Normally we’d wait to discuss things announced in solicits until our monthly week-long look at solicitations, but every now and then there is an occasion where we want to talk about a book much sooner than that. This is one of those times.
Re-uniting Image Publisher Eric Stephenson with Eisner Award colorist Jordie Bellaire (two members of the “Nowhere Men” team), December sees the release of the new series “They’re Not Like Us”, featuring artist Simon Gane on a book thats solicit reads like your new favorite superhero comic. Take a look:
THEY’RE NOT LIKE US #1
STORY: ERIC STEPHENSON
ART: SIMON GANE & JORDIE BELLAIRE
COVER: SIMON GANE & FONOGRAFIKS
DECEMBER 3 / 24 PAGES / FC / M / $2.99
Eisner-nominated NOWHERE MEN writer ERIC STEPHENSON teams up with red-hot artist SIMON GANE for an all-new ongoing series!We all have advantages over one another, but what if you were capable of things most of us can only imagine? What would you do – and who would you be? A doctor? An athlete? A soldier? A hero?
Everyone has to make a choice about how to use the abilities they’re born with… but they’re not like us.
It’s tough to really talk too much about the book’s plot from the solicit, but it sounds casually familiar. The idea that there are people who have powers who live among us is certainly a familiar trope, but there are always different ways to explore it. This book would seem to imply a more grounded take on the idea of people with powers; the idea that if you could run fast or fly or had super strength, what could you actually use that power for in the real world besides putting on capes and tights? And that’s a neat idea. We’re certainly seeing a lot of books start to explore the ideas of powers through a more realistic prism, but I’d be willing to give the benefit of the doubt that this series could certainly explore that idea in a different and unique way — though I do, of course, have to note that this is all assumption on my part at this point in time.
Stephenson surprised us all with “Nowhere Men,” its blend high concept sci-fi and fantastic character work for a really bombastic (and award nominated, I should add) look at what a world would be like if we treated the advance of science with the same reverence and celebrity that we do pop culture and music. While “Nowhere Men” is unfortunately temporarily on hiatus due to extenuating circumstance, it’s nice to see that Stephenson is still going to be as present in comics as he is behind the scenes.
And, man oh man — I have nothing but fantastic things to say about Simon Gane’s work. While I’m mostly familiar with him from his work on “Northlanders” and “Prophet”, that his name was immediately recognizable when reading the solicit based on that alone makes me infinitely excited. Gane is a fantastic artist, one with a tremendous eye for realistic detail in the environments he creates that truly brings scenery to life. His characters are cartoonish but stylized and vivid; they’re recognizable and relateable and human and flawed and heroic. After the intense outer-world sci-fi of “Prophet,” I’m excited to see what Gane does back on Earth. And with Jordie’s colors? Easy sell.
We don’t know too much about “They’re Not Like Us” yet, as the solicits are the first and only place we’ve heard of them, but keep this name and team on your radar.
