It’s the first New Comic Book Day of February, and we’re starting things off with talking animals in prison, complex geopolitical dramas, and, of course, guys in tights punching things. Here’s what made this week’s top 20 comic books!
1) Kennel Block Blues #1
Ryan Ferrier and Daniel Bayliss deliver what is undeniably a book with one of the strangest plot summaries of all time: A gritty anthropomorphic prison drama where the central character is a Sesame Street-obsessed Boston terrier who hallucinates musical numbers since he lacks the emotional capacity to deal with tough situations. To be frank, it might not work at all if it weren’t for Ferrier writing to the strengths of Bayliss, an artist who can juggle the ridiculous and the sublime in equal measure. As a result, you’ve got a crisp, funny, hilariously strange book that’s a must-read.
2) The Sheriff Of Babylon #3
Tom King and Mitch Gerads continue their Iraq-War crime thriller, and what’s most compelling about this is that as the book has progressed, the American protagonist has faded somewhat into the background and the Iraqi characters have come to the forefront. All of them are struggling to survive, and all of them, despite being forced to do horrible things, are sympathetic. King’s refusal to demonize anybody, even some legitimate criminals and monsters, gives this book a much richer and more enlightening feel than much of the fiction about the Iraq war, and it makes this book a must-read.
3) Giant Days #11
Pulling all-nighters is bad for your health, something we all know. But John Allison and Max Sarin demonstrate it rather dramatically in this issue. Sarin, in particular, pulls off some cleverly designed dream sequences in this book that really underline his skills, and once again this college comedy reminds us it’s one of the funniest books on the stands.
4) Vision #4
Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta continue their suburban noir starring the Vision and his built “family.” The book has some much needed dry humor this issue, starting with the opening, which hilariously subverts a classic comic strip gag while simultaneously setting up the much darker end to this issue. King pays off some plot twists in some unexpected ways, while Walta really enjoys putting the various Vision family members into normal situations and letting the absurdity speak for itself. One of the freshest, smartest books Marvel is putting out right now, and if you’re not reading, you’re missing out.
5) Unfollow #4
I confess, I went into this issue of Rob Williams and Michael Dowling’s social media-tinged thriller with some trepidation. It seemed that the book was about to collapse into another version of Battle Royale or The Most Dangerous Game. Instead, Williams’ smart twist is that most of his 139 lucky “winners” of a vast fortune are perfectly content with millions instead of billions, and if there’s going to be murder, it’s not going to be through brutal, violent free-for-all but through moral and intellectual failings. Also, the book’s oddball tendencies, like the fact that a character who’s more or less Yukio Mishima if Mishima could ever accept he was gay is not a gimmick but a central character who’s most annoyed that the billionaire staging all this is ripping off one of his books, gives it a clever tinge that Dowling’s art only emphasizes. It’s like nothing else on the stands, and a welcome take on a thriller trope.
6) Velvet #13
Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting continue their brilliant reinvention of the superspy genre with a clever twist that brings Velvet’s theatrics much closer to reality. There isn’t a more thrilling, or better-drawn, action book on the stands, and Velvet is a must read.
7) Survivor’s Club #5
This thriller from Lauren Bewkes and Ryan Kelly is improving issue by issue. After a genuinely creepy origin story last issue, this one really delivers on its conceit of the survivors of various kinds of slasher movies and urban legends coming together to fight evil. It’s a bit like The Monster Squad, but with more emotional problems and weirdness. It’s a hell of a fun read.
8) Howard The Duck #4
Howard is now a cosmic power, and boy is it getting on his nerves. Chip Zdarsky and Joe Quinones have given this book a lot of heart to go with its dyspeptic humor, and this issue shows that in spades, as everybody from Galactus’ unwanted crush to the ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing gets a funny moment or a wonderful character bit to define themselves by. Plus, Howard steals the Surfer’s powers, and there’s just something inherently hilarious about a Silver Howard.
9) Seduction Of The Innocent #3
Jennings, our FBI agent hero of sorts, has stumbled onto a much deeper mess. But what makes Ande Parks’ script so compelling is that Jennings is a mess we can understand: Scared for his unborn child, yearning for justice, but not sure how that comes together. Esteve Polls’ art is a little rough, but overall, this is an excellent character-focused noir.
