Buy These Flippin’ Comics!!! (3.05.14) – Dead Moon Knight
Saddle up, my caballeros, buccaneers, brigands, and thieves. It’s Wednesday, the day the nation’s geeks, the true geeks mind you – not those Box Office Geeks who say they liked Superman when they were a kid as they stand outside waiting for the Sunday matinee of Man of Steel – ahem – the day the dyed-in-the-wool geeks come out en masse, raiding the local comic shops for the newest bounty. There was a time, young readers, when not knowing what to expect from the LCS was just a given fact. Thanks to the wondrous gift of technology, we are blessed with foresight. We can know the unknown. I’m here to break down some of the best and brightest booty to get your grubby mitts on, so sit down, buckle in, and push that little red button in the center console that says “BTFC.” Let’s talk comics, people.
For a full list of comics dropping this week, check HERE.
ALL NEW MARVEL NICHE!
Moon Knight #1 – (W) Warren Ellis (A) Declan Shavley
In New York City,
Don’t You Cross the Line,
Guard it from the Light, Guard it from the Light
– Dead Moon “Dead Moon Night”
Yep, you read that right – Warren Ellis is back! Not co-writing, not a graphic novel, this is a straight up Marvel monthly written by OL Protogod Warren Ellis (Transmetropolitan, Planetary, Global Frequency, Fell). I had the pleasure of digging through this first issue earlier today and really enjoyed Warren Ellis’ spin on one of my favorite Marvel D-listers. I think this book (and the books I list below in this section) really take a cue from the success of Fraction and Aja’s Hawkeye and take a very underwritten character and hold them up to the light, perhaps even bending the light a little to give us a fresh perspective. Each book has very similar art, and each has the primary color involved with the character really pop off the page (this is done wonderfully in Moon Knight, as every scene is either in the dark of night or underground, and the Moon Knight white really glows). The Moon Knight of this book is back in New York, and the book has a much more sinister, horror-type feel in the hands of Ellis, rather than the psychological thriller that defined Bendis’ run. Gone are his usual tights and cowl, replaced with a mask and Armani suits. His “multiple personality disorder” is also explained a little better, or perhaps better said it is redefined for Ellis’ run, capping off in a final page that is haunting, disturbing, and has me excited for the second issue.
Magneto #1 – (W) Cullen Bunn (A) Gabriel Hernandez Walta
She-Hulk #2 – (W) Charles Soule (A) Javier Pulido
Two more “niche” books drop this month, both worthy of a look. I’ve always dug Cullen Bunn’s work, the dude knows how to work dark, and that is certainly the case here. Remember the best scene in X-Men First Class, when Michael Schlongbender gets all sweaty and hot in South America while doing some Nazi Hunting? He ices those three guys in the bar and then finishes his pint, yeah? Bunn takes that concept – Magneto the Hunter – and runs with it. Sounds pretty noice to me.
I didn’t give She-Hulk #1 its props when it dropped, but dammit I should have. First and foremost, it has dynamic artist Javier Pulido pulling pencilling duties. You may remember him from his couple stints on Hawkeye – dude is a mix of Allred and Kirby, simple and expressive line work. The book pops with color (colorists don’t get enough attention round these parts – I’ll have to fix that), and Charles Soule gives the book plenty of humor and fun dialogue for Jennifer (that’s She-Hulk’s real name, ya’ll). Also diggin those Kevin Wada covers.
Starlight #1 – (W) Mark Millar (A) Goran Parlov
“It’s like Buzz Lightyear meets Unforgiven!” is Millar’s elevator pitch to readers at the end of the book, who probably already got that if they’d just read the fuggin thing. What he really should have said is “It’s like Flash Gordon, but I’m legally not allowed to say Flash Gordon, so ummm, what other space guys do I know? What are the kids into these days? Oh, yeah, that Tim Allen guy from Toy Story! It’s like him in my “Old Man Logan” story! Huh? What’s that? “Old Man Logan” is just the movie Unforgiven but with tights and pretty art? Nonsense. I had the Hulk rape Wolverine’s family!! When did Gene Hackman bloody do that?!” “I-despise-what-Millar-has-become” rant aside, this issue was pretty good. Had very little misogyny, perfect cartooning by one of my favorite underrated artists, and story that was ages-old but relatable. If you don’t want to read it now, I’m sure it will be a movie in a few years. Same goes with Jupiter’s Legacy, another book with gorgeous art and Mark Millar’s words – its long awaited #4 comes out this week, too.
