Best New #1 Comics of August 2018

September 04, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Top 5 Comics

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.

ADVANCED REVIEW: Man-Eaters #1 by Chelsea Cain, Kate Niemczyk, Rachelle Rosenberg, Joe Caramagna, & Lia Miternique

September 03, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Reviews

Man-Eaters #1 is out Sept. 26. — **Man-Eaters #1** is out Sept. 26.

By Zack Quaintance — There’s a fantastic sense of freedom in Man-Eaters #1. The book is written by Chelsea Cain and drawn by Kate Niemczyk, a duo that last teamed together for Marvel Comics’ Mockingbird. I really enjoyed that comic, which was an engrossing puzzle box of a superhero story that also hinted (somewhat controversially...but I won’t get into that nonsense) at the themes in this book.

Mockingbird, however, addressed those themes subtly, putting superheroics at its forefront pretty much at all times. Man-Eaters #1, though, has the liberating benefit of being a straight satire. The book has mystery, action, and even a touch of body horror, to be sure, but all of those qualities grow from the story’s foundational poignancy, rather than having it be the other way around. The result is an unencumbered creative team firing with all its strength, and, simply put, it’s fantastic.

Visually, this comic is brimming with small details and gags that reward careful readers. Pencil Shoppe...Hand-Sharpened While You Wait!, an unseen kid labeled The Intern In Charge of Social Media., a Bitch Planet poster on the wall in a bedroom, etc. Niemczyk is a big talent, with clean and precise linework on characters and in backgrounds. There’s an eclectic two-page splash early in this book that sets the tone for the strength of the visuals to come, as well as for how much attention should be devoted to each panel, lest readers miss out on the details included for them by the creators.

And these visual gags in the early pages go a long way toward making the hefty amount of exposition we get up front story palatable. It’s not that big of a deal—stories with younger protagonists have a long tradition of heroes talking directly to the audience, introducing readers to the world the same way kids in real life explain things—but it’s still noticeable. The young protagonist and her narrative voice are both immediately likable, and the world and concept of this comic are more than interesting enough to make this comic engaging. In the end, this book is really well-done and smart, ending with a fantastic last page cliffhanger, as all great #1 issues should.

Essentially, Man-Eaters #1 did a fantastic job setting up its characters, world, and plot points, and I’m excited to see what the creative team will do with it all moving forward.

Overall: A smart and searingly clever satire, Man-Eaters #1 is a great setup for a comic that has important things to say. Visually, this book is a total treat, packing rewarding details and entertaining gags for careful readers into most of its panels. This comic gets a full endorsement. 8.5/10

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.

Top Comics to Buy for September 5, 2018

September 03, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Previews

By Zack Quaintance — Phew, this week is packed tighter with great books than the shoebox where I used to keep my comics as a kid back before I shelled out the little bit of cash to get my first short box. That probably wasn’t as clever as I hoped it would be, but you get what I’m saying all the same. This? This is a good week for comics. In fact, we even had to write up six books instead of the usual five, and even then we were still force to make some tough choices.

In fact, it’s so good that it was a real challenge to pair down my list. I can usually confidently pick out the five comics I recommend most just by looking at what titles are coming out in a given week. This week, however, I had a near-crippling amount of indecision. Anyway, Leviathan, Relay, and Snotgirl all muscled their ways onto this week’s list just by virtue of being amazing comics.

Let’s take a look!

Top Comics to Buy for September 5, 2018

Batman #54
Writer: Tom King
Artist: Matt Wagner
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
Dick Grayson-the original Robin-gets to spend some quality time fighting crime with his mentor for the first time since Batman popped the question to Catwoman. It's a walk down memory lane as Bruce Wayne helps Dick get over the loss of his high-flying acrobat parents, which in turn led to his crime-fighting career. Guest artist Matt Wagner (Mage, TRINITY) jumps on board for this special issue!
Why It's Cool: Cool is probably the wrong word for a book that seems like it's going to be a modern classic, a touching yet never saccharine examination of the father-son dynamic between Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson. Batman's recent Cold Days arc was a near-masterpiece, but it's heartfelt and honest single issues like this seems to be \that keep Tom King's Batman among my favorite recent runs on the character.

Border Town #1
Writer: Eric M. Esquivel
Artist: Ramon Villalobos
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: Deron Bennett
Publisher: Vertigo
Price: $3.99
When a crack in the border between worlds releases an army of monsters from Mexican folklore, the residents of Devil's Fork, AZ, blame the ensuing weirdness-the shared nightmares, the otherworldly radio transmissions, the mysterious goat mutilations-on "God-dang illegals." With racial tensions supernaturally charged, it's up to new kid in town Frank Dominguez and a motley crew of high school misfits to discover what's really going on in this town torn between worlds.
Why It’s Cool: To quote our Border Town #1 ADVANCED REVIEW, Border Town #1 is a strong start for a reinvigorated Vertigo imprint, a relatable coming-of-age teen drama in one of the least understood yet most argued about parts of the country. The art is terrifyingly detailed, and the story leans enthusiastically into time-tested horror tropes, also finding new ground by adding Mexican/Chicano folklore and mythos.

Cover #1 (of 6)
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: David Mack
Publisher: Jinxworld
Cost: $3.99
Years in the making, from the award-winning team of Brian Michael Bendis and multimedia sensation David Mack, comes a brand-new graphic novel experience. And it's all kind of based on a true story. Sort of... Deep in the American intelligence community, someone realizes that comic book creators, who travel all over the world to sell their wares, might make the perfect cover for operatives in the dangerous, topsy-turvy world of intelligence and counterintelligence...and that's when all hell breaks loose. This is the story of the time the world of comics and the world of international spy work smashed together-with unexpected results!
Why It’s Cool: The creative team for this book have both worked with the government at various times, I believe, in consulting capacities, bringing their unique knowledge about narrative threats and the like to bear on real-world problems. It's poised to give this book—which is shaped by an excellent concept already—an added layer of honesty and truth. I really enjoyed Pearl #1 last month, the first fresh title from Bendis' reborn Jinxworld imprint, but Cover #1 looks like it's on another level. It stands to be such an honest look at life for comics pros, intermingled with an espionage story and stunning David Mack artwork. All indications are that this six-part series is going to be one to remember.

Leviathan #2
Writer & Letterer: John Layman
Artist: Nick Pitarra
Colorist: Michael Garland
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
"'TIL DEATH DO US PART," Part Two...While Ryan DeLuca tries to piece together exactly how his friends summoned a giant monster, government defense forces take the fight to the depths of the Earth, where monsters dwell. Then, of course, they piss off the wrong monster.
Why It’s Cool: The second issue of the new book from Layman and Pitarra (who are an unbelievably complimentary team, btw) really hints at a much different book than I was expecting. I won’t go into detail about a comic that’s not out yet, other than to say that if you liked issue #1 you’ll love this one, and, even if you didn’t like #1, I’d still recommend giving this a chance, because it’s quite possible this book is up to more than you think.

Relay #3
Writer: Zac Thompson
Story By: Zac Thompson & Donny Cates
Artist: Andy Clarke
Colorist: Jose Villarrubia
Letterer: Charles Pritchett
Publisher: AfterShock Comics
Price: $3.99
In the future, the galaxy is united under a monolith known as the Galactic Relay. Although the towering monument is meant to inspire conformity of ideas, technology, and progress, it is not without its enemies and many have begun to resent the foreign structure. And now, Jad Carter, a Relay employee, has found the Relay’s mythological creator. An interstellar mug causes a complete breakdown of reality. Jad travels inside the Monolith but it raises more questions than answers.
Why It’s Cool: The most complex and intricate sci-fi book on the shelves today...in market that is booming with great entries in the genre. Relay #3 expertly builds on the themes and complexity of its first two issues, while giving artist Andy Clarke some space to blow readers minds the way the story by Zac Thompson and Donny Cates has so far. This entire creativity team is firing on all cylinders. This book is a slow burn, but I’m starting to suspect it might end up being a mega hit. If you haven’t been reading this, I’d highly recommend grabbing all three issues this Wednesday, setting aside roughly 90 minutes of very quiet time, and diving all the way in.

