October was loaded with promising first issues: From Image I tried Cannibal, Green Valley, Romulus, and the Mark Millar teaming with Capullo on Reborn
Gilbert and Jamie Hernandez launched Love and Rockets Magazine (I read L&R in trade form, so I’ll have a wait on this one)
And Young Animal had a good month: with top drawer debuts for Shade and Cave Carson, and a 2nd helping of Doom Patrol that was stronger than the 1st, as we saw some connective tissue in the plotting.
On the other side of the coin, several Marvel books came to an end: The Vision, Ant-Man, A-Force and Mockingbird.
Retro Reading: I finally got to David Lapham’s disturbing, comic and tragic Stray Bullets. From the start it was easy to see why Virginia Applejack eventually took center stage in the series. She’s a great character. I also adored the Amy Racecar story that played off all of Kurosawa’s Samurai films. (I‘m a huge fan) all in all, cool beans!
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Phil Hester * Colors by Mark Englert
Warren Ellis takes us to a nightmarish dimension that resides in the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, a dimension between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge… Um, yeah, this is the Twilight Zone on acid. I don’t know yet if we are in another world, in Hell, or in this guy’s head. But I’m happy to stick around and find out.
Written by Christopher Hastings
Art and Colors by Gurihiru
Gets back to business, and back to the candy colored wonderfulness I loved in the first arc. Gwen is a hoot; I laughed at the line about her grandpa, and chortled over the physical humor (Gwen stuffing her head in the shark) I enjoyed the way the creative team plays with the trope of the dramatic reveal… “YOU!!” says Gwen, as if we’re about to get a startling surprise. It’s playful and mad cap, the perfect tonic for a gray day.
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art and Colors by Juan Doe
Further seedy happenings in this dirty little town with it’s dirty little secrets. And in a surprising move, our title character shows his hand.
Written and drawn by David Lapham
Dark and hilarious (see Joey on the phone). Beth’s mom should win an Oscar for this performance. She plays everyone like a fiddle, even the reader, even her street savvy daughter - which is especially sad because you know there’s a part of Beth that wants her to be genuine, needs her to be a real mother to her.
Written by Gabriel Hardman & Corinna Bechko
Art by Gabriel Hardman * Colors by Jordan Boyd
I honestly don’t ‘get’ the book thing at the heart of this series. I’ve been told why it’s important, but I don’t feel the urgency. I haven’t seen anything in its content that is so explosive that people need to be killing over it. I don’t see why those people had to die last month, what was the point, what threat did they pose? It’s strange that after 12 issues that part of the comic still isn’t connecting with me. On the other hand, I’m exceedingly interested in the people, the geopolitical history and the peaks into the past. Of which this issue has in abundance
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Michael Gaydos * Colors by Matt Hollingsworth
Bendis is so wrong on some titles (Iron Man) but so right on others…. like this one. There’s a mystery here, Jessica has fallen hard and gone back to zero - but how, why? Meanwhile she’s on a case that involves something else Bendis was good with, The Ultimate Universe (which ties into Secret Wars. Side note: considering the build up and the aftermath, S.W. was no throw away event)
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso and Colors by
Boy, this was a month of great first issues. And the return of super team Azz and Risso is one to celebrate. This is a hard, slow burning backwoods tale of gangsters, moonshiners and… werewolves? Color me curious. Risso’s lines and shadows create a world and a people that are as exquisite as they are ugly. I especially liked the German expressionism in that panel where we see a girl on the stairs with her doll in the foreground, with Lou’s skewed shadow looming in the back.
Written by Tom King
Art and Colors by Mitch Gerads
I originally trade waited on this comic, but as with Rachel Rising and The Sixth Gun earlier this year, I elected to grab the final issues in periodical form. While a compelling political piece, what makes Sheriff soar for me are the fully realized characters. They are distinct, fascinating personalities one and all - struggling as humans do on a gamut of issues both personal and political. Here Chris learns what became of Ali, while Nassir and Sofia discover their adversary is a paper tiger. Here’s hoping King nails the conclusion next month
Written by Greg Rucka
Art by Michael Lark * Colors by Santi Arcas
Kept me on the edge of my seat as it teases a scary new opponent - meanwhile Forever learns more about who and what she is. The overall character development on this series is without peer.
Written by Cecil Castellucci
Art by Marley Zarcone * Colors by Kelly Fitzpatrick
Artist Zarcone (who was so good on the short lived Effigy) and colorist Fitzpatrick give the book a groovy, psychedelic look, which establishes tone right off the bat. The twin protagonists are bad girls (the one in the coma is so hated that her parents are upset when she wakes up before they can pull the plug!) Their lives/past histories have the potential to bring complexity and depth to the tale, and will allow Castellucci to explore multiple themes on multiple worlds (allowing for a heavy dose of culture shock for one of them). There’s black humor, plenty of sweet madness and a hell of a cliffhanger. I’m looking forward to learning more about Loma and Megan and seeing their future adventures.
Written by Marjorie Liu
Art and Colors by Sana Takeda
It’s back! And sets sail on a promising new phase of the series, one that illuminates key plot points while keeping others shrouded in mystery. The baroque art is as gorgeous as ever.
Written by Tom King
Art by Gabriel Hernandez Walta * Colors by Jordie Bellaire
A very special series has come to its end, and thematically it was all about the sacrifices you make for the ones you love. The book had poignancy and heart. It was both a frightening and thought provoking examination of suburbia and the family unit. I do wonder why there were no repercussions from the previous issue (the Visions are home as if nothing happened) but that’s a small quibble for an otherwise stellar story. Which closes on a disturbing scene that brings us full circle.
Honorable Mentions: James Bond #10, Revival #43, Amazing Spider-Man #19-20, Spider-Woman #12, Black Widow #7, Astonishing Ant-Man #13, Seven to Eternity #2, Teen Titans #1, Red Hood and the Outlaws #3, Resident Alien: Man With No Name #2
Writer of the Month:
Tom King (Vision, Sheriff of Babylon, Batman)
Artists of the Month:
Gabriel Hernandez Walta & Jordie Bellaire (Vision)
To November
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Head Writer, wide awake nightmare... bids you salutations citizens of Earth!
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