The creators of Image Comics are doing good work, and they should be proud of themselves. Looking at the December solicits, you’ll see very few of their most popular, or most award-winning series. What you will see are so many gems, it’s hard to parse the list down to just ten. But parse it I must do, and so I have. Here are ten series you should treat yourself to. No seriously, don’t miss them, every one of these is good stuff that I recommend without reservation. And once you’ve gotten all ten of these, dig a little deeper into the fabulous Image catalogue.
Doing it is easy! You’ve just gotta read the full solicits on the Image Comics website!
10. Mightiest Doggo
There isn’t a question as to what “Battlepug” is. It’s a comic about a barbarian who rides a cute pug. He rides it into battle. But there was a question as to whether or not the first issue would be any good. Well guess what, the first issue did not disappoint. Our own Christa Harader gave the first issue an 8.0, and I take Christa’s recommendations very seriously. And I’m not a monster, I’m utterly charmed by this series. You’re gonna be charmed too!
Battlepug #4
WRITER: Mike Norton
ARTIST: Mike Norton, Allen Passalaqua
COVER A: Allen Passalaqua, Mike Norton
COVER B: Declan Shalvey
DECEMBER 11 / 32 pages / FC/ T+ / $3.99“WAR ON CHRISTMAS,” Part Four The Queen of the Northland Elves has a plan to rule all realms, and it looks like she’ll succeed! The Last Kinmundian must reunite with his loyal friend Battlepug and stop her. But first, he has to escape from becoming Juan Diego the Wendigo’s dinner! Fantasy fun and adventure from MIKE NORTON, ALLEN PASSALAQUA, and CRANK!
9. Cleaning house
Robert Kirkman my man, is everything OK? First you fake solicit issues of your biggest hit ever, “The Walking Dead.” Then you cancel it without any explanation. And now you’re ending “Outcast?” I checked the sales charts, “Outcast” isn’t a “Walking Dead” level hit, but the issues sell pretty well! Why end it now? Is it secretly… not ending? I think that whole “Walking Dead” secret finale thing gave me some serious trust issues. I wanna say that “Outcast” is gonna nail the ending, but I don’t know what’s what anymore.
Outcast By Kirkman & Azaceta #43
WRITER: Robert Kirkman
ARTIST / COVER A: Paul Azaceta, Elizabeth Breitweiser
DECEMBER 25 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99The beginning of the end is upon us. Allison has been possessed, but it’s unlike any possession we’ve seen before. How will this affect Kyle’s mission to save the world, now that the great merge has begun? Find out in the thrilling first issue of the final story arc of OUTCAST BY KIRKMAN & AZACETA!
8. Brutal noodles, they’re the brutal-est
The seasonal approach has been great for the pacing of “The Weatherman,” even if it makes me look twice at the numbering. Calling this issue the season two finale gives it more weight than if you just declared it the end of an arc. And this series deserves the extra pomp! “The Weatherman” has been one of the best Image sci-fi books since it debuted- and that’s a pretty competitive field! With fun writing and phenomenal art, I really hope you take the opportunity to support this good good good good comic.
The Weatherman Vol. 2 #6
WRITER: Jody LeHeup
ARTIST / COVER A: Nathan Fox
COVER B: Andrew Robinson
JANUARY 29 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99NO SPOILERS! Cross and crew must do the impossible—escape Earth alive! HUGE revelations abound in this, the stunning conclusion of the second chapter of JODY LEHEUP and NATHAN FOX’s must-read sci-fi instant classic THE WEATHERMAN!
7. Camp Ruby Lake
I love me some good vampire stuff. I am the Watcher of Buffyversity after all, chronicling all things “Buffy” comic-related. And Jeff Lemire is the perennial favorite of Multiversity Comics. So Lemire doing vampires? Hell yeah. Lemire doing space vampires!? There’s not an expletive that’s been invented for how rad that premise is!
Continued belowAscender #8
WRITER: Jeff Lemire
ARTIST / COVER A: Dustin Nguyen
DECEMBER 18 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99“THE DEAD SEA,” Part Three The Vamps may rule this strange new universe but that won’t save them from Kanto, The Blood Scrapper—the most badass vampire hunter in the galaxy!
6. A dirty, pretty rat
Comic solicits are done three months out. That means I can get excited about a new #1 issue, but no so much for #2 and #3. They lack the newness of the #1, but I haven’t had a chance to check out the series for myself. But #4 issues? Those can be recommended on the strength of the debut. And “Pretty Deadly” is back, and arguably better than its ever been. Rowan Grover reviewed the first issue for us, and he gave it a 9.3. I don’t see the series slowing down from there, it’s beautiful and weird; two excellent creators at the top of their game.
Pretty Deadly: The Rat #4 (of 5)
WRITER: Kelly Sue DeConnick
ARTIST / COVER A: Emma Ríos
DECEMBER 11 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99Obsession will drive them mad.
