Two week's into the New Year and already feeling like you need a rest? Take a moment and have a comic break with us and the latest releases from this week!
Finally the the missing piece of the puzzle as Hickman puts Doom's epic time are supreme ruler to rest in SECRET WARS #9. Marvel relaunches it's Shield title that looks to be even more in line with the TV series with AGENTS OF SHIELD #1. The first issues of Tom Taylor's new DC runs launches this week, seeing him team up with GL legendary artist Ethan Van Sciver in GREEN LANTERN CORPS EDGE OF OBLIVION #1and again inBATMAN SUPERMAN #28 with Robson Rocha. Also on the local creator front, Tristan Jones teams with his upcoming Aliens writer, Brian Wood for an american history period piece in REBELS #10. Then if you are digging on Wood's script in Rebels maybe give his new series collected in STARVE TP VOL 01about reality cooking tv shows gone mad. Return to the scene of the crime and relive the final battle of a Marvel icon with the DEATH OF WOLVERINE TP. Double Flash collected edition week makes waiting for the new TV episodes slightly more bearable with FLASH HC VOL 07 SAVAGE WORLD and FLASH TP VOL 06 OUT OF TIME. If Force Awakens wasn't enough of a nostalgia kick for you, STAR WARS TP VOL 02 SHOWDOWN ON THE SMUGGLERS MOON will definitely jump start all those wonderful SW feelings! Go go get excited for BOOM's first issue of the beloved 90's childhood phenomenon MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #0. Old mate, Becky Cloonan gives us murder in space with a twist in the first collection ofSOUTHERN CROSS TP VOL 01.
Of course as always, spot something you need us to stash just let us know. :D
MARVEL
AGENTS OF SHIELD #1
ALL NEW ALL DIFFERENT AVENGERS #3
ALL NEW HAWKEYE #3
ALL NEW WOLVERINE #4
ALL NEW X-MEN #3
BLACK KNIGHT #3
CAPTAIN AMERICA SAM WILSON #5
EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN #5
FIGMENT 2 #5 (OF 5)
GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #4
ILLUMINATI #3
MARVEL UNIVERSE GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #4
MIGHTY THOR #3
RED WOLF #2
SCARLET WITCH #2
SECRET WARS #9 (OF 9)
SILK #3
SQUADRON SUPREME #2
SQUADRON SUPREME #3
UNCANNY AVENGERS #4
WEB WARRIORS #3
DC COMICS
BATMAN 66 MEETS THE MAN FROM UNCLE #2 (OF 6)
BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL #15
BATMAN SUPERMAN #28 ADULT COLORING BOOK VAR ED
BATMAN TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #2 (OF 6)
CATWOMAN #48
CONSTANTINE THE HELLBLAZER #8
EARTH 2 SOCIETY #8
GOTHAM ACADEMY #14
GREEN LANTERN CORPS EDGE OF OBLIVION #1 (OF 6)
NEW SUICIDE SQUAD #16
RED HOOD ARSENAL #8 ADULT COLORING BOOK VAR ED
ROBIN WAR #2 (OF 2)
STARFIRE #8 ADULT COLORING BOOK VAR ED
SUPERMAN AMERICAN ALIEN #3 (OF 7)
VERTIGO
NEW ROMANCER #2 (OF 12)
SLASH & BURN #3
BOOM
JOHN FLOOD #6
LANTERN CITY #9 (OF 12)
MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #0
ROWANS RUIN #4
SNOW BLIND #2
DARK HORSE
ABE SAPIEN #30
ALABASTER THE GOOD THE BAD & THE BIRD #2
COLDER TOSS THE BONES #4 (OF 5)
GROO FRIENDS AND FOES #12
LEAVING MEGALOPOLIS SURVIVING MEGALOPOLIS #1
MASSIVE NINTH WAVE #2
MIRRORS EDGE EXORDIUM #5
REBELS #10
DYNAMITE
CAGE HERO #3 (OF 4)
PRECINCT #2 (OF 5)
RED SONJA VOL 3 #1
IDW
BACK TO THE FUTURE #4 (OF 5)
DONALD DUCK #9
GUTTER MAGIC #1 (OF 4)
JEM & THE HOLOGRAMS CVRS TREASURY ED
LUNA THE VAMPIRE #1
MAXX MAXXIMIZED #27
MICKEY MOUSE #8
MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #38