10) Klaus #3
Grant Morrison and Dan Mora continue their look at the origins of Santa Claus. You know, the rebellious bad-ass fighting ancient demons hiding in a coal mine? No? Okay, so he takes liberties, but it’s a hoot of a fantasy book and surprisingly clever in how it ties together so much folklore.
11) Saints #5
Sean Lewis and Benjamin Mackey continue their surprisingly complex mashup of Catholicism and teenage outcast superheroics. A nice touch here is that our reincarnations of the various saints are not filled with holy righteousness; they’re uncertain, struggling with personal problems, and terrified beyond all belief. Faith isn’t an easy thing for any of them, no matter how much they’ve seen. Lewis weaves in Catholic belief and history with a careful sensitivity supported by Mackey’s stylistic choices that evoke woodcuts and iconography in equal measure. There are a lot of books exploring religion on the stands, but few dealing with the difficulties of faith, and this is one of them.
12) Johnny Red #4
Garth Ennis and Keith Burns deliver a war comic with some real teeth to it. Burns’ scratchy, harsh art really works here; you can feel the intense cold and difficult emotional condition Johnny and his team struggle with, and there’s an opening dream sequence in particular that Burns handles with aplomb. If you’re a fan of war comics, it’s a must read.
13) Mirror #1
Emma Rios and Hwei Lim deliver an interesting take on a magical world of talking animals, where a sharp, clear divide between humans and human-like animals means the latter are slaves and soldiers, and the former are sometimes unwilling masters. The book is an art-first endeavor, with gorgeous watercolors and angular inking, but the story is interesting if a little dense at first.
14) Mystery Girl #3
Paul Tobin’s oddball mystery/superhero book improves substantially in a few ways here, not the least of which is that the quirkiness fades into the background as the plot comes into focus. Also, our heroine has a few weaknesses that make sense while not ruining the central mystery of just who she might actually be. It’s all supported with some wonderful art by Alberto Albuquerque, and thus a must-read for mystery fans.
15) Bob’s Burgers #8
Really, you should buy this just for the extended parody of The X-Files which is at once enormously affectionate and at the same time gives the show a ribbing it richly deserves. This book is a perfect evocation of the show on the cover, and that’s a rare, and funny, thing.
16) Midnighter #9
Midnighter goes up against the Suicide Squad and, uh, well, suffice to say it’s a bit more complicated than just beating people up. Steve Orlando has been exploring Midnighter’s human side, which is often what makes this book great. Midnighter may be kind of a dick, but he’s earned his brusque nature and unfriendly side, and this book is as much about his personality as it is about the punching. But don’t worry! There’s plenty of punching!
17) X-O Manowar #44
Robert Venditti is tackling some cutting edge topics with his work here: Ethnic tensions, immigration, racism, radicalization, all of it in an intelligent, sprawling story of diplomacy, interstellar politics, and, of course, stuff blowing up. Robert Gill’s clean art is more about carrying out the scrip than augmenting it, but there’s something to be said for clean, precise art, and it’s a great, surprisingly thoughtful take on an alien “invasion.”
18) Scarlet Witch #3
Steve Dillon takes over the art chores for an issue as James Robinson takes the Scarlet Witch to the Emerald Isle. It does not go well for either of them, unsurprisingly, but Robinson is mercifully light on the blarney and high on the mystical action, and keeps the consequences of magic, and Wanda’s willingness to accept them, in the foreground. Wanda is finally getting her due in this book.
19) Joe Golem: Occult Detective #4
Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden continue their story of a hard-bitten PI in an alternate reality New York where floods killed millions and the city sits half-above the surface of the water. Patric Reynolds is the real star here, though, as his moody, noir-esque art sets the tone and gives the book a unique look. If you’re a pulp horror fan, it doesn’t get better than this.
20) Spider-Man #1
This is, more or less, a classic Spidey book in the sense that Miles Morales has too much weight on his shoulders and he struggles to make everyone happen. Brian Michael Bendis wisely tweaks the formula just enough, though, to show how Miles is different from Peter in the details, even if the struggles are the same. Plus, Bendis, who frankly doesn’t stretch his comedy muscles nearly often enough, has a truly hilarious sequence toward the end that shows sometimes it’s tough having Peter Parker as your mentor.