As summer winds down, Image is heading to the beach. Well, it’s sending a bunch of wizards and magical creatures there. We’ve also got our monthly requisite of spacemen, spies, murderers, and giant monsters. All that and a really bad case of sunburn. That’s right, it’s time to take a look at the insanity Image has planned for us this August.
As always, check out the full solicits on the Image Comics website.
10. I’m on the Edge of Glory
We liked the first issue of “Death or Glory” here at Multiversity well enough. John Schaidler thought it had “a lot of promise” and had nothing but good things to say about artist Bengal. And just look at it! Bengal is absolutely killing the pulpy Speed-Racer-by-way-of-Tarantino style. Our titular protagonist (her name is Glory smartass) is a super-cool antihero with an obvious heart of gold. How do you solidify a reader’s connection with an aloof badass? Have her face down “true evil” as the solicit says. This is a book concerned with fun and style over all else, and if you liked one issue, you’ll probably like ’em all.
DEATH OR GLORY #4
WRITER: RICK REMENDER
ARTIST / COVER: BENGAL
VARIANT COVER: ANDREW ROBINSON
AUGUST 01 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.99When faced with true evil, Glory must decide if she’ll turn and run, or put the pedal down and face it head-on.
9. Kick the Bucket Starter
There are a lot of new sci-fi comics that are getting a lot of mileage out of recent technology trends, but this one may have my favorite premise. Combining the gig economy and crowdfunding with violence, “Crowded” is a story of assassins and bodyguards hired through phone apps. The setup could be grim, but the bright chunky cover has me reassured that this series is going to be a lot of fun. The main character has pink hair; how could it not be fun?
Honestly, it sounds like equal parts The Purge and the classic Neil Gaiman short story ‘We Can Get Them For You Wholesale.’ I’m especially intrigued by the idea of the “lowest rated bodyguard” on the muscle-for-hire app. By itself that character would be enough to get me to check out a book, but when placed in the middle of the rest of this insanity, you know you’ve got a perfectly volatile comic book mixture.
CROWDED #1
WRITER: CHRISTOPHER SEBELA
ARTIST / COVER: RO STEIN, TED BRANDT
COLORS: TRIONA FARRELL
VARIANT COVER: RACHEL STOTT
AUGUST 15 / 32 PAGES / FC / T+ / $3.99SERIES PREMIERE Ten minutes in the future, the world runs on an economy of job shares and apps, including Reapr: a crowdfunding platform to fund assassinations. Charlie Ellison leads a quiet, normal life until she’s suddenly targeted by a million-dollar Reapr campaign. Hunted by all of Los Angeles, Charlie hires Vita, the lowest-rated bodyguard on the Dfend app. As the campaign picks up speed, they’ll have to figure out who wants Charlie dead before the campaign’s 30 days—or their lives—are over. From Eisner-nominated writer CHRISTOPHER SEBELA (Heartthrob, We(l)come Back, Harley Quinn), RO STEIN & TED BRANDT (Captain Marvel, Raven: The Pirate Princess), TRIONA FARRELL (Runaways, Mech Cadet Yu), and CARDINAL RAE (BINGO LOVE, ROSE). COMPARISON TITLES If the near-future implications of social media and technology in Semahn and Corona’s NO. 1 WITH A BULLET had you on the edge of your seat, you’ll love CROWDED.
8. Black Hole Sun, Sounds like Fun
People are scared of the dark. That’s a fact. Turning that around is a great start for a horror story. In “Eclipse,” sunlight is dangerous, and people need to hide in the shadows. Our main character: a former solar engineer. Awesome. He goes from harnessing sunlight to fighting it. This solicit describes a “corrupt solar tycoon,” which is not a job I realized came with a lot of opportunity for corruption, which just shows how naive I am. But the icing on the cake is the cover by James Stokoe. Unlike regular books, comics can absolutely be judged by their covers, and a cover by Stokoe is amazing for two reasons. First, it’s a piece of art by one of the most talented guys in the industry. But second, it’s an endorsement from a creator who always finds himself involved with the most interesting projects around. Consider his cover an endorsement for this twisted tale.
Continued belowECLIPSE #9
WRITER: ZACK KAPLAN
ARTIST / VARIANT COVER: GIOVANNI TIMPANO
COVER: JAMES STOKOE
AUGUST 01 / 32 PAGES / FC / T+ / $3.99NEW STORY ARC In a world where sunlight is deadly, former solar engineer David Baxter rushes to escape back into New York City before sunrise, while Cielo Brandt, daughter of a corrupt solar tycoon, searches for the mysterious Scientist responsible for an immunity to dangerous sunlight—a Scientist with his own plans in mind.
