Rob's Picks:

Hellverine #1

Last year's Weapons of Vengeance was a crossover event that actually lived up to the hype. Marvel heard the fans and longtime Wolverine and Ghost Rider writer Benjamin Percy is back, bringing in artist Julius Ohta for this worthy follow-up. In the Weapons crossover, Orchis attempted to turn Logan into a demon-possessed assassin, and briefly succeeded in creating the Hellverine. Logan and Johnny Blaze thwarted this plot, but the Weapons Plus program continued probing the infernal realms for potential weapons. While Wolverine was wrapping up the Sabretooth War, a new spirit of vengeance was unleashed, one with three claws on each hand and a flaming metal skull. When a team of hellfire-powered soldiers goes rogue, Orchis and Logan become unlikely partners in the search for the new Hellverine. If you read Weapons of Vengeance, you won’t have to be sold on this book. To everyone else: if you like stories with grit, gore, action, and other generally badass stuff, take a look at this first issue, and pick up the Weapons of Vengeance trade paperback while you’re at it, neither will disappoint.

Grommets #1

Rick Remender (The Sacrificers) and Brian Posehn (Deadpool) team up to co-write this nostalgic coming-of-age book. It’s the mid-eighties in Sacramento, CA and Rick is the new kid in school, awkwardly navigating his new social milieu. His obsessions with comics and skateboards get him through the days until he meets Brian the metalhead misfit. The sensibilities of Remender and Posehn pair well, the book is sincere, humorous, grounded, and very relatable. Artist Brett Parson and colorist Moreno DiNisio match this energy with a style that presents a real time and place only slightly heightened, putting readers into the vibe of the times without beating them over the head with clichéd signifiers common to nostalgia pieces. Check this out for an honest but funny story of teenage friendship in the vein of Superbad.

The Creature From the Black Lagoon Lives #2

Kate Marsden nearly met her end at the hands of Darwin Collier, the serial killer she pursued to the jungles of South America. Saved from drowning by a strange creature, she refuses to trust the memories of her oxygen-deprived brain. She only believes in human monsters, but to continue her pursuit of Collier, she will have to work with Dr. Edwin Thompson, a man with an Ahab-like obsession for capturing the Creature. Each hoping to use the other to achieve their ends, they journey into the wild swamp. Ram V and Dan Watters have made a tight pulp story that runs at a fast but never rushed clip. The foregrounded human story works in its own right, with the threat of the creature lurking below the surface, occasionally bursting forth to break the tension with some good old-fashioned creature feature horror.

Solomon's Picks:

Edge Of Spider-Verse #4

The final issue of Edge Of Spider-Verse arrived this week! It featured two exciting stories, with my favorite being the first one featuring Spider-Woman of Earth-332 (Across The Spider-Verse). I was very fond of the art style and designs within that book, especially since most of the story shows Jessica Drew and this universe's Clint Barton going toe-to-toe on the roofs of New York, Jess using the fight as a chance to demonstrate her new skills with her motorcycle and Clint being a bitter and jealous ex. The book was a very fun read, and was actually one of my favorites from this current ‘Edge of Spider-Verse’ run. If you’ve been wanting to see more of this version of Jessica Drew, or if you’ve been following this wild run, make sure you grab the final issue today!

Hellverine #1

An epic debut issue by Benjamin Percy, Julius Ohta, and Frank D’Armata, Hellverine is back in this new series, dedicated entirely to him! If you enjoyed last year's Ghost Rider/Wolverine: Weapons of Vengeance event, then you will DEFINITELY enjoy this book, which does a fantastic job at matching the energy, tone, and continuing the storyline of that book. Bagra-Ghul (Hellverine) has been hunting sinners, and this first issue showcases all of that! From greedy capitalists to cannibalistic cults, we see the demon take a stab at all he deems corrupt, with some gruesome illustrations to help get the point across! This series definitely promises to be an epic one, as Wolverine and Ghost Rider have already caught wind of the new Spirit of Vengeance! Come read it now!

Grommets #1

A gnarly slice of life by Rick Remender, Brian Posehn, Brett Parson, and Moreno Dinisio is Grommets! This delightful story takes place in the ‘Golden Years’ of skateboarding and sees a young boy, Rick, who is the new kid on the block desperately trying to make friends. His desperation leads him to a skate park, where he is accompanied by another boy, Brian, who doesn’t appear to be the most popular. The art is gorgeous, the humor is authentic and genuinely funny. You’ll definitely have your eyes glued to the pages, especially once the characters arrive at the skatepark where the book really picks up! I recommend this book for everyone looking for a fun new read!