I read an Image #1 and I liked it! “Chu,” the spin-off to “Chew” (naturally) is great, and has me really excited about what else Image has in store. In the meantime, as the biggest non-superhero comics publisher sorts out their schedule, there’s a lot of ongoing series that are also getting back into the groove. Here are 10 titles that Image is excited to publish in October and yeah, I’m excited to read them!
As always, the full solicitations can be found on the Image comics website.
10. In Dying Color
I actually think this is pretty exciting. Now that the “Walking Dead” comic series is concluded, I look back on it fondly. For better or worse, it is now a hugely influential classic and a breakaway hit. (When I worked at a comic shop, superhero movies rarely made a difference to comic sales, The Walking Dead show made a huge difference to comic sales.) So now the run of the series is due to be reprinted in full color. Does this betray everything the creators have said about their comic? Arguably. But is it a great chance to reread the series? I think that’s indisputable.
THE WALKING DEAD DELUXE #1
WRITER: Robert Kirkman
ARTIST / COVER B: Dave McCaig, Tony Moore
OCTOBER 07 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99Read it again! It’s time to revisit the historic independent series that took the entertainment world by storm 17 years ago! Follow Rick Grimes’s journey again, from the very beginning, but this time in STUNNING FULL COLOR by the masterful DAVE McCAIG. This deluxe version will feature a memorable array of variant covers commemorating major character introductions and the series’ most memorable twists and turns. Each issue will include a new installment of “The Cutting Room Floor,” featuring ROBERT KIRKMAN’s original handwritten plots along with commentary on abandoned storylines and things that may have changed along the way. This deluxe, definitive presentation of the story in full color will NOT be collected any time soon, so these single issues will be the only way to experience this.
9. No more clowning around
Every so often I like to check in with the long running Image titles, and sometimes I have a nice time. A confluence of recent factors from Mortal Kombat DLC to cartoon access on my new HBO Max subscription have gotten me feeling nostalgic for the overraught demon assassin known as Spawn. And so I check in to find- a new man beneath the mask! And original villains. And new artists getting to try their hand at the over the top McFarlane style. If you’re a lapsed fan from 1992, maybe take a look at what you’ve been missing.
SPAWN #311
WRITER / COVER B: Todd McFarlane
ARTIST / COVER C: Gerardo Zaffino
COVER A: Francesco Mattina
OCTOBER 28 / 32 pages / FC/ T / $2.99“THE INFERNO FALLOUT,” Part Two New Heroes! New Villains! New Costume! SPAWN continues down his path of eliminating those that have burned down the neighborhood he grew up in as a child. Fires, protests, and politics cannot hide them from Spawn’s vengeful wrath…especially the mastermind behind it all called RED MEAT! TODD McFARLANE and GERARDO ZAFFINO continue to weave their tale of VENGEANCE!
8. New dope queens
What originally drew me to the Rat Queens was that they were funny. In the most recent run of issues, they’ve been more taciturn. That’s valid, but maybe not for me. Well, Ryan Ferrier remains our writer but with a brand new art team! And that strikes me as promising. New art style, new story, new tone! And sure enough, this sounds like classic caustic Rat Queens shenanigans.
Continued belowRAT QUEENS #22
WRITER: Ryan Ferrier
ARTIST: Moritat
COVER A: Marco Lesko, Priscilla Petraites
OCTOBER 21 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99RAT QUEENS welcomes a new art team—MORITAT & CASEY SILVER! No gods. No rules. All problems. Business is booming for our heroes-for-hire, but the dissolution of an ancient treaty has put Palisade in the crosshairs of a monster squad with an appetite for long nights, party fights, and wolf bites!
7. Ready for coven
Listen, either you love witch stuff or you don’t. And me? I do. You tell a story about the same witches for long enough, inevitably they’ve gotta go to hell. They aren’t consorting with Lucifer to not see his pad, ya dig? And Nicola Scott, her art can do no wrong. So throw her a challenge I say, and make her draw creatures and places totally from her imagination. Then do that fun color thing where everything is black and white except for the magick. That ought to be worth the price of admission alone. Oh yeah, and Greg Rucka is here too doing his good writing thing even as he can’t escape empowered underwear babes as his main way of exploring feminism. Dude can write though, and Scott can draw!
BLACK MAGICK #15
WRITER: Greg Rucka
ARTIST / COVER A: Nicola Scott
OCTOBER 21 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99“ASCENSION I,” Part Four Dissent among the forces of Hell, and a revolt within the order of witch-hunters, deepen the peril surrounding Rowan Black and the people she loves. Wild-card assassins and renegade demons enter the field, and a centuries-old conflict threatens to become a free-for-all melee.
6. Truck off
I wish I was more drawn in by the family stuff in “Sea of Stars.” That’s sort of the main hook. But one thing I have really loved is the clash of imaginations between writers Aaron and Hallum. The galaxy that they are creating is funky and wild, and the longer this series goes on for, the more weirdness they get to conjure up. So bring on the space sharks and the moon folk and whatever else is lurking out there.
