Fresh off the rack and perfect for your mid-afternoon cup of coffee, we have our look at the Image Solicits for July! It’s a tough month to pick apart, really, because July seems to be the time when Image has plans to launch, like, everything cool and new for your eyeballs — which means that a lot of the older stuff, the regular releases and the trades don’t get covered in this month’s column (sorry, “Bad Dog” v1! I snuck you in in the preamble, though!). But, hey, what are you going to do? I can’t cheat — rules are rules, no matter how much I want to break them for “Bad Dog” v1.
For the full solicits from Image, you can find them all at their website, including the solicit for “Bad Dog” v1. For our Top 10 picks, take a look below.
10. New #1 Alert: Death Vigil
Coming to you from Image is a brand new mini-series by Stjepan Sejic — and, hey, look at that it’s a double-sized first issue! Stjepan Sejic is a fantastic artist, but since he’s mostly been working on the “Witchblade” line with Ron Marz, we haven’t really seen him let his wings loose and fly as high as I think he could. But now, with his own series coming up that’s kicking off with a big issue, I think that this is the perfect time for people to see Sejic’s talent on display on a wider scale — and for that, I am excited.
DEATH VIGIL #1 (of 8)
story / art / cover: STJEPAN SEJICJULY 9 / 48 PAGES / FC / T+ / $3.99
Forty pages of story and art in this contemporary fantasy adventure series written and painted by STJEPAN SEJIC. Gifted? Join the Death Vigil in their ongoing war against the ever-growing power of the Primordial Enemy! The only catch is you have to die first. Become a corporeal immortal Death Knight and obtain reality-altering weaponry in the never-ending battle between good and evil.
9. New #1 Alert: Death Engine
We covered this a bit when Image announced the title, but this is another brand new #1 from Image from a team I’m rather unfamiliar with — and I think that’s incredibly exciting. It has hints of other Image titles in it, I think, and looking at the cover is certainly reminiscent of “Pretty Deadly,” but the timey-wimey aspects of the book definitely make it seem like it’ll be an exciting and entertaining read. I like pretty much all I’ve seen/heard on it, which is limited I’ll grant you but even so.
So take that, people who figured Image was done with unknowns! (No, seriously — take this. Pre-order, buy it when it comes out. It looks fantastic.)
DARK ENGINE #1
story: RYAN BURTON
art / cover: JOHN BIVENSJULY 16 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.50
With ribsword in hand, with gore in her curling locks, Sym has been sent to the distant past to murder her creators’ enemies. But the twisted alchemists who made Sym do not know that the engine that powers her is sentient, that it is the seed of their destruction. By blood and by fury, Sym will carve out her destiny in this new ongoing series.
8. New #1 Alert: Hack/Slash – Son of Samhain
“Hi, we’re Mike Moreci and Steve Seeley! You might remember us from such comics as “Hoax Hunters!” And “My Little Phony: Friendship is Tragic!” We’re here to talk to you today about our new book, “Hack/Slash!””
That’s how I imagine Mike and Steve introduce themselves at conventions now.
But anyway, here’s the rub: I’m not a big Cassie Hack fan. I bought a trade of “Hack/Slash” a while ago but it just wasn’t for me. Happens! But, from what has been put online for this series, I’m actually intrigued to check it out again. I like Mike and Steve’s work, and clearly if anyone is going to follow-up the legacy of Tim Seeley’s creation of the book it’s his brother and his brother’s bro, so this seems like a shoe-in to be a pretty decent relaunch. It’s definitely something worth checking out, though.
Continued belowHACK/SLASH: SON OF SAMHAIN #1
story: MICHAEL MORECI & STEVE SEELEY
art: EMILIO LAISO
cover: STEFANO CASELLI
incentive cover: CAMERON STEWARTJULY 2 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.50
Your favorite slasher hunter is BACK! When a mysterious cult of monsters arises, Cassie is forced to return to the life she thought she’d left behind. Coupled with a new partner and faced with enemies unlike any she has battled before, Cassie must confront the darkness in the world—and in her own life—in new ways. The agents of evil never rest; unfortunately for them, neither does Cassie Hack.
7. New #1 Alert: Cap’n Dinosaur
More new Shaky Kane.
‘Nuff said.
CAP’N DINOSAUR (ONE-SHOT)
story: KEK-W
art / cover: SHAKY KANEJULY 16 / 32 PAGES / FC / T / $3.99
COMPLETE, ALL NEW CAP’N DINOSAUR TALE IN THIS ISSUE!
