Image Advance Arrivals: August 2024
Above-the-Board Recommendation
Feral vol. 1
Elsie, Patch, and Lord Fluffy Britches are three cats who have spent most of their lives as indoor pets. That suddenly changes one day when they find themselves outside and on the run from all manner of beasts during a nightmarish rabies outbreak. Now, instead of having to worry about where their next meal is coming from, they’re going to have to worry about becoming meals themselves. This comes to us from “Stray Dogs” creators Tony Fleecs and Trish Forstner, with the former still writing and the latter still illustrating, but now joined by Tone Rodriguez. I enjoyed their previous series, and if there was one real issue I had with it, that would be how it was about dogs instead of cats. So yeah, I’m very interested in seeing what they do with the best domesticated pet. Boots is too.
C.O.W.L.: 1963 #1 (of 3): I’m honestly surprised we didn’t get this sooner, given how much the original series was talked up as a movie in the pages of “Radiant Black.” Original writers Kyle Higgins and Alec Segel return with original artist Rod Reis for this story about the Chicago Organized Workers League – the world’s first superhero union – finally getting off the ground. The catch being that there are plenty of people out there who don’t want to see superheroes unionized. While I’m happy for the creators to be getting another crack at material they’re clearly invested in, I wouldn’t say that I’m that big a fan of “Radiant Black” to check this out sight unseen.
Convert #1 (of 4): Science officer Orrin Kutela is stranded on an alien planet on the verge of death. At least he was, until he makes a discovery that could save him, and maybe doom the universe. That last part isn’t in the solicitation text, so I’m just guessing. I could be wrong, but that’s not how these kinds of discoveries tend to go in stories like this. Writer John Arcudi and artist Savannah Finley are free to prove me wrong, but whatever the case is I’m sure this will make for an interesting read like the writer’s last few projects at Image.
The Power Fantasy #1: Coming off a very successful return to Marvel and the “X-Men,” Kieron Gillen gets back to doing creator-owned work, this time with his “Peter Cannon” collaborator Caspar Wijngaard. While superheroes have been described as “power fantasies” in the past, this time the term takes on a specific meaning: It’s how individuals who have a destructive capacity equal to the nuclear armament of the USA are described. There are six of them in the world, let’s hope they all get along. Maybe a dance party will help as the reader is invited to “dance along to the ticking of the doomsday clock” in the solicitation text. Only Gillen would think something like that sounds fun and only he would have the guts to try and make it happen. Wijngaard too, which is also a good thing.
Universal Monsters: Frankenstein #1 (of 4): Skybound’s publication of new takes on familiar monsters gets a new miniseries written and illustrated by Michael Walsh. The twist here is that the focus isn’t on Dr. Frankenstein or his Monster, but on who the body parts that make up the latter belonged to. Like the deceased police officer whose son is still mourning his father’s death. I’m sure that last bit won’t be relevant to the story being told here at all. I’m more familiar with Walsh’s art than his writing and I’m kind of unsure about the anthology format for this series as four issues seems like too little to work with here. Probably one for committed fans of the Monster or of the creator himself.
The Department of Truth #25: What happens in Dallas… gets to be seen as an extra-sized (and priced) anniversary issue for this series. Just what Department Director Lee Harvey Oswald’s deal has been hinted at since the start. Now, it looks like we’re finally going to get some answers. Based on my past experiences with the writer, I only have this to say: Don’t screw it up, James!
The Sacrificers: Giant-Sized Artist’s Proof Edition: Collecting issues #1 & 2 in an oversized hardcover format, meant to show off artist Max Fiumara’s work in its original inked form, for $25. If you had told me this was going to be a thing before I read the first volume, I would’ve made some snarky remark about my previous experiences with the artist’s work and how it likely didn’t merit this treatment. Now, after having seen Fiumara’s fantastic work in vol. 1, I can say that it does deserve this kind of treatment. It’s still not for me as these kinds of art-focused collections have never been my thing.
Bear Pirate Viking Queen: Are these all individual things, or are they all one thing together? I’m hoping for the latter, but the solicitation text implies the former. That said, I’m curious enough as to what this is exactly about to consider picking it up when it arrives in August. Sean Lewis writes, and Jonathan Marks Barravecchia illustrates.
The Bloody Dozen: A Tale of the Shrouded College: Wherein a few down-and-out astronauts are roped into springing some legendary vampires from a prison orbiting the sun. What is it about me that I find the bit about “down-and-out astronauts” harder to believe than a vampire prison orbiting the sun? What kind of luck or predilections do you have to have in order to get that kind of description as an astronaut? Writer Charles Soule certainly knows as he’s writing this miniseries which shares the same world as “Hell to Pay.” He’s teaming up with his “Letter 44” collaborator, Alberto Jimenez Albuquerque and I’m hoping the results channel the entertainingly ridiculous parts of that title rather than its head-slappingly dumb ones.
Satellite Sam Compendium: All fifteen issues of writer Matt Fraction and artist Howard Chaykin’s 50’s-set series about what happens behind the scenes when a beloved children’s show star winds up dead are collected in softcover. Sure, why not.