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Rapid Reviews: New Comics for the Week of 5/17/23

Rapid Reviews: New Comics for the Week of 5/17/23

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Welcome to our latest Rapid Reviews column.

This week we have some debut issues and some middle issues to discuss. Both Marvel and DC relaunched major team books this week and we have reviews of both of those as well as some excellent smaller books that we think you should check out.

For all the New Number Ones and Special Issues for May check out our monthly rundowns on Here and Here.

Our reviews are spoiler free and focus on the positive aspects of comic storytelling in each issue. You can find all of these books at your Local Comic Shop now or wherever you get your comics.

Avengers #1
Marvel Comics
Written by Jed MacKay
Art by C.F. Villa
Colors by Federico Blee
Letters by Cory Petit
Cover Art by Stuart Immonen

As the cover indicates, the Avengers are looking up. This reset and new beginning to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes is encouraging. The debut issue to this volume is a well crafted jumping on point. It is accessible for new readers and establishes the rollcall through the use of structured flashbacks.

It is clearly a Carol Danvers story, and Jed MacKay has a good handle on the characters in this book. C.F. Villa delivers gorgeous and dynamic visuals and Federico Blee’s work adds an excellent mix of light and shadow that accentuates the important aspects of each page. It is a fun and exciting story that has me eager for the next issue.

Chilling Adventures Presents: Jinx, A Cursed Life #1
Archie Comics
Written by Magdalene Visaggio
Art by Craig Cermak
Colors by Ellie Wright
Letters by Jack Morelli
Cover Art by Cermak

This book is a rocking good time. Mags Visaggio crafted a fun one-and-done story with interesting personal dynamics and fun dialogue. Craig Cermak and Ellie Wright created a beautiful and engaging visual narrative. I will second the comments of editor Jamie Lee Rotante from the Letters column in that I love Visaggio writing the Jinx character. Continue reading “Rapid Reviews: New Comics for the Week of 5/17/23” →

New Number Ones: One-Shots and Special Editions for May 2023

New Number Ones: One-Shots and Special Editions for May 2023

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Welcome to our New Number Ones: One-Shots & Specials for May 2023.

In this regular column, we collect the one-shot books, special anthologies, and original graphic novels that are being released this month. You can check out our regular New Number Ones column for the month here.

There is an alphabetical list of these special books below by release date, and don’t forget to check for our PCS NOTES to find out what we just have to tell you about these comics.

There are books on the list from: DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Marvel Comics, Archie Comics, Image Comics, Fair Square Comics, Avery Hill, Boom! Studios, Living the Line, and A Wave Blue World.

Dawn of DC: We Are Legends Special Edition #1
DC Comics
Written by Greg Pak, Ram V., Alyssa Wong
Art by Haining, Minkyu Jung, Lalit Kumar Sharma, Rain Beredo, Sunny Gho, & Sebastain Cheng

ONE-SHOT SPECIAL

We Are Legends, part of the year-long Dawn of DC storytelling initiative, is set to make a major impact on the comics industry this May, with the launch of three six-issue series: Spirit World, The Vigil, and City Boy. Each feature new characters of AAPI heritage, as leads of their own books! Earlier this year, these heroes first made their presence known across the DC Universe in the Lazarus Planet epic. In the newly announced Dawn of DC: We Are Legends Special Edition promotional comic book, you can meet City Boy in a story that first appeared in Lazarus Planet: Legends Reborn, get to know Xanthe and their unique mission in a Spirit World tale from Lazarus Planet: Dark Fate, and receive intel on the mysterious organization known as the Vigil in an excerpt from Lazarus Planet: Next Evolution. All three short stories are included in this comic, providing everything readers need to know to jump on board Spirit World, The Vigil, and City Boy starting in May. This promotional comic will be made available free to retailers.

Release Date: May 2, 2023

PCS NOTES: We tend to avoid putting reprints on this list, but this book is free at your local comic shop and it is really a primer for three interesting new series coming this month. You can find out more about those books on our regular NEW NUMBER ONES column.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Lost Summer #1
Boom! Studios
Written by Casey Gilly
Art by Lauren Knight
Cover Art by Mirka Andolfo

ONE-SHOT SPECIAL

Spike is determined to keep the last copy of his embarrassing poetry from being discovered, sending Buffy and the Scooby Gang on a faux-supernatural goose chase to New Orleans to cover his tracks.

