As the autumn leaves fall and people come together to appreciate the things that make them happiest, I find myself saying thanks to the fine folks at Image Comics. Every month, Image produces some of my favorite books on the stands, while constantly introducing me to fresh new voices that I wouldn’t find at any other publisher. November brings another batch of sure-to-be-great books, with five new titles that are sure to appeal to a wide array of fans. And while I can’t possibly feature everything I’ll be reading, I’d be a fool if I didn’t mention my excitement for “Grrl Scouts: Stone Ghost,” “Silver Coin,” and the complete collection of “Home.” So while we all get ready to fill our bellies, let us remember to fill out our longboxes too and take a look at what’s cooking from Image Comics in November 2021.
10. Road Trip
Everybody loves a good romance. In “A Thing Called Truth,” a workaholic scientist and a fearless woman embark on a journey that tests the theory that opposites attract. Creators Iolanda Zanfardino and Elisa Romboli are coming off of the success of their series “Alice in Leatherland” for Black Mask Studios. Hopefully having Image Comics as the publisher for their next project will continue their hot streak and help this book connect with an even larger audience. The pair have a good track record and this sounds like a fun story with a lot of heart.
A THING CALLED TRUTH #1 (OF 5)
WRITER / COVER B: Iolanda Zanfardino
ARTIST / COVER A: Elisa Romboli
COVER D / COVER E: Mirka Andolfo
NOVEMBER 03 / 32 pages / FC/ T / $3.99
A chaotic LGBTQ+ road trip!
A workaholic scientist who wants to save the world and a woman who fears nothing but discovering her own destiny find themselves mixed up in a chaotic, on-the-road adventure through Europe.
Will they manage to find a middle ground between their opposing ways of life—at least for long enough to complete their mission? And could this trip lead to an unexpected romance?
9. Latino Heat
In this new series, a young man from Manhattan’s Lower East Side is given super powers by the U.S. government and takes his first steps towards becoming a superhero. I’m always a sucker for seeing more representation in comics, so PhenomX was guaranteed to warrant a read from me. But the biggest selling point for me is actually artist Chris Batista, whose work I have enjoyed for well over a decade now. It wasn’t until I sat down to write this blurb out that I realized that this book was being co-written by actor John Leguizamo. Originally produced through a Seed&Spark crowd-funding campaign, this will be the first regular release for the title. I don’t see anything that brands this as a mini-series or an ongoing, so I’d imagine that this debut is a way for the team to feel things out and see if there’s enough interest for more. Hopefully it works, because I’d love to encourage more projects like this.
PHENOMX #1
WRITER: John Leguizamo, Aram Rappaport, Joe Miciak
ARTIST: Chris Batista
COVER A: Jim Muniz
COVER B: Todd McFarlane
NOVEMBER 03 / 48 pages / FC/ T+ / $6.99
Wrongfully imprisoned and desperate to regain his freedom, Max Gomez agrees to become a subject in an underground government experiment. When the trial gives him phenomenal shape-shifting abilities, Gomez learns his new “freedom” requires surviving a superpowered war fought on the streets of NYC.
8. Glowing Review
RADIANT BLACK #10
WRITER: Kyle Higgins
ARTIST: Igor Monti, Marcelo Costa
COVER A: Eleonora Carlini
COVER B: Igor Monti
COVER C: Declan Shalvey
NOVEMBER 17 / 32 pages / FC/ / $3.99
Welcome to Existence. An unimaginable infinity beyond space and time.
Marshall is trapped there. But how? And why? Can he make it out?
And what is Catalyst?
7. Giant-Sized
Spinning out of the pages of “Geiger,” the world of Mad Ghost Comics (Geoff Johns’s new mini-imprint) expands with a giant-sized special featuring Sterling Gates, Peter Tomasi, Pornsak Pichetshote, Bryan Hitch, Sean Galloway, and more. “Geiger” has been an interesting read and I’m curious to see what approach Johns takes to overseeing a new superhero universe. Given the caliber of the names involved on this special and the quality of “Geiger” so far, I’d say that this’ll be worth checking out. Plus, I gotta give everybody bonus points for releasing this on the same day as the first paperback edition of “Geiger.” For less than $20, readers can buy both and get over 200 pages of story. That’s value.
