Another month, another Soliciting Multiversity! This month we’re looking forward into the far flung future that is July 2015 to take a look at the Top Ten picks from Image Comics’ solicitations for the month.
Before we get into the actual Top Ten, I want to give a quick shoutout: “Bitch Planet”, “They’re Not Like Us” and “Chrononauts” are each getting their first trade paperbacks collections in July at Image Comics’ introductory price of $9.99. I know for a fact that “Bitch Planet” and “They’re Not Like Us” are amazing and if you haven’t check them out, this a great way to jump in.
Now onto the Top Ten!
10. A New Rob Liefeld Ongoing? What Year Is It?
Maybe this makes me a bad person, but I honest to god almost missed this entry because whenever Image’s solicitations hit the entries for “Spawn” or “Savage Dragon”-style stuff, I immediately just keep scrolling. But this one I couldn’t pass up. A new ongoing written and drawn by Rob Liefeld? I don’t think I’ve seen one of those since the early days of the New 52. And from the looks of it, it seems to be a relaunch of some sort of “Bloodstrike” from the 90s. I don’t know, this isn’t an entry that I’m necessarily going to be, but, boy, is it fascinating to me.
BLOODSTRIKE #1
STORY / ART / COVERS A & D: ROB LIEFELD
COVER B: DAN FRAGA
COVER C: KARL ALTSTAETTER
JULY 8 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.99
X-Force, Cable, and Deadpool creator ROB LIEFELD returns to comics with a new ONGOING series, a lively romp that reveals a more mature side to LIEFELD than fans have previously experienced. A new recruit to the Bloodstrike program (his identity as a mystery man from the historical Extreme Universe soon to be revealed!) struggles on a covert mission and loses his life as well as his junk to the mysterious TRAGEDY ANN!
9. The “Supreme” Comic That David Lynch Never Made, Collected
Let me tell you a story: I almost missed out on “Supreme: Blue Rose” and that would have legitimately been one of the greatest mistakes of my comic reading life. I’ve never read another “Supreme” comic (because all I knew about it was there was either a Rob Liefeld run or an Alan Moore and I was like “Nah, you’re okay.”) so despite Warren Ellis’ name being attacked, I decided to skip this one because I didn’t think I’d know what was going on. Well, having read I’m still not entirely sure what went on, but I can tell you that if you haven’t read this, Tula Lotay is the entire reason to read this. The story isn’t bad by any means, but Lotay’s dreamlike artwork and use of mixed media make it the standout quality of the series and this collection is definitely one to check out.
SUPREME: BLUE ROSE TP
STORY: WARREN ELLIS
ART / COVER: TULA LOTAY
JULY 1 / 144 PAGES / FC / M / $14.99
Unemployed reporter Diana Dane is hired by a mysterious intelligence broker to solve the biggest mysteries of 21st Century America: what fell on the town of Littlehaven, and who or what is “Supreme?”Collects SUPREME: BLUE ROSE #1-7.
8. “Shutter” Enters A Much Deserved Second Year
I think I’ve mentioned it before, but I love “Shutter”. To me, this is the little book that came out of nowhere and took me by surprise in how inventive and fun it is. What I see in “Shutter” is the same bursting energy and imagination that grabbed me the first time I read “Saga”. In July, “Shutter” enters its second year and I can’t think of an Image title more deserving of that. Maybe it’s a little bit of selfishness on my part, but I hope this title keeps going for a long time yet. And with the second trade paperback of the series releasing the same day as this issue, I see no reason why anyone wouldn’t be reading this fantastic book.
Continued belowSHUTTER #13
STORY: JOE KEATINGE
ART / COVER: LEILA DEL DUCA & OWEN GIENI
JULY 8 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.50
SHUTTER YEAR TWO BEGINS HERE!
The next major stage begins here by introducing SHUTTER’s most important character since Kate herself.
