Summer’s coming and that means… well this year, that means that Mark Millar has an anniversary, and also that Image is publishing a ton of comics. Fewer new titles to highlight than the last few months. If you’ve been keeping up, I think you’d agree that the Image lineup is feeling really strong at the moment; perhaps stronger than it’s looked since before Covid. So up your SPF, and grab one of these ten titles for your next beach read!
As always, you can find the full solicitations on the Image Comics website.
10. The Very Concept of Mark Millar
I’ve enjoyed a Millar comic or two. “Old Man Logan” is pretty fun. “Superman: Red Son” may be a stone cold masterpiece. But then, “Kick-Ass” is pretty noxious. “Nemesis” can take a hike. “Wanted” is radioactive. (The comic. The James McAvoy film is fine). I’ve occasionally pointed to a new Millar title in this column. I get that he’s pretty popular. But this summer, Image is celebrating the guy’s work, so this seems as good a time as any to rep the misanthrope. He’s got a new series called “Big Game.” But in July Image is also publishing a “Nemesis” hardcover, and a 20th anniversary reprint of “Wanted” #1. If Millar is a flavor you like, you must be pretty lucky.
BIG GAME #1 (OF 5)
Written by MARK MILLAR
Illustrated by PEPE LARRAZThe comics event of the summer is here!
Okay, this is so top secret we can’t even show you the main cover because it spoils something MASSIVE. Just trust us when we say that this is going to be the comic book event of 2023—and it’s NOT what you’re expecting.
Does the crossover really go that wide? Yes, it does. BIG GAME pulls together KICK-ASS, KINGSMAN, NEMESIS, THE MAGIC ORDER, and ALL the Millarworld franchises in one special event. This must be ordered like CRAZY!
9. Baby, it’s so cold
There’s a whole continent down there that we hardly ever talk about! Sure it’s mostly white and featureless, and yeah, there can’t be more than… wow Google is telling me that at any given time, there are between 1,000-4,000 humans living on the southernmost continent. That seems pretty high! This is a comic taking place in that remote land, but the solicit also invokes His Dark Materials, which as we all know is Harry Potter for pretentious kids and intellectuals. Those ingredients are unusual enough that I need to know more! (Plus the covers look like “Die,” which makes me smile).
ANTARCTICA #1
Written by SIMON BIRKS
Illustrated by WILLI ROBERTSStargate meets His Dark Materials in a new non-stop sci-fi action blockbuster!
Hannah’s life imploded the day her father failed to return from the secretive Smith-Petersen Research Station in Antarctica. Alone and on the street, she’s at her lowest ebb when a friend offers help. Retrained as an engineer, Hannah secures a job at the same Antarctic station to search for her father and stumbles headfirst into a conspiracy that threatens everything she’s ever believed.
8. Living on a prayer
Here’s a comic that concerns itself with a single question: if you and your buddies had a literal angel in your custody… what do you do next? Can you ransom it? Ask it for wishes? Or is that strictly a genie thing? Regardless, I’m a sucker for a good exorcist story, or anything supernatural involving angels and demons and hell and the Roman Catholic Church. Here’s a high concept book aimed right at me.
IN HELL WE FIGHT #2
Written by JOHN LAYMAN
Illustrated by JOKHostage or houseguest? In the deepest, darkest heart of hell, three best friends have rescued a kidnapped angel. Now they have to decide what to do with her.
7. If the title fits
Leave it to the incomparable baby-drawing Skottie Young to write a comic with a title so long, it hurts my fingers to type it out. Once more for those in the cheap seats, we’re looking at “The Unbelievable Unfortunately Mostly Unreadable and Nearly Unpublishable Untold Tales of I Hate Fairyland.” Number one. It’s an anthology special, so if you like Young’s combination of children’s fable and mid-90s jaded Gen-X cartoon, it’s a supersized dose of that!
Continued belowTHE UNBELIEVABLE, UNFORTUNATELY MOSTLY UNREADABLE AND NEARLY UNPUBLISHABLE UNTOLD TALES OF I HATE FAIRYLAND #1 (OF 5)
Written by SKOTTIE YOUNG & DEAN RANKINE
Illustrated by AARON CONLEY & DEAN RANKINE & MOREA five-issue anthology series featuring Untold Tales based on Eisner Award-winning writer SKOTTIE YOUNG’s bestselling comic, I HATE FAIRYLAND, with stories written and drawn by a stellar lineup of creators.
BULLY WARS co-creators SKOTTIE YOUNG and AARON CONLEY pit Gert against an uncouth barbarian in “Bruud the Brutal.” And in “Don’t Trust the P.I.G. in Apartment 23,” by DEAN RANKINE (Simpsons Comics, Invader Zim), Gert finds herself at the wrong end of a classic fairy tale.
6. Less brittle than a heart of glass
This fantasy comic by Emma Kubert (written and drawn by her!) feels weirdly personal. Like sure, yeah, it’s basically somebody’s D&D campaign brought to life on a comic page, but there’s something about it. Maybe the protagonist is based on a campaign Kubert played, or wants to play. Maybe it’s borrowing elements from her life. But if you want a fantasy comic that’s a little bit softer, a little bit sensitive, “Stoneheart” rocks that tone. Plus you know, the requisite blacksmiths and dragons. Did you see the D&D movie? Than doubtless, you need to give this book a shot.
