November 4th, 2020
J.R.'s Picks:
Crossover #1 – Another stellar series from Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw! Every page of this comic oozes with a passionate love of the medium and is definitely worth a read for anyone who loves comics. In 2017, Colorado essentially exploded when our reality crossed with every one we’ve ever known from comics. One of the superheroes in this cataclysmic battle was able to create a force field around it, locking out anyone from Colorado. The story follows Ellipses, a comic clerk in a new world order complete protesters calling a capes sleights against God. When one of these comic beings shows up in her shop, Elle knows things are about to blow up big. Her shop being first. This one’s going to take off in a big way so pick up #1 to catch on.
Sweet Tooth The Return #1 – Sweet Tooth returns! Don’t worry though: you won’t get lost in the weeds if you haven’t read the first series. I haven’t yet but this first issue makes me want to dive into it. Sweet Tooth is a hybrid in a contained environment run by Father, Nanny Wun, and Nanny Tu. Sweet Tooth has just turned eleven and now sees his surroundings for what they are: a fabricated world to keep him contained. His dreams help him to realize this as well, along with the bad lies from the figure who calls himself Father. The internal monologue for Sweet Tooth kept the story driving along and I know I’ll be back for issue two to see where Lemire takes this.
Wolverine Black, White, & Blood #1 – A series of beautiful shorts await you in this new three-color book about everyone’s favorite ragin’ Canuck. Gerry Duggan and Adam Kubert take us back to the early days of the Weapon X where Logan encounters the Wendigo. It’s a crisp battle with a lot of blood so get stoked. Rosenberg follows up with a team up of Nick Fury and Wolverine taking down Hydra agents. The twist ending will blow you (and some Hydra Nazis) away. One of my favorite artists, Declan Shalvey, rounds it out with a contained short taking place in a cabin. Let’s just say you can never back Wolverine into a corner. A great read to be sure, this series is gonna be fun as hell.
Hellblazer Rise and Fall #2 – My main man John Constantine kicks things up a notch in this follow up issue. Opening on what appears to be the morning after with the devil, Constantine is still hot on the trail of the killer grafting wings onto rich assholes. Lucifer clues him into it all though: when John was a kid, he unknowingly unleashed a demon called Despondeo onto the world. Now inhabiting the body of the childhood friend John thought he killed, the boy-demon is on a murder spree. Luckily, the ghost of his latest victim relays a message to him that puts them on the trail of the dead boy’s father. Things are gonna get worse before they get better and I can’t wait to see how it all transpires.
Diarra's Picks
Mighty Morphin #1 - The Rangers go back to their regular routine after beating Drakkon to a pulp. Well, most of the credit goes the mysterious new Green Ranger. He/she appeared at their last fight, but never revealed their identity. The Green Ranger fought on their side, but the Rangers want to get to bottom of this. Zordon and Billy unsuccessfully try to track the Green Ranger’s location, and as time passes Zordon regales Billy with tales of his life on Eltar. All awhile, someone in the Rangers’ school is gearing up to save Zordon’s beloved world. Interrupting the search even further, a giant panda starts wrecking downtown, and the Rangers jump into action. Much to everyone’s surprise, the Green Ranger swoops in and saves the day once again! Of course, then he disappears without a word. Will the Rangers ever figure out who it is?
Crossover #1 - One day fictional comic book characters come to life, the crossover of all time! Randomly in Colorado, the skies opened and heroes poured out. Chaos immediately ensued and one hero thought it would be best to place a dome over Colorado to contain the supes. By then it was too late, the public already decided those heroes were now enemies. There are still people who have faith in the heroes, like Ellie. She works at a comic shop, but you’d think it was a Planned Parenthood when you see the protestors outside. When patrons of the comic shop notice a little girl that escaped from the dome. shopping among them, they lose it and call the authorities. Ellie’s parents still live in the dome so she knows not everyone inside is a monster. She tries to help the girl instead of throwing her to the mob outside, but they are out for blood. The comic shop is burnt down by someone Ellie didn’t expect, but the little comic girl may have a clue to something that could fix this all.
La Diabla! #1 - A van full of kidnappers are making their way through the desert. They just took a young girl in hopes to collect a ransom from her father. As they travel they tell stories of La Diabla, a mysterious defender of children. They each learned a different origin story of La Diabla growing up, stories told to children so they mind their parents. Some tales say she is an abused child, in others she is a straight up demon, and another a murdered witch’s daughter come back for revenge! (They also change the art to pencil drawings when they tell the old stories, which is pretty cool.) Whoever La Diabla is, she is about to foil their plans in a big way. She rescues the kidnap victim, but then gets a surprise of her own from a stranger in the desert.
Stone's Picks:
Tales From The Dark Multiverse: Batman Hush #1 – The Dark Multiverse is a grotesque reflection of the normal multiverse and it's up to Tempus Fuginaut to safeguard the universes from one another. In the universe presented by Fuginaut, the Wayne’s and the Elliot family had both went to the monarch theater, and the Elliot’s witnessed the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne alongside Bruce. Bruce went to live with the Elliot’s and their son Thomas instead of being raised by Alfred. Bruce, filled with resentment and anger towards what happened, slowly descends into madness with his friend Thomas left to watch. Now in a Gotham city unlike any you've known, a devil will prowl the darkness and silence the voices of those who aim to inflict more harm.
Dceased Dead Planet #5 – Held up in the Tower of Fate, while the most powerful of the heroes are on the other side of the universe fighting for Metrons chair, John Constantine begins making preparations to put his plan into action. Constantine, Swamp Thing, and the surviving members of the Bat family travel to Nanda Parbat where the Spear of Destiny resides. Along with their trip to Nanda Parbat they stop off at the Rock of Eternity in search for the staff of the wizard Shazam. Two items in the DC universe with tremendous power, and they are both being sought after by John Constantine? What could go wrong?
Origins #1 – The World we know is gone. Lost and no longer controlled by humans. A woman, Chloe, travels through this vast unknown searching, looking. Her trek leads her to find the remains of a baby which she uses to create a child through some unknown means. That child grows up and is named David. David is sought after by The Network, an undisclosed adversary that seeks to retrieve David for purposes unbeknownst. In this new world everything is a threat, and the life of David must be protected at all costs.