Soliciting Multiversity: Image’s Top 10 For November 2019

I didn’t realize there was going to be a theme to this month’s solicits but one has emerged. This November, Image is getting deep into the speculative sci-fi game. I’ve spent the last few months thinking about the ends of series, most prominently “The Walking Dead” which was a consistent best seller for the publisher. As they’ve thought about what the future holds for them, they’ve assembled some top comics creators to unleash their hefty imaginations on topics like bio-ethics, capitalism, international relations, and the crappy way humans can treat each other. Oh, also there’s a new issue of “Reaver.” That book is my jam!

As always, you can see the full solicitations on the Image Comics website.

10. Goes down smooth

Since I came back into comics over a decade ago, Brubaker and Phillips have been a consistent presence, and their “Criminal” series has been at the core of their work together. It’s pretty nuts that there is a legit “Criminal” ongoing, let alone one that’s been coming out for nearly a year. There was a time when their work was reserved for miniseries and OGNs. The long form storytelling works well for the series, which has managed to become a sprawling yarn of cops and crooks. As the series careens towards a major conclusion, it’s a good time for fans to count our blessings. Skipping the “Criminal” ongoing might be a crime!

Criminal #10
WRITER: Ed Brubaker
ARTIST: Jacob Phillips, Sean Phillips
COVER A: Sean Phillips
NOVEMBER 27 / 40 pages / FC/ M / $3.99

The CRIMINAL epic moves toward its brutal climax, as Private Detective Dan Farraday reenters the scene… while Teeg prepares for the biggest heist of his career. And as always, CRIMINAL contains back page art and articles only found in the single issues.

9. Keep your eye on this one

When it first launched, “Farmhand” seemed like it was going to be a high concept sci-fi book about big agriculture. And while it totally is, it’s also proven itself to be an ensemble book, full of all sorts of characters. So while you may sign on to “Farmhand” to read a gross story about eyeball bushes, it has grown to be something far bigger, weaving together the stories of everyone touched by one gross gross invention.

Someone check in on Jeff Lemire to make sure he’s OK. This feels like his eleven-billionth series. It sounds like my favorite kind of Lemire book though. A lot of people get behind his big epic stuff, but I like Lemire best when he goes small. “Plutona” and “The Underwater Welder” are two of my favorites, and this looks to be in the same vein. Focusing on one family, and one weird problem, the “Family Tree” solicit claims it’ll be “an epic story” but the story description seems like it will be full of quiet, profound moments between a family struggling not to… turn into trees I guess.

FAMILY TREE #1
WRITER: Jeff Lemire 
ARTIST / COVER A: Eric Gapstur, Phil Hester, Ryan Cody 
NOVEMBER 13 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99

When an eight-year-old girl literally begins to transform into a tree, her single mom, troubled brother, and possibly insane grandfather embark on a bizarre and heart-wrenching odyssey across the back roads of America in a desperate search for a way to cure her horrifying transformation before it’s too late. But the farther they get from home, the more forces threaten to tear the family apart as fanatical cults, mercenaries, and tabloid Paparazzi close in, determined to destroy the girl—or use her for their own ends. A new genre-defying series written by New York Times bestselling author JEFF LEMIRE (GIDEON FALLS, ASCENDER) and illustrated by acclaimed artist PHIL HESTER (Shipwreck, Green Arrow), FAMILY TREE combines mystery, action, and horror into an epic story about the lengths a mother will go to in order to keep her children safe.

7. Without a paddle

You’d think two of the biggest names in cape comics would make a loud debut, but “Sea of Stars” feels like Aaron and Hallum are trying out something different. And by and large, it works. But from the solicits it looks like things are going to take a turn for the mythic. I should probably stop trying to predict where this series is going, as I’m always wrong, and just buckle in for the ride.

Sea of Stars #5
WRITER: Dennis Hallum, Jason Aaron
ARTIST / COVER A: Rico Renzi, Stephen Green
NOVEMBER 06 / 32 pages / FC/ T / $3.99

“LOST IN THE WILDS OF HEAVEN,” Conclusion On a mysterious lost moon, Kadyn begins to unlock the secrets of the strange war club of the Gods that’s become a part of him. Meanwhile, has his imprisoned father Gil finally given up all hope? The hit sci-fi series concludes its first story arc!

6. Don’t touch that dial

Is it just me, or have you been really feeling the crushing weight of social media, mass data breaches, and the surveillance state? I find myself dreaming of scrubbing myself off the internet, then I remember that I write for a comics website, so I’m beyond saving. But the fantasy can live on in “Analog,” a spy series about an operative working off the grid in a near future digital world. Of all the sci-fi comics coming out, this feels like one that may actually come true in the next couple of years. There’s another one of those further down this list.

Analog #10
WRITER: Gerry Duggan
ARTIST / COVER A: David O’Sullivan
NOVEMBER 06 / 24 pages / FC/ M / $3.99

“MOVING TARGETS,” Conclusion An exhausted Jack is trapped in Texas surrounded by MegaChurch Cops, assassins, and spies that want him dead. With technocrat hunter-killer drones on his tail, it doesn’t seem like Jack can survive this one… until he flies the Analog skies in a vintage war machine. Don’t miss the end of the exciting second collection—not everyone’s gonna make it!

5. Almost there… almost there…

Image has been trying a “seasonal” model with some of their newer series, and I think I dig it. This marks the end of the first season of “Outer Darkness,” which will return in the near future with the first issue of the second season. So take this as a reminder that this is a fun, unique sci-fi series that balances existential terror with fun space opera antics. The Multiversity community turned me on to this book, and it really scratches that spaceship adventure itch.

