REVIEW: Amazing Spider-Man #10 is an emotional conclusion to another solid story arc

November 28, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Reviews

Amazing Spider-Man #10 is out 11/28. — **Amazing Spider-Man #10** is out 11/28.

By Zack Quaintance — I’ve maybe written about this in past Amazing Spider-Man reviews, but I tend to view this title as Marvel’s vanguard book, its flagship, a barometer for how the publisher is doing as a whole (in much the same way Batman indicates what’s up at any given time with DC). This title re-launched in July after nearly a decade under one writer, Dan Slott, and in that decade, the book became a complex one, capable of pulling together months of patient storylines into mostly-satisfying and always-ambitious crescendos. Slott’s Amazing Spider-Man, to me, always felt urgent and dancing on the cusp of lasting change, even if the realities of corporate comics prevented that change from becoming permanent.

This new run, courtesy of writer Nick Spencer (Superior Foes of Spider-Man, Astonishing Ant-Man), has a different set of strengths, and while it’s still way way too soon to speculate which run will ultimately be better, Amazing Spider-Man #10 is a great example of this. In this issue, Spencer and his new direction do something well that was maybe a bit lacking in the Slott Spidey era. I’m talking specifically here about a small-yet-intensely-emotional character-driven moment that draws from Peter Parker’s long history rather than the events of the most recent issues.

Yes, in Amazing Spider-Man #10, Peter and Black Cat sit together on a rooftop after a wacky and outlandish superhero team up. This is familiar territory for Spencer, who uses the exhausted heroes on a ledge conversation fairly often, generally to great effect. I definitely remember at least one really well done such talk in Ant-Man that saw Darla Deering calling out Scott Lang on his shit. In fact, come to think of it, the rooftop conversation I enjoyed so much in this issue of Amazing Spider-Man was, to an extent, Black Cat calling Spidey on his shit, or at least being emotionally honest in a way that gave him a choice between ignoring her suffering or being a good guy (he picks being a good guy).

I won’t give away the exact nature of the conversation or of Peter’s choice. I will, however, note that it sort of brings back an element that had been missing from the Spider-Man mythos in recent years, his long history with Black Cat and how it’s affected them both. In some ways, through the first 10 issues (nearly a year by traditional comics standards), returning missing elements to the Spider-Man mythos has been the bedrock of this new run, with the biggest of course being Peter’s relationship with Mary Jane. With that noted, it’s perhaps poetic that memory was a theme in Peter’s conversation with Black Cat, because one can only assume it will again come into play as the story more directly unpacks Peter and Mary Jane getting back together. Basically, it seems like some thematic foreshadowing is being done here, and being done well.

Speaking of Mary Jane, the other primary strength of this individual issue was her secondary arc (or maybe it was primary? I think it may have been…) in which she attends a support group for the significant others of super-powered beings and ultimately takes a step toward healthy independence within her relationship. It’s an emotionally nuanced storyline, and, as with the exchange on the rooftop, Spencer’s scripting handles it well. I’ll note one more time that it’s early, but part of this run’s success so far seems to be a death by 1,000 cuts approach to the narration, stacking little humanizing moments upon each other in a way that enables the book to hit big emotional beats (as in this issue) when it needs to. If this is how it feels after 10 issues, I’m curious to see where we’ll be at after 20-plus, or, cynically, whether or not the team can maintain it.

Overall: Nick Spencer’s Amazing Spider-Man run continues to find a cruising altitude with this emotionally-satisfying conclusion to a storyline that saw our hero teaming up with Black Cat. Perhaps more promisingly, the book seems bent on enshrining Mary Jane Watson less of a supporting character and more of a co-star right at the heartfelt center of the action. 9.0/10

Amazing Spider-Man #10
Writer: Nick Spencer
Artists: Humberto Ramos and Michele Bandini
Inker: Victor Olazaba and Michele Bandini
Colorists: Edgar Delgado and Erick Arciniega
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99

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

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

REVIEW: These Savage Shores #2 doubles down on the series’ strengths

November 28, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Reviews

These Savage Shores #2 is out 11/28. — **These Savage Shores #2** is out 11/28.

By Zack Quaintance — In These Savage Shores #1, Ram V. used the narration in a way that stuck with me for the month-plus between issues, specifically the sea captain’s prose, in which he wrote of his ship’s destination: They’ve no use for lords or nobles ‘ere. In this place, the days are scorched and long. And the nights are full of teeth.” I don’t often like a book (or any story, really) to so directly state its central conceit, but it was done poetically here (and also in the service of foreshadowing), done so well I couldn’t help but appreciate it. That first issue was also confident in its artistry, dedicating whole pages to tone-setting imagery from Sumit Kumar and Vittorio Astone, panels of suns setting behind ominous trees, beady eyes in crevices, entire colonies of bats taking flight at dusk. Overall, the first issue of this comic was luscious and immersive, and, excuse my inelegance, good.

These Savage Shores #2 builds well upon the foundation lain by its predecessor. Let’s start by talking (briefly) of the plot, which relies heavily once again upon the writing of a letter as a framing device. This time, the writer is a character we met briefly before, a vampire hunter who encountered the now-deceased Alain Pierrefont as he tore into a victim, lighting the monster aflame, ultimately sending him fleeing across the sea to India. That vampire hunter’s name is Zachariah (great name), and he has, apparently followed Pierrefont to these savage shores, finding him dead and setting off in search of the killer, whom he assumes is also a monster.

That’s where we start. It’s a premise that makes for a sophomore issue even more engrossing than its predecessor. By framing These Savage Shores #2 through a character we saw (albeit briefly) last issue, Ram V. and team strongly orient the reader while at once stoking the intensity of the mystery the first installment ended upon. Using the hunter is a wise choice. Like his original prey, he’s a stranger in a strange land, one we can’t help but feel is intruding in this area. If These Savage Shores seeks in any way to be a commentary on imperialism, this is a strong way to go about it.

What’s more though, is that the letter writing motif evokes the idea of a story being told within a story. Not directly, but These Savage Shores seems to aspire to be a deeper commentary on imperialism. What the letter writing obliquely eludes to (at least in my mind, and, granted, I may be making a major leaps) is that this comic is interested in unpacking the continued telling of stories about imperialism, specifically those told through heroes and protagonists intruding in one way or another. To be sure, These Savage Shores #2 has far more interests in that, lighting upon mythology, obsessions, the economics of trade, and class structure, but the subversion of who we thought our central character was in issue one is continued and continued well throughout issue 2, a strong and inspired bit of plotting.

The art, however, is yet again stunning in this comic, especially the depiction of the child prince’s protector when he puts on his mask (which is used thematically by the script, too). The silent closeups of the masked man locking onto strange visitors have at times made me run cold with terror. Like the first issue, These Savage Shores #2 is again a confident visual story, one content to linger within large and sweeping establishing shots, somehow doing so without bogging down the pacing in the slightest. I wrote about this in my review of These Savage Shores #1, but the writer, artist, colorist combo on this title are working in sync, expertly fostering tone and mood that serves the story as well as any comic in recent memory.

Overall: These Savage Shores #2 doubles down on the strengths of the excellent debut that preceded it, simultaneously finding new and interesting ground beyond the misdirective twist that ended its first issue. A delightfully complex comic, this book is one for readers who enjoy nuanced explorations of ideas as well as those who want to revel in dark and chilling visual tones. 9.0/10

These Savage Shores #2
Writer: Ram V.
Artist: Sumit Kumar
Colorist: Vittorio Astone
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: Vault Comics
Price: $3.99

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

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

REVIEW: The Warning #1 is slow, hopefully by design

November 27, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Reviews

The Warning #1 is out 11/28. — **The Warning #1** is out 11/28.

By Zack Quaintance — The Warning #1 begins with a heavily-stylized opening, rich with hints of anime or manga storytelling aesthetics. Fans of Sean Gordon Murphy should take note, because the art in The Warning (from this opening onward) is perhaps best described as like Murphy’s stuff if it were thoroughly sharpened and rendered by a team of modern video game designers. Simply put, the art in this book looks good.

As it should. The Warning #1 is the work of writer/artist Edward Laroche, and, indeed, the art is rarely lacking here. The writing is assured, no question, but it’s definitely the weaker of the two. There’s also a military coldness that is perhaps here by design. Still, it makes the characters and the early plot points in this debut issue tough to gloam onto, at least at the beginning. The earliest dialogue in The Warning is a harsh mix of military call numbers and other terminology, some medical jargon, a bunch of profanity. It doesn’t exactly say, hey there, reader...welcome! But this also isn’t that kind of book.

This is a good-looking and massively MASSIVELY decompressed comic. One where very little happens in the first 20 pages aside from a soldier boarding a plane bound on a mission while elsewhere a woman in a luxurious house hears that presumably that same mission has the potential to save the planet. Also, she does a line of coke. To be frank, it doesn’t make for the most riveting debut, playing as it does more like a storyboard for a hard sci-fi movie directed by Quentin Tarantino…before any of the violence starts.

What it seems to do well, however, is promise that when the action does arrive, it will have been worth the wait. Essentially, The Warning #1 is a first issue clearly written for trade, a patient and perhaps slow-moving-to-a-fault debut that looks great as it shuffles a whole lot of pieces into place. There’s a bit of poetic reincarnation dialogue that just didn’t click for me. I do imagine, however, that some will find it incredibly meaningful. For my part, however, I’ll be waiting to pass final judgement on this title until we get to see its pretty artwork conveying real action.

Overall: A good-looking debut, to be certain, but nothing much really happens in The Warning #1 other than vague setup for a potential alien invasion. This could very well be by design; the book feels pretty confident in its pacing. Really though, this seems like a comic clearly written for trade. As such, the strength of this first issue will be determined almost entirely by what comes next. 7.0/10

The Warning #1
Writer/Artist: Edward Laroche
Colorist: Brad Simpson
Letterer: Jaymes Reed
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99

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

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

ADVANCED REVIEW: Livewire #1 is a great start for Valiant’s newest series

November 27, 2018 by Toren Chenault in Reviews

Livewire #1 is out 12/19 — **Livewire #1** is out 12/19

By Toren Chenault — So far, 2018 has been a phenomenal year for comics. And it doesn’t seem to matter what you’re into. DC, Marvel, Image, AfterShock, BOOM! Studios...name a publisher, and they’ve had a hit this year. Valiant Comics is no different. Valiant Beyond is the new direction for the company, and as part of that direction comes a solo series for one of their most powerful characters.

Amanda McKee, aka Livewire, is an insanely powerful technopath who, just recently, shook up the Valiant Universe during the Harbinger Wars 2 summer event. Most characters now consider Livewire a villain, with very few still calling her a hero. As such, this is a series that comes at a crucial time for the character, and writer Vita Ayala and artists Raul Allen and Patricia Martin handle Livewire #1 with class, creating an emotional and introspective with a hook that makes you eager to learn more about Livewire.

