May 11th, 2022
Caroline's Picks:
Eight Billion Genies #1 - If you could wish for one thing, anything in the world, what would it be? What would happen if every single person on Earth was given the same opportunity to make their dream come true. After mingling with a few patrons at a local bar and meeting the rather prepared owner of the bar named Mr. Williams that's exactly what happens. Every single person gets 1 wish, not the usual 3, and the intention of the wish is reflected in how it is fulfilled, those are the only rules. Once the wish is fulfilled the genie vanishes and the wish becomes reality. Some people are able to decide within the first few seconds what they want, some the first few minutes. Mr. Williams is the type of person who uses his wish to immediately protect himself and everyone in the bar, what do you think everyone else wished for? What would you wish for?
Grim #1 - Jessica Harrow isn’t like other reapers, she’s a cool harbinger of death. Though she’s a bit on the rude side when it comes to guiding souls to the after life she's honest about it. A no BS kind of reaper who doesn’t bother with pleasantries or politeness, she's here to take you to the other side, do her job and be onto the next soul. She hasn’t spent much time trying to figure out why she has her job, or why she can’t remember her life. She is simply there to work and carry on just like the rest of the world. Turns out all it takes is one soul to spark a change in her, Bryan Michael Andrews. All it takes is one annoying soul to change Jessica's afterlife forever. First he asks too many questions, then he takes her scythe, but the real problem is when she’s seen by the living trying to bring him back.
Moon Knight Black, White & Blood #1 - The Black, White & Blood series from Marvel have been really well done lately and I have some pretty high expectations for this with there being plenty of pretty great writers lined up for the series. Plus I finally started the Moon Knight series and i’ll read anything with him in it at this point, more Moon Knight in my life please. I think the Spidey Moon Knight team up story is my favorite, the humor and sassiness between Spidey and Marc is so well done. I’d absolutely read an entire series of them working together to do ‘Egyptian stuff” as Spidey so elegantly puts it. And we get a little bit of helpful driving tips from Moon Knight in this issue too, just in case you ever spot a deer in the middle of the road.
Blood Syndicate Season One #1 - What do you think it would be like if you’d gone away for a few years and when you get home suddenly superheroes are real, they're black, and they’re powerful. You’re back home from one war and another has just begun. The bang babies are out in full force and Icon and Rocket have essentially wiped out any and all drug trade in the area. Using a new character who wasn’t around for the first series of the Milestone renewal is a great way to catch up the reader on the events of the series they might have missed out on. We get an impactful and concise review of just how much the world has changed in a short amount of time. Rolando is about to get a first hand look at just how heavy Holocaust's presence has become, and how far he’s willing to go.
Diarra's Picks:
The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country #2 - Tynion and his team really turn up the creepy this issue. The literal thing of nightmares, The Corinthian, confronts the woman who has made a living painting pictures of “The Smiling Man”. Her name is Madison Flynn, but The Corinthian doesn’t remember ever visiting her in a dream, and that’s because he hasn’t. She only sees this creature when she is awake, and she tells The Corinthian she isn’t the only one. Apparently she is apart of some weird trauma group where people share their sightings. Before The Corinthian can get more answers he is summoned back to The Dreaming realm by fellow aberration, Lucien. You see, he is breaking a lot of rules speaking to a human, heck, just being in the mortal realm! Lucien runs a nonsensical library in The Dreaming, and helps The Corinthian find his answers there, but they only make things more complicated. Turns out, people who have seen the Smiling Man are turning up horrifically murdered, and Madison might be next!
Eight Billion Genies #1 - If you had one wish, what would it be? Well that’s the question everyone on Earth is now faced with after everyone is assigned a genie! As you can imagine, chaos ensues. A clever bar owner uses his wish to guarantee his bar and anyone inside can not be effected by other’s wishes, but as you can imagine not everyone thinks too hard about their wish. Within minutes the streets are flooded with dinosaurs, flying cars, and gold coins runneth over from the bed of monster trucks. The next issue will showcase what happens the first eight hours after the genies appear, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!
Frank Frazetta’s: Death Dealer #1 - The late Frank Frazetta is know as “The Godfather of fantasy art” so there is no wonder the creators were inspired by his painting Death Dealer! Someone is leaving a trail of blood and despair in their wake while hunting the Death Dealer. You’d think that would be his job, but after the Death Dealer saves a mother and her infant from a pack of wolves, you realize he has more of a moral compass. This moral compass isn’t shared by whatever evil gives him his power, you can tell by the things it tells him telepathically. DD ignores that though, and invites the mother and her child to stay with him. The mother…thanks him and it looks like he might be starting a little family, but remember that psycho hunting DD? Well, he kidnaps the MILF and her baby while DD is out hunting gator meat! This is obviously a trap to lure him into the open, but our guy eats death for breakfast! If you are a fantasy fan, you should definitely pick this up, and I hear the Frazetta Girls have more in store for us!