GEIGER 80-PAGE GIANT #1
WRITER: Sterling Gates, Janet Harvey, Leon Hendrix III, Peter J. Tomasi, Pornsak Pichetshote, Geoff Johns
ARTIST: Staz Johnson, Joe Prado, Paul Pelletier, Gary Frank, Sean Galloway, Peter Snejbjerg, Kelley Jones, Megan Levens, Bryan Hitch
COVER A: Gary Frank
COVER B: Bryan Hitch
COVER C: Paul Pelletier
COVER D: Megan Levens
NOVEMBER 24 / 80 pages / FC/ T+ / $7.99
MAD GHOST COMICS presents a MONSTROUS 80 PAGES of all-new stories featuring GEIGER, as well as his allies and enemies! First, in an extra-sized lead story, GEOFF JOHNS & BRYAN HITCH introduce the mysterious man known as REDCOAT and reveal his bizarre ties to the American Revolution, the Unknown War, and Geiger himself. Then, discover the secrets of the Warlords of Las Vegas—Bonnie Borden! Goldbeard! Mr. Karloff! And more!—in a series of tales written and drawn by some of the greatest writers and artists today! Plus, the special origin tale of Geiger’s favorite two-headed dog, BARNEY, and a PREVIEW of GEOFF JOHNS & GARY FRANK’s new upcoming series: JUNKYARD JOE!
6. Family Feud
Six years ago, when Chip Zdarsky was starting to venture out as a writer with “Howard the Duck,” nobody would have been able to predict his rise as one of the freshest voices in comics. Today, Zdarsky shows an incredible range in his work and a unique talent for mining emotional depths through the quiet things left unsaid. “Newburn” with artist Jacob Phillips seems to be another winner, as a war between crime families leaves a man murdered in the crossfire, as a slow mystery reveals itself. I’m also happy to see that Zdarsky is using his star power to elevate some young talent, as the issue features a back-up story by Nadia Shammas and Ziyed Yusuf Ayoub. This book will likely be a favorite for mob aficionados and I’m curious to see how to story unfolds.
NEWBURN #1
WRITER: Nadia Shammas, Chip Zdarsky
ARTIST: Ziyed Yusuf Ayoub, Jacob Phillips
COVER A: Jacob Phillips
COVER B: Tula Lotay
NOVEMBER 03 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99
EASTON NEWBURN is a private detective without loyalties, investigating conflicts between rival crime factions while collecting enemies along the way. In this DEBUT ISSUE, a man is murdered after stealing from his own mafia family, but they aren’t the ones who ordered the hit…
This new ONGOING SERIES from CHIP ZDARSKY (Daredevil) and JACOB PHILLIPS (THAT TEXAS BLOOD) features a riveting backup story, “BROOKLYN ZIRCONIA,” by rising stars NADIA SHAMMAS and ZIYED YUSUF AYOUB!
5. Power, Man
One of the things that I find so lovable and infuriating about Robert Kirkman is that he knows that he doesn’t need to say a single thing in his solicit text in order to get readers excited. Every month, the summary for “Fire Power” is streamlined to a descriptive text so short that it might as well be a tagline on an ’80s action movie poster. It’s obnoxious, arrogant, and absolutely perfect. At the end of the day, “Fire Power” is so good that I don’t need to know a single thing about it in order to want to read it – and Kirkman knows it!!! Anyways, Owen is going to be in some crazy fight against some snake guy or something. It’ll probably be awesome. Damn it.
Continued belowFIRE POWER BY KIRKMAN & SAMNEE #17
WRITER: Robert Kirkman
ARTIST / COVER A: Matthew Wilson, Chris Samnee
NOVEMBER 03 / 28 pages / FC/ T / $3.99
Surrounded. Alone. Weakened. Owen Johnson is in for the fight of his life.
4. Last Period
Say it isn’t so! After more than seven years of incredible action and intrigue, Rick Remender and Wes Craig are signaling the end for “Deadly Class.” The series has been a favorite of mine for years and I’ve loved watching Craig explore his artistic range over the course of the series, while Remender has presented readers with some of the most endearing scumbags in comics. It remains to be seen exactly who lives and who dies as the series races towards it’s conclusion, which leaves me worried for… well, just about everybody.