Outer Darkness #12
WRITER: John Layman
ARTIST / COVER A: Afu Chan
NOVEMBER 13 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99

“Season One” of OUTER DARKNESS concludes with a new ship, a new crew, and a new mission: hunt down the stolen Charon and bring the girl back.

4. More serious

This sounds like a premise we’ve seen done 100 times before: a revolutionary drug has cured disease, but given birth to superpowered people, who the government wants to round up. They rebel, drama ensues. It’s got big two things going for it though. First is the writer, Shawn Kittelson, who was the head writer on Injustice 2 and Mortal Kombat 11 (the video games, and some of the comic tie-ins). If you played those games, you know that grandiose storytelling was front and center. Keeping that in mind, the solicit is actually really interesting, as it puts a lot of focus on the characters, the romance, and the fractious nature of the political situation. All it takes to make a tired story idea feel fresh is really good writing, and I suspect “Heart Attack” is going to get there.

Heart Attack #1
WRITER: Shawn Kittelsen
ARTIST: Eric Zawadzki, Michael Garland
COVER A: Eric Zawadzki
NOVEMBER 20 / 40 pages / FC/ M / $3.99

Superpowers and teenage romance collide in the newest Skybound original by SHAWN KITTELSEN (Mortal Kombat 11) and ERIC ZAWADZKI (The Dregs, Eternal)! Gene therapy has saved Americans from disease—only to give birth to Variants: people with powers so unique, the government denies their human rights. But a rebellion has begun… Charlie North is on the run from the police when he crosses paths with Jill Kearney. Instant attraction becomes mass destruction when they unlock powers neither knew they had. Now, the question isn’t how to use them—but how far they’re willing to go.

3. Some kind of… squad… on a… suicide mission?

I love good grimdark fantasy. I love a group of criminals conscripted into fighting for justice. I love hopeless suicide missions. “Reaver” is one of my favorite ongoings coming out of Image. Read it!

Reaver #5
WRITER: Justin Jordan
ARTIST: Alex Guimaraes, Rebekah Isaacs
COVER A: Becky Cloonan
NOVEMBER 13 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99

The Siege of the Anvil! Will any of Hell’s Half-Dozen survive?

2. The late capitalism survival guide

Another book that has adapted a seasonal model, and to great effect! Of any story in any medium, be it comics, prose, TV, movies, anything- “Lazarus” is the world we are heading towards. It’s not the world I’d want to see, but the technology, the politics, the economics, seem like an inevitability. Prepare yourself for the inevitable corporate feudalism, pick up this series and treat it like your tinfoil hat survivalist guidebook, and maybe you’ll survive in the new world.

Lazarus: Risen #3
WRITER: Greg Rucka
ARTIST / COVER A: Michael Lark
NOVEMBER 27 / 64 pages / FC/ M / $7.99

“FRACTURE I,” Conclusion Revenge is a dish best served bloody. Forever faces the Zmey once again, but this time it’s a battle of a different sort. On the home front, Eight’s problems get worse, and Abigail breaks her silence. Featuring an all-new prose story by award-winning writer ANDREW CONSTANT, artifacts from the firm of Trautmann and Howe, an all-new World of Lazarus: Tools of War, and more…

1. After the wall, after the fall

Even for casual comics fans, the excitement behind “Undiscovered Country” should be obvious. For starters, the premise seems like a no-brainer: 30 years after walling itself off from the rest of the world, a group of explorers and desperate scientists venture into what was once called the United States of America, a land that is now shrouded in mystery. The parallels to contemporary politics is some good Star Trek/Twilight Zone stuff, but I’d understand people who were hesitant to embrace the book from the premise alone. That’s where the insane creative team comes into play. We’ve got DC Comics mastermind Scott Snyder, writing alongside the man who never rests, Charles Soule. I’d say Soule is the best comics writer working today on smart, high concept sci-fi stuff. Check out “Letter 44” if you need convincing. Then we have Giuseppe Camuncoli on art, who has killed it on books from every publisher. He’s also being joined by Daniele Orlandini, who worked with Soule and Camuncoli on their excellent “Darth Vader” series. Finally, Eisner winner Matt Wilson joins the rest of this dream team on colors, making this my can’t-miss book of the Fall.

Undiscovered Country #1
WRITER: Charles Soule, Scott Snyder
ARTIST: Daniele Orlandini, Giuseppe Camuncoli
COVER A: Giuseppe Camuncoli
NOVEMBER 06 / 40 pages / FC/ M / $3.99

This November, New York Times bestselling writers SCOTT SNYDER (WYTCHES, A.D.: AFTER DEATH) and CHARLES SOULE (CURSE WORDS, the forthcoming novel Anyone) will team up with artists GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI (The Amazing Spider-Man, Darth Vader, Hellblazer) and DANIELE ORLANDINI (Darth Vader) and 2019 Eisner Award-winning colorist MATT WILSON (THE WICKED AND THE DIVINE, PAPER GIRLS) to embark on an epic adventure in the brand-new ongoing series, UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY! In this special oversized first issue, readers will journey into the near future, and an unknown nation that was once the United States of America—a land that’s become shrouded in mystery after walling itself off from the rest of the world without explanation over thirty years ago. When a team seeking a cure for a global pandemic breaches U.S. borders, they quickly find themselves in a struggle to survive this strange and deadly lost continent!