March 25th, 2022
Caroline's Picks:
Ghost Cage #1 - The first issue of a 3 issue story does not take long to bring the action. We open on what can only be perceived as a wild scientist gone mad, creating a bomb with ‘his child’ inside to drop on the Earth to solve all its problems. Turns out this guy isn’t so crazy after all though. He’s the CEO of a wildly successful power company, the one that basically runs everything, his next mission is to clean up all the mistakes in the way and he’s sent his ‘son’ Sam to do it. And what is a mission without the tech savvy sidekick in the chair, this time though they’ve gone mobile, Doyle’s got a gun. Doyle’s job is to run diagnostics on Sam while he cleans up the messes and to keep him in check so he doesn’t over do it; basically Doyle’s job is to take care of Sam, babysit him if you will. Easier said than done when that little robot is up against goliath monsters made out of pure energy.
We Have Demons #1 - The introduction page to this story does a perfect job setting the tone. Definitely dark, a heavy story ahead but with just enough humor thrown in that you aren't going to realize exactly how dark this book is going to go. If you've been reading What's the Furthest Place from Here then the few page chapters in this will feel very familiar. I personally think it helps to make the book flow fast without causing too many random jumps in the story or pacing. Snyder wastes no time in filling the issues with some 'secret history' of the world and then jumps right into the fall. Which, surprising absolutely no one, begins in Florida. The story follow young Lam as she grows and begins to unravel her fathers secrets, but things drastically change after his untimely death and Lam finds herself deeper in his mysteries than ever before.
Demon Days Blood Feud #1 - The finale issue of Peach Momoko’s debut as an MCU writer brings the story to a nice, concise end while also leaving the ending open enough for her to give us a sequel. Peach really shines when given a chance to go full out on interiors, her backgrounds and settings are absolutely beautiful and we sadly hardly ever get to see them on her covers. Mariko is finally going to come face to face with her sister. After fighting the Yokai version of the Hulk, and getting slightly wrecked, with a little help from the friends she’s made along the way he’s quickly finished off and we can get to the drama. The girls are finally going to face each other, finally dealing with the trauma and tension that stemmed from the death of their mother and how they got so far apart in life. But this may not be the happy reunion you’re looking for. Family has always been a word open to interpretation, and this series really highlights the importance of the relationships you make along the way in life.
Cities of Magick #1 - One hundred and fifty years ago the world went dark, humanity had to learn to live without power and electricity after the Nexus happened. Then one day a magikal power source was discovered, essentially replacing the needs for electricity all together. People are able to wield it for many purposes, both social and personal. But as always when magick is involved things get a little… wonky. And as humanity began to weidl magick it became imbued into the Earth itself, changing all living things that reside upon it. In a wild turn of events the Rothschild family have become magick wielders, and their current goals are to take over Old York, and all the other major cities and make them fall under the leadership of the Chi-town conglomerate. But do you think the citizens of Old York will be defeated so easily?
Diarra's Picks:
Rogues #1 - Black Label has really been killing these “where are they now” tales featuring more mature versions of our favorite characters. In Catwoman: Lonely City, we meet a salt and pepper Selina Kyle teaming up with her old friends, but while in her story they are working together to take down a big bad, here in Rogues it’s just a good old fashioned heist! Captain Cold has resigned himself to the boring life of an ex-con, content with douchey P.O. check-ins and a soul sucking 9-5, but he knew he’d never be happy with this life. So after a particularly rough day, he decides to gather his old crew up for one last big score, some are more reluctant than others, but in the end, they are all in! On the way to collect their final member, Captain Cold makes it clear he isn’t pulling any punches and the gang knows they are past the point of no return.
Ghost Cage #1 - Doyle just got the promotion she’s been dreaming of, well she doesn’t exactly know what she’ll be doing, but when the building undergoes emergency evacuation and she is sent to meet the founder and CEO, she knows it’s big. That’s when things get all eco sci-fi crazy. The company, Ohm Tower, provides everyone power, from coal to nuclear, and as we know energy use can give off certain emissions. While we have global climate change, they get giant elemental monsters that need slaying. Maybe this is some sort of metaphor for our climate’s current state or maybe it’s just a silly good time, but either way, they have a way better system in place to combat their issue. Sam is an AI built to destroy these eco monsters and that’s where Doyle’s area of expertise comes in! Now she has to tag along as Sam gets in some pretty insane battles, but Doyle was picked for a reason.
Wolverine: Patch #1 - Logan needs to get off the grid, so he grabs his favorite eye patch and white sports coat and just like that, Patch is back! This time he is in Madripoor, where he co-owns The Princess Bar with Tyger Tiger. Tyger may not know exactly who Logan is, but Patch is known to fix a problem or two, so when The Prince comes to her with a deal, she knows Patch can help. Something suspicious is going on in the mountains and The Prince is willing to pay handsomely for some intel (plus it’s never a bad thing having a prince owe you one!). Before Patch even lands, a run in with Nick Fury lets him know he isn’t the only person investigating these mountains and Fury warns him to stay out of SHIELD’s way. But Patch doesn’t play by SHIELD’s rules…heck, Wolverine barely does! Patch crash lands only to be met with enhanced mutants, he tries to explain he isn’t there for them but they keep going on and on about “a reward”. Looks like a lot of pieces are in play in the mountains of Madripoor, and Patch has only found the tip of the iceberg.
Stone's Picks:
Godzilla VS. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1 - Oh no, there goes Angel Grove, Go Go Godzilla! Shoutout Blue Oyster Cult. Why is it that Power Rangers crossovers are always so good? Probably because of how well the things chosen to crossover fit together. An excellent example being this comic where the Dragonzord has to survive a fight with the King of the Monsters. Never really contemplated this duel happening, but it worked so well. Especially after having the realization that the Dragonzord and Mechagodzilla are more or less the same thing. Next issue there’s going to be even more zord and kaiju conflict with the arrival of the other rangers. Grab the crossover you never realized you wanted!
Venom: Lethal Protector #1 - The character of Venom/Eddie Brock has changed quite a lot over the past couple years. Donny Cates took them to new heights never thought possible for the Lethal Protector. Everything now is cosmic this and cosmic that, so why not return to the roots of the character with some 90’s-esque symbiote street level protection? Something that reminds readers that Venom would eat his assailants. When he wasn’t trying to kill Spider-Man he was dealing with the local low tier villainy. I imagine it will be confusing that this comic has the same name as the 1993 series but seemingly no connection as of now.
DC Rouges #1 - From the plot to the art, and all the examinations of life as an ex-con in between, this book delivered on all fronts. I’m pretty sure I’ve said it before but if not do yourself a favor and start reading the Black Label books DC puts out. They are consistently some of the best stories that the medium is offering right now. Fallowing the same formula as Catwoman: Lonely City, we get aged versions of Flash's supervillain coterie being led by Capt. Cold for a final heist that will have them laughing at the world instead of the other way around. This might be the best comic out this week!