The Saga news made me realise that it would be wise to broaden my horizons. I jumped on Paper Girls and absolutely loved it but what else is out there? I see that I tend to gravitate towards Image Comics but that doesn't need to be the case, as long as it isn't superhero stuff. Big fan of the Matt Fraction Hawkeye run though.
I don't read a lot of cape stuff as it's never really appealed to me all that much. I'm much more interested in creator-owned and slice of life stuff. That said, there's a ton of great stuff out there beyond Paper Girls such as Kaijumax by Zander Cannon under Oni Press; Immortal Hulk; Highest House under IDW; Usagi Yojimbo under Dark Horse; and Abbott (5 issue mini-series) under Boom to name a few. DC has some solid stuff too such as Christopher Priest's run of Deathstroke. Tom King's The Vision and Sheriff of Babylon are critically acclaimed series before he wrote Batman and Mister Miracle. I've never read the aforementioned comics but they've been on numerous best comic books lists.
I mostly cover Image Comics and indie stuff (Dark Horse, Oni Press, etc.) for work but some of my favorite Image Comics series of late include Scales and Scoundrels (I'm biased since I covered the first 10 issues of the series and interviewed the creators); The Fix; Monstress; Maestros; Prism Stalker; Sleepless; and Infidel (Mini-series that ended. There's TPB coming out in September) to name a few. I recently enjoyed The New World, New Lieutenants of Metal, and Farmhand in addition to other mini-series such as Barrier. If you want an easy way to expand your horizons, wait for Humble Bundle sales on comics because you get a ton of stuff to sample from.
Latest and greatest spoiler-free mini-reviews from upcoming comics releases:
DC:
Adventure of the Super Sons #1- Full disclosure: I haven't read any of the main DC series/spin-offs. With that being said, I found it pretty fun. Robin and Superboy have really good chemistry and the plot moves at a brisk pace. It lives up to its adventure namesake. I might keep tuning in.
Batman #52- I tune into King's stuff sporadically because it's hit or miss but I've read both the last issue and the stuff on #50. I like the way this arc is progressing with Bruce Wayne stuck in jury duty having to explaining his reason why he dissented. It's got a Law and Order feel to it which is cool. There's some really great panels on Wayne's subtle facial expressions but I'll say no more.
Deathstroke #32- Again, I tuned into the penultimate issue of the arc but I like how tense this issue is. Deathstroke is quite a formidable opponent for Batman because they have a crazy fight where they call each other's flaws out. I only have Batman: Arkham Origins for context but it's a really solid issue. It makes wish that Priest would do a Batman run. I want to retroactively read the previous issues in this arc.
Mister Miracle #10- I still have no idea what this series is about other than its existentialist themes and 2 men, Darkseid, god, and quasi-slice-of-life stuff. But that's okay because it's really interesting and pretty damn good. Gerads has a bunch of excellent panels and pages in this issue beginning with the cold-opening on a glass of whiskey. Gerads earned an Eisner for damn good reason and that's because the man is crazy talented with drawing and coloring everything.
Image Comics:
Leviathan #1- John Layman's penchant for sarcastic, satirical humor is strong in this series. It's pretty damn good! The scale and destruction of the titular beast is absolutely insane. Nick Pitarra mentioned in an episode of Off The Panel that Geoff Darrow is an influence and it shows because there's a TON of details in the environments. The colors are excellent too. I don't want to spoil anything in particular, but I will say that the creators poke fun of a certain president of the United States. This my Image Comics pick of the week.
Scales and Scoundrels #11- Sadly, this is the penultimate issue before the creators are taking an indefinite hiatus from it. There's hints that they're looking for other avenues to continue the series so I wonder what happened. I asked my editor if I can continue to cover the series and she declined which breaks my heart because this series has a lot of charm and soul in it.
That being said, it's cool to finally see Dorma's home and culture. This issue explores themes such as coming to terms with a loved one's passing and individualism vs collectivism. It's another solid issue for sure so I look forward seeing its finale next issue since it ends on a cliffhanger.
Stray Bullets: Sunshine and Roses #37- This issue begins on a grim note which sets the tone for it before it lightens up for the middle part. Every time I read this series, I feel like I need a drink afterwards because it's dark as sin. That said, this issue isn't quite as dark but Lapham is really good at showing how one bad apple spoils the bunch through Beth. This issue takes place in 1982 in Arizona and follows Beth, Orson, and Nina but I'll say nothing else other than trouble comes looking for them and LA traffic sucks.
The Last Siege #3- I'm still not feeling this series yet I don't know why I keep following it. The panels in this issue are a bit confusing to follow because I'm reading it in PDF format. The girl protagonist still doesn't have much agency, and the short story that fills in the gap of the king's back story is okay but eh I don't care. It's a lackluster series
Still on my to read list:
Head Lopper Vol. 2 in which I'm at chapter 3
X-Men: Grand Design Second Genesis which I have a hard time reading. I need to read it sans 0 distractions.
I decided to read the first volumes of Redneck and Evolution, both by Image. Pretty disappointing.
Ouch! Both series don't look appealing to me so I've never read them. What was disappointing about both of them?
