John Arcudi is one of the underappreciated greats of comic book writing, even with The Mask, The Creep, Rumble, Doom Patrol, and others are under his belt. And while it’s early, Dead Inside (Dark Horse) looks like one to add to the list.
Arcudi’s setting and perspective, namely prison as told through the eyes of Detective Caruso, Jail Crimes Division is part of what makes the book work. Jail crimes is a rarely discussed branch of law enforcement, in part because it’s boring: Crimes committed in jails have limited numbers of suspects and motives, after all. It works, in part, because of Arcudi’s ability to capture the daily life of interesting people working hard, dull jobs; Caruso banters with her work friends, asks after old colleagues, pulls in favors, and fights bureaucracy. But it’s all woven around a fascinating plot: How could a tiny prisoner, and one out in a few months, to boot, violently murder a man twice his size? And then why would he then commit suicide?
Toni Fejzula tackles art, and does an excellent job avoiding the usual cliches amid panoramas of gore. Prisons can be dull places, but Fejzula finds the drama. Colorist Andre May pitches in with a diverse, complex palette that helps drive the drama and creates a vivid atmosphere. In short, this promises to be a great series, and a great way to close out 2016.
Slam #2, BOOM! Studios
Pamela Ribon and Veronica Fish continue their story of two women becoming friends with a shared love of roller derby. What’s refreshing about this book is that the friendships and rivalries that unfold avoid cliches, while exploring why a contact sport you have to volunteer for can become so central to everyone’s life. There’s enough real life and relatable problems injected here that it’s a comic book about people that happen to play roller derby, not a comic book about roller derby.
Ether #2, Dark Horse
Matt Kindt and David Rubin follow up a strong first issue with an even better second. Kindt’s script is about two mysteries: One, who killed the protector of a fantasy realm (which may or may not exist outside protagonist’s Boone Dias’ imagination, something Kindt hints around) with a literal magic bullet, and two, why Boone Dias, supposedly a rational scientist, lives homeless on the streets of Venice. Kindt smartly knows the latter is much more compelling than the former, and is slowly filling in the blanks. Rubin, meanwhile, creates a rich fantasy world filled with detail that never feels over-designed or indulgent, and is beautiful on the page.
Star-Lord #1, Marvel
Star-Lord is stuck on Earth, a planet he never goes to, and for various reasons the Guardians aren’t talking to him. So he does what every Marvel Universe hero does in that situation: Get drunk and call his ex. Chip Zdarsky and Kris Ana have a lot of fun sticking Peter Quill in mundane situations he just can’t handle, whether it’s bumping into his ex-fianceé or trying to make a friend. Zdarsky’s dense, human comedy pairs well with Ana’s stylish art; watching Howard the Duck rage at Star-Lord alone is worth the price of admission with Ana drawing it.
Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye #3, DC Comics
Gerard Way, Jon Rivera and Michael Avon Oeming are having a lot of fun reinventing this minor DC character. Oeming, always a fan of monsters, gets to draw a bunch of them, and Way and Rivera have a string of action scenes for Oeming to draw that are a heck of a lot of fun. Oeming’s imagination of a burrowing vehicle fighting a dragon stands out. But the focus on the human element, as Cave is forced to admit he lied to his daughter, and she doesn’t take it well, is what makes the book stand out in the end.
Klaus And The Witch Of Winter, BOOM! Studios: Grant Morrison and Dan Mora bring back their badass Santa just in time for the holiday. The book also ties Frozen to ancient myth, because this is a Grant Morrison comic.
Harbinger Renegades #2, Valiant: Watching this team try to reconcile their seemingly heroic actions with the fallout they caused is an impressive take of “real” superheroes.
Justice League Vs. Suicide Squad #1, DC Comics: Unlike most superhero fights, Joshua Williamson and Jason Fabok actually have a credible reason for this one. Although, come on, we know who’s winning this one.
Gamora #1, Marvel: Really the appeal of this book is watching Thanos be the single worst father in the Marvel Universe. And considering we’re including Reed “Put His Own Child In A Coma” Richards as a contender, that’s saying something.
Green Hornet: Reign Of The Demon #1, Dynamite: The Green Hornet, a hero pretending to be a vicious gangster, has a problem: There’s now a masked man who really is a vicious gangster.
This Week’s Best Collections
Essential Kurtzman Volume 2 – Trump Complete Collection, Dark Horse (Hardcover, $30): Harvey Kurtzmann, a giant of comics, ditched ad to launch a glossy, expensive humor magazine with Hugh Hefner in 1957. And it was an unmitigated disaster that died before it could put out more than two issues. It’s not hard to see why this tanked, when you read it, but it is an undeniably fascinating look at a strange moment in comics history, anchored with some excellent scholarship by Denis Kitchen.
Elephantmen Mammoth Vol. 2, Image Comics (Hardcover, $35): Richard Starkings’ musing on a future where animal/human hybrids are a barely accepted part of society can be tough to get caught up on, so these hardcovers are a blessing.
Giant-Size Little Marvel, Marvel (Softcover, $17): Skottie Young imagines the Marvel Universe as a bunch of superpowered toddlers in stories that are both absurdly cute and ridiculously funny.