Snotgirl #11
Writer: Bryan Lee O’Malley
Artist: Leslie Hung
Colorist: Rachael Cohen
Letterer: Mare Odomo
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
NEW STORY ARC! Chapter 11: "MY SECOND DATE.” While her friends have some concerns, Lottie just wants to take her relationship with Caroline to the next level-which is why she's keeping it a complete secret!
Why It’s Cool: I mean, it just is (that’s a joke from the issue). As I Tweeted immediately after finishing this issue, there's a lot of comics that comment on our times, but Snotgirl does so in a really unique and refreshing way. Its interests are seemingly innocuous, but look closer and this book is often just as scary as comics about war or fascism. Content deals heavily in social media, vanity, modern priorities and values, and the price of appearances, all through an incredibly relatable and terrifying prism of neurosis.

Others Receiving Votes

Captain America #3
Cosmic Ghost Rider #3
Dead Hand #6
Death of Inhumans #3
Deathstroke #35
Eclipse #10
Giant Days #42
Immortal Hulk #5
Justice League #7
Paper Girls #24
Seeds #2
Thanos Legacy #1
Unexpected #4
Unnatural #3
Walking Dead #183

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

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

The Saga Re-Read: Saga #4

August 31, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Indie Comics

By Zack Quaintance & Cory Webber — This is it folks, the last issue before we start the final 50-issue home stretch. We're officially within a year of finishing this project! I can't speak for Cory (whom I know is itching to read ahead at a faster pace...and who could blame him?), but I've gotten quite a bit out of this little re-read project so far.

Part of the logic for doing this was to keep the story and the characters fresh in my mind during the one-year hiatus. This series is so well-done, though, that doing a slow re-read is having the added advantage of making me aware of layers and character growth I might have glazed over during my first read, when every time I cracked an issue I was mostly just concerned with what's going to happen?! Essentially, that's all a verbose way of noting that taking Saga at a slow, weekly pace is a new experience for me as a re-reader and I'm noticing things I might have missed the first time.

Onward!

Saga #4

Here's the official preview text from way back when for Saga #4:

Welcome to SEXTILLION, a distant planet where even your darkest fantasies become reality. See why everyone's talking about this hit new ongoing adventure from BRIAN K. VAUGHAN and FIONA STAPLES!

Oooo, that's all a bit more descriptive than the last two weeks. Sextillion! How exciting. The solicit has also segued from touting the book as a controversy to embracing it's roll as a budding mega-hit, the likes of which Image (and, really, the industry) hadn't seen since Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead, which took a few years and a successful TV adaptation to really get rolling. Saga, meanwhile, was a hit right from the start. Now on to your takes!

A Re-Reader’s Perspective by Zack: This issue gives us another of Saga's distinctive intro pages, one of the first of many to come. Really, this whole issue is another pretty slow one, especially as it pertains to our central family with all the main action happening off-panel and the dramatics relying on conversation. It is interesting to look back at, though, because it depicts a desire on Vaughan's part to make even his villainous characters sympathetic right from the start (talking of The Will here). Sometimes I feel like comics writers become enamored with villains and backwards engineer sympathy. Not here, though. This issue also has that panel that I reference in my spoiler heavy Why Saga #54 Hurts So Bad piece. Sigh.

A New Reader’s Perspective by Cory Webber: Well, Sextillion is, umm, interesting. I’ve heard of these unique opening pages that Saga likes to throw our way, and this one was unique, for sure. Moreover, I quite enjoyed the back-and-forth banter between Alana and Izabel. I feel that relationship is going to grow on me. Also, it was nice to see that The Will can be sympathetic, at least as it applies to saving child sex slaves. And, it was nice to see that flat-headed slaver get his comeuppance. We have been getting a lot of great personal, character moments and relationship/world building, but that appears to be changing soon based on the last page. I can’t wait to see how the action and mayhem unfurls.

Cory’s New Reader Predictions: We will be seeing the wrath of Gwendolyn, at some point. And I cannot wait for it!

Thanks for joining us, and be sure to check back next Friday for a discussion of Saga #5! Tweet us @BatmansBookcase with your own thoughts, and we may run them here next week...

Cory Webber is a work-from-home entrepreneur who also reads and reviews comics for fun. Find him on Twitter at @CeeEssWebber. He lives in Lehi, Utah with his wife and three sons.

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

Five Questions With Creators: David Moses LeNoir

August 31, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Q&A

By Zack Quaintance — David Moses LeNoir sent us his first comic earlier this year, saying a review would be cool but more than that he just wanted to share it. That, I think, is indicative of a passion for writing and drawing (both of which he does...and does well, too) that also shows in his work. Dave, as you’ll read in a moment, is heavily influenced by Jack Kirby, both in aesthetic and in the sort of larger than life (yet grounded in dynamics) stories he likes to tell.

The best way to get to know him (in addition to the questions below) is probably to read his comic, which is available here (and highly recommended). You can also find him on Twitter @MosesLeNoir and his ongoing comic @GJSwmlf. It’s called Galactic Junk Squad (Well, More Like Family), described by its Twitter page as a cosmic cacophony about a family of space beings who run an intergalactic junkyard. The book is written and drawn by LeNoir, with lettering by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. Think Jack Kirby writing/drawing a dysfunctional family sitcom and you’ll have a decent idea of what to expect.

Anyway, enough! Onward to the five questions…

Q: I think the phrase I see most often associated with Galactic Junk Squad (Well, More Like Family) is Kirby-esque…what kind of relationship do you have with Jack Kirby’s work?

A: For me, Kirby attains a level of dynamic energy and has a connection to the marrow of life that is unmatched in comics. I haven’t been able to shake the purity of his creative expression. His imagination was unhinged from limitation, and he used it in service to humanity - to pursue tough questions. Kirby is equal parts artist, philosopher, and prophet. For example, he did an interview alongside Carmine Infantino where he reveals the underpinnings of the Fourth World, which dealt with the effects of technology on humanity; he was both prescient and ambivalent as a futurist. But his exploration of technology always came back to his philosophical center: the struggles and potential of the human spirit. I think that’s the thing for me: wherever Jack goes he pushes the boundaries, but the core is always humanity.

Q: So then, can you narrow it down to a top 5 of favorite Kirby creations?

A: That’s a tough one! Many people think Jack needed editing, but I disagree. Most of my favorite stuff from him was what he wrote for himself. Top of the list has got to be Forever People, simply for the subjects he tackled: fascism, the promises and pitfalls of youth, and the practical failure of heroism that is, somehow, ultimately hopeful. It’s extremely relevant today. Close behind that is the rest of the Fourth World, which was massive in scope, but dealt with mundane circumstances; like, here are gods that have to disguise themselves and deal with bureaucracy or bullets or Darkseid - the embodiment of evil - chilling on their couch! Next, 2001: A Space Odyssey, mostly because of the beautiful cosmic absurdity. I feel like he was the most unfiltered in that series. It was pure, high-concept Kirby philosophy. And Mike Royer, who’s my favorite inker for Jack, does some truly beautiful work there. Next, it’s mid-to-late era Fantastic Four. Sinnott’s inks were incredible, and Lee did great work interpreting Jack’s story sense - not to mention, the FF are the foundation for the Marvel Universe. Then, I think, everything Black Panther that he did, because Jack wanted to push the conversation forward. He knew he was writing mostly for kids, so he built in assumptions that countered the general American narrative about race. The period of his work between 1967-1976 was where I think he hit his strongest stride.

Q: I know you mentioned that this was your first comic. Can you talk about where the idea for this book came from and how it developed into a fully-formed comic?

A: Before this, I wrote a full five-issue arc of a comic in an entirely different style, and I was planning on farming out the art duties. My wife kept prodding me to do the art, but I didn’t feel ready. Then one day we were driving out of town when suddenly this thought poked into my head: “hillbilly space family that runs a junkyard in space,” and for the rest of the night I couldn’t stop thinking about it. This was the thing I knew I wanted to draw, and I was going to pack as much Kirby crackle and reflective metal into it as I could! So I took that initial idea and started teasing it out into a script. It became a cute little one-shot with a happily-ever-after ending. But in the process of drawing it, I thought, what if it didn’t end there? It became a sandbox for me, where I could explore any and all ideas that I have. So more characters, like The Catastrophe Twins, started surfacing. More and more of the mythos of this world developed, and even though it became decidedly less “hillbilly” than the original idea, I wanted to try and retain a humorous element.

Q: The banter in this book strikes me as being as witty as a well-done sitcom. What are some of your favorite TV family comedies?

