My new gig as a reviewer over at CBR is taking up time I would have otherwise probably spent writing in this newsletter. I thought I’d spend a few minute talking about a few new-er comics I’m amped about and recommend to you.
Radiant Black. I am really digging what Kyle Higgins and Marcelo Costa are cooking up. It turns a lot of old tropes on their heads and positions them in a new light. Issue 3 came out recently, and I reviewed it here. A super inventive issue that shows Higgins and Costa have a firm grasp on both the superhero genre and the medium of comics. This is clearly a heartfelt book with big ideas. And issue 4 is gonna sell out hard and send shockwaves across the comics-internet. If you didn’t preorder it or you are not reading digitally, you’re gonna be sorry come May 19th. I think this is Image’s next big break-out book that might grow into something huge, so it’s worth getting in on the ground floor while you can.
Way of X. Another book I reviewed for CBR last week and has only had one issue so far. I am liking the X-Men line a lot lately, though not as much as some people. Way of X raises a lot of thought provoking questions and starts poking some holes in the paradise of Krakoa. Nightcrawler is written great. It is wonderfully illustrated. I’m not an enormous X-Men guy, but I really appreciated the thoughtful approach here, and the way it uses Nightcrawler’s faith without making him a caricature.
The Many Deaths of Laila Starr. This one just came out too, a BOOM! Studios creator owned by Ram V and Filipe Andrade. A gorgeously illustrated new book you should definitely get in on early. Inventive, playful, and emotional. Feels like it is going to be a really special series.
Nightwing by Tom Taylor & Bruno Redondo is shaping up to be a flat-out fun superhero series. I don’t know if it will meet my lofty expectations or my assessment of the ills of the character, but it’s beautiful to look at and the characterizations are right on so far. Third issue of this run comes out in May. (issue 80). Plus: the dog’s name is Haley.
Beta Ray Bill. Daniel Warren Johnsons’ art absolutely rules, and is enough of a selling point on its own. I could write more, but why?
Random Comic Panel of the Week
Random Comic Panel of the Week #26: Seven Secrets #6 (BOOM! Studios, 2020) by @DiNicuolo_ , @WalterBaiamonte @eDukeDW and @TomTaylorMadeThat’s all for this edition. Maybe I’ll post here again soon.