At an antiques fair, the group is fascinated by The Casquette Girls’ clothes on display.

When Dawn utters a wish she most likely should have kept to herself, the gang gains a firsthand account of the sisters’ identities… beyond what they could have imagined.

Buffy, The Last Vampire Slayer writer Casey Gilly is joined by Golden Rage artist Lauren Knight, bringing fans a historically fun and frightful one-shot to sink their fangs into! Continue reading “New Number Ones: One-Shots and Special Editions for May 2023” →

New Number Ones: One-Shots and Special Editions for February 2023

New Number Ones: One-Shots and Special Editions for February 2023

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Welcome to our New Number Ones: One-Shots & Specials for February 2023 column.

In this regular column, we collect the one-shot books, special anthologies, and original graphic novels that are being released this month. You can check out our regular New Number Ones column for the month here.

There is an alphabetical list of these special books below by release date, and don’t forget to check for our PCS NOTES to find out what we just have to tell you about these comics.

A couple of notes for this list. First of all DC Comics is in the midst of an event that is not quite an event. The Lazarus Planet storyline that is re-setting some status quos across the DC Universe is in full swing, but it is being told through a series of one-shots. We noted them here, because it seems pretty important to the cohesive narrative of the DC continuity of the moment.

Also, be aware that this list is very top heavy with the first week, mostly by DC books. The DC books actually hit some stores on January 31st because of their “New on Tuesday” rule. We consider the month to start on the first Wednesday of the month, so they are included in this February list.

One more thing, February is a month with themes and holidays. As such, you will find some anthologies on this page in honor of Black History Month, and there are some Valentine’s Day specials as well.

There are books on the list from: DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Marvel Comics, Archie Comics, Vault Comics, Top Shelf Productions, Little Bee Books, and Oni Press.

Batman: Legends of Gotham #1
DC Comics
Written by Andy Diggle
Art by Karl Mostert & Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Cover Art by Carmine Di Giandomenico

ONE-SHOT SPECIAL

With Batman preoccupied, his deepest, darkest, most dangerous secrets are about to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. The guest list is strictly villains only, and the outlaw Red Hood fits the bill–putting him on a collision course with Batman’s deniable black-ops team, the Outsiders! With Lazarus Island spawning wild-card superpowers across the globe, the stakes could not be higher. Jason Todd, Black Lightning, and Katana will have to put aside their differences to save Batman’s legacy–and with it, the world. That’s assuming they don’t kill each other first!

Release Date: January 31, 2023

DC’s Harley Quinn Romances #1
DC Comics
Written by Ivan Cohen, Amanda Diebert, Greg Lockard, Jessica Berbey, Alexis Quasarano, Frank Allen, Zipporah Smith, Raphael Draccon, Carolina Munho`z
Art by Ig Guara, Adriana Melo, John McCrea, Fico Ossio, Will Robson, Max Sarin, Priscilla Petraites, Gulio Macaione
Cover Art by Amanda Conner

ONE-SHOT SPECIAL

STRANGER THAN FAN FICTION / HERE’S TO JACK, HERE’S TO MOLLY / POWER GIRL AND ALL-AMERICAN BOY / GRACE / DATING APP DISASTER / ACROSS THE MULTIVERSE / ONCE UPON A ROMANCE NOVEL / SPLENDOR IN THE FOAM

DC is proud to present a selection of eight stories of rapscallion romance, prodigious passion, and undulating, unbridled affection. Tension builds as Apollo and Midnighter are captured by an unknown alien species who are determined to learn the secrets of their supersoldier success. Harley Quinn gets caught in a scintillating fantasy.

Release Date: January 31, 2023 Continue reading “New Number Ones: One-Shots and Special Editions for February 2023” →

Brainiac On Banjo: Mad Archie of the North Star?

Brainiac On Banjo: Mad Archie of the North Star?

Posted on by Mike Gold

Given current population statistics, if you live in a comic book, and you do not happen to be a Green Lantern or a Flash, chances are you are a Hulk or a Spider-Person. Add the Batman, Shazam and X-Men families, and the odds are overwhelming you belong to a personality cult.

