James' Picks:
Man-Eaters #2 by Chelsea Cain and Kate Niemczyk, published by Image Comics
Man-Eaters is funny, emotional, highly political, as subtle as a sledgehammer, and incredibly relevant in 2018. This story takes place in a near future where a condition known as Toxoplasmosis X causes women to turn into savage large cats that kill a number of people. So, menstruation is banned, and all women are given hormones to prevent it. The first issue was excellent, and I'm looking forward to more.
Shanghai Red #5 by Christopher Sebela, Joshua Hixson and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, published by Image Comics
This is the final issue of an absolutely terrific miniseries. If you're looking for a historical revenge epic that's dramatic, intense and thoughtful, look no further than Shanghai Red. Chris Sebela writes the hell out of this book, and Josh Hixson is a serious talent on art. One of my favorite books of 2018.
X-Men Grand Design is an ambitious concept. Creator Ed Piskor (Hip-Hop Family Tree) has attempted to take years of X-Men chronology and make sense of it and present it in a unified history. And I think he's quite successful, with his gorgeous unique art style and great attention to detail. I loved the first oversized collection, and so I am looking forward to picking this up as well.
Neil's Picks:
Bone Parish #4 by Cullen Bunn, Jonas Scharf and Alex Guimaraes published by Boom! Studios
See I told you I had a thing for Bunn’s work (see last week's picks). That much so Bone Parish is slowly becoming one of my tops picks of 2018. I never expected it to be as good as it actually is but Bunn once again expertly handles a horror tale like no one else. Is there anyone else out there that can write so many different styles of horror? If so, then please let me know. The intensity of the series has grown with each issue, and with things becoming increasingly dangerous for the Winter family, I don’t see this one ending well. But for the time being am intrigued to see how Bunn handles the intricacies of said family. And let’s not forget Scharf’s art and Guimaraes' colours which adds to the sinister dark tone of this series.
Wytches Bad Egg Halloween Special #1 (One Shot) by Scott Snyder, Jock and Matt Hollingsworth published by Image Comics
Having not heard any news for when the next arc in the Wytches series will appear. I am incredibly excited to see that this one-shot serves as a standalone story and a prequel to the next arc in series. One that came as a complete surprise when I saw it on this weeks release list. Snyder has certainly been busy over at DC, and that’s good for fans of Batman and the Justice League. For me though it’s always been his work on The Wake and Wytches that have stood out. Bringing the original creative team back, with Jock on pencils and Hollingsworth on colours is also something to shout about. Wytches was one of the best horror comics of its day, and hopefully once again this creative have something planned for us.
