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:
Days of Hate #2 by Ales Kot, Daniel Zezelj and Jordie Bellaire, published by Image Comics.
Ales Kot is one of those comics creators that's always up to something interesting and personal but also very topical. In Days of Hate he's going there, with a near-future America that feels like not much of a reach from where we are right now. I think he's got a valuable perspective, and I'm a huge fan of Daniel Zezelj's art, so I'm very interested to see where this book goes.
Royal City is great comics. I don't know if enough people realize what a terrific comic Royal City is. It's wistful and tragic and funny and acerbic, and Lemire's art has really never been better. I love his style, and he gives each of the characters a ton of personality. The book has been in a flashback to the early 90's and I'm just loving the styles and the music. There aren't too many issues, you should definitely pick this one up and give it a chance.
The Terrifics #1 from Jeff Lemire, Joe Prado and Ivan Reis, published by DC Comics.
So there's a monstrous guy, a woman who can become invisible, a really stretchy guy, and a guy who's a super genius. I'm speaking, of course, of...The Terrifics, the new series to come out of DC's Dark Nights: Metal. I'm just really, really curious about this comic. I mean, I can't imagine a more obvious homage to The Fantastic Four, but I'm sure that Lemire will have his own spin on the team. If you've been reading Black Hammer, then you know what great ideas Lemire has about taking superhero tropes and turning them on their head. So, I'm very interested to see what exactly this is.
Scott's Picks:
Bettie Page #8 by David Avallone and Esau Figueroa, published by Dynamite Entertainment.
Honestly, I really just love this cover by Scott Chantler. It reminds me of something that Darwyn Cooke would have done. I haven't actually checked out any of the Bettie Page comics but if I see this issue on the comics racks, I'll definitely check out the series.
Lone Sloane Gail by Phillipe Druillet, published by Titan Comics.
The Druillet comics that Titan has been republishing the last year or so are just crazy. They're mad. Druillet's artwork is just full of cosmic detail that we haven't seen in American comics since the 1970s.
Doom Patrol/Justice League America Special #1 by Steve Orlando, Gerard Way, Dale Eaglesham, Nick Derington, Tamra Bonvillain and Marissa Louise, published by DC Comics.
If this crossover event has suffered from anything, it's the lateness of the last couple of issues of Doom Patrol. That aside, this event has been bonkers since the first issue. It'll be fascinating to see how Dale Eaglesham and Nick Derington's artwork mesh together in this comic. This crossover came at a good time because it's re-invigorated my desire to keep on reading the Young Animal comics.
The One #1 by Rick Veitch, published by IDW.
Comics as consumption. I'm glad to see Rick Veitch's work back in print and but we'll have to see how well it connects with a 2018 audience. His own brand of superhero deconstruction made a lot of sense in the 1980s and 1990s but will it still feel relevant in todays superhero landscape where their movies are the most pop of pop art?
Rob's Picks:
Glitterbomb Vol. 2 by Jim Zub, K. Michael Russell and Djibril Morissette-Phan, published by Image Comics.
Rob's Picks:
Glitterbomb Vol. 2 by Jim Zub, K. Michael Russell and Djibril Morissette-Phan, published by Image Comics.
Jim Zub goes dark again, looking at the ways in
which we exploit tragedy and adding a supernatural element to the mix. Picking
up from vol 1, we follow the babysitter as they try to make her famous. The
mysterious force that spawns violence is back, too, but gets a different spin
this time. The art keeps a good balance between realistic and horror. It's not
quite as good at first volume but I enjoy seeing Zub explore concepts that have
real world implications where he isn't tied down by licensed characters.
The Beef #1 by Shaky Kane and Richard Starkings, published by Image Comics.
Shaky Kane! Shaky Kane! Shaky Kane! (I have to
say more? Okay...)
Kane teams up with Richard Starkings and Tyler Shainline to get really, really weird. From the amazing spam like cover to the
idea that killing cattle and then eating nothing but processed food makes a
worker drone loser snap is exactly the kind of story Kane's oddly colored,
oddly blocky art is perfect for. My book of the week.