October 21st, 2020
J.R's Picks:
Dune House Atreides #1 – Riding the coattails of the movie that was supposed to be out in a month, the prequel to Dune arrives! This is a comic adaptation of the original prequel novels that were done by Frank Herbert’s son, Brian. The fact that it’s an adaptation of a novel shows immensely in how absolutely dense this book is from the get-go. Five separate character introductions give us a sense of where the story is taking us: a newly christened duke of Arrakis, a curious and likable planetologist assigned to Arrakis, the emperor who seems corrupt and is being toyed with by an old friend, and the emperor’s son who is plotting to kill him. All these stories are going to come to a head and a lot of lore is going to be uncovered before we all get to take it in cinematically months from now.
The Scumbag #1 – Rick Remender brings us the worst possible savior of humanity in this first issue. Ernie is introduced in a dive bar where he’s looking to score drugs from his dealer. After trying to inject said drugs on the sidewalk while having diarrhea, the needle rolls away from him and into an alley with two super spies locked in battle over an entirely different needle. You can probably guess what happens here as the super spy injects himself with high quality dope while Ern injects himself with high quality super serum. Now with the power inside of him, he is the only hope for the city of New York and the world at large. A hilarious start to what’s guaranteed to be a damn good ride.
Stillwater #2 – Zdarsky’s story continues to wow thanks in part to Ramon Perez’s crisp artwork. The set up for the town of Stillwater is set up so quickly and well that now it’s all about sitting back and taking in the events about to go down. Daniel/Tommy is put before the judge who explains how every citizen of the town is ageless and unkillable. Since one of the citizens claimed he was her son, the judge who seemingly holds all power over the town is put into a tough spot by his own rules. Now that the secret’s out more death-defying murders take place too, one particularly satisfying one happening to the dude who killed Daniel/Tommy’s friend. The mystery’s only going to get deeper so get into this one now!
Tales From the Umbrella Academy: You Look Like Death #2 – Another installment of my favorite series ever! Klaus has a sugar momma in Hollywood by the name of Vivian who looks to be taking the poor teen for a ride because of his powers. Speaking of, we get more of a look into Klaus’s childhood which sucked major ass because his father Hargreeves pushed him to the limits in order to accelerate the growth of his mystic powers. Tapping into this, Vivian throws Klaus even further into the deep end by pumping him full of booze and drugs to get him channeling ghosts of dead actors. Plus there’s vampire chimp gang lords that I don’t even have room to talk about! This backstory is depressing and fun all mixed into one, just as a great Umbrella Academy story should be.
Diarra's Picks:
Harley Quinn: White Knight #1 - If you’ve been keeping up with the White Knight chronicles, you know Gotham City has recently been turned upside down! Batman has traded in his cowl and cape for an orange jumpsuit, and Joker along with Gotham’s other baddies are no more. After a couple years of peace in Gotham, a serial killer decides to stir things up. What’s even stranger is the killer is targeting old movie stars and painting their bodies black and white, just as they appeared in film. There is no one available to answer the bat signal, so they call in an old consultant, Doctor Harleen Quinzel! Sure she lost her medical license and is going by Harley these days, but if anyone can dissect crazy it’s Harley Quinn. It takes some convincing, but once on the case she quickly figures out who is behind this. The only thing left is to find our killer, but Harley won’t be riding around in a squad car taking statements. Oh no, now it’s time to call a sitter, break out her finest black and red ensemble, and hit the streets!
The Scumbag #1 - They really hit the nail on the head with this title. Ernie Ray Clementine is a real peace of shit. We meet Ernie on a typical night for him, in a bar and on the hunt for drugs & tail. That wouldn’t be so bad if he gave a shit about moderation or consent. After managing to disrespect everyone in a bar and stealing money from children, he decides to find a quiet place to shoot up. Unfortunately, the bathroom was full so a busy street in the middle of the day is just as good when you give no shits. Maybe it’s the yelling from the disgusted passers by or a bit of the DTs, but Ernie drops his needle and it rolls into a near by alley. He is going through withdrawals hard and searches for his needle, completely ignoring the clearly, trained bad-asses fighting to the death feet away. Ernie shoots up as planned, but he grabbed the syringe one of the agents dropped. Not full of heroin, but with highly advanced nanotechnology. One of the agents was suppose to inject the nanotech and use the information/new skills to find and stop a bomb set to blow in ten minutes! I’m not sure how the fuck that’s suppose to happen now...
Stillwater #2 - Welcome to Stillwater, the town where no one dies. In order to keep their secret, anyone who finds out is executed (outside of the town’s boarders of course, other wise it wouldn’t stick). That’s what happened to Tony and would’ve been Daniel’s fate if someone didn’t speak up for him. See anyone born in Stillwater is allowed to stay, as long as they never leave. When Daniel was young his mother snuck him out of Stillwater so he could live a normal life, which was a big no-no, but she had to come clean to save his life. The Judge of Stillwater couldn’t kill Daniel once he found out he was born there, but his mother must be punished for sending him away. This town seems to be full of loons and followers, hopefully Daniel can find a sane person to help him find mortality once again.
Stone's Picks:
Batman: White Knight presents Harley Quinn #1 - The newest adventure in the White Knight universe by Katana Collins and Sean Murphy. Two years have passed since the events of Curse of White Knight, and things in Gotham are quiet. That is until a new serial killer shows up killing movie stars from Gotham’s past. With the Batman out of commission, Harley is the GCPD’s only chance for them to track this killer down before it’s too late. But can Harley walk the tightrope between sanity and madness without losing her balance?
Maestro #3 - The Hulk makes his way to the city of Dystopia, ruled by the Maestro. To his amazement, the current ruler of Dystopia is Hercules. The Hulk is greeted with open arms and closed fists. More so a shock than Hercules being ruler is Hulk learning that Rick Jones is alive! Rick requests a meeting so that the two may talk about what has happened. What they discuss drives The Hulk to begin working on a solution to this world's problems. The solution Hulk he comes up with is less than incredible, womp womp.
Werewolf by Night #1 - On tribal lands in the Arizona Desert lies a Werewolf, a beast with the instinct to kill. But underneath the furry and muscular exterior is a confused kid named Jake dealing with the trials and tribulations of growing up. Along with worrying about hormones he also has to worry about not letting his emotions turn him into a monster. With the support of his family and friends he’s taking life one day at a time all while trying to decide if he wants to keep a low profile, or use his powers to help others.