This is Livewire’s first ongoing series. She’s a character who’s been featured in Valiant since its relaunch in 2011 and has subsequently gone through one of the best character arcs in all of comics, not just Valiant. She started off as a loyal student to billionaire and powerful Harbinger, Toyo Harada. Then, she became a superhero and team leader of a group called Unity. And recently, she became a resistance leader with her Secret Weapons team. But that came with a cost. Livewire, using her powers, turned off the power grid of the entire United States. And not everyone came out okay. This new series now serves as great jumping on point for readers as they learn about who Amanda is, while for existing fans, this book is about the the long-awaited fallout from Livewire’s actions in Harbinger Wars 2.

The highlight of Livewire #1 comes from Amanda’s characterization. She’s a weird person. She grew up isolated from the world and was indoctrinated by Toyo Harada. Over the years, she grew past that, but she still never had much of a social life or many friends. Livewire #1 dives into her weird personality and balances it with her love of her team, The Secret Weapons, who are essentially three kids that Livewire helped and trained to become better psiots. The relationship between Amanda and her team is a special one, and one that Ayala does a good job of showing.

But like all relationships, they have their bad times, too, and the emotional core of this issue comes from Amanda confronting her team for the first time since leading her resistance in Harbinger Wars 2. Amanda had good reasons for starting another Harbinger War, but sometimes ends don’t justify the means. To me, this is where the issue truly shines, because Ayala constructs the dialogue in a way that makes readers sincerely care about characters in the moment. There’s also just enough background so that new readers won’t be confused, but rather eager to learn more about Amanda’s past.

The art duo on this comic is the rising star team of Raul Allen and Patricia Martin. Allen and Martin both worked on Secret Weapons with Arrival screenwriter Eric Heisserer, so they’re not new to Valiant. Their comfort with the characters shows in the art. Bold, detailed pencils and bright colors are some of the ways their art shines. Secret Weapons to me, was structured like a movie. The panels were arranged in a way that made the comic feel extremely fluid. Livewire #1 boast those same qualities.

Every page in the comic seems to have a transparent blue sheet over it as Martin’s colors provide a calming effect. I could write for hours on the quality of this art and just how well done it is, but the last thing that I’ll say is how beautiful they make Livewire look each time we see her. She has a presence, and every time she appears on the page you feel as if something big is about to happen. It’s this awesome combination of Allen’s detailed panel work, well-defined pencils, and Martin’s soft blends of blue, pink, and purple, that make this comic work so well .

Overall: I expected this comic to be a hit for me. It has a lot going on for it. What separates this from most superhero comics, though, is that Livewire is such an interesting character, one who hasn’t been explored too much yet. There’s a moment at the end of the issue that made me tear up because of the depth with which Ayala writes Amanda. And I was not expecting that. Given how this first issue ends, we’re in for a long ride with Livewire. And I can’t wait to take it. 9.5/10

Livewire #1
Writer: Vita Ayala
Artist: Raul Allen
Colorist: Patricia Martin
Letterer: Saida Temofonte
Publisher: Valiant Comics
Price: $3.99

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

Toren Chenault, a native of the Cincinnati area, currently lives in Michigan with his girlfriend. A graduate of Michigan State University, he is a long-time superhero fan who counts Captain Atom, Carol Danvers’ Captain Marvel, Daredevil, Divinity, Nightwing, and XO Manowar among his favorite heroes. Mystic Man is his first book. Buy it now here.

Comic of the Week: Go-Bots #1 is a great example of nostalgia done well

November 26, 2018 by d. emerson eddy in Comic of the Week

Go-Bots #1 is the Comic of the Week for 11/21. — **Go-Bots #1** is the Comic of the Week for 11/21.

By d. emerson eddy — Nostalgia sells. Memories of your youth, precious moments from your childhood. Especially among geeks. It's one of the reasons why you see so many reboots and remakes of favorite childhood properties like Transformers, She-Ra, and Ghostbusters. It's also often a cynical move on the part of intellectual property holders in order to play a safe bet, but that's a different argument for a different time. Right now, it's about nostalgia.

This week, IDW's Transformers mainline continuity came to an end with Optimus Prime #25. While it grew out of a nostalgia for Marvel Comics' Transformers title, especially with Simon Furman writing, it soared off on its own path, creating a brave new continuity. Although Optimus Prime was an end, IDW also launched a new beginning featuring other robots in disguise, this week’s Go-Bots #1.

The Go-Bots were like the Transformers, technically predating them, featuring robots that transformed into vehicles the same way, along with some that became rocks. Yes, robots that turned into rocks. I had a few of both the regular Go-Bots when I was a kid, as well as a couple Rock Lords, so you could kind of say that this new comics series is aimed at people like me and my feelings of nostalgia.

In more recent years, the Go-Bots became part of the Transformers franchise in various forms. Most in a type of mini-car vehicles utilizing the names but not their original designs, this series from writer/artist Tom Scioli takes us back to the originals.

Scioli is probably best known for his Kirby-esque art on Godland with Joe Casey, but he’s also garnered attention for the ‘80s cartoon inspired Transformers vs. GI Joe for IDW that featured a style similar to this. He gives this series an incredible attention to detail, making this feel like a dated product, from the art style to color reproduction, the faded yellows and browns making the pages feel old, and the little bits and pieces of ‘80s pop culture references that might not even be noticed if you weren't already familiar with them. It's a fun trip down memory lane.

Yet, beyond that, Scioli still makes this a highly entertaining story. If it were just nostalgia, it would likely be fairly empty, but there's a depth to the storytelling that works independently. He introduces us to the major players like Leader-1 working for the military, Turbo and Cy-Kill in the racing and illegal robot combat arena scenes, and every day bots like Scooter who are just fulfilling their function for their doting human companions. Scioli presents a dense tale of a world made better by the Go-Bots, and, in this first issue, a hint of what might happen should their morality chips malfunction.

Overall, this is a fun comic with great art that revels in some of the ridiculousness of the source material (the clever names like Cy-Kill or the new character T. Coriander Banks) while still being enjoyable and comprehensible for new readers.

Go-Bots #1
Writer, Artist, & Letterer: Tom Scioli
Publisher: IDW
Price: $3.99

d. emerson eddy is a student and writer of things. He fell in love with comics during Moore, Bissette, & Totleben's run on Swamp Thing and it has been a torrid affair ever since. His madness typically manifests itself on twitter @93418.

Top Comics to Buy for November 28, 2018

November 26, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Top 5 Comics

By Zack Quaintance — Ohhhh, my stomach, I ate too much turkey and can’t write a proper intro for this Top Comics to Buy for November 28, 2018 piece. Just kidding. I’m actually writing this the night before Thanksgiving because I’ll be traveling tomorrow through Sunday, and likely won’t have any other time to complete it. Anyway, shifting gears...wake yourselves up from all that overeating, because there is (as always) another new wave of comics to discuss!

This week sees the conclusion of some story arcs we’ve really enjoyed in 2018, from Black Panther to Come Into Me, both of which have so expertly built to these finales, that we can’t wait to see what happens. We heap just a bit more praise on the Bendis Superman run, which is one of our favorite things happening right now at DC, and we also get to talk yet again about some of our favorite indie gems. All in all, this post-holiday week stands to be a good one!

Now, let’s get to those comics!

Top Comics to Buy for November 28, 2018

*PICK OF THE WEEK*
Black Panther #6
Writer: Ta-Nehisi Coates
Artist: Jen Bartel
Colorist: Triona Farrell
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
T'Challa and the Maroons renew their war against the Empire. But N'Jadaka is watching - and he knows exactly how dangerous the Black Panther can be. Witness at last the rise of Emperor N'Jadaka and the Exalted Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda!
Why It’s Cool: There’s a lot happening at Marvel right now, and as a result, Black Panther has flown a bit under the radar...even though it’s written by the winner of a National Book Award and carrying the same name as one of the highest-grossing superhero movies ever. This issue marks the conclusion of the relaunched comics’ best arc yet, at least under Ta-Nehisi Coates’ stewardship. Coates was a newcomer to comics when he started this run in early 2016, but he’s caught on fast. Simply put, this comic keeps getting better and better, and the scope of ideas in this first arc is nearly unmatched within mainstream superhero comics. Don’t miss it!

Action Comics #1005
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Ryan Sook
Colorist: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Josh Reed
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
The murderous mystery of the Red Cloud uncovered! Clark Kent draws closer to revealing a secret crime family that has operated for years in Metropolis, but the family's enforcer-the mysterious Red Cloud-proves she's a match for even the Man of Steel with an attack that leaves Superman breathless. Don't miss the last-page shocker as we reveal the true face of the Red Cloud!
Why It’s Cool: We’ve been loving Bendis’ run on Superman, which has been grandiose and cosmic in the pages of Superman and more grounded in Metropolis in this title. This issue also features Ryan Sook, one of our favorites, and so we are absolutely there for it, especially after what he did in Action Comics #1004.

Come Into Me #4
Writers: Zac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler
Artist: Piotr Kowalski
Colorist: Niko Guardia
Letterer: Ryan Ferrier
Publisher: Black Mask Studios
Price: $3.99
Part 4 of 4. The body degenerates, memories blur, and the flesh overloads.
Why It’s Cool: Writers Zac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler have rapidly established themselves as two of the foremost purveyors of body horror in all of comics in the past 18 months, and although they’ve done great work all around, Come Into Me stands out as one of their best titles. This week’s issues sees the duo concluding this story.

House Amok #3
Writer: Christopher Sebela
Artist: Shawn McManus
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: IDW - Black Crown
Price: $3.99
Dylan and her family have all fallen down the rabbit hole of madness together, aiming their campaign to save the world at a brand new target and collecting more bodies and hidden microchips along the way. But as Dylan is plagued with the flu and the family's first grand move leads them down a nightmare road full of the dreaded ReArrangers, the Sandifers will stare conspiracy right in the face and hope it blinks before they do.
Why It’s Cool: This is a comic about a family plunging into shared madness together, which is a great (and surprisingly new) concept. It’s also being executed to perfection by rising writer Christopher Sebela and veteran artist Shawn McManus.

These Savage Shores #2
Writer: Ram V
Artist: Sumit Kumar
Colorist: Vittorio Astone
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: Vault Comics
Price: $3.99
The untimely demise of a nobleman gives the East India a new angle in negotiations to build their trade route. A vampire hunter finds bigger prey than he had bargained for, deep within the royal reserve. Along These Savage Shores, where the hunt is eternal, and hunter and hunted move in shadow.
Why It’s Cool: After one hell of a debut issue with These Savage Shores #1, we’ve been dying to continue this story for over a month now. Finally, the second issue is set to arrive. This is a story that deals in heady themes and sinister tones. After an expert bit of misdirection in the first issue, we can’t wait to see where this one takes us next.

Others Receiving Votes

Amazing Spider-Man #10
Archie 1941 #3
Aquaman Justice League Drowned Earth #1
Catalyst Prime: Kino #11
DC Nuclear Winter Special #1
Die! Die! DIe! #5
Fantastic Four #4
Heroes in Crisis #3
High Heaven #3
Justice League Odyssey #3
Man-Eaters #3
Redneck #17
Stray Bullets: Sunshine and Roses #40
Uncanny X-Men #3
Wonder Woman #59

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

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

The Saga Re-Read #16: Journalism!