7. Six Thousand Years of Solitude (and Murder!)
I cannot believe how much is getting revealed in this arc of “The Wicked + the Divine.” We’re peeling back mysteries one at a time, seeing the inner lives of our villains, finding out the dark secrets of our heroes, getting some Jerry Springer-style drama, and oh yeah, getting a quick montage that covers all of human history? This arc has been awesome, and issue #39 is the end of the line. The solicit promises “the end of the arc, in just about every way you could define those particular words” and that means we’re finally going to see how Laura/Persephone breaks the cycle once and for all. “The Wicked + the Divine” is most concerned with recurrences, patterns, repetition. Issue #39 is going to be the one where the characters decide they don’t like the way this game is going, so they flip the table. It’s a testament to this series that every issue could be described that way, but I feel like this time I really mean it. That’s how you escalate (and escalate, and escalate and escalate).
THE WICKED + THE DIVINE #39
WRITER: KIERON GILLEN
ARTIST / COVER: JAMIE MCKELVIE, DEE CUNNIFFE
VARIANT COVER: DEE CUNNIFFE, PHIL JIMENEZ
AUGUST 22 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.99END OF STORY ARC A 2018 Eisner Award nominee for Best Continuing Series and Best Lettering by CLAYTON COWLES! “MOTHERING INVENTION,” Conclusion Well, it’s the end of the arc, in just about every way you could define those particular words.
6. This Blood’s for You!
The original “Youngblood” wasn’t very good. Even as society reassesses every comic that Rob Liefeld ever drew, it’s hard to defend his original Image creation. It was derivative, confusing, and poorly drawn. This sorta kinda reboot is totally awesome though. Chad Bowers has a real life superpower, and its finding sincerity in the dumbest places. Leave it to him to trick me into checking out a comic ironically, and then actually getting into it. Did he re-brand “Youngblood” as a deconstructive take on action and violence? Hell no, it’s still a pretty stupid book. But it’s a well-written, well-drawn stupid book, and that’s great. Cory Hamscher ain’t Liefeld, but he’s fully aware of what book he’s on. Teeth are gritted and pouches are affixed. I can’t rightly explain what the solicit is about, but I know this issue will get a chuckle out of me, and in all likelihood it’ll make me feel a real emotion too.
YOUNGBLOOD #14
WRITER: CHAD BOWERS
ARTIST / COVER: CORY HAMSCHER
VARIANT COVER: ROB LIEFELD
AUGUST 29 / 32 PAGES / FC / T+ / $3.99“THE BLOOD WAR,” Part Two Chapel and Battlestone’s war over who gets to kill Psi-Fire hardest threatens to leave a Kansas-sized crater in the middle of America. And finally—after thirteen issues—Shaft comes clean about the last mission of the original Youngblood! All your questions will be answered… except that one.
5. Kegs and Kaiju
July brought the premiere of a new series from half of the “Chew” creators. August brings us a new series from the other half. John Layman’s new book doesn’t look as gross as “Chew” or “Farmhand,” but it sounds just as wacky. I don’t want to be that guy who over-analyzes the word choice in the solicits (hell, that’s my job) but the juxtaposition between the phrases “beer run” and “giant monster from hell” tell you what you need to know about this new series. Do you want to see hapless party dudes contend with a skyscraper sized dragon? Then “Leviathan” has got you covered.
Continued belowWhat has me extra excited is the art team. Nick Pitarra and colorist Michael Garland both are coming to this series from “The Manhattan Projects.” They have the ability to make the fantastical look mundane, and the mundane look disgusting. There’s something about the way they draw people that has you really focused on their imperfections- their pores and their hairlines, things like that. I cannot wait to see how they draw monsters.
LEVIATHAN #1
WRITER: JOHN LAYMAN
ARTIST / COVER: NICK PITARRA, MICHAEL GARLAND
AUGUST 01 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.99GEM OF THE MONTH SERIES PREMIERE Poor Ryan DeLuca didn’t buy enough beer for his party, and while he was out on a beer run his idiot buddies busted out some mystical arcana and performed a summoning ceremony—a ceremony that summoned a giant monster from hell! Join multiple Eisner-winning writer JOHN LAYMAN (CHEW) and Eisner-nominated artist NICK PITARRA (THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS), along with soon-to-be-nominated-for-best-colorist MICHAEL GARLAND (THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS) for an eye-popping, face-melting, reality-defying, nonstop rush of pure adrenaline. COMPARISON TITLES If you like fullscreen monster movies like Godzilla and you watch Game of Thrones just for those glorious dragons, you’ll love LEVIATHAN!
4. Demon is a Centerfold
Look, some books are nuanced, some books feature a centaur in a tiny bathing suit. Is “Curse Words” brilliant? Absolutely, it’s my favorite. Is this issue going to match the cleverness of the main series? Proooooobably not. Do I care? Hell no, there’s a centaur in a tiny bathing suit. Should you care? I hope you’re not serious. Why are you reading comic books if you don’t want to read a silly book about evil wizards at the beach? Also, this is “Curse Words” so maybe I’ll eat my words and this summer special will be just as clever as the main series. I feel like this issue is a win-win proposition. Either it’s a work of genius or it’s not, but either way, there’s a centaur in a tiny bathing suit.