DEADLY CLASS #49
WRITER: Rick Remender
ARTIST: Lee Loughridge, Wes Craig
COVER A: Wes Craig
COVER B: JG Jones
NOVEMBER 24 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99
“A FOND FAREWELL,” Part One
The first chapter of the final arc of critically acclaimed DEADLY CLASS! The promise of what could have been, a life that never was—Marcus and Saya are the deadliest couple on Earth, but what happens when they’re hired to kill each other?
3. Can’t Go Home Again
Another month, another chance for me to share my love of “Time Before Time” with the masses. Every issue of this series has brought me great joy, as the time-hopping adventures of Tatsuo and Nadia continue to go haywire. Issue #7 sees the duo try to track down Nadia’s family, though it doesn’t sound like it’ll be a happy reunion. Given how the series has put beloved characters in the crosshairs so far, I’d be worried if I were either of these two. Plus, the covers have a different visual motif for the second arc!
TIME BEFORE TIME #7
WRITER: Rory McConville, Declan Shalvey
ARTIST / COVER A: Declan Shalvey
COVER B: Adam Gorham
NOVEMBER 17 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99
As the Syndicate and the Union wage war across decades, Tatsuo and Nadia continue their journey to reunite Nadia with her family. But a shocking surprise awaits them in the year 2042…
2. Kick Out
Look, “Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton” promised to be a big, dumb story about failed actors trying to solve a murder mystery. It was supposed to be silly and wacky and laughable. So why am I so sad to see it end? Why am I so sad that I won’t get to see more of Terry being a total jerk? Why am I upset that I didn’t get to spend more time with Allison Sainte-Marie and her kung-fu alien skills? Why am I longing for Skippy to CRAAAAAAANK it one more time? I guess that just like Trigger Keaton himself, the good ones are never long for this world. This book is awesome and if you haven’t checked it out yet, there’s still time. Kyle Starks and Chris Schweizer were made for each other.
SIX SIDEKICKS OF TRIGGER KEATON #6 (OF 6)
WRITER: Kyle Starks
ARTIST / COVER A: Chris Schweizer
COVER B: Leila Del Duca
NOVEMBER 10 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99
“…what a perfect comic.” —STEVE ORLANDO (COMMANDERS IN CRISIS)
We’ve come to the conclusion, my friends. Have these six dummies figured out who killed their terribly unlikable TV star employer? Will they get their satisfaction? Will they likely have to fight some more? Yes, my friends, they will definitely have to fight some more! That’s what we’re here for! Fights and dumb mysteries! Come and enjoy this satisfying conclusion to these six finding friendship and the killer and maybe a better life too. Or maybe not. Maybe it all goes to crap. We’re not going to just give it away.
1. Endsong
After what feels like years of anticipation, “What’s the Furthest Place From Here?” #1 will finally be coming out this November. The series reunites Matthew Rosenberg and Tyler Boss, who previously made the acclaimed “4 Kids Walk Into a Bank” (soon to be a major motion picture!). The triple-sized first issue welcomes us into a post-apocalyptic landscape where gangs of children fight to survive. Rosenberg is consistently one of my favorite writers in comics and the intricate detail of Tyler Boss’s artwork makes this a can’t-miss read. And in what has to be the coolest promotional memorabilia I’ve seen in a long while, readers can order an exclusive deluxe edition that comes with a 7″ record featuring two songs from indie punk bands. Everything about this sounds amazing and I haven’t even talked about the variant covers, which include work from Marcos Martin, Skottie Young, and BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS! Need I say more???
Continued belowWHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE? #1
WRITER: Matthew Rosenberg
ARTIST / COVER A: Tyler Boss
COVER B: Marcos Martín
COVER C: Skottie Young
COVER D: Brian Michael Bendis
COVER E: Martin Simmonds
COVER F: Courtney Menard
COVER G: Jenny Frison
NOVEMBER 10 / 60 pages / FC/ T+ / $4.99
TRIPLE-SIZED FIRST ISSUE! A postapocalyptic coming-of-age story from 4 Kids Walk into a Bank’s TYLER BOSS & MATTHEW ROSENBERG.
The world has ended. All that remains are gangs of children living among the ruins. But Sid believes there must be something more out there. When she disappears into the wastelands, her gang will risk everything to bring her home. A story about the things that matter most—your survival, your loved ones, and your record collection.
