boom

Favorite Comic Books of 2020

Eric P. I.Leave a comment

Direct Download (1:09:45)

It’s time for my annual tradition of looking back at the previous year of comic books and talking about my favorites.

Also, listen for details on how to win some TKO Studios comic book collections!

Please send your comments to longboxreview@gmail.com, chat with me @longboxreview on Twitter, or visit longboxreview.com.

Thanks for listening!

Previews (April 2020) ?

Eric P. I.Leave a comment

Here are some recommendations from this month’s Previews catalog for product shipping maybe (?) in June (July or August?). Thanks Covid-19. #washyourhands

Previews

Image

  • For fans of Chew, Chu is back! I read very little of the award winning and fan favorite series. Will you take another bite?
  • I have a fondness for Joe Casey’s one-shot works, so All-America Comix is a buy for me.
  • Bliss sounds anything but, however, the premise intrigues me, as does the “two-arc maxi-series” label. Is it two arcs because there is a planned delay after the first arc? How does this entice us more than “8-issue maxi-series”?
  • Hey Black Magick is back!
  • Kirkman and Samnee’s Fire Power series is here. Don’t forget to order both issues 1 and 2.

Dark Horse

Boom

  • I have much of Irredeemable but didn’t finish it, so I’m seriously contemplating getting the Irredeemable Omnibus. It collects Irredeemable #1-37, Irredeemable Special #1, and Incorruptible #25-26.

Aftershock

  • Boy, that Robert Hack cover for Red Atlantis alone makes me want to preorder that series. I still have a hard time buying $5 first issues though.

DC Comics

Marvel

  • To appeal to the millennial crowd (I suppose), Marvel proudly presents Non-Stop Spider-Man!!!
  • For fans of kung-fu and Shang-Chi comes the eponymous title.
  • I’ve always been intrigued by America Chavez, and now there’s a new mini series to trade wait for.
  • I will be getting the new Thor volume to see if I like the Cates / Klein interpretation.
  • Not to mention continuing with my trade collecting of the excellent Immortal Hulk (v7)!

What did you order or were planning to order this month?

RandoMonday: Irredeemable #33

Eric P. I.2 Comments

Here’s a comic chosen at random from my collection.

irredeemable 33

Irredeemable #33 by Mark Waid, Diego Barreto, Nolan Woodard, Ed Dukeshire, Matt Gagnon, Shannon Watters, and Dan Panosian (cover)

“Redemption, part 3”

I loved the idea of this series and its companion, Incorruptible. It’s What If Superman turned evil and took over the world (and in Incorruptible, what if the bad guy, because of what the “superhero” did, becomes the good guy?)?

This issue is part 3 of a cross-over event, but the story is really an examination of the Plutonian’s upbringing as he learns the truth of his origin (namely, aliens are his parents — how did Mark Waid not get sued over this?). Plutonian goes from tantrum with his parents, to wanting to leave Earth with them during the course of the conversation, but in the end, his parents tell him him that “epiphany is not the same as absolution” and seemingly are going to imprison him when former ally and antagonist Qubit and Max Daring, respectively, show up to free him.

As I said, I really dug the premises in both the series, though I dropped both before they concluded and before they got to this cross-over, and I did not resume the series’ after this event. Both ended shortly after and I have been very curious where both sets of books/characters ended up. In this story, I liked how Plutonian quickly goes from fighting to acceptance, inverting the usual superhero trope. Plus, it’s always fun to see an interesting take on the Superman mythos, at least to me. The artists do a good job of showing the various emotions of the characters, from the smug righteousness of Plutonian’s foster father, to the rage of the titular character, and the brief moments of sadness and happiness. And this is a small thing, but there are panels where the background is pure black with the ghostly images in that realm being a kind of glowing teal that I really like.

There is an omnibus of the series scheduled to be published, but who know what will happen given the current COVID-19 crisis, but you can also find this issue and the rest at Comixology.

Previews! (February 2020)

Eric P. I.Leave a comment

Here are some recommendations from this month’s Previews catalog for product shipping mostly in April.

Previews

Image

  • Adventureman from Fraction and the Dodsons looks like fun. Though, while I understand why it’s titled what it is, it seems more that it should be called “Adventurewoman”.
  • Kirkman, Samnee, and Wilson’s Fire Power seems to be highly derivative of Iron Fist, but it’s Samnee and Wilson! Interesting too that they’re releasing a trade as a prequel to the series. I wonder how that will impact the sales of the ongoing, if at all.
  • I try not to hold it against Shalvey for working on Bog Bodies (with art by Fullerton and Nalty) instead of Injection, but I’m intrigued by the story.

Dark Horse

  • The preview art and tagline (“Twin Peaks meets Lady Bird“) for Dead Dog’s Bite by Boss and Bertram have got me intrigued.
  • Who is this post-DC Paul Levitz and why didn’t we get these interesting stories from him before? Check out Unfinished Business by him and Fraser and Caldwell.

