August 26th, 2020
J.R.'s Picks:
Batman Three Jokers #1 – After finishing Three Jokers, my biggest takeaway was that Jason Todd still sucks. Three different crimes take place across Gotham at the same time, each one have a clear cut eyewitness saying it was the Clown Prince of Crime. Batman, Batgirl and Red Hood are on the case with some hurdles (the biggest being Jason trying to shake a nonexistent interrogation out of a victim). With three Jokers running rampant the mystery goes deeper: have there always been three of them working in tandem or is this some new trick up the old clown’s sleeve? Some great scripting and perfect panel work make this one a must-have for sure.
Mega Man Fully Charged #1 – The Blue Bomber is here! Silicon City has been under attack from the Robot Masters, a group of terrorist robots who want to take back the city from the humans after a mysterious time called “the Hard Age” in the story. Dr. Light, Mega Man’s dad, goes into the desert to their base to parley with their leader, Skull Man. After the talks go exactly as anyone would have guessed with Skull Man about to off Light, Mega Man busts in to save the day! After a flashback forced on Mega Man by Skull Man sends him reeling, is Dr. Light to be trusted? Come for the nostalgia, stay for the awesome art job by Stefano Simeone.
X-Factor #2 – MOJO IS BACK, BABY! After a mysterious, bloody package is left on their door, X-Factor travels to the Mojoverse to investigate this mysterious death. It’s been a while since Xavier’s merry band of mutants has gone to the Mojoverse and it’s updated to fill the gap in time. The frequent advertisements throw up places where its inhabitants can stream bloodsports and there is a race to the top for the dimension’s streamers. Northstar and Daken are a comedy tour de force now and I’m so here for it. It’s a great satire of the current state of streaming along with a Mojoverse murder mystery so do yourself a favor and catch up while the series is just starting out.
Wynd #3 – Things get darker in this series than they ever have before and yet I’m still so excited for the next issue. Wynd and his sister Oakley travel in the pipes she knows all too well from her job in order to find the safe haven for weirdbloods in the city. After finding their path, they meet an enthusiastic doctor who’s experimenting with blood transfusions to try and help all those afflicted by wyld magics. Just as it seems Wynd has found a place to be himself, the Bandaged Man catches scent of the place and leads the royal guards down below. A series of dramatic twist and turns frequent the latter half of this one so pick it up to get into the story yourself!
Diarra's Picks:
Locke & Key: In Pale Battalions Go #1 - We have all read (or watched) the modern adventures in Keyhouse, but it’s been in the Locke family for centuries. Here we flashback to earlier inhabitants, some where between 1933 and 1945. We know this because the youngest son, Jonathan, is doing all he can to enlist in WWII. We all can sympathize with his urge to put two in a Nazi, but he is only 13. Besides it being illegal to enlist that young, his parents are completely against him fighting in the war. He is enraged by his families complacency. The keys they guard could aid the war efforts immensely, but Jonathan’s father refuses to get involved. Jonathan thinks it cowardice, but his father knows the true power of the keys and the terrible things that could happen if they fell in the wrong hands. Unfortunately Jonathan is a little shit, and uses the music box key (you play a song and the listener obeys) to gain access to the locked room where the keys are kept. After a quick age change, Jonathan is off the Belgium, where I’m sure things will go terribly!
Bomb Queen #1 - The year is 2024 and Trump is on his second term (let’s keep this a fictional tale, folks). He repealed the 22nd amendment and many people are concerned he’ll be president for life. One of these concerned citizens is superhero, White Knight, and he has a plan to push him out of office. White Knight knows Trumps demographic, and he thinks villain Bomb Queen is just the woman to beat him. Of course, Knight doesn’t think a villain should lead the country, but he plans on being her running mate. This is so once she is elected he can begin to call the shots, and eventually take her place as president. Knight knows if his other hero pals knew he was doing this they would be completely against it, but he is willing to do anything to get Trump out of office. Just the idea of a villain running for president is alarming some heroes so they decide to pay Bomb Queen a visit, and she doesn’t take well to uninvited guests. Knight thought Bomb Queen would be the lesser of two evils, but if she doesn’t go along with the plan things could be worse than ever.
Canto II: The Hollow Men #1 - Canto has returned home a hero after boldly facing the Shrouded Man that has haunted his village’s people. He was unable to get their hearts back that the Shrouded Man replaced with clocks, but at least he isn’t terrorizing their village. After Canto’s friend dies suddenly, the village doctor takes a closer look at everyone’s clocks. They have slowed and at this rate everyone in town will be lucky to survive two months. What’s stranger is Cantu’s clock/heart is the only one working normally. Cantu knows this must have to do with the magic he experienced fighting the Shrouded Man, and decides to head out once again to face him in order to save his people. This time he has friends to come along and fight by his side (they are going to die in a couple months anyway so why not). They head on their quest, but the Shrouded Man is expecting them.
Stones's Picks:
Mega Man Fully Charged #1 – The Blue Bomber is powered up and ready to save the day. When a robot revolution causes mass panic among humans, the famous Dr. Thomas Light is tasked with being the diplomat to negotiate with the robots. Can the robots be trusted to sustain from violence while peace is negotiated? That depends on if you think a psychotic looking robot named Skull Man, who prefers an iron-fisted approach, can be honored to uphold the terms of a parlay.
Daredevil Annual #1 – This was the first time I’ve read Chip Zdarsky’s Daredevil and I was not disappointed. The issue itself was a look into the life of Matt Murdock’s twin brother, Michael. Is he real, or a creation out of thin air? Only the fuzziest parts of Michael's memory contain the key to who he is. This was great seeing a different perspective into the past of Matt Murdock. If this is what I can expect from other issues of Zdarsky’s Daredevil, then I’m all for it.
Spawn #309 – Continuing my trend of jumping into stories I’ve not been following I decided to take a dive into the Spawn universe. A version of Spawn simply referred to as The Gunslinger has been ripped from the time continuum and is trying to adjust to life in modern times. Following the events of the previous issue, he is now on the verge of death as he seeks a replacement for the energy that his body is slowly being drained of. This leads him into a confrontation with a man named Cogliostro, with said meeting being less than cordial. This was entertaining and made me want to start reading more Spawn. Even though I just jumped on this crazy train I think I'll ride it out a little longer to see all the wonderful places it might take me!