January 6th, 2021
J.R.'s Picks:
Future State Wonder Woman #1 – WOW. Yara is now one of my favorite characters in DC canon and she just got here. Joelle Jones leads the way on what is a fantastic first issue. The story opens on Yara kicking butt against a hydra-like beast. Well, finding a little trouble since her Pegasus named Jerry seems to be grazing rather than flying her around the battle. She manages to slay the hydra with Jerry’s help eventual help. After wiping her blades clean she runs into Caipora. Yara tells her that her goal is to return to life her Amazonian sister so Caipora takes her to the entrance of the underworld which is…an airport terminal. Don’t miss this one, it’s a stand-out amongst the quality of this week.
Future State The Next Batman #1 – This is one thick book so you know you’re getting a heapin’ amount of story here. The first entry in this book follow’s Lucius Fox’s son Tim as he has taken up the Batman mantle. Gotham is a totally new monster though: the city has outlawed masks of any kind in an attempt to curb its history of masked vigilantism and crime. Guess what? It essentially does nothing except create TWO forces the GCPD has to tackle. Batman steers two young brothers but there’s a lot going on in town…like in the follow up stories! Katana has an upgraded toolkit at her disposal in the Outsiders story and a descendant of Arkham puts together a wild team in Arkham Knight. Lots of good story here!
Future State Swamp Thing #1 – This one takes place way, way, way after the other Future State series and is just as good. After roaming the wastes alone after the implosion of humankind, Swamp Thing made himself a whole Swamp Family. The particularly cool parts of this one come in the details: V manages to make the very inception of this new race of plant people fascinating by minutely describing the hardships Swampy faced creating these plant people. There is one hiccup though when one of their number is killed by something Swamp Thing hasn’t seen in a long time: a human! This one is going to big places so pick it up soon!
Eternals #1 – The only non-Future State book on my picks this week is a doozy of a book. We may not have the movie yet but we get a damn good comic. One of the Eternals, Ikaris, awakes after having died. As explained by the computer who revived him and our narrator, this is nothing new to them as Eternals exist in a never-ending cycle of rebirth to help protect humanity. What is new is that one of their number who skipped a few resurrections, Sprite, was revived and placed under Ikaris’s charge by the head honcho Eternal Zuras. Ikaris and Sprite explore the new world humans have created, meet Iron Man, do battle and uncover a murder mystery that might undo all the Eternals’ work. A helluva series by a helluva writer and artist combo- read it now and jump into a great new series.
Diarra's Picks:
The Last Witch #1 - Everyone in the village knows not to go past the hedges, and have heard tales of the witch in the woods. Young Saoirse and her friend, Padraig, are sure those are just stories to scare kids, and decide to make a wager. First one to bring back a stone from the abandoned tower in the woods is the winner. Unfortunately, before they can take off Saoirse’s father catches her and even grounds her for going so close to the woods. Padraig goes on, but Saoirse won’t lose that easily. When her father goes out to a festival in town, Saoirse sneaks off with her little brother in tow. Just before they are ready to call it quits, they find the tower, but Padraig is nowhere to be found. Maybe there is something to those old tales...
Crossover #3 - Things start to heat up the closer Ellie and company get to the dome. Despite the unknown dangers ahead, she knows this may be the only chance to see her family again. We also get some background on the home life of the scared young man who burned down their comic shop. By the time he sees Ellie next he’ll go from enemy to ally, but what can they do against giant squids and robots?! Good thing there are heroes who were able to escape the dome, and come to their aid. The characters, new and old, are awesome to see in this universe, and this series is quickly becoming a favorite.
Thor #11 - Donald Blake is back and he is not the man we knew. When Thor reclaimed his body we all, Thor included, thought he was in a happy place, but all he could do was reveal in all he lost...or rather what Thor took. Now he plans to lay waste to all Thor loves, and Asgard takes the first beating. Next he visits Jane Foster, but can he really hurt the woman he, too, loved? Those closest to Thor try to figure out a way to defeat Blake, but Lockjaw maybe the one to set things right.
Stone's Picks:
Death Metal #7 - The conclusion to the insanely wild, universe altering event is here! Wonder Woman is now at full power and confronts the Batman Who Laughs in the final showdown between good and evil. As the fight rages, The Hands, creators of the Multiverse, are approaching the site of this climactic battle with the intention to erase all existence. Wonder Woman is giving it her all but it might not be enough. Diana is stuck between a rock and a hard place as it seems no matter the option there can be no saving this existence. The Batman Who Laughs believes he is strong enough to defeat the Hands, and in doing so will have complete autonomy over everything. He offers Diana the choice to have her own paradise world where everything is back to normal if only she lets him complete his goal. The future of the DC universe lies with Wonder Woman’s decision - crazy!
Eternals #1 - All the Eternals have died, but are now reborn. The Eternal, Ikaris, awakens in a place called The Exclusion, a space sealed between six artificial molecules secreted beneath the South Pole. He is tasked by The Eternal, Zuras, to free the one called Sprite from the Exclusion. With Sprite in tow, the two head to Olympia where they find that one of the Eternals has been murdered. Devoid of answers, they travel to Titanos, the fallen capital of The Eternals, and are greeted by a madman who will make sure death is all they find.
Venom #32 - Eddie Brock is going through it. After having his symbiote ripped from his body, and flung from the top of the Empire State Building, Eddie Brock plummets to his demise. But while the Physical world keeps Brocks body, his mind has made its way into the symbiote hive. Inside, he finds a familiar face who enlightens Eddie about his current situation. The only hope Eddie has left is to find his symbiote inside the hive and reconnect with it. With a hive full of danger and no symbiote, Eddie thinks he's got to go it alone. However, even in this hostile place there are still some friendly Symbiotes, and they don’t all agree with Knull's agenda.