Image Advance Arrivals: October 2023

Above-the-Board Recommendation:

I Hate This Place vol. 2

It took multiple tries, but writer Kyle Starks, this time with artist Artyom Topilin, finally delivered a series that made it past its first volume.  Granted, it’s wrapping up with this volume, but as someone who is still disappointed that “Assassin Nation” didn’t get a second outing I’m going to call this a win.  Fortunately “I Hate This Place” is also a good series as its first volume told an involving horror story about Trudy and Gabby, a married couple who moved into the latter’s family home only to discover it was horribly, awfully haunted.  Oh, and there was also a murderous thief closing in on them as he searched for his stolen cash.

Vol. 1 ended with the couple dealing with the most immediate threats and acclimating to the rules they needed to follow in order to survive.  It also let us know that Trudy’s family were some bad, bad people and they were going to come get her and bring her home.  That sounds bad, but I have a feeling that they’ll be in for a worse time when they find out what lurks in the woods outside Trudy’s new home.  Or, it could be something that I won’t see coming as the solicitation text promises that this volume wraps up the series in a way no one will see coming.  We shall see Mr. Starks.  We shall see.

Transformers #1:  Daniel Warren Johnson tackles the Robots in Disguise.  That’s enough to get me to buy my first comic (when it’s collected in a single volume) about this iconic 80’s toy line.  The real question is which version of the creator will we be getting here?  Will it be the one whose artistic skills are strong enough to sell the story he’s telling, as we saw in “Murder Falcon?”  Or will it be the one who delivers great art, but shackled to a story that just doesn’t quite work as seen in “Do A Powerbomb!”  Which, in case you didn’t know, won an Eisner Award for Best Comic for Teens (13-17).  So be sure to take what I’m saying here with a grain of salt – unless you’re between the ages of 13-17.

Universal Monsters:  Dracula #1 (of 4):  This isn’t something that I, nor anyone else I would imagine, had on their bingo card:  The creators of “The Department of Truth,” writer James Tynion IV and artist Martin Simonds, tackling the Universal version of Dracula for Robert Kirkman’s Skybound imprint.  I can only imagine that this is something one, or both creators REALLY wanted to do, because why else would you put your best-selling creator-owned title on hiatus in order to work on someone else’s IP.  While I’ve enjoyed “The Department of Truth,” its most recent volume left me anxious for its future, both in terms of story and overall quality.  Also, outside of that title, Tynion isn’t someone I have a whole lot of faith in when it comes to showing me a new and exciting take on a familiar character.

Hack/Slash:  Back to School #1 (of 4):  While we’re on the subject of creators putting creator-owned work on hold to work on other people’s IP, this is Zoe Thorogood’s next project.  She’s the creator of “It’s Lonely at the Center of the Earth,” a graphic novel about her struggles with depression that was a breakout success last year, and an Eisner-winning one now.  I haven’t read it yet, and that’s my failing as I’m unsure whether it’ll be regular “good” or “ruin your day” kind of good.  Anyhow, you have to assume that Thorogood REALLY wanted to work on “Hack/Slash” because why else would anyone follow up the work that put them on the map with a project like this.  I say this as someone who bought the first few “Hack/Slash” omnibi, then stopped, then realized they were taking up valuable shelf space and proceeded to sell them all to Book Off.  Apologies if you’re a devoted fan of this series, as this story of Cassie and Vlad’s early days together as they deal with a murderous bunny mascot and a group of maladjusted teenage serial killer hunters will likely be more up your alley.

Midlife Hero at Fifty #1:  Ruben Kwan is a firefighter in name only.  He’s actually terrified of fire and just does office work for the local fire department.  Then, in a twist that reminds me of “Unbreakable,” he finds out that there’s more to his life than he could’ve imagined.  Writer Brian Buccelato and artist Stefano Simeone bring us this comic about a guy who I’m closer to in age than I’d like to admit.  My life certainly isn’t as interesting, but maybe it’ll be worth keeping an eye on whether this turns out to be any good.

Nights #1:  This is a series where supernatural creatures exist, there are only 31 states in the U.S., it’s 2003, and the main character has moved in with his secret mercenary cousin, and just befriended the greatest vampire who ever lived.  Oh and his cousin has a roommate that makes videogames, and the whole thing is set in Florida.  You certainly can’t accuse writer Wyatt Kennedy and artist Luigi Formisano of lacking ideas.  However, this sounds like they’ve just taken them all and thrown them into this comic without any real consideration of whether or not they’ll work well together.  This is why good writing matters when you’re putting together text in these solicitations.  “Nights” #1 the comic may be good enough to be the next “Saga,” but that’s not something anyone would believe after reading this solicitation.

Paladin of Axes #1:  From writer Gerry Duggan and artist David O’Sullivan.  The title is the nickname of Hector Smalley, a guitar tech who works for the biggest band on the planet.  At least, he did until he and the band died in a plane crash.  What comes next isn’t described specifically, just generally as a mix of “Evil Dead” and “Time Bandits.”  Am I interested?  Ask me after I’ve read the “Scotch McTiernan” collection Duggan co-wroter that’s sitting in my “To Read” pile and then we’ll see.

Walking Dead Deluxe #75, and #1 (Newsprint Edition):  On one hand I’m really impressed that “The Walking Dead” has endured past its natural end in the form of single issue reprints.  I’m even more impressed that these reprints have been successful enough to spawn variant reprints like this Newsprint Edition.  I don’t want to buy any of these (unless Kirkman decides to put the “Cutting Room Floor” content into its own volume), but I’m impressed nonetheless.

Hell to Pay:  Or, “The Shrouded College:  Hell to Pay” according to the volume’s cover.  This comes to us from writer Charles Soule and artist Will Sliney and is about a married couple who have entered into an arrangement with the titular College.  In exchange for magic powers, they’ll hunt down 666 cursed coins.  These coins can be used to summon demons and their powers have been used many times over the years, with the College now wanting them for itself.  So we’ve got a situation where our protagonists will continue to be at someone’s beck and call if they don’t find all the coins, but can one organization be trusted with all that power?  Coming from Soule, you expect a base level of competency even if the results don’t always cross the line into “good.”  I have yet to be really disappointed by anything he’s written, so I’ll likely give this a shot.

Nocterra vol. 3:  Collecting issues #12-16, the “Val Special” and billed as the thrilling conclusion to the series’ “first cycle.”  The hiatus is certainly down to artist Tony Daniel taking time to work on his own comic “Edenwood,” but I’m not too broken up about that.  Vol. 2 was a bit disappointing as it teased a potentially entertaining development with antagonist Blacktop Bill only to back out of it at the end.  Will something similar happen as Sundog Convoy races to deliver the equation and bring back the light?  Part of me says “almost certainly” as that this is the finale to the “first cycle” implies that nothing will actually be wrapped up here.  Even so, when (if?) “Nocterra” comes back for a “second cycle,” let’s hope it goes smoother than “American Vampire’s” did.

Saga vol. 11:  Vol. 10 was a fun return for this series after a lengthy hiatus.  Even as things went from bad to worse (and then awful at the volume’s end) for Hazel and her family, things never stopped being entertaining.  That said, there’s a reason Hazel and Prince Robot are playing for donations on the cover of this volume.  Let’s hope they’ve hit bottom and things will get better for them from here.  They probably won’t, but we can hope anyway!