Happy New Year! Okay, not really, we’re not even at Halloween yet, but this is Soliciting Multiversity! This is where we look into the far flung future of, oh, three months or so from now to see what comics are worth keeping an eye on. Here, we’re going to be looking at ten things to watch out for from Image Comics in January 2017.
Oh, god, we’re already in 2017. That’s… that’s frightening.
Quick! Get to the comics before the existential dread and deep seated fear of mortality sets in! Quick! Go!
10. One Month Out From The Final “Revival”
Yeah, I’ve mentioned this before and I’m definitely going to mention it next time, but “Revival” is a great comic and even its penultimate issue is worth talking about. This series has lasted four years with the same creative team by focusing on a slow burning character drama with an interesting core concept. This is the gold standard of what Image comics aspire to be and it’s the one that no one ever talks about.
While “The Walking Dead” has lasted over 100 issues with a revolving door cast of characters, “Revival” has made it to a tight 50 with a deep, interesting mystery and a cast of character that is rich and worth investing in. I want to get evagenlical about this comic, but I think I’m going to wait until next month for that.
REVIVAL #46
STORY: TIM SEELEY
ART: MIKE NORTON
COVER: JENNY FRISON
JANUARY 18 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.99The penultimate issue of the critically acclaimed, long-running horror-crime series! Only Em can close the door between the worlds of the living and the dead, but both General Cale and the militant insurgency want control!
9. Officer Down! Officer Down!
I haven’t actually read “Officer Downe” (despite the fact that I feel like I should have devoured it by now what with Joe Casey and Chris Burnham’s names being on the cover) so I can’t actually talk about the comic itself being released. I put this new edition on this list mostly because it’s a reprinting of a story that’s tying into a film adaptation release that not only doesn’t pull the shitty trick of using the film poster as the cover, but it also includes the entire screenplay for the film adaptation.
This is a great idea and this collection gives you the full comic and the full screenplay for the film adaptation for only $20. This is definitely something that should happen more.
OFFICER DOWNE TP
STORY: JOE CASEY
ART / COVER: CHRIS BURNHAM
JANUARY 18 / 192 PAGES / FC / M / $19.99An ALL-NEW EDITION of the ultimate orgy of righteous law enforcement ultra-violence is here—just in time for the FEATURE FILM starring Kim Coates! You all know the story by now: Terrence Downe is the committed LA cop who’ll keep coming back for more…even from beyond the grave! All-new BONUS FEATURES include: the complete SCREENPLAY of the feature film and hundreds of on-set/behind-the-scenes PHOTOS giving you an inside glimpse of the making of the film!
8. I Just Want To Talk About “WicDiv” For a Bit
There’s actually not a lot going on in this month’s solicits, to be honest. There’s only a handful of new series dropping because it’s the start of the year and most of the series that are returning with new story arcs are ones that I don’t read or haven’t caught up with enough to really talk about them.
So I’m going to use these middle slots to just talk about some good comics. I love this solicit because it wears on its sleeve why people love this comic. Gillen, McKelvie and Wilson know how to play with emotions in such a way that makes people forget the inevitability of the cruelty that’s incoming. Plus, it’s just great seeing McKelvie back on this book full time after taking that break to work on “Phonogram”.
Continued belowTHE WICKED + THE DIVINE #25
STORY: KIERON GILLEN
ART: JAMIE McKELVIE & MATT WILSON
COVER A: JAMIE McKELVIE & MATT WILSON
COVER B: EMI LENOX
JANUARY 4 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.50“IMPERIAL PHASE (I),” Part Three
The comic that says, “What could possibly go wrong?” and then looks at the camera and stares until we all start crying releases another issue.
7. They’re Not Like Us
This is another case of just talking about a comic I like. I’ve loved “They’re Not Like Us” since the first issue came out and it’s not stopping any time soon. Stephenson, Gane, Bellaire and Fonografiks make for a fantastic creative team that are playing with the very fabric of the medium itself. How “They’re Not Like Us” uses the cover of the comic as the first panel of the issue’s story and trims as much fat as possible from the issue to focus on the content is inspiring.
