Soliciting Multiversity: Image’s Top 10 for March 2022

Nothing brings out the best in people like a little friendly competition. Sure, the third month of the year is known for the uproar of fans who scream out in support of their teams for March Madness, but I’m much more interested in the spirit of competition between different books as they fight over my hard-earned money! Image has a lot of great contenders in the game this March, with so many top-tier titles that I couldn’t find room for “Saga,” “Astro City,” “Spawn,” or “Crossover” on this list! Seriously, some incredible comics are coming out just over the horizon, so let’s embrace the madness and look into Image Comics’ March offerings.

10. Twilight Of Your Life

A little over a year after its debut, “Nocterra” has settled into a nice groove. The story of a rag-tag group of stragglers trying to stay in the light and defeat the debilitating darkness outside (as well as the darkness inside of humanity) has been a goldmine for breathtaking action and strong character development. As the book heads into its ninth issue, Team Sundog looks for answers around Eos, which could make or break their chances of survival. “Nocterra” has yet to disappoint me and I have high hopes for this continuation of the second arc.

NOCTERRA #9
WRITER: SCOTT SNYDER
ARTISTS / COVERS A & C: TONY S. DANIEL & MARCELO MAIOLO
COVER B: MAHMUD ASHRAR
MARCH 30 / 32 PAGES SELF-COVER / FC / M / $3.99
“PEDAL TO THE METAL,” Part Three
With a fresh member on their roster, Team Sundog must traverse uncharted waters with one question on all their minds: who, or rather, what is Eos?

9. Holding Pattern

“Stillwater” gives me the creeps. While the core premise of a town that doesn’t age sounded happy and wholesome on the surface, the reality of the town’s curse has been anything but pleasant. Here, Zdarsky, Pérez, and an eclectic mix of guest creators unearth the truth behind the lives of those who tried to break free in the past. Unfortunately, given that everybody we’ve seen attempt the feat to date has faced a gruesome fate, I highly doubt that things will turn out well for everybody involved.

STILLWATER BY ZDARSKY & PÉREZ: THE ESCAPE ONE-SHOT
WRITERS: CHIP ZDARSKY, ETHAN YOUNG, JASON LOO & ANDREW WHEELER
ARTISTS: RAMÓN K PÉREZ, ETHAN YOUNG, JASON LOO & SOO LEE
COVER: RAMÓN K PÉREZ
MARCH 9 / 40 PAGES SELF-COVER / FC / M / $4.99
THE ANSWERS YOU DEMANDED!
They say that no one ever dies in Stillwater and no one gets to leave…
…but even for those who have freed themselves of the town, is there truly any escaping Stillwater?
In this groundbreaking extra-length special, CHIP ZDARSKY & RAMÓN K PÉREZ have assembled a dream team of acclaimed creators to answer all your BIGGEST questions before the final chapter of STILLWATER begins!

8. A Little Vampire

“Rain” is not for the weak of heart. Written by Joe Hill and David M. Booher, the series takes place in an apocalyptic landscape where a sudden storm of needle-like raindrops decimated society. One of the survivors of the assault is a young boy named Templeton, whose rare skin condition kept him indoors when the downpour began. Issue three seems to be putting his life at risk, as he follows lead character Honeysuckle into the dangers of the wild. Zoe Thorogood’s art is truly atmospheric and the deceptively dark premise makes this an emotionally turbulent series worth enjoying.

JOE HILL’S RAIN #3 (OF 5)
WRITERS: JOE HILL & DAVID M. BOOHER
ARTIST / COVER A: ZOE THOROGOOD
COVER B: ELIZABETH BEALS
COVER C (1:25): ALISON SAMPSON
COVER D (SKETCH VARIANT / 1:50): ZOE THOROGOOD
MARCH 16 / 32 PAGES SELF-COVER / FC / T+ / $3.99
Having survived a violent run-in with the Comet Cult, Honeysuckle and her new companion—MMA fighter Marc Despot—find themselves in an even tighter spot: young Templeton Blake has followed them into the spreading apocalypse. They hitch a ride to Denver with a friendly highway patrol officer, but the prisoners he’s transporting have different plans…

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7. Nurse’s Orders

Mark Millar is full of surprises. In “King of Spies,” the “Secret Service” co-creator reinvents the spy genre yet again, highlighting an aged agent who wants to clean up the world on his way out. The series is a vehicle for artist Matteo Scalera to show off some incredible action, with enough compelling character work to help give the story some dramatic weight. Issue four wraps up the series with a bang, packing in extra pages for some added value. I’m curious to see if Millar’s Netflix deal integrates this I.P. into a live-action story down the line, so this finale is a must-read for me.

