August is almost upon us, and boy are we excited for a new round of comics heading to the store next month. Sloane and Nick have picked some of their favorites, so take a minute and have a look. We bet you'll find a new book to pique your interests!
Reviews and Recommendations
As always, please enjoy some new comic recommendations courtesy of Team Phoenix featuring new comic titles from DC, Image, and IDW! This month's reviews and recommendations are brought to you by Sloane, Selena and Nick. Have a look at what fine comical books are due out this month, and if you do happen to see something you want to add, head over to our Subscription Update Form and ask away!
The Cull #1
Image Comics
By Kelly Thompson (writer) and Mattia De Iulis (artist)
Five teenagers set out to record a short film on a forbidden island near their home, during the summer before they all go off their separate ways after high school. But secretly, one of them is luring the rest there for nefarious purposes. When they arrive, they find themselves in another world, filled with indescribable eldritch creatures. Days pass, but when they return home, years have gone by.
There are a lot of horror comics coming out these days, and in such a crowded field it’s hard to really stand out. The plot of The Cull feels reminiscent of something like Super 8, the exact kind of throwback horror that’s been popular since Stranger Things and fueled the popularity of comics such as Something is Killing the Children. But what makes this book stand out as special amongst a field of similar seeming competitors is the powerhouse creative team. Writer Kelly Thompson has teamed up with Mattia De Iulis, getting the band back together from when they were both doing Jessica Jones. The monster designs are fantastic, and Thompson’s proved that her chops extend to her original properties as well with last year’s Black Cloak. Horror comics are a dime a dozen these days, but my money’s on The Cull to be the standout read this summer.
– Sloane
Kaptara: Universal Truths #1 (of 6)
Image Comics
By Chip Zdarsky (writer) and Kagan McLeod (artist)
Wow. I thought for sure that we would never see this book come back. For those of you just joining us, Kaptara was a delightfully weird and horny sci-fi / fantasy book that ran for 5 issues back in 2014-2015. The original series followed protagonist Keith Kanga as he crash lands on the planet for which the series draws its name. What follows is a bizarre journey across an alien landscape that features cat-tanks and naked wizards and is definitely a through-a-lens-weirdly take on some 80’s TV shows (Masters of the Universe and Thundercats, but gayer and with 1000% more curse words). I remember Kaptara fondly as being funny but sadly not popular enough to get a second arc.
Apparently I’m wrong! Chip and artist Kagan Mcleod are back with a new six issue mini that’s definitely gonna get a little meta (I believe I spotted what looks like barbarian Garfield pajamas in one of the preview panels). Anyways, it looks like a lot of fun, and I’m psyched to see a series I thought lost to history come back for another round of weirdness.
- Nick
Mech Cadets #1 (of 6)
Boom Studios
By Greg Pak (writer) and Takeshi Miyazawa (artist)
Coming soon to a Netflix near you - Mech Cadets is the sequel to Mech Cadet Yu, a three volume series by the same creative team. Formed to protect the Earth from alien invasions, the Sky Corps Academy helps promising young students pair and bond with giant sentient robots (whom they will in turn help to pilot). Stanford Yu is not one of those students, but that doesn’t stop him from forming a bond with another robot somewhat accidentally and being pulled into the program as a result. Fast forward about three volumes, and we see Stanford and his classmates as the first line of defense against aliens known as The Sharg.
This series looks fun, and if you’re a fan of kaiju action, the Iron Giant, or similar types of movies, this book’s probably for you. And bonus - it’s about to become a cartoon on Netflix. So swing by and pick up copies of the original series and give it a try. Greg Pak never fails to impress.
- Nick
Immortal Thor
Marvel Comics
By Al Ewing (writer) and Martin Coccolo (artist)
C’mon, if you saw a Marvel previews this month you knew I was gonna write about this. It’s Al Ewing. He’s using Immortal in a title again. The last time he did this we got crazy weird body-occult-horror Hulk in one of the most critically acclaimed books of the last five years. To say my expectations are high would be an understatement. Al Ewing is one of those writers who really just gets characters. He gets their back story, he gets their continuity, and he really gets their voice. His work on X-Men Red and S.W.O.R.D. before that have been phenomenal, and I maintain that his Avengers titles during Jonathan Hickman’s tenure on the main book stand out as sleeper hits you absolutely need to hunt down and find.
So yeah, I expect good story, good characters, and something new and innovative. Also speaking of Jonathan Hickman - there’s a bonus page in there that refers to some new project he’s working on called G.O.D.S. I don’t know what that is, but a recent interview he did over on the Cerebro podcast really piqued my interest.