Or… you can be an Archie. There’s a lot of them, too. Forget about the teevee show — forget about all of these characters media madness; I’m only talking about comic books here. Action Comics #1051, which dropped last week, gave us the bird’s eye lowdown on the 21st Century-of-the-week Superman family: there’s now about a million characters with the big S on their chests. The words “unique” and “special” have been replaced, as far as comics are concerned, with “redundant” and, stripped of that which makes these chapters distinctive, “boring.”

Except for Archie. There’s only one Archie, but he and his supporting cast members exist simultaneously in at least a dozen different forms. Amusingly, the creators manage to keep these varieties both unique and interesting. For example, we’ve had the New Look Archie, the married Archie (to both Betty and to Veronica, but separately — for better or worse), the Archie(s) that are more or less in the vein of the Riverdale teevee show, the Archie horror line stocked full of vampires, werewolves and other Universal movie ex-pats, and the Archies from both previous as well as future eras. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo: Mad Archie of the North Star?” →

Preview Reviews for 1/25/23: Archie VS The World #1 & Bulls of Beacon Hill #1

Preview Reviews for 1/25/23: Archie VS The World #1 & Bulls of Beacon Hill #1

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Welcome to the latest installment of Preview Reviews.

This week we have a couple of New Number Ones for you. We were able to review Archie VS The World #1 from Archie Comics and Bulls of Beacon Hill #1 from AfterShock Comics.

You can find this book at your LCS or wherever you buy books on January 25, 2023.

Also the rest of the #NewNumberOnes for January are here.

Archie VS The World #1
Archie Comics
Written by Aubrey Sitterson
Art by Jed Dougherty
Colors by Matt Herms & Doug Garbark
Letters by Jack Morelli
Cover Art by Dougherty

Original Solicitation:

In a post-apocalyptic future, our hero Archie Andrews is cursed to walk the world alone-well, alone with his souped-up jalopy. But Archie can defend himself-in fact, he’s the master of a brutal, deadly form of martial arts and must use his skills when he comes face-to-face with his rival and evil mirror image, Reggie. This action-packed one-shot is equal parts Mad Max: Fury Road and The Fist of the North Star, and reunites the Jughead the Burgarian team from 2022’s smash-hit comic THE BEST ARCHIE COMIC EVER!

PCS Review: Continue reading “Preview Reviews for 1/25/23: Archie VS The World #1 & Bulls of Beacon Hill #1” →

New Number Ones: One-Shots and Special Editions for January 2023

New Number Ones: One-Shots and Special Editions for January 2023

Posted on by Bob Harrison

This is the first column of the year for our fan-favorite New Number Ones: One-Shots & Specials column.

In this regular column, we collect the one-shot books, special anthologies, and original graphic novels that are being released this month. You can check out our regular New Number Ones column for the month here.

There is an alphabetical list of these special books below by release date, and don’t forget to check for our PCS NOTES to find out what we just have to tell you about these comics.

There are books on the list from: First Second Books, DC Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Marvel Comics, Archie Comics, and Oni Press.

Now Let Me Fly: A Portrait of Eugene Bullard HC
First Second Books
Written by Ronald Wimberly
Art by Brahm Revel
Cover Art by Revel

ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVEL

From author Ronald Wimberly, creator of the viral comic Lighten Up, comes a soaring graphic biography that casts new light on the first African-American fighter pilot.

On the eve of World War I, Eugene Bullard was a refugee of the Jim Crow South who was determined to find a place where a Black man would be treated as a fellow human being. His search took him from rural Georgia to the streets of Paris, from the vaudeville stage to the boxing ring, and finally, from the muddy trenches to the open skies. In 1914, Bullard joined the fight to defend France—and made history as the world’s first African American fighter pilot.

In this candid but sensitive portrait of Bullard, author Ronald Wimberly balances the personal and the historical to interrogate concepts of cynicism, idealism, fear, glory, and the pervasiveness of anti-Black racism.

Release Date: January 3. 2023

PCS NOTES: This is the kind of important content that needs to be seen in the comic form. Continue reading “New Number Ones: One-Shots and Special Editions for January 2023” →

New Number Ones: One-Shots and Special Editions for October 2022

New Number Ones: One-Shots and Special Editions for October 2022

Posted on by Bob Harrison

This month there are a bunch of special release that are timed with the season. So many in fact that we decided that they needed a special post. A few publishers are putting out anthology one-shot issue or books to celebrate the Halloween season and some others have just timed the release of their books to coincide nicely.

