Summer is nigh, so let’s beat the heat by looking at what Image has coming out in July.
10. More like this, please
The Massive-verse is one of the few self-contained superhero universes outside of the Big 2, and even though it is so much smaller in scale than either of those massive – pardon the pun – universe, it can still feel like a difficult space to jump right into. A sampler like this, which takes the first issue of a few different series is a wonderful primer for the universe that Kyle Higgins and co. have been crafting at Image for the past few years.
ACROSS THE MASSIVE-VERSE TP, VOL. 1
WRITER: Melissa Flores, Ryan Parrott, Mat Groom, Kyle Higgins ARTIST: Marcello Costa, ERICA D’URSO, French Carlomagno COVER A: Francesco Manna
JULY 17 / 144 pages / FC/ T+ / $9.99
A struggling writer finds a miniature black hole after moving back in with his parents. A rebellious teenager inherits a superhero mantle from his estranged father. A troubled veteran suits back up to fight a tech conglomerate out of her home. In the city of tomorrow, a skeptical student is chosen by a magical bracelet powered by belief. Welcome to the MASSIVE-VERSE, the thrilling new universe of Image superheroes! This action-packed sampler collects the first issues of RADIANT BLACK, ROGUE SUN, THE DEAD LUCKY, and INFERNO GIRL RED at the bargain price of $9.99—a perfect entry point for new readers! Collects RADIANT BLACK #1, ROGUE SUN #1, THE DEAD LUCKY #1, and INFERNO GIRL RED: BOOK ONE #1
9. Less like this, please
I mean everything I said in the above write up, but for the love of all things holy, please stop with these point five issues, especially for the end of an arc. I almost get it if you’re telling a sort of side story that fits in between issues 30 and 31, but this isn’t that. This is the end of the arc. Just call it 31. C’mon, Higgins.
RADIANT BLACK #30.5
JULY 17 / pages / / T+ / $3.99
END OF STORY ARC Everything has come to this. The paradigm is forever changed. In the wake of THE UNMISSABLE CONCLUSION TO THE CATALYST WAR, there can only be one RADIANT BLACK. The second half part of a story that begins in RADIANT BLACK #30!
8. Sometimes these solicits amuse me
I love an audiobook, and so this is not casting aspersions on tie-in comics to audiobooks. But this company was built on artists wanting full control of their weird little comics, and so when you see an Audible Original prequel one-shot, it doesn’t seem to jibe with “Savage Dragon” or “Wetworks.”
IMPACT WINTER: EVENFALL ONE-SHOT
WRITER: Travis Beacham ARTIST / COVER A: Sumeyye Kesgin
JULY 24 / 40 pages / FC/ — / $4.99
The year is 1953. The Cold War is at its height, and intelligence operative Penelope Chambers is running an off-the-books investigation into the disappearance of female agents in Eastern Europe. When she’s called to Soviet Prague for a routine drop, Penelope will come face to face with death or the possibility of everlasting life… From creator TRAVIS BEACHAM (Pacific Rim) and artist SUMEYYE KESGIN (VOYAGIS) comes another official prequel story to the hit Audible Original.
7. Meet Cruel? Beat Cute?
Maria Llovet is one of the few creators who does mainstream comics work whose work is almost always described as ‘sexy’ or ‘alluring,’ and why is that? Sexy comics are good! If you, like me, missed the “Image 30th Anniversary Anthology,” this is a great opportunity to check out this story.
ALL THE THINGS WE DIDN’T DO LAST NIGHT ONE-SHOT
WRITER / ARTIST / COVER A / COVER B / COVER E / COVER F: Maria Llovet
JULY 03 / 32 pages / FC/ — / $3.99
“CRIMINALS TO LOVERS” Author MARIA LLOVET (CRAVE, Luna, Porcelain) returns with this sexy one-shot compilation of her 3-part story, previously published in the IMAGE 30TH ANNIVERSARY ANTHOLOGY. Mamen is a young art historian who has become a jewelry thief because of a trauma from her past. Damon is a hitman tired of his bosses. Oblivious to their secret lives, they meet cute and promise to go on a date. But fate unites them before they planned, as both witness each other’s crime.
6. Another month, another Spawn miniseries
Continued below
If you had told the kid collecting “Spawn” in the first year or two of its run how many Spawn-adjacent comics come out every month, he would’ve never believed you. I love that John Layman is doing a comedic Spawn book, but I do wish that the book was solicited with artists attached. It is hard enough to get artists talked about with the same vigor as we talk about writers (and yes, I am guilty as charged), but when we don’t even list the artist on the solicit, it is even harder.
SPAWN KILLS EVERY SPAWN #1 (OF 5)
WRITER: John Layman
JULY 24 / 24 pages / FC/ — / $2.99
MINISERIES PREMIERE What happens when you find out you’re not the only Hellspawn? What if you also find out you’re not the coolest Hellspawn? Easy—you kill them all!
5. Mullets…from SPACE!
This is a reprint, but if you need my help to pick up a Daniel Warren Johnson book, you need more than just my help. This is such a fun comic, and is a great representation of DWJ before the world caught onto his immense talent.