I mostly just wanted to remind you that “They’re Not Like Us” is a great comic you should be reading.
THEY’RE NOT LIKE US #13
STORY: ERIC STEPHENSON
ART / COVER: SIMON GANE, JORDIE BELLAIRE & FONOGRAFIKS
JANUARY 18 / 24 PAGES / FC / M / $2.99NEW STORY ARC
THEY’RE NOT LIKE US returns for its brutal third arc as the kids struggle to regroup while attempting to stay one step ahead of both their enemies and the increasingly curious authorities.
6. Wait Until “Civil War II” Reboots This As Simply “Wolf”
I was a little sad that Rich Tommaso’s “Dark Corridor” never hit off with audiences, but I’m glad “She-Wolf” is getting a second season. Rich Tommaso is a very unique artist in comics and his stories are actually unlike anything else on the shelves (something Image used to care about) so I’m all for more “She-Wolf”. Especially if “She-Wolf” is going to shake things up like switching up the main character with the new season.
This is not a comic you should be sleeping on, trust me.
SHE WOLF #5
STORY / ART / COVER: RICH TOMMASO
JANUARY 25 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.99
NEW STORY ARC“BLACK BAPTISM,” Part One
Fans demanded it, so here comes another season of SHE WOLF! Season Two pans away from Gabrielle, our Season One protagonist, and focuses on a new main character—her troubled younger sister, Lizzie!
5. When Solicits Give Nothing Away
This is a strange one, because I’m actually excited about this entry, but I mostly want to talk about how sparse the solicit text is. “A Land Called Tarot” is the hardcover collecting Gael Bertrand’s story from the “Island” magazine, but you wouldn’t know that from the solicit text unless you’ve been specifically checking each month to see if the story is getting collected.
Solicitations are, after all, largely for retailers and are there to inform retailers of the talking points of the product to pass on to the consumer. One sentence that doesn’t even bother to say “Hey, this was a story in that ‘Island’ magazing that was pretty great and it’s now collected in its own hardcover!” is so far below the usual standards of Image solicits that it says nothing.
Yeesh.
A LAND CALLED TAROT HC
STORY / ART / COVER: GAEL BERTRAND
JANUARY 25 / 112 PAGES / FC / M / $19.99
Follow the Knight of Swords as he explores and meets with the inhabitants of a Land called Tarot.
4. The “Southern Bastards” Sisters Series
I love Jason Latour, like a lot. He might be one of my favourite people working in comics, between “Southern Bastards”, “Spider-Gwen” and his twitter feed. Now, Latour is working with Chris Brunner and Rico Renzi, who have both worked on those series with Latour, for another gritty Southern crime story.
Normally, I’d be kind of pissy about creators remaining in the same wheelhouse that they feel comfortable in, but Latour has been killing it so much with “Southern Bastards” that I’m just glad to be getting more, in one way or another.
Continued belowLOOSE ENDS #1 (OF 4)
STORY: JASON LATOUR
ART/COVER: CHRIS BRUNNER & RICO RENZI
JANUARY 25 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.99SERIES PREMIERE
No one seemed to notice Sonny Gibson as he stepped back into “The Hideaway,” a dusty little honky-tonk nestled off the Carolina highway. But before the night was over, Sonny would be on the run—from the law, from the criminals, even from himself.LOOSE ENDS is a gritty, slow-cooked, Southern crime romance that follows a winding trail down Tobacco Road, through the war-torn streets of Baghdad, and into the bright lights and bloody gutters of South Florida. From JASON LATOUR, co-creator of Eisner-winning SOUTHERN BASTARDS and the writer of Spider-Gwen, CHRIS BRUNNER (SOUTHERN BASTARDS, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight), and RICO RENZI (Spider-Gwen, Squirrel Girl).
