Spinner Picks for 11/05/2014
Weekly Spinner Picks is all about the hot comics of the week and getting to know the tastes of the writers at Comics: The Gathering. Each week the CTG contributors spotlight which comics they are most looking forward to on Wednesday and how those picks got to the top of their to-read piles. Let us know if you agree or not with our picks and most importantly don’t forget to add your list!Lots of Image picks this week! Here we go...
Birthright #2: Writer Joshua Williamson and artist Andrei Bressan delivered a fantastic first issue last month and I’ve been anticipating the next chapter eagerly ever since! This issue the line between fantasy and delusion becomes a little more blurred as the Rhodes family looks for answer. If this issue is as strong as the first, Image will have yet another great series on its hands.
Humans #1: Brought to us by the good folks at Image comics this one is written by Keenan Keller and drawn by Tom Neely. The story follows an ape biker gang called the Humans set in a 70s exploitation genre environment. Bikers, apes, 70s....count me in!
Tooth & Claw #1: I believe this is the first time writer Kurt Busiek has done a title for Image Comics. Joining him on pencils is newcomer Ben Dewey. The tag line for this series is Conan meets Game of Thrones meets Kamandi. Sounds good to me as does the $2.99 price tag for 48 pages of stories! Not only is this first issue double-sized but it’s also ad free.
Men of Wrath #2: My only non-Image title on my list this week is writer Jason Aaron’s Men of Wrath brought to us by the Marvel imprint Icon. This issue digs deeper into the Rath’s family bloody history. The issue is again drawn by Ron Garney.
First up is Kurt Busiek's newest, Tooth and Claw. It's some sort of fantasy/barbarian series with anthropomorphic animals, or as Image's website call it "Conan meets Game of Thrones meets Kamandi." If you were a fan of Busiek's Conan, this is the book for you. The first issue is even a double sized affair for a regular three dollars. What a steal!
If you like your animals a little more modern, there's another new #1 at Image about a biker gang made up of monkeys. The Humans, by Keenan Marshall Keller and Tom Neely. I don't know much about this, but I do know it's about biker monkeys, and that's all the sales pitch I require.
I guess animals running around acting like humans isn't for everybody, so fine, here's a book about an animal just being a normal animal. Kinski, Gabriel Hardman's six issue miniseries about a salesman trying to save a dog from neglectful owners is collected and released in a nice softcover this week, also from Image.
And if you can't stand animals in the slightest, Dark Horse's new The Ghost Fleet, by Donny Cates and Daniel Warren Johnson, might whet your appetite. It's about super-truckers who only transport the most dangerous of cargo. The story looks absurd and the art looks amazing. D. W. Johnson draws cars and trucks like nobody's business.
Humans #1: A primate motorcycle gang? Sure, why not! How can someone say no to the chains, sex, leather, denim, hair, blood, bananas and chrome that this book is promising?
Tooth & Claw #1: These wizards, for reasons unknown except to come to the world’s aid, bring a champion through time itself. The art is done by Dewey, so we can expect some really amazing tones and colors. It’s written by Busiek and between those two heavy weights, I know this one’s gonna be worth picking up.
Mine is almost entirely Big Two this week.
- Action Comics #36: After the somewhat bloated, Doomed crossover event we finally get to go back to good ol' Action Comics. Pak and Kuder's work has really shined outside of Doomed (just didn't stack up), so I'm excited to see where they go next.
- The Amazing Spider-Man #9: Spider-Verse begins here! Or so the taglines say...Honestly the event has already been going on since August (to much of my own acclaim). I've been really enjoying it, but I hope that Superior steps back into the spotlight as he's been sadly absent since his last issue in the event.
- Axis #4: After two ho-hum issues, the last issue knocked it out of the park setting up what we really are here to see: the inversions! I can't wait to see how everything plays out, although I'm more invested since I've been following this story throughout Uncanny Avengers.
- Swamp Thing #36: I LOVE Charles Soule run. It's one of those sly pleasures in my stack every month that I somehow forget about, but after every issue I'm totally enthralled. Last month saw Soule's final arc start, so it's going to be sad to see him go. Not to mention the art is BEAUTIFUL.
- Transformers Vs. G.I. Joe #4: Last but not least, a sleeper hit for me. I never expected to enjoy this book as I don't have a huge connection to either Transformers or G.I. Joe, but damn if this book isn't great. I was initially attracted to the intentional run-down cheap drawing style, and it is consistently inventive and fun. It's also probably the third funniest book out right now behind Superior Foes and Rat Queens.
Ghost Fleet: A Dark Horse series about a group of professional truckers who carry highly sensitive and important equipment until one of them looks inside and sees something he shouldn't. I'm not a car guy but I think this sounds fun.
Humans: A new image series about a motorcycle gang of apes. Plant of the Sons of Anarchy? Yes please.
Spread #4: The Image comic I love to hate. I keep telling myself every issue I read will be the last one but then I'm still interested in where it's going so here I am again.
Tooth and Claw: Another new Image series. Magical animal warriors? I think? I'm in.
Greg Pak has done a great job on Action Comics in spite of the weak second arc. This third arc started with a very quiet yet amazing issue. I’m hoping we return to the weird and awesome roots of this series’ first arc in this issue!
Men of Wrath #2
Although not as good as Jason Aaron’s phenomenal masterpiece Southern Bastards, Men of Wrath had a pretty solid debut issue. Aaron is an amazing story teller and he seems at home in this series which always makes the comic better. Garney draws some pretty great dark art, so there’s no reason to doubt that this issue is going to be great!
Tooth & Claw #1
I don’t know anything about this book. I’ve never read anything by Busiek. However, Image sold me on this title with their “Game of Thrones meets Kamandi” description. I don’t know what Kamandi is but A Song of Ice and Fire is my favourite book series! I know Busiek has written some pretty great comics so I’m hoping I'll enjoy this one.