Catch It at the Comic Shop March 4th, 2020

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:

 The Plot vol. 1 TP by Tim Daniel, Michael Moreci, Joshua Hixson, Jordan Boyd, and Jim Campbell, published by Vault Comics
The Plot is a fantastic horror comic (my earlier review here). It's creepy and scary as heck, and it's a hugely entertaining read. To quote my earlier review - "The Plot gives me basically everything I want out of a horror comic. Existential fear and dread. A house that has something *seriously* wrong with it. Characters I care about, who are doing the best they can but are clearly in over their heads. A family whose dark history would make for a compelling story even without supernatural elements. A larger weird history and mythology underlining the story. Exceptional art paired with perfectly atmospheric colors, that skillfully brings the terrifying and weird story to life. Art that also scares the bejeezus out of you but still leaves things to the imagination. Horrifying imagery. The Plot has all of this and more."

Strange Adventures #1 by Tom King, Mitch Gerads, and Evan Shaner, published by DC Comics
All I needed to know was that this is the new comic from Tom King and Mitch Gerads, the team that brought you The Sheriff of Babylon and Mister Miracle (one of my favorite comics of the decade). But then I learned that the art would be not only by Gerads (who's spectacular) but would also include art by Evan "Doc" Shaner.  Shaner is an incredible artist in his own right. He's got an amazing "new-classic" style. I've loved his work in Flash Gordon and a number of other books. It's fun, upbeat, and evocative of work from decades ago while still being modern, terrific, sequential storytelling.  And Gerads' work in Mister Miracle was nothing short of staggering. It was weird and detailed and evocative and provided an incredible sense of unreality. And King's track record speaks for itself; in addition to Mister Miracle and The Sheriff of Babylon, he's the writer of The Vision, Omega Men, and a fascinating run on Batman full of all sorts of big ideas.

Transference by Michael Moreci, Ron Salas, Toni Fejzula, Tamra Bonvillain, and Jim Campbell, published by Black Mask Studios
I've only started to read this, but it looks like a fun read. It's espionage meets time travel.  That's all I need to hear. And what I've read so far has a fun, tense feel to it. And Moreci does a lot of great work (see my first pick above) so I'd trust picking this one up based on that.