November 21, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Saga Re-Read

By Zack Quaintance — I’m a journalist by trade...technically. I don’t have shadowy conversations with anonymous sources like you see in the movie, and I’ve certainly not been put at wartime risk (although I did cover the Mexican drug war from Texas just a tiny bit in the late ‘00s). Anyway, this is all a means of pointing out that by being a staff writer for a fairly dry trade publication, I have much room in my heart set aside for romanticizing the work done by some of the world’s most daring reporters, including those appearing in stories.

Saga #16 is an issue brimming with romanticize journalism, conveyed right from its cover by this story’s journalistic pair, Upsher and Doff. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I ended up liking it quite a bit. In addition to my proclivity to appreciate journalists in fiction, I’ve just been appreciating the larger function these two are having with Saga, serving as a neutral pair and the first significant set of independent characters to not immediately want our little family to be caught, thereby facing instant annihilation (Heist aside).

So there’s my preamble. Now, let’s get to the issue, the art, and the story!

Saga #16

Here’s the official preview text for Saga #16, first released on Nov. 27, 2013, which was (maybe obviously?) the Wednesday after Thanksgiving that year:

Two war correspondents stumble onto the biggest story in the universe.

Technically, our friends Upsher and Doff don’t really learn much more about the biggest story in the universe than they already knew when this issue started. We do, however, learn that their sexuality makes them endangered on their home planet, should it ever come to light...which as re-readers may remember is a chip played against them later in the plot.

The Cover: Our (relatively) new friends Upsher and Doff make their first cover appearance. It’s also a rare appearance for them, because unlike more visually-intriguing side characters like Prince Robot IV, cover status is a pretty rare thing for these two. There’s a certain irony in that, if you ask me, seeing as they surely are the characters in our story most driven by appearing on page one. Anyway, this cover is a fine one, showing them doing their jobs in a firefight as their obvious status as journalists does little to nothing to protect them, something that will factor into not only this issue but their continued safeties as we move forward.

The First Page: An intriguing and well-done image, to be sure, if not one of the more outlandish first pages in Saga. To be fair, though, that bar has been set pretty high for this book by first pages of the past. This one simply lets us know we’re in wings territory (as is made obvious by what looks like workaday commuters filling the sky). We also know from this familiar sneering face and the no comment that the character in this panel is talking to our cover duo, Upsher and Doff. So it does it’s job that way by jump-starting this issue’s story.

The Surface: This yet another issue of Saga packed with plot, moving forward four separate storylines, three of them to the point of intersection where this arc first started. It’s all well-done too, never feeling like Vaughan and Staples are just moving their people into positions where they need them in order to keep facilitating all that plot. This is, essentially, an organic story that feels real, and that’s largely due in my opinion to the quality of the dialogue, the character motivations giving rise to that dialogue, and the distinct voices each of them have. The family banter within Heist’s home was especially a treat, including basically all of the exchanges that involved Marko’s mom.

The Subtext: As I mentioned in my intro, this reread is really helping me see the value of Upsher and Doff within the larger narrative. They are, essentially, a neutral party, an embodiment of the fourth estate. What’s more, is that Vaughan portrays them in a way that doesn’t play into tired ideas about the media being vultures or seedy or detrimental the world. They’re simply conduits for information, working stiffs who believe heartily in the value of knowledge and truth for society. They’re without question self interested, motivated by their own glory, which for my money is where most journalists go wrong, driven as they are in almost equal parts by societal validation and societal impact.

Foreshadowing: This is a weird issue to discuss foreshadowing in, largely because it ends at a place that a previous issue has already shown us, albeit with a little more context than we had before. It does, however, promise that what’s to follow what we already know is going to be action-packed. So that’s certainly not nothing.

Check out past installments of our Saga Re-Read.

Essential Espionage: The Best Spy Comics

November 21, 2018 by Taylor Pechter in Comics

By Taylor Pechter — In comics about espionage and spying, the stories usually don’t focus on the political or personal ramifications of the craft, instead dealing in flashier things like action, intrigue, and sex. On rare occasions, however, those more realistic aspects do shine through, creating a grounded look at the world of espionage. The best spy comics find glory in the monotony of the work, using a stronger focus on the real people involved as well as how their escapades affect their lives.

While these books might be rare, they are out there, and today I’d like to look at some of the best spy comics of all time. Now let’s get into the books...

The Best Spy Comics

Queen & Country

Writer Greg Rucka, a 25-plus years veteran of the industry, wrote Queen & Country from 2001 to 2007 for Oni Press. Queen & Country follows SIS agent Tara Chace, designate Minder Two. and the book is broken into sections that follow separate operations undertaken by the organization. For example, the first story Operation: Broken Ground has Tara in Kosovo on an assassination mission trying to take down a former Russian General turned mob enforcer. She gets the job done, but in response, the Russian mob puts a bounty on her head. However, more important than the operations is Tara herself, and it’s this focus on character that makes Queen & Country so special.

Tara is a headstrong and sarcastic (if a bit in-over-her-head) agent. After the assassination, she is put into therapy. It is here Rucka plays with the psychological aspects of the profession. In therapy, Tara is jittery and untrustworthy of the doctor. As she opens up, however, you really see how important her job is to her, even though it wreaks havoc on her personal life. Another aspect Rucka focuses on is the political ramifications of the craft, whether it’s dealing with the home office (MI5) after a rocket attack or capturing a politician selling secrets to the Russians. Politics take center stage in most of the stories.

This creates intrigue, and Tara and her team of Minders (special agents) have to be sanctioned by C, the head of the service, to go on missions. On these missions there is action, but action scenes are few and far between. What readers see is the real monotony of spy work: tailing, gathering information, and reporting it back to superiors. Within this monotony is where characters shine through their interactions. All of these aspects make Rucka’s creation what I consider to be the quintessential espionage comic.

Sleeper

What happens when you are an agent left in the cold, no one to help you, and you work for a madman trying to take over the world? This is the story of Holden Carver, the lead character of the WildStorm series Sleeper, which is one of the earliest collaborations between the superstar creative team of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips.

Sleeper is a tale focused on morality. Holden Carver is an agent for International Operations, the most prominent intelligence agency in the WildStorm Universe. Carver’s mission is to infiltrate a corporation run by former Wildcat-gone-bad TAO (Tactically Augmented Organism). To complicate things, however, John Lynch, former director of IO and Carver’s handler, is stuck in a coma after an assassination attempt and having his file burned. With an expunged record and no help, Carver must find a way to make sure TAO and his men don’t discover his secret while also proving to the agency that he is actually on their side.

It’s through this dichotomy that Brubaker crafts a story of a man who has done despicable things for both sides searching for purpose. Will he be corrupted by sex and violence, or will his humanity shine through? It’s a stark contrast from TAO, who is devoid of morality. In his final confrontation with Holden, TAO exclaims, You want to know the main difference between you and me Holden? You’re like the rest of humanity, you have two people inside. One is the person we see. The other is the person you think you are. It’s a powerful idea and it brings Holden’s arc full circle. This, along with the raw and unrefined art of Sean Phillips, grounds the series in a dark and twisted, yet fantastic world. Sleeper is often overshadowed by Brubaker and Phillips’ later works, but it is one of the definitive superhero noir comics.

Checkmate

Another series penned by Rucka, Checkmate follows the exploits of the eponymous UN sanctioned organization in the wake of Infinite Crisis and the death of its former leader, Maxwell Lord. Checkmate in this story has been restructured via the Rule of Two, which states that for every powered member of the team, there must a non-powered member. Checkmate’s mission is monitoring metahuman activity and defending against metahuman threats.

Like Queen & Country before it, this book focuses heavily on political ramifications, especially when it comes to conflict between Sasha Bordeaux (the Black Queen), and Amanda Waller (the White Queen). Through this, Rucka explores themes of duty versus morality, the price of deception, and new beginnings. At the series’ start, Sasha is more carefree with her actions. During a raid on a Kobra outpost in the Gulf of Aden, she instructs Beatriz Da Costa, also known as Fire (Black King’s Knight) to set the compound ablaze, killing upwards of 50 cult members. Sasha’s own Knight, Jonah McCarthy, dies in the crossfire.

This disregard for human life contrasts with the views of Alan Scott, the White King at the time, who believes they should value human life over mission objectives. This, along with Sasha’s relationship with Mister Terrific (Alan’s Bishop) also gives Waller ammunition to drive her out of the agency. Speaking of Waller, this is her at her most deceptive, which is saying a lot. Throughout the first half of the series she conspires with her Bishop, King Faraday, to throw out the other Royals for violating Checkmate’s charter on the Rule of Two. Amanda’s deception is called out by Sasha and Terrific, and she is later dismissed. It’s all dramatic and well done.

Lastly, there is the hope for new beginnings. At the start of the series characters try to get out from under the shadow of Lord. At the halfway point, following Amana’s dismissal, they become more welcoming of outside help. At the end, after a raid on a Kobra stronghold, much like the beginning they realize the cult is engineering infants into weapons. As Batman confronts Sasha about what happened, Sasha monologues, How do you fight a bad religion? You give it a fresh start. You play the long game. But we can do that. We have time, Checkmate isn’t going anywhere.

Overall, Checkmate was one of DC’s first major modern espionage comics. Sasha Bordeaux was later reintroduced in current continuity by Rucka in his second critically-acclaimed run on Wonder Woman. Here’s to hoping we get a reunion sooner rather than later.

Velvet

Imagine your entire life was taken away by the people you trusted the most. This is the story of Velvet Templeton, secretary and former agent for ARC-7, a top-secret intelligence service. Written by Ed Brubaker, illustrated by Steve Epting, and colored by Elizabeth Breitwieser, Velvet crafts a story that deals with the burden of secrets, spy life versus regular life, and the bitterness of betrayal.

The story starts with the murder of an operative by the name of Jefferson Keller, designated X-14. This sets off a search for the answers Velvet craves, which ultimately ends in her going rogue to find them. With her on the run, the agency has to deal with her and the ongoing investigation of the murder of Keller, plus a possible mole. With this comes the burden of secrets, which is hidden beneath every layer as Velvet uncovers more. Each answer leads to more questions. Not only that, Velvet also has to accept that being a spy has forever changed her life—a life of sulking in the shadows and not trusting anyone, even the ones closest to her.

Last, she has to deal with her entire life being a lie and her closest allies in the agency setting that lie up. Whether it be the death of her husband, a supposed double agent, or the death of Keller, etc. Brubaker’s writing is sharp and at times darkly comical. Epting’s art is gorgeous in its dynamic brutality. Heavy shadows accentuate the lush colors of Breitweiser. Velvet is a brutal and realistic take on espionage that, like Sleeper, is often overlooked in Brubaker’s catalogue.