A: Thank you! That’s nice to hear because I feel like I’m not particularly good at banter. Brooklyn 99 is a modern classic. I feel like each show has at least one big laugh. Definitely the first three seasons of Arrested Development - I am in awe at what Mitch Hurwitz was able to do with thirty plot threads and subtlety. The IT Crowd is another one. Also, reaching way back, the Dick Van Dyke Show, which my wife and I have watched through three times.

David Moses LeNoir, as drawn by his 3-year-old daughter.

Q: Not to be too intrusive, but has your own family read your work, and if so, has there been any feedback?

A: Yes! Good feedback, actually! We’re all very supportive of each other’s creative endeavors. All of the family that has read it has been encouraging. Even if comics may not be their “thing,” they still support it. I haven’t gotten, “Hey, is that supposed to be about me??” Really, I have not been writing it in a way where I’m directly referencing things that have actually happened, or where characters are based on my family members. If anything, the Galactic Junk Squad (Well, More Like Family) represents different sides of myself, each vying for dominance - or at least a modicum of control - and I say, “Let’s see what happens when it all falls apart.” I want to make it as human and relatable as I can, but set it against a crazy cosmic backdrop.

+1: Funniest family drama story you’re able/willing to share…

A: When I was probably two or three, my brother told my mom that he wanted a TV for his room for Christmas. This was back in the 80’s when there was just one TV in most homes. My mom said, “Get realistic,” and I said, “Yeah, get real lipstick!”

Check out our other Five Questions with Creators pieces and other Comics 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.

August 2018 New Comic Discoveries: Long Lost, Warlords of Appalachia, and Mashbone & Grifty

August 30, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Top 5 Comics

By Zack Quaintance — I’ve had a pretty broad experience with America in my life. I was born and raised outside Chicago; I went to college in rural Southern Illinois; after college I lived in Texas on the U.S.-Mexico Border; after that I lived in the hip enclave of Austin; and recently I moved to Sacramento, an odd hybrid of the San Francisco Bay Area and California's agriculture-heavy Central Valley, an obscure city where America’s culture wars often collide.

And all of this is relevant to comics how? Well, it connects to the books in this month’s New Comics Discoveries, which as always are comics I’ve read after having them recommended to me a billion times. This month's selections give us a broad vision of modern America, too, using a range of genres—from dystopian sci-fi warfare to subtle horror to jokey over-the-top detective adventure—to take closer looks at different parts of America, at Appalachia or withering towns abandoned by their youth or neighborhoods called Little Mexico.

These are all books that when taken together speak to the diversity of the American experience today, so excellently reflected through comics. These stories all have something uniquely 2018 to say, and I highly recommend seeking them out and reading them.

With all that in mind, let’s get to it now: August 2018 New Comic Discoveries!

Long Lost Vol. 1 by Matthew Erman & Lisa Sterle

This haunting book from Scout Comics is bold, complex, experimental, and abstract in a way mainstream books are often afraid to be. Long Lost is a story I will pass to friends who generally prefer literary fiction to sequential graphic storytelling. Basically, this is an incredibly smart comic with a deep tonal range that spans everything from sheer terror, to the malaise of routine, to the way we justify to ourselves (and others) the challenges life has dealt us...the way we grapple the past into being okay rather than actually dealing with root causes of deep-seeded pains and dysfunctions.

Lisa Sterle’s art in Long Lost is fittingly subdued and minimalistic, saving its greatest flourishes for moments that accentuate either horror or the role of setting in the story. Matthew Erman’s writing, meanwhile, is poignant and rich with poetic narration. Its dialogue is also telling without feeling forced. I jotted a number of favorite lines (some are listed below), because the prose on the pages kept demanding it. Ditto for screenshotting favorite panels.

There’s just something Lynchian at work in how this story withholds orienting information and accentuates the horrors of the mundane. Yet, there’s never a full dive made into bleakness or cynicism. A main conceit of Long Lost is revisiting the past, which in part means having our protagonists return to the forgotten rural town where they grew up. That kind of narrative can definitely lend itself to pessimism, but Long Lost never tips that way. The relationship between the two central sisters gives it way too much heart, making for a complex and haunting book that is equally human and relatable.

Some favorite lines:

Mom has been “missing” since we were kids. It’s only now that she has finally disappeared like everyone I know.
I see Hazel Patch like...you would see snakes gathered in overgrowth, maybe sleeping beneath blackberry bushes. And also, This was it though. This was Hazel Patch, in all its glory. Barely here, existing for no other reason than pure stubborness. An aimless void where people never leave because there is no where else to be except here. Nowhere.
I’ve had this foggy thing going on in my head, been like that for about a year now—I dunno. And I broke my arm learning to juggle.
Yesterday I woke up in a place I thought I knew but...it’s gone. The world is different. Everything has changed and all I feel is dread.
I dunno...I kind of loved this place growing up...or maybe I didn’t. It’s been so long I can’t seem to remember.

Warlords of Appalachia Vol. 1 by Phillip K. Johnson, Jonas Scharf, Doug Garbark, & Jim Campbell

Warlords of Appalachia imagines our current political years from now, taking it to vast and bleak extremes by depicting a situation in which Kentucky is a war-torn Chechnya-esque territory that the rest of the world leans on the U.S. government to leave alone. This is, without question, a prescient comic about individualism, about the power of religion as a motivator to justify drastic action or fighting in times of great poverty, and about the dangers of substituting macho cult personality for an actual leader with courage and integrity.

In terms of its DNA, this is a war comic, and the action sequences written by Phillip K. Johnson and drawn by Jonas Scharf are clear and intense, very well-done. Yet, that’s not really what makes this such a compelling comic. This is a good comic because of the ideology that surrounds the combat, the reasons the people fight, be it because they’re career soldiers, religious zealots, or members of fedup and oppressed communities.

This is also the type of comic that both sides of our very real raging ideological war could read and relate to heavily, which I think is likely also part of the point...not that this story is making the flawed argument that our current politics have two equal sides, but to remind us that once any political stance is corrupted enough, the end goals of those who are doing the corrupting start to look the same. I’ve only read the first volume of this book, but I heavily suspects that's where this story is heading.

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Mashbone and Grifty #1 by Oscar Garza & Rolando Esquivel

Mashbone and Grifty from 5 Meats Comics was such a nice palate cleanser after the much heavier fare in the first two titles, but it’s still a great comic with a unique (and often hilarious) perspective. First about the funny: this is one of those comics that packs in visual and dialogue gags at a rapid clip, reminding of the work of my favorite funny-man in comics, Kyle Starks (whose Rock Candy Mountain was a previous New Discovery). To give you a sense of what to expect, this first issue is about a man who approaches our heroes because someone has stolen his cock (rooster) named Mango.

This book is super funny and also steeped in a Mexican-American perspective. At one point, a character asks why he has to do the dangerous undercover work in Little Mexico, and after another character tells him it’s because he’s Mexican...everyone goes silent and someone mumbles something about being uncomfortable. There’s also a funny interlude with a handy el dandy Spanish Glossary, plus a quick clip from Mashbone’s favorite movie, which uses an Indiana Jones type character (Dakota Dan) for a quick satire about immigration.

In other words, Mashbone and Grifty is a funny book with something unique to say, and if it makes you uncomfortable—good, because this comic is telling a ton of jokes-per-minute even if some of those jokes make you flinch.

Click here to check out Mashbone and Grifty.

See all our past months of new discoveries here. And check back to the site next week for our Best Debut Comics of August 2018 as well as our Top Comics of August 2018, too.

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

Beyonders #1 by Paul Jenkins & Wesley St. Claire

August 29, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Reviews

Beyonders #1 is out Aug. 29. 2018. — **Beyonders #1** is out Aug. 29. 2018.

By Zack Quaintance — The opening pages of Paul Jenkins and Wesley St. Claire’s Beyonders #1 are not unlike having a conversation with someone who is really into historical conspiracy theories at a party or a bar: the information comes at you so fast that you can’t make much sense of it...all you know is that there’s something much much larger going on here, something that may or may not be worth going all in on.

In that sense, Beyonders #1 does a great job opening up a new comic, throwing out an intriguing hook that basically encapsulates what this story is about, one that will surely make clear to like-minded readers that they’re in for something worthwhile. For those who are maybe a little overwhelmed with the opening, the creative team does a great job of getting us right to our protagonist, who himself then makes clear that he finds this all a bit overwhelming as well. That he does it with some funny too is another enticing quality laid out early by Beyonders.