ONYX #4 (OF 4)
SKYLANDERS SUPERCHARGERS #4
STAR TREK ONGOING #53
TMNT AMAZING ADVENTURES #6
WALT DISNEY COMICS & STORIES #727
IMAGE
BIRTHRIGHT #13
BLACK JACK KETCHUM #2 (OF 4)
CITIZEN JACK #3
CODENAME BABOUSHKA CONCLAVE OF DEATH #4
DESCENDER #9
EGOS #9
FASTER THAN LIGHT #5
FROM UNDER MOUNTAINS #4
HUCK #3
INJECTION #6
LIMBO #3 (OF 6)
NO MERCY #6
SPREAD #12
VIOLENT #2
WALKING DEAD #150
ONI
INVADER ZIM #6
VALIANT
DR MIRAGE SECOND LIVES #2 (OF 4)
NINJAK #11
MISC
ASSASSINS CREED #4
BROKEN MOON #4 (OF 4)
DOCTOR WHO 8TH #3 (OF 5)
EVIL DEAD 2 CRADLE OF THE DAMNED #1
IKEBANA (ONE SHOT)
INSEXTS #2
SPIRIT LEAVES #1
TRANSFORMERS TIMELINES #11 CYBERTRONS MOST WANTED
TRADES
ANGEL AND FAITH SEASON 9 LIBRARY ED HC VOL 03
AVENGERS TIME RUNS OUT TP VOL 03
BATMAN SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN TRINITY DLX ED HC
CLASSIC GI JOE TP VOL 17
COPRA TP ROUND THREE
DAREDEVIL EPIC COLLECTION TP TOUCH OF TYPHOID
DEADPOOL FLASHBACKS TP
DEATH OF WOLVERINE TP
DIE WERGELDER GN
DIRK GENTLY TP INTERCONNECTEDNESS OF ALL KINGS
DOCTOR WHO 2015 FOUR DOCTORS HC
FLASH HC VOL 07 SAVAGE WORLD
FLASH TP VOL 06 OUT OF TIME
GOD IS DEAD TP VOL 07
GUARDIANS TEAM-UP TP VOL 02 UNLIKELY STORY
HELLBLAZER TP VOL 12 HOW TO PLAY WITH FIRE
HOUSE OF M TP WARZONES
LEGENDERRY GREEN HORNET TP
LONE WOLF & CUB OMNIBUS TP VOL 11
LOOKOUTS RIDDLE HC VOL 01
MAXX MAXXIMIZED HC VOL 05
MEMO GN VOL 01
MY LITTLE PONY EQUESTRIA GIRLS TP
NIGHTWING TP VOL 03 FALSE STARTS
PRINCELESS RAVEN PIRATE PRINCESS TP VOL 01
REYN TP VOL 02
SHIELD TP SECRET HISTORY
SHUTTER TP VOL 03 QUO VADIS
SOUTHERN CROSS TP VOL 01
STAR WARS ART POSTER COLL FEATURING 20 REMOVABLE P
STAR WARS TP VOL 02 SHOWDOWN ON THE SMUGGLERS MOON
I hope this finds you well, shaking off that last fug of holiday hangover and staring into the bright lights of 2016. Maybe you’re still on a break or perhaps, like me, recovering from the early-January binge of Japanese wrestling and MMA that always chokes out the early days of the calendar. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, the New Year in Japan is fight time, with NYE and January 4 ear-marked annually for combat of both the real and the pre-determined varieties. I’m probably watching Wrestle Kingdom 10 (The J-Wrestlemania) as this column goes up, a card top-loaded with three not to be missed matches for rassle dorks. In addition, a two-day MMA event by a new promotion called Rizin debuted, capped off with an NYE show featuring updated old-school freak fights like this, which is possibly the closest we’ll ever get to seeing She-Hulk vs Titania in real life, and the unfortunate destruction of kickboxer and cosplay aficionado Yuichiro Nagashima. Seriously, how can you not love this guy? Check out the tale of the tape for his fight:
Before we look back at the best of comics 2015 next week, let’s first keep the blazing New Year optimism going as I pull out my own personal Eye of Agamotto, peer into the year ahead and pull out (in no particular order) upcoming highlights of some pretty amazing looking comic books soon to come. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty excited. Alas, it’s another skip week for the Heavy Metal recaps this week as I’m knee deep in books published as recently as last week for the Best of Column and, sadly, I have no time to type up my notes on comics from the seventies. There will be catch up, however, as the magazine shifted focus fairly significantly in 1979.