When a mysterious drowned man falls out of the clear blue sky, The Cap’n and Honey Moon follow a trail which leads them to a deserted Amusement park. Writer KEK-W (2000 AD, Ruddy Rucker’s FLURB) and THE BULLETPROOF COFFIN’s SHAKY KANE take the law into their own hands in this two-fisted tale of Murder, Muscle Marys, and Mail-order Mystery. WARNING: Contains Pop Culture references and Impact wounds.
6. New #1 Alert: Tech Jacket
I have a fondness for Tech Jacket in the way that I do all of Kirkman’s various Invincible-verse creations, even if Tech Jacket came first. I also thought that the series Tech Jacket had back in the day didn’t do the character any favors in terms of earning an audience like Invincible did. But Joe Keatinge and Khary Randolph’s digital mini? I really dug that! Maybe enough time had passed to make me care more or maybe this newer updated Tech Jacket just works better, but I definitely want to see where Keatinge and Randolph take the character in their new series.
You’ll also have the chance to pick up the only print versions of Joe Keatinge and Khary Randolph’s digital “Tech Jacket” series, so that’s probably worth it in terms of catching up. (I also like how the trade contains “Tech Jacket” #7 and #8, which is what the ‘Viltrumite War’ back-ups in “Invincible” were supposed to be. Clever way to classify that!)
TECH JACKET, VOL. 2 TP
story: ROBERT KIRKMAN, AUBREY SITTERSON, & JOE KEATINGE
art: EJ SU & KHARY RANDOLPH
cover: HARY RANDOLPH & EMILIO LOPEZJULY 2 / 128 PAGES / FC / T+ / $14.99
Collects TECH JACKET #7 & 8, TECH JACKET DIGITAL #1-3.Get ready for the new TECH JACKET ongoing series with this brand new collection—featuring the previously digital-exclusive TECH JACKET DIGITAL miniseries!An intergalactic bounty hunter comes to Earth to claim the ultimate prize: Tech Jacket!
TECH JACKET #1
story: JOE KEATINGE
art: KHARY RANDOLPH & DAVE MCCAIG
cover: KHARY RANDOLPH & EMILIO LOPEZJULY 2 / 32 PAGES / FC / T+ / $2.99
A new ongoing series from the creative team who brought you the hit TECH JACKET DIGITAL mini!
Zack Thompson: community college drop out, lives with his parents… This is who protects us from what lies beyond our world?! But he’s also Tech Jacket, the self-styled “Galactic Guardian of Earth,” and when a big-ass space ship enters Earth’s orbit, Zack will face the greatest challenge of his life!
5. New #1 Alert: Supreme – Blue Rose
Warren Ellis and Tula Lotay are revamping “Supreme” for a modern audience, and if that alone isn’t enough to sell you on the series then I don’t know what will.
But, OK, really: Ellis is a strong selling point, I know, but I think there is more to be said for the fact that Lotay is the one illustrating the series. Lotay has not done a lot of comics of this caliber and recognition (I’ve seen some of her work on her website, there may be more out there), but Ellis is a great collaborator in terms of pushing the artists that he works with. Ellis is a traditional “outside the box” kind of guy, and with Lotay’s artwork in pin-ups and shorts already being incredibly stylish and imaginative and inventive and exciting, I can’t wait to see what happens when you put the two together. Especially when you bring in things like multiversal structures and local reality going wrong and all that.
Continued belowI mean, honestly, forget “Supreme.” Just buy it because this book is going to be gorgeous.
SUPREME: BLUE ROSE #1
story: WARREN ELLIS
art / cover: TULA LOTAYJULY 23 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $2.99
You are not dreaming. We are trying to communicate with you. Local reality has been reinstalled. Things have gone wrong. The revision has corrupted. Finding Ethan Crane is your supreme priority. We are speaking to you from the ultimate bunker within the structure of multiversal time. Do not trust Darius Dax. We are all going to die. SUPREME: BLUE ROSE. Re-introducing the central Image Comics character, with WARREN ELLIS and TULA LOTAY.
