight-up entertaining comics I’ve read in some time. Set in 1948, Rock Candy Mountain is a story of a devils and hobos and one-on-one combat, and it’s absolutely hilarious.

Rock Candy Mountain.

Rock Candy Mountain.

The story opens on a guy who is clearly the devil (we can tell because he has horns and is also red) literally shredding a ring of hobos. Satan is in search of a man named Jackson. When he’s done with the shredding, he realizes he’s left none alive to interrogate, remarking to himself, “I certainly goofed that one.” We eventually meet Jackson, as well as his new friend Pomona Slim, a failed actor trying to get home from Hollywood (by way of Pomona), who becomes the readers' window into 1948 hobo-dom. And we’re off to the absurd races from there. The thing I like most about Rock Candy Mountain, however, is how if you stripped the humor away, there would still be a compelling story at the core.

Jackson, what a guy.

Jackson, what a guy.

You can tell that Kyle Starks, the auteur who both writes and draws here, has put a substantial amount of both research and thought into this work. The world of post-war train jumping and drifting is well realized, and the driving plot of a man who sold his soul to the devil and is trying to find paradise for his family before it comes due is relatable, to be sure. The real heart of this story, though, is the buddy dynamic between hirsute, inscrutable Jackson and kind-but-unlucky Pomona.

 

 

Overall: Rock Candy Mountain's clever wit comes from a big-hearted place, one that reminds us of how at its best this medium can be fun and poignant. This book’s sensibilities could be described as grown up Calvin and Hobbes with way more hobos (plus some tramps, because as Starks points out, there’s a difference).

Punks Not Dead #1 - #4 by David Barnett & Martin Simmonds

Punks Not Dead, one of the vanguard of ex-Vertigo editor Shelly Bond’s new IDW imprint Black Crown—is a supernatural coming-of-age story that’s brimming with dry British wit. The concept itself is amusing: schlubby teen Fergie finds himself tethered to the ghost of deceased Sex Pistol’s bass player/vocalist Sid Vicious. Hijinx ensue.

Full disclosure: I went through high school lost in punk rock and comics (and later skating and hip hop), so I’m predisposed to like this book, although it’s been a couple decades since I was proudly into punk rocking. This, however, is a smartly-written book that thrives when it hits its greatest heights of bizarre, such as any scene involving Britain’s Department of Extra-Usual Affairs, or when the ghost and Fergie try to separate from each other.

From Punks Not Dead #4

From Punks Not Dead #4

Writer David Barnett and artist Martin Simmonds embrace the dynamics in this book with a reckless abandon, interlacing them with the aforementioned witty remarks, which makes a concept that could come off as cliched read incredibly charming (side note, I seriously considered putting Tini Howard and the legendary Gilbert Hernandez’s Assassinistas on this list, which expertly blends femme fatale badassery with a decades-long family drama, but I may write in greater length about that book in the future, so I kept that in my pocket).

Overall: There’s an odd universality to this ghost story, one that anyone who has turned to music during times of loneliness and alienation will surely relate to.

Great line: “This smells of something a bit more than Teen Spirit.”

Galactic Junk Squad #1 by David Moses LeNoir

GJS.png

Galactic Junk Squad has an old school, Stan Lee enthusiasm to it, embracing the high science fiction concepts of the far cosmos as well as alliterative exclamations in equal part. This is evident from the early pages, wherein the artist’s gaze pulls us through interstellar landscapes as we slowly become aware of two voices arguing, two bumbling brothers, as it were.

Their tone soon becomes meta, as they debate their own character names and an editor’s note lets us know time in this world is measured by how long it takes between issues. Galactic Junk Squad soon reveals itself to be a family drama in which the members of the family look like Kirby-esque celestial beings. The family has been tasked with collecting artifacts of the past by a so-far-unseen power.

More importantly, though it’s a high-minded and hilarious story, one rich with sitcom tropes on top of a grittier version of Kirby’s New Gods.

Overall: Galactic Junk Squad is one of those rare and fantastic comics wherein you can almost feel writer/artist David Moses LeNoir having fun, the sort of fun that you can’t help joining as a reader. This is a witty book with a true reverence for the comic tradition that it is apart of, and I highly recommend checking it out.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.