Right, get your shopping lists ready.
THE MOEBIUS LIBRARY (Dark Horse, no release date):
Yes, once more I get to praise the comics gods for untangling the murky rights surrounding the vast and incomparable body of work of the late, great Moebius. If I had to guess, this will be formatted much like Dark Horse’s Milo Manara Library: pricy but lovely books. Just order them already.
WE TOLD YOU SO: COMICS AS ART (AN ORAL HISTORY OF FANTAGRAPHICS) (Fantagraphics, July): Yes, Fantagraphics still has not fulfilled the $100 Kickstarter reward that’s outstanding to yours truly, but I still love them. Pieced together by former editor and current The Comics Reporter honcho, Tom Spurgeon, this book chronicles the rise of this, the greatest of the indies, Fantagraphics. Rather self-congratulatory, to be sure, but promising a “warts and all” look inside the company, it’s a book sure to be filled with plenty of self-deprecation to accompany and offset the triumph.
TIPPING POINT (Humanoids, January):
I’ve already raved about this project, an anthology I believe to have pound for pound the best creative line-up of any anthology ever. That does not automatically translate into a classic book, but with Eddie Campbell, Frederik Peeters, Naoki Urasawa, Atsushi Kaneko, Paul Pope, Taiyo Matsumoto, John Cassaday, Keiichi Koike, Bob Fingerman, Emmanuel Lepage, Boulet, Katsuya Terada, Bastien Vives and Enki Bilal involved, I don’t see this being a flop.
THE COMPLETE WIMMEN’S COMIX (Fantagraphics, March):
Two slipcased, hardcover volumes lovingly represent Wimmen’s Comix in its entirety. The legendary underground commix classic anthology features work by Trina Robbins, Phoebe Gloeckner, Melinda Gebbie, Mary Fleener and many more, created over a period of two decades. An important and biting work, this sure to be gorgeous edition may well end up being 2016s most appreciated archival effort.
HEARTLESS (Image, no release date):
Warren Ellis and Tula Lotay reunite for a spooky series about an English musician reliving past events from her life. Or something like that. The creators are being fairly mysterious about the book – likely because it was announced so far in advance of debut – but Lotay’s atmospheric, gorgeous art matched once more with Ellis’ acerbic wit and all-round veteran storytelling chops make this a can’t-miss prospect.
GOTHAM CENTRAL OMNIBUS (DC, May):
Once upon a time, Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker along with artist Michael Lark, made a comic together. It wasn’t just not just any old comic either, but a procedural set in Gotham City where cops struggled to solve cases in the shadow of the world’s greatest crime-solving vigilante. Finally collected in totality in a single volume, this is the book for those, like me, currently soured on the Bat-product and those looking for something a little different from their super-hero books. This is a Bat Book, make no mistake, but grounded in the real lives of those working the beat, it’s like Ed McBain writing in the DCU. Top notch stuff – probably one of the best Gotham books ever.
PATIENCE (Fantagraphics, March):
Daniel Clowes is back! A 180 page brand new graphic novel, Patience promises typical Clowes uneasiness, this time married with time travel and “psychedelic psychological horror” (according to an advance Playboy review), making this a no-brainer for your pre-ordering joy.
I AM A HERO (Dark Horse, April):
I’ve raved about this one before as a can’t-miss for horror fans but let me reiterate: Kenzo Hanazawa’s I Am a Hero is a can’t-miss for horror fans, an epic that brings the zombie apocalypse to Japan. Fond of pacing sequences over double-page spreads that move like animation if you speed read your manga like the Japanese so often do, I Am a Hero is the skilful and freaky zombie story of an “unhinged” manga artist, his highly illegal shotgun and some of the creepiest zombies to grace the comics page. Published in English in huge omnibus editions by Dark Horse, April can’t come soon enough. The build is slow, but trust me…just trust me *smirks evilly*.
FRANK IN THE 3RD DIMENSION (Fantagraphics, February):
Will this finally come out in 2016? Let’s hope so. A long-promised endeavour, Jim Woodring’s Frank In the 3rd Dimension promises to scour the dreamy depths of your subconscious. Armed with “the most artistically-crafted” 3D layering ever, I’m both excited and queasily nervous about the mind-popping potentiality of this book.
