Hey folks! I’ll be filling in on this column for a couple of months, so expect a different approach than Jaina took over the last few years. Let’s jump right in!
10. In case you missed it
Matt Kindt, Jeff Lemire, and David Rubín made an OGN that, somehow, didn’t get enough attention when it originally came out a few years ago. That was due, in part, to the fact that it was a Kickstarter-backed project which had a very robust (read: expensive) hardcover edition. This is a chance for folks who weren’t part of the Kickstarter to get a book by three impressive creators.
COSMIC DETECTIVE (OGN) TP
WRITER: Matt Kindt, Jeff Lemire / ARTIST / COVER A: David Rubín
SEPTEMBER 20 / 208 pages / FC/ — / $17.99
New York Times-bestselling writers JEFF LEMIRE (GIDEON FALLS, DESCENDER) and MATT KINDT (BANG!, MIND MGMT) unite with internationally acclaimed artist DAVID RUBÍN (BEOWULF, Ether) for original graphic novel COSMIC DETECTIVE, an epic science fiction mystery that asks: When a God is murdered, who solves the crime?
Enter our detective. The murder of a god threatens to tear apart the very fabric of our reality, and only he stands in the way of utter destruction. Will the mystery he uncovers be worse than the disaster he’s trying to avert? And will his mind crack under the revelations he’s about to uncover before he can do anything about it?
9. A forgotten piece of the Williamson narrative
Joshua Williamson is one of the biggest names in comics today, and there are lots of books that people think of when they consider his work, both for major publishers and his creator-owned work. But one of my personal favorites, and a book that rarely gets discussed, is “Ghosted,” his collaboration with Goran Sudžuka, Davide Gianfelice, and Vladimir Krstic. This softcover collection brings the entire series into one book and will, hopefully, inspire folks to check out the title. $30 for 20 issues is a steal, especially considering the art found within here.
GHOSTED COMPENDIUM TP TP
WRITER: Joshua Williamson / ARTIST: Laci, Davide Gianfelice, Goran Sudźuka, Miroslav Mrva, Juan Jose Ryp / COVER A: Matteo Scalera
SEPTEMBER 20 / 456 pages / FC/ M / $29.99
Celebrate the 10th anniversary of JOSHUA WILLIAMSON’s breakout hit horror series!
Jackson Winters is one of the greatest criminal masterminds to ever live…except he’s rotting in jail after his last doomed score. But when a filthy rich collector breaks Winters out, he’s tasked with putting together an elite team of paranormal experts to do the impossible: steal a ghost from a haunted house of horrors!
Skybound’s horror/crime mash-up is equal parts Ocean’s 11 and The Shining from writer JOSHUA WILLIAMSON (DARK RIDE, Superman) and artists GORAN SUDŽUKA (Y: The Last Man), DAVIDE GIANFELICE, and more!
Collects GHOSTED #1-20.
8. Fuck this stupid book and fuck Image Comics
I am only including this bullshit comic because I want a space to say how terrible Image is for publishing this issue. Four years ago, they upset a lot of folks by welcoming Roc Upchurch back into comics after his abuse allegations went public. Oh wait, did I say allegations? Nope, dude was straight up arrested; his wife claims – and he admits – that she was raped and abused by Upchurch, and that his ‘comeback’ in the press was full of lies about his interactions with his children.
Look, I truly believe in second chances for people who change and do the work, but having a comic published by the third biggest publisher in the country shouldn’t be on the table here. He doesn’t deserve to live on a deserted island if he’s truly changed, but he also shouldn’t get to waltz back into the big time, especially on a title that meant a lot to people, and whose fans openly spoke out about how much they wanted Upchurch off the title. This is a shameful decision by all involved.
Continued belowRAT QUEENS SISTERS WARRIORS QUEENS (ONE-SHOT)
WRITER: Kurtis J. Wiebe / ARTIST / COVER A: Roc Upchurch
SEPTEMBER 20 / 80 pages / FC/ M / $7.99
The epic conclusion to an incredible ten year run of the award-winning series Rat Queens. The finale reunites Betty, Dee, Violet and Hannah decades after a fateful final adventure that forever broke them apart, with many questions and things left unsaid. Discover the mystery of what drove them apart, and what forces have brought them together one last time.
SPECIAL 10TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY PRESTIGE FORMAT ONE-SHOT!
