Yesterday we gave you a look at what was coming up with Dark Horse’s December solicits, and today we go to the other big indie power house on the market, Image Comics! And, just like every month, it is really difficult to narrow down what exactly will get a spotlight in a month full of great solicits. This column is a little like pulling teeth in that regards, but in a fun sort of way (like the dentist from Little Shop of Horrors).
For the full solicits, check Comic Book Resources.
Luther Strode Officially Returns
We’ve known about this for quite some time and have teased it on the site, but the time has come: Luther Strode’s story continues in “The Legend Of,” and you’re going to buy it and love it. Here’s the solicit to whet your appetite.
THE LEGEND OF LUTHER STRODE #1 (of 6)
story JUSTIN JORDAN
art / cover TRADD MOORE
DECEMBER 5
32 PAGES / FC / M
$3.50
Luther Strode lives.
Five years after losing everything, Luther has become more than a nightmare for the evil men in his city… he has become a legend. But somebody is hunting the bogeyman, and he has dangerous allies that Luther will never expect. Luther Strode lives; but for how long?
The sequel to 2011’s breakout hit begins here!
Is now a good time to plug the Multiversity Party that Justin and Tradd are attending this year at NYCC? Meet the beards that tell the tales! #shamelessplug
“Mara” and “Change” Finally Arrive
Speaking of highly anticipated Number One Issues from books that I’d very much like to read, December also finally brings us “Mara” and “Change,” books that were announced earlier this year and have since fallen off the radar a wee bit due to no additional announcements being made. Now we’ve got release dates and solicit information! Aren’t we lucky?
Here’s the solicit info for Wood and Doyle’s “Mara”:
MARA #1 (of 6)
story BRIAN WOOD
art / cover MING DOYLE & JORDIE BELLAIRE
DECEMBER 26
32 PAGES / FC / M
$2.99
Acclaimed creator BRIAN WOOD (The Massive, DMZ, Demo, Northlanders) and brilliant newcomer MING DOYLE (The Loneliest Astronaut, Fantastic Four, Girl Comics) bring you MARA, the story of an especially gifted woman in a sports-and war-obsessed future. Young Mara Prince is at the top of the world, a global celebrity in a culture that prizes physical achievement above all else. After she manifests supernatural abilities on live TV, she becomes famous all over again but for the worst reasons. Integrating themes of superpowers, celebrity worship, corporate power, feminism, and political brinksmanship, MARA takes a classic genre to new places.
And here is Kot’s follow-up to “Wildchildren”:
CHANGE #1 (of 4)
story ALES KOT
art / cover MORGAN JESKE
DECEMBER 12
32 PAGES / FC / M
$2.99
A foul-mouthed struggling screenwriter who moonlights as a car thief. An obscenely wealthy rapper completely disconnected from the real world. A dying cosmonaut on his way back to Earth.
Los Angeles is being toyed with by destructive forces that repeatedly find the city through time and swallow it whole, and those three are the only people able to save it — if they survive the fanatics who live in the hills, National Security Agency agents, and the horrors that lurk in the Pacific Ocean.
This is an exciting time to be reading creator-owned comics at Image, folks. I haven’t read a page from either of these but they already come with my stamp of approval.
More New #1’s
In addition to the above mentioned, there are two more #1’s hitting stands in December. I know little about them, but they’re new books from Image so that’s assuredly a good sign.
First we’ve got “Blackacre”:
Continued belowBLACKACRE #1
story DUFFY BOUDREAU
art WENDELL CAVALCANTI
cover MICHAEL AVON OEMING
DECEMBER 5
32 PAGES / FC / M
$2.99
100 YEARS AFTER THE FALL… A NEW GREAT GAME BEGINS.
A retired soldier on a secret mission… sent out from the walled city and the only life he’s ever known into the violent wilderness of the world after the fall! Tribal cults, roaming bands of barbarians, vicious warlords! A startling new take on the post-apocalypse and the most auspicious comics debut of the year!
And then we’ve got “I Love Trouble”:
I LOVE TROUBLE #1
story KEL SYMONS
art / cover MARK A. ROBINSON
DECEMBER 5
24 PAGES / FC / M
$2.99
“DISAPPEARING ACT”
Felicia Castillo, a New Orleans grifter, is on the run from mobsters in our premiere issue, when she discovers she possesses an unusual superpower in the middle of a plane crash.
Add to that a new Hip Flask one-shot and we’re rounding up a good start to the month already.