GARDEN OF FLESH (Fantagraphics, July):
Gilbert Hernandez’s “sexually explicit” retelling of The Bible, from Adam and Eve to Noah’s Ark, is a tantalising prospect. Creator of some of the most energetic, enthusiastic sex in comics, Gilbert’s possibly blasphemous effort will no doubt humanise his mythic cast in far greater fashion than your old Sunday school lessons. Hernandez looks to remain as prolific as ever in 2016, with Girl Crazy from Dark Horse, the second volume of Maria M and new Love and Rockets: New Stories also on the way, but Garden of Flesh seems poised to be a unique standout in his massive body of work.
MARY WEPT OVER THE FEET OF JESUS (D&Q, April):
But wait! The sexy theological interpretations continue with Chester Brown’s latest work, an examination of prostitution in the bible that beats Beto Hernandez to the publication punch by three short months. I’m a big fan of Chester’s work and this will likely create more prudish furore than any other comic this year as the author logically and with great care “reassesses the Christian moral code.” Can’t wait.
MASTER OF KUNG FU OMNIBUS EDITIONS (Marvel, June):
It’s here! It’s finally here! The holy grail of uncollected US mainstream comics glory, Master of Kung Fu gets to surrender that particular title as it gets ready to sit on shelves everywhere in a series of four big omnibus editions. A highlight of 1970s Marvel, a decade stacked with classics, MOKF is regarded by many, to this day, as being one of the greatest comics ever. Give it some time as there are some initial teething problems, but once writer Doug Moench and artist Paul Gulacy (and later Gene Day) get going, you are in for a treat, brothers and sisters of the four-colour form. Bust out those nunchucks in anticipation…
THE COMPLETE CREPAX (Fantagraphics, March):
Ten, count ‘em, ten English volumes of work by the late, great Italian master, Guido Crepax, finally start rolling out in 2016. As is typical of Fantagraphics there have been delays, which are annoying but going by the publisher’s track record usually lead to superior production. The dreamy, the erotic and the psychedelic collide in Crepax’s work over pages of incredibly complex and cinematic layout. A true legend and an influence on so many (Paul Pope amongst them), Crepax may finally get the recognition he deserves thanks to these big, lavish books.
TETRIS: THE GAMES PEOPLE PLAY (First Second, October):
Box Brown follows up his amazing biography of Andre The Giant with the biography of a game, Tetris, and those who put it together. There’s still not a lot of information floating around about this, but any Brown is good Brown (so to speak) and I’m curious to see, from a page layout standpoint alone, just what the author has up his sleeve. This one’s going to be a crowd-pleaser and a potential crossover hit.
WONDER WOMAN: EARTH ONE (DC, February):
Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette’s spiced-up Wonder Woman origin arrives after a period of significant gestation. Paying homage to WW creator, William Moulton Marston, Wonder Woman: Earth One promises a return to the kinkiness of early Wonder Woman married to the powerful feminism one expects in a 2016 story featuring the most famous of super heroines.
GIGANTO MAXIA (Dark Horse, February):
From Kentaro Miura, the creator of the beloved Berserk, comes Giganto Maxia, a manga set in a ruined earth and featuring a gladiator, a mystic and a titan on a quest. Expect lovingly-crafted action and monsters ahoy and a rollicking good read.
BEVERLY (D&Q, January):
I love a good skewering of suburban existence and that’s what Nick Drnaso promises with Beverly, a graphic novel of interconnected shorts compared already to Dan Clowes and Junot Diaz in style. With layout recalling Chris Ware’s multi-panelled pages, Drnaso’swork is simple and striking. A debut to watch.
LONE SLOANE: DELIRIUS 2 (Titan, June):
It wouldn’t be one of these columns without a Druillet plug, so here you go. More Lone Sloane madness from Philippe Druillet finally back in print thanks to Titan, whose oversized hardcover editions of this material are tremendous facsimiles of the original French albums of the 60s-70s. Expect mind-bending spreads of space, entropy, existentialism and violence that are at once intricate but basic, beautiful but ugly.