Grayson

Dick Grayson has been many things: acrobat, boy wonder, caped crusader, team leader, and now, secret agent. This exploration of identity is a key aspect of the 2014 series Grayson. Spinning out of the events of Forever Evil, Grayson is written by Tom King and Tim Seeley with art mainly by Mikel Janín with help from Stephen Mooney, plus colors by Jeromy Cox.

The story focuses on Dick after his supposed death at the hands of Lex Luthor. He is inserted as a double agent into spy organization Spyral as Agent 37. Under Batman’s orders, he is to uncover the organization’s secrets and ultimately dismantle it. Within Spyral, he is partnered with Helena Bettinelli, or Matron, who is the head of the boarding school that is Spyral’s cover. As Dick goes on missions, he discovers Spyral is stockpiling information on the secret identities of League. The heart of the series really shows through in issue 14, wherein Dick returns to Gotham. This story demonstrates how important Dick was to the Bat-family, in all of his interactions. Whether it is conversations with Alfred about Bruce, speeches to Barbara about the love they shared, or reminiscing with Damian about their Batman and Robin days, there’s a focus on the Dick’s core experiences, showing us how he became the character he is today.

Janín and Mooney’s artistic styles contrast, but they are brought together by the expert coloring of Jeromy Cox. Janín’s lines are cleaner, adding a Brosnan Bond-esque tone with high action, while Mooney has more lines and darker shadows. These art styles, along with clever writing, combine to make a fun, exciting, and introspective series that redefined Dick Grayson.

Ultimately, the spy genre is one of the most fertile in comics. Spy books are uniquely able to focus on many different aspects that readers don’t find in normal superhero comics. From the psychological aspects of Queen & Country, the moral ambiguity of Sleeper, the politics of Checkmate, the brutality of Velvet, to the journey of Grayson, these comics craft compelling stories with relatable characters. That is what makes them essential espionage material.

Taylor Pechter is a passionate comic book fan and nerd. Find him on Twitter @TheInspecter.

REVIEW: Long Lost Part 2 #4 a story of longing becomes a story of suspense

November 21, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Comics, Reviews

Long Lost Part 2 #4 is out 11/21. — **Long Lost Part 2 #4** is out 11/21.

By Zack Quaintance — Since Matthew Erman and Lisa Sterle began their comic Long Lost, this story has felt like one of longing for the two principal characters, sisters Frances and Piper. When we first met them, Frances lived an almost hermetic lifestyle in a relatively clean and spare apartment, seeming to have little in her life other than her dog. Her sister Piper was more outgoing yet also more reckless, often to her detriment. They were both, perhaps, equally bothered to be estranged from their mother, their aunts, and, most importantly, from each other, even if they showed it in different ways.

There were also hints all along that the two characters were being herded by some sort of supernatural force, not quite a ghost and not quite a monster, a being (or beings, plural) that was not of any origin we could understand, putting forth machinations that made both the characters on the page and us, the real life readers of the book, wonder about the nature of this story’s reality, wonder what was true and what was paranormal. For the past two issues, though, the earlier slow-burning character drama has been dispensed with as the plot heads toward its conclusion and starts to tell us (or more accurately, starts to suggest) what has been happening all along.

The action has intensified in this comic, as have the dangers faced by the two protagonists, while the clarity has remained obscured. In fact, at one point in Long Lost Part 2 #4, one of the sisters blurts out a plot point, noting that her understanding of it could be wrong. It’s leading to a story rich with suspense and tension. I’ve experienced Long Lost as a mystery from the start, and for it to turn proscriptive now would be a disservice to all the issues that came before it. Instead, the creators here are making the wise choice to give us as readers almost exactly as much information as their protagonists have about what’s happening and why.

The result is a decidedly character-driven horror-tinged suspense story, one in which tone is used well to make readers feel fear and confusion, the level of emotional investment in each other’s fates too, that is being felt by the characters on the page. This has been a great year for comics that deal in such intense feelings, and, with its understated approach, Long Lost continues to be among the best.

Will we get answers before this is all through? Well, it certainly seems to depend on what ultimately happens to the lead characters. We know more than we did at the start. We know whom to trust and whom to approach with a level of caution. We know more about the state of the family, the reasons they’ve been driven apart. Most importantly, however, we know that the longing these sisters felt at the start of the story has been altered, that they are now both acutely aware of how much they’ve always meant to each other, and it’s that relationship that remains this book’s beating heart.

Overall: Long Lost continues to be a character-driven horror-tinged mystery with one of the most compelling and realistic emotional cores in all of comics. The action is rapidly intensifying, but the creators have wisely avoided changing the tone of the story to be too explanatory. The mystery remains as compelling as ever as Long Lost approaches its conclusion. 9.0/10

Long Lost Part 2 #4
Writer: Matthew Erman
Artist: Lisa Sterle
Publisher: Scout Comics
Price: $3.99

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

REVIEW: Middlewest #1 uses lonely Midwest magic to cast a captivating debut

November 20, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Reviews

Middlewest #1 is out 11/21. — **Middlewest #1** is out 11/21.

By Zack Quaintance — I’m from Chicago, but I spent a few years in rural Illinois, working as a reporter for small town newspapers in places like Carterville, Carbondale, and Peoria. Now, you probably don’t know where any of those towns are. Heck, I left Southern/Central Illinois 11 years ago, and I barely remember them. Writer Skottie Young and artist Jorge Corona’s Middlewest #1, however, brought me back. More than that, it made me see those rural Midwestern places I one knew well in a different sort of light.

Middlewest #1 is one of those comics that deals heavily in tone, doing so by burrowing deep into forlorn isolation that’s inherent to towns like Carterville, Illinois, towns that most folks only ever find themselves driving through if they take a wrong turn while coming off the highway for gas (and then another wrong turn, and then probably another one). What it finds when it does that burrowing is magic. Magic born from loneliness, from wind that never ceases, from the feeling that washes over you when you look alone to the horizon and see fields, infinite and vast and flatter than you ever thought possible.

What takes this comic from an interesting experiment in tone (one that resonates well with me personally) to a book I plan to follow through at least its first arc is the plot that the creators pair with the lonely Midwestern aesthetic. I don’t want to go into too many details, but Middlewest #1 is a story about a young boy with a callous and demanding father, all too ready to tip into cruelty when the opportunity presents itself. This in itself isn’t a particularly novel plot and it doesn’t have to be. Tropes become tropes because they work, because they’re such solid bricks to build a full house upon, and the house that Young and Corona build with their magic forged through introspection is an impressive one indeed. Also, there’s a talking fox that will probably continue to absolutely steal scenes (if not entire issues).

I heartily recommend this comic to all and any who have spent time in the rural Midwest, who have lived there or had family there, or really have ever just looked listlessly out the window as they drove through, wondering what life was like for the real people born into all that space. This comic might just have the answer.

Overall: Middlewest #1 is a story steeped in a lonely sort of magic born from writer Skottie Young’s deep familiarity with the rural Midwest. Artist Jorge Corona renders it with vast imagination, capturing a unique sort of forlorn tone that I never before realized was always present in those areas. 8.5/10

Middlewest #1
Writers: Skottie Young
Artist: Jorge Corona
Colorist: Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Letterer: Nate Piekos of Blambot
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99

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

Uncanny X-Men 2018 Frequently Asked Questions

November 19, 2018 by Allison Senecal in Comics

By Allison Senecal — Do you have questions about the current state of the X-Men? Relax and breath. You’re not alone. I’m probably one of the biggest fans of these books (or at least the most vocal/excited) on all of comics Twitter, and, trust me, I hear questions about X-Men basically every day. It makes sense. It’s an exciting time for these great characters, but also? They’ve been through a lot as of late.

So, that’s why today I’m taking some of the most frequently asked X-questions (plus a few I added myself because they’re things we all need to remember), and I’m doing my best to get you all answers. Ready? Let’s do this!

Uncanny X-Men 2018 FAQ

Q: So, what’s this new Uncanny X-Men #1 all about?
A: It’s the most recent Marvel re-launch for this series. Honestly, it wasn’t that long ago we had Cullen Bunn’s short Uncanny X-Men run, which was pretty darn good, btw. Anyway, here are the basics for the new book:

Uncanny X-Men #1 came out last Wednesday.
Uncanny X-Men #2 - #10 are weekly through mid-January, followed by an annual.
Uncanny X-Men #11 - #12 are due in February.

Afterward, it’s business as usual from there, I’M GUESSING. At some point, I’m sure Marvel will revert to the original numbering, because well...Marvel. CYNICISM ASIDE, though, this is a really exciting re-launch. It features three wonderfully fresh co-writers (Ed Brisson, Kelly Thompson, Matthew Rosenberg) plus a slew of amazing artists and big concepts, all of which are leading into AGE OF X-MAN, which looks like an awesome fever dream I once had.

Q: Can I just jump in with the new Uncanny X-Men #1, or are there other X-series I need to read first?
A: Honestly, you can jump in here. X-fans make a lot of jokes about how complex X-continuity is, but Google is your friend here, as is the really fantastic Marvel Wiki. My advice is to just look up characters as you go, pick some favorites, and follow them to other books. Basically, just enjoy the eXperience!

But! If you do want to do some prep work, I suggest you pick up Rosenberg’s Multiple Man and New Mutants: Dead Souls. Both are five-issue miniseries, and easy to catch up on. Both also seem to maybe be relevant to the new Uncanny? X-Men Red is a good series to use to get acclimated to major characters. The recent Charles Soule and Rosenberg runs on Astonishing X-Men are also great for getting a sense of the current status quo for other popular mutants. Meanwhile, 2017’s Generation X by Christina Strain and Amilcar Pinna is a good one for getting to know some of the younger mutants who look like they will soon appear in 2019’s Age of X-Man!

Q: What’s up with Wolverine right now? Wasn’t he also dead or something? And is there a new Wolverine named Laura? Also...who’s Gabby?
A: Logan is back! Ignore the fact there may actually be TWO Logans right now (because, comics). Logan Logan is back in the Return of Wolverine miniseries, and if teasers are to be trusted, he’ll be starring in Uncanny X-Men #12 come February. Laura is his daughter (a revelation as of August), formerly thought to be his clone. She’s been going by Wolverine but has reverted now to the codename X-23, with Logan’s return to the X-Men imminent. Gabby is one of Laura’s clones, and effectively her little sister. She’s also one of the best newer Marvel characters. Don’t worry about more code name confusion, Gabby goes by Honey Badger—not Wolverine.

Q: What’s up with Professor X right now? Wasn’t he dead or something?
A: See above recommendation for Soule’s Astonishing X-Men!! Kidding, kinda, but that is a good place to go for all things Professor X. Here’s the short version, though: his astral form was trapped by the Shadow King and now he’s in Fantomex’s body! He’s around, but not around around. He’s lurking.

