November 16th, 2022
Caroline's Picks:
Door to Door Night by Night #1 - Turns out those door-to-door salesmen we all ignore actually make some money, and have their own interesting lives as well. Fred and his crew are a bunch of misfits and nobodies who’ve come together to make a dysfunctional, functional work family. They spend the day going door to door to raise money for local fire departments and after work cut a little loose at the town pub. Frank isn’t a stranger to picking up strays, it's how he comes by most of his team these days picking up hitchhikers and convincing them to lead a good and simple life. Maxine is happy to take him up on that offer, she’s looking to get out of town and go as far as Fred is willing to take her, no destination in mind. So she starts working with them, learning the tricks of the trade and spending her night having fun with the gang. But when she notices a few too many missing children flyers hanging up Maxine can’t help but get a little flighty, but she has plenty of good reason to. A good enough reason that the rest of the team won’t be sleeping too comfortably at night anymore.
I Hate Fairyland #1 - Skottie Young has finally decided to revisit his incredibly popular series ‘I Hate Fairyland’ after 4 years and I am so excited to be back in his messed up world. If you haven’t already read the first I Hate Fairyland series there are only 4 volumes in the first series, a light holiday weekend read after Thanksgiving dinner. But if that’s not your jam then no worries, Skottie was nice enough to include a little recap in the first few pages to catch any new readers up t speed. Last we saw her conscious she was working some entry level assistant job at a generic corporation of her world. So now that she home no more happy tree friends-esque violence, right? Wrong. After 30 years of living inside Fairyland Gert hasn’t really learned how to talk to parole or handle the general public. Violence is one thing that comes easily to her, service with a smile does not. But she's about to get a job offer that’s right up her alley, and who is she to refuse? Personally I think Skottie Young is at his best when he’s given free reign to write whatever comes to his mind, his indie comics are easily some of the most entertaining out there.
Kroma #1 - This issue immediately flashed me back to reading The Giver in high school, which was one of my favorite books and still is (we don’t talk about the movie). The last remaining tribe of humanity is under attack by the King of Colors whose minions have the ability to sense color and attack. To protect what remains of humanity they have secluded themselves in a colorless city stronghold, the last place on the planet the King hasn’t touched and seemingly run a religious organization/ secret keeping leadership who rules with fear. In this world once every ten moons the citizens hatch an egg containing a monster that belongs to the King of Colors as a reminder to both themselves and him of who humanity used to be, the hunters they were and can still be. And so they hunt the monster down, yet none dare to look it in the eyes. Until today. Until Zet. He sees who the monster really is and that’s going to change him and this world, forever.
Rogue State #1 - Set in a world post political turmoil; a contested political election, the Supreme Court giving Constitutional 2nd amendment rights to any and all Militia groups in the US. Basically any rando with a gun and a few friends is a deputy of the law, but the actual law enforcement wants nothing to do with them. Law Enforcement officers are more happy to look the other way at whatever happens as long as they don’t have to clean up their messes. Pretty much everyone in the country is living in a state of fear or disarray, hoping to just make it to the next day let alone have time to worry about what is happening to the country. Enter our Dust Girl, she used to be an architect before the fall of society. Now she spends her days tagging buildings and leaving her mark of rebellion wherever she can. Really she’s just decided to become a general nuisance to Law Enforcement and the militia groups. But they aren’t the only ones to take notice of her.
Diarra's Picks:
She-Hulk #8 - This series has been so rad since issue one, and with the first trade paper back on shelves there is no reason not to catch up! In the first issue we meet a down on her luck Jennifer Walters as she tries to adjust to life as a benched Avenger, but things are starting to look up. She lands a job at a law firm that’s made it clear they don’t want any superhero shenanigans, but her boss changes her tune when Nightcrawler comes by to hire Jenn as the primary lawyer for Krakoa/X-Men! Not only is her career taking off, she has a new beaux and it’s none other than the formally off world, Jack of Hearts. With Jenn’s radiation based powers and Jack’s radiation absorbing powers, the two have had trouble in the past, but Jack’s powers have mysteriously disappeared. They both want to get to the bottom of this, but in the meantime they are taking advantage of this time together, but this issue isn’t about them…well they just don’t know it yet. The issue begins with scientist couple, Mark and April Booth, who are working hard in their lab to create something that will better mankind. They see kids getting bit by radioactive spiders or scientist accidentally blasting themselves with gamma rays and they can’t stand seeing these amazing powers falling on people who don’t even want them. They believe with powers of their own they could do real good, and after stealing blood samples from Stark Labs they decide She-Hulk’s ability would be the best to recreate. Unfortunately, the serum they inject in themselves doesn’t go so well and they believe the only way to fix things is to drain She-Hulk’s gamma radiation for themselves. Like I mentioned earlier, Jack of Hearts if the only one whose ever been able to drain Jenn’s radiation, and all the random events happening to Jenn the last couple issue are seeming more like trap. Things are heating up, read this book!!!
