Image Comics

I should have expected it–I mean, how could I not with the warning of “Steel yourselves for heartbreak. Which WIP with RIP?” on the cover?

Sons of the Devil #4 Written by Brian Buccellato Art by Toni Infante Published by Image Comics, Inc. One of the prominent themes in Sons of the Devil is family. From the interaction between Travis Crowe and his foster brother, Klay, in issue #1 to the genes shared by Travis and cult leader David throughout …

Imagine you’re thrown back to 1987. You are are teenager who hates school, grades sucking, jocks are out to get you and your friends, can’t focus in class. BUT, the jocks are the children of Joseph Stalin’s assassin, teachers are also killers just older and wiser, and the crush you have as a literal body count. Welcome to Kings Dominion School for the Deadly Arts, the most brutal high school on earth, where the world’s top crime families send the next generation of killers to train. At Kings Dominion School for the Deadly Arts, the backstabbing is literal and the pain can get you killed, which makes Deadly Class quite the exciting comic.

Through vivid, approachable art from Emi Lenox, naturalistic and cutting dialogue from Jeff Lemire, idyllic colors from Jordie Bellaire, and letters from Steve Wands, whose level of boldness matches the characters’ volume level, Plutona #1 welcomes readers into its suburbia with a pinch of superheroics world. And they’ll want to stay because there is probably a little bit of Diana, Teddy, Ray, and/or Mie in each of them.

Sean Murphy is teaming up with Rick Remender for the first time on a comic set to release on Sept. 16 called Tokyo Ghost. He is doing art he has been dying to do for some time.

Set to release on Sept. 2 from Image Comics is Jeff Lemire and Emi Lenox’s Plutona, a miniseries about a rag-tag group of five kids who bump into the dead body of a famous superhero.
“The book isn’t so much about the superhero as it is the kids who find her. It’s about how this discovery, and the decision they make, starts to affect their lives and their friendship,” said writer Lemire via email interview. “It’s a very grounded story told from these kids’ point of view.”

Many comic stores around the world have various signings from top creators encompassing small, indie or mainstream. Christian Ward used to frequent the Nostalgia and Comics store in Birmingham, UK during his university days. Under the aegis of Image Comics, Christian’s career as an artist has been on the rise over the past few years. Having worked on The Infinite Vacation with Nick Spencer (Morning Glories), he resigned from his job as a teacher to not only draw but also co write alongside Matt Fraction on ODY-C.

With its witty (and wee bit pretentious) conversations about musical trends, smart design and color choices from Jamie McKelvie and Matthew Wilson, and robust character work with Emily Aster, Phonogram #1 reads like if The Smiths weren’t utter drama queens and made another album after Strangeways, Here We Come. (The Smiths are my favorite band so this is a high compliment as far as music metaphors go.)

Kyle Barnes hasn’t been very forthcoming about why he and Allison got a divorce. In past issues Kyle says he hit Allison. In Outcast #11 Kyle says that Allison may have done something to spook their daughter Amber, but this is another mystery that Robert Kirkman is keeping wrapped. It’s these looks into the life of Kyle that are what’s most interesting and rewarding about Outcast. Sure, the ghostly aspects of the series are exciting, but the more human oriented horror about Kyle’s past is what keeps the series fresh. It would be easy for Outcast to tell the same exorcism story over and over again and get boring, but that’s not how this series works.

A comic artist with experience at DC Comics is writing and drawing his first original story, a new comic called AXCEND tackling heavy concepts flavored with video games for Image Comics, out on Oct. 7.

Mythic #3, like the previous issues in this series, is zany, action-packed, and whimsical. If this series in general had to be described in one word that word would be “fun.” And issue three is the most fun of all so far. If you enjoy reading about mythology or if you love fantasy fiction, or if you simply love an action-packed comic book that sheds the dead weight of typical comic book superheroes, Mythic is the series for you.

As of late, the duo of Jason Aaron and Jason Latour have diverged from the pattern of their first two arcs on Southern Bastards, which followed a respective character each, by doing single issues that provide new focus on specific characters while still keeping the ongoing story plodding along.

Sex Criminals #11 brings something old, something new, and definitely won’t leave long time Brimpers with comic book blue balls. Chip Zdarsky continues to be the master of visual innuendo and also gets to show off his sensitive side in some intimate moments (Read: sex scenes.) between the main characters while Fraction’s dialogue continues to be filthy and insightful as ever. And stay after the letters page for a special post-credits scene. (Wait, I thought Matt Fraction was done writing for Marvel.)

