What a month July was. After America celebrated it’s whatever-nth birthday, we went through the annual ritual of San Diego Comic-Con. Highlights included that Suicide Squad trailer and Marvel announcing a bunch of new titles after everything got leaked in late June. Whoops. Also, Clone High duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller will be working on a new Han Solo film and, in his continuing quest to mess with us, Grant Morrison become the editor-in-chief of Heavy Metal magazine. And on a personal note, my dreams came true when professional scumbag Hulk Hogan was scrubbed out of the WWE after some horrific comments of his were leaked. Also some Ant-Man movie happened? In terms of pop culture, not a bad month. Now, let’s take the time to check recall the comic highlights of July 2015.
Best Issue: “Archie” #1
I don’t know why Archie Comics, of all things, is in the middle of its Renaissance but here we are. After a few years of acclaimed spin-offs, Mark Waid and Fiona Staples brought Riverdale into the 21st century with “Archie” #1. And it was really fun! Smart, funny, relevant, and with a couple fresh takes on the Riverdale teens, “Archie” #1 proved that high school romance can still make for good comics even without zombies, Predators, or multi-dimensional existentialism.
Best Writer: Tom King
Tom King is a miracle worker. Every time one of his titles gets announced, I end up making a “Look at this guy!” face. A Dick Grayson book where he’s a super spy? Incredibly intriguing and not afraid to have fun. An “Omega Men” reboot that explicitly references terrorist groups like ISIS? Actually kind of tasteful. A “Vision” series about the synthezoid trying to find the American dream? Uh, I’ll get back to you on that one. Tom King is a writer who’s really good at pitching books I never thought I would like, and making them my most anticipated titles of the month. I can’t wait to see where he’ll be five years from now.
Best Artist: James Stokoe
Surprising no one, “Godzilla in Hell” was ridiculously good. Through completely visual storytelling, James Stoke showed the entire afterlife why Godzilla is the greatest kaiju of all time. Our own Matt Garcia wrote a really thorough write up on just why Stokoe knocked this comic out of the park that’s worth checking out. If you didn’t check out “Godzilla in Hell”, you may be familiar with Stokoe from his work on “Spider-Nam”, a fan comic that really should have been made canon during “Spider-Verse.”
Best Cover: “Sex Criminals” XXX Variant by Bryan Lee O’Malley
Considering that all the creators involved made an effort to not share the cover on their social media accounts, and it only came out last week, I don’t feel comfortable posting it here. That and because it is super NSFW (Not Safe For Weaklings). That said, it’s worth hunting down, if only for the look of pure confusion on Jon’s face and the curious delight on Suzie’s.
Best Finale That Flew Under The Radar: “Fables #150”
Uh, so this happened. “Fables”, arguably one of the important comics of the 2000’s, ended with its graphic novel sized #150. Of course, there are people who would tell you it ended a while ago with issue #75 (I am one of those people), but the ending of “Fables” is still a huge milestone for the lives of plenty of comics fans. I don’t think it’s an understatement to say that “Fables” was a vital piece of the Vertigo line, an imprint that has lost another of its main pillars. Even if the back half of the series was questionable at times, “Fables” was undeniably influential for plenty of people. Check out our farewell review from Jess Camacho as the rest of us continue to cope.
Best Use of Archie Comics: “Archie vs. Predator”
I mentioned that “Archie” #1 was the best comic of the month, but damn if “Archie vs. Predator” wasn’t the best usage of Riverdale’s characters. I talked about this in my review of “Archie vs. Sharknado”, but “Archie vs. Predator” felt like it had real stakes to it. It was more than just “Oh hey, here’s a funny thing to put in an Archie comic.” And that made the incredibly disturbing ending all the more enjoyable. Even if you’re absolutely sick of everyone talking about Archie Comics, this mini-series is worth looking into.
Continued belowBest Moment of the Month: Kyle Rayner Goes Superboy Prime
I don’t think any moment stuck with me like the ending to “The Omega Men” #2 did. Kyle Rayner, forced into a group doing the wrong things for the right reasons, paints the Green Lantern symbol over the Omega one with his own freaking blood, clinging onto a system of law that does not apply to his new setting. And with a beautiful nine-panel structure, as if the book suddenly turned into “Watchmen.” It’s been said all over the internet, but “The Omega Men” really does feel like something special. That’s a feeling Big Two comics definitely need more of.