KING OF SPIES #4 (OF 4)
WRITER: MARK MILLAR
ARTIST / COVER A: MATTEO SCALERA
COVER B (B&W VARIANT): MATTEO SCALERA
COVER C: OZGUR YILDIRIM
MARCH 9 / 48 PAGES SELF-COVER / FC / M / $5.99
MINISERIES FINALE
Sir Roland King was Britain’s most famous spy. Now, he’s riddled with bullets and dying in a slum apartment. But in his time of greatest need, an old love has returned to nurse him back to life. She wants him back on his feet to finish his self-assigned final mission: murdering all the men and women in high office that he knows are to blame for the absolute mess the world has become. He is happy to oblige.
Warning: this EXTRA-LENGTH FINALE ISSUE is jam-packed with ABSOLUTE MAYHEM.

6. Killer Nightmare

Slumber sounds like an episode of Criminal Minds mixed with Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. A dream detective named Stetson goes into the minds of her clients to hunt down their deepest personal demons, helping them get a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately, when somebody starts killing people in their slumber, Stetson realizes that her day job has become a new kind of nightmare. The book has a great premise and Cardinali’s art looks uniquely equipped for the surreal landscape of the series, which makes me very intrigued for “Slumber”‘s debut.

SLUMBER #1
WRITER: TYLER BURTON SMITH
ARTIST: VANESSA CARDINALI
COVER A: NATHAN FOX
COVER B: VANESSA CARDINALI
COVER C (1:25): JONATHAN LUNA
COVER D (1:50): BECKY CLOONAN
MARCH 16 / 40 PAGES SELF-COVER / FC / M / $3.99
SERIES PREMIERE
Stetson is a nightmare hunter. A dream detective. She runs a shoddy back-alley business where she helps clients sleep at night by entering their dreams and killing their nightmares. But Stetson’s past comes back to haunt her when she tracks down a literal living nightmare—a serial killer that murders people in their sleep.
SLUMBER is an ongoing series from the twisted minds of writer TYLER BURTON SMITH (Kung Fury, Child’s Play) and rising-star artist VANESSA CARDINALI.

5. Safe Science

All I needed to know was that Nick Dragotta has a new book. Over two years after the finale of “East of West,” Dragotta returns with “Ghost Cage,” paired with newcomer Caleb Goellner for a story that involves super-science, energy reserves, and “monstrous secrets.” The core premise sounds exciting and the promise of extra-large issues for every installment is enough to grab my attention because it’ll give me more Dragotta to enjoy. One look at that cover is all I needed to know that this will be awesome.

GHOST CAGE #1 (OF 3)
WRITERS: NICK DRAGOTTA & CALEB GOELLNER
ARTIST / COVER: NICK DRAGOTTA
MARCH 23 / 48 PAGES + COVER / BW / T+ / $5.99
MINISERIES PREMIERE
The highly anticipated follow-up project from critically lauded EAST OF WEST artist NICK DRAGOTTA!
This ALL-NEW, EXTRA-LENGTH LIMITED SERIES teams artistic dynamo DRAGOTTA with rising-star writer CALEB GOELLNER (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: New Animated Adventures). When his megacorp power plant falls under attack by terrorists, the super-scientist who revolutionized and controls all energy on Earth sends his ultimate creation (and an adequate employee) in to destroy his most monstrous secrets.

4. You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet

Well, I guess I should have predicted this. With a name like “What’s The Furthest Place From Here?,” Matthew Rosenberg and Tyler Boss’ quirky Image comic seemed destined to wind up going to the stars. But is everything as it seems? As Pru, Alabama, and the rest of their gang look for Sid, they seemingly encounter a spaceship. Sure, a closer look at the art suggests that they’ve actually just going to a theme park of sorts as they travel the post-apocalypse landscape, but given that this book has teased at some pretty heady concepts, I’d say space travel isn’t out of the question. The only way to find out for sure is to read this issue.

