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YEAR IN REVIEW: Best New Comics of 2020

YEAR IN REVIEW: Best New Comics of 2020

Posted on by Bob Harrison

We have made it to the end of 2020. Congratulations, it has not been an easy task. While I doubt many can say that it was a great year in general, there were some seriously good comic related things that happened.

The world has struggled with the catastrophic economic and health related consequences of pandemic not seen in a century. Despite that and a nearly two month pause in comic book distribution, the industry has survived and moved forward. When preparing for this column, I was looking for new books that came out in late spring and had forgotten that there were no new books in April and May. This year has felt like it has taken forever to get through.

In the year of almost no comic conventions, and massive layoffs and shakeups at major publishers, there managed to be some amazing comics produced. The big two delivered a couple of line wide crossover events, and the independent publishers continued to cultivate quality storytelling in a wide variety of genres.

The list you will find below is a selection of some of the best new series that I read this year. Some are limited series and some are new ongoing titles. This list is by no means exclusive of all the good comic books of the year. It is the books that I read and liked a lot.

In a normal year, I would have read more, but this year hit all of us in unexpected ways. You will find excellent story telling and art in books below. As always, we encourage you to find what you like and support it.

The list below is in alphabetical order. I added some notes to let you know why each book is on the list. Let us know what you think.

Alienated
Boom! Studios
Written by Simon Spurrier
Art by Chris Wildgoose
Colors by Andre May
Letters by Jim Campbell

Issue #1 released 2/12/20

PCS Notes: We were instantly smitten with this expertly crafted series. The technical maneuvers that were implemented to tell this cohesive story from multiple perspectives are fantastic.

Billionaire Island
Ahoy Comics
Written by Mark Russell
Art by Steve Pugh
Colors by Chris Chuckry
Letters by Rob Steen

Issue #1 Released 3/4/20

PCS Notes: Mark Russell is a master of satire in comic form, and with Steve Pugh they lampoon the capitalist economic structure of the elites with an entertaining front story. Continue reading “YEAR IN REVIEW: Best New Comics of 2020” →

Everything We Read This Week – 6/17/20

Everything We Read This Week – 6/17/20

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Welcome back to Everything We Read This Week. It’s been a long time. Too long. This is the place that we make our weekly trip through this week’s pull-list. It features mostly spoiler-free brief analysis and commentary of each book.

This week we read a bunch great comics.  We encourage you to go out (or order in) and find the comics you like, and remember, Read More Comics!!

We reviewed books from DC Comics, IDW Publishing, AWA/ Upshot Studios, Albatross Funnybooks, AfterShock Comics, Boom! Studios, and Image Comics this week. There were plenty more good books out there this week but this list is all we have gotten through so far.

As always, we hope you might find what we say interesting enough to try some of these comics. Don’t forget we welcome comments on these and any other comics that you read. Feel free to leave a comment and get the conversation moving.

And here are the books we read in alphabetical order:

Continue reading “Everything We Read This Week – 6/17/20” →

Preview Reviews of the New AWA Upshot Comics: Resistance, Archangel 8, Hotell, and Red Border

Preview Reviews of the New AWA Upshot Comics: Resistance, Archangel 8, Hotell, and Red Border

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Artists Writers & Artisans (AWA) is a new comic publishing company that we told you about a few weeks ago. This week they are launching their Upshot line of comics.

We have read the first four books, and I have to say they are really good. Below you will find the the solicitations and reviews for Archangel 8 #1, Hotell #1, Red Border #1, and Resistance #1.

All of these books will be available at you LCS on Wednesday March 18, 2020,

 

Archangel 8 #1
AWA Upshot
Written by: Michael Moreci
Art by: C.P. Smith
Colors by: Snakebite Cortez
Letters by: Sal Cipriano
Cover Art by: Jeff Dekal

Original Solicitation:

In a world beyond the sight of mortals, Heaven and Hell wage war for the souls of man­kind. Principal among God’s legion are seven archangels written about in religious texts for millennia. But there is an eighth archangel, known only from passing allusions in Apocrypha, who operates under a different code. Fighting without God’s sanction, he faces the enemy on his own terms, and shows just how bad good can be.

PCS Review:

This book has a heavy tone with a lot of shadow work. It is full of violence and mystery. The initial issue presents an interesting premise and is certainly dramatic. Michael Moreci has created a ominous story that appears to be brining biblical conflict to a modern special ops military conflict. The plot is intriguing, and C.P. Smith‘s art is powerful. The color palette used by Snakebite Cortez is excellently designed. The limited colors enhance the foreboding feeling throughout the book. Great start Continue reading “Preview Reviews of the New AWA Upshot Comics: Resistance, Archangel 8, Hotell, and Red Border” →