Comics Pull List Oct 19 2016

I've been watching a fearing how many books looked to be arriving this Wednesday and over the month it's become a week I don't have so many hard choices to make as both sadly and with a bit of a sense of relief some books have been delayed. So this week it seems that I may just keep it to my twenty dollar comics budget without setting books aside for later in the month. Also sadly this week one of the books I've been really loving is ending it appears, it's also the book Diamond has mis-shipped most often over the last eight months, at least four times so far.

 

Mockingbird 8 $3.99

I just read this last week on Chelsey Cain's twitter that 8 is the final issue and would have loved to see an NC t-shirt wearing Bobbi on he cover but alas seem that wouldn't fly. This is on of the few Marvel books whose creative team is all female including the editor and is about a woman who is not an ex assassin, ex villain or a clone of Wolverine (actually X-23 I happen to really like). Mockingbird has been a fun book that has actually managed to give Bobbi Morse a voice of her own and allowed her to shine (sometimes literally) and star in her own story and not be nearly supporting cast for someone else's. If you would like to hear Chelsey Cain talk about the book this here is an excellent interview from the site Graphic Policy it gives hints about where the book may have gone and is a really great conversation with a writer how most definately has something to say.

Spell on Wheels 1 $3.99

Three modern day witches seet out on a road trip to get back some magical shit that was stolen from them written drawn colored and graced by a cover all by women; even if it didn't a mix of Supernatural and Thelma and Louise I'd be picking it up. The premise had me but when I saw it was written by Kate Leth I knew if be supporting it as I really enjoy her as a storyteller. The art by Megan Levens and Marissa Louise is a little reminiscent of Margueritte Savage who has done so many short comics I've loved moved it into the must get category. Given I'm a fan of the look of the book and the writer It may take a bit more to convince you so here is a link to a CBR interview to entice you a bit more I hope.

Black Panther 7 $3.99

I will gave a Marvel this at least they did t cancel Black Panther six months into the boom to relaunch it at number 1 again but having two numbers of this cover is kinda silly as it is number 7. Last issue ended with T'challa getting some help from a group a likely associates including Storm, Luke Cage, Misty Knight and Manifold most of whom we last saw gathered together in to remember Jim Rhodes who sadly was fridged to start Civil War 2. Wakanda over the last six months has been plunged into a state of Civil War by the factions within and outside it and it may not be enough to forstall the end of his reign as king of Wakanda. Ta-Nehisi Coates has proven to be much more then just a eloquent comic fan and brilliant essayist he's most definitely an eloquent and amazingly capable comics writer.

 

Black Hammer 4 $3.99

Writing iconic characters and modern archetypes has got to be a blast as Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston's Black Hammmer as they seem to be having one hell of a good time with this book building the mythology behind their cosmic crisis lost heroes. Jeff is getting to reference heroes that I have loved all my life with his collection of exiles in this book and as they are totally theirs he can allow them to honestly grow and change where they are not beholden to their corporate overlords...well at least as long as the sales on this merit it getting published. If you like the legacy heroes from one of the big two here is were to see a creative team run wild with ideas if your up for that kind of thing.

Rumble 15 $3.50

I've got to be honest that though I've enjoyed this modern day era spin on sword and sorcery mixed with demons by one of the writers behind the Mike Mignola book BPRD, it's one of the books I'm sorely behind on as I've been distracted by other things. This issue beings to an end the third story arc which saw one of the antagonists take the body of our hero and literally walk away with it. As its October and this is a bit of a horror adventure story even if it borders on comedy at times I think it's time to check in with this book again.

 

And I'm out for the week and surprisingly under budget this time ...and so so so far behind when it comes to inktober...