Q: What’s up with Cyclops? Wasn’t he also also dead or something?
A: Cyclops IS dead. But teasers for Uncanny #11 seem to imply he’ll be back! A younger version of Cyclops (and the other Original 5 X-Men) has been kicking around for a few years now, but the O5 are being sent back to their time in the current Extermination miniseries. If you wanna read about their adventures, read All-New X-Men, X-Men: Blue, and Extermination. Just know they’re going back, and probably &%$#ed up some timeline stuff! Which may be relevant to next year’s X-plans….or not.

Q: What’s the deal with Warren (Worthington III aka Angel aka Archangel) right now and didn’t his wings use to be fire/metal/able to shoot poison projectiles?
A: See above. There’s been a younger version of Angel kicking around, and he had fire (COSMIC) wings. Older Warren has been through a lot. He was manipulated, brainwashed, and warped into Archangel (metal wings, blue skin, murder!projectiles) by Apocalypse in the ‘80s. Since then, we’ve had Archangel clones, there was weird free love hippy Angel (free of Archangel) who had no memories of his earlier life, and, finally, Angel and Archangel who were reunited to the benefit of both. Thanks to events in Soule’s Astonishing X-Men (see how important that series is?) and the psychic suggestion of Professor X, Warren now seems to have control over the Archangel persona, which used to just be a mindless, ruthless, uncontrollable murder machine. So, there’s that. Regular wings, but sometimes murder!wings.

Or, Tl;dr: Jekyll & Hyde.

Q: Any X-series that aren’t so strongly tied to larger storylines right now?
A: Go try Mariko Tamaki’s X-23, Kelly Thompson’s Mr. and Mrs. X, and Tom Taylor’s X-Men Red! They’re all great reads that don’t really tie into the new Uncanny run, and are just fun on their own.

Q: Wasn’t Psylocke……not white?
A: Long story short, Marvel royally messed up decades ago in the early ‘90s (which was common during those ahem somewhat problematic times) when they mind-swapped/melded a white Englishwoman named Betsy Braddock with a Japanese woman known as Kwannon. Recently, writers rectified that fiasco in the Hunt for Wolverine mini-event, and now both women are more or less in possession of their original bodies. I think there are a lot of fans hoping Kwannon and her ordeal are revisited at some point (I would read an entire miniseries about this from a creator who can personally speak to Kwannon’s experiences).

Q: Who are the best creators to follow on Twitter for all things X-related?
A: Pretty much all of the current X-creators are a blast to follow right now. Leah Williams is the X-Men Shitpost and Playlist Queen. Rosenberg, Brisson, and Thompson are all hoots, especially when interacting with each other. Even the X-Editor eXtraordinaire, Jordan D. White, is super interactive with fans. Follow Kris Anka for some amazing X-Men redesigns and frequent cheesecake. Lonnie Nadler and Zac Thompson are also great.

Q: Why are the X-Men one of your favorite comics things right now?
A: I would say when aren’t the X-Men one of my favorite comics things, but we’ve had our lows. We seem to be entering some GREAT TIMES TO BE X-FANS. A lot of the writers and artists working on this wave of X-comics grew up on the same X-things I grew up on! We’re all giant ‘90s X-nerds, and it’s REALLY AWESOME. You can tell everyone loves what they’re doing—it shows in the work. I love it. I hope what’s coming is wild and weird and totally different. And I think it will be. The X-Men with their central metaphor about group treatment toward the other also remain...topical, to say the least. Essentially, these comics are a great place to explore, play with, and process our times, and they’re rapidly gaining more nuance.

Allison buys books professionally and comics unprofessionally. You can find her chaotic neutral Twitter feed at @maliciousglee.

Top Comics to Buy for November 21, 2018

November 19, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Comics

By Zack Quaintance — This is a little bit of a hangover week after the deluge of titles last Wednesday. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of comics to spotlight and look forward to, with a pretty strong crop of new #1 comics set to hit shelves. We’re specifically excited this week for books like American Carnage and Middlewest, but those are far from the only worthwhile new series for curious comics fans to checkout.

Our top comics to buy for November 21 are also a strong and eclectic bunch, which is generally speaking the type of Wednesday we like best. Days after a big new Black Hammer TV and film deal was announced, that series rolls onward with Black Hammer: Age of Doom #7. Simply put, Black Hammer is the rare comic that has just gotten stronger since its debut, spinning into a new world of titles. And it wasn’t even our pick of the week! You’ll have to scroll down (just a little) to get to that.

And now, the comics!

Top Comics to Buy for November 21, 2018

*PICK OF THE WEEK*
Immortal Hulk #9
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Joe Bennett and Martin Simmonds
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letterer: Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
Carl Creel was just trying to live. But sometimes trying isn't enough. Now, to save the life he built for himself - and maybe everything else - Carl Creel has to do the impossible. The Absorbing Man has to kill the IMMORTAL HULK.
Why it’s cool: Immortal Hulk just keeps getting better, to the point where I can pretty confidently call it the best superhero comic coming out today. We also have a soft spot for ol’ Carl Creel after the humanizing Saladin Ahmed and Christian Ward did in their excellent Black Bolt series from last year.

Black Hammer: Age of Doom #7
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Rich Tommaso
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Price: $3.99
As Colonial Weird tries to figure out the new world he's found himself on, the character's he's met explain not only their origins, but potentially the origins of all things. Weird's time is running out, and the events of this issue will change the way he sees the world forever!
Why it’s cool: As noted in the intro, Lemire and series co-creator Dean Ormston got the TV deal, and it’s about time! Black Hammer is such a cool concept, a shared superhero universe filled with stories being told by a singular guiding voice and a stable of unbelievable artists (kind of like early Marvel), one unbeholded to any corporate interest, which gives it the feel that anything can happen. Now it’s coming to TV! But first, you all should pick up this issue, wherein Lemire is again teaming with guest artist Rich Tommaso on the backstory (or front story?) of Colonel Weird.

Cover #3
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: David Mack
Essad Sinns Art: Bill Sienkiewicz
Digital Coloring: Zu Orzu
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
Cover goes to Paris as Max is sent to the iconic Angoulême International Comics Festival, where he is about to receive their highest award. But did he earn it...or is it all part of an international spy cover operation? As the worlds of spycraft and comics clash in ways Max could never have imagined, his life-and more importantly, his artwork-begin to collapse around him!
Why it’s cool: This is the best comic about making comics. There aren’t many of them, unlike in other fields. Essentially, there’s plenty of fiction about making music or making movies or even running restaurants, but there isn’t much of that about what it’s like to make comics. Cover is setting out to change that by imagining what it would be like for series artist David Mack to tangled up in doing undercover work for the CIA. It’s a great book that any and all long-time fans of the medium should be reading.

Hot Lunch Special #4
Writer: Eliot Rahal
Artist: Jorge Fornes
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
Publisher: AfterShock Comics
Price: $3.99
Dorothy Khoury has accidentally created two more dead bodies. The number one problem with most corpses is...they're super hard to get rid of. Now, the frightened Khoury family must cover up the trail of blood they're leaving behind, while also projecting strength. They finally have a hostage they can use to negotiate an end to the war with the Moran Family Mafia.
Why it’s cool: The plot thickens like an expertly made sandwich being sold on a cold night in the Midwest. This generational crime saga is coming to an exciting head in this penultimate issue. Basically, in Hot Lunch Special things are never as they seem. No, they’re always worse, and we love it!

Long Lost Part 2 #4
Writer: Matthew Erman
Artist: Lisa Sterle
Publisher: Scout Comics
Price: $3.99
The Mountain that looms over Hazel Patch has changed, leading to a confrontation in the woods. Piper and Frances are reunited with no time to spare as they scramble to safety. Pursued by a horror beyond their imagination, will they finally get the answer to what happened to their mother? The puzzle pieces have fallen into place and the mysteries are revealed as Long Lost hurdles towards an ending.
Why it’s cool: Long Lost is such a forlorn and welcome blast of sparse and poetic graphic sequential storytelling. We love this series, quite a bit, and it’s as good as it’s been from its start as it continues to head toward its end game. There’s no way we’d recommend quitting now.

Mars Attacks #2
Writer: Kyle Starks
Artist: Chris Schweizer
Colorist: Liz Trice Schweizer
Publisher: Dynamite Comics
Price: $3.99
After a bunch of Martians come along and ruin everyone's day (and planet), Spencer and the Major find themselves a bunch of second amendment lovin' boys who ain't afraid of no space men! But maybe safety isn't as guaranteed as one would like when flying saucers and laser pistols are involved...?
Why it’s cool: For starters, you don’t have to know a single thing about the Mars Attacks film or franchise (I didn’t) to enjoy this series. Next, this second issue does all the same great things as its predecessor with great characters and razor sharp humor...plus it throws in some plot points that have to do with America’s gun obsession. We won’t go into any of them, because spoilers, but we will note that this is a comic you should all be reading. Also, there’s a dog now!

Others Receiving Votes

Archie #700
Batman #59
Black Badge #4
Devil Within #2
Dick Tracy: Dead or Alive #2
Justice League #12
Love and Rockets #6
Low Road West #3
Marvel Knights 20th #2
Olivia Twist #3
Punisher #4
Sideways #10
Shuri #2
Tony Stark: Iron Man #6
Uncanny X-Men #2
Web of Carnage: Carnage Born #1

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

The Saga Re-Read #15: A steamy if misleading cover

November 16, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Saga Re-Read

By Zack Quaintance — This arc reaches its midway point, again packing an almost-absurd amount of plot into one issue. This particular chapter is split between three continuing storylines: the family in the lighthouse, the journalists in pursuit of the story, and The Will and his crew on the halcyon planet. The first two chug along duly with more character development and insight but no major revelations.

The third, however...well, you’re just going to read or re-read this issue for yourself at some point, now aren’t you? Let’s get down into the weeds on Saga #15!

Saga #15

Here’s the official preview text for Saga #15, first released on Oct. 30, 2013, a rare comic that comes out on or near Halloween and doesn’t do anything overtly spooky:

Everything starts coming together.

My reaction to this teaser paired with that cover is a double eyebrow waggle and a hubba hubba. Working in tandem, these elements seem to promise one of the most salacious issues of Saga yet. To be sure, this book has been salacious in the past but not as blatantly as what seems to be hinted at by this cover. Hinted, however, is the key word, because it’s all a bit of a feint.

The Cover: This cover would perhaps be more at home on the front of a romance novel than it is on this comic, what with the way Marko and Alana’s attributes are both exaggerated (Marko’s biceps, Alana’s cleavage, etc.) plus also the faroff blurry castle in the background, which has no presence in our actual plot and just kind of screams romance novel to me, or at least fantasy. This is all, however, as I noted above a bit of a mislead, with the story behind the cover being one of Saga’s most plot-heavy yet. There’s like three panels about sex, total, and they aren’t very sexy at all, played as they are for laughs versus eroticism.

