Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Comics Pull List July 26, 2017

Hi and welcome to the rundown of how I'm very likely to break my twenty dollar comics budget this week. I do actually try to keep things under control but there are so many books I think that are worth talking about.

 

Shutter 30 $3.99

Shutter has delivered wonder filled stories for several years, stories that exploited and explored what the medium of sequential art can do. It's been a great adventure. It's introduced me to characters I love and will sorely miss. It has made me laugh and made me cry (Alain and Cassius last issue particularly) this is the final issue of Joe Keatinge, Leila Del Duca, Owen Gieni and John Workmans Shutter. I'll miss this book. It was a fantastic exploration of not being afraid of change and not being afraid of the future. I'll miss getting to see new stories about them all. Even if it's your first encounter pick this up it's a great book.

 

 

 

Bankshot 2 $3.99

Alex de Campi writes gripping modern thriller action adventure and creates wonderfully textured charactes. Criss Cross is an artist that was marvelous in the nineties and he's lost nothing in the decades since the Milestone days. Issue one gave us a cool set up and left us in the middle of two stories that are sure to get more compelling in the telling. I've no clue where all this is heading but it's worth supporting if modern thrillers are your thing. Nothing is clear or clean in this story and I'm sure she'll be leaving a lot of room for thought in the telling.

 

Wayward 22 $3.99

Jim Zub and Steven Cummings story about the rise of new world mythology supplanting the status Quo is one that has been a slow build. The blend of American comics and Japanese manga storytelling they have created is something surprising. They have managed to tell a story that feels much bigger then the pages I. These slim issues. For me Wayward is reminiscent of the old Bill Willingham independent book Elementals that played with shaping modern myths; it's an ambitions book and they stunningly nail it when it comes to hitting sweet spots inmstorytelling for me. Love so many of the characters and the one we lost recent really hurt me deeply.

Doom Patrol 7 $3.99

It was Teen Titans that made me aware of and pick up the Doom Patrol. Oddly Teen Titans is a different tea, then it was back then but Doom Patrol is a little the same but taken to a weirder place. Gerald Way is channeling everything that has always been cool about this book but has filtered it through his own sense of crazy. The book rocks and with a guest issue by Michael and Laura Allred this can only be even stranger. This is the book I wish other superhero comics would aspire to be.

Mother Panic 9 $3.99

Jody Houser has given a new voice to the story of Gotham city in the character and background cast of Mother Panic. Violet Paige is not, most assuredly not a member of the Bat-family and though I love parts of the mythos it's cool to see another take on how to vigilante in the Dark Knights city. Though this book is not Gotham Central by Greg Rucka I think it fills that same dark, police procedural niche w/o being a boys in blue story. Violet is a violent vengeful presence and I like reading a book with a passionate motivated figure in it like this. Oh and though I loved the Shawn Crystal issues we have John Paul Leon back for a couple at the moment so that's a good thing too.

 

 

Black Hammer 11 $3.99

Jeff Lemire is doing a brilliant job of doing a post event comic book. Comic events these days take characters out of the regular story by death or other means. Black Hammer is the story about where those characters go. That description does no real justice to how Jeff makes these prior superheroes real people with pasts and lost futures now. Dean Ormston creates some marvelous pages showing the stories and struggles of theses trapped heroes. In the last few issue things have taken a darker turn. Like the people behind Doom Patrol the creators behind this are telling stories that move the superhero genre somewhere different and it's a good good thing.

 

In addition to these Zojaqan 1, Lumberjanes 40, Batman Shadow 4, and Steven Universe 6 come out this week so I'm pretty doomed when it comes to my budget.

 

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Comics Pull List July 19, 2017

Hello, this week I'm breaking my twenty dollar budget for one book but it's such a brilliant book I have to do it. To be perfectly honest I do pretty much go over budget every week but with all the worth creators out there to support I usually can't pass up appealing books. I'm also including a bonus collection because I am really enjoying Fabian Rangal Jr. And this was my first exposure to him...anyway here comes the list.

 

Catalyst Prime Superb 1 $3.99

Quite honestly Lion Forge had my attention and money at he mention of David F Walker with this book. He's joined by Eisner award winning writer, Sheena C. Howard on this teen superhero team up book. I'd love to have a lot to say about what I expect from this book that co-stars a hero with Downs Syndrome but other then a feeling it will hit lots of social issues head on given the writers I can't say much. I'm confident this is worth the price of admission. (Yes, all the Catalyst Prime books will be at the top of my pull list posts)

Victor LaValle's Destroyer 3 $3.99

Victor LaValle writes an amazing enigma in the monster in this book. He's a presence, a force of nature almost. LaValle is someone that surprises me as an author. I knew I wanted this book based on his writing and the pitch about the alchemist saving her son. This is not at all what I was expecting. It's much more and I want to see where all this is leading. On top of that the art is amazing in its detail and how the world is presented.