That’s all really great on a surface level. What I found more enticing about this book was the hints at bigger questions about conspiracy culture, about how it’s accelerated in odd regions due to the Internet and about how certain types of people are prone to use it as a distraction from more tangible and immediate things in the world around them. It’s all so relevant for this tough year of 2018, and Jenkins and St. Claire do a great job of conveying that without being heavy-handed.

Some of the scenes of Jacob’s real life, however, are just a little too on the nose and convenient, especially one where he’s called into his principal’s office so the man can give him a speech and also inform him he’s been denied...by every college he applied to. That convenience took me out of the story a little bit (just a little), but thankfully the book is never far off from lapsing back into its central concern: conspiracies.

Jenkins and St. Claire are experienced creators who know their craft stuff, and the book reads quickly. Everything here is well-polished and easy to digest. Whether or not is proves to be a lasting series, however, will likely depend on how well it continues to unpack the reasons online culture has accelerated belief in conspiracies.

Overall: There are a lot of surprises in this comic, as one is right to expect from a book about conspiracies, and they’re all well-done. In the end, I’d heartily recommend this comic to anyone who gets lost down conspiratorial rabbit holes on the Internet with any degree of regularity. 7.0/10

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.

ADVANCED REVIEW: Cemetery Beach #1 by Warren Ellis & Jason Howard

August 28, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Reviews

Cemetery Beach #1 is due out Sept. 12. — **Cemetery Beach #1** is due out Sept. 12.

By Zack Quaintance — Right from the start, Cemetery Beach by Warren Ellis and Jason Howard lets you know it’s a wild affair, very much unlike the team’s previous book, Trees. It does this with a set of instructions on the inside cover, starting with: 1. This book is valuable. Do not lose it. Whereas Trees was high concept sci-fi intermingled with commentary on social and cultural issues, Cemetery Beach is high concept sci-fi delivered via raucous adventure, steeped in shock, danger, and lunacy—you know, the good stuff.

The book’s front/inside cover starts establishing all that before readers hit the first panel. On top of that first instruction, there’s more plus also imagery that evokes escape, colonialism, Black Hawk helicopters, and early space travel. When the first panel does arrive, we launch straight into our exposition heavy yet very entertaining opening scene, in which Ellis pens some of his pithiest dialogue in recent memory. We learn in 1920 a group of industrialists and scientists found and operated a method to travel off-world. They built a colony, and our hero is on that colony now doing reconnaissance for Earth...that’s as far into the plot as I need to go here.

As you can see, this book is imaginative. It’s also light by recent Ellis standards, which feels like an odd way to describe a book with this much murder but here we are. The high-concept Ellis ideas are still here, as is the world-building. What sets Cemetery Beach apart from recent Ellis output (think Trees, Karnak, The Wild Storm, etc.) is a lighter energy and gripping plot from our start (more on that soon).

Howard’s artwork is also outstanding, a bit more kinetic than what we saw through much of trees, but just as clear and interesting. This first issue has a necessarily claustrophobic feel through most of it, seeing we start within a Mysterious Torture Shitbox, as our hero puts it. We do get a quick glimpse of the larger world, though, and I’m anxious to see more in future issues when the adventure presumably takes us to new corners of this colony.

The book’s clearest strength, however, is the mastery with which it takes a complex plot and gives us an absolutely perfect amount of information to engage with, to not feel disoriented, and to root for our protagonists. This balance, to me, is key to all great #1 issues. Creators must obviously avoid making readers feel like they’re having info forced on them, but they must also orient us within the story and make us care about characters, otherwise the cliffhanger at a first issue’s end won’t be compelling. Ellis and Howard nail all of that so hard with Cemetery Beach.

Overall: A masterful debut issue from a veteran creative team. Ellis and Howard’s Cemetery Beach #1 puts vast thematic and conceptual depth beneath a fast-paced and deceptively simple exterior, one loaded with quips and kinetically-drawn action scenes. BUY BUY BUY this comic and enjoy. 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.

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

August 28, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Reviews

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

Top Comics to Buy for August 29, 2018

August 27, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Previews

By Zack Quaintance — Ah, the weird fifth Wednesday, where indie titles are free to shine, DC rolls out its annuals and specials, and delayed comics from throughout the month finally find a home. It’s also the month where Wednesday Warriors (who are presumably the only folks who would be reading this) get a slight break for their wallets.

I say slight because there are, of course, still new comics to be had, for nothing can entirely stop the juggernaut that is comics commerce, rolling forward each week via its direct market of thousands of small business spread throughout the country, in what these days has likely become the oddest and most-antiquated media distribution system that still has a large and fairly entrenched following (of, to be fair, mostly middle-aged guys).

Annnnyway, the point is there are comics coming out this week, so with that in mind let’s look now to our Top Comics to Buy for August 29, 2018!

Top Comics to Buy for August 29, 2018

Batgirl #26 / Batgirl Annual #2
Writer: Mairghread Scott
Artists: Paul Pelletier (#26) & Elena Casagrande (Annual #2)
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99 (#26) & $4.99 (Annual #2)
#26 — "Art of the Crime" part one. During a high-speed chase with murderous art thief Grotesque, the villain K.O.'s Batgirl with a souped-up stun gun that temporarily fries the device implanted in her spine. (That thing that helps her, you know, walk and be Batgirl?) Babs finds herself in for a whole new world of hurt now that old wounds have been opened up-and so does Grotesque.
Annual #2 — Sibling rivalry takes on a whole new meaning in this one-shot story that tracks Batgirl's hunt for a serial killer whose M.O. strikes a familiar chord. Namely, a disturbing similarity to her brother, current convict James Gordon Jr. Family bonds are restored during a visit to his maximum- security surroundings, but Babs' doubts linger. Is James Jr. helping to solve this case... or pulling her strings in a diabolical power play?
Why It’s Cool: I’m on record as having loved Batgirl #25, which gave us our first glimpse at the forthcoming run on the character by the new creative team of Mairghread Scott and Paul Pelletier/Elena Casagrande. Scott seems bent on drawing from the character’s history to tell stories that speak to her core values as well as her place within the Bat-family...plus, both of these artists are very exciting.

Harbinger Wars 2 #4 (of 4)
Writer: Matt Kindt
Artist: Tomas Giorello
Publisher: Valiant Entertainment
Price: $3.99
THE FINAL BATTLE! LIVEWIRE VS. THE VALIANT UNIVERSE! We called it the biggest, most impactful, most ambitious Valiant event ever attempted - and we meant it! From across the Valiant Universe, the paths of all of the world's most formidable heroes - X-O Manowar, the Harbinger Renegades, Bloodshot, Ninjak, the Secret Weapons, H.A.R.D. Corps, and dozens of newly activated psiots - have finally converged, drawn together by their old ally Livewire's last-ditch effort to protect the powerless. Now, the long-brewing battle between Valiant's greatest icons will finally reach the stratosphere - literally - and, out of the ashes, a new order for the Valiant Universe will be hewn.
Why It’s Cool: What an event Harbinger Wars 2 has been, clocking in at spry four issues, maintaining the same creative team throughout its duration, and pairing up characters in fresh ways that only a younger superhero universe can do. This is the finale, sort of...there’s an aftermath issue coming out soon. Either way, big things seem to be afoot here and we’re definitely there for it.

Lex Luthor Porky Pig Special #1
Writers: Mark Russell, Jim Fanning
Artists: Brad Walker, Andrew Hennessy, John Loter
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99
Facing financial and personal ruin, a desperate Porky Pig applies for and gets and entry-level position with LexCorp. Grateful to his new benefactor, Porky becomes Luthor's most loyal employee and defender. But when a major scandal breaks in the news and Lex is called before a Congressional Committee, guess who is about to be offered up as the sacrificial pig?
Why It’s Cool: Nobody in comics is better at taking pop culture icons (a group in which we’d include Porky Pig) and turning them into modern satires than Mark Russell, who has done the same with The Flintstones and Snagglepuss, and will soon get another chance to do so with The Lone Ranger. Based on the preview text, this comic seems to be an incredibly timely look at white collar crime—we have this pegged as an early contender for book of the week.

