Image Advance Arrivals: July 2024
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
What’s the Furthest Place From Here #19
Yeah, this gets the spot because it’s proof that “What’s the Furthest Place From Here?” is still ongoing. Which is always a concern given its irregular appearances in these solicitations.
Was there nothing else new (in collected editions or single issues) which warranted this spot? Your mileage may vary, but this issue was the one which prompted the most excitement after I read it in these solicitations.
Witchblade #1: Um… let’s see… if it wasn’t for the burnout that creator Stjepan Sejic faced while working on this series, we wouldn’t have “Sunstone.” So that’s not nothing. Aside from that, I’ve got no historical interest in this series from Top Cow, which was the imprint’s flagship series for a good long while. You could always say that it had good art, but good storytelling was always another matter entirely. It’s getting a reboot now from writer Marguerite Bennett and artist Guiseppe Cafaro, and you probably already have an idea as to whether it’s for you or not.
The Domain #1 (of 5): Now this is cute. Chip Zdarsky’s “Public Domain” series is about a family fighting for control of the superhero property that should belong to them. “The Domain” is the modern-day reboot of that series and Zdarsky is giving it to us in comic format with art from Rachel Stott. I like the idea of making the fiction of a fictional universe into its own story; though, this looks to be of interest mainly to fans of “Public Domain” itself. Of which I am not one. I know it’s won an Eisner or two, but it’s hard to summon up interest in a fictionalized take on an issue that has enough real-life bummer struggles as it is. Speaking of which, Public Domain #6, kicking off the title’s second storyline, is also solicited here.
Free Agents #1: Co-writers Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza, and artist Stephen Mooney give us this story of what happens after the end of a galactic war. Salvo, Pike, Katari, Shakti, Ridge, Maraud, and Chalice survived the war and now find themselves stranded on Earth, but are now free agents as well and able to decide their own fate for the first time in forever. Busiek and Nicieza have a long history of working together, primarily on “Thunderbolts” at Marvel, and their names are synonymous with a specific era of superhero storytelling. Not for nothing does Mooney’s cover look like it came right out of the 90’s. Still, they’ve both done solid work individually over these past few years, so I may just pick this up when it’s collected to see how it turns out.
Heretic HC: “Sherlock Holmes” meets “The Name of the Rose” in this graphic novel about a rash of macabre killings in Antwerp, Belgium, circa 1529. Desperate for answers, the Inquisition forces Knight/Doctor/Lawyer/(Reputed) Black Magician Cornelius Agripp and his pupil Johan Weyer to investigate them. This comes to us from writer Robbie Morrison and artist Charlie Adlard, who actually have a history together. They delivered the graphic novel “White Death,” about Alpine warfare in WWI years before Adlard hit it big on “The Walking Dead” and Morrison found limited success writing the post-Mark Millar version of “The Authority.” I remember it being more notable for its art than its writing, as I keep it around more out of appreciation for the artist’s work than the writer’s. Still, it does have a really good premise that will give Adlard a lot to work with. I’d probably be more excited if it wasn’t retailing at $25 for 120 pages.
Saga #67: Returning for its latest arc, where the solicitation text tells us that “12 year old Hazel embarks on the most important adventure of her young life.” I’m not saying this is related, but the cover shows Hazel getting ready to shovel what looks like a huge amount of dolphin crap. Of course, if they are related, it’ll make a lot of sense. Good to have you back, “Saga.”
Supermassive 2024: The annual one-shot about the superhero universe that’s home to “Radiant Black,” among other titles, spotlights what the other heroes were up to during “The Catalyst War.” There’s just one catch: The solicitation text doesn’t tell us what timeline of the war we’re seeing: Nathan or Marshall’s. Maybe they’re saving it as a surprise for the issue itself?
The Department of Truth: Wild Fictions HC: Ever wanted to know more about the tulpas, a.k.a. “Wild Fictions,” that haunt the world of “The Department of Truth?” This hardcover collection has you covered with reports on things like the Mothman, Bigfoot, the Flatwoods Monster and more. Better still is that these entries are illustrated by a murderer’s row of great artistic talents including Bill Sienkiewicz, James Stokoe, Yuko Shimizu, Erica Henderson, and regular series artist Martin Simmonds. The only catch is that we’re not told how much of what’s collected here is new, or is being reprinted from the comics, or is being reprinted from the comics but hasn’t been reprinted in the collected editions.
Fatale Compendium: Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips “least good” series gets an all-in-one paperback edition. It’s high concept is how it asks “What if the femme fatale in noir stories actually had a supernatural influence over the men she encountered?” It’s not a bad idea, but it’s one that they didn’t flesh out with any specific mythology beyond things appearing vaguely Lovecraftian. It’s still perfectly readable, and the supernatural aspect gives Phillips a chance to really flex his horror muscles, so it’s still worth checking out for established fans of the creators. Assuming that there are any who haven’t bought this series in the multiple editions it has been issued in up to this point.
Space Mullet: Apparently all it took for this pre-Skybound series from creator Daniel Warren Johnson to be reprinted was multiple other successful series, an Eisner win, and a hugely successful “Transformers” relaunch. Which means that this series about a washed-up, ex-space-marine trucker trying to survive in the harshness of space is either some special kind of terrible, or simply failed so hard on its initial release that nobody thought it was worth reprinting until now. Whatever the case is, I’ll be on hand to find out once this gets reprinted in July.
Tales of the Unnamed: The Blizzard: In a fictional universe that features an immortal scoundrel from the Revolutionary War, a robot that served in the Vietnam war, and an immortal radioactive man who wanders the Vegas wasteland, the setup for this series comes off as a little mundane. It’s about Michael Verardi, a man who was convicted of killing the man who murdered his wife and son, who becomes stranded in the Colorado mountains with other felons during a prison transfer. Oh, and they’re at the mercy of a monster that has had visions of their crimes. So I guess it’s not completely mundane. Just most of the way there. This is coming from the universe’s creator, Geoff Johns, and artist Andrea Mutti, and is a collection of the twelve-part serial which ran in the “IMAGE!” anthology series. I’ll admit to being curious about how this fits into the larger picture, but that’s mainly down to my belief that Johns has some kind of twist for things planned for this story rather than anything that’s described here.