It’s time to see what the New Year will be bringing us in the world of comics!
Dark Horse
There seems to be some
sort of rule that there now has to be two Mike Mignola books being published at any given time, which is fine with me, especially when one of them is a new Lobster Johnson series, featuring art by Tonci Zonjic, who just finished impressing on Who is Jake Ellis?. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Lobster – a pulp hero who always runs up against the occult. This should be pretty good.
Two writers from the Stargate TV show are launching Dark Matter, a four issue sci-fi mini-series that looks like it could be good. I’ve been in the mood for a nice big science fiction comic; I’ll wait to see it on the stands before I decide if this is what I’m looking for. The fact that it sounds like Alien, but with a robot, makes me think it isn’t.
There is a Compleat Terminal City trade coming out! This was a very cool retro-future series by Dean Motter and Michael Lark. If you’ve never read this, you should, especially since it contains 14 comics and only costs $25.
DC and Vertigo have decided to cut Brian Wood loose for reasons I don’t understand. Their loss is Dark Horse’s gain, as his new comic, The Massive debuts in Dark Horse Presents this month featuring art by Kristian Donaldson, who worked with him on the brilliant Supermarket.
DC
I hope that one doesn’t need to read OMAC #5 in order to understand Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE #5. If that’s the case, I’ll be skipping Frankenstein that month, not buying Dan Didio’s ego-fest. Note to DC: I’m not interested in cross-overs like this.
The trade of John Rozum and Frazer Irving’s recent Xombi series is being released in January. This was a brilliant comic. Order it, and send DC the message that you would like to see more books like this.
A new graphic novel by Colleen Doran is always cause for celebration. Gone to Amerikay follows a family of Irish immigrants over a span of ninety years. I’m not familiar with the writer, Derek McCulloch, but I’m sure the art will be more than enough on this one.
This is the second straight month where there are no new series starting at DC or Vertigo (I’m not counting the Batman Inc special). I have to commend them for taking the time to build up their library instead of trying to quickly cash in on the increased profile and interest they’ve garnered in the relaunch. I hope that their books continue to be successful. I know that I’m pretty much out of my experimental phase (still can’t make up my mind about Stormwatch), and have settled on the core 15 titles I’m going to stick with for now.
Image
I’m curious to know what led Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips to bring their newest mini-series, Fatale, to Image instead of publishing it at Icon like they do Criminal and Incognito. Either way, this is going to be an excellent comic.
When I first heard that Rob Liefeld’s different properties were going to be resurrected, I didn’t care at all. I figure that the books may never come out, and the characters were never that interesting. Then I saw the solicitation for Prophet, a character I barely remember, and I realized I had to buy this. It’s being written by Brandon Graham of King City fame, with art by Simon Roy, whose self-published Jan’s Atomic Heart was wonderful. Add a cover by Marian Churchland, and this becomes my most anticipated book of the month. It’s strange that they have chosen to continue with the original series numbering instead of starting over with a new number one – it kind of goes against conventional wisdom, and what is a massive industry trend right now.
I’m not sure why the Luna Brothers have split up, or if they’ve just chosen to work independently for a while, but Joshua Luna’s new title Whispers sounds like a take on Deadman, which could be pretty interesting.
I often don’t get Ted McKeever’s comics, but I do love trying to figure them out. Mondo looks like his typical thing, which is not for everyone, but is always hideously pretty.
Marvel
I think I’m done with Avengers and New Avengers. There is not enough value in these comics to justify continuing to read them at $4 a month. I’m mildly interested in the story (but not in the return of Norman Osborn, or the cramming in of new team members like Daredevil and Storm just cause), and will probably continue to pick them up at conventions or sales, when I can get them cheaply.
Any bets on how much longer Captain America & Bucky will last? With the Winter Soldier comic coming up, I can’t imagine there is enough demand for three monthly Cap books.
I wonder what happened with Alpha Flight. First, it was announced that it was an 8-issue mini-series, then we were told it was going to be on-going, and now we see the final, eighth issue, solicited. I wonder who makes these decisions at Marvel, and if anyone is even talking to each other anymore. This was a good comic, but I was a little surprised to learn that it was bringing in enough numbers for a monthly. I guess it wasn’t.
And then there’s Victor Von Doom, the five (originally four) issue mini-series by Nick Spencer and Becky Cloonan. I was very excited about this – I love Cloonan’s art, and usually enjoy Spencer’s writing. Bleeding Cool reported this week that the series was dead in the water and wouldn’t be published, yet here’s the third issue solicited. Confusing, and disappointing, especially when you consider that a mini-series about Magneto’s clone Joseph is being published.
I want to be excited that Brian Wood is writing a Wolverine mini-series, but there are three things going against it: it’s drawn by Mark Brooks, it’s $4 an issue, and it features Quentin Quire. I’m passing now, and I’ll see how I feel in January.
Avatar
Tell me what’s wrong with this sentence: “David Lapham returns to his Stray Bullets roots with a brutal supernatural crime drama that features the grueling horror of a new type of werewolf.” What Stray Bullets did they read? Here’s what needs to be done to that sentence for it to make sense: “David Lapham returns to his Stray Bullets roots with a brutal supernatural crime drama that features the grueling horror of a new type of .” Anyway, I love Lapham’s work (more so when he draws it), but I think I’ll trade wait Ferals.werewolf
Is the Warren Ellis Atmospherics graphic novel composed of new work, or is it a reprint. I can’t tell from the solicitation.
Boom
I think it’s worth pointing out that the Steed and Mrs. Peel comic by Grant Morrison and Ian Gibson was published in North America (by Eclipse?) some twenty years ago. I remember that it’s not bad, but the solicitation should tell us that it’s not new.
Oni
I’m very excited to see that Wasteland is going to be coming back on a monthly basis. This comic has been brilliant – it’s an involved, well-written science fiction series that had been incredibly stable up to its 25th issue, and which has been crippled by delays since then. According to this, Justin Greenwood will be taking over the art chores, which will hopefully fix all the problems the title has been suffering.
January looks like it’s going to be a quiet month, which is always good after the holiday madness. So, what would you get Were Money No Object?