Submerged #2 (of 4)
Writer: Vita Ayala
Artist: Lisa Sterle
Publisher: Vault Comics
Price: $3.99
As the worst storm in New York City's history crashes over its streets, Ellie Puente's desperate search for her brother, Angel, takes her into the terrifying depths of the subway system. There she finds a lost, helpless child, and is confronted with the stuff of her nightmares.
Why It’s Cool: This year could be remembered for being the one in which the industry saw the rise of Vault Comics, and books like Submerged are a big part of the reason why. This book combines a potpourri of different mythos with family drama and a terrifying experience writer Vita Ayala (who has also spent 2018 on the rise) had in New York City during Hurricane Sandy. Like all Vault books, we have no idea where this one is going, but we’re certain it will be both rewarding and complex.

X-Men Grand Design: Second Genesis #2 (of 2)
Writer/Artist: Ed Piskor
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $5.99
SPACE INVADERS! The Shi'ar! The Brood! The Starjammers! Watch as Marvel's merry mutants take to the stars for the very first time all over again. See the inaugural X-Men adventures of Kitty Pryde and Carol Danvers. Marvel at the conclusion of the now-classic DARK PHOENIX SAGA. A great entry point for new and lapsed X-Men fans alike!
Why It’s Cool: It just is. Writer/artist Ed Piskor’s X-Mythos remix Grand Design is one of the coolest things happening in comics today, with everything from the artwork to the structure to the tactile enhancements made by the book’s special paper ranking as pretty freaking cool. We may end up waiting for the over-sized compiled addition that’s coming down the road, but we still want to stress this as a book that is not to be missed—regardless of your preferred format.

Others Receiving Votes

A Walk Through Hell #4
Beatles Yellow Submarine Hardcover
Bone Parish #2
Euthanuats #2
Exiles #7
Isola #5
Marvel 2-in-1 #9
Ms. Marvel #33
New Mutants: Dead Souls #6
New World #2 (of 5)
Paradise Court #2 (of 5)
Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual #2
X-23 #3

See our other top comics to buy here.

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

Five Questions With Creators: Ryan Cady

August 24, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Q&A

Infinite Dark is slated for release Oct. 10. — **Infinite Dark** is slated for release Oct. 10.

By Zack Quaintance — Ryan Cady will make his Marvel debut this coming Wednesday, writing a backup story drawn by Hayden Sherman for the Old Man Logan Annual. The month after that, he’s launching one of the darker creator-owned books to be solicited all year. How dark? Infinitely so (the book’s title is Infinite Dark).

I could continue prattling about his credentials and how he’s basically the definition of an exciting creator to watch, but instead I’ll step aside now as Ryan answers our latest set of five questions with creators (plus one extra one about fast food)...

1. So, I had a chance to read the preview of Infinite Dark from SDCC. Really great stuff! Where did the idea for this story come from and what was your process like for taking it from idea to a fully-realized comic?

Thanks man! I’ve had the idea for quite awhile. It came out of some pretty rough, bleak times in my life, and I sort of hung onto this idea of “survival as a virtue.” Wanting to explore that, I turned toward this mishmash of horror ideas I’d had about the Heath Death of the Universe, listened to some really appropriate dark/emo music, and synthesized it all into a plot. It was just about bringing all those disparate kernels together under that theme, and getting it to be something Andrea wanted to create together.

2. The concept of the book and the preview left me feeling lonely and almost outside of myself…what sort of headspace did you have to get in while writing this story and developing these characters?

Like I said before, I was in a hard place. 2017 was the worst year of my life, personal-life wise. I moved across the country for a relationship that started crumbling, I lost of lot of support structures, some friendships collapsed, money was tight – I felt kind of lost out there. But coming out of that – surviving at any cost and finding a home even if it’s not who you were before…that’s sort of where I was when it finally became time to script. And even if the story starts off as bleak as can be, in pure empty oblivion, I promise there is hope for these characters. Even if they don’t have much yet, themselves.

3. Andrea Mutti’s art is so good, such an interesting hard sci-fi aesthetic. What is the collaboration process between the two of you like?

Andrea Mutti is one of the most enthusiastic people in comics. He’s always cheery, always excited, always pushing me. I have a lot of close character thoughts, but he’s always so good about making sure I remember the dynamism of comics, the big images and dramatic action that can precede or even help further convey those moments. Plus, he uses a lot of friendly emojis in his emails that just always make my day.

Hayden Sherman's art (via Twitter) for Cady's story in Old Man Logan Annual, out Sept. 5. — Hayden Sherman's art (via Twitter) for Cady's story in **Old Man Logan Annual**, out Sept. 5.

4. What can you tell us about the story you’re writing for next month’s Old Man Logan Annual, from what I understand it’s an excerpt from Frank Castle’s War Journal…

Oh man, I could not be more ecstatic about my Marvel debut, man. This story is…Well, it’s an examination of Frank Castle – one of the most nihilistic dudes in the Marvel Universe – traversing the Wastelands of the Old Man Logan timeline – easily the most nihilistic time period of the Marvel Universe. And while that sounds bleak and brutal and awful (and the story is, at times), where we’re taking Frank still gives him a leg to stand on. A crusade. He’s going to encounter some people who want to recreate the mistakes of the past, and he’s having none of it.

5. So, when you haven’t been mentally inhabiting post-heat death survivalist scenarios or alternate future stories about whatever-it-takes vigilantism…what comics, books, TV, movies, music, etc. have you been consuming lately?

Ha! Well, I’m a huge D&D fan, so I play in a couple campaigns and I’m a huge fan of the Adventure Zone podcast. I like podcasts and audiobooks cause I drive a lot and listen to ‘em when I do chores, etc. So I’m big on TAZ and the Magnus Archives, and I’m doing my best to work through a lot of the “Top Horror Novels of All Time,” and try to get back to my roots, as it were. Comics-wise, I’ve actually been trying to go back and read more formative, classic stuff – I just finished Transmetropolitan, some old X-Men runs, a few Ennis stories…Like I said, trying to shore up my roots.

The Beefy Crunch Burrito in all its...glory?

+1. As a noted fast food connoisseur, what if any fast food products are most likely to survive the heat death of the universe and why?

Taco Bell re-releases the Beefy Crunch Burrito once every couple years, and everyone loves it, but they never keep it around for long, even though demand is crazy high and it’s easy to make with ingredients they mostly keep on hand anyway. I imagine that somewhere on board the Orpheus there’s some kind of future Taco Bell, and even though all food is available with matter processors, even though there’s no actual time or seasons or anything, they STILL only release the fucking thing once a year, just to torture these poor people.

Check out our other Five Questions with Creators pieces and other Comics 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.

The Saga Re-Read: Saga #3

August 24, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Comics

By Zack Quaintance & Cory Weber — The Saga re-read rolls right along this week, as me (the returning reader) and Cory Weber (the first-time reader) continue to share our thoughts and the book continues to settle into the powerhouse comic it would later become. Three is a bit of a subdued issue, albeit one with a pretty excellent cover.

We left off last week with Marko gravely injured by The Stalk, who was in turn chased off by The Horrors, who aren’t exactly what they seem to be. Meanwhile, The Will is heading with Lying Cat to Sextillion (whatever that is!) and Prince Robot IV is losing his cool while integrating Wreath prisoners about what went down between Alana and the escaped Moonie she is said to have fallen for, ultimately giving birth to a child.

Saga #3

Here’s the official preview text for Saga #3:

BKV's and FIONA STAPLES' controversial epic continues! Stranded on a mystical alien world, new parents Marko and Alana encounter their greatest fear.

That’s not a lot to go on, and, really, it’s maybe a little appropriate since this is the first issue where things tend to slow down just a little bit. It’s maybe worth noting that I can’t remember what the controversy was about now. I think it had something to do with breastfeeding? Which is maybe why they ended up putting a breast-feeding Hazel on the first omnibus cover? Either way, controversial epic now strikes me as a mostly quaint way to describe Saga through it’s first three issues. Let’s get to our takes!

A Re-Reader’s Perspective by Zack: Saga’s whole deal, as it were, is just so seamless now, that it’s easy to forget that a big part of what marked the earliest issues was a give and take between action sequences and family drama, almost like a jockeying for territory before we got fully invested in both. This issue is a bit heavier on the family drama side of things, especially the end. It’s definitely a slower issue of Saga (which bums me out, because I recently invested in a CGC-rated 9.8 copy of Saga #3), but it’s by no means a bad issue.