Butcher Baker: COLLECTED
Joe Casey and Mike Huddleston’s “Butcher Baker, the Righteous Maker” was one of my favorite books as it was coming out, and while its recent end has made me sad as a fan I am happy to have every issue of this series in my collection. It’s fun, it’s a bit crazy, it’s a massive assassination of the superhero genre and the tropes thereof and it is madness as only Casey and Huddleston can provide. Their apparent falling out aside, I highly recommend grabbing this collected edition for your home. It’ll go great alongside your “Officer Downe: Bigger, Better Bastard” hardcover and all the other Casey hardcover reprints of late.
Frazer Irving Makes Fantastic Covers
‘Nuff said on that front. Who else is stoked for “Bedlam”?
Darwyn Cooke Is A Creator Owned Hero
It’s the comic magazine that keeps on giving. As the book moves past its initial few sets of stories and starts up some new ones, Darwyn Cooke joins the fray to tell a story. What’s the story about? The solicit doesn’t even say! But what does it matter — it’s Darwyn Cooke and it’s not a “Before Watchmen” title, so when you buy it you don’t have to scrub your hands with soap and say three Hail Mary’s. That’s a blessing, I know.
Here’ what you do get in the issue:
CREATOR OWNED HEROES #7
story STEVE NILES & SCOTT MORSE, JIMMY PALMIOTTI & JUSTIN GRAY, JERRY LANDO, PAUL MOUNTS & DARWYN COOKE
art / cover DAN PANOSIAN & SCOTT MORSE
DECEMBER 5
56 PAGES / FC / M
$3.99
SPECIAL EXTRA PAGES ISSUE!
A brand new story by STEVE NILES and SCOTT MORSE, and more madness from DARWYN COOKE!
“KILL SWITCH,” Part Three
Locked in a Peruvian Prison, Kill Switch awaits a Mexican hit squad as he tries to discover who put a bounty on his head and why. The bullets fly as our hero is led into a deadly game of death against the world’s best and most eccentric assassins, but the gloves come off when they threaten his family.
“MEATBAG,” Part One
Detective Paul DeSanto works the seedy side of Los Angeles. He specializes in cheaters and losers, but he never chooses sides. In Hollywood cheats and loses work both sides of the street. After one of his operatives is eviscerated in an alleyway, DeSanto discovers the strange side of seedy.
Plus: LEAPING TALL BUILDINGS: INDEPENDENT SPIRITS a profile feature by Christopher Irving and Seth Kushner spotlighting EVAN DORKIN.
I don’t understand why anyone could possibly not be interested in this book, honestly.
“Morning Glories” Reaches The End Of Season One
One of my personal favorite books reaches an exciting milestone, and shit is about to go down. I’ve written so much about “Morning Glories” for this site that I find it hard to imagine what new I could say, but I’ll note this: if you’re a fan of this book in any form or fashion, you’re not going to want to miss this issue even slightly. The solicit alone — … well, look:
MORNING GLORIES #25
story NICK SPENCER
art JOE EISMA
cover RODIN ESQUEJO
DECEMBER 19
48 PAGES / FC / M
$3.99
DOUBLE-SIZED 25th ISSUE — and the Season One Finale! Featuring three interconnected covers by rising superstar RODIN ESQUEJO!
“8:13”
You know what that means. “8:13” indeed.
The End Of Happy, The Beginning Of…
I’ll be honest: at this point in time, I have read “Happy” #1. It isn’t admittedly what I expected it’d be, but it was a very entertaining read and certainly marks a new direction for Grant Morrison’s career. Returning his focus to creator-owned enterprises, this book starts off with an inebriated little tale of mayhem on Christmas Eve, and if this is how he starts a brand new era of work as he shies away from company-owned properties, then we’re off to a good start.
HAPPY! #4 (of 4)
story GRANT MORRISON
art / cover DARICK ROBERTSON
DECEMBER 19
32 PAGES / FC / M
$2.99
Christmas is here and the bad men are about to open their presents! It’s showdown time but can Nick Sax save the day without Happy to help him — or will he screw this up like everything else? You must not miss the blood-drenched conclusion of our heartwarming Yuletide classic!
Just in time for the holidays!
And More
As always, there is a bevy of things I haven’t covered. New “Saga,” “Prophet” and “Glory” is always exciting, “Fatale” is apparently extended beyond it’s original run (or I just foolishly thought it was a 12-issue series for some reason) and a ton of great trades come out (“Hoax Hunters” and “Revival” vol 1, folks!). To cover all of the great stuff from Image would be to simply post the solicits themselves, but suffice it to say: Image has had a fantastic 2012, and that doesn’t change at all as the year winds down. Congrats to everyone at Image for a fantastic year, and here’s looking forward to what the future holds.
