January 19th, 2021

Caroline's Picks:

She-Hulk #1 - This new series is a great place to start if you aren’t familiar with the character of She-Hulk or just want to get to know Jennifer a little better before her show drops on Disney+. Jens has been a little down on her luck lately, as of right now she's no longer an avenger, a member of the Fantastic Four or a lawyer. And wouldn’t you know it she’s going to be late to her first day of work because an ‘old friend’ decided to pick a fight with her. The fight with Titania serves to give us a general ‘what I've been up to’ hero speech throughout by Jen which really helps to catch the reader up to speed on her character. And after working things out the ladies even decide to start their own super fight club to blow off steam outside of their private and professional lives. Now Jen’s got to race to work before she makes a terrible impression on the new boss.
  
Cursed Pirate Girl The Devil’s Cave #1 - This book is such a unique experience, from the art style to the paper choice and lettering on the page, every detail is so intentional and throughout. This issue opens in an art gallery, every page its own stunning work of art, with a well dressed fish-man art critic here to guide us along. I find myself enjoying his quips and one liners about the art as his jaunt in the gallery goes on, but eventually it is story time. This time around the young pirate girl must go on an adventure to save her father, she's the only one who can help him! But this adventure isn’t what she seems and once she frees her ‘father’ things go from bad to worse as she’s forced to escape clams and a rather angry giant squid that wants to eat her for dinner. Every page is a twist and turn that is filled with both whimsy and danger, new monsters constantly popping up but she gets even more creative with her methods of escape and survival. This book is probably the most unique read I've seen in quite a while.
  
Silk #1 - A good amount of first issues this week for the ladies of Marvel and I am beyond excited to have Cindy Moon back in my life. This series picks up shortly after her last mini series ends, but once again we get a nice little recap of her past so you aren't going to be lost if you’re looking to pick this up to learn more about her character before her show on Amazon finally gets going. Back in action Silk is busy saving lives and being live streamed by strangers all at the same time, ahh modern technology this feels like something that would absolutely happen in today's world. Of course J Jonah Jameson is rather pissed that some influencer is getting more hits than him and he demands more Silk content immediately! How convenient that an innocent break in sprinkled with some hints of magic happens at the Met that night. Don’t worry though, Silk is on the case!
  
Regarding the Matter of Oswald’s Body #3 - The gang is starting to notice cracks in the plan: insanely different dental records and a different height between Oswald and the double are just the tip of the iceberg if you ask them. It seems like they’re all starting to crack just a bit and after the official news of JFKs death the team starts putting two and two together but Frank arrives just before they can fully make four. He’s got one more task for them and then they’re free, so he says, they’ve just got to be read and waiting at the police station tomorrow with the (dead) body double. Time for the typical last night together as a squad drinks as they prepare for their lives, and everyone else's, to drastically change tomorrow.
  

Diarra's Picks:

Bolero #1 - What would you do if you had the choice to leave your universe and jump into another? The only rules are: you can stay as long as you want but you are limited to 53 hops/realities, the universes are random (at least to you), and you can never return home. Well that’s that’s what Devyn Dagny chooses. You’d never guess she would the way the issue starts. She is madly in love with her partner, Natasha. They are high school sweethearts whose puppy love grows into an amazing life together, but with the flip of a page and the passing of time, all that changes. We don’t know why the two split, but Devyn definitely isn’t taking it well. After running into her ex at a mutual friend’s show, Devyn proceeds to make some questionable decisions that land her at the Anti-Door. She goes through, but will the grass be greener on the other side?
  
She-Hulk #1 - We’ve seen She-Hulk pop up in other stories, but it’s been sometime since she has had a title of her own. I’m beyond stoked to dive into this series, but Jennifer Walters isn’t doing too hot. When she is She-Hulk, she’s confident, witty, and a kicker of asses, but when she stops being green she is shy, awkward, and unemployed. Even her arches feel bad for her, but things might be turning around for ol’ Jen. She just landed a job under one of the best lawyers in New York, I mean it’s entry level and her office is basically a closet, but it’s a start. While she is getting on her feet, her super-friend, Janet Van Dyne aka Wasp, swoops in to save the day. Wasp has a pretty good handle on her work/hero life and is letting Jen stay at one of her extra apartments. Jen finally starts to cut herself some slack and look optimistically at her future, but that’s when an old friend comes crashing into the apartment. Another hero we haven’t seen in awhile, but since he is suppose to be dead, She-Hulk is just as shocked as us readers!
  
Batman: The Knight #1 - Everyone loves an origin story and here we see how angsty little Bruce became the Bat! Bruce is still going to Gotham academy, and poor Alfred is doing his best to raise him alone. As you can imagine, Bruce gets into some trouble while in school. He can’t quite sit by while bullies terrorize his peers, but some might say he takes things too far. To deal with his parents death and new found anger issues, he has been seeing a therapist…too bad it’s Hugo Strange! The sessions are going ok at first but Bruce begins to question his methods. That’s when he decides it’s time for him to focus his anger elsewhere. This story goes a little off cannon but I’m excited to see where it goes!
  

Stone's Picks:

Silk #1/LGY #32 - Cindy Moon is back to protect New York! When some kids chase clout by breaking into the Metropolitan museum, they unknowingly unleash an ancient witch and her minions from their imprisonment. I really like how Cindy is outta touch with most things that are happening in the world. Granted, she was locked away for 10 years but as fast as the times are changing nowadays it’s relatable to feel like you have no clue about what’s going on. Lucas has real frat boy energy and if this ever made it to live action I would want the guy who plays Kyler from Cobra Kai to play him. You look at this Lucas character and that actor from season 1 of Cobra Kai and tell me that doesn’t make for a perfect fit.
  
The Rush #3 - Deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole we venture. This comic never ceases to be both a cerebral stimulant as well as a crash course in speaking like you just stepped through time from the 19th century.
It’s simple in its premise of a mother searching for her child, but you will still find yourself contemplating what the hell is happening with every page turn. There was a fair bit of comedy in this issue in the form of Mrs. Bridgers conversing with Bill. A Native American who she believes to have this sacred connection to earth and can speak with great knowledge thanks to a rich oral history of his people. In reality, the man just read a book and the way he answers her with such a tired response is pretty hilarious. 
  
Batman: The Knight #1 - An all new backstory on how Bruce became the Dark Knight. Before dawning the cape and cowl, Bruce just wanted to be a cop. Not for justice mind you, but for vengeance. He wanted to be able to hurt those that cause other's torment. Thanks to the wise words of his friend/possible love interest, Bruce begins to think bigger. For as many different stories that come out touting how Batman became Batman, this one makes me question the most on how people who knew Bruce Wayne wouldn’t figure out that he was Batman. The kid is studying enough to have several different degrees in things that most people strive to accomplish while simultaneously finding the time to enter in illegal underground fight tournaments. His hands are mangled all the time and on one page he performs a gymnastics maneuver that would have you think he was part of the Flying Graysons. What isn’t clicking, people?