Image Previews Picks: October 2020
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
The Scumbag #1
Rick Remender is at it again.
With “Low,” his series with artist Greg Tocchini, wrapping up in these solicitations the writer is starting a new one with artist Lewis LaRosa. As the title implies, the protagonist for this new series is a real piece of work. Ernie Ray Clementine is a biker who is also vulgar, drug-addicted, and illiterate. In spite of these things, he managed to get himself a fifth-grade education, so at least he has that going for him! Well, that and the potion he drank which has turned him into the world’s most powerful super-spy, as well as the one thing standing between us and Armageddon.
“What if ‘James Bond’ was as bad as his detractors say he is,” is certainly a premise for a series. I’m certainly interested in seeing where Remender and LaRosa are going with this, mainly because the description of this series recalls the strongest aspect of “Deadly Class.” While Remender loves grinding down his protagonists, the way it has been handled in that series has been perversely joyful. In the sense that seeing the writer toss his characters a shovel after they’ve hit rock bottom has been a source of prime dark comedy as these teenagers work out their issues with full access to lethal weapons. Is “The Scumbag” Remender’s version of this for the espionage genre? I’m all for finding out.
The Walking Dead Deluxe #1: What better way to feed any lingering demand for this series by reprinting it… IN COLOR! That’s one of the two things being added to this reprint series and it’s coming from Dave McCaig. He’s someone who has done a lot of coloring work in comics over the years, though I mostly associate him with Stuart Immonen’s best work on titles like “Nextwave: Agents of Hate.” What’s the other new thing you’ll find here? Installments of “The Cutting Room Floor,” which involve writer Robert Kirkman offering up his handwritten original plots and commentary on what didn’t make it into the final product. Readers with long memories might recall that a hardcover of the same name with similar content was solicited many years ago, only to be derailed when original artist Tony Moore filed a lawsuit against Kirkman alleging that he was covering up profits from the comic series. Whether Kirkman and Adlard have finally worked things out, or if the former has just found a legally distinct way to release this content, it looks like we’ll be some version of it in these issues.
If it’s any good, please let me know. I already bought this series once and I’m really not keen on re-buying it just to get these little bits of commentary.
Commanders in Crisis #1: The solicitation starts off in a bland fashion by saying that, “The last survivors of the Multiverse live amongst us under new, superheroic identities.” So far, so generic. Then it starts comparing itself to titles like “Doom Patrol” and “Thunderbolts,” and I start rolling my eyes. After that, it tells us that five unexpected heroes have come together to solve a murder. The victim: Compassion itself. Okay, that sounds kind of interesting and worthy of the “Doom Patrol” comparison at least. Writer Steve Orlando and artist Davide Tinto may make this into a good comic, but they’ve got a ways to go before they can claim to write good copy for these solicitations.
Planet Paradise: In this month’s, “Oh, why not?” selection, creator Jesse Lonergan tells us a story about a vacationer. On a distant planet. After the spaceship she was on crashed and left her with its drug-addled captain as her only company. Now she has to fight against the elements, giant lizards, and… corporate bureaucracy to survive. While I’m not familiar with Lonergan, it’s a solid premise for a comic if nothing else.
Adventureman vol. 1: The End and Everything After: I was willing to give writer Matt Fraction and artist Terry Dodson’s new series about how the adventures of pulp hero Adventureman intersect with reality. Even with my acknowledgement of the writer’s genuine unevenness in the quality of his output over the years. Then they decided to publish the first volume in a hardcover edition, and I suddenly feel fine with waiting until it’s in a softcover edition or some kind of omnibus edition.
On the Stump: “Bitter Root” co-writer Chuck Brown and Francesco Chiappara give us this miniseries about the natural evolution of politics: Where elections are not decided through ballots, but by public fights where the winner is welcomed into office. If it means I get to see Joe Biden beat the living crap out of Donald Trump then the future can’t come fast enough. Brown and Chiappara likely have different things in mind with this miniseries, and speaking of its writer…
Bitter Root vol. 2: Rage & Redemption: The first volume was unique in that the amount of action and high stakes of the story made it feel like Brown, co-writer David Walker and artist Sanford Greene were giving us the title’s last story instead of its first. It was certainly a choice, and one that resonated with Eisner voters: “Bitter Root” took home this year’s award for Best Continuing Series. Vol. 2 collects the title’s second arc, as well as the “Red Summer” special illustrated by Sofie Dodgson. In it, the Sangerye family will try to put a stop to the monster army that has sprung up in 1920’s Harlem, while trying their best to put aside old family grudges. As well as either wrapping the series up or making a case for readers to invest in a third volume.
Sex Criminals vol. 6: Six Criminals: See “the writer’s genuine unevenness in the quality of his output” above.
Die #14: From the solicitation text, “Hey, Stephanie, shall we do DIE‘s take on the big battles in Return of the King?” “Sure thing, Kieron. Can you add some big emotional messy beats to the visual splendor?” “Sure thing!” Orlando and Tinto, take notes.
DIE!DIE!DIE! #14: In which President Obama has to fight for his life… and the fate of the planet! Good to know that this series is still trafficking in the glorious kind of dumb (that also aligns with my political beliefs). It’s also the end of the current arc for this series, so who knows how this is meant to tie it all up.
Outcast by Kirkman & Azaceta #48: Final issue. The solicitation text teases that all of Kyle Barnes’ efforts to master his powers and save his family might have been for nothing. I’m willing to bet that’s what they call “misdirection.” I’ll be looking forward to re-reading this series for the podcast, mainly to see if Kirkman’s slowest and burniest series reads better from front to back.