Having trouble keeping up with comics in October? With several lines, crossovers and new titles starting who could blame you. This month DC’s Sandman Universe imprint continued with the launch of “Lucifer” and “Books of Magic.” The ‘New Justice’ initiative is about to launch a couple crossovers including ‘The Witching Hour’ and ‘Drowned Earth.’ That’s not it from the DC side! Dick Grayson became Rick Grayson, edgy! On the other side of the superhero fence, we have big crossovers like “Spider-Geddon” #1 and a nice duo of female-led superhero books with “Shuri” and “The Unstoppable Wasp” #1. With so many comics in October, how do you sort out the quality from the noise? Thankfully, we’ve got an analysis on some of the best and worst titles of the month. Welcome to This Month in Comics for October 2018.
Best Writer: Gerard Way
Gerard Way is extremely talented but I think October was a particularly great showcase for his talent. The understated beauty of his writing seen in both “Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion” #1 and “Doom Patrol” #12 show just how versatile and creative Way’s work in comics is. Even with the swan song of his pop-up imprint Young Animal ending this month, the majesty and wonder of the new “Umbrella Academy” title cannot be understated. The script featuring the fractured Hargreaves family and their struggle to pick the pieces back up and resume their lives is a seriously compelling way to start a comic book story. Surprisingly enough, the final issue of “Doom Patrol” was also focused on a family. Over the course of the series, the Reynolds family has seen a lot of changes focused around their teenage son, Lucius. Getting to see the family work together as a unit in a really light issue catching readers up to speed with ‘Milk Wars’ was the other half of the most fun I have had in comics this week. Of course, both comics had incredible art teams to boot with “Doom Patrol” #12’s Dan MacDaid and Nick Derington and “Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion” #1 featured work from the always excellent Gabriel Ba. The bottom line is that both of these entries ranked among the best comics October had to offer and they both came from Gerard Way.
Best Artist: Ryan Sook
Ryan Sook’s interiors in “Action Comics” #1004 need to be seen to be believed. The issue featured too many excellent sequences and splash pages for it be anywhere but on this list. In a comic tasked with undoing some questionable story choices from a previous mini-series, the art in “Action Comics” will make you believe that Sook can draw excellent interiors. Bendis delivered on a subdued script was all about repairing the relationship between Lois Lane and Clark Kent. The issue hit some major milestone from a scripting perspective alone but Sook’s impressive work convinced me on the resolution of the story and renewed my interest in the world of Bendis Superman comics. Telling a more intimate story in comics where each page and panel is supposed to be huge and bombastic can be difficult. Sook does an excellent job pairing down the action and giving the appropriate space, layouts, and compositions for the panels to look excellent.
Biggest Disappointment: Tom King’s “Heroes in Crisis” #2 script
“Heroes in Crisis” continues to be a massive disappointment. The title theoretically makes little-to-no sense from a characterization perspective and serves as a figurehead for what is wrong with event comics for me. Titles like these take massive status quo shifts that should affect the entire DC Universe and casually write them off. These changes are massive and should have some really big repercussions bleeding across the entire DC Universe. Unfortunately, these stories are rarely paced correctly. To make matters worse, characters are making decisions and acting weird because of how the script needs them too. I think the Batman confessional page rang false for Bruce Wayne’s character. Wayne showed emotion and unmasked to the camera. Those are two huge plot beats that would need a lot of justification. As it currently stands, I suppose Bruce is crying because everyone else is, but where is the emotional honesty and character work we need from this kind of story. King’s scripts have not capitalized on the promise of Sanctuary and read like a list of bullet points where the creators are trying to push ideas without the meaningful scripts or character art behind them. Clay Mann’s art is the outlier redeeming the title slightly.
Continued belowBest First Issue: “Lucifer” #1
In a month loaded with great issues, “Lucifer” was the one that stood out of the pack for me. The issue’s tense and fascinating dual protagonists both intrigued readers with their strange, sad tone writer Dan Watters brought to the script. Sebastian and Max Fiumara are titans of the industry that deserve all the accolades readers disperse to them. The baroque, intense and fluid artwork from the two creators is the perfect vehicle for the strange, disturbing script Watters brought to the issue. The supernatural winding paths and creative direction the Fiumara’s take to the work is admirable. The script and art weren’t only morose either as the issue carries a couple of genuine moments of humor. The series dual protagonists carried lots of intrigue and caused me a few sleepless nights trying to determine how they connect before the following issue hits store shelves. It is shocking to see the high level of quality across the board on DC’s Sandman Universe line. “Books of Magic” was another endearing first issue which didn’t manage to inspire a reaction from me like “Lucifer” did, but still had a great level of craft.
Biggest Surprise: “Cover” #2
“Cover” #1 was a delight. The debut genuinely took me by surprise and stirred up lots of different thoughts and emotions. The follow-up issue carried the tone and perspective of “Cover” #1 and added a violent element of intrigue. The relationship between Max and Cover hit a surprising crescendo as well. Writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist David Mack both capture the sinister nature of the spy world and mesh it expertly with the landscape of comics. The relationships between each character in the issue have a foreboding sense of danger across every turn. The issue stirs up the right level of cynicism to evoke a really powerful emotion. Each issue of the title has an interesting angle to explore in the world of both comics and espionage. Bendis has a few poignant things to say about the lonely life of a comic book creator. It is endearing to see how easily a creator can be lured into a dangerous life of spy work with the influence of a pretty girl. Despite the fact comics are so popular, readers still don’t know the ins-and-outs of being a comic book creator. Thankfully, “Cover” also has the surprising second angle of adding an additional protagonist to the narrative with the world of espionage in “Cover.”
Worst crossover debut: “Spider-Geddon” #1
“Spider-Geddon” was bad but for far different reasons than the aforementioned “Heroes in Crisis.” The crossover pulled the cardinal sin of being a less interesting direct sequel to a previous story. The crossover only exists because there is a film coming soon. Marvel’s publishing has never worked in tandem with the films very well. With some of the ideas currently shipping from the publisher like “Infinity Wars,” you would think Marvel’s comics are only trying to chase ideas inspired by the films. The line of Spider-Man related heroes and Miles Morales were founded in the comics which are always more interesting when they are charting their own path and exploring new ideas and concepts. From page one “Spider-Geddon” feels like a tired retread of previous ideas that were more interesting when they have first assembled in 2015’s “Spider-Verse” crossover. Aside from the timing of the upcoming film, it is hard to even tell why Marvel would have decided to ship a storyline serving as a direct sequel for a film only three years after it came out. While the craft of the issue is technically sound, it is beyond disappointing and procedural to see how the comic was generated and that the same protagonists and antagonists make up the conflict seen within the material.
This month was loaded with great comics that you can’t miss! Now if you don’t mind even I have some reading to catch up on!
