Image Previews Picks: January 2023
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Eight Billion Genies HC
Charles Soule has written a lot of comic books over the years. Some have been good, some have been dull, others have been just OK. However, he’s never had a big breakout success on the level of “The Walking Dead” or “Immortal Hulk” when it comes to his creator-owned or work-for-hire series. That looks to have changed with this miniseries, done with “Curse Words” artist Ryan Browne. It’s got a clever high concept: What if everyone on Earth got a genie that allowed them to make one wish? The series then follows this issue-by-issue in showing what happens in the next ten seconds, then the next ten minutes, then ten hours… and so on. It’s a concept that has clicked with readers as each issue of the series has gone into multiple printings, making this a “God Country” kind of success story. This is enough for me to pick this up in hardcover to see if the buzz is justified.
Though, if the final issue ends with someone wishing that none of this ever happened, this will be going immediately into the “to sell” pile.
Spawn: Unwanted Violence #1 (of 2): Spawn witnesses an act of violence that he can’t ignore! Meanwhile, his information broker tries to get the lowdown on something called “File F.” I can’t find myself able to care about either of these things, but they may not be the point of this two-issue miniseries. That would likely be the art from Mike Del Mundo who I should certainly hope is getting a large paycheck for this from writer Todd McFarlane.
Saga #61: The solicitation for this issue is remarkably brief, amounting to little more than letting the reader know that this is the start of a new arc. Canny marketing move, or courtesy to trade-waiters like me who only got their copy of the previous volume last week. I’d like to think it’s the latter, so everyone else please take note of this!
Black Cloak #1: The description of this series is another one of those analogies I love to hate as it bills itself as a combination of “Blade Runner” style and “Saga”-esque drama. It’s actually about a murder of a prince in the last known city in the world as two Black Cloaks work together to solve it. Normally I’d be hard-pressed to recommend something based on such an awkward solicitation, but this is coming to us from writer Kelly Thompson and artist Meridith McClaren. You’ll recall that they delivered one of the best comics I read last year in the reissue of “Heart in a Box.” So this is still going to be a case of SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY when the first collection of this series is released.
Immortal Sergeant #1 (of 8): It’s taken over a decade, but writer Joe Kelly and artist Ken Niimura have finally gotten around to delivering a follow-up to their classic “I Kill Giants.” This one appears to be a lot different than that kid-focused story as it involves an old, grizzled detective on the verge of retirement who gets a lead on a case that has haunted him for decades. Unfortunately he has to drag his anxiety-riddled son along with him as he follows up on it, lest he lose the lead forever. This… sounds like something that would appeal primarily to people who were won over by the creative team’s previous work. Assuming that they’ve been waiting for their next project after all this time. Which reminds me, I still need to read “I Kill Giants” at some point…
Inferno Girl Red #1 (of 3): Another month, another new Massive-verse title launch. This one is about a high school girl who has moved to a new town only to find that an ancient cult has picked this time to fling it into another dimension. Cue the embracing of a secret legacy and the birth of a new hero for this superhero universe. I still think that the rapid expansion of the Massive-verse seems like too much, too soon. At least “Radiant Black” is still good (at least I’m hoping so – vol. 3 arrived with “Saga” last week and is part of my “to read/review” pile), so best of luck to writer Matt Groom and artist Erica D’Urso in living up to that standard.
Scotch McTieran’s Holiday Party: So it looks like the plan is for Gerry Duggan, Brian Posehn, and Scott Koblish to keep cranking out these specials until they have a volume’s worth of them. This time the gimmick is that the most powerful Scrooges in the human race are visited by the Ghost of Christmas Future when they try to colonize Mars. It’s mentioned that Scotch will be throwing a holiday party here as well; though, my hope is that he’ll be playing the role of the Ghost of Christmas Future. A ghost who has come back with guns… lots of guns!
Public Domain vol. 1: Past Mistakes: Chip Zdarsky writes and illustrates this series about Syd Dallas, a comic book creator who created the world’s most enduring superhero: The Domain. It probably won’t surprise you to learn that everyone but Syd has profited from his creation. That’s going to change as his two sons are going to try and convince their dad to fight for what’s his! The solicitation text calls this “a WILD ALTERNATE WORLD where comic book creators aren’t properly acknowledged or compensated for their creations!” Maybe “It Sure Sucks to be a Comic Creator: The Series” or “Alan Moore Says Fuck You All” would’ve been a better title. I do wonder if that bit is meant to suggest this is going to be a somewhat irreverent take on a familiar industry problem. Which sounds a lot more interesting than playing out a familiar story completely straight in fictional form.
Starhenge vol. 1 HC: The Dragon & The Boar: Liam Sharp writes and illustrates this series about a futuristic version of Merlin who has come back in time to 5th Century Britain. Why? To stop time-traveling robots from destroying all magic in the universe, of course. A present-day component to this story is also mentioned, but I think that Future Merlin fighting Terminators is the real attraction here. That said, it’s up against my mixed feelings about Sharp’s current art style which tries to trade clarity for style and comes up short. This is also an oversized hardcover collecting six issues for $30. Which means that if I’m going to see if Sharp can deliver on this concept, it’s going to have to wait until the paperback edition arrives.