WEBCOMIC OF THE WEEK : WITCH GAUNTLET
By Ze Burnay
Young Melvin loves smoking and heavy metal and as such is considered a bit of a burn out even at 14 years of age. Living with his Aunt Betty, Melvin awakens from nightmare with the instruction to “follow the light.” Spotting a light on a nearby hill, Melvin does indeed follow it all the way through a spooky forested area to a dilapidated old house. Inside is a demonic shrine which, naturally, Melvin thinks is pretty cool. Stumbling upon a coven of evil witches, Melvin finds himself drawn into a conflict bigger than he can comprehend. Armed with the mystical gauntlet of Longbeard, Melvin must take an active role in an ancient supernatural war.
A heavy metal hero’s journey, Ze Burnay’s Witch Gauntlet seems destined for an eventual print collection and with its assortment of demonic wolves, black metal baddies, goofy Lovecraftianisms, cursing and blood, is a fine way to spend a few minutes every week waiting for Burnay to upload new pages.
COMICS VIDEO OF THE WEEK : GUIDO CREPAX VALENTINA, LA FORMA DEL TEMPO
Treated with the kind of lavish respect that “David Bowie Is” received, this incredible exhibition showcasing Crepax’s Valentina comics (and numerous adaptations into other media) proves, once again, that when it comes to treating our beloved artform with the seriousness of high art, those Euros have the rest of us beat.
Take a virtual tour through this amazing exhibition in preparation for The Complete Crepax.
Cameron Ashley spends a lot of time writing comics and other things you’ll likely never read. He’s the chief editor and co-publisher of Crime Factory (www.thecrimefactory.com). You can reach him @cjamesashley on Twitter.
Welcome to 2016! A whole year ahead of us, we are looking forward to further sharing our passion for all things comics with you and as many people in Melbourne as possible! Here's to another year of great comic reading! And where is the best place to start the new comic year? The New Comic list, of course!
A few new #1's for Marvel again this week, starting with the continuing adventures of A-FORCE #1, the off the wall pairing of SPIDER-MAN DEADPOOL #1 from the original Deadpool ongoing series creative team of Kelly and McGuinness and the more ruthless mutants of the MU form a new team in Cullen Bunn's UNCANNY X-MEN #1. Alec Holland returns for DC with a classic creative team of Len Wein and Kelley Jones for the horror of SWAMP THING #1. The Depression Era How To Train Your Dragon series finally returns in FOUR EYES HEARTS OF FIRE #1. How will Vader manage to stay one step ahead of the Empire finding out about his secret plans to discover more about the young Skywalker boy? All the high Dark Side tension you can handle will be in STAR WARS DARTH VADER TP VOL 02 SHADOWS AND SECRETS. A Hitman's previous hits come back to haunt him and destroy the new life he has built for himself in Ed Brisson's latest from BOOM, LAST CONTRACT #1. Still plenty of mystery to unfold in the conclusion of Brubaker and Phillips, FADE OUT #12. Catch up with the land of Ooo's favourite Vampire in the collected, ADVENTURE TIME MARCELINE GONE ADRIFT TP. Gilbert Hernandez returns to Dark Horse with what promises to be another unique tale with GIRL CRAZY HC. Only the most insane character design and most elaborate yet shortest fight scenes in history with the next installment of ONE PUNCH MAN GN VOL 04. Plus the next issue of one of the best new series of 2015 shipping in the first week of 2016 in PAPER GIRLS #4, surely has to be a good sign for the year, right?
Anything else there you would like us to put aside, just let us know!