A New Reader’s Perspective by Cory Webber: First off, I just want to say, again, how much I love Staples’ character work, especially her facial expressions. They can almost tell the story without any words. Second, Lying Cat is growing on me, and I have a feeling it will become one of my favorite characters. Finally, as a parent of three children, this issue of Saga hits some strong notes. Parenting is hard, and I have the luxury of a house with running water, electricity and not much threat of war breaking out. Needless to say, I can’t imagine having a newborn, while on the run, on a war torn planet. But I digress, the family drama in this third issue is intriguing, what with a grotesque spirit requesting to bond with a newborn baby, and Marko making an accidental deathbed confession, while being semi-conscious — who the #&%! is Gwendolyn?!

Cory’s New Reader Predictions: I’ll tell you who the #&%! I think Gwendolyn is! It’s Marko’s wife, whom he has conveniently failed to mention prior to this. Also, I feel Alana wants to let him die, but her desire to get some answers will be a smidge stronger.

Thanks for joining us, and be sure to check back next Friday for a discussion of Saga #4! Tweet us @BatmansBookcase with your own thoughts, and we may run them here next week...

Cory Webber is a work-from-home entrepreneur who also reads and reviews comics for fun. Find him on Twitter at @CeeEssWebber. He lives in Lehi, Utah with his wife and three sons.

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

The Original West Coast Avengers #1: A True Soap Opera for Superhero Fans

August 23, 2018 by Theron Couch in Comics

West Coast Avengers #1 from 1985. — **West Coast Avengers #1** from 1985.

By Theron Couch — The original West Coast Avengers #1 starts with Mockingbird leaving lipstick on Hawkeyes’s lips...I challenge Kelly Thompson and Stefano Caselli’s new West Coast Avengers to be half as tantalizing!

In fact, that first page with the lipstick business would ultimately prove to be consistent with the overall style the old book developed as it charted a course in a separate direction from its parent title, The Avengers back on the East Coast. With the West Coast Avengers returning to Marvel for the first time in ages this week, I’d like to look back today at the original series and at how its debut issue effectively used soap opera dramatics to separate itself from its parent title.

See, West Coast Avengers #1 was essentially a soap opera that just happened to guest star Ultron 12 and his henchmen, Man-Ape and Goliath. Writer Steve Engelhart spent most of the issue following personal drama rather than focusing on action. For instance, in the opening pages—when Hank Pym interrupts the Hawkeye/Mockingbird make out session—Engelhart introduced Hawkeye’s primary goal: find a sixth member to round out the team. Hawkeye then went on to offer the position to ol’ intruding Hank...who resoundly turned it down. These motivations reverberated throughout the issue, coming up repeatedly in both private moments and group scenes.

Speaking of Hank, he actually had the highlight of the issue, that being when his ex-wife Wasp (whom he didn’t want to talk to anyway) not only questioned whether he was joining the team but—unlike everyone else—agreed that he shouldn’t. In similar fashion, nigh-invulnerable Wonder Man spent much of the issue worrying about death—a fear that almost crippled him in the team’s first fight with Ultron, and Tigra spent most of the issue sorting out who and what she had become following her transformation...until she finally stopped, mid-mission, to psychoanalyze herself.

The new West Coast Avengers #1 is out now. — The new **West Coast Avengers #1** is out now.

Artists Allen Milgrom, Joe Sinnot, and Petra Scotese complemented this soap opera scripting with superb rendering of the characters. For starters, everyone was presented consistently, whether it be via shape or shading or color. Most importantly, though, was the attention the artists paid to characters’ expressions. Even some of the best artists today still fail to present character expressions consistently or to connect those expressions to the dialogue and events taking place in the moment. The entire first issue of West Coast Avengers, however, is a study in accurate rendition of character expressions—and good thing too since you can’t very well have a soap opera without ample closeups on stricken characters.

Another soap opera-y quirk in this comic—one often found in spinoffs like this one—is packing the book with references to critical events from the past. In this issue, Engelhardt and editor Mark Gruenwald almost go overboard with 16 (!) issue callouts that see the cast frequently speaking of past events from the parent series. As if a cast of Avengers weren’t enough, Engelhardt and Gruenwald want to constantly remind readers that West Coast Avengers really is a spinoff, one that as the first page says continues the proud Avengers tradition in a west coast way.

Overall, West Coast Avengers featured no shortage of action, and this review shouldn’t be construed to mean that nothing exciting took place—indeed, a lot of exciting things did go down between the drama. This first issue, though, establishes a character style that borders at times on melodrama. The west coast way, it turns out, is the tried and true old-school soap opera. And it’s quite a lot of fun to read.

Read more of Theron’s thoughts about the original West Coast Avengers series here.

Theron Couch is a writer, blogger, and comic book reviewer. His first novel, The Loyalty of Pawns, is available on Amazon. You can also follow him on Twitter at @theroncouch.

REVIEW: Amazing Spider-Man #4 by Nick Spencer, Ryan Ottley, Cliff Rathburn, Laura Martin, & Joe Caramagna

August 22, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Reviews

By Zack Quaintance — If Amazing Spider-Man #1 was a series intro and primer, than Amazing Spider-Man #4 seems to be our first real glimpse of its scope, giving readers a better idea of where the fresh creative team wants to take Marvel’s flagship character. As I wrote in my review of #1, I loved that issue, but if I’m being totally honest, I still had trepidation, albeit buried somewhat deeply.

Basically, I wondered if I’d simply given in to Spencer’s quippy scripting and Ottley’s shiny kinetic pencils, and if that meant eventually the glow would fade and the book would feel hollow. Ottley is a massive talent, to be sure, and I’ve liked Spencer’s work, especially Astonishing Ant-Man and The Superior Foes of Spider-Man. Those books, however, were decidedly straightforward in terms of ideas, and neither sustained the type of multi-year run all signs suggest is coming on Amazing Spider-Man.

And, really, it’s almost certainly too soon to say Spencer and Ottley have shown they’re able to tell a meaningful long-form story about Peter Parker. That said! I’m doing it anyway, because in Amazing Spider-Man #4, I saw hints that Spencer was interested in far more than jokes (which he’s great at) and bringing back bygone plot points that if mishandled could end up being fan service.

There were two decisions in this issue that made me more bullish about the future of this title. The first was the choice of villain, which was a fantastic reveal that both changed the way I viewed the past two issues and made me nod my head back like—respect—in regards to Spencer’s knowledge and use of Spidey’s deep continuity.

The second was how the sci-fi hijinx in the foreground was able to meaningfully unpack and examine part of Spider-Man’s defining belief system, which is perhaps the defining belief system in all of superhero comics: With great power comes great responsibility. I won’t spoil the details of how this happens, but I will note that a great way to realize the impact of ethos is to revisit what life is like when that ethos is absent. And Spencer, Ottley, and co. found a really entertaining way to do just that.

As a friend on Twitter noted, this book is benefiting right now from some great Spidey alchemy between Spencer and Ottley, and as I noted on Twitter (I really need to spend less time on there), Amazing Spider-Man is etched in stone on my pull list, but when it’s at its best (as it has been now through these first 4 issues), it makes Marvel’s entire line feel more exciting.

Anyway, I’ll wrap up by noting I like this series so much (and it’s so prominent) that I’m going to add it to the regular review rotation here, meaning we’ll have a new Amazing Spider-Man review for every new Amazing Spider-Man issue.

Overall: Amazing Spider-Man #4 continues with the great art and hilarious quips of the first three issues, also adding a villian expertly culled from deep Spider-continuity plus a well-done examination of Peter’s core beliefs. Simply put, there’s seriously good comic book-ing going on here. 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.

REVIEW: Wonder Woman #53 by Steve Orlando, Aco, Hugo Petrus, David Lorenzo, Romulo Fajardo Jr., Saida Temofonte

August 22, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Reviews

By Zack Quaintance — Wowza.

Wonder Woman #53 is out Aug. 22, 2018. — **Wonder Woman #53** is out Aug. 22, 2018.

This is maybe the least elegant opening line for any review I’ve ever written, but I just don’t think there’s a better summation of what Aco does in Wonder Woman #53 within all the massive mythological Aztec battle scenes. It’s stunning stuff, whether it be the intricate double-truck splashes or the askew panel grids filled with colorful detail that burst off the page. When you get your hands on this issue, do me a favor and linger on some of Aco’s linework. I suspect wowza will start to make a whole lot of sense to you, too.