There is an alphabetical list of these special books below, and don’t forget to check for our PCS NOTES to find out what we just have to tell you about these comics.

There are books on the list from: DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Scout Comics, StormKing Productions, Archie Comics, and OffRegister Press.

Batman: One Bad Day – The Penguin #1
DC Comics
Written by John Ridley
Art by Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cam Smith, & Arif Prianto
Cover Art by Camuncoli

The Penguin’s criminal enterprise and the Iceberg Lounge have been stolen from underneath him by his former associate the Umbrella Man. The Umbrella Man has removed all of the rules for crime in Gotham City that the Penguin put in place, and the city is in chaos. The Penguin is a broken man, and he’ll have to travel through the burning streets of Gotham with a gun and a single bullet putting together a new crew to take back what he’s built. Will Batman help the devil he knows or face the devil he doesn’t in the form of the Umbrella Man? A crime epic from the team behind the critically acclaimed Other History of the DC Universe, John Ridley and Giuseppe Camuncoli–don’t miss it!

Release Date: October 18, 2022

PCS NOTES: This is the next installment in the series of one-shots that focus on one Batman villain at a time. Definitely entertaining.

Crypt of Shadows #1
Marvel Comics
Written by Al Ewing, Christian Cooper, Danny Lore, Chris Condon, Rebecca Roanhorse, & Adam Warren
Art by Warren, Ibrahim Moustafa, Geoff Shaw, & Karen S. Darboe
Cover Art by Leinil Francis Yu & Sunny Gho

The heroes of the Marvel Universe spend most of their time in the bright sun, flying high above it all…but every once in a while, they venture into the darkness that lurks in the hidden corners of the world. There lurk the creatures, the monsters, the vampires…the ones who prey on innocence and goodness. Join us, and some of your favorite heroes, for tales of fangs, claws and silent, stalking swamp creatures to celebrate All Hallows’ Eve!

Release Date: October 19, 2022

PCS NOTES: This is the kind of fun spooky season anthology that we get excited for each October. I am particularly interested in the Chris Cooper story in this book. 

DC’s Terrors Through Time #1
DC Comics
Written by Paul Levitz, Jeremy Haun, Tim Seeley, Zac Thompson, & Karla Pacheco
Art by Juan Doe, Kelly Jones, Peter Nguyen, & Andy MacDonald
Cover Art by John McCrea

October is here, and that means it’s time for fables of fear, time for stories of suspense, and time for tales of…time? Join us for a terrifying tour across the ages from some of comics’ top talent! Witness zombies menace the JSA in the 1940s. Experience the haunting of the Gotham City Sirens in the 1990s. Watch as Swamp Thing goes up against an irradiated monstrosity in the far future. These are just a taste of the time-hopping terrors we have in store for you in our fright-filled Halloween anthology!

Release Date: October 11, 2022

PCS NOTES: DC has its own anthology this month. I am pleasantly surprised by the lineup of creators. It marks the return to DC for Paul Levitz and a group of excellent creators that are not the ususal suspects in a DC anthology. Great to see.

Chilling Adventures of Salem #1
Archie Comics
Written by Cullen Bunn
Art by Dan Schoening & Matt Herms
Cover Art by Schoening

Salem the Cat has always been known as Sabrina’s familiar, but what happens when Sabrina’s not around to protect him (or, as is more the case, when he doesn’t have to protect her)? This special one-shot explores a different side of Salem’s life, one in which he acts as an anti-hero enacting vigilante justice on those who hurt others like him… animals, in a horror story that’s equal parts Pet Sematary and Hereditary.

Release Date: October 12, 2022

PCS NOTES: Cullen Bunn writing a Salem the Cat backstory stand alone comic? Yes. Please. Give me some of that!

Filth & Grammar: The Comic Book Editor’s Secret Handbook
OffRegister Press
Written by Shelly Bond
Art by Imogen Mangle, Laura Hole, & Sofie Dodgson
Cover Art by Phillip Bond

Award-winning DC/Vertigo editor Shelly Bond presents her step-by-step approach to making comics informed by a thirty-year career in mainstream and indie publishing. All-star creatives including Neil Gaiman, Jill Thompson, and Grant Morrison offer pro-tips. Originally funded on Kickstarter, this unprecedented, entertaining handbook is peppered with short comics illustrating Bond’s early days as a young editor in New York City. This mass market edition of FILTH & GRAMMAR: THE COMIC BOOK EDITOR’S (SECRET) HANDBOOK includes 8 new pages and an updated cover.