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WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE? #5
WRITER: MATTHEW ROSENBERG
ARTIST / COVER A: TYLER BOSS
COVER B: TRADD MOORE
COVER C (HORROR VARIANT / 1:10): JOSH HIXSON
COVER D (CONNECTING MAP VARIANT / 1:15): COURTNEY MENARD
COVER E (1:25): SOO LEE
MARCH 16 / 32 PAGES SELF-COVER / FC / T+ / $3.99
APPROPRIATE-SIZED FIFTH ISSUE!
There are fights to be fought, bargains to be struck, and roads to be hit. But when it all comes together, will it be enough to tear the gang apart? Alabama is betting her life that it won’t.
Also, are you reading CROSSOVER? I love that book so much.

3. All Bite, No Bark

Remember when Kirsten Dunst’s character was totally traumatized in Interview with a Vampire from spending her eternal life trapped inside a child’s body? Well, how badly do you think things would pan out for an entire group of kids? Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen reunite once more for an ongoing series that forces kid vampires to confront the reality of their lives as they navigate through the remnants of human civilization. This premise looks like a combination of everything I loved about “Descender” mixed in with “Paper Girls,” and I can’t wait to see what happens.

LITTLE MONSTERS #1
WRITER: JEFF LEMIRE
ARTIST / COVER A: DUSTIN NGUYEN
COVER B: JEFF LEMIRE
COVER C: DOUG MAHNKE
MARCH 2 / 32 PAGES SELF-COVER / FC / M / $3.99
SERIES PREMIERE
They are the last children on Earth…who also happen to be vampires. For longer than they can remember, these child vampires have lived a life of eternal wonder amongst the ruins of humanity. But shocking events fracture the group and set them on a path of discovery that will shatter their innocence forever.

2. Lady in Red

As “Radiant Black” leads into an entire universe of superhero stories, it only makes sense that the world’s first spin-off character gets her moment in the sun. “Radiant Red” focuses on Satomi Shen, seen throughout “Radiant Black” as a sometimes ally, sometimes foe to the titular hero. “Radiant Black” #6, also by Che, Lafuente, and Muerto, previously showcased Satomi’s story, and it may be my favorite issue of the monthly series to date. With more room to spread out in a proper “Radiant Red” series, I know this creative team will deliver something special.

RADIANT RED #1 (OF 5)
WRITER: CHERISH CHEN
ARTIST / COVER A: DAVID LAFUENTE & MIQUEL MUERTO
COVER B: ARTIST TK
COVER C: BLANK
COVER D (1:25): JO MI-GYEONG
MARCH 16 / 32 PAGES SELF-COVER / FC / T+ / $3.99
MINISERIES PREMIERE
Fan-favourite creative team CHERISH CHEN, DAVID LAFUENTE & MIQUEL MUERTO return for a FIVE-ISSUE MINISERIES telling the next unmissable story from the world of RADIANT BLACK!
To her students, Satomi Shen is a diligent middle school teacher. To her fiancé and parents, she’s the rock of their family. To the world, she’s RADIANT RED, a criminal turned matter-absorbing superhero.
But with a mysterious stranger in her classroom, a nosy reporter on her doorstep, and $2.5 million hidden in the air vents of her house, she’s going to have to decide who she is, and quickly—before the world chooses for her.

1. Last Call

And you thought your family was complicated! In “Time Before Time,” Nadia travels to the past to try and track down her family, who she hasn’t seen since she was a young girl. Unfortunately, the journey to find them hasn’t exactly been easy, with Nadia discovering that the Syndicate’s operatives changed their plans somewhen along the way. “Time Before Time” promises to provide Nadia with her long-awaited reunion while setting up some shocking news for Tatsuo. Additionally, the issue will be the last drawn by series’ artist Joe Palmer, who will be taking on a new solo project moving forward. As such, this issue will be an ending, a beginning, and a must-read chapter for “Time Before Time” fans.

TIME BEFORE TIME #11
WRITERS: DECLAN SHALVEY & RORY McCONVILLE
ARTISTS: JOE PALMER & CHRIS O’HALLORAN
COVER A: DECLAN SHALVEY
COVER B: W. SCOTT FORBES
MARCH 16 / 32 PAGES SELF-COVER / FC / M / $3.99
END OF STORY ARC
Tatsuo receives life-altering news and Nadia discovers the truth about what happened to her family, as TIME BEFORE TIME’s sensational second story arc concludes.