SPACE-MULLET TP
WRITER / ARTIST / COVER A: Daniel Warren Johnson
JULY 10 / 250 pages / FC/ — / $19.99
Perfect for fans of Firefly and Cowboy Bebop, SPACE-MULLET is a sci-fi romp about a ragtag crew of misfits doing everything they can to get by in space. SPACE-MULLET is an episodic comic about a washed-up, Ex-Space Marine trucker named Jonah and his alien co-pilot, Alphius. Together, they do their best (and usually fail) to do good throughout the galaxy.
4. Fly free, fish
After a long span of Image being the home for Jeff Lemire’s creator-owned work, Lemire is moving over to BOOM! for his next ongoing book. What this means for his time at Image and his discussed return to “Royal City” remain to be seen, but for now, the finale of “Fishflies” may be the last we see of Lemire at Image for a little while.
FISHFLIES #7 (OF 7)
WRITER / ARTIST / COVER A: Jeff Lemire COVER B: Mike Spicer, John McCrea
JULY 17 / 56 pages / FC/ M / $5.99
MINISERIES FINALE The stunning conclusion of JEFF LEMIRE’S surreal and heart-rending series! Officer Danny Laraque frantically searches for Franny, Franny tries to get an answer from Bug, Bug looks for forgiveness, and Helen still hangs on to hope in the hospital with her son, Paul. It’s all connected and looping into each other at the height of the fishflies’ annual summer return to Belle River.
3. The good, non-Zuckerberg type of meta
If you’re reading “Public Domain,” this is the comic within that comic. It’s a fun idea for a miniseries, especially when you get Rachel Stott to do the art. Stott is an under-appreciated talent who should be on way more high profile work than she is, and so getting to read five issues of her within the world of “Public Domain” is a treat.
THE DOMAIN #1 (OF 5)
WRITER: Chip Zdarsky ARTIST / COVER A: Rachael Stott
JULY 10 / 24 pages / FC/ — / $3.99
MINISERIES PREMIERE When three best friends discover a crashed UFO, they also discover technology that gives them incredible abilities! But there’s a catch: only one of them can use the powers at a time! Can their friendship survive the power’s temptation? In the pages of Image’s Eisner-winning series, PUBLIC DOMAIN, Syd Dallas and the team at Dallas Comics reimagine their classic character THE DOMAIN for a new audience, and…this is that comic! This special series, written by CHIP ZDARSKY (Batman, NEWBURN) with amazing art by RACHAEL STOTT (Fantastic Four, Dr. Who) and EREN ANGIOLINI (Justice League: Last Ride) is a classic superhero story for those coming in fresh, and a fun meta story for readers of PUBLIC DOMAIN!
2. Old school
If you read the solicit for this book and look at the talent involved, this looks like one of the most ‘classic’ Image titles we’ve seen in years. Depending on your tastes, that could either be a really interesting thing or a very boring development. Personally, I like it when a series gives off a vibe of a sprawling, long story, and this certainly fits that bill. Since one of these creators has sent me unnecessarily aggressive emails for misinterpreting a question I asked in an interview, I won’t say much about the creative team other than two-thirds of the folks involved are very nice based on my prior experience, and all three have done work I really enjoy.
Continued belowFREE AGENTS #1
WRITER: Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza ARTIST: Triona Farrell, Stephen Mooney COVER A: Stephen Mooney COVER B: Kevin Maguire COVER D: Erik Larsen COVER E: Pete Woods
JULY 03 / 48 pages / FC/ — / $3.99
SERIES PREMIERE GIANT-SIZE! BARGAIN PRICE! An all-new ongoing series! KURT BUSIEK (ASTRO CITY), FABIAN NICIEZA (Deadpool), and STEPHEN MOONEY (Half Past Danger) introduce a team of young veterans, survivors of a massive intergalactic war. Salvo. Pike. Katari. Shakti. Ridge. Maraud. Chalice. They’ve fought every day of their existence and won a terrible victory. Now they’re stranded on Earth, free agents for the first time. But when relics from their long war appear, threatening their chance at better lives, their greatest battle begins. They’ve fought for a million planets. Can they fight to save their own souls?
1. OK but for real, old school
One of the longest running Image series of the original era, “Withcblade” wrapped up in 2015 after 20 years, and has subsequently been relaunched twice since. This newest relaunch has a really interesting creative team of Marguerite Bennett and Guiseppe Cafaro, neither of whom necessarily scream “Witchblade” to me, which is why they are such inspired choices. I don’t have a ton of love for this book other than nostalgia, but I like Marc Silverstri continuing to do what he does and keep his creator-owned stuff going strong.
WITCHBLADE (2024) #1
WRITER: Marguerite Bennett ARTIST / COVER B: Giuseppe Cafaro, Arif Prianto COVER A / COVER E: Marc Silvestri, Arif Prianto COVER D: Dani Strips, Brad Simpson COVER F: J. Scott Campbell COVER G: Bill Sienkiewicz COVER H: Marc Silvestri
JULY 17 / 48 pages / FC/ — / $4.99
SERIES PREMIERE Sara Pezzini is back in an all-new origin story! A reimagining of the classic storyline, this high-octane supernatural thriller starts at the beginning with familiar characters and new story arcs. New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. From co-creator MARC SILVESTRI (THE DARKNESS, CYBER FORCE, Batman and the Joker: The Dearly Duo) and writer MARGUERITE BENNETT (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) with artist GIUSEPPE CAFARO (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja) comes a bold new era of WITCHBLADE!
You can find the rest of the solicits by using a search engine.
