Welcome to Catch it at the Comic Shop, where the Panel Patter team looks at what's coming out at your favorite store or digital device this week. Each one of us that participates picks up to five items due out this week, with a little bit about why we like them. (NOTE: We use solicitation material for this, so if we miss creators, please talk to your publisher!) Sometimes we might only have a few items to share, other weeks, keeping it to five will make for hard choices. Here's what the team wanted to highlight this week...
We are extremely pleased (and happy to troll him with our title this week!) to announce that our Contributing Editor, Sean, is back in action after a brief hiatus and we couldn't be happier! Take it away, Sean...
Sean's Picks:
Sean's Picks:
Daisy #1 by Colin Lorimer, Joana Lafuente, Anita Vu and Jim Campbell & published by Dark Horse
“Y’all need to read your Bible”, says Daisy creator Colin Lorimer. Upon first hearing of this new miniseries from Dark Horse I immediately knew this would be up my alley, and, for what it’s worth, destined to be a blind pick in my triumphant return as the panel patter prodigal son. Self-gloating aside, (since I feel compelled to reserve the prodigal moniker for those of whom it rhymes to a surname) the fact that this story begins with biblical canon under the Book of Enoch, and the hows and whys it was removed from the Bible based solely on its supposed (?) imaginary and mythological addition to the story of Creation. The idea for the Bible to be inherently a horror story paired with the writings in Enoch make a story I never thought possible to debut leading into Christmas. But here we are, and here I am telling you to say your prayers and not skip out on this one.
Impossible Jones #2 by Karl Kesel, David Hahn and Tony Aviña & published by Scout Comics
Karl Kesel is currently hard at work finishing up the successfully funded Kickstarter for the second issue of which follow up to this one, but that is no reason to pull shade on the original Impossible Jones. And thanks to Scout Comics, Impossible Jones is now enjoying a run at capturing a wider audience through serializing its first volume. On Kickstarter, this series has had plenty of success and my hope is that with these re-issues the character gains more steam and more readers. Cuz this is about as fun as comics get. Kesel knows how to write bizarre yet hilarious stories that are just flat-out-fun. David Hahn has pencil duties and with his lead he perfectly captures the Kesel joyride. Like I previously stated, this is as fun as it gets folks.
The Silver Coin #7 by Michael Walsh and Ram V & published by Image Comics
The good thing about this series is that each issue is essentially a stand alone story. The common thread among them is non other than the titular …”character”. And as the silver coin mysteriously goes from one place to the other it brings with it terror and misfortune. The horror anthology is no new concept but please don’t lean on that crutch to shrug this one off. Series creator and illustrator, Michael Walsh, is doing career defining work right now in the horror genre, and as he collaborates with some of the best comic writers in the industry with this series he is flexing his horror muscles month after month.
Rob's Picks:
Daisy #1 by Colin Lorimer, Joana Lafuente, Anita Vu and Jim Campbell & published by Dark Horse
Like Sean, stories that poke at the edges of the Biblical narrative always appeal to me. Regardless of your faith (or even general belief in a higher power), it's clear that someone decided which Books got to stay and which got to leave. Sometimes, like in Genesis, they didn't do a great job of editing the stories together. (See the creation myth as Exhibit A/B) Lorimer weaves one of these, which expands on the brief reference to Giants in Genesis into a modern story of a young woman with a tragic growth problem. When someone starts poking around, things get deadly fast--but why? That's the central question in this extremely well structured debut issue. I love the layouts Lorimer does here, disguising some elements with cuts and really doing a nice fake-out or three. The colors are amazing and really highlight the different elements of the story. This is going to be a good one, and probably on my 2022 favorites list, if it keeps up this pace.
Vampiverse #4 by Thomas Sniegoski, Jeannine Acheson, Daniel Maine, Francesca Cittarelli, and Taylor Esposito, published by Dynamite
Yes, I know. The covers for these comics often kinda suck. But the story inside is actually a lot of fun. I love what-if style narratives, and in this case, we get Vampirella doing the multiverse thing, including versions where she was in a Mad Max style world, one in which she lived in the afterlife peacefully, had a suburban life, and now we're getting into scfi-fi and more. There's no doubt this is a riff on the idea of the Spiderverse et all but I'm enjoying all the variations, the idea that one iteration of Vampirella wants to create a singular narrative, and playing with the mythology of story. Maine's designs are fun and the coloring pops. A little hidden gem that's just a lot of fun to read.