- Nick
Plot Holes
Massive Publishing
By Sean Gordon Murphy (writer and artist)
I really enjoy a good meta style comic, and this book looks like it’s gonna sate that desire. Plot Holes follows a cadre of fictional characters who jump from unfinished book to unfinished book in an effort to sew up plot holes and get those books published. It’s just the sort of idea that ten year old Nick definitely thought about on bus rides home from school. The preview pages included with the ads for this book definitively sold me on the writing, the concept, and the art. I think it's gonna be a fun ride.
- Nick
Crossover Alert: Contest of Chaos
Spilling out of the pages of June’s Scarlet Witch annual, Contest of Chaos is a tale told across 4 annuals this month. So if you’re a Scarlet Witch reader, consider putting yourself down for the following four annuals:
- Spider-Man
- Iron Man
- Fantastic Four
- Moon Knight
Each one features a pair of heroes paired up against one another. Spider-Man vs Wolverine. Iron Man vs Storm. Johnny Storm vs Johnny Blaze (Ghost Rider). And Moon Knight vs Taegukgi to finish things up.
Crossover Alert: Fall of X
Okay X-Folks. It’s happening. Kicked off during July’s Hellfire Gala, the Fall of X threatens to upend the status quo for the nation of Krakoa in not a great way. Things are going down, and lots of them. Chronicling this event is going to add one new ongoing and six new mini-series to the line (which is a _lot_ holy crap). And they all start in August.
- Uncanny Avengers (Ongoing)
- Dark X-Men (5 issue mini)
- Astonishing Iceman (5 issue mini)
- Children of the Vault (4 issue mini)
- Alpha Flight (5 issue mini)
- Jean Grey (4 issue mini)
- Realm of X (4 issue mini)
- One Shot: Invincible Iron-Man #9
For what it’s worth, it looks like in addition to this line-up, we’re just keeping X-Men, X-Men Red, X-Force, and Immortal X-Men on the existing line-up, which should free you up to try one or two of these too. Personally, I’m interested in Uncanny Avengers (it’s predecessor was pretty great) and Dark X-Men (Maddy Pryor leading a team?!?!), but I’m definitely gonna check out the rest and see what catches my eye.
Trade Paperbacks & Original Graphic Novels
This month we've just got a couple of fun little extras for you courtesy of Nick and Sloane. If you need a bit of silly nonsense in your August or maybe some queer horror vibes without picking up a new series, why not check out these reviews?
G’Nort’s Illustrated Swimsuit Edition #1
DC Comics
Okay, I’m dating myself here, but when I was younger lots of publishers would use any excuse they could to make a swimsuit edition. These books were light on anything resembling a plot and were more there for pin-ups (mostly of the female cast) and some real poor anatomy and poses than anything else. Here, DC seems to be hanging a bit of a lampshade on things (and thankfully reversing the gender priority…at least according to their ad-copy). So yeah, I think this’ll be pretty fun, and silly. I mean - Flash in a speed force speedo. Yup, that’s the kind of high-brow wit you can expect.
- Nick
The Hills of Estrella Roja
Clarion Books (Harper Collins)
By Ashley Robin Franklin
Up until now, everything Ashley Robin Franklin has drawn has been too darn short. Fruiting Bodies last year clocked in at measly 48 pages, and don’t get me wrong, it was great, the perfect level of queer and spooky, but it felt like it had barely begun before it just... Stopped. Same with her mini-comic Fairy Circles in last year’s Good Boy #2, its ideas didn’t really have any space to grow and breathe. So it’s exciting to see her really flex her muscles for her first full-length queer horror comic in The Hills of Estrella Roja.
When college freshman and host of popular podcast Paranormal Texas Kat Fields receives a mysterious email urging her to look into the paranormal sightings and “devil lights” haunting the small town of Estrella Roja, she can’t help but ditch her spring break plans and head for the sleepy little town to investigate. While there she meets Marisol Castillo, there to attend her abuela’s funeral. Together the two grow closer not only to unraveling the mystery behind the town’s mysterious phenomena, but also to each other. (They get closer romantically. Just to be clear. This book is going to be very cutesy and gay is what I’m saying.)
– Sloane
And that's it for our August Comics Look Ahead! Give us just a couple of weeks and we should be back with more comics coming along this September. Until then, if you have any changes you'd like to make to our subscription service, or if you want to start a new pull list, here's a link to our subscription update form to do just that!
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