America 5 $3.99

This is one of the handfull Marvel books I'm still interested in supporting. Gabby Rivera is honestly writing the hell our of this solo look at America. Even if I wasn't picking this book up the names Ramon Villalobos and Tamara Bonvillain on the cover would get me to drop four dollars on it. I miss their work creating pages for Nighthawk and even if this is just one fill in issue it is a welcome return of a great art team-up. Mentioning team-ups this is a team-up issue for Hawkeye and America too boot.

Generation Gone 1 $3.99

I read some of Ales Kot's Zero and all of his Winter Soldier both of which grabbed me emotionally from very different places, so any new book from him will have my attention. His partner on Generation Gone, André Lima Araújo, was the reason I picked up Avengers A.I. And the odd Inhumanity issue because his art combines aspects of so many styles into something all him. Kot and Araújo both wanted to tell a story that hit on real issues and somehow found that in a book that involved superpowers. The preview pages give hints that this is a book that pulls on a lot of disparate influences and could be a brilliant mix of great elements. It's bound to be worth supporting.

Moonstruck 1 $3.99

Grace Ellis, one of the minds behind Lumberjanes, co-created this modern fantasy romance story with artist newcomer Shay Beagle. I listened to a wonderful interview with the creators behind this romantic drama with monsters on the Geek Out podcast here. The soft rounded art by Shay and the pastel colors by Caitlin Quirk in this book appeal to me quite a bit and work together to create a real sense of character and atmosphere. As someone who likes urban fantasy it's great to see a magical reality book that is not a police procedural, PI or crime story. It's a must have so I'm going to have to make rook for this book.

 

Bitch Planet Tripple Feature 2 $3.99

It's time for another dive into the wider world of Bitch Planet with the second issue of Tripple Feature. Three more creative teams create some short stories exposime more about how this grinhouse inspired world works or quite honestly doesn't work for the majority of its population (i.e. Not cis white hetero men). Like it's parent title it comes with all the relavent biting backmatter we all know and appreciate.

Lazarus X+66 1 $3.99

Well, I will admit I have not been following this amazing science fiction drama by Greg Ruck and Michael Lark but with this mini-series I think I'm on board. This particular issue brings Rucka and Steve Lieber back together and I remember loving their book way back when. I also made the mistake of listening to part 2 of an interview with Greg Rucka on Robots from Tomorrow and well now I have connection to this so I'm counting it as money spent.

Doc Unknown Compete edition $24.99

I am a fan of pulp era fiction and I backed the second part for this book on Kickstarter before I knew that I liked Fabian Rangal Jr.'s writing, sometimes you take a chance. It's been a while since I got it and it was a whole lot of fun. I think forgot about how much I liked Fabian's writing till I picked up Space Raiders, Namwolf and got my copy of Blood Brothers before making the connection back to this book. It's solid pulp comics writing and is well worth having all of it, as a matter of fact I need it myself.

 

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Comics Pull List July 12, 2016

Im late with this list this week but it's still so totally valid as I'm still picking these books up and I think they are worth notice. I try to keep these lists to twenty dollars buy often go over as there are so many worth books and creators out there. Let me know if your enjoying the list and add some suggestions of your own.

 

Catalyst Prime Accell 2 $3.99

Though I love superhero books that try to do something new and different with the genre but that does not mean that giving us a strong strait forward teen superhero looking for love and respect isn't a good thing too. Joe Casey is well versed in superhero writing and with Damien delivering evergetic flowing panels the first issue of Accell delivered a solid first speedster hero story. This is not and of t the Flashs or Quicksilver that is for sure. It is pretty cool when your reading a familiar type of character but have no clue what he's really caoeabke of. Oh and I like the set of for his love interest and the dynamics between the characters around our hero Daniel DosSantos.

Bug the Forager 3 $3.99

Oh my god I had forgotten just how much I love Michael Allred's work...if anyone were to do a Kirby book other then Walt Simonson it had to me him and his wife Laura on colors. I have yet to even real issue one and two but just the brief looks I have taken at them make their purchase worth it. Do they need me to big up their book to make it sell no but I have to because...well....because.

 

The American Way 1 $3.99

For this I can blame listening to the Girl with the Curls podcast where she talked being a colorist with Nick Filardi. I've seen his work on th Cave Carson book with Michael Avon Oeming and the preview pages of this looked splendid. The seventies is the era that I first read superheroes in and this books sounds to have braved the idea of hitting politics and superheroes together. From the advanced review by Allen Thomas at Comicosity it sounds like John Ridley, Georges Jeanty and Danny Miki along with colorist Filardi put together a challenging complex story well worth tracking down.