The premise on this one is interesting enough, as we have a strange small town where kids get enmeshed in a world where a town mimics a video game and conspiracies mount. But the real draw for me is Kambadais, who I've been digging as a creator since he was teaming up with Jamie S Rich on The Double Life of Miranda Turner, where his linework stole the show (which is saying something, given the quality of Jamie's writing). He's only gotten better over time, so I'm always happy when he's on a new book. Getting to do creepy video-game related panelwork? Yes, please!
Mother F. Goose by Frank Tieri, Joe Eisma, Matt Herms, and Carlos M. Mangual, published by Aftershock
I loved the Halloween one-shot this subsequent one-shot spins out of. Frank Tieri and company placed Ms. Muffet into a hardcore detective world. Now they're expanding the job of turning classic fairy tales inside-out, with a strong Mobster spin. (Maybe it's just I'm watching Sopranos for the first time.) This time we get the three little pigs as mobsters, three blind mass as assassins, and some more hard boiled anti-spider cop action. Tieri's always got interesting ideas for comics, and this is no different. I really, really can't wait to read this one.
James' Picks:
When one of the funniest writers in comics and one of the funniest artists in comics get together, I'm definitely going to read that comic. Mark Russell is a hilarious writer (Flintstones, Billionaire Island, Second Coming) who brings sharp wit and astute observations to all of his work. And Steve Lieber (Superior Foes of Spider-Man, The Fix, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen) is one of the very best in the business at drawing hilarious comics (he's also one of the nicest, most generous people in all of comic)s. Anyway, this series sounds great! It's a series about a team of superheroes for hire, filled with some heavy hitters (Power Girl, Red Tornado) along with some other heroes I've never heard of. I'm sure it'll be delightful.
Crossover is a big, exciting comic series that's bringing in lots of different comic book universes, as all of these different fictional characters spill into our universe. The end of the first arc had some pretty big revelations. I don't want to give away anything, but I do want to say that this is a series of big ideas and big action. However, it's also got a strong emotional core thanks to strong depictions of the relationships among the characters. Geoff Shaw is doing amazing, exciting art, and Dee Cunniffe provides exceptional big, exciting, dynamic colors. This is a really fun book (my issue 1 review here).
I'm not sure if there are any artists right now whose work is hotter than that of Daniel Warren Johnson. Johnson is an exceptionally good illustrator. His commissions are already legendary, for their amazing levels of detail, and their exciting, dynamic nature. He's also an exceptional comic storyteller and writer of his own comics. He's done a few Big-2 projects in the last few years, Wonder Woman: Dead Earth and Beta Ray Bill. Both are really great; Beta Ray Bill was this year. Like all of Johnson's work, the story has an incredibly strong emotional center to go with all of the insane monster action and fight scenes. Here, we spend time with Thor's friend Bill as he seeks meaning and identity and a new hammer. He has some pretty amazing adventures along the way. I'd highly recommend this series, and all of Johnson's work generally. My favorite remains Murder Falcon which is a heartbreaking and stunning story. I'm excited that it looks like Johnson will be turning to a new creator owned project relating to wrestling in the coming year.
I've kind of lost a little steam for the X-Books in recent months. There's nothing particularly wrong with the books. But I'm not so much an X-Men fan as I am a fan of specific writers who sometimes write X-Men. Case in point, Jonathan Hickman. I've loved all of the X stories he's done - House of X/Powers of X is an absolutely stunning read. But he's stepping away from the X-books, which means I'll probably continue to step away from them as well. All of that being said, Inferno has been everything I'd hopoed it would be. This is a story that addresses some of those lingering threads that Hickman left in House of X/Powers of X. It's been intense, clever, and feels consequential. If this is the conclusion on his time on these books, it's a pretty good one.