 

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Comics Pull List Oct 12 2016

Hope that anyone who went to NYCC had a spectacular time of it; there were several panels that I got to see snippets of and am jealous of the people who got to attend, being on the west coast I do miss out on some of the guests that attend mainly the east cost cons next year perhaps I'll go eastwards for a con if I can swing it. Anyway all that aside this weeks books

Shutter 23 $3.99

So the time I have been dreading is upon us as Joe Leila Owen and John and heading into what is the last story arc... though it promises to be a long finale knowing the story is winding down makes me sad as I will miss them all but every good story does have an ending. Shutter has been an exploration of a ninty percent more fantastic world then the one outside our windows and a very meta look at the comics genre across the medium as a whole touching on so damn much. I'd encourage people who aren't reading it to pick it us as the book is just that good a time overall created by people who love what they are doing and work together so well. Not sure if we're looking at six eight or ten more issues but it's sure to be a mix of bitter and sweet. I gentle caution do not flip through issue 22 at your own peril.

 

Monstress 7 $3.99

Well, as Shutter is winding down its great to have Monstress winding up as anyone who discovered it in its first arc already knows. The world created by the collaboration between Marjorie Liu and The amazing Sana Takada is by far one if my favorite new fantasy settings including elements of horror, steampunk, kaiju and complex politics and social ideas that add to the meat of this so beautifully illustrated story. Monstress is one of the couple of books I can say looks as good inside panel to panel as the covers do and I have no clue how Sana manages that level of detail and depth. Monstress exploits the comic medium to tell a really huge story in very clever ways revealing more in the pages out so far then some novelists do in a doorstop sized volume or two. If I measured other books by both Shutter and Monstress I'd likely spend less money.

Wonder Woman 8 $2.99

Greg Rucka' s writing on Wonder Woman has been pretty solid actually and I have enjoyed the book but my reason for putting this issue up on my list for sure is the fact that South American artist Bilquis Eveley is doing the art and she is an artist I'd love to see get more work. I loved her pairing with David F Walker on Shaft vol 1 and the bits of the Sugar and Spike she did with Kieth Giffen I got to see. Her art style is reminiscent of several of the artists I loved years growing up including Mark Bright who did so many of my favorite books. She put up some bits of panels from this on her Twitter feed and the book looks a joy to me and we'll I think Cheetah needs to get some well earned respect again as she's been around DC's stable of regular characters a long long time so it's nice to see her get the focus for at least an issue.

Doom Patrol 2 $3.99

Okaay issue one was pretty weird but it's Greald Way of the Umbrella Acabemy and it's the Doom Patrol and that is both his and the titles stock in trade. Issue one gave us exploding roommates and gyros ran over Robotman with a garbage truck and what the hell is up in Niles Caulder and that keyboard anyway. The people behind this book introduced several new characters a few old ones and lots and lots of questions. This issue promises to hit us with Negative-man and overall I suspect it's going to be anything but what I expect so I'll just say hit me with the weirdness. Oh and better yet this book is colored by the amazing Tamara Bonvillain.

Southern Cross 8 $3.99

So I was right in my thinking that I would miss the Alex Braith and the colorful crew of the Southern Cross but elements of the new cast members and their reactions to the loss of the ship and the fall out of that loss has hooked me into their story pretty solidly. Andy Bellanger again is playing with page design in interesting ways as characters move through ladders and corridors drawing the eye along the cool art he's laying down. The loss of the Southern Cross has put the new players we meet in a terrible pinch as their supplies disappeared with the ship and added to their personal stakes real peril to their survival till the next supply ship arrives. This is science fiction. For people who miss the feel of movies like Alien, Blade Runner and Outland and novels like the books of the Expanse series.

Glitterbomb 2 $3.99

Jim Zub delivers on the promise of bringing some horror to the unforgiving Hollywood entertainment industry. Some kind of creature has taken up residence in the body of the aging heroine of the book and grants her...well something where we have yet to see play out but it taps into anger, frustration and dispair things in abundance in the life of a struggling actor or hell a struggling anything these days. I'm very curious to know the fall out of the bloody events of the first story and how they play out. This is one of the image books making use of the back matter to give us industry essays to reveal the reality of things and that is irresistible to me nowadays. Oh and the new artist Jim found to work with is pretty brilliant and you should fully check out the book to see his work.