3. It Outweighs The Needs Of The Many
I missed out on “Saints”, but I’m fairly sure I talked about a bit on this comic when the first issue showed up in the solicits. However, this series actually grabs me a lot more than “Saints” did; largely, I think, because “The Few” reminds me of “Sheltered” mixed with a little bit of Stalker.
I do worry that dystopic, mature audiences sci-fi dramas are becoming such a norm at Image that they’re all kind of blending into one another, but this seems interesting enough that I’ll give it a go.
THE FEW #1
STORY: SEAN LEWIS
ART / COVER: HAYDEN SHERMAN
JANUARY 18 / 48 PAGES / FC / M / $4.99Critically lauded writer and playwright SEAN LEWIS follows up the cult favorite SAINTS with his newest book THE FEW. Teaming with red-hot artist HAYDEN SHERMAN for a LIMITED MAXI-SERIES, THE FEW combines Mad Max action with a Station Eleven sensibility in this sci-fi series for mature readers. In a dystopian future, two survivalist brothers stumble across an unlikely sight: a woman asleep in the woods holding nothing but a gun and a baby wearing a gas mask. As these boys begin to embark on helping this woman, betrayals, secrets, and revolutions abound in the fight for what’s left of America.
2. We Can’t Stop Here…
Much like how stoked I was to see Image leading a revolution in bringing horror comics back to the fore, I’m just as excited to see Image as a place where comics can go to that weird Southern Gothic place. Between “Southern Bastards” and “The Goddamned”, that strange intersection between faith and destruction in the heartland of southern America is something I’m very interested in seeing “God Country” explore.
Plus, Donny Cates blew me away with “The Paybacks” so I can’t wait to see what he does with what seems like a more meatier drama.
GOD COUNTRY #1
STORY: DONNY CATES
ART: GEOFF SHAW, JASON WORDIE, JOHN J. HILL
COVER A: GEOFF SHAW & DAVE STEWART
COVER B: GERARDO ZAFFINO
JANUARY 11 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.99SERIES PREMIERE
Emmet Quinlan, an old widower rattled by dementia, isn’t just a problem for his children—his violent outbursts are more than the local cops can handle. When a tornado levels his home—as well as the surrounding West Texas town—a restored Quinlan rises from the wreckage. The enchanted sword at the eye of the storm gives him more than a sound mind and body, however.He’s now the only man who can face the otherworldly creatures the sword has drawn down to the Lone Star State…
“So much fun to watch creators find that next level. Go, Cates, go!” —Brian Michael Bendis
1. Wizard Swears
Remember that one issues of “God Hates Astronauts” where Charles Soule was the narrator? Well, seems like that’s lead to a larger collaborative relationship between Soule and Ryan Browne as they’re bringing us “Curse Words”.
As sad as I am that “God Hates Astronauts” is seemingly no more, I’m glad Browne and Soule are working together and that I get another comic with Ryan Browne’s art even if it probably won’t have a crab soldier who only speaks in Darth Vader quotes.
CURSE WORDS #1 – GEM OF THE MONTH
STORY: CHARLES SOULE
ART: RYAN BROWNE & JORDAN BOYD
COVER A: RYAN BROWNE
COVER B: SKOTTIE YOUNG
JANUARY 18 / 40 PAGES / FC / M / $3.99
“THE DEVIL’S DEVIL,” Part One
The new ongoing series from CHARLES SOULE (Daredevil, Death of Wolverine, Star Wars) and RYAN BROWNE (GOD HATES ASTRONAUTS) is COMING FOR YOU! A wizard has appeared in New York City, and he’s casting wonderful spells, getting famous, getting rich—it’s great! But it’s not. This wizard has everyone fooled. He is actually an EVIL WIZARD, and EVIL THINGS are on the way. CURSE WORDS is a gonzo modern fantasy, full of darkness, light…and MAGIC.
