Catch It at the Comic Shop January 31, 2018

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:

Divinity: The Complete Trilogy Deluxe HC by Matt Kindt, Trevor Hairsine, Ryan Winn and david Baron, published by Valiant Entertainment.

I've really enjoyed the various Divinity miniseries from Valiant. I think they're some of the most ambitious and interesting books that Valiant has published. They've got a big, weird, cosmic scope. And so I'm definitely considering picking up this Hardcover which contains all 3 miniseries. Matt Kindt certainly knows how to tell a big, ambitious weird story, and the art from Trevor Hairsine (with inks by Ryan Winn and colors by David Baron) is very strong.

Dark Nights: Metal #5 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, published by DC Comics.

I really want to see where this goes. It's been a fun read but also kind of a weird one. I definitely feel like Scott Snyder is channeling his inner Grant Morrison with this book. It's not Final Crisis, but it's pretty out there and I definitely want to see where all the balls in the air land. As always, the art from Greg Capullo is terrific.

Mike's Picks:

Maxwell’s Demons # 2 by Deniz Camp, Vittorio Astone, and Nathan Gooden, published by Vault Comics.

Maxwell’s Demons follows the genre busting trend of other Vault offerings, Heathen and Spirtus. It’s equal parts space opera and world builder fantasy. If you’re a fan of Saga, East of West, or Copperhead, Maxwell’s Demons is going to be up your alley. Like other Vault publications, this series features some of the best color work you’ll see on the stands. Vittorio Astone colors his line art in a style that almost resembles a muted Fco Plascencia, and it’s a great complement for the tone of the series.

Dark Nights: Metal # 5 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, published by DC Comics.

I feel like Metal has lost its momentum, and I’m entirely unsure if I’m stunned we’ve only reached issue five or shocked that we’re already at the penultimate issue of the (main) miniseries. My concerns over stretching out the story aside, I’m still incredibly eager to see what happens next, and I haven’t felt this excited about an even series in general since either Blackest Night or Second Coming.

 

The Weird World of Lagoola Gardner # 1 by Zach Worton, published by Fantagraphics

The premise of this new book from Klondike cartoonist, Zach Worton, is that a boy inherits occult items from her grandmother, uses them to commune with said grandmother’s spirit, and becomes a private investigator. Worton’s art looks a little slicker than in Klondike, the aesthetic looks very mod, a style I think syncs well with the concept.

Michael Chabon’s The Escapist: Amazing Adventures by Various, published by Dark Horse Comics.

Comics as a medium or form has always struggled for literary recognition, and that’s especially true of the superhero subgenre. In a weird twist of obvious predictability, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay didn’t result in any increased superhero literary prominence. I attribute it to the fact I know few superhero comic readers who’ve delved into Kavalier and Klay, and even fewer diehard Chabonistas who have ever picked up a comic, let alone a superhero one. For those of us who fit into the certain Venn Diagram described above, the long overdue single volume collection of this material is a true delight.