November 3rd, 2021
Caroline's Picks:
Dark Knights of Steel #1 - The Els have evacuated Krypton, all three of them this round, and they've crash landed on Earth once again but this round it's Medieval times. Upon their arrival a prophecy is spoken of demons from the stars who will overtake the world and begin the end of times. Jor-El and his wife of course just want to take care of their son, so much so that they’ve become King and Queen of the lands they fell in and their son Kal-El is the bright and smiling young Prince and Bruce is the ever brooding Knight once again. Another stand alone universe story from DC that feels unique and exciting, I didn't know how much I wanted these characters in this setting until it was placed in my lap but I am absolutely on this ride until the end.
Newburn #1 - An ex-cop who works for the mafia shows up to investigate a suspicious death of a nephew of one of the major mob bosses in town. After stealing drugs from his own family it could really have been anyone who killed Carmine and the information our detective gets from the witnesses doesn’t lend him too much to go on either. But Newburn is resourceful, and more than willing to crack a few skulls to get what he wants if need be. This issue has a good amount of action and a wonderful twist that I personally didn’t see coming, it was definitely enough to get me good and ready for the next issue to come out.
A Thing Called Truth #1 - If the opening cat chase doesn’t hook you then the sheer drama in this story just might. The brilliant Doctor Magdalene Traumer has finally finished her research on her medical devices which could heal many - potentially save the world, now all she needs to do is file the patent. But that can happen tomorrow, right? Sadly it seems in this world an exhausted, dedicated, brilliant, hardworking, and soon to be divorced woman can only be treated one way after a breakthrough like hers: a surprise firing. An attempt to steal her research by the very company she was working for will lead her to spiral, slightly, and change her life permanently or at least get very, VERY drunk.
Primordial #2 - I did not expect to get so emotional over another comic book dog again for a long time after Stray Dogs but Andrea Sorrentino absolutely tugs on the heartstrings with the art throughout this entire issue. Focusing mainly on little vignettes of Laika (the Russian space dog) and her life before and what she’s been up to since the incident happened. Jeff Lemire is absolutely letting the art shine so far in this series using nominal speech bubbles and letting us be shown, not told, what happened. After we catch up with the animals in space, we are brought back to reality where Doctor Prembroke has been snuck into East Berlin in an attempt to contact Laika once again. Animal lovers out there be warned because you are absolutely going to want to give your pets a snuggle after this.
Diarra's Picks:
Human Target #1- I’ve been mourning the end of Strange Adventures, thoroughly enjoying Batman/Catwoman, and now I get another awesome 12 issue series from DC! Tom King is killing it right now, and Greg Smallwood’s amazing color work help take you on this timey whimey journey! Christopher Chance is doing what he does best, taking bullets for cash as the Human Target. His most recent client is the very hated Lex Luthor, but things don’t go as planned. Someone slipped an incurable poison in Chance’s morning coffee. Not even Justice Society’s founder Dr. Midnite can stop it, but he can slow the process down and give Chance some solid leads. Now Human Target has 12 days to figure out who has killed him and why!!
Newburn #1 - Newburn is a retired cop who decided to hang up his badge, but not his detective hat. Now he helps people who can’t necessarily go to the police when they need help. His newest gig is solving the murder of a local mob boss’s son. His old connections in the department allow him access to the crime scene, and he quickly begins cracking this case wide open. He ends up helping the police close their case and satisfied his client enough to ensure no “street justice” was needed …but the info he gives cops and his client aren’t the whole truth because Newburn is making a bigger play. I know you’re thinking “he is just a PI”, but he has way too much pull in the police force and creed on the street to be considered “just” anything! I don’t mean to take anything away from Jacob Phillips by comparing him to his father, but you can’t help but see the similarities. Besides color work for his dad, That Texas Blood is his first original art comic and I’m quickly becoming a fan. Plus he is teaming up with Zdarsky on this one, and if you are reading Daredevil you know he can get dark! I can’t wait to see what these two can do.
A Thing Called Truth #1 - Doctor Mag is a brilliant scientist and a workaholic. It’s cost her friends and family, but she doesn’t care because she is trying to change the world for the better. She is feeling down after a call from her soon to be ex husband, but she just made an amazing breakthrough in her research. The next day when she arrives at the lab her keys don’t work and she is beyond confused. That’s when her boss tells her he is letting her go and keeping all her research! Mag knows she just got screwed over and decides to drown her sorrows in booze. As depressed as she is, being social for the first time in years feels good. Being a responsible adult, she jumps in the backseat of her car to sleep until she was ok to drive. When she wakes up a stranger is driving her car and they are some how in Italy!? This book takes a total turn at the end and I can’t wait to see what issue two has in store. These folks brought us Alice In Leatherland so I know it’s going to be a fun, LGBTQ story
Stone's Picks:
Dark Knights of Steel #1 - I’m not sure how I feel about that story. On one hand I like the setting, and the characters that have been introduced so far are looking good in their medieval garb. What I'm unsure of are my feelings on the reveal that happens in the end of the book involving Bruce’s parents. I can’t wait to hear other people’s opinions on it. Also, Green Lantern as the evil wizard/villain sounds like it could be cool. He definitely showed us that he is not to be taken lightly with that climactic ending. How Bruce will handle this shocking revelation is unknown, but what is known is that Kal-El is going to be in a heap of trouble when he realizes that he has no resistance to magic.
Titans Academy #7 - The march towards world domination continues. With most of the town now under his control along with some of the Titans, Grodd is close to achieving his goal. But what is his real goal? World domination, or connecting with his estranged nephew? You come to find that it’s a mixture of both. I mean, come on, it’s Grodd - of course he wants to rule the human populace. He also wants to show his nephew that he doesn’t need to depend on humans because said Nephew is perhaps more powerful than Grodd. They put this to the test in a badass telepathic Gorilla mental construct beat down. I thought perhaps this storyline would have gone on a little longer but I’m not mad with how it ended. The last page made me grin!
THE RUSH #1 - Another 19th century story this week but this one features a supernatural twist. After many years apart, a mother travels in search of her son who was last seen with his father. Her search has her heading into the wilderness where a terrifying monster stalks those unfortunate enough to cross its path. The beginning of the book can feel somewhat abysmal as there is a lot to read and it’s written in the dialect of the time so if you hate people talking like that this may be a task for you to get through. Rest assured however that the remainder of the book was a delight. A crazy looking creature, a mother searching for what’s been lost...this is your next comic to read!