STONEHEART #5
Written and Illustrated by EMMA KUBERTAs they’re finding a way to escape Lightspring Canyon, Eve splits Shayde Whisper and Eldon Redwood up and forces Shayde to fight in an underground gambling ring. Scrambling, emotionally compromised, and under stress, Shayde unfortunately falls short.
5. Song lake
I know a lot of you freaks like the comics of W. Maxwell Prince. Well here’s a weird sounding one-shot that sounds like its right in his wheelhouse. It’s not really designed around a setting or character, it’s apparently just about endings. Like the ephemeral concept of things concluding. After a thing happens- that thing? That’s what this comic is about. That sounds impenetrable and arcane so, obviously I need to see if it is. This is another one for those of you that like your comics with a delusion of grandeur. Like me! I’m in.
SWAN SONGS #1
Written by W. MAXWELL PRINCE
Illustrated by MARTIN SIMMONDSW. MAXWELL PRINCE (ICE CREAM MAN, HAHA) continues his weird, winning one-shot formula with this all-new multi-artist project that explores the way things END…and also how they never really do.
SWAN SONGS comprises stories about endings…The End of the World. The End of a Marriage. The End of a Sentence. The End of the End of the World! (Which I suppose one might consider the BEGINNING of a new world…)
And along for the terminal ride are some of comics’ best and brightest artists! The first apocalyptic issue, “The End of the World,” is drawn by none other than THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH’s MARTIN SIMMONDS. Future artists for future endings include CASPAR WIJNGAARD (HOME SICK PILOTS), and FILIPE ANDRADE (The Many Deaths of Leila Star), with more to be announced.
All things come to a close; these are the SWAN SONGS.
4. Take it sleazy
I recently stopped in a physical comic book store for the first time in a while. I picked up a couple of trades. An “X-Men” paperback obviously. And the latest comic by Daniel Warren Johnson. And the first collection of “Dark Ride.” I think as it stands, “Dark Ride” is my favorite Image ongoing. It has a unique set up (a horror themed amusement park that is actually haunted) and arrived with such confidence and direction that you can’t help but feel like you are being safely shepherded to the story’s conclusion. And then you know, the story will probably push you off a cliff for a blood sacrifice. But the journey will have been worth it!
DARK RIDE #8
Written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON
Illustrated by ANDREI BRESSAN & ADRIANO LUCASThe showdown between Halloween and Sam is here! The winner will control the future of the Dante family…and Devil Land!
3. Flysticks
There’s not really a better marker of quality at Image than Jeff Lemire. He’s a dude who has written some excellent comics and some OK comics and a few bad comics. But when those comics are published by Image? Those are at the top of the heap. Here’s a story right in his zone. It’s about a small town where something mysterious and surreal is happening. It is drawn in that signature scratchy Lemire style. This doesn’t sound like the series that’s going to completely change Lemire’s career, but it’s more of the same high quality shenanigans.
Continued belowFISHFLIES #1 (OF 6)
Written and Illustrated by JEFF LEMIREJEFF LEMIRE (GIDEON FALLS, Sweet Tooth) brings you a new tale of small-town surrealist horror in this special extra-length debut issue!
When a brutal and violent crime puts the life of an innocent teenage boy in the balance, it sets off a chain of events in bucolic Bell River, Ontario that will permanently change several residents’ lives. And as the manhunt heats up, a lonely girl named Franny Fox will form an unlikely friendship with a fugitive that leads them on an odyssey of discovery and redemption.
2. Power up
It’s not like I spent every month of the hiatus shaking my fist and cursing “Fire Power” for taking such a long break. I must admit, I haven’t given the series much of a thought in a while. But when I saw it included in the Image solicits I shouted, “Oh shit! It’s back!” So clearly, there was an unresolved part of my brain that needed more of this irreverent magical kung fu goodness. Kirkman, Samnee, and Wilson are back, and the legend continues!
FIRE POWER BY KIRKMAN & SAMNEE #25
Written by ROBERT KIRKMAN
Illustrated by CHRIS SAMNEE & MATTHEW WILSONFIRE POWER RETURNS with an extra-length 44-page story! After learning Wei Lun killed his parents, Owen cannot let the past go.
1. A real junkyard dog
Not to sound heartless, but I don’t care if the dog makes it in a movie. Dogs have about as much chance as humans at making me feel something, and I watch slasher movies every week. I’m sure the promise of dog safety in this solicit is important to some of you. Me, I’m still looking at the name Alex De Campi, and I know it’s gonna be a good looking book. And the premise isn’t just the word “dog.” This isn’t a Channing Tatum movie! This is a whole cyberpunk mystery! Something about the alchemy of creators and concept make me confident that this is the champion Image book for the month of July. Get busy reading people!
SCRAPPER #1 (OF 6)
Written by CLIFF BLESZINSKI & ALEX DE CAMPI
Illustrated by SANDY JARRELLGame design genius CLIFF BLESZINSKI (Gears of War, Fortnite) makes his comics debut with critically acclaimed writer ALEX DE CAMPI (DRACULA, MOTHERF**KER!, PARASOCIAL) and fan-favorite artist SANDY JARRELL (Bombshells, Lynx)!
Blade Runner-style action mixes with big emotions as stray dog Scrapper and his buddy Tank fight for justice against the totalitarian forces of a post-apocalyptic domed city. But when the fight comes to his home, Scrapper will face losing what’s most important to him—and gain a terrifying truth in the process. (Don’t worry, Mom. The dog doesn’t die.)
