What would happen in a world without death? What if all the many injuries time and biology will inevitably visit on us were just… gone? That’s the question Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire tackle in A.D. After Death, possibly the most ambitious project for both of them.
Snyder handles the text while Lemire handles the art, and it’s fascinating to watch them work. After Death is a mix of illustrated prose and comics showing the long, long life of Jonah Cooke. Jonah’s a mess of a human being, with tragedy lurking in his past, and he’s tired of living forever. So he may finally have a plan to get around it, something the book explores both in the future, where Jonah is seemingly working on the fringes of a society, and in the past, where we learn just why he’s so screwed up. Even with two issues to go, a complex, sad portrait emerges of a man who was waiting to die, and may still be.
Lemire, meanwhile, focuses on the art, in his first fully-painted book. The art alone makes picking up this book worth is, as its some of Lemire’s most vivid, distinct work. It can be tricky to paint comics, as it can feel gimmicky, but Lemire’s discipline behind the brush makes the really showy moments pop out all the brighter and the result is a beautiful book.
After Death is a comic many readers will probably spend a lot of time this week chewing over. Snyder and Lemire ask some big questions by lingering on how big changes can have deeply personal effects, and the plight of Jonah Cooke may, for all we know, be more relevant sooner than we think.
Venom #1, Marvel
Every comics nerd has their pet peeve, and mine is “mirror” villains. You know, the bad guy who’s just the good guy, right down to the powers, without the morals. Especially in the ’90s, this led to some lazy, uncreative writing, and there was no better mascot for this than Venom. Venom was basically little more than a razor blade wrapped around an insecure macho jerk, he was everywhere, and he was annoying.
Over the years, though, Venom’s been made more interesting, and Venom: Space Knight was a delightful comic. That gives Mike Costa and Gerardo Sandoval some big shoes to fill, especially as we’re returning to ’90s-esque grimdarkness, and they actually pull it off by flipping the formula: It’s Venom the suit that’s the hero… attached to somebody who, it turns out, might just be the worst villain it’s ever encountered. Sandoval’s distorted, scratchy art really sets the tone, and Costa’s characterization gives the book a more complicated tone than Venom has generally enjoyed. It’s a welcome flip, and I’m looking forward to where it goes from here.
The Goddamned #5, Image Comics
Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera ask a fairly simple question: How terrible was Earth before the Flood that God decided drowning the whole thing was better than trying to save it? And how much of a monster did you have to be to survive that, even with the blessing of God himself? The result is a profane, bloody take on the Bible starring none other than Cain, the man who invented murder (although as he points out, he was made in God’s image, so who really invented it anyway?), as he tries to find a little decency in a terrible world and, well, let’s say Cain isn’t fated to a happy life.
It’s a dark book, but it asks some fairly honest questions about where history, which is pretty clear about how awful humans can be, and Biblical teachings overlap and collide. It’s also a fun action book, to boot, but one likely to leave you thoughtful about the past and what context might be left out of the stories we’re taught.
Vigilante: Southland #2, DC Comics
Gary Phillips and Elena Casagrande continue their update of DC’s conflicted crimefighter, and it’s a decent riff on superheroics. While all the tropes are there, Donny, our new Vigilante, is still green, and the book is beginning to use its modern Los Angeles setting in different, engaging ways, looking more and more like a riff on Chinatown. Casagrande’s skill with action and chase scenes in particular make this stand out, although Phillips also gives her a sight gag or two. In short, an engaging take on a classic superhero story.
The Ultimates 2 #1, Marvel
The Ultimates was one of Marvel’s more interesting recent books: A super team that was sort of a think-tank dedicated to solving galactic problems like Thanos before they became threats. Unfortunately, Civil War II derailed a lot of books, The Ultimates among them, and it seemed like an idea that was just going to slip by the wayside. Thankfully not, with Al Ewing and Travel Foreman behind the wheel, as the idea is revived with a few surprising twists. And also T’Challa doing one of the funniest Clark Kent routines you’ll ever read. It’s great to see this idea back, and even better to read it.
Harrow County #18, Dark Horse: Cullen Bunn’s literary horror story continues with Carla Speed McNeil handling the art, in an issue that lays bare some gut punches of twists explaining just how Emmy the sweet, kind girl can also be such a horrible, dangerous witch.
Batman: Detective Comics #945, DC Comics: What drives a hero to do good in a mask instead of just working at a soup kitchen? That’s an undercurrent this book’s team explores, and has some interesting ideas about.
Bloodshot USA #2, Valiant: Jeff Lemire and Doug Braithwaite deliver a brisk, compelling action book with an emotional throughline for those who’ve been sticking with the character since Lemire took over.
Dept. H #8, Dark Horse: Matt Kindt’s underwater thriller takes a few new twists and reveals the dark past of a major character.
Warlords Of Appalachia #2, BOOM! Studios: Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Jonas Scharf ask what would happen in a future in an America controlled by a tyrannical talk show host. Thankfully there are cyborgs and zombie drug addicts to keep it from feeling too real.
This Week’s Best Collections
Watchmen Noir, DC Comics (Hardcover, $40): Don’t be fooled; this isn’t a new Watchmen story, but the classic with just the inked line art. Still, that makes Dave Gibbons’ work all the more fascinating, and worth picking up for those who want to study how a comic is constructed.
Flash Gordon Dailies Vol. 2: City Of Ice, Titan Publishing (Hardcover, $50): Dan Barry’s take on Flash Gordon, and the general New York Slick style of comics, get a loving hardcover that let you really enjoy the textures and precision Barry put into his work.
Sachs And Violens, IDW Publishing (Softcover, $20): Peter David and George Perez’s hilarious mockery of “gritty” comics is back in print, and sadly so little has changed in the intervening 20 years that it still feels fresh.