May 25th, 2022
Caroline's Picks:
Fox and Hare #1 - This futuristic sci-fi series hits all the right notes for me with its opening issue, gorgeous art, a fast pace and just enough information shared to keep me wanting the next issue right away. Keza and Kita are the Fox and the Hare, two high tech mercenaries and best friends who are fighting for the greater good of the world they know. Twenty five years ago their parents went missing, along with dozens of other people in their cities, never to be seen alive again. Now, years later, they’ve teamed up with others in the city to begin a rebellion against Synastry designs and the government. Children are still going missing, the old factories seem to be the gathering grounds for the trades and Fox and Hare are determined to show up and save the kids before anything bad can happen to them. But the government is starting to take notice of their activities and they've got their own mercenaries ready to strike, especially after a hacker who the biggest threat to their organization seems to be working with Fox and Hare threatening everything Synastry has built up to this point.
Pearl II #1 - The Ghost Dragon of San Francisco is here and she’s making the city hers, leaving a trail of destruction in her wake. She’s going to reform the Yakuza how she sees fit and anyone who wants to stop her or get in her way will quickly learn that was the wrong decision. Unfortunately for two special agents they’ve not got the task of investigating her and exposing what’s going on. I wonder how well that can go when one of them is actually working for the Dragon? The most recent mark was a porn shop, one giving the Yakuza a bad name, so she burned it to the ground. When one of the twins who ran the palace comes to negotiate the terms of their agreement all she has to do is flash her power and he’s begging her to let him keep working together. How long do you think threats and fire can keep someone in power? Turns out not nearly as long as Pearl thought.
Blood Stained Teeth #2 - Atticus Sloane has a new mission in life, before it was turning as many people into vampires (Sips, technically) as were willing to pay, now he has to find each and every single one that he has turned and kill them or finally face death himself. He turned some nasty people into vampires and hunting them all down is going to be a struggle so he’s starting with the big fish first. A Sip who’s practically famous for boxing, but anyone who knows anything about vampires knows the spawn is always weaker than the one who turned him. And while he gets this ever undead shit kicked out of him he’s concocting a plan the entire time. One down and thousands to go its back to the long and open road for Atticus. Unfortunately for him he isn’t the only one hunting down Vampires these days.
Amazing Spider-Man #2 - Still reeling from whatever happened 6 months ago Peter is down on his luck, without friends or family willing to trust him. He’s also flat broke. But a surprise visit from dear old Norman and a job offer has Pete’s focus set elsewhere for now. Not villains making secret weapon trades, or bad guys hellbent on getting revenge, or even MJ and her kids. No, Pete is now on official babysitting duty for Norman and this is quite possibly going to be the toughest task he's had. And after a full day with the Osborn kids he still has Spider-Man duties to catch up on, Tombstone is plotting to kill him after all. The ‘fight’ between Spidey and Tombstone's lackeys is perfectly in tone with the classic sassy Spider-Man we all know and love. After a quick takedown he’s off to fix the problem he’s inevitably created, but there’s no way he’d be given bad information. Right?
Diarra's Picks:
Unnatural: Blue Blood #1 - Wow, between a new Fables arc dropping last week and now this Unnatural series, this has been a good month for furies and indie comic lovers. Unnatural takes place in a world where anthropomorphic creatures are the dominant species. Like other series with this theme (i.e. the manga Beaststars), people tend to stick with their own species, but here it’s mandatory! When citizens reach the age 25, the government pairs them with a suitable mate. Leslie is a pig person and our main character, but when she starts getting weird dreams about banging a wolf dude as her 25th B-Day approaches, she recruits some help. Shenanigans ensue, but in the end, the matter is resolved and the series ends. That’s why this is so awesome! Here we are, years later and Leslie and Wolf man of her dreams are officially dating and raising his little sister together. Besides the headaches that come with raising a teenager, life is pretty normal, that is until the dreams begins again. Will our precocious pig save the world again?
Fox and Hare #1 - After their homes were destroyed, Kita and Lah were two orphans that found each other in the chaos. That was 25 years ago, now they go by Fox and Hare, a futuristic crime fighting duo! Their most recent mission has them investigating a lab they believe is involved in kidnapping children. By now these two are pros at breaking and entering, so when the alarm goes off they know there is another intruder. It’s a teenage girl who, like Fox and Hare, knew there was something fishy going on here and was attempting to break into their secure files. They manage to free the children, but now they have to figure out what to do with this little Doogie Hacker!
Batman: Beyond The White Knight #3 - The White Knight universe keeps bringing the elseworld hits! If you haven’t read White Knight, essentially Joker becomes sane and turns the city of Gotham against Batman. Then there was an Azrael arc and Bruce Wayne is sent to prison at which point Harley decides to be Gotham’s new caped crusader. This new chapter is a ‘Beyond’ story and Derek Powers has Terry McGinnis doing his dirty work. As soon as Bruce finds out someone stole a suit and is pretending to be Batman, he breaks out of prison to get answers. What he doesn’t know is that Powers recently told Terry that Bruce was responsible for his father’s death. That’s a total lie, but Terry won’t listen to Bruce when he tries to defend himself. Bruce is way out of his prime and his Robins have all left the nest. Luckily, one hasn’t forgotten home, and sent a little birdie to help Bruce get the answers he needs!
K's Picks:
Batman Fortress #1 - I absolutely loved this issue! I was pleasantly surprised by the pacing, writing, and character interactions, all-around. Gotham has lost all power and electricity around town allowing crime to skyrocket. With Joker playing school bus driver and penguin running wild, it's become a insane night in Gotham. With Superman MIA and the looming threat that this was caused by something otherworldly, it's up to the Dark Knight to save Gotham once again. Hats off to Darrick Robertson and Diego Rodriguez for art and colors. They fit the gritty realistic expression on a entirely different level. Also, Gordon probably stole the issue, really adding a lot of personality to this dark Purge-esque Gotham city!