 

PowerMan & IronFist 9 $3.99

David F Walker is so not afraid of writing controversial thought provoking and maybe argue worthy stories I wish knew more people these days that read comics. I'm not all that into the whole CW2 thing but David has made this crossover work in his street level hero story putting Danny in prison among entrapped and wrongly imprisoned men and then allowing Luke to be Luke and try to do the right thing somehow. At certain times in the Marvel playground there's a book that is the right book for the time and this in the book that's hitting that spot right now for here and now David is writing it and Flaviano along with Sanford Greene are killing it on the art. I'm hoping that the Luke Cage series's will bring people into check out the comic it's not the same thing but it's so damn good it's a shame if people miss it.

I've gone just about seven dollars over budget this week so perhaps I will be setting a book or two aside for next time but I do think that all of these are worth your time and comics money...

 

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Inktober day 4 and 5

Well be honest if you comment

 

 

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Trade Waiting Oct 5 2016

Every week there are original graphic novels and collections that are worth looking at and this week there are actually several that are in my opinion socially revavent and should be on people's radar.

She Changed Comics (CBLDF book) $14.99

Betsy Gomez pulled together the stories for this look at the women who have over the course of comics history have struggled to make the medium something that speaks for them. She looked at work from editorial cartoons, newspaper comic strips and what most fans think of as comic books wether they be periodicals, graphic novels or manga and the women that most people have not heard of before who created them. The David Brothers of iWord podcast interviewed her here; it's one that if your a comics fan you should hear and it's a book that reveals a history I'm sad to saying I'm fairly unfamiliar with prior to the women who have worked in comics since the eighties. Buying this book also helps the Comic Book Legal Defence Fund which defends creators and retailers from wrongful prosecution and someone wh obviously loves the comic book medium.

 

 

 

The Secret Loves of Geek Girls $14.99

Hope Nicholson has run a number of successful Kickstarter campaigns for anthologies and reprints she has curated and this is the first one that I became aware of. The creators represents in it assured my support as they tange from luminaries like Margaret Atwood, Trina Robbins and Roberta Gregory to some of my current favorites like Margueritte Bennett, Jen Bartel and Sam Maggs. The Dark Horse Comics version looks to include some extras like the forward by the amazing Kelly Sue Deconnick and I think there is supposed to be a Marjorie Liu piece in it too. Eventhough I own the original I will likely pony up for this as well some thing are worth buying twice maybe.

Thought Bubble Anthology $9.99

If I had the funds the comic convention I would spurge to attend would be Thought Bubble; it would entail flying to England and a bit of an expensive hotel stay but damn the guest list is usually a map of lots of my favorite people in the comics industry. The yearly collections are snippets from their work and usually kids bargain priced given the contents. This is a collection across the years of the book and the profits go to support a worthy UK charity to boot. Good intentions aside the contents is something your should check out as its pretty stellar and it's way to feel connected without the lengthy plane flight.

 

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Comics Pull List Oct 5 2016

This is the week that so many big name books are hitting like NOW Champions and Jessica Jones, or the Death of X some of the less high profile may just get lost among the mix and there are several great trades coming out too so there's lots of teasons to head to your FLCS on Wednesday. As ever I'm going to try to keep my main list to a reasonable twenty dollars. I'm also posting up my inktober posts and I hope no one minds as I'm trying to actually do it this year and hope to get a habit formed.

 

Black 1 $3.99

Black is a story about a black kid gunned down by the police and comes back to life to find he's got superpowers. It's a book by Kwanza Osajeyefo and Jamal Igle that I first became aware of via Kickstarter and was one of several I backed this last winter and am looking forward to seeing the book. I'm really overjoyed that Black Mask is publishing this as a monthly and I'm pretty sure I'll be getting those while I wait for the collected book to arrive. The pages I've seen look amazing and I can't wait to read this book I expect to ruffle some feathers out there in a Bitch Planet kind of way.