MARVEL
A-FORCE #1
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1.2
CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS #4
DARTH VADER #15 VDWN
DEADPOOL #5
DOCTOR STRANGE #4
GUARDIANS OF INFINITY #2
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #5
MARVELS CAPTAIN AMERICA CIVIL WAR PRELUDE #3 (OF 4)
MIRACLEMAN BY GAIMAN AND BUCKINGHAM #6
SPIDER-GWEN #4
SPIDER-MAN DEADPOOL #1
STAR WARS #14 VDWN
TOTALLY AWESOME HULK #2
ULTIMATES #3
UNCANNY X-MEN #1
VISION #3
WEIRDWORLD #2
DC COMICS
ACTION COMICS #48 ADULT COLORING BOOK VAR ED
BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL #14
BATMAN BEYOND #8
DC COMICS BOMBSHELLS #8
DETECTIVE COMICS #48 ADULT COLORING BOOK VAR ED
GREEN ARROW #48 ADULT COLORING BOOK VAR ED
GREEN LANTERN #48 ADULT COLORING BOOK VAR ED
INJUSTICE GODS AMONG US YEAR FIVE #1
MIDNIGHTER #8
SWAMP THING #1 (OF 6)
TELOS #4
VERTIGO
SHERIFF OF BABYLON #2 (OF 8)
SURVIVORS CLUB #4
UNFOLLOW #3 (MR)
BOOM
CLARENCE REST STOPS #1
GIANT DAYS #10
LAST CONTRACT #1
TOIL & TROUBLE #5 (OF 6)
WOODS #19
DARK HORSE
ANGEL AND FAITH SEASON 10 #22
BARB WIRE #7
DEAD VENGEANCE #4 (OF 4)
JOE GOLEM OCCULT DETECTIVE #3
LARA CROFT FROZEN OMEN #4 (OF 5)
LONE WOLF 2100 #1 (OF 4)
MYSTERY GIRL #2
POWER CUBED #4 (OF 4)
THIS DAMNED BAND #6 (OF 6)
IDW
EIGHTH SEAL #2 (OF 5)
MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDS FOREVER #24
OCTOBER FACTION #12
STAR TREK NEW VISIONS MISTER CHEKOV
STAR TREK STARFLEET ACADEMY #2 (OF 5)
UNCLE SCROOGE #10
IMAGE
BITCH PLANET #6
BLACK SCIENCE #19
DARK CORRIDOR #6
FADE OUT #12
FOUR EYES HEARTS OF FIRE #1 (OF 4)
MONSTRESS #2
MYTHIC #6
NAILBITER #19
PAPER GIRLS #4
SAINTS #4
STRAY BULLETS SUNSHINE & ROSES #11
MISC
ARCHIE #5
DOCTOR WHO 10TH YEAR TWO #4
DOCTOR WHO 12TH YEAR TWO #1
GRANT MORRISONS 18 DAYS #7
HEROES VENGEANCE #4 (OF 5)
INTERCEPTOR #1
JOHNNY RED #3 (OF 8)
KUNG FU PANDA #4 (OF 4)
REPLICA #2
ONI
LETTER 44 #22
VALIANT
X-O MANOWAR #43
TRADES
100 BULLETS TP BOOK 04
ADVENTURE TIME MARCELINE GONE ADRIFT TP
AGE OF REPTILES ANCIENT EGYPTIANS TP
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN HC VOL 01
BALTIMORE HC VOL 06 CULT OF THE RED KING
BATMAN ARKHAM KNIGHT TP VOL 01
BATMAN DETECTIVE COMICS HC VOL 07 ANARKY
BATMAN DETECTIVE COMICS TP VOL 06 ICARUS
COLOR YOUR OWN DEADPOOL TP
DEADPOOLS SECRET SECRET WARS TP
DMC GN #2
FBP FEDERAL BUREAU OF PHYSICS TP VOL 04 END TIMES (MR)
GIRL CRAZY HC
GUARDIANS OF GALAXY HC VOL 02
ITS HARD TO BE A GIRL GN
KAPTARA TP VOL 01 FEAR NOT TINY ALIEN
LETTER 44 TP VOL 03
MICKEY MOUSE GIFT OF THE SUN LORD TP
MUNCHKIN TP VOL 01
ONE PUNCH MAN GN VOL 04
PATHFINDER HC VOL 04 ORIGINS
PERFUME OF LILACS GN
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS TP VOL 07 LAST CALL
RED SONJA VULTURES CIRCLE TP
SILVER SURFER TP VOL 03 LAST DAYS
STAR WARS ART OF STAR WARS FORCE AWAKENS HC
STAR WARS DARTH VADER TP VOL 02 SHADOWS AND SECRETS
Don’t go, oh year of magical comic bookery! Good grief, were some amazing things put out this year.
It’s early Christmas morning as I put the finishing touches on this one, so it will be as short as a Christmas elf, sweet as one of those Santa chocolates that look alarmingly like a penis but still chock full of comics greatness in all its forms.
Onward!
COMIC OF THE WEEK : WEIRDWORLD VOL 0: WARZONES!
By Jason Aaron & Mike Del Mundo
Published By Marvel Comics
The seemingly never-ending Secret Wars event has thrown up some real comics curios in the never-ending battle to remake the universe and turn some virtually discarded pieces of intellectual property into things both viable and valuable.
