Happy Memorial Day! We live in an age of amazing story telling featuring top talent writers and artists. This leads everyone to a problem: What comics are some of the top books to pick up? Well, we have that answer for you. The staff of Comic Vine picks out their personal essential books, every week, and lets you know what you should keep your eye out for.
Tony's Picks
FIGHT CLUB #2
(Dark Horse)
I know, I know. The first rule is we’re not supposed to talk about this. The thing is, we already have. We posted an advanced review for this first issue HERE. As mentioned in the review, I never realized how much I would actually want a sequel or continuation of the story. It was just a satisfying ending and there didn’t seem to be a need for the story to go on. Since it’s Chuck Palahniuk, the original writer of Fight Club, handling this, we’re in completely safe hands.
Some time has passed since the first story ended. We get to see where the characters have gone. Is Tyler Durden still alive? How can that be? That’s the beauty of the story. It all makes sense and leaves you on the edge of your seat. With art by Cameron Stewart, this is going to be great.
SONS OF THE DEVIL #1
(Image)
This is another series we got the chance to read and review early. SONS OF THE DEVIL is Brian Buccellato’s new series. It gives us a look into the world of cults with the main character unaware of what his true past is. As he begins to finally get some answers, he might possibly be pulled into a dark world he didn’t realize existed.
Along with Buccellato’s story, Toni Infante makes his mainstream debut with some pretty stellar artwork. This is a guy you’ll be hearing a lot about in the months to come. The only bad thing to having read this first issue so early is I’ve been dying to see what happens next.
DEADLY CLASS #13
(Image)
If there’s a new issue of DEADLY CLASS coming out, you know it’s going to be on this list. This series continues to be one of my favorite ongoings right now. Rick Remender’s story, set in the 80s, dealing with a school for assassins, has gone so much farther than we original thought. Marcus has found himself in some pretty wild and dangerous situations. The previous arc had him in the middle of a deadly badly against his insane childhood nemesis. The fight after that last issue was even more over the top. Oh yeah, we had a pretty crazy cliffhanger last issue. Could we be seeing the end of some major characters?
Wesley Craig’s art comes close to making my heart melt. It’s a perfect fit for the story. This is one of those situations where I would hate to imagine another artist telling a story in this world. It could be cool but Remender and Craig are the heart and soul of this series. Now the question is, will this issue continue with the insanity or will the characters get a chance to catch their breaths?
INFERNO #1
(Marvel)
I’ll be honest, I had some issues with the original Inferno storyline. It wasn’t one of my all time favorite stories. There were some interesting things that happened. So far, the Secret Wars books have been pretty great. The idea here is a little different than some of the others as it sounds like it’s more of a continuation of the actual original timeline except there was a turning point where things went in a different direction. With a chance to revisit this time period in the X-Men lives, it’d be hard to pass up. The idea of the entire world stuck in this hell-like state, I’m intrigued to see what the X-Men have been doing since and what they’re capable of doing now.
Based on the preview, Dennis Hopeless’ script and Javi Garron’s art looks like this is going to be another fun Secret Wars crossover. Things might look a little bleak for the X-Men but that’s when they tend to rise. As an added bonus, it looks like we’ll get to see the original Jean Grey cut loose.
Click here for the solicit. Preview below!
Honorable Mention: ALL-NEW HAWKEYE #3
Mat's Picks
OLD MAN LOGAN #1
(Marvel)
Andrea Sorrentino and Marcelo Maiolo are doing a Secret Wars book? AND it's Old Man Logan? To quote the very famous scene from the television show Futurama, "Shut up and take my money."
Joking aside, Old Man Logan is one of my favorite Marvel stories and I'm really happy to see this integrated into Secret Wars. While the original is fantastic, I'm very excited to see Brian Michael Bendis' take on this and how it will fit in to the bigger picture, Battleworld. Also, when you have Sorrentino and Maiolo doing the art, it only gets me more excited.
If that's not enough, then check out Gladiator in the preview for this book. He looks ridiculous and the tattoo of his name across his chest makes me want to read this even more.
Click here for the solicit. Preview below!
DIVINITY #4
(Valiant)
I am in love with this book. Not like in a "divorce my wife and attempt to marry it" type of way, but I'm dangerously close to that. DIVINITY is so different from the rest of the offerings that come from Valiant.
