Finally! A new slate of Image #1 issues! Don’t get me wrong, every month brings a few new series, but I was hoping for a big wave. A movement. And here it is. We’ve got new stuff from beloved creators all over the world, and a couple of returns. 2020 is looking like a good year for comics, and it appears that Image will continue to build good momentum in the early months. Here’s a few titles that have me hyped!
As always, you can see the full solicitations on the Image Comics website.
10. The poet must not avert their eyes
Okay, I’m not going to lie to you. I hated Mirka Andolfo’s last Image series, “Unnatural.” It was an intense furry romance that made me deeply uncomfortable. But it sure made me feel something. And the fact that Image is putting her name so prominently in the title makes me suspect that a lot of folks really liked “Unnatural.” That’s not a thing. Lots of folks love “Saga,” but no one called his series “Brian K. Vaughan’s Paper Girls.” So this is for all you “Unnatural” fans out there; you must exist. Andolfo is at it again, and this time it’s in a small village on the edge of unrest. Sexy unrest.
MIRKA ANDOLFO’S MERCY #1 (OF 6)
WRITER / ARTIST / COVER A: MIRKA ANDOLFO
MARCH 4 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.99When the placid mining village of Woodsburgh is disturbed by a series of brutal murders, the settlement is in turmoil. And as the first snow covers the chaos in a white blanket, a mysterious woman in black arrives, eliciting a totally different kind of unrest. But who is Lady Hellaine, really? And what’s her secret agenda?
Acclaimed UNNATURAL creator MIRKA ANDOLFO presents a sensual Victorian gothic horror about otherness, damnation, redemption, and what it means to be a monster in a horror tale perfect for fans of Penny Dreadful, Crimson Peak, The Alienist, Parasol Protectorate, and Dark Shadows.
Visit gotmercy.me for additional MERCY bonus content, including exclusive art, a live-action comic trailer, and supplemental story material.
9. Lying in the grass next to the mausoleum
The solicit to this one gives me no idea what the tone is going to be like. It’s a doomed romance, sure. But is it played straight? Satirical? Darkly funny? Maybe a blend? All I can say is that it already seems to capture a very particular kind of experience, and its one I’m into exploring. 2005, British suburbs, lots of MCR lyrics? If this book isn’t for you, I bet you’ve got a friend who it is for. (Maybe that friend is me). Oh, also this is evidently an “advanced solicit,” coming out in April, but Image included it with the March books, so I’m gonna talk about it before I forget it exists.
920LONDON OGN TP
WRITER / ARTIST / COVER: REMY BOYDELL
APRIL 22 / 136 PAGES / FC / M / $17.992005, north of London. A doomed romance between two emo kids. More than friends, less than lovers, they’re trying to grow shrooms before the world ends. Send help.
Solo graphic novel debut by REMY BOYDELL (THE PERVERT), fully painted in watercolor.
8. The hit no one sees coming
It used to be more common, but superhero books are increasingly rare from Image. This one is debuting to much fanfare. Mike Costa! Tamra Bonvillain! Nate Bellgarde! A cover by Jason Howard! Robert Kirkman and Marc Silvestri are here too for some reason! (The reason is to sell more copies). The premise of “Stealth” doesn’t set my world on fire. It seems to be about a politically motivated, high tech urban vigilante. But the creative team has got me excited, and when Image greenlights a superhero book, it’s usually doing something interesting and subversive. So I’m a guaranteed yes for issue #1.
Continued belowSTEALTH #1 (OF 6)
WRITER: MIKE COSTA
ARTIST: NATE BELLEGARDE & TAMRA BONVILLAIN
COVER: JASON HOWARD
MARCH 11 / 32 PAGES / FC / T+ / $3.99For decades, Stealth has waged war on crime in Detroit, but now he’s taken his pursuit of justice too far. Only reporter Tony Barber knows that behind Stealth’s reckless behavior is an older man battling Alzheimer’s—his father. A father unwilling to accept that he’s no longer the hero this city needs…with enemies all too eager to force his retirement.
Created by ROBERT KIRKMAN and MARC SILVESTRI, STEALTH is an action-packed series, perfect for readers who enjoy Black Panther and Iron Man.
7. But what is her economic policy?
When “Monstress” started, it seemed like a real ‘burn it all down’ kind of book. A dark fantasy series with a mostly female cast leaning heavily on horrifying oppression? Also cannibalism? The power fantasy here is destroying the structures. But here’s an unexpected twist- what if our anti-hero finds real political power? What if she rules a city? What kinds of choices will she make? What kind of values does she have? This latest arc of “Monstress” is giving its protagonist a different kind of power and seeing what she does with it. And it’s thrilling, edge-of-your-seat kind of stuff.
MONSTRESS #27
WRITER: MARJORIE LIU
ARTIST / COVER: SANA TAKEDA
MARCH 25 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.99Maika takes control of the city’s forces on the eve of battle with the Federation…
6. Revenge can be bitter, spicy, spicy, hot, or cold
This one is a no brainer. “Bitter Root” rules. It has a dope cast of characters, a fun world, and one of the most confident art styles around. There are new issues of “Bitter Root,” you buy new issues of “Bitter Root.” Come on people, this isn’t rocket surgery!
BITTER ROOT #7
WRITER: DAVID F. WALKER & CHUCK BROWN
ARTIST / COVER A: SANFORD GREENE
COVER B (1:10 INCENTIVE VARIANT COVER): ELIZA IVANOVA
MARCH 18 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.99Sylvester continues to plot his revenge against the Sangerye family, and now he has help—the demon Ardo has arrived on Earth. The Sangeryes, and the world, are not prepared.