No Mercy 10 $3.99

Alex De Campi writes books that are interested in how her characters live with the events of their lives and often how f'ed up people can be to one another. This is one of the rare books out there as its writen illustrated and colored by women and like Black I think wants to open readers to a wider world, make us ask why the hell things are like this and maybe like issue 9 make us both sad and angry about things that just happen to be real. What started as a book about a post high school trip to Mexico gone horribly awry has delved into spaces I didn't expect and I'm curious where Carla, Alex and Jenn are taking us now.

Romulus 1 $3.99

Anyone not reading Postal regular and missing out on the storytelling prowess of Bryan Hill (listen to him here on Black Comics Chat) as I have been till just recently should take a look at this ancient conspiracy book. Bryan and his collaborator Nelson Blake II take the woman assassin trope that is all so popular at Marvel and pit her against the society that trained her. The names behind this book might be unknown to some at the moment but with Postal possibly hitting the small screen and the drive behind the artist of the book (listen to him here on the iWord) is suspect and hope that will change. Bryan writes pretty tight character driven action stories so I know this will be worth a look.

Shade the Changing Girl 1 $3.99

Other then that I can say I like the art style of Marley Zarcone who was the artist in the book Effigy a while back and the fact that Shade by Peter Milligan was one of my favorite books of the early vertigo era and the character was a favorite from back in the Suicide Squad I can only say I have hopes that this is as crazy and weird a book as possible. Sadly I can't say much about writer Cecil Castellucci who has done a couple of Wonder Woman stories but knowing they have fourth pages to introduce this version of the crazy Metan hero I can say I have to pick up at least a couple issues to see what they got.

PaperGirls 10 $3.99

And it seems I've got a bit of a theme going on as this is a weird book too staring some great female characters in the time displaced PaperGirls. This book as I may have said last month tapped into the eighties horror vibe before Stranger Things hit but I think this would be the perfect book for fans of the show to grab as I could see this creative team doing an El(even) book. Brian K Vaughan seems the kind of writer who has a definate idea what his stories are about and I have to say that though I am invested in this book and it's cast I have no clue what the overarching story for PaperGirls is... is it a time travel book is it SF at all or is it something else; what I can say is that it's cast have me in their corner and I want to know what happens to them. I can add now that apparently I'm an issue behind as a quick look at number 9 tells me I have yet to read it. I'll get back to you on this oh and .... still time travel or something, I love not knowing for sure.

 

InSexts 8 $3.99

So have you read the previous story all the way through, there is a trade if you missed the issues of this Victorian body horror story worthy of Cronenberg and John Carpenter in equal measure. Marguerite Bennett I will say it again is probably my favorite newish comics writer who has yet to dissapoint me joining the likes of Kelly Sue Deconnick and Dabid F Walker in my list of just pick it up books. The cover of this one would make me pick it up for a flip through if is never seen the book before as it looks a great mix of multiple mythologies. Anywho InSexts is the Aftershock I happen to love and can't wait to see where new the book will head.

 

 

Bounty 4 $3.99

I add this SF bounty hunter free for all story because I happen to adore the art style of Mindy Lee more then I am angry and dissapoint end with the writers treatment of a couple of my favorite comics creators and want to send her some support. I will be honest i happen to give Bounty's cast its due I actually like the book despite said I mentioned conflict above and think the book is actually pretty damn fun, it's not Kim &Kim but it is pretty good actually and is a worthy addition to the reminds me of the Dirty Pair and Coyboy Be-bop list of books so if they were your thing pick both this and the Kim's up

 

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Inktober 10/2 ... Not comic stuff but...

 

Breakfast

Bit of work from a photograph...

Tomorrow more comic related work I think

 

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Inktober day 1

Loved Paulina Ganucheau's Zodiac Starforce so I'm starting with Kim and might revisit it during the month.

 

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