SEA OF STARS #8
WRITER: Dennis Hallum, Jason Aaron
ARTIST / COVER A: Rico Renzi, Stephen Green
OCTOBER 21 / 32 pages / FC/ T / $3.99“THE PEOPLE OF THE BROKEN MOON,” Part Three Kadyn is on the run in the wild heavens, with shark-riding warriors, a giant, mysterious leviathan, and his own space-ravaged (and possibly crazed) father in hot pursuit. He now must decide if he can trust Dalla, his only companion…but what is the dark tragedy that left her banished from her people?
5. Fashion is danger
You know, I’ve been keeping up with “Tartarus” and… I could not tell you what is happening in that book. It sort of washes over me like glitter at those parties that I find myself at. By which I mean I love the work of Johnnie Christmas, but this is an artist driven series for sure. And look, we’re mixing up artists. The space-fashion in this series is what I am invested in, and now we’re going to get a completely new interpretation of the style. Right on!
TARTARUS #6
WRITER: Johnnie Christmas
ARTIST / COVER A: Andrew Krahnke
COVER B: Artyom Trakhanov
OCTOBER 28 / 32 pages / FC/ T / $3.99“DEATH TRIP” SURKA RETURNS! Surka and Hisa continue their fight to the death in an action-packed return you don’t want to miss! Guest artist ANDREW KRAHNKE pulls out all the stops as we uncover clues to Surka and Hisa’s past and what it might mean for the future of Tartarus.
4. He was a flounder
First issue is out, verdict is in: “Chu” slaps. The new series is just as gross and irreverent as its big brother, but with the benefit of having written that first series and learned a lot from it. I love a good cat and mouse game, and the complexity of the brother/sister dynamic feels fresh. Throw in all the usual weirdness about irradiated cabbage and the Canadian mafia and the steely grip of the FDA and this series is special in all the ways it needs to be.
CHU #4
WRITER: John Layman
ARTIST / COVER A: Dan Boultwood
OCTOBER 28 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99“THE FIRST COURSE,” Part Four Body disposal ain’t what it used to be.
3. Treasure planet
Sometimes I find myself whining about how they don’t make ’em like they used to. Movies! They used to have original ideas right? Right? They used to be like well, like the solicit for “Planet Paradise.” A sort of goofy sci-fi idea, combined with some vivid characters, that’s all you need. Who do you cast as the desperate vacationer? And who is the pessimistic drug-addled captain? The premise of this OGN is so evocative. If you’re tired of the same old series, here’s a done in one for you.
Continued belowPLANET PARADISE OGN
WRITER / ARTIST / COVER A: Jesse Lonergan
NOVEMBER 11 / 128 pages / FC/ T / $16.99To survive after crash landing on an alien planet, a vacationer must battle against a hostile environment, killer lizards, corporate bureaucracy, and the pessimism of her sole companion, the drug-addled captain of the ship.
2. Lord of the wins
Do you love when Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans send little notes to each other in the solicit text? I sure do! Especially when it leads to him taking his own advice, stepping the hell out of the way, and letting Stephanie draw goth Return of the King. Hell yeah.
DIE #14
WRITER: Kieron Gillen
ARTIST / COVER A: Stephanie Hans
COVER B: Sana Takeda
OCTOBER 07 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99“THE GREAT GAME,” Part Four “Hey, Stephanie, shall we do DIE’s take on the big battles in Return of the King?” “Sure thing, Kieron. Can you add some big emotional messy beats to the visual splendor?” “Sure thing!”
1. It’s about stories innit?
Is… is this title a reference to “Heroes in Crisis?” Is this shots fired? Is Steve Orlando doing his own superheroic take on mental health? I can’t prove it either way, but this sure looks like a comic inspired by the themes of Tom King, but with a steadier hand on the wheel. Orlando gets a lot of praise for his very personal or high concept work but folks, his straight up superhero comics are pretty good too! So a creator owned comic where Orlando gets to play to all his strengths sounds mighty appealing to me. Mighty appealing indeed.
COMMANDERS IN CRISIS #1
WRITER: Steve Orlando
ARTIST / COVER A: Davide Tinto
COVER B: Stjepan Sejic
COVER C: Peach Momoko
COVER D: Maika Sozo
COVER E: David Talaski
OCTOBER 14 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99The last survivors of the Multiverse live among us under new, superheroic identities, five survivors of doomed worlds…taking a second chance to ensure our world lives on. A new twist on strange superhero comics, with a bleeding-edge eye on the modern moment, COMMANDERS IN CRISIS follows in the footsteps of Doom Patrol and Thunderbolts as five unexpected heroes come together to solve a murder unlike any other. The victim? Compassion itself…This is ideacide! A new series by acclaimed writer STEVE ORLANDO (Wonder Woman, Doom Patrol: Milk Wars, Martian Manhunter) and artist DAVIDE TINTO (Marvel Action: Spider-Man), an intense, weird action thriller reminding us about the importance of compassion and hope in the present moment, and putting fists to faces along the way!