CURSE WORDS SUMMER SWIMSUIT SPECIAL #1 (ONE-SHOT)
WRITER: CHARLES SOULE
ARTIST / VARIANT COVER: QUINONES JOE
COVER: RYAN BROWNE
AUGUST 22 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.99SEE: Sizzajee’s sinister sorcerers sweating their way through the sunny, sultry, summertime season back in the Hole World. SEE: a hogtaur in a Speedo! SEE: an invisible wizard with a sunburn! SEE: such sights! Such glorious sights! JOIN US.
3. Jackalope… in… SPACE
I’m a sucker for stories about innocent people turned into unstoppable space weapons. I was probably going to like “Stellar” even if it wasn’t by the superstar team of Joseph Keatinge and Bret Blevins (Bret freaking Blevins!). It’s hard for me to see through my personal preferences. If you’ve got similar predilections, than “Stellar” is an easy sell. If you don’t, you’ve got a classic “X-Men” artist doing a modern take on “Heavy Metal” and that’s pretty cool.
But you know what else I’m a sucker for? Cute monsters. I love the creatures in “Saga,” I’m obsessed with “Final Fantasy” monsters, I adore the creatures of “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” and I can’t get enough of whatever that creature is on the cover. Look at it! It’s like a giant lynx with glorious antlers. It’s treading over the bodies of its enemies. I want one. “Stellar” is a fantastical space opera with a familiar story and familiar characters, but damn if it isn’t filled with wonderful things to see. Sometimes all a comic really needs is a great execution.
STELLAR #3
WRITER: JOSEPH KEATINGE
ARTIST / COVER: BRET BLEVINS
AUGUST 15 / 32 PAGES / FC / T+ / $3.99Across innumerable years and countless galaxies, Zenith has pursued Stellar. He was always the worst of the ultimate weapons, and now he’s finally found her… but, boy, has she changed.
2. It’s More Important to Know Whether There Will Be Weather Than What the Weather will Be
At the time of these solicits, “The Weatherman” #1 has not yet come out. To what does it owe such a high placement on this list? I’ve followed it as much as anyone is able, and suffice to say I’m a bit obsessed. This series looks like it’s going to be the perfect storm (pun intended, sorry/not sorry). It’s packed with high concept ideas, and too many genres. The art style is so confident you can’t help but fall in love. The weatherman on Mars idea is cool, but he’s placed in a high stakes interplanetary spy tale. The character designs are also totally on point. They ooze personality.
Continued belowIt’s a little hard to justify such a deep connection to a series that hasn’t come out yet, but I’m willing to stake my reputation on this one. “The Weatherman” has all the makings of a new Image classic, and if we don’t all love it by issue #3 . . . I don’t know what I’ll do. I can’t see that happening. This series has me totally hype, and I can’t wait for you to get obsessed with it.
THE WEATHERMAN #3
WRITER: JODY LEHEUP
ARTIST / COVER: NATHAN FOX
VARIANT COVER: MARCOS MARTIN
AUGUST 15 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.99Cut off, on the run, and hunted by The Marshal, Nathan and Cross try to stay alive long enough to find Nathan’s lost memory and the key to stopping another world-ending attack. But they’ll have to survive each other first…
1. Queen’s Rook Gambit
On the other hand, I have had a chance to start reading “Isola” and it’s even more than promised. The solicits keep insisting that it’s a series “recommended for fans of Studio Ghibli and the work of Hayao Miyazaki” and that’s definitely true, but that barely scratches the surface. “Isola” is gorgeous. It’s mysterious. It’s exciting. It’s understated. Comparing it to popular anime is a good starting point, but I feel like that’s barely scratching the surface.
At its core, “Isola” is a character piece about a queen and her loyal bodyguard. It’s also a fairy tale about a woman turned into a fantastical creature. But that doesn’t even begin to cover the amazing worldbuilding, the eerie landscapes and the marching songs and all the rest of it. After this issue, the first story arc of “Isola” is over. Then it’s taking a painful six month hiatus. Don’t wait for this series to be adapted into a movie or something. This is a comic that will never be better than it is as a comic, and if you love the medium enough to be reading this feature, you need to be reading this series full stop.
ISOLA #5
WRITER: BRENDEN FLETCHER, KARL KERSCHL
ARTIST / VARIANT COVER: KARL KERSCHL, MSASSYK
COVER: KARL KERSCHL
AUGUST 08 / 32 PAGES / FC / T+ / $3.99END OF STORY ARC Rook and Olwyn face each other at the end of the road. Recommended for fans of Studio Ghibli and the work of Hayao Miyazaki. ISOLA WILL RETURN IN JANUARY 2019.