Kroma #1 - This issue does an awesome job transporting you to this fantasy world and you quickly understand how Pale City became the place it is today. Think a Quiet Place but instead of sounds, it’s color that attracts the people eating monsters, and everything within the walls of Pale City is monotone. This strict structure, kept by an over bearing government that leads with an iron fist, uses violence and selective breeding to keep order. Those in charge use fear tactics to keep everyone in, but a chance encounter with the leader of the their ‘youth militia’ and an outsider they hold in captivity have him questioning everything he knows. The young man goes to visit the creature and realizes it’s just a young girl they dress as a monster! After several nights of sneaking out to see her, he knows the right thing to do is to set her free…but will this lead to the omens his leaders foretold? This thick’ems issue is filled with lore that shows the creator of this series really wants to make something special, and it’s definitely worth the read.
Rogue State #1 - Oof, as this world is starting to feel a little too close to home. Americans have revolted after a recent presidential election and martial law has taken effect. We follow a young woman decked out in dystopian-chic, as she sneaks through streets that are heavily guarded by police. While scaling a building, a local tries to scare her off, but she has something he wants. She quickly realizes he isn't someone she wants to business with, but it’s too late, he gains the attention of the police below who have no problem shooting wildly. Our heroine gets away, but we find someone else is watching her from the shadows. Before we can get any info on our mystery stalker we flash back nine months to the beginning of the “revolution” and get to learn more about our protagonist. Clara and her boyfriend Taylor are trying to adjust to the collapse of society, as a former architect and graphic designer the pair have switched careers to making bootleg hooch to make ends meet. It’s not ideal, but they seem to be in good spirits/optimistic. They enjoy snacks on their fire escape while live-streaming a riot below, but clearly things get way worse over the next few months! As someone who loves a good revolution and prestige format books, this is a win-win.
K's Picks:
Gold Goblin #1 - A fresh new start in the right direction! Dark Web is an event I've been anticipating for some time now, and looking at the checklist, Gold Goblin seemed to be the beginning of something really cool. The promotional material focuses on Gold Goblin as some heroic figure, which is true, but there's more to this new Norman Osborne. There's a sense of emptiness to the former madman, as if he's longing for that chaos. He's definitely the coolest and probably the most interesting thing about this run of Amazing Spider-Man! I love some good psychological back and forth, and this definitely brings that tormented and crazy side of Norman to the surface. Also, I don't think I've ever had an issue that was so good it felt like it was only two pages - I was captivated with each page!
Blade Vampire Hunter #1 - Blade is back on the scene in a wild, conspiracy driven tale! Blade has always interested me, and that interest always has its highs and lows. Sometimes, Blade has really cool moments, but there's no new angle to guy. I had that strong impression coming into this until I learned very quickly this has nothing to do with Blade! I'm not saying he doesn't play a role, he very much does, but this is about the secluded world in which Blade resides. Within Chernobyl (which I may add is a cool set piece), we follow this vampire kingdom rightfully titled Vampyrsk. Here, Blade acts as the sheriff cleaning the streets of bad bats, and investigating a secret operation that Ultimately led to the deaths of four mercenaries. It seems more and more like a set up. I really wish we could get more Blade-centered stories. He's not a man of many words but I definitely can see him taking Marvel to newer heights with more undead characters!
Stargirl The Lost Children #1 - A pleasant surprise amongst the sea of DC supes! I'm going to keep this series on my list if it keeps up the amazing tempo, art style, and cool story involving the world of sidekicks. There's a whole lot to gather from this single issue, not because of length but because there's a lot to offer from the Justice Society. Getting back to the art Todd Nauck! He's a genius with the pencil; there's no way to describe his style other than classic and easy on the eyes. I highly recommend the story above all else! There's a lot mystery and potential with this issue alone. Very few have captured that feeling of the passage of time in the way Stargirl does. If you love Star and that high-school super hero style of writing, check this out!