Wow look at that. Your favorite creator is probably releasing something at Image in March of 2023. That’s an all-star comics lineup right there. Veterans, pros, young hotshots, and mad geniuses all publish books with Image. And here are 10 of my favorites!
As always you can get the full solicits on the Image Comics website.
10. No one can here Maika scream
Woah, wait, “Monstress” is 44 issues deep? That means next year we will be coming up on our 10 year Monstressversary. That’s huge. How many ongoing comics are there right now nearly that old? (At least one other, more on that in a bit.) What’s so impressive to me at this stage is how the scope has gradually pulled back on this fantasy series to reveal an entire cosmology. Alien worlds and times before time? All while still having a cute cat sidekick? I’ve said it before, “Monstress” is the best Final Fantasy game you will ever read.
MONSTRESS #44
Written by Marjorie M. Liu
Illustrated by Sana TakedaLong ago, the Monstra were locked away on a kill-or-be-killed planet of equal parts beauty and brutality. Can Zinn, Maika, and their allies survive a visit to such a place? And what secrets might it hold about their own world?
In Shops: Mar 22, 2023
9. Phantom road, take me home
We here at Multiversity Comics are longtime fans of Mr. Jeff Lemire. Even when that dude isn’t hitting it that big, he still hits it pretty big. He’s done fantasy, post-apocalypse, superhero pastiche, and whatever genre it is where you talk to sad hallucinations while scuba diving. But Lemire’s spooky side is never all that repressed, and here it is coming out to play with full ferocity. Trucker grindhouse horror! With comics’ incomparable renaissance woman, Jordie Bellaire! This is the most excited I’ve been for a new Lemire in a while. Bellaire doubtless helps.
PHANTOM ROAD #1
Written by Jeff Lemire
Illustrated by Jordie Bellaire and Gabriel Hernandez WaltaMINISERIES PREMIEREDom is a long-haul truck driver attempting to stay ahead of his tragic past. When he stops one night to assist Birdie, who has been in a massive car crash, they pull an artifact from the wreckage that throws their lives into fifth gear. Suddenly, a typical midnight run has become a frantic journey through a surreal world where Dom and Birdie find themselves the quarry of strange and impossible monsters.It’s grindhouse horror meeting high-concept supernatural fantasy in the first issue of a bold new miniseries from JEFF LEMIRE (THE BONE ORCHARD MYTHOS, LITTLE MONSTERS) and GABRIEL HERNANDEZ WALTA (The Vision, Hellboy and the B.P.R.D: Old Man Whittier), the Eisner Award-nominated creative team behind the bestselling Sentient series.
In Shops: Mar 08, 2023
8. It’s a living
You thought almost a decade was impressive? “Saga” has been going on even longer! And it’s still good. It’s so good you guys. For Christmas this year I got a little plush Ghüs and I treasure him. Looks like Alana is getting a soul crushing warehouse job. I bet it’s gonna be sad and funny and exciting all at once.
SAGA #63
Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Illustrated by Fiona StaplesIs this hell?
In Shops: Mar 29, 2023
7. They’ll need a lantern of compassion
Wasn’t there just a Daredevil story about the Purple Children? What’s the difference between purple and indigo anyway? No matter, this is one that grabbed me because of the X meets Y descriptor, which almost never grabs me. “Radiant Black” meets “Department of Truth” huh? Well, the big thing missing from “Radiant Black” was dread horror exposing ways in which reality is worse than fiction. I’ll give this one a look for sure!
Continued belowINDIGO CHILDREN #1
Written by Curt Pires and Rockwell White
Illustrated by Alex DiottoSERIES PREMIEREAcclaimed creator CURT PIRES returns to Image for a brand-new ongoing series with the creative team behind the smash-hit series Youth, soon to be a show on Amazon Prime!RADIANT BLACK meets THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH in this action-packed sci-fi/mystery epic as journalist Donovan Price hunts down the extraordinarily gifted INDIGO CHILDREN after their mysterious disappearance fifteen years prior. An EXTRA-LENGTH FIRST ISSUE for the regular price of just $3.99!
In Shops: Mar 29, 2023
6. Just a lil demon
I’m a big fan of the all-ages DC graphic novels. And hey, I always enjoy all-ages comics and should branch out to read more of them. Also, one theme through my taste is I like stuff with cute monsters. Behold: “Ava’s Demon.” This new graphic novel edition checks too many of my boxes to ignore this time around.
AVAS DEMON BOOK 01 REBORN
Written by Michelle Fus
Illustrated by Michelle FusFor fans of TEEN TITANS: RAVEN and LORE OLYMPUS comes the game-changing, multimedia webcomic and Kickstarter sensation from acclaimed creator Michelle Fus, available in softcover for the first time with a new retail-exclusive cover.? When a young, shy girl named Ava discovers that the demon who haunts her is actually the spirit of an ancient alien queen named Wrathia, the two form a dangerous pact.? But in exchange for a better life, Ava must help Wrathia seek revenge against TITAN…the most powerful being in the universe.
