Let's see . . . how do I do this again? . . . got to string together some words about comic books and graphic novels and sequential arts and such . . . rrrrnnnn
Oh, it's Wednesday! That's new comic book day! I could bust out the old stand-by, "New Releases for the Week of Blankity-Blank". It might seem a tad lazy and could be underwhelming for anyone who actually has waited around to see if this blog ever did update.
Ah, who am I kidding?
Here's some choice selections for the week of January 24. 2018. There are some other definite "buys" on store shelves this week, particularly from Marvel, but I tried (as always) to focus on new series and #1 issues. "Jumping on points," if you will. And you will.
Abbott #1 (of 5) Boom Studios
Hugo Award-nominated novelist Saladin Ahmed (Black Bolt) and artist Sami Kivela present the story of a tough-talking, chain smoking tabloid reporter who is looking for all the nasty stuff the police sweep under the rug, for it may have something to do with her own family tragedy. The story promises to have an occult twinge to it and Ahmed's ability to write "the other" that was briefly on display in Marvel's Inhumans spin-off mean this isn't just a boiler plate cable drama without a televised home. Look forward to a visually spellbinding modern noir.
Vinegar Teeth #1 (of 4) Dark Horse
Speaking of Lovecraft/Noir mash-ups, Vinegar Teeth by Damon Gentry, Troy Nixey, and Guy Major debuts this week. Schlubby cop Artie Buckle takes on tentacled super-beings in the seedy underbelly of Brick City. This series is like five genres trying to get up in your grill at once; horror, humor, crime, science fiction, and fantasy all in one graphic smoothie! But what does it taste like? Are the little chunks edible? Only one way to find out!
Raven: Daughter of Darkness #1 (of 12) DC Comics
Marv Wolfman returns to the character he helped co-create back in the legendary 80's New Teen Titans series. Personally, I'm not all that familiar with what permutations of the character have cropped up since the big badda boom relaunch that was the New 52 back in 2011. Mostly, I see the character on the Teen Titans Go! cartoon. Wolfman and artist Pop Mahn aren't stopping the 80's throwbacks there however, as Baron Winter from the classic series Night Force is looking to get involved in the young empath's life. I'd also take note of the format: the twelve issue maxi-series route means this isn't pretending to be the beginning of a long ongoing. Wolfman might have the "definitive" story for Raven in mind . . . but can he surpass his own Terror of Trigon saga from back in the day?
Dissonance #1 Image Comics
Both Black Science and Sex Criminals have new issues out this week, but this little beauty by Singgih Nugroho and Sami Basri jumped out at me while I was skimming over the Image solicits. I don't know much about the creators, but the plot sounds nifty enough: two siblings with opposing political viewpoints reluctantly step into their roles as members of a warrior cult who control world affairs. It looks like Ninjak crossed with the All In The Family aspects of DC's Hawk & Dove.
Inhumans: Judgement Day #1 Marvel Comics
The Progenitors, the alien scientists whose dabbling created the Inhumans eons ago, are back and looking to scrub their cosmic petri dishes, so to speak. Marvel's beleaguered royal family fight for survival in the comic realm, while their cable show was D.O.A. Televised endeavors aside, this is coming from scribe Al Ewing, who has been doing great work on the fringes of the Marvel universe for several years now.
Legion #1 (of 5) Marvel Comics
Considering the kind of existential romp that Shade, The Changing Man was, it seems like a huge "Duh" to have Peter Milligan take a crack at Marvel's least-merry and most mentally damaged mutant. Unlike the Inhumans up above, Legion has translated fantastically to T.V. and its a curiosity that Marvel hasn't released a new Legion book to capitalize. I don't know how much crossover there is for fans of the show, but if there's any creator who knows how to throw caution tot he wind when rejuvenating an X-title, it's the guy who brought us X-Statix. Will it reach the sublime heights of Si Spurrier's Legion series from a few years ago? The gauntlet has been thrown, Mr. Milligan--don't give me another Justice League Dark, bro.
Mega Man Mastermix #1 Udon Entertainment
This is actually a reprint title, presenting in color for the first time ever a serialized strip starring the Blue Bomber from manga-ka Hitoshi Ariga. The Mega Man comics of the last six years or so have been waaay better than they have any right to be, but the action has always been Archie Sonic fare, lacking the impact and excitement of a Japanese hero story. This could be a different flavor, maybe a little heavier on the visuals and less of the Philip K Dick stuff? I haven't read any of Ariga's work, so I could be in for a surprise--there could be a little bit of Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell in there . . .
What a week! And like I said up top, that's not even including some continuing stories like the ending arc of Dan Slott's Amazing Spider-Man run and the next installment of the weekly Avengers saga, "No Surrender". You probably won't have much money left after this week's trek to the LCS (or Comixology), so you'll need a nice free hobby to fall back on--like following this blog if I continue to update it!
Follow me on Twitter @ChrisBComics if you'd like to chastise me for not updating the blog or call my intelligence into question over the contents of said blog. Please, I'm so lonely. I'll take the hate mail at this point.
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