IDW

  • Tom Tomorrow’s Life in the Stupidverse is sure to entertain. Sometimes humor is the only way to deal with stupidity.

Dynamite

  • Ennis and Braun bring us a new The Boys series (and sequel).

Boom

  • Oh boy! Faithless II is coming by Azzarello and Llovet. I was intrigued by some of the things in the first series, but irritated by others, so I’m on the fence about getting this.

Abstract Studios

  • Not only should you preorder issue 9, but go to the webstore and order all the other issues you didn’t preorder. Tell Terry I sent ya!

Aftershock

  • Dead Day has an interesting premise: What if the dead could come back for one night every year? What would they — and we — do? Parrott, Bornyakov, Velez, and Pritchett attempt to answer that.

DC Comics

  • You can’t pay me to get the Joker 80th anniversary special, but I’ll likely be getting the Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular.
  • What an interesting premise! Primer by Muro, Krajewski, and Lusky is going on the short list.
  • Damn. The Dreaming is coming to an end with issue 20.
  • I really want to read Six Days by Venditti, Maurer, and Mutti.
  • Finally, check out pages 89-92 for a bunch of Wonder Woman collections.

Marvel

  • Oh man! Al Ewing and Dan Slott are cowriting Empyre (art by Valerio Schiti). I will have to get the trade.
  • I don’t go for those facsimile editions, but I might have to get the Marvel Fanfare #10 issue largely for the George Perez Black Widow cover.
  • Alan Davis is drawing the Hickman written Giant-Size X-Men: Nightcrawler one shot!
  • After you read the Young Avengers Complete Collection by Gillen and McKelvie, try out their Image Comics series The Wicked + the Divine.

What are you ordering this month?

Previews! (January 2020)

Eric P. I.Leave a comment

Here are some recommendations (I preordered all of them) from this month’s Previews catalog for product shipping mostly in March.

Previews

Image

  • Decorum from Jonathan Hickman and Mike Huddleston not only looks great, it sounds intriguing as well.
  • I’ve heard various people talking positively about Coffin Bound by Dan Watters and Dani, so I decided to get the trade.
  • I liked the plot of Trees by Warren Ellis and Jason Howard, but it was the humanity of the story that surprised and delighted me. I’m looking forward to the conclusion.

Dark Horse

  • I love Mike Allred’s style, and his and Laura Allred’s new mini series, X-Ray Robot, looks like it may be a lot of fun.
  • Justin Giampaoli and Andrea Mutti piqued my curiosity with their Starship Down mini. Did life on Earth come from beyond the stars?

Boom

  • How can I resist a comic book with a man holding a fish balloon? Well, I can’t, so I’m getting King of Nowhere by W. Maxwell Prince and Tyler Jenkins.

Aftershock

  • It was the interior art preview pages that grabbed my attention for Artemis and the Assassin by Stephanie Phillips, Meghan Hetrick, Francesca Fantini, Lauren Affe, and Troy Peteri. But then you throw in time traveling assassins and you got me hooked.
  • Apparently I’m on a kick about stories set in a future, because I also preordered Join the Future by Zack Kaplan, Piotr Kowalski, Brad Simpson, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.
  • Ok, I’m starting to think I have a thing for time travel (or Aftershock does), because Knights Temporal also features a time traveler. This is by Cullen Bunn, Fran Galan, and Dave Sharpe.

Oni

  • I tend to shy away from fantasy stories, but Kurtis Weibe and Justin Osterling’s Dryad hooked me. It sounds like a Saga rip-off, but just different enough for me to give it a try.

Vault

  • Moneyshot had my attention when it was first solicited, but I decided to wait for the trade. This unusual concept is from Tim Seeley, Sarah Beattie, Rebekah Isaacs, Kurt Michael Russell, and Crank!

DC Comics

  • Given how much a fan I am of Robin, I cannot pass up this 80th anniversary celebration of the first sidekick and savior of the Batman comics.
  • I opted for the Doc Shaner cover of Strange Adventures by Tom King, Mitch Gerads, and Doc. What about you?
  • Who doesn’t love to smash the Klan? Superman is no exception in Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru.
  • I’ve been on a Bronze Age kick lately and this DC First Issue Special hardcover I hope will help scratch that itch.
  • I’ve heard from several people that the Wonder Comics book Young Justice by Brian Michael Bendis, Emanuela Lupacchino, Viktor Bogdanovic, John Timms, Evan Shaner, and Kris Anka is pretty good, so I thought I better check it out.

Marvel

  • Despite my annoyance that I cannot read this trade until Marvel releases the House of X/Power of X trades, I still ordered X-Men by Jonathan Hickman, R. B. Silva, and Matteo Buffagni.
  • Similarly, I ordered the Daredevil volume 3 trade by Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto despite forgetting to order volume 2 (but I will).

What are you ordering this month?