Perhaps everything in May was overshadowed by the release of Mad Max: Fury Road and the overwhelming positive reception that movie received. Even though the first of the prequel comics didn’t quite hit the mark, many artists were all too happy to turn in their renditions of Furiosa, and we were all too happy to reblog them. Gray Gunter said it best:
BREAKING: Release of every single damn comic book in June and July delayed due to artists not drawing nothing but Furiosa for, like, weeks.
— Gray Gunter (@graygunter) May 24, 2015
But a bunch of books came out in May, and good God was it a good month:
Best Issue: “Shutter” #12
The culmination of a year’s worth of material finds our hero, Kate Kristopher, finally snapping out of her funk and getting ready to kick some ass. This issue doubled down on everything that makes “Shutter” so great, and I can’t wait for the next year to begin. Joe Keatinge and Leila del Duca have found their groove working together and the comic shines all the more because of that. (Image.)
Best Writer: Alex De Campi, “No Mercy” #2
The coyotes make their move while the kids start freaking out and the death toll begins to rise. De Campi turned in a super tight, super intense script this month that’s gripping and terrifying. (Image.)
Best Artist: Rafael Albuquerque, “Ei8ht” #4
Albuquerque deftly balances about fourteen thousand different timelines in this book, and it’s never confusing or jarring or incomprehensible. He’s gearing up for the grand finale with this one and the armies of crazy zealots and dinosaur riders make for some fantastic images. (Dark Horse.)
Best Reprint: “Donald Duck: The Pixilated Parrot”
These are literally some of the best comic books ever released and you’re doing yourself a major disservice if you haven’t been picking them up. Make sure to check out ‘Vacation Time’ in this collection. Carl Barks was a genius and well worth your time and attention. (Fantagraphics.)
Best Translation from the Web to the Page: “Nimona” by Noelle Stevenson
Noelle Steveson’s wonderful story of a shapeshifting girl and evil supervillain and corrupt government hits actual shelves. Stevenson cleaned up a lot of the art at the beginning of the story, and without all the webcomic clicking, the reading experience is much smoother. It’s funny, thrilling, and crazy. Stevenson did great work with this. (HarperTeen)
Best Original Graphic Novel: “ApocalyptiGirl: An Aria for the End Times” by Andrew MacLean
Slim, tight, and imaginative, MacLean uses the longer OGN format to make this an immersive and fluid experience. A lot of it reminded me of “Batman: Year 100” with the dog chase at the beginning, the mysterious origins of the lead character, and the crazy cool motorcycle. There’s some really nice color work here, too. MacLean did a great job. (Dark Horse.)
Best Collection: “Dream Fossil”
Satoshi Kon had one of the wildest and most vivid imaginations I’ve seen out of any artist. His sense of timing and pace was impeccable and he was a master at bringing these worlds to life. It’s sad that we’ll probably never see his final film, but Verticle did a beautiful job putting this collection of his short stories together. (Verticle.)
Best Cover: “Adventure Time” #40
Paul Pope + the world of Ooo = saliva frothing imagery. (kaBoom!)
Best Event in Event Comics: “Convergence” ends.
This whole mess is done and we can finally return to our regularly scheduled programming. I, for one, am crazy excited about new “Grayson,” “Gotham Academy,” and “Batman” arcs. (DC.)