Calexit 1 $3.99

Vèronique Emma Houxibois over at the Comicosity comics blog posted an advansce review of this up a few days back and though I was going to pick it up anyway her thoughts on the execution of this story confirmed my feelings. Black Mask Comics prints books that started with good ideas that are executed brilliantly. It sounds like the story is one that will elicit thought on what an event like this might really cause both good and bad.

 

Eternal Empire 3

Sarah Vaughn and Jonathan Luna's fantasy story about visions excape and rebellion is a book that is growing with its storytelling. The story seems more decompressed the the usual suspects of American fantasy comics. It's taking a while for the story and characters to develope and for me that is fine. They are giving me enough to keep me intrigued.

 

 

I will be honest here I will be getting Dark Days:The Forge and Mage the Hero Denied 0 also.

 

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Comics Pull List July 5 2017

This week is an amazing week of books for me as there are two new books in series I've been looking forward to for months. Welcome to my weekly look at the books I'm picking up and try to keep to my twenty dollar budget.

Kim&Kim Love is a Battlefield 1 $3.99

Magdalene Visaggio proved within the opening pages of the initial Kim&Kim that she can write characters that grab me right away. Kim and Kim both came off as fully formed characters with lived in histories and the crazy world they live in was just as consistent and accessible. Eva Cabrera and Caludia Aguirre killed it on the art to boot and they are all back for this follow up series several years later. Can't express effectively my love for this book. It's delivery on its promises ran through the initial four issues. This is one of those reaper comic joys to read that is reminiscent of a lot of cool things but is fully it's own thing.

Zodiac Starforce Cries of the Fire Prince 1 $3.99

If there was not a new Visaggio book this week Pauline Ganucheau and Kevin Panetta's spin on the magical girl story would have been at the top of my list. Zodiac Starforce in 2015 was the book I waited months to arrive having seen Pauline post about it and the book more then lived up to my expectations. It's had the mix of bright and pretty delivered by the art with the dark and serious undertones that are such a part of the genre. It was another book that highlighted the positive friendships and relationships between women not often spotlighted in mainstream American comics.

 

Jem the Misfits Infinite 2 $3.99

Continuing the theme of women's friendships Jem the Misfits by Kelly Thompson the Jenn St. Onge arrives this week too too. The first five issue run of this story was one of the prettier books recently and one that made me feel the most. This book is really a gift in my opinion because it's something that can't fail to be both well written and beautifully illustrated and colored. I'll stop gushing now but I do so love this book.

Catalyst Prime Noble 3 $3.99

In Noble 2 Brandon Thomas gave us some reveals that open up the story and tie back into the FCDB Catalyst Prime The Event that hopefully is still free on comixology. Astrid is hunting for her dead but apparently not so still dead husband David who remains at large in South America. We know it's going to take her a while to locate him looking back at the FCBD edition. Noble feels different then other superhero books. It's more decompressed, we're getting to visit more with each of the movers in this action adventure plot. Roger Robinson is an artist that's been around but this beautiful book is my first encounter with his work. It's action with a heart and you don't often get that.

Shade the Changing Girl 10 $3.99

What is pretty clear from Loma Shade's Gotham trip that like the Grant Morrison Shade this book is mostly not a Super-hero story or a - story mascarading as a super-hero story. Shade the Changing Girl is a piece of modern weird fiction that leans towards thriller or horror and just happens to be set in the regular DC universe. The forces from Meta searching for the madness coat will soon be arriving and it involves Loma's lover from issue one. Cecil Castellucci Marley Zarcone and Kelly Fitzpatrick deliver a marvelous storytelling package all round and there are always cool back up features still to look forward to. Well worth the 3.99.

Sun Bakery 4 $4.99

Cory Lewis' Sun Bakery caught my attention in its initial independent printing so I already have this with the exception of the additional story for this edition. Sun Bakery fill the need I have to manga at the moment with its colored pages, it's distortion of perspective and it's off the beaten path stories. It's the anthology to beat now in my opinion when it comes to the vision of a singular creator. It's so obviously a labor of love and passion. Can't wait for issue 5 next month.

Black Bolt 3 $3.99

It's excape caper time for the prisoners of the cosmic prison. Saladin Ahmed I know can write compelling fantasy but gonzo SF is most definitely in his wheelhouse too, he and Al Ewing should co write something actually. I'd have boutght this with his name recognition alone but Christian Ward who's work on ODY-C captivates me bringing his talents too I can't imagine passing this up. I'll be with this as long as the weird cosmic ride lasts.

 

Seven to Eternity 7 is also out this week and I'm likely to pick that up too.