Earlier this year, with the direct market crippled and local comic shops shut down, things looked pretty bleak. Even as a chorus of pundits wrestled with the age-old question, How will monthly comics survive, the industry found a way, proving it’s resiliency yet again. For now, anyway. Obviously, there are still plenty of problems, but November’s dynamic list of new releases, reprints and trades gave us plenty of reasons to celebrate. Personally, this year I’m more thankful than ever to be in the privileged position of sharing my thoughts and opinions with an ever-growing, knowledgeable and tasteful dedicated group of fans. This month saw some great work. Here are some of the highlights.
Best Crossover Debut Issue: Tie. “Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons” #1
and “The Crossover” #1
On the first Wednesday of the month, November declared itself International Crossover Month. First off was the most nerdrific team-up since The Archies met the B52s. Since “Stranger Things” began, Dungeons & Dragons has acted both as a metaphor and polestar. Infused with plenty of nostalgia, authenticity and rich detail, this Stranger Things–D&D mashup winds the clock back to a simpler time – before monsters were real and the Upside Down sang its siren song. With obvious affection for the legendary game that launched a thousand RPGs, Jody Houser and Jim Zub deliver a pitch-perfect origin story for one of the most iconic adventure parties in TV history. Meanwhile, over at Image, after an action-packed, blood-spattered opening sequence, Donny Cates’s high concept, self-referential debut of “The Crossover” also became a heartfelt character study. In a world wear “God Hates Masks” (of the superhero variety) and evangelicals implore comic book fans to “Pray the Capes Away,” protagonist Ellipses Howell finds great comfort in belonging to the nerd culture community. After suffering insults, jeers and harassment on the walk to store where she works, Ellipses assures the reader – and misfits everywhere – even though, “The world already hates and fears us for the things we love,” local comic book shops like hers will always be “the only home a lot of us have left.”
Best and Most Prolific Writer, Jeff Lemire: “Sweet Tooth: The Return” #1 and “Barbalien: Red Planet” #1
Jeff Lemire is one of those creators who seems to never sleep. If you were only a Jeff Lemire fan, you’d still be running down to your local comics shop multiple times per month. He’s as good at worldbuilding as anyone out there, writes across different genres with ease and knows how to create a spinoff series without making it feel gratuitous, forced or self-indulgent. This month, ahead of a Netflix adaptation said to be in the works, Lemire reintroduces – and “boldly reimagines” – one of his early works in “Sweet Tooth: The Return.” The book’s confusingly-familiar-but-not protagonist Gus, some sort deer-like human hybrid, struggles to navigate a cacophony of dreams, visions, prophecies and instructions from the man he simply calls father. Longtime collaborator, colorist Jose Villarrubia, gives Lemire’s characteristic pencils a pastoral, water color pastiche that makes it feel otherworldly. If you’re looking for easy answers and a predictable plot line, this isn’t the book for you. If you’re willing to lean into the book’s mystery, it’s a poetic, trippy ride. In a completely different vein, Lemire takes a deep dive into the world of Barbalien, from the Black Hammer Universe. In the eponymous “Barbalien: Red Planet” #1, Lemire fleshes out Mark Markz’s backstory to stunning effect. Based loosely on real world events, Markz wrestles with his sexuality in the midst of the AIDS epidemic “some time ago.” Most of the issue is framed in the form of a flashback, after Barbalien has been convicted and sentenced on his home planet for treason, abandonment and “species betrayal.” Even worse, the cliffhanger ending assures us there’s a more consequential reckoning yet to come.
Best Artist Martin Simmonds, “Department of Truth” #3
For the vast majority of us conspiracy theories are little more than a snarky party game. What if there actually is a massive ice-wall surrounding our flat earth? What if Stanley Kubrick really was paid to fake the moon landing in a Hollywood studio? The clever conceit behind “The Department of Truth” argues that the more people believe in a given conspiracy theory, the more true it becomes. It’s an intriguing premise with a rock-solid script by James Tynion IV. In the third installment, Martin Simmonds artwork takes the series to a new level. In 23 unsettling pages, Simmonds combines raw, emotional close-ups with brilliant splash pages that feel like something Andy Warhol dreamt up during a particularly dark Agitprop phase. Combining patriotic American iconography with a gritty street art style, Simmonds intuitive sequences are a gorgeously stylized, devastating emotional gut punch. What if a grieving mother is deceived, bullied and agonizingly gaslit into believing her murdered son is somehow still alive…? It’s an utterly heart wrenching take on the free exchange of ideas and the search for answers.
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Most Sumptuous Colors Tamra Bonvillain, “Once and Future” #13
Admittedly, Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora’s imaginative series “Once and Future” can be a bit uneven. That said, nearly every issue is built around the most badass grandma you’ll ever meet and Tamra Bonvillain’s colors are always spectacular. It’s hard to imagine what this book might look like in the hands of any other colorist. Bonvillian gives the story an otherworldly, surreal neon sheen. It’s epic. It’s surreal. It’s a world that can only exist at the transdimensional intersection of myth and reality. As the third arc begins, we’re left with a stunning portrayal of one of the most confounding yet intriguing characters in medieval literature. If the character is written anything like his fantastic visual portrayal, this new arc will be spectacular.
Other Notable Number Ones:
“Scarenthood” #1 shows us what can happen when there’s something in the crawlspace and well-meaning parents have too much time on their hands. “Dungeons & Dragons: At the Spine of the World” #1 features plenty of action, solid artwork and decent characterization, which for some unfathomable reason often continues to be far more difficult than it should be in the world of D&D fiction. Lastly, “I Walk with Monsters” #1 proved to be November’s sleeper hit. With a host of outstanding reveals and delightfully creepy artwork, writer Paul Cornell, illustrator Sally Cantirino, colorist Dearbhla Kelly and letterer Andworld Design dropped a tantalizing first issue, making this book one to watch.
Be sure to wear your mask. Support your local comic shop. Tip your delivery people well. Stay safe, stay healthy. Peace.