Release Date: October 25, 2022

PCS NOTES: This book was Kickstarted last year and has been delivered to backers. It is now being distributed to comic shops this month. This is an excellent book for anyone interested in how comics get made and what happens behind the scenes. It is highly recommended reading. We spoke to writer Shelly Bond when the Kickstarter was going on and you can check that out here.

Ghost Planet #1
Scout Comics
Written by Jeffrey Burandt
Art by Sean Von Gorman
Cover Art by Von Gorman

A family of deep space explorers rushes to solve the mystery of Ghost Planet before their recently dead loved ones return to kill them next! Murder birds, eye stalks and space pigs abound in this 40-page graphic novella. Ghost Planet is a classic sci-fi tale with a body horror twist

Release Date: October 19, 2022

PCS NOTES: We have been excited about this book for a while now. It is a fantastic little story that will capture your imagination. You can check out our review and interview with the creators, here.

Hack/Slash: Hot Shorts #1
Image Comics
Written by Tim Seeley
Art by Seeley, Daniel Leister, & Jim Terry
Cover Art by Seeley

Slasher hunters Cassie Hack and Vlad are back with a one-shot collecting the all-new short stories from the HACK/SLASH DELUXE EDITION HARDCOVERS. Our heroes battle bloodstains in “Slice of Life,” written and drawn by SEELEY, while a new kind of monster slayer stalks the backroads of America in “Highwayman to Heaven” and Cassie meets up with the baddest bad girl in the multiverse in “I Will Destroy You All.” Also contains all-new pin-ups! The perfect celebration of the slasher season!

Release Date: October 12, 2022

PCS NOTES: I am a big fan of Cassie Hack and love seeing this collection of shorts by Tim Seeley in the list of books coming this October.

John Carpenter’s Tales for a HalloweeNight Vol. 8
StormKing Productions
Creators: John Carpenter, Sandy King, Jaime Carrillo, Elena Carrillo, Luis Guaragna, Sian Mandrake, Alec Worley, Tom Foster, Frank Tieri, Cat Staggs, Kealan Patrick Burke, Tom Mandrake, Jack Mandrake, Sean Sobczak, Conor Boyle, Sara Richard, Neo Edmund, Jason Felix, Amanda Deibert, David J. Schow, Andres Esparza, Jennie Wood, Richard P. Clark, Michael Moreci, Scott Hampton, Duane Swierczynski, Heather Vaughan, Trevor Denham, Ryan Winn, Tim Bradstreet, Nick Percival and Andy Price.

From the mind of John Carpenter, the man who brought you the classic horror film Halloween and all of the scares beyond, and the heart of writer, editor, and producer Sandy King, comes a whopping 14 brand new twisted tales of terror, tricks, and treats. In volume 8 of the award-winning graphic novel series, Carpenter and King bring together the best storytellers from movies, novels, and comics for another spine-tingling collection of stories that will haunt you. Each story is a standalone surprise that captures the essence of the best night of the year. We dare you to read it all the way to the end. If you get too scared, remember, it’s only a comic. It’s only a comic… or is it? Happy Halloween!

Release Date: October 5, 2022

PCS NOTES: This book is a staple for every Autumn. StormKing assembles a fantastic lineup of amazing creators and lets them play in the horror genre. This is the book you grab and settle in to read on a dark and stormy night this fall. 

Killchella #1
Scout Comics
Written by Mario Candelaria
Art by Serg Acuna
Cover Art by Sean Von Gorman

A group of friends drive up from Los Angeles to attend an ultra-trendy music festival in the Coachella Valley desert. They soon face a bloody night of terror when a reclusive pop star making her big return after five years recruits her most fanatical devotees to assist in a massive human sacrifice ritual.

Release Date: October 19, 2022

PCS NOTES: This book has been a long time coming and we are excited to get our hands on it. It is another example of the publishing schedule and calendar synching up perfectly.

