Image Previews Picks: June 2022
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Do a Powerbomb #1 (of 7)
Daniel Warren Johnson attempts to do for wrestling what he did for heavy metal with this new miniseries. If you’ve been following what I’ve written about this creator over the last few years, then it shouldn’t surprise you to see his latest creator-owned title in this spot. While I’m not as much of a fan of wrestling as I am of metal, there’s no doubt that the over-the-top stylings that Johnson brought to “Murder Falcon” will be perfectly at home in this genre. Particularly when the plot is described as involving a wrestling-obsessed necromancer who offers the daughter of the greatest wrestler there is a chance to join the grandest pro wrestling tournament of all time! I am so there for this – after it’s been collected into one volume.
Sins of the Black Flamingo #1 (of 5): The title character is a thief who spends his days stealing occult artifacts from the Miami underworld. This is until his latest job not only leads him to his biggest payday yet, but something he wasn’t expecting: A cause to believe in. This comes to us from writer Andrew Wheeler and artist Travis Moore, and features a quote from Kieron Gillen in the solicitation text calling this, “‘Be Gay, Do Crimes,’ as pure pop art.” It sounds like fun until you remember that the story is about a flamboyant character finding a cause to believe in. So you’re telling me that this is about a gay thief… going straight? Yeah, I’m not sure this is going to be as fun as it initially sounded.
Clementine Book One: “The Walking Dead” may be over as an ongoing comic, but Robert Kirkman is not averse to letting other creators play around in its world. Case in point is this new series of graphic novels from Eisner Award-Winner Tillie Walden focusing on the main character from “The Walking Dead” series of games. She’s 17 now and still trying to find her way in the zombie-infested world. Until she meets Amish teenager Amos and the two head north to Vermont where they encounter several other teens trying to build a zombie-free encampment in an abandoned ski lodge. While I don’t care for the fact that the solicitation text lets us know that the greatest threat facing these characters might be… “EACH OTHER!!!” I’m still interested in the world that Kirkman, Adlard, and Moore created so I’m curious to see what Walden has in store for us.
The Closet #1 (of 3): Considering the hot streak that James Tynion IV has been on for the past few years, you have to wonder what it means when he decides to publish this three-issue miniseries through Image rather than through BOOM! or on his own. Regardless, this sounds like something for his established fans than someone like me who has found the writer’s work to be too straightforward to be very entertaining. It’s about a man named Thom who is moving his family cross-country and his son who is seeing monsters in the closet. Either those monsters are going to be real, Thom will turn out to be the real monster, or both of these things are true.
Public Domain #1: Chip Zdarsky’s new ongoing series about a wild alternate world where comic creators aren’t properly acknowledged or compensated for their creations! Hilarious, isn’t it? The premise of two sons who try to convince their dad to fight for his share of the wealth and fame that should have been his after creating the most popular superhero in the world sounds like a laugh-a-minute, doesn’t it? Especially with the solicitation text written by Zdarsky himself. Hey, Chip: I think I’ll go read your “Daredevil” comics to see if I want to bother with your creator-owned work afterwards. That’s okay, right?
Beware the Eye of Odin #1 (of 4): “Plastic” and “Vinyl” (and also “The Ride: Burning Desire”) writer Doug Wagner takes a departure from writing about crazy things happening in a modern setting to crazy things happening in a historical fantasy setting. Long ago, Odin sacrificed one of his eyes for wisdom. The eye has since been found by a viking, who has been instructed to return it to its rightful owner or else face a fate worse than death. Along for the ride are an aged one-armed warrior and a woman convinced that she’s a valkyrie. Trolls and frost giants may show up as well. This sounds crazy enough to be fun.
Seven Sons #1 (of 7): Billed as Jae Lee’s return to creator-owned comics after his series “Hellshock” in the 90’s. Comics fans with long memories may recall that “Hellshock” took a loooooong time to be completed, which was due Lee’s issues with deadlines than his commitments at Marvel in the 00’s (which, surprisingly, saw him hitting more deadlines than he had in years past). This time out, he’s working with a couple of co-writers, Robert Windom and Kelvin Mao, for this story that’s described as “The Fugitive” meets the “Book of Revelations.” That’s because it’s about a young man named Delph who is running for his life after learning that he may be the Second Coming of Christ. If there’s a destiny that’s worth running from, that would be it. It’s also a familiar-sounding setup, so it’s going to need every bit of Lee’s considerable artistic skills in order for this take on it to stand out.
Undiscovered Country: Destiny Man: Have you ever wondered what the deal is with the misshapen, horn-headed, diving-bell wearing ruler of the Destiny part of the Spiral of America in this series? Good news: Charles Soule and Scott Snyder, along with artist Leonardo Marcelo Grassi, have you covered. You’ll get to find out why his destiny is to rule it all; or, more likely, why he thinks this is the case. As for when and where this will be collected, my guess is that we’ll see it packed in with vol. 4. It’s the first such one-shot for this series, so unless the creators start cranking them out, I don’t think we’ll be getting a single volume full of one-shots.
The Creep: The title refers to private detective Oxel Karnhaus. Not because of his personal nature, as he’s a nice guy, but because his acromegaly gives him a monstrous appearance. He’s still determined to do right by his clients, even as the cases in this collection promise to test his courage, wits, and ethical core. This collection collects the stories featuring Oxel that were published in the most recent run of “Dark Horse Presents.” As to why they’re not being published by that company, only writer/creator John Arcudi and DH Publisher Mike Richardson know. There was a previous volume also called “The Creep” which had Arcudi teaming with artist Jonathan Case for a novella-length story. I remember that being good enough to convince me that picking up this new volume, featuring art from Dale Eaglesham and Brian O’Connell, will be a worthwhile endeavor.
Manifest Destiny #48: Ending for real this time, and… wow that cover isn’t ominous AT ALL!
Crossover #1 3D Special: Less a “special” than a glorified reprint as the first issue of the series is presented in 3D with glasses (probably) included. For the hardcore fans, this also features a new story written by co-creator Donny Cates and illustrated by his wife Megan Hutchison-Cates. I’ve previously written about my disappointment with the first volume of this series, so I feel safe on letting this one-shot pass me by.