Sons of the Devil is unique. Buccellato’s plot explores an element of humanity seldom touched upon in literature: cults and the lives those cults have ruined. Infante’s art, which features expressive figures and a sort of surreal, sketch-like quality, perfectly matches Buccellato’s psychologically-fueled story. If you aren’t reading Sons of the Devil, you should be. You will not find a better story, or more engaging art, anywhere else in the comic world.

Ales Kot enters further into the realm of blending the real world with the supernatural, presenting Wolf as the sort of story that will bring in fans of John Constantine or the brilliant Fatale. The various, enigmatic characters are developed enough through the larger premier issue warranting a strong curiosity as to the direction that this creative team is going in.

The creative team of We Stand on Guard does a stellar job of introducing a premise that seems like it could be yet another false poke at Canada as a joke but it appears that the great white north is being approached with careful consideration. The Canadian easter eggs are abound with Tim Hortons and the CBC but there are some great sensible additions such as the French speaking character named Les LePage and even having a member of the freedom fighters question Amber when they first meet to validate her identity in the form of a hockey question. It just makes sense that a fellow Canadian would ask another who won the Stanley Cup in 2011 to make sure they are who they say they are. All in all, We Stand on Guard has a very promising start that can really dive deeper into the political conflict.

Ten issues in and Robert Kirkman throws a curveball: there are no physical demons in this issue of Outcast, rather it’s the emotional demons that cut the deepest. Kyle is still furious with Reverend Anderson after their meeting with Sherry. The main line of demarcation between the two is deftly explained, as Reverend Anderson believes she’s better off and Kyle believes the girl isn’t. Kyle is seen as a man without faith but who would blame him? Kyle knows that Sherry will forever live laying in a bed just like his mother.

After a truly horrible night in the last issue, the main players in No Mercy see their situation as it is: bleak. Sitting in the middle of nowhere with nothing (substantial) to eat and no water to drink puts them on edge. The mostly silent Kira goes on a tirade against Gina but Travis is there to help her through such an emotional event. He’s such a help that they decide to run into the wilderness by themselves. It’s almost too easy to write them off as coyote fodder. Hopefully they’ll reappear as their polarities make them some extremely entertaining characters.

While Mythic #1 introduced readers to a world where science is a lie and magic and myth are actually what make the universe tick, issue #2 sees a wrench thrown into the works, and the universe – or at least our part of it – thrown into chaos. Mythic #1, while being the set-up to the series and an introduction to the characters, was anything but boring; however, Mythic #2 is packed with action from beginning to end.

Material #2 is a non-traditional comic that transcends genre boundaries while mainly staying in the rhythm of a nine panel grid thanks to artist Will Tempest. It tells four separate stories and weaves them together thematically. The four plots feature a college professor struggling with the negative effects of capitalism on learning, a war veteran with PTSD, a young African-American man who was illegally detained after protesting police violence, and an actress trying to make a comeback with the help of a director, who is the modern incarnation of indie filmmaker John Cassavetes. At this point, the character’s plot threads are still far apart, but writer Ales Kot uses Soren Kierkegaard’s idea of the “leap of faith” to connect them together. As sort of sub-ideas, Kot also looks at family relationships and the function of art in a capitalist society.

Brandon Graham and Marian Churchland don’t want to make it easy. The solicitation copy that Image is using to sell 8House: Arclight #1 is way more clear on what is happening in this issue than the comic itself it. But don’t jump to the conclusion that it’s a bad thing. Graham and Churchland create a new reality of ladies as knights, magicians and mystery. It’s a reality that they want you to discover and characters that they want to you get to know. The story of Lady Kinga, a noble lady now trapped in the body of a robed creature, and her faithful knight and protector Arclight is about true worldbuilding where the creators take their time to reveal the characters and the story.

Starve #1 Written by Brian Wood Illustrated by Danijel Zezelj Coloured by Dave Stewart Lettering by Clayton Cowles and Steve Wands Starve stands fairly freely amongst other comics that have culinary as a part of their stories. Chew does have the food industry as a major component to its backdrop and the standalone graphic novel Get Jiro …

This is my overview of the Image Comics Spotlight panel. I get there a few minutes early to make sure I can hear everything and have a good line of sight to take pictures for potential announcements. While I wait for the panel to start, I look around the open ended theater to check the turnout for the panel. The first few rows are filled to capacity already, and people try and find seats where they can. The panel begins and our panelists for the day are Adam McGovern (Nightworld writer), Becky Cloonan (Southern Cross writer), Brandon Graham (8House: Arclight writer), Valentine De Landro (Bitch Planet artist), and Alex de Campi (No Mercy writer).