Image Previews Picks: December 2022
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Lazarus vol. 7
I know what you’re thinking, “They’re still publishing this?” They certainly are even though I can’t blame anyone for letting this title fall off their radars. Pandemic plus Quarterly Publishing Schedule hasn’t done Greg Rucka and Michael Lark’s future dystopia series any favors. I’m glad to know that we’re finally getting a new volume, though. Vol. 6, while not exactly what you would call upbeat, involved most of the characters I like in “Lazarus” actually coming out ahead for once. That includes series protagonist Forever Carlyle, who once again proved her worth to the Carlyle family, while also working with its eldest daughter to change what it represents. Oh, and also getting to meet herself at the end of the volume. No sarcasm here: I’m actually pretty sure that’s going to work out well for everyone involved. Can’t wait to see exactly how in December.
Art Brut #1: This comes from the “Ice Cream Man” creative team of writer W. Maxwell Prince and artist Martin Morazzo and is about one Arthur Brut. He’s quite insane, but he may also be the only thing standing between us and the collapse of all reality. Alongside the Bureau of Artistic Integrity, he’s going to have to dive inside the paintings causing reality to fall apart and find out what’s wrong with them. The first volume of “Ice Cream Man” didn’t really do anything for me, so your mileage may vary here. The main reason I’m mentioning this is because it’s just the latest title originally published by IDW to find a new home outside the publisher. It’s actually part of a larger trend of creators who’ve worked with the publisher (Joe Hill, Stan Sakai, Chris Ryall, Gabriel Rodriguez) to depart it along with key licenses like “Star Wars,” “Transformers” and “G.I. Joe.” It could be that IDW is just going through a downturn right now, but if they’ve got any major new projects or acquisitions to announce, now would probably be a good time.
Hexware #1 (of 6): This is a new miniseries from “Hack/Slash” and “Revival” writer Tim Seely with artist Zulema Lavina. It takes place in a future where corporations rule and magic is making a comeback. Just in time for the Marks’ family android Which-Where to find out why their daughter was murdered. Taken in isolation, this doesn’t sound like a bad setup for a miniseries. Yet it’s greeted by some questionable copy in the solicitation text like, “Why sell your soul… when you can buy a new one?” Well, if you needed to sell your soul, wouldn’t that mean you’re not in any position to buy a new one? We’ve also got another questionable analogy as this miniseries is described as “The Magic Order” meets “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” I’m not even sure how that’s supposed to work, and that’s before I start considering that this series is comparing itself to a Mark Millar title.
Radiant Pink #1 (of 5): This is the latest expansion of the Massive-verse from parent title “Radiant Black,” alongside miniseries “Radiant Red,” and ongoing titles “The Dead Lucky” and “Rogue Sun.” If you’ve forgotten, Radiant Pink is Eva, a streamer who came into contact with a Radiant that had teleportation powers. Her life may have been in crisis before then, except that things are a lot better now that superhero Radiant Pink has been guesting on her streams and sending their viewer counts skyrocketing *wink*. Unfortunately, all this exposure has made it so that some very bad people know where to find this superhero in order to get their hands on her powers. This miniseries comes to us from co-writers Megan Camarena (who co-wrote Pink’s spotlight issue in vol. 2 of “Radiant Black”) and Melissa Flores and Emma Kubert, daughter of Andy, granddaughter of Joe. I’m looking forward to reading the “Radiant Red” miniseries because that was a standout look at a character that went in some unexpected directions. Pink’s solo issue wasn’t bad, just not quite good enough to make me excited that she’s getting her own miniseries as well.
All Against All #1 (of 5): It is the future and Earth has been reduced to a game preserve for its most vicious animals. This is so that the aliens that have conquered the planet can harvest them for their ongoing wars. The problem is that there’s still one human left, and when they come for him he’s going to make them regret that they ever did. It’s not mentioned in the solicitation text, but the premise sounds like “‘Predator’ But if the Human Was the Predator?” which I think sounds kinda cool. This comes to us from writer Alex Paknadel and artist Caspar Wijngaard, who has done enough good work with Simon Spurrier and Kieron Gillen to let me know that this is going to look great, if nothing else.
Beware the Eye of Odin: “Plastic” and “Vinyl” writer Doug Wagner takes a break from writing about serial killers and from working with artist Daniel Hillyard, to team up with artist Tim Odland for this demented-sounding miniseries. Helgi is a viking prince who has come across the legendary Eye of Odin and unless he can return it to its rightful owner by the new moon, he’s going to die a horrible death that involves his body decaying around him. Fortunately he’s not alone in his quest as he’s joined by veteran, past-his-prime, and one-armed warrior Stigr and Kadlin, who’s convinced that she’s a valkyrie. Wagner has shown that he’s got a pretty twisted mind, so I’m curious what the results will be when he tries to process Norse Mythology with it.
Image! #9 (of 12): It’s Christmastime and you can’t keep a good criminal down. Nor a good “Criminal” story for that matter, which is what we’re going to get here as Brubaker and Phillips give us a story about one Christmas in the Lawless household. It’ll probably be really goddamn dark, as things involving this family usually are, but in a way that’s unexpected which is just how I like these things. There’s a lot more in this issue, including what looks like the first story from John Arcudi and Doug Mahnke in years. They used to work together all the time back in the 90’s, so it’ll be interesting to see what they’ve come up with after all these years apart.