Image Comics

Finally, we’re getting somewhere: Kyle and Reverend Anderson continue their aimless journey throughout town to discover what has happened to some of the Reverend’s past exorcism patients. The duo encounter Sherry, the girl who evaded them in the last issue and someone the Reverend thinks he hasn’t helped. During the encounter Kyle forces out whatever demon that was inside Sherry. At the end of the issue he finally understands that it is him, and only him that cause the demons to leave. Ironically they also derive their power from his proximity. How Kyle helps is still uncertain as is Sherry’s life.

So much seems to happen in No Mercy it’s surprising it isn’t filled with more pages than other books. At the same time the storyline is simple enough to really make the reader connect with the characters and want the moral ones to succeed. This issue is simple enough: Chad and Charlene are trying to escape from the coyotes while stranded in the bus. They’re aided by The Quiet Kid, who we learn is named Anthony and everyone’s favorite modern hippie, Travis.

Airboy, no matter how you slice it, it an utterly unique comic. When I first got ahold of it, I had no idea what I was getting into. The title sounded like some kind of fantasy adventure comic, Amy Reeder’s Rocket Girl for boys, maybe. If writer James Robinson (“The Starman Guy”) had played it straight, that might just be what we’d have ended up with. Instead, what we got was either an alarmingly frank portrait of Robinson bent on self destruction, a send up of self-serious autobiographical comics, or a speedball of both.

Sons of the Devil has the potential to be not only a great comic, but a great piece of literature. The story is relevant to the world we live in. It is real. It is gritty. Buccellato and Infante don’t pull any punches in depicting a real world that can often be more harsh than any of us want to realize. If the first issue of this series is anything like what is to come, Buccellato and Infante should each win an Eisner for this series for best writer and best artist. Sons of the Devil is that good.

Even if Jupiter’s Circle #3 doesn’t go into the overall conspiracy plot, Mark Millar and Wilfredo Torres demonstrate that married superheroes’ stories don’t have to be boring while developing the character of The Flare and April Kelly in a comic that has a nostalgic superhero aesthetic, but is really about people with actual problems that don’t involve supervillains or alien invasions.

As comic book readership becomes ever more aware of problems within popular media, it’s been harder and harder to find a book that isn’t problematic. Kelly Sue DeConnick’s ongoing independent book,Bitch Planet, is a gem in the slowly improving realm of comic books and geek culture.

2015 has been quite the eclectic year for comics, and this fact is reflected in our top ten list. Image Comics continues to be the true house of ideas with books ranging from a feminist twist on exploitation films to a murder mystery set in 1940s Hollywood and even a LGBTQ-friendly parody of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Even though they are in the middle of big events (Convergence and Secret Wars), DC and Marvel respectively still have room for offbeat takes on their iconic or not so iconic characters and are represented on this list along with Valiant, which has attracted a veritable Murderer’s Row of creator to shape and develop their shared universe.

Secret Identities #4 takes a break from the super heroics to focus on the interactions between team members, as well as the complexities of families, to emphasize the best-laid plans of mice and men and superheroes, can often go awry. Only time will tell if Vesuvius can move past Ciniza’s betray, and, more importantly, if Crosswind can get out of his sticky situation.

The first story arc of Wytches concludes an unexpectedly resonant note from the author. Although Scott Snyder has made no secret of just how personal this book has been to him, issue #6 conveyed the depth of Snyder’s attachment to the story. This is not like any horror comic you’ve read before.

“Science is a useful illusion for humanity, a balm for your bone-deep ignorance. It adequately describes your observable world in a manner which brings you comfort. An opiate for the masses, if you will.” So says Cassandra, a member of Mythic Lore Services, the organization central to the plot of Mythic #1. In short, science is a lie, what we know isn’t real, and the supernatural beings we were told are figments of our imaginations, are in fact,what makes the universe tick. Mythic Lore Services ensures that the supernatural ticking continues without interruption, so our world can continue to exist.

This week’s NonCompliant was unintentionally retro as we discuss the 80s indie superhero mixtape comic We Can Never Go Home, disco fabulous Wonder Woman ’77 from DC, and the time travel/sci-fi set in the 80s book Rocket Girl. We also chat about the first chapter of the Gail Simone penned Swords of Sorrow crossover featuring a variety of characters from different eras, including sword and sorcery, jungle adventure, and modern crime noir.

The team of Warren Ellis, Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire has struck again. Hopefully, they will stick together beyond their last brief, but brilliant six-issue arc on Moon Knight, as the early signs of Injection are very positive. The creative team has once again succeeded at planting the seeds of a very mysterious and intriguing premise. Hopefully once the seeds start blooming, some pretty unexpected floral arrangements will appear. With Warren Ellis scripting, there shouldn’t be any less an expectation.

The ongoing turmoil within the Rhodes families continues in Birthright #7. For the uninitiated, Birthright follows Mickey, a young boy whisked off to the fantastic realm of Terrenos, who arrives back on Earth a grown man while his home has only been missing him for a year. Things are not all they seem as Mickey claims to have slain the cruel ruler of Terrenos, the God King Lore, but in actually seems to be a puppet in the conquest of the human world. Breaking out of his confines, Mickey has taken his (technically) older brother in a mission to slay the four Terrenian wizards with the power to stop him whom are secretly living on Earth.

When all the dust settles from issue #1, No Mercy #2 picks up with the survivors from the bus crash trying to work together to fend off all possible threats. First there are a few members of the party who are badly injured or even dead. The dead bodies bring the biggest threat, coyotes.