I didn’t even really mind that Hugo Petrus (whose work is also quite good) had to come in to spell Aco for a handful of pages between the bigger set pieces. It would have been nice, of course, had Aco been able to draw this entire issue, but Petrus’ pages fit in seamlessly between the absolutely jaw-dropping bits done by Aco. It all adds up to a gorgeous comic.

The story is great, too. As I noted in my review of last issue, Steve Orlando is well aware of the two central qualities of Diana Prince’s character: her stubborn and limitless compassion, and her inherent place as a swaggery ass-kicking mythological goddess who walks among us. Orlando’s first issue on this book—the supremely beautiful Wonder Woman #51—examined her compassion, while Wonder Woman #52 setup an old school adventure romp fit for the aforementioned swaggery ass-kicking mythological goddess. Wonder Woman #53 knocks down what its predecessor setup, having Diana and her crew (Artemis and the new Aztek) deal with the antagonist they initially united to confront.

Wonder Woman is undeniably the star of the show here, but the panel time that Orlando and Aco devote to both Aztek and Artemis is used efficiently, yielding great results. There's such a mutually-beneficially vibe to this team-up, with all three characters having logical reasons to be together here.

I particularly enjoyed Aztek confronting the foe that her predecessor essentially kamakazied (ineffectually) to defeat waaaaay back in the late ‘90s when Grant Morrison was writing his Justice League saga. One of Orlando’s best strengths as a writer is his nuanced and surgical wielding of DC’s vast continuity, and it’s certainly on full display within this issue. Finally, not to spoil anything but the story does a great job of extending the adventure into next issue, which is to be drawn by Raul Allen, a favorite of mine based on his work over at Valiant.

Overall: Wonder Woman #53 is ultimately a gorgeous comic that nicely wraps up the adventure in Aztec mythos that was set into motion last issue, while simultaneously laying groundwork for more action. 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.

Hawkeye, West Coast Avengers #1 & Redemption

August 21, 2018 by Theron Couch in Comics

By Theron Couch — Superheroes fighting each other has long since gone from reliable genre convention to outright cliché. Whatever the reason for the fight’s start, it almost always turns into a let’s discuss how best to defeat a villain coffee clutch. Avengers West Coast #69, though, is one of those great examples of superhero fights that have nothing to do with upholding justice and fighting crime, and everything to do with two characters who can’t keep their mouths shut literally picking a time and place to beat each other senseless. So yes, it remains my favorite superhero fight to this day—and it also forever-defined for me a major character who is returning tomorrow in Kelly Thompson and Stefano Caselli’s new West Coast Avengers #1.

Avengers West Coast #69: The A Story & B Story

Screen Shot 2018-08-17 at 7.52.45 PM.png

Avengers West Coast #69 is a glorified team picking. The story jumps back and forth in time, telling two stories concurrently. In the A story—the story that opens the issue—Hawkeye and US Agent dish out a mutual ass beating. In full costume and with arrows and shield, the two fighters hold little back. There is no love lost between them, and since the A story begins before the fight actually starts, it’s clear the whole thing was orchestrated in advance, which leads to the obvious question of why.

Enter the B story, which occurs earlier in the day and is confined to Avengers West Coast headquarters. The team is choosing a new roster, but before they do that General Heyworth has a message for US Agent. Both Avengers teams will operate under the United Nations going forward so the US government is no longer maintaining a representative on the teams. US Agent, who had had a guaranteed a slot on the team before, now has to earn his way on like everyone else. US Agent doesn’t take the news well, and Hawkeye rubs plenty of salt in the wound. Predictably, the voting doesn’t go US Agent’s way, and with only one vote cast in his favor he gets a spot as an alternate. The end of the B story dovetails into the A story as Hawkeye and US Agent set up a fight for later that night.

Avengers West Coast #69: The Fight

The infamous fight in Avengers West Coast #69. — The infamous fight in **Avengers West Coast #69.**

It’s a lean story in Avengers West Coast #69, one that really boils down to two events of consequence: the team selecting its members, and Hawkeye and US Agent fighting. With respect to the first event there’s no real rising action or plot twist; the result of the vote is so obvious that it’s hardly a surprise when Hawkeye makes it and US Agent doesn’t. As for the fight—it’s also clear that it has no real teeth. The story is the fight rather than the outcome, so to an extent it’s overwritten.

To the benefit of both stories, though, Roy and Dann Thomas used a convention that these days is pretty common, but it much less so at the start of the ‘90s: non-linear storytelling. Both stories benefit from being broken up and interspersed with the other, preventing the vote from feeling more important than it is and keeping the fight from feeling too long. It’s a brilliant move, one that makes the issue work.

I’ve never read other issues of Avengers West Coast, so I don’t know if there is additional backstory to the Hawkeye/US Agent relationship. You don’t really need it, though. The Thomases write US Agent as a self-entitled jerk through and through. Even before the general unceremoniously delivers the news in front of the entire Avengers team with no warning, US Agent’s smug attitude goes such a long way to damaging him in the readers’ eyes.

Hawkeye, though, is actually almost worse—and this is where I wish I did know the backstory. Hawkeye starts rubbing salt in US Agent’s wounds immediately, and it’s entirely personal. At no point does he offer a compelling argument for why US Agent is a detriment to the team. Hawkeye just doesn’t like him, and he’s having a good time kicking him while he’s down. The pettiness behind both men’s actions colors the fight and sets it into a special class—a more personal class—of hero combat. There are no lofty ideals here.

Can Hawkeye Be Redeemed?

West Coast Avengers #1 is out Aug. 22. — **West Coast Avengers #1** is out Aug. 22.

Overall, Avengers West Coast #69 has all the makings of a forgettable one-off. And if not for the non-linear storytelling device, I’m not sure it would be so much fun. But it is the comic book that colored my perception of Hawkeye forever. US Agent is a jerk in this story. Everybody knows it. And everybody knows he’s not making it on the Avengers. But only Hawkeye takes the tack that he shouldn’t; he does it very personally and very publicly. Even if he’s right, his attitude in the B story and his willingness to stoop to US Agent’s level is definitely a stain on someone who just got overwhelmingly voted on to the team.

What’s more, the promised suspension at the end of the issue rings very much like the kind of non-punishment reserved for popular members of teams and groups. To me Hawkeye walks away from this fight looking far worse as a character, and to this day I’ve been ambivalent toward him, if not outright suspicious—his defining moment to me is a petty fight on the beach because he was talking shit to someone in a position beneath him.

Here’s wondering if Kelly Thompson can, at long last, redeem Clint Barton in my eyes.

Theron Couch is a writer, blogger, and comic book reviewer. His first novel, The Loyalty of Pawns, is available on Amazon. You can also follow him on Twitter at @theroncouch.

REVIEW: Wasted Space #4 by Michael Moreci, Hayden Sherman, Jason Wordie, & Jim Campbell

August 21, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Reviews

Wasted Space #4 is out Aug. 22, 2018. — **Wasted Space #4** is out Aug. 22, 2018.

By Zack Quaintance — One of the qualities (among many) that has drawn me to Wasted Space is its sheer complexity. This is the series’ fourth issue, and going in I found myself wondering what facet of this story Moreci, Sherman, et al. would explore here in greater depth. Would we finally see Devolous Yam (almost)? Would we learn more about the powers shared by our series leads (almost again)? How about more of Legion, the giant unstoppable force driven to absolutely stomp our heroes (no, but check out #5’s cover)?

The first three issues have just laid so much excellent groundwork, planting tons of compelling seeds for the creators to explore (great news: this book had been granted ongoing status, now likely to run for at least 20 issues). Anyway, we start here with protagonist Billy having his longest conversation yet with The Creator, a robot who appears only to him and is also basically God to the vast majority of the galaxy.

Wasted Space #4, much like preceding issues, doesn’t spoon feed its audience easy answers. Instead, it keeps marching forward, putting characters in deeper jeopardy and revealing info only as it applies to that. What does, however, become clearer in this fourth installment is that Wasted Space likely aspires to be a pretty direct (although not heavy handed) allegory for our current times, one that challenges readers with difficult questions.