7. An Ominous Solicit For “Saga” #30
“Sooner or later, everything dies.” Now, I’m not one to start rumourmongering and the obvious lack of ‘Series Conclusion’ as part of this solicit means that I don’t think “Saga” is ending any time soon, but that is certainly a pretty dire sounding description. This is a series known for not holding back in its shocking, darker moments, but this is such an ominous solicit that I’m a little worried for what’s going to happen in this issue. This is not a series that has held back on killing characters, but when they’re advertising that? Shit is about to go down.
SAGA #30
ART / COVER: FIONA STAPLES
STORY: BRIAN K. VAUGHAN
JULY 8 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $2.99
Sooner or later, everything dies.
6. The First Days Of Rick Remender’s Career
While I’ve been maybe a little critical of Rick Remender over the past few years, but I mean… can you blame me? But for real, despite some of his recent mistakes, I’ve enjoyed a lot of his work in the past and I’m actually really interested in this reprinting. It seems like the further back into Remender’s backcatalogue I go, the more good stuff I find so I’m looking forward to checking this one out. Even if it is just for that Alex Maleev cover.
LAST DAYS OF AMERICAN CRIME, VOL. 1 HC
STORY: RICK REMENDER
ART: GREG TOCCHINI
COVER: ALEX MALEEV
JULY 15 / 184 PAGES / FC / M / $24.99
The critically acclaimed, smutty, sci-fi, and noir first collaboration between RICK REMENDER (LOW, DEADLY CLASS) and GREG TOCCHINI (LOW, Uncanny X-Force) is finally back in print, remastered, and delivered in a glorious hardcover format.
Collects LAST DAYS OF AMERICAN CRIME #1-3.
5. The Apocalypse, Now In Hardcover
There are a lot of good books written by Jonathan Hickman being published right now, but you know what? “East Of West” is hands down my favourite. What he’s doing with Nick Dragotta not only in terms of worldbuilding, but also in terms of weaving this crazy ensemble cast through this off-the-wall political sci-fi story about the Apocalypse in the Old West by way of the future. It’s a book that I’ve found impossible to try and describe accurately, but now, finally, I will be able to drop $50 and literally throw the book at people in order to get them to read it. This is the hardcover I’ve been waiting for.
EAST OF WEST, THE APOCALYPSE: YEAR ONE HC
STORY: JONATHAN HICKMAN
ART / COVER: NICK DRAGOTTA
JULY 8 / 504 PAGES / FC / T+ / $49.99
The oversized prestige collection of the First Year of The Apocalypse.
Collects EAST OF WEST #1-15.
4. The Dying And The Very, Very Dead
Correct me if I’m wrong, but did we know that “The Dying And The Dead” was only going to be seven issues? Now, don’t get me wrong, I loved the first issue as it was everything I loved about Hickman’s writing on “East Of West” mixed with everything I loved about Ryan Bodenheim’s stylistic noir artwork from “Secret” rolled into one, but I was really hoping for this one to be an ongoing. Ah, well, everything that has a beginning has an end and all that and I can only hope that Hickman and Bodenheim continue to collaborate in the future if they keep putting out stuff as good as this has been.
Continued belowTHE DYING AND THE DEAD #7
STORY: JONATHAN HICKMAN
ART / COVER: RYAN BODENHEIM
JULY 29 / 45 PAGES / FC / T+ / $4.50
The best new book of the year reaches its amazing conclusion in “THIS IS WHY WE FIGHT.”
3. Because I’ll Do Anything For More Emma Rios Comics
Emma Rios and Brandon Graham doing a comic together with a text piece by Kelly Sue DeConnick? Now, that’s a comic I’ll happily pay $7.99 for. I can’t even be objective about this, I’m someone who has a tattoo of Emma Rios’ artwork, I will do anything to get more comics from her. I mean, come on, this is the closest I’ll get to “Pretty Deadly” vol. 2 until September, cut me some slack. Not only that, but three 30 page stories per issue with no ads for $8? Even without the draw of Rios and Graham, that’s a good deal. I’m all in on this.