5. Hammer to anvil
This series started with an ending written in. The bad boys and girls of Hell’s Half-Dozen are given a suicide mission; they’ve gotta cross hostile territory and infiltrate a heavily guarded fortress. Well, this is the issue where they complete their mission. It’s gonna be wild, but it’s also not going to be the end. So what can possibly happen in “Reaver” #6 that gets us wanting to read #7? I think this is going to be a classic.
Reaver #6
WRITER: Justin Jordan
ARTIST: Alex Guimaraes, Rebekah Isaacs
COVER A: Becky Cloonan
DECEMBER 11 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99It ends in blood. But will Hell’s Half-Dozen’s suicide mission to stop one evil only unleash a far greater one?
4. Rocks fall, everyone dies
Did I mention that I love good vampire stuff? Well, Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans are drawing from more than D&D in their dark RPG fantasy epic, and it’s looking more and more like we’re getting into the World of Darkness. That means vampires. That means masquerades. That might mean werewolves, and mummies, and fae, and geists. What’s certain is we are going to see a fantasy world with so many inspirations that it feels unlike any other.
Die #10
WRITER: Kieron Gillen
ARTIST / COVER A: Stephanie Hans
COVER B: Anna Dittmann
DECEMBER 04 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99“SPLIT THE PARTY,” Conclusion Forget escaping DIE.
3. From the pages of
There’s a big market for nostalgia comics that are about other comics. That’s pretty much what “Black Hammer” is. Also “Astro City” and “Invincible.” But “Olympia” seems to be taking that meta-formula in a different direction. This is a series less about creating an original superhero world, and more about how a big comic book fan would navigate a big comic book conflict. So basically, The Last Action Hero but with cool comic book art.
Olympia #2 (of 5)
WRITER: Curt Pires, Tony Pires
ARTIST / COVER A: Alex Diotto, Dee Cunniffe
DECEMBER 25 / 32 pages / FC/ T+ / $3.99Elon scrambles to piece together Olympian’s past and find a way to get him home. So he heads to the one place he knows he’ll find answers: his local comic shop!
2. FEAT. Multiversity’s own Greg Ellner!
Wow, Cassie Hack has been hacking and slashing for 15 years. That’s a hell of a run for any comics character. Celebrating with a one-shot seems well earned. Just look at that list of creators. We’ve got beloved writers, talented artists, some up-and-comers about to hit the big time and… Multiversity contributor Greg Ellner? Hell yeah! Greg’s love for “Hack/Slash” grew so big that the creators had to put him in the book! You gotta go out and support a story like that!
Continued belowHack/Slash 15th Anniversary Celebration (One-Shot)
WRITER: Brian Crowley, Jeff Bohn, Greg Ellner, Stefano Eggleston, Tim Seeley
ARTIST: Tim Seeley, Jules Shapirov, Jay De Foy, Emily Stone, Stefano Caselli, Dan Leister
COVER A: Tyler Walpole
COVER B: Tim Seeley
DECEMBER 11 / 48 pages / FC/ M / $5.99Celebrate the 15th anniversary of the bloody tale about the slasher victim who fought back with these brand-new stories from HACK/SLASH alumni STEFANO CASELLI, EMILY STONE, and DAN LEISTER, as well as new, emerging talent! Plus: an unmissable lead story from—and about!—disgruntled comics writer TIM SEELEY, who makes a wish for Cassie Hack to become real… and then becomes a victim himself when his creation swears to kill him.
1. Stinkoman Too?
Jonathan Luna draws uncanny worlds, that are simultaneously familiar and unbelievable. “Alex + Ada” is one of the great entries in the robot romance genre, and I’ve been eagerly waiting for his follow up. Well here it is. Along with writer Lauren Keely, we’re getting a comic about young people who are feared for being born with special powers. Hey, that sounds like another comic franchise I really love! But you can be assured that this will be less of a tights-and-fights punch-em-up, and more of a measured metaphor about the world we live in. I can’t wait to be surprised by Keely and Luna’s new Alaskan adventure!
20XX #1
WRITER: Lauren Keely, Jonathan Luna
ARTIST / COVER A: Jonathan Luna
DECEMBER 04 / 32 pages / BW/ M / $3.99From JONATHAN LUNA (ALEX + ADA, GIRLS, THE SWORD) and LAUREN KEELY, in her writing debut, comes an all-new ongoing series! This sci-fi thriller for mature readers imagines a not-so-distant future—a world of norms and syms, divided by fear. Syms, a small percentage of the population with telekinetic abilities, form gangs to survive. But division only breeds more division, and Mer and Nuon experience this firsthand as they become entangled in the often dramatic, sometimes violent, but always complex social landscape of sym gang rivalries in Anchorage, Alaska.