Matt Kindt, Trevor Hairsine, Ryan Winn, and David Baron have all come together to make something special and something a bit out there as far as story goes, which fits into the shared Valiant universe in the most peculiar way. As much as I've been enjoying some of the other books at Valiant, DIVINITY raises the bar.
So, the last issue ends with Abram's wife and child appearing in the present. We also got to see how Abram became who he is now, so I'm really curious about what's going to be revealed next. This is a book you need to check out.
Preview below!
THE BLACK HOOD #4
(Dark Circle)
The story of Greg Hettinger has not been the most uplifting one. He once was a hero cop who became disfigured, then got addicted to pills. He ended up becoming The Black Hood in order to help feed his addiction, but now, he's been set up and trying to figure out who did it.
Duane Swierczynski is doing an incredible job with the reboot of this character. Hettinger is not likable but you can't help but stop and stare at his journey. It's enthralling. Teamed up with Swierczynski is Michael Gaydos, who does some incredibly dark art that completely matches the tone of the story.
I can't to see Hettinger continue to climb the ladder to find out who set him up this week. This book isn't like anything else on the shelves and I really recommend going out of your way to check out what Dark Circle Comics is offering up here.
WHERE MONSTERS DWELL #1
(Marvel)
I was simply sold just by the cover here. I see a dinosaur attacking a plane. I'm sold. Regardless of that, I do have a love for Silver Age comics and some of the different genre territories the Big Two got into back then, and this seems right up my alley.
We don't know too much about this book, aside from the creative team attached and how this will all tie into Secret Wars as a whole. However, there is a preview (which is below) and I'm really digging on Russ Braun's art, and I've always been a fan of Garth Ennis' writing.
All-in-all, if you're looking for something that hearkens back to another time in comics, then WHERE MONSTERS DWELL may be up your alley this upcoming week. Also, if you want to see dinosaurs and WWI era planes, this could also be for you.
Click here for the solicit. Preview below!
Corey's Picks
SECRET WARS 2099 #1
(Marvel)
Peter David and Will Sliney on another 2099 title...oh I'm sorry, you need MORE reason to be excited? How about a whole new roster of heroes fighting to survive a world that's already plenty established as a dystopic nightmare? How about a fresh new take on an idea that sounded great on paper, but maaaaybe wasn't the best in execution back in the day? Peter David's already proven himself a champion of declaring about an otherwise iffy title "Don't Worry, I Got This" and Will Sliney's more than proven himself on SPIDER-MAN 2099 as an artist with a tremendous eye for detail that somehow still gets work in on time and they two of them have already turned the Spider-Man of 2099 into a cult hit of a title by giving him plenty to worry about in both modern New York AND his own world overrun by the titanic, unstoppable Maestro. With a blank canvas, these two should be able to dream up something great.
Click here for the solicit. Preview below!
MODOK: ASSASSIN #1
(Marvel)
Proving that not ALL of Battleworld is some unholy combination of doom and gloom, this issue seems poised to burst onto the scene bringing laughs and absurdity. MODOK has seamlessly transitioned from legitimate superhero villain and threat to the butt of a great many jokes and then found a comfortable middle ground of hilarious-yet-filled-with-pathos. It's actually a very similar arc to the one Deadpool took, only elongated in some areas and compressed in others. Chris Yost is a name that I'd associate with threading the needle between drama and absurdity as his credits are filled with many examples of both, often in the same title and while I'm only familiar with Amilcar Pinna's work from ALL-NEW ULTIMATES, this title feels like it will be a natural fit.
Click here for the solicit. Preview below!
TMNT #46
(IDW)
So! Things certainly have taken a turn for the...unusual since last issue, huh?! While we get a very real, very personal and grounded story with Casey Jones, we get a bizarre, almost surreal one with the turtles amidst great tragedy with a healthy dose of salvation and now...coping? I think coping is the next step. As split as I've felt about the last two issues of this title, I truly cannot wait to see what Tom Waltz, Kevin Eastman and Mateus Santolouco have to offer. It's the mark of a truly intriguing title that I can be so split on some very, very key decisions of a title, but still hotly anticipate the next issue as I cannot wait to see what happens next. This has been one of the great sleeper hits in comics for the last few years, and it's worth catching up on just to follow what happens next in the realest of time.
Click here for the solicit. Preview below!
Honorable Mention: BLACK WIDOW #18
That's it for this week's edition of Essential Comics. Let us know what your books you're super-duper excited for this week in the comment section below!
Log in to comment