Chief among them, for my money, is the reincarnation of Weirdworld by Jason Aaron and Mike Del Mundo, which features the inspired choice of casting Arkon as its lead character. Here’s the thing -- Arkon was the villain in my first ever Avengers comic -- a reprint of #76 (1970) -- around which is wrapped one of my favourite covers ever:
Arkon, born and raised on the world of Polymachus, is his planet’s fiercest warrior – a lofty feat considering Polymachus celebrates war and warriors above all else. Armed with his lightning bolt-shaped weapons (which, depending on the type, can be used either offensively or to move between realms), Arkon came to earth, took off with The Scarlet Witch and single-handedly battled The Avengers. I thought he was pretty cool.
So did writer Jason Aaron and editor Tom Brevoort apparently, as they drop Arkon right into the chaos of another 1970s concept reborn, the ever-shifting terrain of Weirdworld, a no-holds-barred fantastical realm that Aaron and artist Mike Del Mundo stuff full of Marvel offcuts, B-listers and, in the form of the crystal warriors from the long-dead, often mocked Crystar series, Z-listers.
Here’s another thing: I own every issue of Crystar: Crystal Warrior. I loved it. If you ever think these reviews get too snooty, just remember that I’m the dork with the complete Crystar tucked away. Engineered primarily to move as many toys as possible, the Crystal Warriors’ insertion into Secret Wars is inspired. Not only are they the perfect thematic fit for Weirdworld, but the original 1985 Secret Wars was also a comic cooked up to also move a line of action figures.
Anyway, Aaron and Del Mundo’s continuity melting pot Weirdworld is just a tonne of fun. Arkon has no knowledge of where he is or what’s happened to Polymachus and navigates the landscape with a map that, brilliantly, looks like it was drawn by a five year old. Aaron’s script moves at near supersonic speed, lobbing skewed Marvel fantasy concept after concept at his readers. Del Mundo’s art recalls the heyday of ‘80s Epic Comics, a little bit Muth and a lot Sienkiewicz, giving the title the kind of perfectly lush, painterly look that from its dragons, to its landscapes, to its warrior hero, is energetic, fully realised and fittingly strange.
Fun and action packed, Weirdworld should be enjoyed with as little knowledge going in as possible to savour its constantly imaginative surprises and devoured in a single sitting.
WEBCOMIC OF THE WEEK : CTL+ALT+DEL: THE RETURN
By Tim Buckley
“The Return,” from CTL+ALT+DEL features cartoonist Tim Buckley welcoming Star Wars back into his life as though it’s a long lost friend. Personally, I’m not quite ready to embrace Star Wars as tightly as Tim does, but I’ll certainly shake its hand and go for a beer with it. It’s sure good to have it back, that’s for sure.
COMICS VIDEO OF THE WEEK : SHOGUN ASSASSIN (1980) AMERICAN TRAILER
Having fallen behind in my reading of New Lone Wolf & Cub, I reread the early volumes this week and ploughed right on through to the end of the latest volume, number seven (of nine I believe). I am an enormous fan of the original series and was a touch sceptical about this sequel.
Silly, silly me for not trusting Kazuo-sensei.
Kazuo Koike is possibly the most underrated comics writer ever (before you scoff at that, consider his body of work and then search for “Best Writer” lists with his name on it) and without a doubt, New Lone Wolf & Cub is the most criminally ignored series of the year. I’ll have more about it in my Best of 2015 column in a couple of weeks but it’s almost shocking to me how little anyone seems to be talking about it.
Here then, at the conclusion of my New Lone Wolfbender, is the trailer for Shogun Assassin, a 1980 American film that splices the first two (of six) Japanese Lone Wolf & Cub films together. Yes, I could’ve picked an episode of the television series that seems widely available on YouTube. Yes, I could have picked one of the extended sequences from the films also available. But when you work in a phrase like, “Meet the greatest team in the history of mass slaughter,” and amp up the “sword and sorcery” aspects to the borderline between exaggeration and lie, you win the day.
Plus that music. Oh, that music. Ahh, screw it, have a sonic bonus or two for your New Year’s party mix.
Cameron Ashley spends a lot of time writing comics and other things you’ll likely never read. He’s the chief editor and co-publisher of Crime Factory (www.thecrimefactory.com). You can reach him @cjamesashley on Twitter.