After two issues of character introductions and a bit of backstory, Secret Identities # 3 gives readers what we’ve been waiting for, nefarious scheming.

In The Wicked + the Divine #10, Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie explore the fallout of Cassandra becoming the final Pantheon member while also giving readers their first glimpse of Ragnarock, which makes Coachella look like your set at the middle school talent show. Gillen, McKelvie, and colorist Matthew Wilson lay on the tragedy while also looking into the lighter, more wondrous side of godhood. This issue is a big turning point in Laura’s personal arc as she gets to reflect and act upon the fact that she’s left out of the Pantheon, and McKelvie does little things with her facial expressions and character acting to show her feelings towards the various gods and fans. These all happen while Gillen starts to wrap up the first arc’s murder mystery, reflect on the twisted, yet beautiful nature of fandom, and continue to show Baphomet’s turn towards the dark side.

Are you a fan of Beyond Belief from The Thrilling Adventure Hour? Or do you enjoy your horror stories with comedy? Readers with background with Beyond Belief the radio show will delight in the portrayal of Frank and Sadie Doyle, upper class spiritualists, especially with the radio show writers Acker and Blacker on the project. For new readers, the comic offers humor and fun. The drawbacks of Beyond Belief #1 are the plot coming from the first story.

It’s not easy to come back from failure. Revered Anderson is being haunted by his past mistakes and is trying to right his wrongs. Kyle is upset that Reverend Anderson thinks he may know what’s going on in this issue of Outcast. It’s easy to step into Kyle’s place and assume the Reverend is more of a hindrance than help. But once Reverend Anderson shows Kyle just how deeply he’s been cut the tone changes.

Kaptara #1
Written by Chip Zdarsky
Art by Kagan McLeod
Colors by Becka Kinzie
Published by Image Comics

Flying through an unknown asteroid belt seems almost common place for the crew aboard the Kanga in Chip Zdarsky’s first issue of Kaptara. Keith, a space traveling bio-engineer finds himself supposedly alone on an alien planet surrounded by strange beasts and fantastical people. Usually an outsider, Keith may have found himself a new home and is easily enjoying being the center of attention. Kaptara #1 brings us into a world of isolation and exploration.

Zdarsky puts together an intriguing crew from the all-varsity leading captain to the apathetic bio-engineering scientist who always needs to be saved. The story is an easy digestible. Zdarsky pulls from many sources to weave a science fiction tale that many will enjoy. It’s easy to hate most of what Keith does in this first issue but he’s given enough levity to become likeable. Getting lost but being saved and venerated is a dream for many and Keith lives the fantasy quite well.

The art by Kagan McLeod is futuristic and visionary. The scenery harkens back to 1970’s fantasy and science fiction. The people of Kaptara could easily grace a number of book covers to draw in readers. The amalgam of colors by Becka Kinzie isn’t readily seen on Earth and stand in contrast to what we expect to see in alien worlds. These colors easily bring Kaptara’s monsters and people to life.

The future of Kaptara should dive into the differences between man and alien and who will be willing to make a difference to help the natives against Skullthor. Keith seems like a guy who wants to be left alone and do his work alone; will he help? How is he going to cope with being transported to another place? Will he continue to go forward and piggy-back on those who are stronger than himself? He was saved by Captain Lance from the monsters of Kaptara and by Manton the head of Security for the Kaptaran queen. Armed with a steady mind Keith may be well placed to learn of the terrain and peoples of Kaptara. Zdarsky and crew have created an enjoyable read and hopefully the journey will lead to even greater heights.

This year, at East Coast Comicon, I got the chance to chat with writer Brandon Montclare (Fearsome Four) and artist Amy Reeder (Madame Xanadu) about their work, especially on their creator owned title Rocket Girl, which is published by Image Comics as well as sci-fi, action scenes, and much more. Rocket Girl is about a teen cop from the future named DaYoung Johansson, who travels back to 1980s New York to prevent an evil corporation from inventing technology to basically take over the world.

The Surface #2 Writer – Ales Kot Artist – Langdon Foss Colourist – Jordie Bellaire Letterer – Clayton Cowles Publisher – Image Comics There is this creeping feeling expressed as you make your way through The Surface #2, as if the creative team has somehow found a way to experience the surreal minus the substance abuse. …

The first issue of Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen’s Descender left a lot to be desired. Most jarringly was the similarity it bore to Lemire’s previous Sweet Tooth series, both books feature central characters that are a jaded man fallen from grace and a young naive boy whose very existence is a social taboo in the midst of a quasi-apocalyptic setting. That’s more than enough reason to raise a little concern, but fortunately this latest issue dismisses with them, telling a moving in-the-moment story despite some hang-ups from some of Lemire’s writing tropes.

Jupiter’s Circle #1 is a prequel to Mark Millar and Frank Quitely’s Jupiter’s Legacy, a superhero family saga with an epic sociopolitical scope. It shows what Utopian, Walter, and their friends in the Union were up to in the late-1950s during the time of Eisenhower, the early seasons of Mad Men, and the Silver Age of Comics when superheroes returned to prominence. Artist Wilfredo Torres captures the bright, cheery, and yes, cheesy feel of this era with the characters’ garish costumes, wacky gadgets, and the giant space squid (colored in an electric blue from Ive Svorcina) the team fights. However, writer Mark Millar goes beneath the lantern jawed faces, form-fitting tights, and fisticuffs to explore the heroes’ personalities. There are six members of Union, and there simply isn’t enough time to develop each character in a single issue, but Millar wisely spends most of his time focusing on Blue Bolt, a Starman-like superhero with a power rod, who happens to be a closeted gay man.