ISLAND #1
STORY / ART: BRANDON GRAHAM, EMMA RIOS, & LUDROE
COVER: BRANDON GRAHAM
JULY 15 / 112 PAGES / FC / M / $7.99 / OVERSIZED
PRETTY DEADLY artist EMMA RIOS and KING CITY, PROPHET & MULTIPLE WARHEADS writer/artist BRANDON GRAHAM bring you a new ONGOING & OVERSIZED COMICS MAGAZINE. Each issue holds three 20- to 30-page, ad-free, issue-length chapters of new work from around the globe. #1 features a text piece by KELLY SUE DeCONNICK, writer of BITCH PLANET and PRETTY DEADLY.
2. Ales Kot, The Most Prolific Writer In Comics
This is the part of the Soliciting Multiversity article where I basically just use it as an excuse to talk about my faves, but I do genuinely think Ales Kot is one of the more interesting new voices in comics. From a start with “Wild Children” that was explosive to say the least to the meditative examination of violence with “Zero”, I remember this time a couple years ago thinking “I hope that Ales Kot guy sticks around for a while.” Well, guess what? With “Wolf”, that will mark him writing three books for Image concurrently. I’m so happy I could spit. With a solicit that sounds like Kot smashed “Hellblazer” and “True Detective” together and the art team of Matt Taylor and Lee Loughridge seemingly looking to bring a raw, neon-soaked look to the book, I’m all in on this.
Bring on “Wolf”.
WOLF #1
STORY: ALES KOT
ART / COVER: MATT TAYLOR
COLORS: LEE LOUGHRIDGE
JULY 22 / 64 PAGES / FC / M / $4.99
Bestselling new star writer ALES KOT teams up with white-hot artist MATT TAYLOR and DEADLY CLASS colorist extraordinaire LEE LOUGHRIDGE for an all-new ONGOING SERIES! The crime noir thrills and characters reminiscent of True Detective meet with mythical stakes worthy of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman in this original fantasy/horror/crime saga for mature readers. Antoine Wolfe, a hard-boiled paranormal detective with a death wish, has to cope with sudden responsibility for an orphaned teenage girl who might be the key to the impending apocalypse, California-style. The road to hell and back begins in a MAX-SIZED FIRST ISSUE, with fifty-eight pages of story and no ads!
1. Two Brian K. Vaughn Comics In One Month? What Year Is This?
I wasn’t reading comics in the early 2000s so the proliferation and subsequent disappearance of Brian K. Vaughn until “Saga” was released was something that kind of passed me by, but for a while now I wondered if “Saga” was the only monthly book we’d be getting from him. Sure, there was “The Private Eye” over at Panel Syndicate, but with it being hosted on its own site, I would often forget about it. Now, though, none of that even matters as we’re getting another Brian K. Vaughn book to love and it sounds just as off the wall bonkers as he always is. Teaming with Steve Skroce to tell the story of Canada being invaded by the United States, this is the kind of weird ass synopsis that already has me putting down money on this book. Plus, we’re talking about the artist who storyboarded the Speed Racer movie (aka the most underrated movie of all time) here so it’s guaranteed to look good.
WE STAND ON GUARD #1
STORY: BRIAN K. VAUGHAN
ART / COVER: STEVE SKROCE
JULY 1 / 40 PAGES / FC / M / $2.99
SAGA writer BRIAN K. VAUGHAN teams with artistic legend and MATRIX storyboard artist STEVE SKROCE for an action-packed military thriller that will have everyone talking. 100 years from now, a heroic band of Canadian civilians must defend their homeland from invasion…by the United States of America! The hyper-detailed combat between badass freedom fighters and giant f***ing robots begins with a spectacular 40-PAGE FIRST ISSUE for the regular price of just $2.99!
Remember to check out Image’s full solicitations for July 2015 to check out even more good stuff that couldn’t be covered here.
