Dark Horse Penguin Picks: April 2021
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Empowered vol. 12
Seeing this in these solicitations came as a pleasant surprise rather than a “GODDAMN, FINALLY!” given the *goes to bookshelf to check* more than three years that have passed since the previous volume came out. That’s mainly down to the fact that vol. 11 didn’t leave off on a cliffhanger and was a damn satisfying read in and of itself. Plus, the ongoing threads that run between the volumes in this series aren’t strong enough to create a burning need in me to find out what happens next with each volume. That being said, it’s going to be a thing when Emp eventually finds out about Thugboy’s capekilling days.
Where was I? Oh, right. This volume. While it’s not promising any kind of wrap-up for the series, vol. 12 sees Emp dealing with a universal problem. In that her universe has started to constantly reboot itself, with each new iteration becoming more crazy and twisted than the last. It’s a setup that has me thinking creator Adam Warren is going to be offering some Commentary on the State of Things in the Comic Book Industry. Which isn’t a bad thing as far as I’m concerned. The fact that the solicitation text promises that Emp will be taking her relationships with Thugboy and Ninjette in a polyamorous direction (dig that cover) also sounds like a plus as well.
Hairball #1 (of 4): I’ve written here before about how I can’t be invested in everything that Matt Kindt does after reading too many mediocre miniseries from him. Consider “Fear Case,” “Crimson Flower,” and “Folklords” to name a few. As a cat person, however, I think I can muster up the interest for this miniseries. Particularly as it has him working with Tyler Jenkins, who collaborated with the writer on the best thing he’s done in recent memory, “Apache Delivery Service.” “Hairball” is about a girl who believes that her family’s pet cat may be behind all of their recent ills… until she finds out that it’s not. No, that’s not the best setup I’ve ever read, but remember: I’m a cat person. So this’ll do.
The Great British Bump Off #1 (of 4): “Steeple’s” John Allison and “Giant Days” artist Max Sarin turn their attention to the world of competitive baking with this new miniseries. Shauna Wickle just wanted to compete in her country’s most famous baking competition, until one of her competitors was poisoned to death. Now she’s got to solve the mystery of whodunit while also avoiding elimination from the competition. As an avowed fan of Allison and Sarin’s previous series at Dark Horse (as well as “Giant Days,” which I plan on doing a podcast about one of these days) I’m all for the prospect of seeing them turn their very British and very funny sensibilities to the world of competitive baking. Though… we’re getting more “Steeple” after this, right?
All Eight Eyes #1 (of 4): Post 9/11 New York finds itself stalked by giant spiders and a college dropout turned party animal suddenly finds himself dragged into the war against them. This is something I definitely won’t be showing to my (very arachnophobic) younger niece. It comes to us from writer Steve Foxe, who did the well-received “X-Men: House of XCII” miniseries, and artist Piotr Kowalski, who finds himself with two concurrently running miniseries at the publisher with issue #3 of “Where Monsters Lie” also being featured in these solicitations. None of this sounds bad or particularly exciting; though, the thought of seeing what Kowalski does with these giant spiders does have me thinking this could wind up being a decently scary read.
Skull & Bones #2 (of 3): Fun Fact: The cursed videogame from Ubisoft that this comic is based on has been delayed again! Which means that this tie-in miniseries will be preceding the arrival of its source material by several months (assuming that Dark Horse doesn’t cancel and re-solicit this miniseries). Not that this is necessarily a bad thing as this means they’ll be able to try and sell the collected edition to people interested in the game when it comes out. Right?
Night of the Ghoul: Scott Snyder and Francesco Francavilla’s miniseries about a lost horror film and its frightening ties to real life gets collected. This is another product of the publication deal Dark Horse struck with ComiXology to publish the comics Snyder wrote for them in print. It was a good deal for the publisher then and it’s looking even better today, what with the recent layoffs announced by ComiXology owner Amazon that have effectively put an end to the digital comics publisher. While I imagine that Snyder is dealing with all sorts of headaches about what’s going to happen to the digital versions of these comics he wrote, at least he doesn’t have to worry about the home for their physical versions.
Minor Threats vol. 1: Quick End to a Long Beginning: Co-writers Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum’s, and artist Scott Hepburn’s series about C-list supervillains trying to find out who killed the sidekick of the city’s most prominent superhero gets a collected edition. While this was how the first issue of the miniseries was described, it’s missing from the solicitation text here. Instead, we’re gifted with the far more vague description that this is a, “graphic crime drama about superheroes and villains and the last gasp of the colorful innocent days of the silver and bronze age before they’re dragged into the grit-soaked modern era. Which is… okay. Frankly I’m glad to know what this miniseries is actually about so that I can actually be interested in it apart from Oswalt’s general rep, as well as his and Blum’s work as showrunners on “M.O.D.O.K.”
Quick Stops HC: Writer Kevin Smith and artist Jeremy Simser’s miniseries about the View Askewniverse gets collected. In hardcover. I imagine that this is a format die-hard fans of Smith will appreciate having on their bookshelf, but not me. I’ll consider picking this up when (if?) it gets collected in softcover.
Resident Alien vol. 7: The Book of Love: Harry Vanderspiegel is now here on Earth to stay, but his problems haven’t suddenly stopped. Fortunately he’s got a new friend in the government who’s helping him resolve his status with them, and he’s even growing closer to his friend Asta. I still have some gaps to fill in with regards to my collection of this series, but I slid into vol. 6 with no problem, so it shouldn’t be much of an issue to continue on with this.
Blade of the Immortal Deluxe HC vol. 9: Only one more to go…