Leonide the Vampyr: Miracle at the Crow’s Head #1
Dark Horse Comics
Written by Mike Mignola
Art by Rachel Aragno & Dave Stewart
Cover Art by Aragno

A small, coastal village is home to normal people living quiet and simple lives––until a shipwreck brings a small coffin and its smaller occupant into their midst. What begins as a miracle soon takes a turn toward the horrible in this ghostly tale from celebrated Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and artist extraordinaire Rachele Aragno (Mel the Chosen)!

The first issue of a new series of stories, Leonide the Vampyr is shiveringly spectacular.

Release Date: October 5, 2022

PCS NOTES: What Halloween season is complete with out a spooky story from Mike Mignola?

The Return of Chilling Adventures in Sorcery #1
Archie Comics
Written by Sina Grace, Eliot Rahal, & Casey Gilly
Art by Vincenzo Federici, Corin Howell, & Liana Kangas
Cover Art by Julius Ohta

Madam Satan escaped Hell a fugitive and hated woman by Satan and his thralls. She’s now principal of Baxter high and Hell has come to Earth. With each classroom acting as a portal to the different circles in Hell, Madam Satan must recruit similar tortured souls if she has any chance of survival… all leading up to a Madam Satan and her army vs. Satan and his in this highly-anticipated follow-up to last year’s hit Chilling Adventures in Sorcery!

Release Date: October 26, 2022

PCS NOTES: Archie Comics does not disappoint. This “Chilling” anthology has a great lineup of creators and we are excited to see what they have to share with us.

Comic Book Publishers are Celebrating Pride Month

Comic Book Publishers are Celebrating Pride Month

Posted on by Bob Harrison

As most people know June is Pride Month. It is a time to celebrate diversity and support all people who identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community. For the past couple of years, there has been a conscious effort by publishers to spotlight stories related to those who are part of the community. DC and Marvel are at it again, and it is nice to put those words together with a positive connotation.

DC Comics has a special anthology that is out this week called DC Pride #1, and it has an excellent line up of stories celebrating the identity diversity within it’s fictional universe. There are also some other books that are branded with it’s special Pride Logo. Those books are centered around characters who identify as LGBTQIA+.   There are several other initiatives that DC Comics is engaging in this month that include partnerships with LGBTQIA+ organizations such as The Trevor Project, Family Equality, Human Rights Campaign, Athlete Ally, Mermaids, and Inside Out, as well as themed merchandise and inclusive comics in their digital storefronts. They have detailed all their Pride Month activities on their website and have developed a Pride Hub for readers and viewers to more easily navigate the content they are searching for.

Marvel Comics also has a special Pride Month Anthology called Marvel Voices: Pride #1. It is an 84-page comic that will be released on June 22, 2022. It is a collection of stories focusing on characters that are part of the LGBTQIA+ community created by many creators who also identify that way. There are some amazing stories that we are interested in reading in this book. Continue reading “Comic Book Publishers are Celebrating Pride Month” →

Preview Reviews for the Week of 5/18/22: The Fox, I Hate This Place, and Shaolin Cowboy

Preview Reviews for the Week of 5/18/22: The Fox, I Hate This Place, and Shaolin Cowboy

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Welcome to the latest installment of Preview Reviews.

This week we have a three terrific books for you. The first is a one-shot called The Fox: Family Values #1 from Archie Comics, and the second is I Hate This Place #1 which is from Image Comics. Finally, there is Shaolin Cowboy: Cruel To Be Kin #1 from Dark Horse Comics.

You can find these books at your LCS or wherever you buy books on May 18, 2022.

Also the rest of the #NewNumberOnes for May are here.

The Fox: Family Values #1
Archie Comics
Written by Dean Haspiel, Vito Delsante, & Alex Toth
Art by Haspiel, Richard Ortiz, & Toth
Colors by Matt Herms
Letters by Jack Morelli
Cover Art by Haspiel

Original Solicitation:

Archie Comics is setting the stage for the return of everyone’s favorite “Freak Magnet” Paul Patton, Jr. in The Fox: Family Values #1. Coming to comic shops and digital retailers May 18, 2022, the new one-shot comic will follow the adventures of the Pattons, The Fox, She-Fox, and their son Ghost Fox, as they try to be the best hero family of Foxes they can be! Featuring all-new stories by writer/artist Dean Haspiel, writer Vito Delsante, artist Richard Ortiz, and colorist Matt Herms with veteran letter Jack Morelli, The Fox: Family Values #1 will also include a reprint of a classic The Fox story by Alex Toth, providing new readers with a perfect introduction to this family of iconic characters.