7. Judging a book by its cover
Every month brings a slew of new Image series, and it’s a lot of work to keep track of them when they’re announced. I must admit, Richard Blake’s “Hexagon Bridge” was not on my radar, but in preparing for this column, the striking cover, seen above, jumped out at me. I also love parallel dimension stories, and so the combination of the cover and the pitch has me excited to check this out.
HEXAGON BRIDGE #1 (OF 5)
WRITER / ARTIST / COVER A: Richard Blake
SEPTEMBER 13 / 24 pages / FC/ / $3.99
MINISERIES PREMIERE
Explorers Jacob and Elena Armlen find themselves trapped in a strange parallel dimension of elusive landscapes and shifting architecture inhabited by mischievous entities. Now it’s up to their clairvoyant daughter Adley and sentient robot Staden to rescue them!
6. Oh fishy, fishy, fishy, fish
Jeff Lemire is, perhaps, my favorite creator in comics, and so Lemire books are going to make my list every month, especially as the guy pumps out more comics than the rest of his peers put together, or so it seems. But I also want to point out the craziness in a 56 page second issue. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen that, especially not at a $5.99 price point. This six issue series could’ve easily gained an issue by splitting this into two, but Lemire always appears more interested in making the book the best it can be, not maximizing profits. And that, among many other reasons, is why he’s the best.
FISHFLIES #2 (OF 6)
WRITER / ARTIST / COVER A: Jeff Lemire
SEPTEMBER 13 / 56 pages / FC/ M / $5.99
Franny Fox continues to assist the strange fugitive after his wild metamorphosis while elsewhere in Belle River, the residents of the town continue to search for the perpetrator that shot young Paul DuPuis.
An extra-special extra-length issue from JEFF LEMIRE (GIDEON FALLS, Sweet Tooth) comes a new tale of small-town surrealist horror.
5. Tony in the multiverse
Tony Daniel is primarily known as an artist, but he wrote a fair amount of Batman comics in his day. This book sounds nothing like “Batman,” which is why I’m interested in it. Daniel is an artist first and a writer second, and so I’m most excited to see Daniel draw a demonic multiversal title, but I’m also interested to see what concepts he can come up with in this setting and, hopefully, execute from a scripting perspective.
EDENWOOD #1
WRITER / ARTIST: Tony Daniel / COVER A / COVER E: Tony S. Daniel / COVER B: Mahmud A. Asrar / COVER C: Jorge Molina / COVER D: Ryan Stegman / COVER F: Sketch Cvr
SEPTEMBER 27 / 24 pages / FC/ — / $3.99
SERIES PREMIERE
An eons-long series of multiverse wars between demons and witches has found Earth as its latest and final battleground. The battle pits NECRONEMA, the ever-expanding demonic land that supplanted the Midwest twenty years ago, against EDENWOOD, the witchcraft-controlled land that acts as a barrier against the war zone and the rest of the U.S. RION, a young DEMON HUNTER, is thrust into the role of hero and leader after defeating a magical demon called a GATHER, a transient demon with the power to cross any barrier or dimension.
Summoned by the WITCH WAR COUNCIL, Rion must assemble an elite team of DEMON HUNTERS tasked with annihilating a list of targets within the demon-controlled lands. The men and women he selects happen to be the most famous and revered demon hunters of all time, dating back to the 1700s.
4. Come with me, and we’ll be, in a world of pure imagination
As the parent of a daughter who makes up elaborate stories with her stuffed animals and dolls, this premise instantly spoke to me. Of course, I hope that my daughter’s playtimes don’t lead her into a ‘gruesome saga,’ but I still want to read this and, perhaps, stash a copy for her when she’s a little older.
Continued belowKILL YOUR DARLINGS #1
WRITER: Ethan S. Parker, Griffin Sheridan / ARTIST: Bob Quinn, John J. Hill / COVER A / COVER C: Bob Quinn / COVER B / COVER D: Ryan Stegman
SEPTEMBER 06 / 32 pages / FC/ — / $3.99
SERIES PREMIERE
Eight-year-old Rose loves nothing more than to play pretend in a magical land of her own creation. To her, that world is as real as our own—from her fluffy friends to the terrible evil that lurks at the center of it all. In one night, the line between fantasy and reality will disappear, an ancient hunger will feed again, and Rose will be pulled into a gruesome saga that began centuries before her birth.A new epic begins from debut writers ETHAN S. PARKER and GRIFFIN SHERIDAN, and superstar art team BOB QUINN (Knights of X) and JOHN J. HILL (VANISH)!
