Catch It at the Comic Shop May 30, 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...



Rob's Picks:


Last Siege 1 by Landry Q. Walker, Justin Greenwood, Eric Jones, and Patrick Brosseau, published by Image Comics
Things look bad for a small castle that didn't get the better half of a war. That's when a seeming vagrant shows up and changes everything at the start of this new series, which I had the pleasure of reading a preview of at ECCC. Greenwood's art style is perfect for the setting, with his thick lines really making an impact in the rough battle scenes. (He also does a nifty trick to make it rain most of the comic without obscuring the rest of the art.) Mine was black and white, so seeing Jones's color makes this pop, and Walker's script gives us a great feel for the universe, even though a lot has happened before we get to page one. Looking forward to seeing where this one goes.

Hack/Slash Resurrection 7 by Tini Howard, Celor, K. Michael Russell, and Crank!, published by Image Comics
I was a fan of the original series, though I came to it late. I'm fascinated that a creator-owned series like this is continuing in new hands. I'm astounded at just how good this is. Tini Howard has stepped in like this was her own creation and absolutely nails the characterizations. This is the start of new issues, and I really hope it does well enough to keep going for a long time. Join Cassie as she meets up with her old "friends" Cat and Dog to take on a haunted house and some demented investigators. With amazing comedic timing that trounces the tropes and Celor's angular, just-slightly exaggerated art, anyone who digs the horror genre needs to get on this. 

Supersons Dynomutt Special 1 by Peter J. Tomasi and Fernando Pasarin, published by DC Comics
This one is kind of a stand-in for all the DC Comics meets Cartoon character specials appearing this week, because I can't even begin to imagine how Damian Wayne will mesh with the silliness of Dynomutt, but I trust Tomasi to make it work. Apparently the Sons have to team up to stop the Blue Falcon from turning evil, and that's just old-school enough to appeal to me. But really, any of these are likely work the pickup, if the Looney Tunes ones from last year are any indication.

Blackwood #1 by Evan Dorkin, Veronica Fish, and Andy Fish, published by Dark Horse Comics
Tip of the cap to James (see below) for reminding me of this one, because I knew it was coming but had forgotten the title. Dorkin is excellent at handling horror-themed books with humor (see Beasts of Burden), and how can you go wrong with an occult school and murder? I'm in, you should be, too.

Mech Cadet Yu Vol 1 TP by Greg Pak, Takeshi Miyazawa, Triona Farrell, and Simon Bowland, published by Boom! Studios
I've been a big fan of this series since it started, and it made my favorites list for 2017. If you missed out on this story about a young man who isn't supposed to be important, yet becomes a hero, now is your chance. Anyone who loves the giant robot genre will dig this, and Pak's writing is so very strong, as always, along with the great combo of Miyazawa and Farrell.

James's Picks:

Marvel Two-In-One #6 by Chip Zdarsky and Jim Cheung, published by Marvel Comics.
This has been a really strong book, and a fun build-up to the impending return of the Fantastic Four. If they decided to ever just have Chip Zarsky write  Fantastic Four book, I'd be thrilled. He's got a nice handle on the characters, and Cheung's art, not surprisingly, is terrific (alas, he's off to DC Comics soon). This has been an entertaining story in its own right and I'm excited to see where it goes.

Blackwood #1 by Evan Dorkin, Veronica Fish and Andy Fish, published by Dark Horse.
This isn't necessarily my typical go-to book but it sounds like a lot of fun, and Veronica Fish is a terrific artist. Occult college! It sounded a little like a "Harry Potter: The College Years" but darker, which sounds like a ton of fun, so I will happily check out this first issue.


Doomsday Clock #5 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, published by DC Comics.
This book has been so weird, and I mean that as a compliment. The last issue spent much of the time retelling an old movie (at least it wasn't pirates). Johns has made some interesting character and story choices, and Frank's art has been really fantastic. As good as I've seen from him. It's a weird book and I genuinely don't know where it's going, which is fun.

Man of Steel #1 by Brian Michael Bendis, Joe Prado and Ivan Reis, published by DC Comics.
I wasn't blown away by the brief story written by Bendis that was included in Action Comics #1000, but there was no way I could miss picking this book up. Bendis has written some of my favorite comics of the past 20 years, and was writing books I really enjoyed up until recently at Marvel (Jessica Jones and Infamous Iron Man). I'm really curious what he's going to bring to the table as Superman writer.