Love Letters #3

Man it’s a great time to be reading comics. Although, to be fair, it always has been. But there are more comics than ever now, so it only stands to reason that there are more great ones than ever too. Which, apart from making writing these blogs very easy, makes our days at the markets so much fun. Just about every sale we make comes before or after a conversation where we either learn something, get to share our love of something or connect with people about the books that we love in common. If we see you at the markets, I assure you that we absolutely want to hear about all the things you’re loving at the moment, it’s the most enjoyable part of being there, and it makes me feel less self-indulgent when I’m going off about the books that I love – incidentally, here’s a bunch right now...

The Power Fantasy #4

Writer: Kieron Gillen Artist: Caspar Wijngaard

The premise for The Power Fantasy is simple but fantastic, in that there are six people on earth with superpowers that have the destructive capability of the U.S.A’s nuclear arsenal. The (amazing) story so far has focused on the fact that these six people need to get along with each other, or at least find some common ground to prevent each other from destroying the planet as a result of a petty disagreement. But this issue takes that entire concept and distills it into it’s most devastatingly human form and focuses on Masumi, one of the six Super Powers, who’s power manifests a massive monster/demon/kaiju when her mental state starts to break down. She might be the most dangerous of the lot, and therefore everyone is desperate to make her happy at all times, including her girlfriend, who has no option but to live through their abusive relationship, doing whatever she can to keep Masumi stable so that the world doesn’t end.

It’s dark, pitch black dark, but it’s so incredibly done. They manage to tell the intimate, elaborate story of Masumi while also expanding out the mythos of the whole world. Everything here feels so expertly plotted out, just like the three issues that have come before it. I’m living my best life reading this book, heading in with full trust and letting it take me wherever it wants.

Godzilla: Skate or Die #5

Writer and Artist: Louie Joyce

Proof that Godzilla fits in every story if you really want him to, Godzilla: Skate or Die has been a wildly fun mini-series this year. Aussie Louie Joyce’s art style is perfectly suited to movement and action that all 5 issues have felt like they’ve been occurring at double speed as I’ve been reading them. It’s all so visceral that the whole book could have been told without any words and still have been a fantastic ride, but it did pair up with a super fun and heartfelt story that came to a really satisfying conclusion in this issue. The pedal didn’t leave the floor as the hero skaters finally came face to face with the massive kaiju battle that has been the backdrop for the entire book, and helped Godzilla to kick Varan’s ass and disappear again, like all good Godzilla stories. I can’t overstate how much fun this series was, and they absolutely stuck the landing with this issue.

Ultimate Universe: One Year In

Writers: Deniz Camp, Christopher Condon Pencillers: Alessandro Cappuccio, Jonas Scharf Colourists: Bryan Valenza, Mattia Iacono

Marvel’s Ultimate Universe is in such a good place right now, and one year after it started, we get this very cool one-shot that acts as a kind of palette cleanser or checkpoint for the story so far. It reestablishes the cast of villains and some of the greater stakes at large in this alternate universe in a way that acts as a soft jumping on point for people who might be curious about getting into the Ultimate books and a very cool side story for those of us already on board. This universes Nick Fury is the focus point and it’s through him that we get a couple of great twists, as well as a pretty heart wrenching ending. This book delivered way more than I expected of it which has become a real theme for me with anything that has Deniz Camp’s name on it. If anything, this one-shot just reaffirmed my excitement for the whole Ultimate Universe going forward, and that was before I got to the teaser pages at the end that set up next years Ultimate Wolverine which looks like it’s going to fit right in.

Dawnrunner #1-5

Writer: Ram V Artist: Evan Cagle Colorist: Dave Stewart

Dawnrunner is a series I’ve had on the backburner for a little while, and now that the same creative team has a new book coming out (New Gods), I picked this one up again and absolutely flew through it. What a ride! It’s a mechs vs kaiju story, so it has obvious overtones of stories like Pacific Rim and Evangelion, but swerves in a Ghost in the Shell direction that sets it apart from similar narratives. As the hero mech pilot forms a very sci-fi bond with her new mech, the action really ramps up as the series goes along, and the exposition and story dumps in the beginning of the series gives way to more action scenes and higher stakes. I found it so effective, taking a lot of time to set up a really interesting premise and then gradually just letting it speak for itself. By the end of the series every word felt like it had so much weight to it, and there was no wasted space at all. The art is incredible, and intricate almost to a fault (there were times where some of the panels in the fight scenes were really tough to make sense of). Another big win for Ram V and I continue to be hooked by everything this guy puts out.