The First Page: We get one of the Robot royal family standing over a slain alien dinosaur saying, Would one of you overgrown condom failures kindly remove the dead fucking dragon from my runway? While not one of the more iconic openers, this splash is a pure distillation of many of Saga’s core elements: violence conducted with nonchalance, profanity, blunt talk, striking character design, and a distinct-and-confident voice that has increasingly crept into Staples and Vaughan’s story, made evident here somehow by the phrase overgrown condom failures. This whole arc to me has felt like watch out A TON of sh*t is going down, and this issue’s opener continues a precedent that flows right on through to the final page.

The Surface: Plot, plot, plot, with a whole lot going down. Amid the rapid evolution of what’s happening here, we also get some background on what kind of soldier Alana was: one that challenged orders that would cost innocent lives but ultimately carried them out, putting duty ahead of morals. There’s also some work done here to flesh out Upsher and Doff’s passion for their jobs, particularly when the writer (I often confuse their names) is shot by a sniper and subsequently tells the photographer to Just keep snapping pics. This is awards bait, in spite of having just seconds ago suffered a flesh wound. Also, I’d just like to note how clever it is to have Marko’s (surprisingly progressive) mom subvert usual tropes by telling Alana, a new mother’s place is in the workforce. Oh, and I think we’ll go into this more next week, but the twist that The Will et al now face is pretty clever. Me gusta.

The Subtext: Our opening act here gives us a whole more insight into the cost of war and the way forever fighting molds perspective. One of our journalists remarks of a bygone battle, One of our stringers lost an arm covering that battle. To which Countess Robot X responds by calling it unpleasant. Also showing the ambivalence that creeps into forever wars, Countess Robot X contemplates whether her people even chose the right side, so detached is she from the reasons she’s still fighting. We also get a little insight into how nations and individuals justify widespread and continuous death and violence, as Countess Robot X goes on to describe everyday commuters as a few appeasers who welcomed these savages with open arms, which should hit close to home for us readers who have lived through questionable American combat initiatives abroad. This is doubled down upon later in the same scene when the countess orders the top floor of a residential condo complex incinerated before describing the other side’s actions as madness. You (obviously) can’t see this, but I’m shaking my head pretty hard right now.

The Art: Staples work sort of fades into the background here as we are put through a whole bunch of plot development, which is a credit to her sequential storytelling ability. Essentially, in this arc she’s showing herself able and willing to do what the narrative demands, be it big dead monster designs or a group of characters talking over a board game.

Is Hazel continuing to prepare us for a tragic fall?

Foreshadowing: Hazel does a good bit of it in this issue with her narration, again preparing us for a fall (or falls) that is to come as she notes Some parents let their young kids win at games, but mine never did. I don’t think it was because they were particularly competitive, they just wanted to teach me a valuable lesson. Life is mostly just learning how to lose. We, of course, don’t know the ending of this story yet, but Hazel continues to suggest it will be bittersweet at best. Saga #54, as re-readers know, was certainly a big step in a tragic direction.

Check out past installments of our Saga Re-Read.

Uncanny X-Men: What Maggott Can Teach Us About Toxic Fandom

November 15, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Comics

Special note, this piece first appeared on WMQ Comics as part of a series about fans’ favorite issues of Uncanny X-Men.

By Zack Quaintance — There are comic readers with perfect stories about their first issues, lucky folks who just happened to wander into some idyllic drugstore on a brisk day in New England as a kid, later emerging with a copy of “Amazing Spider-Man” from a spinner rack, maybe written by Gerry Conway with a first appearance of a new character who later became an icon, an issue they still look back on, thinking, now THAT was good comics.

I am not one of those readers. Good god, am I not one of those readers. And, as I’ll explain in a moment, I believe I’m much better for it.

My first real exposure to comics came courtesy of “Uncanny X-Men” #345, which has Maggott on its cover. Maggott. Now, I’d seen comics before via friends’ older brothers, and I’d even gotten the Claremont/Lee X-Men #1 before that as a gift, rolled up in my stocking. But I was too young. I’d scribbled on the pages and tore the cover. “Uncanny” #345 was the first comic that came my way once I had the literacy and motor skills the medium demanded. That original sin aspect is part of the reason I’m picking it as my favorite, but there’s more to it than that. This book has also had a lasting and positive legacy with me, and today I’d like to unpack that.

It’s not a good comic, not by any traditional standards, and it’s made even worse by the five issues after it. The book is full of mysteries, including: Is Joseph really Magneto; who is this guy Maggott; and what secret is Gambit hiding that’s so dark and awful? Its writer, Scott Lobdell, fell out with editorial before paying off pretty much any of that (except the Gambit bit — turns out dude helped massacre the Morlocks), which makes this an inherently frustrating story to look back on, especially for me, who first read it under the naive assumption all comics were carefully made with precise long-term planning (hah!). This book can, from a certain perspective, represent the corporate meddling and pressure that would often hamstring “Uncanny” throughout its post-Claremont run, and arguably still does to this day, really.

So, there’s that. Taken on standalone merits, this issue isn’t great, either. Joe Madureira’s art with heavy Tim Townsend inking is pretty, to be certain, well-formed and stylish with obvious manga and anime influence, a cut above most schlock from the era. It’s still, however, bursting with impossible female anatomy — side boob and jumpsuits that make bodies look vacuum-sealed — and total beefcaking (Bishop reading in a futuristic chair wearing naught but a scant vest and banana hammock…see below).

But if you’ll permit a glance through rose-tinted nostalgia glasses, I think this comic is better than all that. “Uncanny” #345 came out in 1997, when the ’90s as we’ve come to remember them had begun to pass. The art was still very much stuck in that era, but just look at Maggott, a concept built with so much odd levity. His mutant power is two sentient slugs that can basically eat through anything. In his first appearance, the slugs gnaw on a gruesome ‘90s robot with big claws and a supernova for tonsils, thereby saving a supermodel who apparently also runs a Christian orphanage in a jungle in Guatemala, after which Maggott quips: Disgustin’, ain’t it, luv? (SPX: CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP).

And that’s all we get of him. Intellectually, I know this is all bad, but also this is one of my all-time favorite X-character introductions (even if Lobdell’s departure led to an incomplete storyline and eventual mockery and disdain for ol’ Maggott), perfectly as grandiose as it is goofy.

The lasting legacy of “Uncanny” #345 in the context of my life as a comic book fan and reader, however, is what truly endears the comic to me. This book ultimately taught me that the medium is not one built for perfection (not like the best literature, TV or movies) as much as it is for occasional moments of unrestrained bliss. It taught me that comics are a prolific and churning ecosystem, one that should be approached as low-stakes. I watch frustration and anger wash through comic fandom online, and I shake my head, largely unable to relate. My first comic starred Maggott.

Essentially, “Uncanny” #345 gave me healthy expectations for this hobby, I think, allowing me to take superhero comics at their best while avoiding the toxic disappointment of wanting to control the fiction. And I owe it to this issue about a mutant man who could eat through robots with his sentient slugs.

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Gotham Central: How Characters Like Renee Montoya Make a Story

November 15, 2018 by Jack Sharpe in Comics

Gotham Central #6 by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark starts the classic Half a Life storyline, which centers on Renee Montoya. — **Gotham Central #6** by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark starts the classic **Half a Life** storyline, which centers on Renee Montoya.

By Jack Sharpe — In December 2002, DC launched a new comic that was very different from the usual adventures of Superman or Batman or Wonder Woman. This comic would run for 40 issues, focusing not on super-powered heroes themselves, but instead on the members of the Gotham City Police Department, the everyday people working to make a living and keep the city safe. This comic is Gotham Central. Written by Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker, with art from Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, and Kano, Gotham Central is, simply put, one of the most important comics of the 2000s.

A large part of what makes this book so important is the characters at its center. The protagonists in Gotham Central are not aliens from other planets, and its villains are not trying to take over the world. No, this comic’s story is small and personal. Gotham Central is the story of the GCPD, the story of Renee Montoya, Crispus Allen, Maggie Sawyer, Marcus Driver, and others. It is the story of Gotham City, the very same inhabited by Batman, seen here through the eyes of police officers and detectives. Seen in a way that makes Gotham City feel real. From Renee Montoya revealing a deep secret to Stacey the GCPD intern and her fantasies, Gotham Central presents a wide array of characters who are rich with relatable humanity and realism.

What I’d like to explore today is one of the stories found in Gotham Central, paying special attention to how it makes this series such an important work of superhero fiction.

Renee Montoya

Gotham Central’s unique and thought-provoking storytelling shines most clearly through the character of Renee Montoya. Renee had been a recurring character in Batman comics dating back to her introduction in 1992. First created for Batman: The Animated Series and later adapted to comics, Renee was a detective who spent most of her time partnered with Harvey Bullock.

At the start of Gotham Central, Bullock has been kicked out of the GCPD, and Renee is now partnered with Crispus Allen. The storyline Half a Life, which appears in Gotham Central #6 - #10, focuses on Renee, who experiences an emotional ride that includes everything from sadness to anger. Renee’s story is told in a way that really makes readers empathize with her, really makes them feel her pain. It is, quite frankly, one of the best stories to ever be told through superhero comics.

To understand Renee’s arc in Gotham Central, one must first understand Renee. She is a no-nonsense cop, dealing with both her police career and her family life. She is also hiding something from many of those closest to her: Renee Montoya is a lesbian, currently in a relationship with another woman. She is also a latina from a very Christian family. Renee’s struggles with her sexuality and her family’s reaction to it in Gotham Central are something many people all over the world face. She fears being disowned by her family and looked down upon in her work place. Essentially, Renee knows that being honest about who she is could be disastrous for her relationships. Sadly, Renee also has enemies in Gotham. And in Half a Life, one of those enemies discovers her secret and outs her in her workplace.

As a result, Renee’s relationships at the GCPD and with her family change. She is shunned at work by many of the officers and detectives. Perhaps worse, Renee’s parents disown her. The scene of Renee in her lover Daria’s car breaking down in a flood of tears as she tells Daria about her parents is truly heart-wrenching, written and illustrated by the creators in a way that really makes you feel her pain.

Basically, writer Greg Rucka and artist Michael Lark craft a story here that shows how we as humans all have a breaking point, no matter how tough we are. Half a Life builds to a crescendo, while also planting seeds for continued growth for Renee throughout the series. By the final arc of Gotham Central, Renee leaves the GCPD, disgusted both by her treatment and the corruption she has seen in the department. The events of Gotham Central and the story of Renee Montoya are later followed up on in 52, where Rucka again takes the character and creates wonderful stories for her.

The Importance of Gotham Central

There are other stories and character moments throughout Gotham Central that also show a real side of Big Two comics that we do not normally see. But to me, the best example of these moments and the style of storytelling that makes this book so important is still Renee Montoya. Before I read Gotham Central, Renee was a character I did not know all that much about. Now, I know who she is, and, more importantly, I know why so many readers hold her as a beloved favorite.

Her story is one of identity, sadness, anger, betrayal, and ultimately growth. In Gotham Central, Renee faces difficult circumstances and obstacles, and she faces them in a way that shows who she is: someone who can overcome challenges and feelings, who can deal with suffering and use it grow into much more. Her pain and how she responds to it is something all readers can relate to, can aspire to emulate. Renee Montoya becomes a question (more on that in 52) and an answer. She is a special character and her story makes Gotham Central a special book.

