September 14th, 2022
Caroline's Picks:
Bone Orchard Mythos Ten Thousand Black Feathers #1 - Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino are perfectly at home with this new horror universe they’ve created. If you haven’t already I highly recommend you pick up the first trade in this anthology series: Bone Orchard Mythos Passageway. You don’t need it to understand this new series but it definitely helps set the tone and expectations for what’s to come with this series, and who doesn’t want more Jeff Lemire spookiness in their life. Trish and Jackie have been friends since they were kids, they bonded over books in the schoolyard and the rest is history. Like most of us their lives have led them apart over the years, and life events have gotten in the way. But now Trish is coming back home for a mental break and it’s time to pay her best friend’s mom a visit. Lemire does a good job switching between the past and present to hit major points. Showing us why certain things are so important to Trish and how bright her world used to be with Jackie in it before switching back to the dark and gritty adult life she’s come to know. And all through there’s someone asking the question: Can you hear them falling?
The Least We Can Do #1 - I’ve got big ‘Robin Hood with magical stones’ vibes from this story. The Great War has destroyed the world and now 40 years later society is… not necessarily thriving but it exists in a relatively normal state once again. The key to rebuilding the world was ‘the Medium’, stones that were found to have special powers and if used for good could help revive the world and bring peace once again. But of course the people in power decided that the stones could be used for danger and took them from the common people and made it illegal. They feared another great war would destroy the land. Uriel is here to change that, she has a dream to return the stones to the people. To bring peace back to the world and share the prosperity the stones can bring to everyone. If she’s lucky she’ll be able to find ‘The Eclipse’, join their ranks, and learn everything she can about the stones to bring her dream to life. Now she just needs to convince someone to listen to her.
Ms Marvel & Venom #1 - The next issue in the Ms. Marvel team up mini series is here. If you haven’t read the Wolverine or Moon Knight issues you won’t be completely lost as each issues does a good job of catching the reader up on what’s been going on with Kamala but its definitely been a fun story to follow and see how the established heroes handle teaming up with someone of the next generation. But this time it's two of the next generation heroes teaming up! After they quickly save the day Venom is rapidly off to tail after those pesky robots and get back the piece of him that they stole. Ms. Marvel is more interested in just why these bots seem to be attacking heroes, specifically ones who seem to have beaten death several times over. But she won't have to think too hard for too long, once Venom finds his missing piece things quickly melt into place. Time for a quick phone call and one last group effort to save the day.
Samurai Doggy #2 - Issue 2 and we’re introduced to the next member of our cast. A skinny, futuristic looking Blue Dude. We break away from the story of our Samurai Doggy to follow him for the day. This issue is a fast paced read and I desperately wish I could listen to the album our Blue Dude is slowly getting obsessed with while reading it. He’s got an easy day ahead of him; grab some snacks, grab some ‘blue sky’ (it's definitely their world's weed), and then just vibe for the rest of the day before meeting up with his friends at the bar. But things just can’t seem to go as planned. He drops his whatever-on-a-stick after several close calls, the dealer ups his price at the last minute, and then they forget his free sample. This issue does a great job of building out the world and what the average people in this society look and live like. We see families waiting in the same lines as him for the same things and it really has me wondering what other unknown parameters these people are living inside of. Of course this wouldn’t be Samurai Doggy without a little cameo at the end, and boy does it set up the wait for the next so nicely.
Diarra's Picks:
The Bone Orchard Mythos: Ten Thousand Black Feathers #1- The team behind the hit horror series Gideon Falls and the sci-fi thriller Primormal, now bring us The Bone Orchard Mythos universe! Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino created The BOM universe in order to deliver horror in unique/unlimited formats. Their introduction to the world was a one shot from free comic book day The Prelude, followed by the hardcover graphic novel The Passageway, and now a new monthly series Ten Thousand Black Feathers. It’s the same universe, but the stories haven’t connected...yet! Here we meet Trish as she returns to her hometown for the first time as an adult, and after a trip to her childhood best friend's house, we know why. We don’t know how but Trish’s friend, Jack, died when they were kids, and the case was never solved. Jack’s mom insists Trish spend the night, and it appears all the emotions of being back home are causing Trish to talk to herself...or maybe someone/something is guiding her. I don’t know how, but Trish might have the ability to commune with her dead friend and get the answers to the mystery of what happened to Jack.
Maskerade #1 - I’m not embarrassed to say, Kevin Smith’s influence has shaped me into the person I am today (she typed, next to a Bluntman and Chronic poster), so when I heard he was teaming up with Andy Mcelfresh, I knew I had to pick up this series! We all know Smith has an appreciation for the comic industry and even owns The Secret Stash comic shop, which gained fame from the reality show shot inside. Now The Stash is not only selling comics, they are making them and this breakout issue does not disappoint! The issue opens with a woman jumping to her death, but I’m sure they’ll explain that next issue. This issue focuses more on the people who bring us those stories, the reporters! Dwayne is a reporter who just lost his cushy job at a major news outlet because he got a bit too comfortable with his boss’s wife, but his agent has a back up plan. Felicia Dance is a social media star whose gossip posting online gained her enough fame to get her a TV show, and wants Dwayne to work for her. He has a major in broadcast journalism and thinks working for a “Wendy Williams-esc” show would be a downgrade, but he changes his tune when he hears the pay is 3x what he was making before. This job maybe even stranger than Dwayne expects, because Felicia isn’t just some shit poster... she is a vigilante equip with a high-tech Masker-suit that allows her to shapeshift into different people, and she is on a mission to get revenge on the jerks who experimented on the kids in the orphanage where she was raised...so yeah, things are about to get nuts.
