July 20th, 2022
Caroline's Picks:
Dark Spaces Wildfire #1 - Nocterra is one of my favorite series to come out this past year, so as soon as I saw Scott Snyder was writing this book I immediately jumped on board. His writing never disappoints me, he constantly manages to write a captivating world while filling it with just as equally interesting characters and this book is no different. This series shines a well needed light on climate change and how it impacts fires and the first responders. It shows the real toll that is taken on both the people and the land as well as talking about how things got as bad as they did for the environment, all delivered in a beautiful and intriguing package that has left me wanting more already. The double F is a group of firefighters made up of convicted women serving out their sentences and making a little cash saving the world, and the candy cigarettes aren’t a bad deal either. The ladies have grown to bond and care for each other, sharing their goals for once they get out and how they’ll help each other. But once a criminal always a criminal right? How do you think these ladies would feel about one last score that guaranteed to be a success?
Blink #1 - I’m not gonna lie, this was one of those issues where I looked at the cover and the interior art and just bought it on a whim. Freelance journalist Wren has been working on a major case practically his entire life, him. He has gaps in his memory from his childhood, and while he tends to gloss over them with humor and sarcasm the nightmares have slowly been eating away at him. Then one day he finally gets a lead, just an inch and he’s back in the throws of the darkness of his childhood but he can’t stop looking, digging deeper to figure out just what exactly happened to him. He is an investigative reporter after all, it isn’t in him to give up when the story gets tough. But what he’s going to find might not be what he wants to know, the more he looks the worse it seems. And he doesn’t even realize the danger his digging is going to cause until it's right upon him. I’m absolutely hooked, if this was a tv show I would have immediately clicked onto the next episode.
Moon Knight Black, White & Blood #3 - Yet again this series makes its way into my top picks of the week. It has consistently been an enjoyable read each issue that breaks up the heaviness between all the indie comics I'm reading right now. Watching Jake Lockley casually take down some baddies dressed as heroes inside a cab was 10/10 entertainment, the casual switch between himself and his Moon Knight person for the reader but not the robbers was done so well, props to David Lopez. And watching Marc Spector take down an entire cult saving the world and his potential future successor in the process, that's a story I'd like to see them do live action. Last thing I’m gonna say is Space Moon Knight!!!! I love it.. Each of the little stories in this run have been phenomenal, showing different sides of all the Moon Knight personalities and way in which they interact with the world is a series I will happily keep reading until it ends.
Rogues Gallery #1 - I’m really liking this whole comic series depicting what it's like to work on movies/in the visual media side of comic companies. It feels very reflective of what's going on within the MCU, the DCEU, and other major franchises today similar to how public domain highlights the drama of who owns the rights to comic characters. Maisie Wade is Red Rogue, or at least the woman who portrays her on screen. And she just bought a signed copy of the first issue of the Red Rogue comic series. It seems the fans of the series aren’t too pleased with that, they say she’s ‘going to be the death of the series’. But that’s all just wild fan speculation right, not like a single actress could single handedly ruin an entire franchise, right? If she did, how do you think those fans would react then?
Diarra's Picks:
Dark Spaces: Wildfire #1 - Well, that was one hell of a first issue. While Morty Smith and I agree, “I’m not a huge fan, personally, of the whole, three weeks earlier teaser thing..”, but learning where this crew ends up just makes you want to know about the journey so much more! Ruby Ma Ning works at a woman’s correctional facility in California, and leads a team of convicts tasked with putting out fires for a sort of work release program. I think most Americans are familiar with the devastating wildfires that Californians have dealt with in the past. Reading this reminded me of Brian Fies’s memoir “A Fire Story” about his real experience losing his home to one of these fires. While one is fiction and the other is fact, both capture the unstoppable fury that is the wildfire! While dealing with the stress/physical exhaustion of that, one of the new crew members recognizes the location. They are close to her old business partners safe house…the same business partner that sold her out and landed her in jail. The convicts are down to pay this place a visit, but how will they convince Ruby? Turns out, she is done doing what is expected of her. Ladies only fire heist comic? Shut up, and take my money.