Uncanny X-Men #18 – (W) Bendis (A) Chris Bachalo
Wolverine & The X-Men – (W) Jason Latour (A) Mahmud Asrar
X-Force by Rick Remender Omnibus (Not Shown)
First up – I’d buy that UXM 18 for the be-yoo-tee-ful Alexander Lazano cover alone. Striking cover in a world that sometimes seems like that’s a lost art – especially with all the shit Marvel and DC splatter across them. Wolvie & his X-kids get a reboot this month, and though the first series wasn’t one I particularly cared for, I’m rooting for this book on the talent of the team involved. Jason Latour and Mahmud Asrar, based on this first issue, work really well together. Latour has an ear for dialogue, and Asrar has an art style reminiscent of Olivier Coipel, and a badass costume design. This first issue focuses on one of my favorite characters under Grant Morrison’s run (Quentin Quire), and one of my least favorite (Fantomex). I like that Quentin is the necessary dissenting voice, and not in the way that his predecessor, Wolverine, was. He’s not a grump, he’s an anarchist. He’s smart, and plays the contrarian card not necessarily because he believes it, but because he like fucking with people. I can respect that youthful arrogance. Fantomex – siiiiiigh – dude is just a next-gen Gambit. Trench coat? Check. Accent? Double check. Vaguely mysterious? Yezzzir. Flirts with anything around him? Yup. Just gimme the Cajun and dump this bozo. Speaking of Fantomex, he can be found prominently in the Rick Remender X-Force Omnibus that drops today. 35 issues of the regular series, plus a couple odds and ends. I’m not as huge a fan of this series as others – I think the idea is a little silly, and I think the “moral quandry” they often present the protagonists is nothing we haven’t seen from these characters, and having some of them balk at killing is downright preposterous. Regardless, the art throughout Remender’s run was top notch, and I’m sure the omnibus is pretty to look at.
The Auteur – (W) Rick Spears (A) James Callahan
I know Fearless Leader Capitan Powered is anticipating the release of this craziness from Oni Press. Imagine if Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas and The Kid Stays in the Picture (autobiography by coke-fiend, nutjob movie producer Robert Evans) were written by the guys from Mad Magazine, and you might have an idea of what is going on with this book. Humor books are often hard to pull off, as the juxtaposition between what is being said and what is being shown is incumbent on the writer and artist working well together. However, I think that though this book seems insane on the outside, the idea Spears is getting at about maintaining artistic vision and integrity in a sea of crass commercialization, and the madness of losing one’s sense of self when feeding these leviathans of commerce and not creating art for it’s own sake, might just be the more important reason to read this book. Or I could be trying to rationalize a book that needs none. Either way, the book looks great, is super funny, and deserving of a look-see.
QUICK HITS!!
Veil #1 – Greg Rucka teams up with Dark Horse (and artist Toni Fejzula) to bring us another great female character (a Rucka specialty)! This one, though, seems to be of the horror-variety, as a girl wakes up in an abandoned subway station with no memory how she got there. Playing with the word “veil,” Rucka and Fejzula look to play with perspective and how that dictates narrative (see also: True Detective).
Trillium #7 – The penultimate issue to this genre and medium bending series. Always down for creator-owned Jeff Lemire stuff, and Trillium fits that bill.
Catalyst Comix #9 – This “arc” comes to a close on Joe Casey’s reboot of forgotten 90’s Dark Horse superheroes. This is really just where I get my monthly Ulises Farinas fix, guys. Plus frequent covers by either Paul Pope or Rafael Grampa.
Tales of Honor #1 – Honor Harrington comes to comics! Image Comics brings us one of the biggest franchises in the “military sci-fi” genre, as David Weber’s fictional universe finds a new foothold in the funnybooks. One of my good pals swears by these books (particularly the earlier books, before Weber handed the creation off to anthologies and whatnot), and with the release of this comic coinciding with a mobile game app, as well as a movie that’s in development, this is surely the beginning of a new era for the character.
That’s gonna do it for me this week, guys! Let me know what you’ll be checking out in the comments below – give me the scoop on anything I might have missed! Until next time!
Hotsauce out!