5. Freeze dried ice cream
Crossovers are rare from Image, but not unheard of. But this one is pretty wild. First in that “Chew” is a (disgusting) Earthbound detective series about food critics and bird flu, while “Outer Darkness” is about satanists in deep space. (More or less). But… “Chew” wrapped up in 2016, and that was that. There’s always been talk of an animated series or something, but for all intents and purposes, “Chew” seemed to be over. Sorbet served. So consider me one part delighted, three parts disgusted, one part disturbed, and nine parts stoked for what will probably turn out to be one of the craziest series of 2020.
OUTER DARKNESS/CHEW #1 (OF 3)
WRITER: JOHN LAYMAN
ARTIST: AFU CHAN & ROB GUILLORY
MARCH 4 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.99THE GREATEST CROSSOVER EVER!
Tony Chu is a modern-day cop who gets psychic impressions from what he eats. Joshua Rigg is a 28th-century starship captain who flies through an outer space filled with demons, monsters, and ghosts. Sounds like a perfect recipe for a comic book crossover, don’t it?
Well, be careful what you wish for, because CHEW/OUTER DARKNESS is warping your way, bringing together the reunited multiple Eisner Award-winning CHEW team, writer JOHN LAYMAN and artist ROB GUILLORY, with OUTER DARKNESS’ regular resident artistic genius, AFU CHAN!
4. Don’t hold back
I didn’t think that Charlie and Vita boning down would breathe new life into this series, but it’s actually gotten more exciting than ever. So my trust is fully earned, and this book can try doing anything and everything. Let’s see what’s on the agenda for this month. Hmmm. OK. Decommissioned missile silo, classic. Crazy cultists? That seems new. And the lovebirds are at each others throats? Wow alright “Crowded,” I truly don’t know what to make of you. But I do know how to read you, and I will. You bet your chihuahua I will.
CROWDED #12
WRITER: CHRISTOPHER SEBELA
ARTIST / COVER A: RO STEIN, TED BRANDT & TRIONA FARRELL
MARCH 25 / 32 PAGES / FC / T+ / $3.99Charlie and Vita are trapped in a decommissioned missile silo full of crazy cultists who want to murder them while hiding from a world full of regular people who want to murder them. If they manage to survive all that, they’ll still have to face their biggest threat: each other.
3. Destiny is calling, but you’re screening your calls
While I could not have been more excited for “Undiscovered Country” #1, I was a bit disappointed. It didn’t grab me right out of the gate. Issue #2 was an improvement though, and I am starting to realize this book is going to be a slow burn. With readjusted expectations, I’ve actually read the first few issues of “Undiscovered Country” a couple of times. It’s a challenging read, with unlikable characters and lots of background clues. But I’m digging it more and more. I doubt we’ll understand more about the Destiny Man in this issue, but maybe we’ll understand something about something? Amuhrika!
UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY #5
WRITER: SCOTT SNYDER & CHARLES SOULE
ARTIST: GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI, DANIELE ORLANDINI & MATT WILSON
MARCH 11 / 36 PAGES / FC / M / $3.99“DESTINY,” Part Five
The key has been found, and now it’s a race to find and unlock the gate leading deeper into the former United States before the Destiny Man catches up with our team, tears them apart and feeds every last chunk to his hungry beasts.
2. Pride of Madaras
No secret: “Reaver” is one of my favorite Image series coming out today! It presses all of my dark fantasy buttons in all the right ways, and the more versions of “Suicide Squad” the better, I always say. So a new arc of “Reaver” has me very excited indeed, especially after the last arc concluded with… let’s just say the ensemble is going to be looking very different in this arc. But what’s this? The loss of series artist Rebekah Isaacs? That’s a huge loss. Who is replacing her? Holy crap! Niko Henrichon of “Pride of Baghdad” fame? I hope Isaacs makes a return to this series soon, but I cannot wait to see how this new talent is going to shake out for Hell’s Half Dozen.
REAVER #7
WRITER: JUSTIN JORDAN
ARTIST: NIKO HENRICHON
COVER: BECKY CLOONAN
MARCH 11 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.99INTRODUCING NEW SERIES ARTIST NIKO HENRICHON.
Essen Breaker is tired of violence. He’s traveled to Haas Haaden, the city at the edge of the world, to escape it. But where Breaker goes, death follows.
Join writer JUSTIN JORDAN and new series artist NIKO HENRICHON (Pride of Baghdad) for the start of a brand-new story arc, featuring murder, mystery, and lots and lots of blood.
1. Eat the rude
Let’s talk about a little series called “X-Men.” Heard of it!? It got retooled by mad comic book genius Jonathan Hickman. Heard of him!? He’s the kind of pretentious, experimental auteur I usually got no patience for. But he’s brilliant and I love him. He really pushed his style forward in his last Image series “Black Monday Murders” which played with page counts, issue numbering, paperback collections, graphics, ‘found’ artifacts, lots of things that he’s made into his signature style. And now he’s got a book about assassin. Polite assassins. Shut up and take my money.
DECORUM #1
WRITER: JONATHAN HICKMAN
ARTIST / COVERS A & B: MIKE HUDDLESTON
MARCH 11 / 56 PAGES / FC / M / $4.99There are many assassins in the known universe. This is the story of the most well-mannered one.
“Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what knife you use.”