There are plenty of interesting questions asked in brief, but the one I see at the heart of this thing is about repercussions. This is a theme hinted at in every issue, and so it’s no surprise it shows up again here, but what this book seems to want its readers to think about is not causes of systematic oppression or tumult, but rather what is the responsibility of individuals to respond to grave trouble, what is the just thing to do and how does one continue doing it after personal losses mount? It’s heady and compelling stuff, at times blurring the troubling line between staying comfortable and embracing outright nihilism.

Hayden Sherman, meanwhile, continues proving himself one of the most versatile sci-fi artists in comics, as capable of nailing scenes entirely reliant upon facial expressions as he is of rendering extreme violence or intricate spaceship interiors. He’s supported here by Jason Wordie’s vibrant colors, and by Jim Campbell’s letters, which do quite a bit, getting across long tracks of whispered conversation seamlessly. When a letterer is at their best, their work breezes by without notice, and that’s certainly the case with Campbell in this issue.

Overall: Wasted Space #4 is rich with both sporadic bursts of idea-heavy conversation as well as with space opera action, which is basically this series’ MO. For those as engaged with this comic as I am, this issue is yet another step forward in one of the most exciting sci-fi epics in comics today. 9.0/10

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.

REVIEW: Cold Spots #1 by Cullen Bunn, Mark Torres, & Simon Bowland

August 20, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Reviews

Cold Spots #1 is out Aug. 22, 2018. — **Cold Spots #1** is out Aug. 22, 2018.

By Zack Quaintance — Cullen Bunn is prolifically establishing himself as comics’ foremost purveyor of horror, and Cold Spots #1 is another title likely to bolster that reputation. In this opening issue, Bunn takes a minimalist approach to introducing characters and exposition, using a few small exchanges and revelations to hint at larger backstories. For the most part, this first issue concerns itself with ambiance, as well as with enabling Mark Torres’ artwork to really shine.

Although, shine is probably the wrong word for linework as alternatingly foreboding and forlorn as we get here. Simply put, Torres’ art in Cold Spots is beautiful, perfect for this story. The highlight of all of it is the use of color. Afternoons in rural locales, late nights in cities, even rooms for individual meetings—they all get their own palettes, palettes that go a long way toward influencing how the scenes in Cold Spots read and feel. There’s even a scene wherein color shifts based on a character’s (questionable) decision. It’s absolutely fantastic work from Torres.

The setting is also an interesting facet of Cold Spots. Between this book and other recent work (thinking specifically of Bone Parish with Boom! Studios), Bunn continues to tell stories about less-heralded regions of the United States, regions often ignored by television shows and movies,where problems in real life have made them ideal for explorations of the supernatural and occult, beset as they are by job loss and our worsening national opioid crisis (which, to be fair, is a problem everywhere). Anyway, Bunn has tapped into this as of late to emphasize the gothic qualities of places that range from Louisiana to the heartlands to (as in this story) North Carolina, telling tales of phantoms and wispy ghouls and the undead.

Cold Spots #1 is in the end a pretty and spry read, one that tears through its opening chapter while doling just enough exposition to further its mystery. The characters are shallow-yet-believable so far, letting the creative team provide a fantastic hook for readers along with a set of stunning and scary artwork. This is ultimately a five-part series, and I’d be surprised if the vast majority of folks who pick up #1 don’t end up sticking around for the duration.

Overall: A traditional supernatural mystery, Cold Spots #1 is another story from writer Cullen Bunn that uses horror motifs to chronicle forlorn pockets of the United States often ignored in television and film. This is a brief yet beautiful comic, and Mark Torres’ work with colors in particular is not to be missed. 8.0/10

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.

ADVANCED REVIEW: Friendo #1 by Alex Paknadel, Martin Simmonds, Dee Cunniffe, & Taylor Esposito

August 20, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Indie Comics

Friendo #1 comes out Sept. 26, 2018. — **Friendo #1** comes out Sept. 26, 2018.

By Zack Quaintance — Friendo #1 joins a growing wave of realistic, near-future capitalist horror stories being told in creator-owned comics. These stories all take hard looks at tech, at the late-model capitalist landscape, and at the plight of individuals within it. It’s the same rough formula that made Crowded so compelling, and to a lesser extent The New World, too. And yes, it’s at work again in Friendo, albeit executed with a take that is all Friendo’s own.

Friendo is set in dystopian Los Angeles, where ambush marketing is common. Have a movie about car crashes? You can hire someone to smash a car as a stunt, putting their body at great peril. Meanwhile, TMZ and E! have paparazzi drones hovering outside bedroom windows, using facial recognition software to evaluate whether people are notable. Oh, and wild fires, of course, are raging.

There are a growing number of these realistic near-future stories in comics, which makes perfect sense. Continued acceleration of healthcare costs, global warming, human reliance on tech, and the crumbling of boundaries between individuality and sales have replaced rando with a big knife as the scariest things a character can face. Friendo knows this. It’s scattered throughout its pages, with quick throwaway panels that are understated and terrifying (specifically a man on TV preparing to get up close and personal with a mustang stallion in order to win a year of health insurance for his family...christ, that’s not even far-fetched).

Friendo is thought-provoking, no question. Paknadel’s scripting is fantastic, as is the accompanying artwork. Simmonds art is clean and austere, leaving a blunt and captivating depiction of Los Angeles, while Cunniffe provides a complementary set of colors that are just so Los Angeleno.

One of the most impressive sequences—both in terms of writing and visuals—is the protagonist answering four questions that progressively shape his personalized marketing VR, Jerry. This scene was likely a heavy lift, but Paknadel’s adept scripting nails it, creating a set of questions as oblique in nature as they are believably-telling, especially if you consider them in the context of being fuel for advanced technology.

And that really, I think, speaks to this book’s greatest strength: its ability to craft technological ideas that seem advanced beyond comprehension but are still believable extensions of our current reliance on all things digital. Friendo has some work to do with its characterization (and plenty of time to do it after hooking me so thoroughly with this first issue), but in the end, this is a good comic—a look at a near future that truly seems as likely as it does terrifying.

Overall: Friendo is a solid debut comic rooted in smart extrapolations of ongoing societal concerns. This is a book that gives itself so many intriguing possibilities to play with as it moves forward. The rate of ideas here is almost staggering, and I’m excited to see where the creative team ultimately takes it. 8.0/10

Friendo #1 will be available Sept. 26, 2018.

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 August 2018

Quick Hits

Top 5 Best #1 Comics of August 2018

ADVANCED REVIEW: Man-Eaters #1 by Chelsea Cain, Kate Niemczyk, Rachelle Rosenberg, Joe Caramagna, & Lia Miternique

Top Comics to Buy for September 5, 2018

Top Comics to Buy for September 5, 2018

Recommended New #1 Comics for September 5, 2018

Others Receiving Votes

The Saga Re-Read: Saga #4

Saga #4

Five Questions With Creators: David Moses LeNoir

August 2018 New Comic Discoveries: Long Lost, Warlords of Appalachia, and Mashbone & Grifty

Beyonders #1 by Paul Jenkins & Wesley St. Claire

ADVANCED REVIEW: Cemetery Beach #1 by Warren Ellis & Jason Howard

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

Top Comics to Buy for August 29, 2018

Top Comics to Buy for August 29, 2018

Recommended New #1 Comics for August 29, 2018

Others Receiving Votes

Five Questions With Creators: Ryan Cady

The Saga Re-Read: Saga #3

Saga #3

Top Big 2 Books That Read Like Indie Comics

Big 2 Books That Read Like Indie Comics

The Original West Coast Avengers #1: A True Soap Opera for Superhero Fans

REVIEW: Amazing Spider-Man #4 by Nick Spencer, Ryan Ottley, Cliff Rathburn, Laura Martin, & Joe Caramagna

REVIEW: Wonder Woman #53 by Steve Orlando, Aco, Hugo Petrus, David Lorenzo, Romulo Fajardo Jr., Saida Temofonte

Hawkeye, West Coast Avengers #1 & Redemption

Avengers West Coast #69: The A Story & B Story

Avengers West Coast #69: The Fight

Can Hawkeye Be Redeemed?

REVIEW: Wasted Space #4 by Michael Moreci, Hayden Sherman, Jason Wordie, & Jim Campbell

REVIEW: Cold Spots #1 by Cullen Bunn, Mark Torres, & Simon Bowland

ADVANCED REVIEW: Friendo #1 by Alex Paknadel, Martin Simmonds, Dee Cunniffe, & Taylor Esposito