James' Picks:
Above Snakes #1 by Sean Lewis and Hayden Sherman, published by Image Comics
I'm excited for Above Snakes, the newest comic from the team of Sean Lewis and Hayden Sherman. Lewis and Sherman are a terrific team when it comes to making thoughtful, engaging, world-building comics. The Few was a terrific read about a post-apocalyptic America, and Thumbs was...also about a post-apocalyptic America, but a very different one (my review of Thumbs here). Both were incredibly engaging storied of survival in harsh, unforgiving worlds, and the attempts to try to find family and closeness in unlikely circumstances. Sherman has a terrific, highly distinctive angular art style. Sherman started strong and continues to get better and better. They did things in Thumbs that I've honestly never seen before in a comic, and Sherman's recent work (Wasted Space, Chicken Devil) continues to show terrific growth. Above Snakes is a Western-type story set in a fantastical world that sounds very promising. But honestly, they had me at "Lewis and Sherman".
Barbaric: The Harvest Blades by Michael Moreci, Nathan Gooden, Richard Pace, Addison Duke, and Jim Campbell, published by Vault Comics
Barbaric was a story that only had 3 issues but it felt like there were more. Each issue was so full of amazing story, terrific world-building, and stunning art (my review of issue 1 here). Well, I'm thrilled that there is a new one-shot (illustrated by the terrific Richard Pace) and that the overall story is going to pick up later on this year. Barbaric is a great fantasy story for people who (like me) are no typically fans of fantasy stories. Here's what I said previously:
Why? I'm glad you asked. I think it’s because this story feels less to me like a “fantasy story” than it feels like “a strong story being told in a fantasy setting”. Some fantasy stories have turned me off because the characters feel stilted, or the world building feels overly intricate or baroque, and the story feels bogged down in details that just don’t interest me. But right from the beginning this story grabs me. This is a fantasy setting of orcs and goblins and witches, but fundamentally it’s a story about a bad man who must redeem himself by meting out justice. The fantastical elements feel well-done, but this could also easily be a story told in the old west, or feudal Japan.
So what I'm saying is, read the first collection of Barbaric, read this issue, and keep reading as long as they make new Barbaric comics.