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Jack Sharpe is a huge fan of history and comics. When he's not in the trenches surrounded by history, he's reading and studying comic books. You can follow him on Twitter at @JackJacksharpe5

REVIEW: Holy #%@&! Electric Warriors #1 is a good time

November 14, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Reviews

Electric Warriors is out 11/14. — **Electric Warriors** is out 11/14.

By Zack Quaintance — Whoa. This is an unreal book, like a neon fever dream in the head of the world’s foremost DC continuity scholar. Electric Warriors #1 by Steve Orlando and Travel Foreman is, quite simply, unlike any other Big 2 comic in recent memory, so unique is it in concept and tight with execution. We’ll get to both concept and execution in a moment, but let me first note this is a series I unabashedly recommend to all superhero fans, as well as most space opera and sci-fi readers, with extra points for those (like myself) with deep interest in DC continuity.

Okay then, let’s start with the concept: Electric Warriors is wisely set after Jack Kirby’s Great Disaster, a cataclysmic event of global proportions which eradicated civilized society on Earth-AD (according to one DC wiki). Earth-AD is essentially the normal DC Earth we know, with the AD standing for After Disaster, which means that Electric Warriors is set in an alternate DC future, one in which the galaxy is starting to get its sh*t together, presumably en route to more enlightened times that will later be home to The Legion, the United Planets, etc.

In this timeline, Earth is a somewhat late-comer to a burgeoning and (relatively) peaceful galactic order that averts war between major powers by having them all submit one champion (an electric warrior) who does combat powered by seeds that electrify their skills and abilities. All great cosmic powers have one champion, one, except Earth, which riven by tribal divisions insists on having two, one evolved animal and one human. This speaks to some powerful anthropologic notions about our civilization while at the same time extrapolating our long long history to a logical extreme. Essentially, Electric Warriors posits that even after an apocalypse and subsequent enlightened ascent, we still can’t get along, not entirely.

So that’s the concept, and it’s strong. I know the way I’ve explained it might seem convoluted, but upon reading the comic, it’s not at all, which is a credit to the work of Orlando and Foreman, and to the second facet of the book I’d like to discuss, it’s execution. First, Foreman’s artwork is stellar, used here to great effect to differentiate this story from usual DC superhero fare via a futuristic aesthetic, glowing and urgent and sharp. Foreman is as visionary an artist as is found in superhero comics, and he’s in full command of his formidable powers here.

Second, Orlando grounds this story so well in entirely new characters. His creations are dynamic and complex. Orlando is a writer perhaps most associated with revenge, but that signature thematic interest is absent here. Instead, characters are motivated in one case by duty and another by self loathing. Those motivations aren’t dwelled on much, which serves this complex narrative well, instead making brief appearances as catalysts to actions. Add in a major (and thrilling) reveal at the very end, and this is Orlando’s best work all year, perhaps even better than his recent run on Wonder Woman, all of which I liked quite a bit.

While DC fandom has largely focused on forthcoming runs like Grant Morrison and Liam Sharpe’s The Green Lantern, G. Willow Wilson and Cary Nord’s Wonder Woman, and Kelly Sue DeConnick and Robson Rocha’s Aquaman, Electric Warriors has flown under the radar. I have a strong feeling that’s about to change.

Overall: Today is a major day for new comics, but if you take a chance on one new book, make it Electric Warriors. This is part one of a six-part miniseries with vast potential to be something truly special. Fans are going to be talking about this comic tomorrow. 9.5/10

Electric Warriors #1
Writer: Steve Orlando
Artist: Travel Foreman
Colorist: Hi-Fi
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99

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

REVIEW: Friendo #2 makes good on the first issue’s intriguing promise

November 14, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Reviews

Friendo #2 is out 11/14. — **Friendo #2** is out 11/14.

By Zack Quaintance — Before we talk Friendo #2, I think it’s worth a brief reminder of how the first issue ended...with a likely vagrant (who’s not the main character’s dad, but maybe?) stabbing our hero in the back before taking his wallet and remarking, Never look for meaning in a desert. Then a downed powerline flopped into our hero, electrocuting him so severely we saw his bones. Caught up? Good, because issue two picks up where the previous chapter ended (sort of): a desert in which its unwise to look for meaning.

Visually, I found the opening of Friendo #2 stunning, rendered by Martin Simmonds (with bright colors by Dee Cunniffe). I especially liked the placement of the first three panels and their contents: a setting sun, followed by a slightly lower lizard’s beady black eye, followed by a human eye within a face that’s clearly had its skin peeled. Next, we see said skinless human walking across the desert, almost surreal, like something from a film by Jodorowsky.

One could be forgiven for thinking our main character, Leo, was dead, but also, Friendo is a comic that won’t let the poor guy off that easy. So, soon we’re back in the near-future, where ambush marketers crash cars on purpose (incurring serious injury), paparazzi drones roam the skies evaluating who’s worth filming based on cold algorithms, and raging wildfires send ash into the air, always (sound familiar?). By the time we get past the ethereal opening and to the plot proper, the book is primed to delve into what’s really been its central concern from the start: unbridled and addictive consumerism (and its impact on the identity of the individuals it needs to exist).

Last issue, we saw Leo gifted a two-in-one anthropomorphic search engine and ride or die bestie—brand name, Friendo...individual name, Jerry—and in this issue we see the deeper nature of the insidious relationship that this marketing AI is forming with Leo, one in which he endears himself to our hero and trades actualization so as to foster a never-ending chain of purchases. But we learn as the plot continues that the AI’s power doesn’t stop there, that it’s so relentless in its marketing, it can also influence technology in the larger world, causing harm to other people if they threaten to get in its way.

This book, it should perhaps be noted, is from Vault Comics, and while the books put out by that publisher are disparate in theme and plot, the thing they share is it's tough to pin down their genres, be it Deep Roots, Submerged, or Fearscape. Friendo is cut from that same genre-bending cloth, but to me this issue firmly establishes it as horror, with the traditional monster or knife-wielding baddie played to subtle perfection by unstoppable (yet startlingly plausible) greed.

The villain here is basically late model capitalism at its skeeziest. One thing I particularly liked about this issue was that it twisted the idea of capitalism as a villain (which is being done all over now in this age of awful President Trump), and made it not as deliberate and overt as it could be. The capitalism-born antagonist in Friendo is not just a CEo, but rather a natural extension of CEO intent that has been turbocharged by a malfunction and deregulation as a corporate board looks the other way...which makes it even scarier and way more real.

Overall: As I noted in my review of Friendo #1, the debut of this series was loaded with intriguing potential. Friendo #2 makes good on that promise, crafting a near-future horror story that casts extreme capitalism and human indifference as its villains. It’s chilling stuff, laden with cautionary lessons for our times. 9.0/10

Friendo #2
Writer: Alex Paknadel
Artist: Martin Simmonds
Colorist: Dee Cunniffe
Letterer: Taylor Esposito

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REVIEW: Bitter Root #1 is a complex and fearless debut

November 13, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Reviews

Bitter Root #1 is out 11/14. — **Bitter Root #1** is out 11/14.

By Zack Quaintance — There’s a roadmap for success in creator-owned comics that’s becoming standard: a writer and artist collaborate at Marvel or DC, they build a fanbase, and they go on to drop a new series at Image, one that as a result of their past work together arrives fully-formed. It’s happened this year with Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino’s Gideon Falls, and it’s happening again this week with David F. Walker, Chuck Brown, and Sanford Greene’s Bitter Root #1.

Walker and Greene last teamed on 2016’s Power Man and Iron Fist, which despite being one of the major highlights of Marvel’s All New, All Different publishing initiative, was tragically cancelled before reaching 20 issues, apparently because higher ups at the company decided Luke and Danny needed to be separated. To me this remains a silly move, but I digress...

We’re here to talk about Bitter Root #1, a debut comic that, simply put, knows exactly how good it is. It’s a confident book built for a lengthy run, and, as such, its first issue is mostly interested in orienting readers within its world (the Harlem Renaissance era), introducing them to characters (a family of monster hunters with rigidly-defined roles), hinting at a central conflict (a rift in said monster-hunting family), and planting seeds for future developments. First issues can sometimes fall into a sensationalistic trap wherein the creators push copious or excessive twists into the story, coming off as a bit desperate to bring readers back for #2.

Not so with Bitter Root, an immersive comic that relies on strong art and storytelling more than narrative tricks. It’s also as thoughtful a new title as we’ve seen this year (and it’s been a strong year for thoughtful titles). Like Walker’s work on books like Nighthawk, oppression and abuse of power loom large in Bitter Root. WARNING POTENTIAL SPOILERS: The story being historical lets this issue draw a connection between institutionalized racism and injustices that continue today. In one scene, a jumpy police officer opens fire on black characters in a park (having his bullets deflected by the story’s imaginative steampunk monster-hunting tech) before a monster rips him to pieces. In the next, we cut to Mississippi the same night...where another character is saved by similar tech from a lynching by the KKK.

The placement of these scenes in Bitter Root’s first issue to me seems to hint at the story’s aspirations: to interweave family, duty, monsters, and systemic racism, thereby creating an imaginative and complex narrative, as rich with character growth as it is with elements of the fantastical. Phew. It’s a lot, but these creators are up for the challenge.

Greene is a phenomenal artist with a style entirely his own. I knew from his work on Power Man and Iron Fist he was capable of kinetic sequential storytelling, but working in creator-owned comics affords him increased flexibility here, the luxury of flexing his sizable and eclectic design skills on everything from the monster hunting technology to the aesthetic of the monsters themselves. His work is versatile, as interesting when applied to the fantastic as it is to the everyday scene of weekend dancing that opens our story. Colorist Rico Renzi’s palettes also do the always-important work of tone-setting, of lending mood and ambiance to book with horror themes. A story as well written as this one deserves singular art to match, and Greene and Renzi certainly deliver.

I’ve been looking forward to Bitter Root since it was first mentioned after the unceremonious end to Power Man and Iron Fist. It took awhile to get here and it sounds cliche to say, but if this debut issue is any indication, Bitter Root is well worth the wait.

Overall: There have been plenty of monster hunting comics launched this year, but none have been as confident as Bitter Root #1. This story is complex and fearless, steeped in fantastical monster hunting, family dynamics, and systemic injustices. Combine that with the stylishly singular aesthetic of the artwork, and this book is a must-read. 9.5/10

Bitter Root #1
Writers: David F. Walker and Chuck Brown
Artist: Sanford Greene
Colorist: Rico Renzi and Sanford Greene
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99

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

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

Top Comics of October 2018

November 13, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Top 5 Comics

By Zack Quaintance — This month there are quite a few titles from spring and summer appearing for the first time, books that launched with promise, settled in, and just now landed really memorable issues. I’d certainly put Action Comics #1004 and Submerged #3 in that category, both of which come from series I’ve liked from the start and was just waiting for a marquee issue to celebrate.