PCS Review:

This book is chock full of goodness. There are three stories in this thirty-four page book. Each of them are fun morsels of comic excellence. The first story, written and drawn by Dean Haspiel, is in the same vein as his previous endeavors with The Fox. Haspiel takes some metaphysical swings in the storytelling and delivers a dynamic story filled with heart that leaves us wanting more from this incarnation of the character.

The second story written by Vito Delsante with art from Richard Ortiz goes back to the wedding of The Fox and fits in very nicely with familial themes of the first story. Delsante and Ortiz do an excellent job of crafting an action packed tale with an emotion filled ending. Solid storytelling by the whole team on this one. Continue reading “Preview Reviews for the Week of 5/18/22: The Fox, I Hate This Place, and Shaolin Cowboy” →

New Number Ones: New Comics Series Coming in May 2022

New Number Ones: New Comics Series Coming in May 2022

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Welcome to May! We have compiled an alphabetical list with cover art and the official solicitation text from the publishers of some of the cool new comics that are coming out this month. Check below for our PCS NOTES to find out what we just have to tell you about the new comics in question.

This month we spotlight books from the usual suspects: DC Comics, Marvel Comics, AfterShock Comics, Image Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, Boom! Studios, IDW Publishing, Valiant Entertainment, Vault Comics, Comixology, Milestone Studios, Dark Horse Comics, and Archie Comics.

This month is front loaded with new comics. And you will find some special out of the ordinary books on the list below if you look closely enough.

We will bring you reviews of these debut issues as they come out, and don’t forget to use the comments section to let us know what you think of this list.

You will find the books listed below in the order of when they are released.

Week of 5/4/22
Week of 5/11/22
Week of 5/18/22
Week of 5/25/22

Week of May 4

Archer & Armstrong Forever #1
Valiant Entertainment
Written by Steve Foxe
Art by Marcio Fiorito
Cover Art by Bernard Chang

When Armstrong seemingly loses his immortality, Archer refuses to let his best buddy go gentle into that good night. But when you live for millennia, you rack up plenty of enemies who’ll be thrilled to find out you’re no longer indestructible. Archer & Armstrong’s globetrotting quest for (more) immortality begins here!

Release Date: May 4, 2022

PCS NOTES: We are certainly interested in the latest foray into this buddy series, and Steve Foxe has been cranking out a bunch of good books lately.

Avatar: Adapt or Die #1
Dark Horse Comics
Written by Corinna Bechko
Art by Beni Lobel & Wes Dzioba
Cover Art by Mark Molchan

Decades into the advent of the Avatar program on Pandora, pressure to bridge the divide between human and Na’vi has hit a peak. As an ally of the Omatikaya clan, Dr. Grace Augustine begins negotiations to open a school for Na’vi children, but her plans for peace, hope, and unity could trigger an unprecedented disaster—one afflicting the most vulnerable and protected of Na’vi.

Untold story starring popular Avatar heroine Grace Augustine!

Release Date: May 4, 2022

PCS NOTES: As the “Avatar 2” movie has been in the news lately, it seems like fortuitous timing for this new release.

Dogs of London #1
AfterShock Comics
Written by Peter Milligan
Art by Artecida
Cover Art by Andy Clarke

How deep must you bury a body to make sure it doesn’t haunt you?

Frank and Terry are about to find out. They were once members of The Dogs, a feared gang who ruled much of London’s underworld back in the swinging 60s. They thought they’d escaped their troubled pasts, but the past isn’t dead – it’s just bashed about a bit and very pissed off. Spanning different times and classes, DOGS OF LONDON is a brutal, bloody tale of violence, love, revenge…and sleeping dogs who refuse to roll over and play dead.

Written by Peter Milligan and brought to bloody life by Artecida, the Dogs have awoken, and they seek more than mere revenge

Release Date: May 4, 2022

PCS NOTES: If you have ever read anything from Peter Milligan, it is impossible to read this above solicitation and not be excited for this book.  Continue reading “New Number Ones: New Comics Series Coming in May 2022” →