Rob's Picks:
Hellboy: The Silver Lantern Club by Mike Mignola, Chris Roberson, Christopher Mitten, Ben Stenbeck, Clem Robins, and Michelle Madsen, published by Dark Horse Comics
Hellboy: The Bones of Giants by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, Matt Smith, Chris O'Halloran, and Clem Robins, published by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse is making it hard on the pocketbooks of Hellboy fans this week, releasing not just one but two excellent collections from Mignola and his fabulous collaborators. Silver Lantern Club was my personal favorite of the two, with Hellboy sitting down and listening to stories told to him about the other adventurers in his universe, including Sir Edward Grey. I'm a sucker for anthology-style stories with a narrator, and this slight callback to the days of the old horror comics really appealed to me. Each story builds nicely in creepiness and the artists do a great job of making them come to life. This is what happens when you have decades of worldbuilding to draw on that isn't bogged down by an obsessive need to reboot everything.
The Bones of Giants is a more Hellboy-focused story that was originally a prose novel. He and Abe get sent off to Sweden and the next thing you know, as one does, they're thrust into Norse legends and Hellboy's gotta fight frost giants or the entire nine worlds could be lost forever. This one is probably a little more fun for the casual fan, and Smith's art really nails the look perfectly for me. You can't go wrong with either collection, but both is the best option, just to be safe.
She-Hulk by Charles Soule and Javier Pulido The Complete Collection by Charles Soule, Javier Pulido, and others, published by Marvel Comics
What happens when a lawyer writes a comic about a lawyer? A lot of great stories, that's what. Soule keeps the feeling of prior She-Hulk books, with their irreverence and nose-tweaking of the whole proceeding, and adds some extra legal gravitas to the mix in these stories that were some of my favorites when they were coming out originally. I loved the art from Pulido, whose art is extremely distinctive and able to make Shulkie's strange situations look even more weird by never being afraid to play with panels and perspective. Ron Wimberley also joins for a memorable 2-issue arc. Marvel U guest stars abound, because of the legal aspect of the book and we get a chance to see what happens when Jennifer, a good attorney, takes on Matt Murdock, who is...well, an attorney. Obviously timed for the TV show, I don't care about the reason--I'm just happy to see these great comics collected again for a new audience.
Thing: The Next Big Thing by Walter Mosley, Tom Reilly, Jordie Bellaire, and Joe Sabino, published by Marvel Comics
Marvel's been doing a lot of series like this, where the events are set in a different era that people consider to be a "classic" one. I fully admit I'm a total sucker for them, too, because they're usually in the eras I've read the most from. There's no definitive date on this one, but Ben Grimm is dating Alicia prior to Secret Wars, if I'm guessing correctly. He has a pretty rough day, which includes getting arrested, and before you know it, the ever-loving blue-eyed one is off on a cosmic adventure all his own, facing off against old foes, some familiar and some obscure, while exploring a new relationship. It's a lot to handle for one guy, even if he's super-strong and super-stubborn! Mosley leads us down a great path of the Marvel Universe and the surprise characters he brings in are perfect for this arc of (re)discovery for Ben. Reilly and Bellaire's art are amazing. This *feels* like reading classic material even as it has a more modern take on how the story is told visually. Just a great series that uses the Thing better than he has been in a long, long time.
Rachel's Pick:
There is one massive problem with issue #12 of Sweet Paprika: it is the end of the series. Where am I going to get my monthly fix of fun, sexy comics now? Getting back to this issue, as always Andolfo's art and Simon Tessuto's coloring is vibrant. The pages featuring famous spots of Naples in particular caught my eye. The best romance novels are those where the main characters learn something about themselves and grow as people. And that's exactly what we get in the conclusion. While I'm sad to see this series finished, I'm excited to see what Andolfo works on next.
James' Picks:
Always Never HC by Jordi Lafebre, published by Dark Horse
I know almost nothing about Always Never but the premise sounds intriguing. It's a love story told in reverse, presumably as we follow a couple from the end of their relationship to the beginning. Just on a quick Google search, Lafebre's art is absolutely stunning, with a cartooning style that reminds me of great, classic animation while still feeling modern. Just in the tiny sample I saw, the emotions of the story really seem to come across. I'm sure this will be interesting and poignant, and a delight to read.
Kali is a revenge story set in a desert battlefield, involving a biker gang leader who is betrayed, and now she's out for revenge. I love a good revenge story, and that this one is compared in the solicit to Mad Max: Fury Road bodes very well. Thankfully, I'm relying on more than just the pitch to get me excited about the series. I don't know writer Daniel Freedman, but I am familiar with the work of artist Robert Sammelin, and Sammelin is a fantastic artist. Sammelin drew an issue of the comic Zero and did wonderfully intense, dramatic work there. And haven taken a quick look at preview pages from this comic, I can say that Sammelin is as skilled at action as he is at drama, and that Kali should be a fantastic read.
Starhenge Book One #3 by Liam Sharp, published by Image Comics
Through a few issues, Starhenge is a WILD series so far. Some of it takes place in the present day, and involves teen romance. And some of it takes place in the future, in as wild of a sci-fi looking future as you have seen in a while. And SOME of it seems to take place in the distant past with the magician Merlin. I am guessing it will all tie together, and I'm excited to see how that happens. Wrier-artist Liam Sharp is doing AMAZING work here. It's detailed and opulent and weird and exciting. This series is big and exciting and ambitious, which is I think exactly what comics needs right now.
That Texas Blood is one of the very best books out now. It's a 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, set during a rare snowstorm in Texas. These are 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.
