Read a Wrestling Comic!!! Catch It June 15th, 2022

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:

Bone Orchard Mythos: The Passageway HC by Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino, and Dave Stewart, published by Image Comics

Jeff Lemire is someone I really trust to create a new comic universe. He's done amazing work (with lots of other artistic/creative collaborators) on the Black Hammer universe. So when I found out he was creating a new horror universe, WITH Andrea Sorrentino, I was thrilled. And Dave Stewart was coming back to color? I was even more excited. These 3 have made terrifying, weird, highly entertaining comics magic with Gideon Falls and Primordial, and now they're back for more. I don't know much about the broader world of the Bone Orchard Mythos, but I mean, it sounds terrifying. As does The Passageway, in this context. Basically what I'm saying is that where this creative team goes, I will follow down that creepy passageway, and so should you. 

Do A Powerbomb! #1 by Daniel Warren Johnson with Mike Spicer, published by Image Comics

Speaking of creative teams that I'll read no matter what they do, comics superstar Daniel Warren Johnson is one of those people. I'm sure he would demur on the "superstar" label, but I mean, I'm not sure there's anyone whose work on sequential comics is hotter right now. Not to mention that every time he posts a commission, the whole internet rightly freaks out about how amazing it is. Johnson has an amazing art style that is very "metal" even though it feels reductive to just describe him that way. Though he actually is a huge metal fan. His art conveys movement and excitement and intensity better than just about anyone right now. He's also a passionate wrestling fan. So, he's the perfect person to do a comic about wrestling that will also have some sort of supernatural elements, and that sounds incredibly epic. I've read the first issue of Do A Powerbomb! and I can tell you that it is Johnson at his best. There's amazing action (including terrific wrestling scenes), terrific detail, and at the core of the story, a real emotional heartbeat, and heartbreaking story about family. 

Eight Billion Genies #2 by Charles Soule and Ryan Browne, published by Image Comics

Every single person on Earth gets a genie! And every single person gets a wish granted at the exact same time! If that sounds absurd and incredibly chaotic and fun, guess what. It is! The first issue of Eight Billion Genies was a lot of fun, and I fully expect this series to continue to be a funny, fun, engaging read. This team (Soule and Browne) previously collaborated on Curse Words, which was also  very fun read. And you may also know Browne from the absolutely bonkers God Hates Astronauts, and a few amazing issues of The Manhattan Projects. Well, this is in the vein of those wild, funny series. It's a lot of fun so far.

Seven Sons #1 by Jae Lee, Robert Windom, and Kelvin Mao, published by Image Comics

A new Jae Lee comic! That's...kinda all I think you need to know. Jae Lee is the incredible artist behind the amazing Inhumans comic from a number of years ago, and some amazing Stephen King Dark Tower comics, and more recently, a Batman/Superman comic. And I'm sure many other comics, and some incredible covers. But he apparently hasn't done an independent comic since 1994! So, I'm really excited to check this out. I've seen a little bit of the art and it looks INCREDIBLE. Lee has such weird, sinister, iconic art that perfectly creates an atmosphere of dread and foreboding. This comic concerns a child that might be the messiah. It should be a great read.

Rob's Picks:

Best of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Collection TPB Vol 01 by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Brian Lynch, Tom Waltz, Sophie Campbell, and many others, published by IDW

IDW has had the Turtles license for a long time now--so long in fact that they've actually tied the original publisher, Mirage. This collection is a celebration of stories that feature each Turtle solo and incorporates material from the the Mirage years, the early days at IDW, and more recent work. I've read almost all of the stories in this one, so not a lot new to me, but it was great to go back and revisit some classics. It's really interesting to see how much of the early IDW work echoed its predecessors before going its own way. The art of course is amazing, starting with Eastman and Laird and moving on to newer creators who interpreted the Turtles in their own ways. It's especially fun to see Sophie's early work here, as she later went on to take over the main series as the primary creator. If you haven't read these yet and are a Turtles fan, you're in for a treat.

Do A Powerbomb #1 by Daniel Warren Johnson with Mike Spicer and Rus Wooten, published by Image Comics

A young woman's dream is to be a top wrestler like her mom, but the tragic end to the career of Yua Steelrose means her own wrestling family won't let her back in the ring. Her determination catches the eye of a very different sort of promoter in this first issue of a mini-series promising to mix in-ring moves with magic. Daniel Warren Johnson's art is extremely fluid, which is perfect for giving the appearance of action and movement during the wrestling scenes. He's also got a lot of tight paneling to keep the story flowing quickly from image to image, which helps with the effect. A wrestling fan, it's clear he's taken the time to ensure the moves created for his wrestlers are realistic. This issue is a lot of set up for the premise (young woman on a dangerous quest) and doesn't feature a lot of the promised magical elements. But we already want to root for Lona and the awesome visuals of the wrestling really promising some amazing work to come as this series moves on. Definitely worth grabbing a ringside seat for, as Johnson's linework is packed full of visual treats.