Image Previews Picks: July 2021
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Chu #6
I heard this was supposed to be out sooner, but this is just one more thing you can chalk up to the pandemic. The good news is that it’s actually coming out and we can get a proper look at what the ongoing adventures of Saffron Chu will be like. They seem quite promising too. If you’ll recall, the “post-credits scene” of the first volume had Saffron wheeling her decrepit grandfather Ong out of his retirement home with the promise of using him to track down some Nazi gold. Mind you, that’s “Nazi gold” and not “gold that is owned by Nazis.” So there’s a very real chance that Saffron and co. could wind up going after some gold that was once owned by bad people that now happens to be owned by good people. Or they could be breaking into a submarine at the bottom of the Mediterranean. Who can say for sure? All I know is that it’s a good setup which is following an opening arc which showed that there is still room for quality storytelling in the “Chew”-niverse.
M.O.M.: Mother of Madness #1 (of 3): This three-issue miniseries got a lot of buzz with its announcement as it’s being written by “Game of Thrones” star Emilia clark. Well, maybe “written” is too strong a word here. Marguerite Bennett is also being credited with “adaptation” while “contributions” are being provided by Isobel Richardson. “Horde” artist Leila Leitz illustrates all by herself. “M.O.M.” is the story of Maya. She’s a scientist by day, superhero by night, and full-time mother ahead of both of these occupations. That does seem like a setup that’s rife with drama by itself, so I guess it’s a good thing that the hook for this issue is that Maya is just going after a bunch of human traffickers. Each 48-page issue will set you back $6, but that’s still a better value for your money than you’re getting with “BRZKR.” Take that Keanu!
Mirka Andolfo’s Sweet Paprika #1: Comes to us from the creator of “Mirka Andolfo’s Mercy” in case you couldn’t guess. This time it appears that Andolfo is dialing back the fantasy elements of her previous miniseries for a story about a shy introvert in New York who meets up with a suave, handsome delivery boy that may just be able to bring this girl out of her shell. Because she wants to bang him, you see. It’s a straightforward enough premise that the execution will need to be really solid to make me think it’s worthwhile. Except that the angelic/demonic imagery on the covers for this issue make me think that the real premise is waiting to be revealed in the first issue. Maybe expect a happier version of the angelic/demonic romances we saw in “Hellblazer” and “Preacher.” Regardless of how this turns out, the execution of “Mercy” was such that I’m willing to give this a shot even if it just turns out to be an ordinary New York romance.
Ordinary Gods #1: Christoper is 22. Both of his parents are alive, he has a 12 year-old sister, and he works at a paint store. He’s also the latest reincarnation of one of five gods who were banished to our world in a “War of the Immortals.” While working at a paint store doesn’t sound so bad, the solicitation text lets us know that Chris’ past is catching up with him. In order to save everyone he loves he’s going to have to (say it with me now) become a god again! This sounds fine. It at least sounds more distinctive than the “Power Rangers With the Serial Numbers Filed Off” setup of “Radiant Black,” writer Kyle Higgins’ other ongoing title from Image. I honestly can’t remember if I’ve seen anything from artist Felipe Watanabe, but the cover of the first issue is pretty sharp, so that’s a plus.
Skybound X #’s 1-5: Guess what? It’s been ten years since Robert Kirkman launched his Skybound imprint at Image. In addition to serving as a home for the many titles that the writer has written, it has also given us such quality titles as “Manifest Destiny,” “Assassin Nation,” “Murder Falcon,” and “Redneck.” And you know what? ALL of those series, and more, are getting new stories as part of this weekly anthology series. (So “Assassin Nation” isn’t completely dead, it’s just… mostly dead.) In addition to providing a sampling of Skybound titles from the past, present, and future, we’re also getting a couple throwbacks to “The Walking Dead.” We’ll be seeing Clementine from “The Walking Dead” videogames in her first comic appearance as well as “Rick Grimes 2000” from Kirkman and Ryan Ottley, which picks up after their gloriously goofy sci-fi spin on the series from issue #75. I’m not sure if I’ve got the right perspective for this, since I read a lot of the series that will be featured here, but this sounds like the rarest of things: a can’t miss anthology!
Man-Eaters: The Cursed #1 (of 5): The original 12-issue run of “Man-Eaters” felt like it attracted nothing but bad-natured controversy as it went on. Yet writer Chelsea Cain persisted with it even though it was losing her money by the time it was done. Now she’s back with original artist Kate Niemczyk and Lia Miternique for a follow-up miniseries. Either Cain is a glutton for punishment, likes losing money, or the collected editions of the original series sold REALLLLLLY well. I never read the original series, but if you thrive on internet drama then you should pick this issue up to get in on the ground floor with this particular brand of it.
Syphon #1 (of 3): Remember “Bringing out the Dead?” The Martin Scorsese-directed, Paul Schrader-written, Nicholas Cage-starring film about an EMT who was living fast and too close to the edge? Now imagine if Cage was able to suck the pain from the people he rescues and take it into himself. Actually… I’d like to see that movie. “Syphon,” however, is about a hard-living EMT who gets this ability and has to deal with the pain it brings him. Oh, and keeping it away from those who covet it for themselves. Because this sounds like a really desirable power that other people would be climbing over each other to get. Patrick Meaney and Mohsen Ashraf write and Jeff Edwards illustrates.
A Man Among Ye #5: Returning for a second arc is Stephanie Phillips’ quite ordinary female-centric pirate series. Replacing Craig Cermak is “2000 A.D.” veteran Josh George. We’ll see if he can liven things up as the solicitation text only promises to follow up on Anne’s (rightful) betrayal of Calico Jack, and the English Governor’s pledge to hunt her down. Sounds like business as usual for a pirate of the era, and not all that interesting when put that way.
Rain Like Hammers: Sky Cradle: Creator Brandon Graham torched his career with a one-page comic “diss track” a few years back. Then he came back to Image for this five issue miniseries, and… the world didn’t end. Maybe I had to dig deeper to find controversy to Graham’s return, but if there was any it didn’t percolate up to the (admittedly very mainstream) sites that I frequent. Anyhow, Graham has been a creator who has an abundance of style, both in his writing and his art, but not a lot of narrative discipline when it comes to telling a story. Which is to say that you go into one of his works expecting impressive art and some poetry in his prose to offset the lack of interesting characters or plot. “Rain Like Hammers” doesn’t strike me as being all that different from his past works, what with its story being about a supercriminal transferring his mind into that of a high class butler in the futuristic palace world of Sky-Cradle.
Fire Power by Kirkman & Samnee vol. 3: Flame War: Vol. 2 made a solid case for this being the best of Kirkman’s post-”Invincible” & “The Walking Dead” titles. It sold Owen Johnson’s decision to live a quiet life in suburbia quite well, while also giving us some solid drama from his past coming back to haunt him. Chris Samnee did a great job rendering this stuff, but he really shone when the fists and feet started to fly. Now we’ve come to the end of the title’s first year of single issues and there’s a large drama bomb waiting to go off at the end of it. I say this because the solicitation for issue #13 in these solicitations spoils some of it. Well, at least it didn’t spoil anything I couldn’t have seen coming. It’s a good thing this series is good at selling the small stuff that surrounds big stuff like what got spoiled or else I’d be really angry.