3. A blast from the past
When I first started to write for Multiversity way back in 2011, one of the books that one of my fellow writers recommended I check out Joe Casey’ “Butcher Baker: The Righteous Maker.” I never listened to them (and forgot who recommended it – sorry whoever it was!), but the name has stuck with me as one of those great/terrible comic titles that could only work in this weird industry. Well, here we are more than a decade later, and Casey is returning to the concept with a new series, illustrated by Ryan Quankenbush, an artist I know absolutely nothing about. Casey is a creator who is spoken about in reverent tones, but who doesn’t get the press of some of his contemporaries. I’m excited to both dig into the original series finally, as well as check this out.
JUNIOR BAKER THE RIGHTEOUS FAKER #1 (OF 5)
WRITER: Joe Casey / ARTIST / COVER A: Ryan Quackenbush / COVER B: Ryan Quackenbush, Sonia Harris / COVER C: Dustin Nguyen
SEPTEMBER 20 / 40 pages / FC/ — / $4.99
MINISERIES PREMIERE
THE SURPRISE SEQUEL TO 2011’s BUTCHER BAKER THE RIGHTEOUS MAKER!
Meet Daniel “Dizzy” Baker, a gonzo journalist chasing superhuman stories in a world that’s left superheroes behind. Stumbling onto the ultimate story, Baker embarks on a personal vision quest where his past and his future violently collide. Created and written by JOE CASEY, with art by dynamic newcomer RYAN QUACKENBUSH. A dark journey into a surreal family legacy, each issue contains a mind-bending 30 pages of story!
2. Where’s Stephen King covered in moss?
Note to the solicit writers: while, yes, people may known Creepshow as a Shudder TV series, more people know it as a Stephen King film series. Don’t bury the lede.
That said, horror comics are sick, and having Phil Hester, Garth Ennis, and Becky Cloonan all on a horror anthology is especially sick. I shouldn’t have to sell you on this, just buy it.
CREEPSHOW, VOL. 2 #1 (OF 5)
WRITER: Phil Hester, Garth Ennis / ARTIST: Phil Hester, Becky Cloonan / COVER A: Guillem March / COVER B: Becky Cloonan / COVER C: Skinner
SEPTEMBER 13 / 32 pages / FC/ / $3.99
MINISERIES PREMIERE
The smash-hit horror anthology based on the hit Shudder TV series is back and CREEPIER than ever!
In the debut issue, master of the macabre GARTH ENNIS (Preacher, The Boys) and superstar creator BECKY CLOONAN (Wonder Woman) team up for the very first time to deliver a disturbing tale of the unborn!
Then, freaky PHIL HESTER (Gotham City: Year One) tells the story of a grieving son who bends the laws of nature to see his mother one last time…this can’t end well!
Each issue of CREEPSHOW, VOL. 2 will feature different creative teams with uniquely horrifying standalone stories and a 1:10 connecting cover from iconic horror artist SKINNER!
1. The legacy of Kirby, alive and well
There are few creator who are as associated with fandom/respect of another creator as much as Tom Scioli is identified with Jack Kirby. Even before his graphic biography, Scioli was always extolling Kirby’s virtues, both in his words and in his comic work. This seems like the logical conclusion to that fandom; Scioli is ‘remixing’ an old Kirby series, expanding it, updating it, and drawing attention to one of Kirby’s first works. Scioli is an absolutely incredible artist whose creativity drips from everything he touches. As a member of his Patreon community, I’ve seen a fair amount of the images for this book, and cannot wait for the rest of the comics world to fully experience this book.
JACK KIRBY’S STARR WARRIORS: THE ADVENTURES OF ADAM STARR AND THE SOLAR LEGION (ONE-SHOT)
WRITER: Jack Kirby / ARTIST: Jack Kirby, Tom Scioli / COVER A: Tom Scioli
SEPTEMBER 20 / 32 pages / PC/ — / $9.99
It’s JACK KIRBY like you’ve never seen him before! JACK KIRBY’s first cosmic hero, the pirate hunter Adam Starr, is back in this deluxe remix of KIRBY’s first Space Epic series.
See Adam Starr and his Solar Legion of Star Warriors in a battle to the death with killer space pirates Black Michael, Arthak, and their evil armadas. It’s a rip-roaring space adventure with giant man-eating space worms, gargantuan alien killer fish, and planetary nuclear annihilation.
For the full solicitations, check out the Image website.
