This month we’re going to focus on endings and new beginnings. Very few exciting brand new series this month. And I’m thankful for that. Sometimes it’s better to be happy with the series you’ve got. And Image just hit us with a bunch of exciting new series, so many that I couldn’t possibly include them all here. There are definitely the highlights but as always, you can see the full list of solicitations on the official Image website. For now, get stoked for some returning favorites!
10. Snoochie boochies
Kevin Smith’s career has had its shares of ups and downs, but he’s an affable dude and I celebrate any attempt he makes to try something new. Let’s see what we’ve got here. Looks like Hollywood is making a Hit-Girl movie, but the real Hit-Girl needs to stop it? Shit dude, you’re just doing Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back but with a teenage murderer? Wait, that sounds rad. Can Mark Hamill make a cameo?
HIT-GIRL SEASON TWO #2
WRITER: Kevin Smith
ARTIST: Pernille Ørum
COVER A / COVER B: Francesco Francavilla
COVER C: Amanda Conner
MARCH 13 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99
“THE TALKIES” Hit-Girl’s on set—watching her life portrayed by America’s sweetheart. She needs to axe this film, and fast. Everyone knows if you want to kill a snake, you cut off its head. So Hit-Girl’s heading to Hollywood’s viper nest: The Black Tower.
9. Fade to black
With a solid, unbroken run of 42 issues, Black Science comes to an end. Before Marvel made multiverses of spider-heroes a concept that my mom was asking about, Rick Remender and company were telling an absolutely bonkers tale of alternate timelines, scientists driven to (and past) their breaking point, truth and lies. And it’s probably no surprise that folks working at website called Multiversity Comics like comics about the multiverse. It’s been a hell of a run, and “Black Science” is going out with a bang.
BLACK SCIENCE #42
WRITER: Rick Remender
ARTIST: Moreno Dinisio, Matteo Scalera
COVER A: Matteo Scalera
COVER B: Andrew Robinson
MARCH 27 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99
“NO AUTHORITY BUT YOURSELF,” Conclusion Grant McKay has lived a billion lives across a trillion realities. Now there is only one, and he has one final choice to make. This is the End.
8. Newly risen
It’s been a while since we’ve gotten a proper issue of “Lazarus” and I feel like in that time, a lot of people have taken the time to catch up. Well “Lazarus” is back like you would not believe. The comic is returning in a new format, with mega-sized issues, published quarterly in multiple miniseries. There’s also talk of a movie, and a freakin’ “Lazarus” tabletop RPG which sounds rad. Get woke to it people! I often tell people that of all the sci-fi predictions for the future, I think “Lazarus” is the one most likely to come true.
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LAZARUS: RISEN #1
WRITER: Greg Rucka
ARTIST / COVER A: Michael Lark
MARCH 20 / 64 pages / FC/ M / $7.99
“FRACTURE I,” Part One LAZARUS returns in an all-new prestige format! New series, new story arc, new size, and a new quarterly schedule! Introducing a new ongoing LAZARUS series—at 64 pages, perfect bound, LAZARUS: RISEN continues the story of Forever and the Carlyle Family… featuring an oversized, 44-page story by Eisner winners GREG RUCKA and MICHAEL LARK, an all-new short story exploring the larger world of LAZARUS by Eisner-nominated writer LILAH STURGES, an all-new supplement to the Modern Age: World of Lazarus Roleplaying Game by Green Ronin, original design artifacts and art supplements, and more! Two years have passed since the Carlyle Family was betrayed in battle, and the Conclave War encroaches on every side. As a new era dawns, Johanna Carlyle goes on the attack to ensure the survival of her Family, relying on the loyalty and support of the Carlyle Lazarus—her sister, Forever—remaining at her side. And while their united front may be enough to turn the tide, the cracks are beginning to show… HOLLYWOOD NEWS! Amazon has set up LAZARUS for development with Rucka onboard as a writer. Rucka and Michael Lark will both executive produce alongside Angela Cheng Caplan.
7. Roll tonight, to the guitar bite
Our thrashing heroes have added some death metal to their oeuvre, and with all the powers of metal available to them, they are preparing to face down Magnum Khaos to determine the future of the world. There are a few possibilities. Either that sentence meant nothing to you in which case, sorry. Or you know exactly what I’m saying and you’re stomping your double-bass drum pedals in delight. Or you don’t know what I mean, but know you’ve gotta find out. Ladies and gentlemen: “Murder Falcon!”
MURDER FALCON #6
WRITER: Daniel Warren Johnson
ARTIST: Daniel Warren Johnson, Mike Spicer
COVER A: Mike Spicer, Daniel Warren Johnson
COVER B: Vanesa R. Del Rey
MARCH 13 / 32 pages / FC/ T / $3.99
For those about to shred, we salute you! Magnum Khaos is one step closer to enslaving our planet, and the only hope for Brooticus lies within the newest member of the band!
6. You all start out in an inn
The first issue of “Die” didn’t give too much of the fantasy setting away, but we know it’s going to meta, it’s going to be weird, and it’s going to be brutal. The meta aspect comes into play whenever the team approaches a familiar concept through their phantasmagoria lens. What’s a critical hit going to look like? How about the orcs? What’s the system of government like? This issue, everyone is going to meet in the inn, the start point of many a campaign. I would imagine, it’s not going to be as fun for the gang as it is for most of us.