Rogues’ Gallery #1 - Four friends sit around a comic shop and express their opinions about a recent big screen adaptation of their favorite comic…sound familiar? They all grew up reading Red Rose comics, and still their opinions on the show range, I mean, you can’t please everyone! To add insult to injury the young starlet and onscreen portrayer of Red Rose, Maisie Wade, just won the signed #1 of Red Rose that is worth over $300,000 and the friends are pissed. They think, she doesn’t even read the books, how dare she own this awesome thing?! They decide it’s time to take matters in their own hands and plan to steal the book. Not everyone is on board, the youngest of the crew is 17 and doesn’t think Maisie sucks that bad. But after she suddenly breaks her Red Rogue contract subsequently canceling the show, the heist is back on! They show up looking like they are going to a con, but Maisie might be more like Red Rouge than these guys thought!
Do A Powerbomb #2 - I don’t know if it’s all the Dark Side Of The Ring I’ve been watching, but this issue hit different. Lona Steelrose is the daughter of legendary Steelrose, who died in the ring during a match, so at the end of the first issue when she is offer a chance to see her again, Lona jumps. The Necrotron is being from another planet exiled to our universe. He can’t physically walk earth but was still able to pick up our transmissions and now he is huge wrestling fan! He tells Lona if she agrees to compete in his “Tag Team DeathLyfe Tournament” the winner gets to bring a loved one back to life! Lona asks how he will predetermine the winners like in real wrestling, and he laughs at her funny joke. Now to make matters worse, she’ll have to team up with Cobrasun, the wrestler who killed her mother. Cobrasun never intended to hurt Steelrose, and guilt forces him to agree. But the real twist is at the end of this issue and under Cobrasun’s mask!!!
K's Picks:
Do A Powerbomb #2 - Of all the comics out right now, Powerbomb came tight rope flying in with the coolest and most detailed art this time around! Daniel Warren Johnson you absolute mad lad, killing the game with this downright metal concept! Last we left off our MC Lona Steelrose (coolest last name) witnessed the passing of her mother in a pro wrestling accident. This would already seem like too much if it wasn't for a certain pro wrestling-loving, wish granting, dark necromancer fittingly named Willard Necroton! Simply put, whoever wins is offered something by Necroton and the death-defying wizard is more than willing to bribe Lona with the offer of her mother's revival. With this tournament of power style concept, I can't help but wonder what th other competitors want out of this, and what's more, has Lona found a tag partner in Cobrasun?
Afterschool #2 - When I think horror I think some guy in a hockey mask, or an evil doll, not a stork. That's the impression I had pre-Afterschool but once I finishing it I was terrified of those giant death machines. Hats off to the Skybound team on this one. turning a simple folklore into a thing of nightmares. From lively and fleshed out settings and backgrounds to a cast of amazingly drawn expressions, there was a lot of realism to take in. Luckily, that realism was used as fuel for this engine of flying terror - something I really wasn't expecting. We follow Leah, a young girl dealing with the terrors of becoming a parent and a creeping deathly omen stalking her as time goes on. It's a premise with some really strong weight behind it and a more than hilarious origin, even without the crisis of a death bird trying to force you to have a baby!
Judgement Day #1 - With the recently released Doctor Strange sequel and the release of the Eternals ,there's not much confusion for this three way showdown of an event. With summer 2022 rolling in hot I'm not surprised to see an event of this scale and with so much hype behind it. I will note I really like a slow build up and Judgement Day had me at the edge of my seat wondering who's going to pull the trigger. With Tony Stark front line in the issue I was already expecting him to take the most wild action to lead things towards war. I don't want to give too much away - tensions are high at Krakoa and with the Eternals integrated in this timeline my thoughts shifted to what is going to come out of this. I can easily see there being a MCU adaptations and its probably going to be the most dense event we've ever seen!