Welcome to my weekly post about what books I think are worth my and well perhaps your dosh from this weeks comic shipment. I try to keep to a budget of twenty dollars a week for this list as its what I really should keep myself to but in fact I sometimes go over. I start my list with the book I think I'm looking forward to most and try to give why I'm jazzed about the books. So on to the list....
David F Walker is a name I was sadly unfamiliar with prior to this last summer as I'd been a fool to pass up his take on Shaft when I was first around in the winter a mistake I'm so glad to have rectified. David is a writer who definitely has something to say and he pretty much refuses to pull punches when saying it; the Graphic Policy podcast interviewed him here a couple weeks back and it's worth your time if you love comics and storytelling. This is the first time that Victor Stone has had a title of his own and it's been a pretty solid start hitting the tech side of the DC universe with the character who has been at the heart of a lot of the DC stories I loved growing up. As DC has done little with Victor in Justice League David has a lot to do to establish who this Cyborg is and his initial story arc is doing a great job with this very human story; he has reminded me of many aspects of Vic that I'd forgotten in the years since I read the Teen Titans and as David is not afraid to push the envelope so to say I can not wait for more of this book and hope for it to get to the audience that will connect with it. $2.99
Paper girls #3
Brain K Vaughn is a marvelous storyteller; the work that he puts into character setting and plot as well as his choice of collaborator is all pretty genius. Paper Girls Saga and We Stand on Guard are all quite different books and though I'm sure there are people that are getting all of them they are pretty set to appeal to different audiences. Set in the era of eighties Cold War paranoia these girls are dropped into a mystery of X-Files or Fringe kind of proportions that leaves both them and the audience wondering what the F is happening. As things have deepened and become more dangerous Brian has been showing their bond strength and resourcefulness that I suspect will be the core of this story. Brian Chang's art and design pays attention to the era it's set in and even the mundane objects that are out of place make as big an impact as the obviously other. I have no clue as to what is happening and that is something Paper Girls has in common with many of my other favorite books these days. $2.99
I'm amazed by the amount of work that Jeff Lemire is doing at the moment; like Brian K Vaughn he's gotten that regardless of setting and plot is the characters and the stakes that they deal with, their relationships and desires that actually hook readers to a story. Though Jeff is giving us a backup story about the superhero Plutona herself in each issue the real focus of this story is the group of kids who found the body and the big question of what to do next. The great the about the cast that Emi and Jeff created is that they are not cut from the good kid cloth they are all fully realized with just as many strengths and foibles as their adult counterparts in other books. Emi's art with its watercolor look bring a softness and brightness to what might be a grim and dark book. Emi's character design, her grasp of expression and style kind of sold me well before reading the book which keeps me buying it.$2.99
Rocket Girl #7
Ok I will forgive this books lateness as Brandon Montclair and Amy Reeder's time travel adventure story starring a teen jet pack cop from 2015 stuck in the mid nineteen eighties because of how pretty and how fun the book is. The level of detail that Amy Reeder goes to in her pages really does justify the amount of time between issues and her covers actually do represent the interior art as she does put the same effort all around. The story has hints if see each deep conspiracy and menace, and what good tale doesn't have a bit of both, but there is a great deal of humor in this book which is something I do look for. $3.99
Steve Orlando and ACO have been killing it with this book defining a character without the brutal ensamble he was always a vital member in all his past stories. Last issue did the big reveal and in retrospect I can't believe I didn't suspect what was going on... not to giveaway the game but it's a pretty good choice of antagonist given ... well given its Midnighter. Though I expect this issue will be a pretty violent action oriented slugfest, it is probably not the place to start but I suspect it sets the stage for the next story as no one will comes out unscathed from this. Steve has made a real point of differentiating M from the other black clad vigilante and he's developed someone I like a hell of a lot more then the moody brooding man named Bruce. $2.99
Guardians of Infinity #1
Dan Abnett is well known for his action oriented science fiction comics from his DC and Marvel work as well as from 2000AD and his work for Black Library so no matter what these characters are in experienced hands. The mystery of the new Guardians 1000 and the preview of those characters intrigue me as I like the images I have seen particularly the Kree the human and the large alien character. I'm going to be honest and it's the prospect of DMC doing a story in this come issue three that clinched my interest. $4.99
And that hits just over twenty dollars and it's a list I happen to really like the look of....
BKV sees another entry in my list for the week and it's his digital comic Private Eye that mixes a noir private eye sort of story into a post social media disaster world. It allows him to explore the interesting social aspects of a society that prizes annonimity. I have only read the first issue of the original series and have one of these ordered for myself. $49.99
Rat Queens Special edition
I seldom spotlight two collections but this is a pretty great week for special editions. This collects the first two story arcs plus the Braga special with some special additions to sweeten the collection. The book embraces all the fun that I reall from fantasy role-playing back in the pen and paper days or at least it's what I wish my memories were like. This series may be a bit tongue in cheek but it takes itself serious and after the initial fun and games set things up the stories get more personal and Kurt and his artist cocreators start to get kinda real with things. I particularly liked the Braga issue and am pretty glad it made it into the collection. $39.99