4. New #1 Alert: Low
Gosh, I feel like we’ve been talking about this book forever, right? I mean, Remender basically announced it on Twitter by posting lots of art from him and Tocchini and just having the word “Low” all over the place. When it was announced at Image Expo, it was more of a “Ohhh, so that’s where that ended up!” than a huge shock like “Black Science” (not to diminish either; I love “Black Science,” am terribly excited for “Low”).
So finally getting to read this is certainly an attractive proposition, and the art for it so far that we’ve seen is pretty gorgeous. It’s even a bit Bioshock-y, which I approve of. And I have a lot of faith in Remender and Tocchini as storytellers, so yeah, lets get this book in our hands already!
LOW #1
story: RICK REMENDER
art / cover: GREG TOCCHINIJULY 30 / 36 PAGES / FC / M / $3.99
In the far distant future, the sun’s premature expansion has irradiated Earth, sending humanity to the lowest depths of the seas, hidden within radiation-shielded cities, while probes scour the universe for inhabitable worlds to relocate to. After tens of thousands of years, a single probe returns, crashing on Earth’s surface, a now-alien place no human has seen for many millennia.
Frequent collaborators RICK REMENDER (BLACK SCIENCE, Uncanny Avengers) and GREG TOCCHINI (Last Days of American Crime, Uncanny X-Force) dive into an aquatic sci-fi/fantasy tale following two teams from the last remaining cities undersea as they race to the most unexpected alien world of all—the surface of Earth.
Special introductory issue features 30 full pages of painted art!
3. New #1 Alert: Spread
I said as much when we posted the teaser for this book>, but at NYCC 2013, Justin Jordan handed out a ton of ashcans for this book — and man, this is going to be a wild ride. I can’t wait to see the full issue, and I don’t think you should want to either.
SPREAD #1
story: JUSTIN JORDAN
art / cover: KYLE STRAHMJULY 9 / 32 PAGES / FC / M / $3.50
Ten years ago, we dug too deep. We unleashed something ancient that couldn’t be controlled. Something that couldn’t be stopped, twisting everything it touched into more of itself.
The Spread. Humanity was nearly destroyed before we found a way to slow the Spread to a crawl. Now, deep inside the quarantined zone, one man has found the key to stopping it forever: a baby girl. And if he can save her, he might save the world.
2. New #1 Alert (Sort Of?): Chew – Warrior Chicken Poyo
OK, so it’s not quite a #1. However, “Chew” is the darling book of the century and the last Poyo one-shot was amazing. I don’t have the tiniest bit of doubt in my mind that an ostensibly Frazetta-inspired high fantasy Poyo comic would be anything less than equally stellar.
Buh-gok mother fuckers, indeed.
Continued belowCHEW: WARRIOR CHICKEN POYO #1
story: JOHN LAYMAN
art / cover: ROB GUILLORYJULY 9 / 36 PAGES / FC / M / $3.50
Comics’ most beloved homicidal cybernetic kung fu rooster returns for what we humbly anticipate as the most important literary achievement of the 21st Century. All other comics will be made irrelevant. The best thing that’s ever happened to comics, and possibly the best thing that’s ever happened…EVER!
Plus: an all-star pin-up gallery from some of the most staggeringly talented artists in the industry! DO. NOT. MISS.
1. Surprise! It’s not a New #1 at all!
No, rather than another #1, I’m here to once again sing to you the glorious song of David Lapham and El Capitán. Image’s release of all 41 issues of “Stray Bullets” is my favorite collection I’ve purchased this year, and Lapham’s new work on “Stray Bullets” is so good it makes my head spin! Of course, fans of “Stray Bullets” will remember when Lapham took a sort-of break from the series to work on something new, something different in the form of “Murder Me Dead.” It’s just as cool as “Stray Bullets” and sees Lapham exploring all kinds of different ideas, though still keeping hold of his biting eye towards social interactions and the relationships we keep with one another.
Which is my way of saying: god damn, Image, just reprint all the Lapham comics in the world and take all my money, why don’t you. And what’s a guy got to do to get a “Young Liars” omnibus around here, eh?
MURDER ME DEAD TP
story / art / cover: DAVID LAPHAMJULY 16 / 264 PAGES / BW / M / $19.99
Collects MURDER ME DEAD #1-9After a decade out of print, another great El Capitán graphic novel returns! David Lapham’s love letter to classic noir takes you down the long, dark road of obsession, sex, betrayal, and murder. Peeling back the carefully constructed facades of each character, he exposes the true nature of their humanity and propels you toward a final, horrifying revelation.
