December 15th, 2021

Caroline's Picks:

BatGirls #1 - The girls are back, I have been eagerly awaiting Becky Cloonan's take on the ladies of the bat family! This time they're roommates (bunk beds included), after their clocktower home was destroyed they are forced to find some new digs to keep away from the watchful eye of the seer for the time being. Babs is busy being mom and getting them all set up and safe, low-tech for the girls and a secret network setup for her. Being themselves Steph and Cass can only stay away from trouble for so long. After all, crime fighting is their job and they can’t just turn their back on those in need. Even if those in need turn out to be stuck in a weirdly zombie-like state for hours on end. Back home for the night and the neighbor is doing some… sketchy things, time to check it out! Good things they’re off grid and unable to be noticed, right?
  
Hecate’s Will #1 - An artist is ready to make her final work, Hecate will be leaving this city world soon, if the opening letter is anything to go by. She created a puzzle to be posted a piece a day, something bloody and viscous to leave a real mark on the world ‘when she’s gone’. But before all that can be finished (and with her first work plastered) she’s been volun-told that she’s going to help her friend, Mateo, out as a costume designer for his play. After meeting almost all the crew they head out for the day, and bump into Naomi, a woman who Hecate has absolute disdain for and it seems to be heartily reciprocated. It seems this meeting has been bad enough to warrant Hecate considering leaving the city and heading home, becoming Rebecca once again a girl who ‘fits in’. Now all she has to do is kill Hecate…
  
Regarding the Matter of Oswald’s Body #2 - If no one is going to notice that you switched a man's body to fake his death first you need a body for no one to notice. And so our team is tasked with finding said body, close to the same height, weight, race, etc. of Lee Harvey Oswald and where better to stake out than a shoddy bar with plenty of losers to go around. Of course Frank is nowhere to be seen during all this ‘action’. Luckily for the team a ripe loser has just fallen out of the bar for picking, now to get some intel on the man after all a little light stalking never hurt anyone, right? Just in case Frank thinks that they better find a backup body. Guess it’s time to plan a kidnapping then, isn't it?
  
Primordial #4 - I think I rave about the art in this series every week it comes out but it is so highly deserved. Andrea Sorrentino’s work is once again front and center in this book, helping to give shape to the indescribable place that the animals have found themselves in and the constantly changing settings they pass through. We join back up with them as they make their way through time and space to a capsule built just for them, it's time for ‘home now’ as Lakia says. With any luck Yelena and the Doctor will be able to get a message out to Lakia and the others, but a dangerous meteor shower threatens everything. The animals are able to save themselves but are lost to the vastness of space and time once again.
  

Diarra's Picks:

Demon Days: Rising Storm - This week we get another edition of Peach Momoko’s Demon Days! This mix of Japanese folklore and X-Men has hit every issue. Between the unique tale of these well loved characters and Peach’s amazing use of water color, this is an amazing series. This issue introduces Thor and Storm. They fit perfectly into the Japanese lore as Raijin (Thunder God) and Fujin (Wind God). They are trying to convince Mariko they are allies, but after being tricked by Mystique last issue, she isn’t so easily trusting. After a mix of thunder, wind, and martial arts, Mariko’s memories return and she knows she must meet with her forgotten sister, Ogin. Ogin is still angry over what she believes she witnessed as a child and now wants Mariko’s head. With a Hulk introduced at the end of the story, the next issue should be a smash! Oh, and we have the director’s cut of the first Demon Days on the shelf, full of Momoko’s pre-watercolor line work. It’s a fun look at the process of one of our favorite illustrators!
  
Batgirls #1 - If you’ve been keeping up with Gotham drama, you know The Magistrate has turned it into a complete police state. They’ve even been able to turn the city against our Bat Fam (and any masked hero) with doctored videos. So in the meantime everyone is laying low. Barbara Gordon, the most season Batgirl, found a place in the city for her, Cassandra Cain, and Stephanie Brown. Babs has made it clear to the girls they need to keep a low profile, that means no fights and no masks. It doesn’t take long for them to break that rule. Barbara just wants to get Oracle up and running, but Cassandra and Stephanie want to help the citizens of Gotham. After a stern talking to from Babs, that goes in one ear and out the other, the girls still head out in costume. Turns out it was a trap, and The Magistrate has been watching them the entire time! I’m on the edge of my seat waiting to see how they get out of this one.
  
Batman: The Imposter #3 - The final issue of an intense three parter! If you’ve been keeping up, you know there is a Batman copy cat roaming the streets of Gotham. And we aren’t talking about amateurs in hockey masks, this Bat is straight up murdering. Now the Gotham PD and citizens think the vigilante they have been coexisting with has lost his code, and they can’t let his work outside of the law stand. Bruce is desperately trying to find the imposter and clear his name, but someone on the force is onto him. Of course, the first detective to suspect Bruce Wayne is Batman is a hot orphan. While their romance blossoms, they never quite stop investigating each other. Speaking of people who know Bruces’s identity, his therapist is demanding he visit her once a day or she is going to the police! Bruce has a crap ton on his plate, but will he catch the imposter before it’s too late? Will his GCPD GF figure it out? Will his shrink get him thrown in the clink? This issue wraps everything up, and we have plenty of copies of 1 & 2 if you need to catch up!
  

Stone's Picks:

Hulk #2 - MORE POWER IS REQUIRED! After leaving through the portal to another dimension, Bruce might be torn from his path by an unknown force. The only solution is to increase the power being put out by the Hulk within the engine room. That means the Hulk has to get angrier. What better way to make him mad then throw a bunch of monsters at him? If that doesn’t seem like enough, maybe a giant-sized Wolverine can create the surge of energy that is required. The craziness from issue one doesn’t stop and shows no signs of decreasing. Donny Cates is determined to make this one of the craziest Hulk stories ever!
  
The Rush #2 - Mrs. Bridger’s journey to find her son ended with the news she dreaded to hear. She won’t believe what the locals tell her and she braves through this eerie land continuing her search for her boy. This book is just crazy. Half spider, half man creatures wearing bowler hats is one part of that craziness. The other being the miners cutting themselves open in order to find the gold they seek. Mrs. Bridger is turning into a little sharpshooter proving she’s not messing around when it comes to her son. One poor fool brought a knife to a gunfight and paid for it with his ear.
  
Wastelanders: Wolverine #1 - I have limited knowledge of this universe but that didn’t stop this comic from being awesome. From the beginning it lets you know why we are where we are and wastes no time in throwing you into some savagery. The fact that there is a group of cannibals that go around dressed like Ghost Rider is just the best cause I’m starved for any ghost rider content. Even these fake wanna-be bums were a sight for sore eyes. This Wild West Logan just works so well. If this had been my first dive into this alternate universe this for sure would have me craving more, but it wasn’t my first time. Nevertheless, I feel as though this comic delivers that same feeling - backed!