Love Everlasting #2 - This fun twist on a romance comic is getting even stranger. Last issue we realized Joan was the same girl in every short story...but then so does she! Every time she finds the man of her dreams, she wakes up in a new universe with a new beau, but this time she doesn’t plan on starting over. Here she is the daughter of a maid who cares for a rich family with a son the same age, and he and Joan become the best of friends. As the two get older, it is clear they are from different worlds, and have to keep their love a secret, which buys Joan enough time to devise a plan. Turns out there is a mysterious cowboy who rides into town and kills Joan after every tryst, transporting her somewhere else. So when the Lord of the manor burst into Joan’s quarters to tell her he wants to run away with her, the cowboy follows guns blazing. When he lets his guard down, Joan delivers a fatal shot, and dies in her lover's arms once again. With them both dead I have no idea what the next issue will bring but I’m definitely excited to find out!
K's Picks:
Judgement Day #4 - Everything about this event is downright astonishing! We've had a bumpy road up to this point but nonetheless I enjoyed every development with this new concept. Judgement Day has benefitted from a sheer, unyielding feeling of dread hanging over all our beloved heroes. No one is safe under the hand of the Progenitor. With the countdown in motion, writer Kieron Gillen conveys very thoroughly that the actions of humanity are being reflected back at the world of Marvel as whole. A celestial being created by man to judge the Eternals and humanity has a strong since of irony to it, one that can only really be pushed further by artist Valerio Schiti. This, combined with the color direction and how sinister the Progenitor looks, feels like something straight out of the Shin Godzilla film. I'm looking back on each issue and giving this a giant reread because the flow and pacing has not only improved but has somehow far surpassed most Marvel stories in current comics!
Midnight Suns #1 - The darkness has taken form to claim the innocent, and it will take an all-star line up to do justice! So I've read the old team-up for the Midnight Suns and never have they looked so cool! Spirit Rider has always been a character of interest and she's a hero I never get to see do a whole lot outside of a handful of issues. Seeing her teamed up with Blade and the man who's "the best at what does" makes me happy. Now of course I couldn't forget Magik and Nico, two characters I've always appreciated for style and their association with The Strange Academy. Now, speaking of Strange Academy, it's no mystery that when this school is involved you're bound to expect things to be supernatural and this run is no exception. Zoe Laveau, a living zombie student attending Strange Academy has been attacked by some sorcerer and its up to the Suns to team-up and figure out the cause. It's typical team business with characters all across the board I love, and did I mention Doctor Doom is involved in this whole mess of awesomeness?! If you're a fan of any of these characters give it a read - I definitely wasn't disappointed.
Flavor Girls #3 - Magical girls with a hint of trauma, oh how you come to haunt me! We're back again with another issue of Flavor Girls and round 3 has been more exciting than ever to see what's happening with every veteran member of the Flavor Girl squad. We start things off strong with a flashback of Naoko's past; one that was masterfully displayed with no signs of dialogue. It seems to coincide with the images at the beginning of issue one displaying Naoko's grief after losing her dear friend. This was a nice display of misdirection because in the midst of a heated battle against the forces of Agatha, we learn not only her name but that Irina is alive and aligned with Agatha! This was completely overshadowed by my hype for Sarah's cool as hell abilities allowing her to devour her enemies and fuel her shapeshifting hair into a pineapple fist? If you've seen Bayonetta you'd get why this gave me heavy wicked weave vibes. As for what's too come next, I'm really looking forward to seeing the battles against Agatha's top dogs. Super interested to see what they can do and if they are the real deal.
Do A Power Bomb #4 - Underground wrestling and killer finishing moves! Sun and Steel are throwing down again! Awesome and downright badass, they turn the action up to a solid eleven in a single issue. There's a lot of lore to unpack with Sun and Steel's competitors, Knights of Rhyne. They're lead by a king who wants to revive there strongest Warrior, Velkus the Red, and apparently they fought Necroton? There's so much to consider with each team's backstory. We've gone from battling orangutans to wrestling knights! Despite it being very fight heavy, there's a considerable amount of things to pick up here. Cobra and Steelrose were tag partners in the past and what's more insane, Lona's uncle is also fighting in the ring? It makes perfect since tho; they are a wrestling family and I can understand why it's really in Lona's blood to fight as a pro wrestling star. The art has peaked and so has the story. Give this one a read, it easily made this week's haul a treasure.