April was… a Month. We had Star Wars Celebration Orlando, the return of CW’s DCTV series after a three week break, C2E2 and it’s major announcements from both DC and Marvel. It saw the release of Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 in some international territories as well as the trailer for Thor: Ragnarok.
It was a month. It both felt way too long and infinitely too short and some comics happened. Some real good comics. Here are some of our favourites of those comics.
Best Issue: “Aliens: Dead Orbit” #1
Well, duh. This was a month full of great issues. “Redneck,” “Godshaper,” “Judge Dredd: The Blessed Earth,” and “Shaolin Cowboy” all dropped whopper debut issues not to mention continuing series like “America,” “Extremity,” “Animosity,” “Doom Patrol” and more continuing fantastic output. But the real star of this month was James Stokoe’s “Aliens: Dead Orbit” #1. Telling a new story that’s perhaps the most interesting thing to happen to the Alien franchise since 1986, James Stokoe brings his trademark density of linework in his art to create a sense of unparalleled claustrophobia.
This is the benchmark for not just Alien comics, but all Alien media. I feel bad for Ridley Scott for having to follow up this with Alien: Covenant.
Best Writers: Erick Freitas & Ulises Farinas for “Judge Dredd: The Blessed Earth” #1
I’ve already talked this issue to death in my review, but Erick Freitas and Ulises Farinas’ writing in “Judge Dredd: The Blessed Earth” #1 was incredibly impressive. The way they took classic elements of Dredd lore and reinvigorated them through recontextualisation of the setting to build the lawman of Mega City-One into a relic of the past trying to force his authoritarian ways onto the wild west wasteland was just sublime.
You should probably know their names by now, but they’re still two writers to watch very closely.
Best Artist: Geof Darrow for “Shaolin Cowboy: Who’ll Stop The Reign?” #1
Back when I reviewed the return of “Shaolin Cowboy,” I was impressed with how Geof Darrow put art before writing, creating a series where there was little going on, but it was told with an intricate depth. It was a strange experiment, especially in a very writer-first time of comics where if you’re not telling a story with a million characters over thousands of issues with plenty of spinoff and crossover and adaptation potential, no one has any time for you.
With “Who’ll Stop The Reign?” #1, Darrow brought story back to “Shaolin Cowboy” with some grossly biting satire. Much like James Stokoe as we mentioned above, Darrow brings an intimidating density to his linework and uses that to fill the world of “Shaolin Cowboy” with clutter. The streets are littered with complete garbage and every step kicks up dust and trash.
And that’s not even mentioning the panel density. There’s a page in this issue with 15 goddamn panels. Geof Darrow is a beast and any month with a comic of his is a good month.
Best Cover: “Superman” #20 by Patrick Gleason
While it’s not quite the same as the previewed cover because they darkened the sky behind Superman to tie into the whole “There’s a storm coming!” theming, this is still the best “Superman” cover in years. Gleason & Tomasi have been slowly building up the Superman mythos back to what it once was while telling stories that no one ever had the guys to tell before.
Finally bringing back the red boots to the costume puts Superman in almost the pre-“Flashpoint” costume again and with ‘Superman Reborn’ allowing them to exist as the Kents once more, this is maybe the first time in literally years that I’m excited to read “Superman.”
Best Batman Crossover That Isn’t ‘The Button’: “Batman/The Shadow” #1
The Shadow is a character I’ve been fascinated with, but know very little about. Mostly, I’m captivated by what a simple yet striking design he has that has lasted largely unchanged for decades. Now, teaming with perhaps his most iconic spiritual successor, Batman, makes for a hell of a comic. Scott Snyder and Steve Orlando co-writing make for a great pair and this first issue kicks off a mystery that delves deep into the history of Bruce Wayne while Riley Rossmo and Ivan Plascencia prove to be perhaps the greatest modern Batman artists.
This is how you do a Batman crossover.