In Shops: May 24, 2023
5. Needs a prescription
Not an ongoing series per se, but the collaboration between Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips has gone on for so long now, that you might as well call it that. Here’s their latest! Expect gritty and unsentimental looks at bad people doing bad things, only really really well drawn! If you’re the kind of person into these crime comics, this is definitely on your radar already.
NIGHT FEVER
Written by Ed Brubaker
Illustrated by Jacob Phillips and Sean PhillipsA gripping new original graphic novel from ED BRUBAKER & SEAN PHILLIPS, the bestselling creators of PULP, RECKLESS, CRIMINAL, and KILL OR BE KILLED. Who are you, really? Are you the things you do, or are you the person inside your mind? In Europe on a business trip, Jonathan Webb can’t sleep. Instead, he finds himself wandering the night in a strange foreign city with his new friend, the mysterious and violent Rainer, as his guide. Rainer shows Jonathan the hidden world of the night, a world without rules or limits. But when the fun turns dangerous, Jonathan may find himself trapped in the dark-the question is, what will he do to get home? NIGHT FEVER is a pulse-pounding Jekyll-and-Hyde noir thriller about a man facing the darkness inside himself. This riveting tour of the night is a must-have for all BRUBAKER & PHILLIPS fans!
In Shops: Jun 14, 2023
4. They would all be dead by now anyway
Comics are a uniquely good medium for history. Pictures being worth so many words, it’s a great way to immerse yourself in another time. I love me some good comic book historical fiction. I also have a soft spot for Roman history – my grad school thesis was about Roman colonies. So as something of a Rome nerd, this is a must read for me. And even if you are not historically down with sandals and togas, give some comic book history a chance!
DEAD ROMANS #1
Written by Fred Kennedy
Illustrated by Nick MarinkovichMINISERIES PREMIEREArminius, a Germanic prince raised in Rome, has sworn vengeance against the Empire that butchers his people. He wants to make a queen of the woman he loves, Honoria, a fellow slave. Now, fifty thousand Romans will die to give her a throne she never asked for…or wanted.Lush, beautiful illustrations bring to life a brutal tale of love and war from the birth of the Roman Empire.
In Shops: Mar 29, 2023
3. I think I’m starting to like this place
The characters may hate living on a haunted farm, but I love it. One of my can’t-miss Image books, “I Hate This Place” is Kyle Starks at his best. That means funny, a little scary, and imagination taken to uncharted levels of depravity. This is the beginning of arc two so, a perfect time to catch up. That also means this series is doing well enough to keep doings arcs! Hell yeah. If you read one Image series this year, you could do a lot worse than this one.
Continued belowI HATE THIS PLACE #6
Written by Kyle Starks
Illustrated by Artyom Topilin and Lee LoughridgeNEW STORY ARC”Check this series out. You won’t regret it.” -SKTCHD Last year’s breakout horror series returns! Trudy’s past comes back to haunt her, which wouldn’t be so bad if she and Gabby weren’t already literally haunted by unimaginable forces of evil on a daily basis. Can’t a gal catch a break?
In Shops: Mar 01, 2023
2. 40,000 reasons to read this
What do you do when you have a really good idea for a Warhammer 40K story, but don’t have the rights? You just sort of do it anyway I guess. These space marines are from an empire that is only 11,000 years old, but it looks like they have spent those eons pumping hot metal into each other. I’ve been loving the anthology format for Greg Rucka’s more well known “The Old Guard,” so I think transferring it to a whole galaxy of mayhem is the logical endpoint to Rucka’s madness.
FORGED #1
Written by Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann
Illustrated by Mike HendersonIn the 11th Millennium of the rule of the Eternal Empress, a squad of planet-smashing super soldiers find their routine mission to be anything but. These are the Forged. They take no prisoners. Written by GREG RUCKA & ERIC TRAUTMANN and brought to the page by MIKE HENDERSON, embark upon an over-the-top pulp adventure of sex, violence, and sci-fi inspired by Conan, Heavy Metal, and other comics you tried to hide from your parents.
In Shops: Mar 15, 2023
1. Whisper in the wind
I don’t really have a deep understanding of what this series is going to be about. I haven’t seen much of the art. But this is still my number one for March for one reason: Emma Kubert. I absolutely loved her professional comics debut in “Inkblot.” For this new epic fantasy series, she is flying completely solo. That alone excites me, but take a look at this thing. The solicit is lovely gobbledygook, and the cover looks like it was drawn by a really angry Stan Sakai. In three months, I’ve got a date with a copy of “Stoneheart” #1.
STONEHEART #1
Written by Emma Kubert
Illustrated by Emma KubertSERIES PREMIEREEMMA KUBERT, the artist behind Frank Miller Presents’ Frank Miller’s Pandora and Image Comics’ INKBLOT and RADIANT PINK, introduces her whimsically twisted tale STONEHEART, a new ongoing action/adventure fantasy series! Bubbly and headstrong Shayde Whisper has been inexplicably exiled from her magical guild and relocated, left only with vague memories and romanticized hope. But when she hears a sinister voice in her head that awakens a power beyond her comprehension, she’ll traverse her past and present to unravel her prestigious place within the mystical land of Athea!
In Shops: Mar 08, 2023
