Catch Its for August 3rd, 2022

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...

James' Picks:

Golden Rage #1 by Chrissy Williams, Lauren Knight, Sofie Dodgson, and Becca Carey, published by Image Comics

In this story, old people are shipped off to an island. This story tells the story of some of those people. I mean, this is an incredibly rich premise and I'm very excited to check it out. The premise immediately made think of Bitch Planet, where the patriarchal society shipped any non-compliant women off to a space penal colony. From what little I've seen, this story has some of those same vibes, satirically looking at how we treat older people along with telling a compelling story. And what I've seen so far of the art looks really great. This should be a lot of fun.

The Vineyard #1 by Brian Hawkins and Sami Kivela, published by AfterShock Comics

One of the oldest stories is that of attaining success, but having to do terrible things in order to gain that success. Having to pay a very dark price. That's the idea with The Vineyard. There's a vineyard that's been very successful for a very long time, and attaining that level of success has not come without sacrifice - human sacrifice! The patriarch of the family has died, and now it falls onto his wife to be in charge of doing what needs to be done in order for the vineyard to continue to be successful. I love the premise, and I'm thrilled to see more comics work from Sami Kivela, who did terrific work on the Aftershock series Undone by Blood.  I'm not familiar with Hawkins, but this sounds like a lot of fun so I'm excited to check it out. And rounding out the creative team are colorist Jason Wordie and letterer Taylor Esposito, two comics veterans whose presence bodes well for the book.

Mind MGMT Bootleg #2 by Matt Kindt, Matt Lesniewski, and Bill Crabtree, published by Dark Horse

This is more Mind MGMT from creator Matt Kindt, so it's always going to be an easy sell for me. Mind MGMT is an amazing series about mind control, espionage, propaganda, and so much more (my detailed review here), and I'm thrilled that the series has come back with a new mini. The first issue was illustrated by Farel Dalrymple, and this issue is illustrated by Matt Lesniewski, with colors by Bill Crabtree. Lesniewski is a very talented artist, with a hyper-detailed, visceral, raw style that effectively conveys action and violence (and is in the school of Geoff Darrow, Frank Quitely, Rafael Grampa et al.).  

That Texas Blood #16 by Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips, published by Image Comics

That Texas Blood really is one of the very best books on the stands right now. This is an amazing series of stories about a small town in rural Texas, and the Sheriff of that town, and some of the cases he's had to deal with over the years. The first arc took place in present day. The second one took place 40 years earlier (circa 1982), and this current one takes place in the 90's. The current arc involves a grisly series of murders that have come to town, and our Sheriff must take on the most gruesome case yet. These re rich, wonderfully written stories that really tell a specific story about a specific place. Condon has a great handle on dialogue and narration. Thankfully he's got an incredible partner in artist Jacob Phillips, who has started off strong and just keeps getting better. Terrific art that never fails to capture the emotion and humanity of all of the characters.  

Rob's Picks:

Moriarty the Patriot Volume 8 by Ryosuke Takeuchi and Hikaru Miyoshi, based on characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, published by Viz

Things really get interesting here in the eight volume, as Moriarty's mentor is put in the nick for being Jack the Ripper! There's only one problem--despite what Holmes and Scotland Yard think, the man in question is innocent! I haven't gotten to this one yet, but all of this series has just been so damned good--excellent plotting, a convincing look at Moriarty as a heroic--if morally bent--figure, and a respectful approach to the Holmes mythos. Yes, it does turn it on its ear so far pretty solidly, but it's not trying to ruin what we know--just a different perspective. And the artwork remains stunning, with all of the characters looking stellar and sharp. The linework being so good is a big part of why I like this series so much and always look forward to a new volume when I can get my hands on it.

Godzilla Rivals: Battra by Rosie Knight, Oliver Ono, and Nathan Widick, published by IDW

A small town is nearly destroyed by corporate waste, and now Battra is here, as if an omen saying the day of judgement has come. Can a young women with a smart robot find a way to bring Godzilla--and maybe other monsters, too, into the fight? This one's a little light on the monster smashing action, but that's part of the point of the story, in which the creatures serve as avatars while the people learn a lesson about what comes next. Knight's script is really about that piece of the Godzilla puzzle, not the overwhelming destruction. Ono knows this and handles it well with the art duties. There's a gentleness at work in the young woman's scenes that contrasts nicely when we get to the kaiju, all of which are drawn extremely well. The splash pages are really strong and what we do see of battles work extremely well. I also liked the muted color palette on this one, which was a big difference from just about any other Godzilla comic I've read. This series is about different tones and perspectives, and this issue delivers that in spades.

Sean’s Picks:

Survival Street #1 by James Asmus, Jim Festante, Abylay Kussainov, Ellie Wright & Taylor Esposito and published by Dark Horse
Setting the stage for Survival Street are a handful of delinquent puppets living among and causing a ruckus in a deregulated America turned upside down as corporations and wealthy businessman pretty much make their own rules. Literally. I’ve seen the debut issue of this fast-moving action social satire folks, and I never knew until now that what I needed were just a handful of Grover stand-ins to take the lead and make some overzealous patriots uncomfortable. This miniseries from Dark Horse is sure to catch some side-eye and I hope it does a bit more than just that because the absurd premise of its story has made me more than just a tad interested. Come for the idiocy and stay for the phenomenal art from newcomer Abylay Kussainov. And with that note, after reading Survival Street I’m hoping to see more sequential work from this upcoming Kazakhstan talent. 

Ice Cream Man Deluxe HC by W. Maxwell Prince, Martin Morazzo & Chris O’Halloran and published by Image
What’s not to love about this book! It has a cinematic level of horror charm not many in the genre can do with a comic. Martin Morazzo and W. Maxwell Prince paired with Chris O’Halloran on colors is about as close to a three pitch KO one could ask for if a comic were a series of pitches in the bottom of the third inning. What’s that? Why the top of the third, you ask? Oh, that’s just because I’m hoping this series keeps telling these slice-of-life horror vignettes until the bleachers get cold. This week, the first collected volume in hardcover will be available and it collects the first twelve issues of this modern classic. Get one. Mine’s on its way.