DIE #4
WRITER: Kieron Gillen
ARTIST / COVER A: Stephanie Hans
COVER B: Christian Ward
MARCH 06 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99
“FANTASY HEARTBREAKER,” Part Four Our heroes reach the civilization of Glass Town and do what heroes have always done upon reaching civilization. As in, go to the pub. As it’s DIE, you can guess people don’t exactly get happy drunk.
5. In leaves no step had trodden black
The first arc of “Isola” didn’t make me think about genre or stories in a new way, but it did tell a competent story in an endlessly intriguing world. It didn’t set my mind on fire, or keep me up on sleepless nights pondering its ins and outs. But damn if I didn’t read every issue and love every one of them. “Isola” is exciting, melancholy, but more than anything else it’s gorgeous. Looking for a comic that can show you the power of good art? This is the comic you’re looking for.
ISOLA #7
WRITER: Karl Kerschl, Brenden Fletcher
ARTIST: Karl Kerschl, M.SASSY.K
COVER A: Karl Kerschl
COVER B: Sarah Stone
MARCH 13 / 32 pages / FC/ T+ / $3.99
Danger on the road forces Rook and Olwyn to take a treacherous detour. NOW BI-MONTHLY!
4. It doesn’t look like anything to me
Before it came out, “Self/Made” was getting some good buzz, so I decided to read it. I knew a bit. It was about robots or something. But no way man, it’s trippy as hell and I loved it. The first issue seemed to be a fantasy comic of some sort, with a magical desert tribe, dragons, and beasts. Of course, things were more than they seemed. Because “Self/Made” takes place in a video game of some sort, and the characters are starting to become self aware. The fantasy comic alone would have been enough for me, but there are layers upon layers here. Already I can see this unfolding and becoming an even better version of Westworld. Big praise? Believe it: “Self/Made” is that good.
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SELF / MADE #4
WRITER: Mat Groom
ARTIST / COVER A: Marcelo Costa, Eduardo Ferigato
MARCH 06 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99
“THE ‘TA-DA’ MOMENT” Amala has made it to our world—and she is distinctly unimpressed. What’s a girl with a new robot body and some pent-up rage to do? Paint the town red.
3. Hibernation is a covert preparation for a more overt action.
“Bitter Root” has some of the best character designs in modern comics. It also has one of the richest and most realized settings. And a terrifying bad guy. And a deep, enticing mystery. And a whole lot of rich lore. And a connection to real world history. And a sprawling conflict. And the promise of bigger things to come. “Bitter Root” is great yo, the best work anyone on this creative team has ever done. And that’s saying something.
BITTER ROOT #5
WRITER: David F. Walker, Chuck Brown
ARTIST / COVER A: Sanford Greene
COVER B: Ben Oliver
COVER C: Mike Del Mundo
COVER D: Afua Richardson
MARCH 20 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99
As an unspeakable evil ravages New York City, the last of the Sangerye Family fight just to stay alive. But with Cullen missing and presumed dead, hope is fading fast, both for the family, and the fate of humanity.
2. Have you ever fired two guns while jumping in the air?
Well the solicit invokes one of my favorite movies of the century thus far (Hot Fuzz) and if it can be half as hilarious as that movie, that’s all I need. Seems like a helluva feat but we got Erica GODDAMN Henderson on art. Co-creator of the “Unbeatable Squirrel Girl” Erica Henderson. And now she’s doing a story about 20 loony assassins working together to foil another assassin. With Kyle Starks writing? Oh damn.
ASSASSIN NATION #1
WRITER: Kyle Starks
ARTIST / COVER A: Erica Henderson
MARCH 13 / 32 pages / FC/ / $3.99
Hot off her breakout success at Marvel, two-time Eisner award winner ERICA HENDERSON (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Jughead) teams up with KYLE STARKS (writer of sales beast Rick and Morty) for a hilarious twist on the hitman trope that will have readers laughing in the aisles over ASSASSIN NATION. The World’s Former Greatest Hitman hires the 20 best assassins in the world to be his bodyguards. These mean-as-hell hired guns and murderers must work together to keep the new crime boss safe while attempting to solve the mystery of who’s trying to off him. With the same laugh-until-you-cry spirit of action-comedies like Hot Fuzz, Tropic Thunder, and Deadpool, ASSASSIN NATION is the bombastic, side-splitting murder-fest you’ve been waiting for.
1. Ah my my, what a sensation!
Warren Ellis and Jason Howard are a superstar team, so I had high expectations for “Cemetery Beach.” The comic blew them all away. Ellis writes a ton of comics, some I’ve loved and some not so much. But one certainty is that they’re never boring. “Cemetery Beach” may not be my favorite Warren Ellis book (which may always simply be “Netxwave”) but it’s definitely the MOST Warren Ellis book. Nothing else has ever captured the philosophizing of some of his denser comics and the insane laughing mania of his more unhinged books. “Cemetery Beach” has big ideas, but it also moves at a million miles an hour from setpiece to setpiece to naked Napoleonic maniac mashing the keys of a typewriter from the back of a flying car. I can’t believe it’s ending. But I bet you my whole comic collection that it absolutely nails the landing.
CEMETERY BEACH #7 (OF 7)
WRITER: Warren Ellis
ARTIST / COVER A / COVER B: Jason Howard
MARCH 06 / 32 pages / FC/ M / $3.99
Mike and Grace are almost at Cemetery Beach, close to making their escape back to Earth. If they make it, President Barrow’s dream of a perfect world is over. So, Mike and Grace have to die on Cemetery Beach.