Meanwhile, our Shout Outs for October is heavily weighted toward superheroes. I’m not sure how this happens (or why), but I will note our Best New #1 Comics of 2018 had more creator-owned books. This could all, of course, be happenstance. I should also note this wasn’t one of the stronger months for individual issues in recent memory, but a quick glance at November indicates that is soon to change.

And now! On to the comics!

Shout Outs

I pointed this out recently on Twitter, but we are, indeed, lucky to have National Book Award winner Ta-Nehisi Coates writing comics. His work on both Black Panther #5 and Captain America #4 was outstanding, continuing to establish him as a massive talent increasingly confident within this medium. Shout outs as well to artists Daniel Acuna and Leinil Francis Yu.

Coates, however, isn’t the only massive talent with two killer books in October. Jeff Lemire had Gideon Falls #7 and Black Hammer: Age of Doom #6, stellar works from great series. Props to Black Hammer guest artist Rich Tommaso and Gideon Falls’ Andrea Sorrentino for their contributions.

Tony Stark: Iron Man #5 was a pleasant surprise in a series that is consistently fits that description. Writer Dan Slott and artist Gang Hyuk Lim incorporate (heh) Tony’s ethically gray younger brother in a one-off that foreshadows repercussions for the main plot as well. I’ve just found the futurism and corporate politicking angles in this run intriguing, so far.

Shout out to Bryan Edward Hill and N. Steve Harris for concluding their run with Wildstorm: Michael Cray #12, which ends the story of the titular character, murdering his way (sympathetically!) through evil versions of the Justice League within Warren Ellis’ new Wildstorm Universe.

Mark Russell is at it again in Green Lantern/Huckleberry Hound Special #1, which is set in the Vietnam Era, and told in a way that draws comparisons to now and leaves one feeling wistful for the integrity of Nixon and Watergate.

Not much to say about Robert Venditti and Bryan Hitch’s Hawkman #5, other than carry on boys, what you’re doing with this character and book is refreshing and excellent.

Meanwhile, Brian Michael Bendis and Ivan Reis’ Superman #6 was good, but Action Comics #1004 was better. Bendis’ dueling Man of Steel series are two of our favorite things at DC right now. More on that below.

Our other favorite thing at DC? Scott Snyder, James Tynion, and some of the best artists in the business ongoing Justice League epic, which reads like a really smart big budget epic touching every corner of the DCU. This month we get Atlantis, spread through a bevy of titles, including Justice League #9 and #10, Aquaman #41, and the Justice League Aquaman Drowned Earth #1 special.

Top Comics October 2018

5. Hot Lunch Special #3
Writer: Eliot Rahal
Artist: Jorge Fornes
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
Publisher: AfterShock Comics
Price: $3.99
After Hot Lunch Specials’ first issue, I pegged it as a generational, Fargo-esque Midwestern noir, a comic that planned to deal in equal parts with a modern American immigration story and the sort of organized crime retribution that would be more at home in The Godfather. There is, to be sure, a fair amount of that stuff in this comic. Hot Lunch Special #3, however, serves up notice to readers that this book is headed for places they never expected.

Every issue of this comic so far has been great, but this issue pushes the book to a new level, one of organic storytelling (not a food pun) that has me excited to see how this all ends up. I don’t know how to explain it that much better without revealing the twists. So, I’ll just say that Hot Lunch Special is a must-read comic, last month and from here until its end.

4. Redneck #16
Writer: Donny Cates
Artist: Lisandro Estherren
Colorist: Dee Cunniffe
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
From its start, Donny Cates and Lisandro Estherren’s Redneck has been a neatly-constructed vampire romp, filled with Robert Kirkman-esque twists and a down home Texan accessibility Cates has honed. This issue, however, does something I wasn’t sure Redneck could: it goes to emotional places that are welcome and justified.

In fact, in the parlance of this title, I’ll say I reckon’ Redneck #16 is a great representation of Cates’ biggest strengths as a writer. It has a scene in which Nazis are outlandishly thrashed in a prison (so cathartic) and another later on in which a son inadvertently/reluctantly comes out to his father, who meets the news with easy acceptance. I never get tired of that scene, and Redneck #16 nails it. There’s been a whole lot of blood in this book, but this is the first issue with a massive amount of heart (in retrospect that sentence was gross and I’m sorry).

3. Submerged #3
Writer: Vita Ayala
Artist: Lisa Sterle
Colorist: Stelladia
Letterer: Rachel Deering
Publisher: Vault Comics
Price: $3.99
We wrote a Submerged #3 review, so we won’t rehash the many reasons we love this book too much, but we will note this issue made us even more interested in a title that has hooked us from the start. Simply put, Submerged #3 simultaneously takes us to the most fantastical places this story has gone while also rooting its stakes deeply in character. It’s a great mix for a wonderfully scary and introspective book steeped in personal experiences.

Like many of Vault Comics other books coming out right now, this one is very much a must-read title.

2. Immortal Hulk #7
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Joe Bennett
Inker: Ruy Jose
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letterer: Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
Simply put, Immortal Hulk #7 is the best superhero comic right now. I am far from the only comic critic to say this. Hell, it’s probably comic book critic Twitter’s favorite title so effusive have we been with our praise. Not that that means a book is unimpeachable, but what writer Al Ewing and artist Joe Bennett are doing here is truly special.

They’ve taken a horror-laden approach to Hulk stories, which has been done before just not with this level of detail, imagination, and willingness to go to truly disturbing places. In this issue, the undead Hulk gets his comeuppance at the hands of the Avengers, who use a satellite from space to blast him into pieces somewhere in rural Iowa. Except, comeuppance is the wrong word. This title does a great job of making you feel sorry for everyone involved, which is perhaps the only correct way to handle stories about such a brutal, rage-driven figure.

1. Action Comics #1004
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Ryan Sook
Inker: Wade Von Grawbadger
Colorist: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Josh Reed
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
This issue hit me right in my personal life. In Action Comics #1004, Clark and Lois reunite after life has forced them apart. Now, my wife spent this summer in Washington D.C., covering federal immigration policy for the LA Times. Meanwhile, I was in California, working my own job, etc. In this issue, Lois and Clark pick up where they left off sweetly, almost as if nothing has changed, acknowledging that while neither can predict the future, their love is strong, even if their proximity must occasionally be distant.

I found it true to my own experiences with such reunions, especially in tone. I’ve also been a reporter for a decade, and I like Lois quitting the newsroom. I’m not advocating for superhero stories going too far into media industry weeds, but having the most-celebrated journalist on the planet give up the lousy daily newspaper grind to write books is a logical move. Books are, quite frankly, what everyone I know at daily papers now aspires to write. Mileage will (and should) vary based on your own connections with these classic characters; I only speak for my experience with the material.

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

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

R.I.P. Stan Lee

November 12, 2018 by Zack Quaintance in Comics

By Zack Quaintance — Stan Lee died today at the age of 95, having helped create and—perhaps more importantly—entrench in the culture nearly a dozen comic book superheroes among the most famous fictional characters on the planet today.

Stan Lee was also Marvel’s face and editor-in-chief during the company’s rise to prominence throughout the 1960s and on. He created heroes, built a universe, and found a way to market it all to the world. Here’s a list of the properties he had a hand in shaping, all of whom have now appeared in massive big budget Hollywood movies:

Spider-Man (w/Steve Ditko)
The X-Men (w/Jack Kirby)
The Fantastic Four (w/Jack Kirby)
Iron Man (w/Larry Lieber, Don Heck, and Jack Kirby)
Black Panther (w/Jack Kirby)
Thor (w/Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby)
Doctor Strange (w/Steve Ditko)
The Hulk (w/Jack Kirby)
Daredevil (w/Bill Everett)
Ant-Man (w/Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby)

I never met Stan Lee, nor do I have anything all that pressing to add to today’s conversations about his legacy or passing. I do, however, have my own experiences with the man as an icon as well as with his work, and in the interest of shared grief and mourning, I’d like to share those with all of you now.

My own first experience with Stan Lee as a personality was likely in the page’s of a Marvel comic book I bought (or had bought for me by my mom) in the mid-90s, a random issue of Uncanny X-Men or Amazing Spider-Man, in which his old Stan’s Soapbox column still ran. It had a little cartoon version of Stan at the top, smiling with his dark glasses and big mustache at the reader as his alliterative enthusiastic text took hold below. It started with Hi, Heroes! Or, Hi, True Believers! Always. And it ended, of course, with Excelsior! I read every word, at least twice. That was just how I consumed comics in those early days, keeping them stacked in a shoebox beside my bed. Stan Lee, I soon noticed, was the same name that presented these stories at the start of the issues, the same name listed as the characters’ co-creator.

I intrinsically knew he must be important, the boss of this whole shebang. I knew it in the way that you can only ascertain certain knowledge as a youth, some mix of naive assumption and osmosis special to kids. And while I didn’t quite realize this at the time, there was something in Stan’s attitude and writing (even if he wasn’t always doing the column himself by then) that made me feel included, part of a special secret, that made me feel less alone. And more than creativity or marketing or vision, I think that was Stan’s real gift, the ability to unite disparate folks under a banner of shared enthusiasm and positivity.

Indeed, the characters Stan helped create, mold, and spread were often bearers of important and formative ethos—with great power, comes great responsibility, or discriminating against those different than you is a path toward compounding hate—foundational lessons for us all, to be sure. It was, however, Stan’s relentless enthusiasm that would shape my character more directly, lingering with me as I developed my own approach to consuming and creating media as I aged. Even today as I interact with friends and strangers online, discussing movies, books, comics, or life, I often ask myself how Stan might respond, and that little exercise does wonders to inform my tone.

Now, I realize I’m framing this all a bit solipsistically, and that many others—indeed, much of 1960s culture—feel the same way, perhaps with more direct and concrete examples of how Stan Lee and his creations informed their lives. I know too that his legacy is likely to be a complex one, controversial. I’m not here to discuss that, not even a little bit, certainly not today. Today I only want to talk about how this loss feels, independent of the contrarian or analytical.

Stan Lee is gone now and it hurts. There’s an old writing adage that says the invisible last line of any and all stories is and nothing was ever the same again...in my career I’ve done journalism and I’ve written short fiction, going back now about a decade, and I’m starting to write comic books too (hopefully with greater frequency soon). I always think about that invisible last line as I head toward endings. Because of Stan, though, I often tack on an addendum...and nothing was ever the same again. Excelsior!

R.I.P., Mr. Lee, and thank you for all that you created, all that you built, all that you’ve left to make us better.

Here are some other things I find inspirational about Stan Lee:

Stan’s major success came relatively late in life, with Fantastic Four #1 publishing when he was roughly 39.
Stan had serious literary ambitions, but he still put his all into comics, for the most part, using the medium as an outlet for real art.
Stan was as interested in public speaking as he was in writing, seeing the intrinsic connection between the two.
His positivity, his positivity, his positivity.

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