February’s almost over and March is hot on its heels. We’ve got a good half-dozen books to look at this month, courtesy of Sloane, Nick, and Selena.  This month features multiple tales of science-fiction, a new horror story, and a fantasy tale that’s ties the problems we face in today’s world to a faraway land. Not to mention a couple of delightful one-shots that are worth a look and also a special order or two. Read on and check them out! 

Reviews and Recommendations

Forged 

Image Comics

By Greg Rucka & Eric Trautman (writers) and Mike Henderson (artist)

Greg Rucka’s working with Eric Trautmen on a new sci-fi series and I am all on board for this. Greg’s done some exemplary work in the past (his work on Lazarus and Wonder Woman Rebirth are two of my favorite runs in the store). This series looks like a bit of a departure from his usual more grounded writing style, with promises of an over-the-top pulp with a Conan meets Heavy Metal vibe. I’ve seen a preview of the first few pages online, and I have to say I like how immediately engaging it was. There’s a really good sense that the creative team has done their worldbuilding well, and I can see how they tout this as a space opera splashed with that pulp storytelling style. While I’m usually a hard sell for sci-fi, I definitely plan to pick this up. 

And hey, bonus - the first issue is gonna be an extra large 8.375" x 10.875" trim size. Just the thing to sell that pulp / magazine style feel.

- Nick

The Neighbors

Boom! Studios

By Jude Ellison S. Doyle (writer) and Letizia Cadonici (artist)

Boom has been knocking it out of the park lately with their horror titles, but among the last several months of horror hits, this book stands head and shoulders above the rest in terms of things I’m excited for. Drawing heavily on Irish mythology, The Neighbors follows a couple whose two year old daughter attracts an unhealthy interest from their elderly neighbor Agnes Early, one that leaves the family unsure not only who to trust, but who is even human. In addition to an intriguing premise, the artist Letizia Cadonici has real horror chops, having drawn for Children of the Black Sun, and House of Slaughter before this.

As if this wasn’t enough to interest me in the book, it’s also a queer story. According to Jude Ellison S. Doyle, “It's a story about what scared me as a kid, what scares me as a parent, and the terror that shadows queer and trans people who are raising families in 2022.” Maybe I’m just predisposed to like queer comics by being a huge queer myself, but I feel like LGBTQ horror is an underexplored genre. Queer life presents its own unique set of challenges that are only compounded by raising children, some of which are genuinely terrifying. I’m really excited to see The Neighbors’ take on them.

- Sloane

Stoneheart

Image Comics

By Emma Kubert (writer and artist)

Stoneheart tells the tale of the effervescent sorceress Shayde Whisper, traveling to a new town to become a blacksmith after her mysterious exile from the prestigious magician’s guild. Accompanied by only vague memories and plagued by a troubling voice in her head that threatens to awaken an incomprehensible power, Shayde will fight to find her place in the mystical land of Athea.

Anytime I see a comic come out where the author, writer, and letterer are the same individual, I personally tend to get excited. I know this means that what I am reading is the culmination of a passion project come to fruition and Stoneheart seems no different. Emma Kubert has discussed in interviews that this story began as a cathartic exploration into the many problems her generation faces in this world, and has morphed into a confrontation of a critical inner monologue. As a person struggling to find my footing in an uncertain present, and trying to survive while working to heal and grow through my personal traumas, I very much look forward to the story that Emma has to tell us. 

- Selena

Clear 

Dark Horse Comics

By Scott Snyder (Writer) and Francis Manapul (artist)

The year is 2052, the setting, San Francisco . In this not so distant future, most people view the world through neurological filters that alter one’s reality to anything you could imagine-  Hollywood monochrome, zombie apocalypse, even anime. One of the few that chooses to live life unaltered,  Detective Sam Dunes is catapulted into a mystery when it is revealed that foul play was involved in the death of his ex- wife. Now Sam embarks on a quest to bring to justice a murderer in true Noir fashion, and climb from the dangerous seedy undercity into the even deadlier heights of the upper echelon.

As a fan of both noir crime thrillers and sci-fi dystopias I can’t wait to see where this story leads us. I love the vibrant color of the art and think it is going to play incredibly well with the psychedelic unreality of everyone’s lived experiences. I think this will end up being unnervingly relevant genre fiction and will appeal to those that enjoy a hard critique of society.  

 - Selena

One-Shots, OGNs, and Nice-to-Haves

Mimosa

Abrams Comicarts

By Archie Bongiovanni (writer and artist)

By the author of store best-seller A Quick and Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns comes a new graphic novel about the struggles that come with maintaining friendships and getting older. A queer chosen family’s brunches have been the only thing keeping them together as their lives slowly fall apart. All now in their mid-to-late thirties, they adjust to problems like careers, difficult divorces, and being a single parent. When the group decides that they’re going to host a queer event for other over-thirties called Grind, they prove that being messy doesn’t go away with age.

So much LGBTQ+ content focuses on coming out or being young that it’s refreshing to see something that instead focuses on fully fledged adults, who (even though they’re still just as scattered and messy as ever) have adult problems. With stellar reviews from people like Maia Kaobabe (author of Genderqueer) this book seems like a promising take on the foibles of queer existence less often represented in media.

 – Sloane

IT’S JEFF!

Marvel Comics

By Kelly Thompson (writer) and Gurihiru (artist)

Best comic of 2023 right here! Jeff the Landshark gets his very own one-shot out of the pages of such comic book titans as the Unbeatable Gwenpool, West Coast Avengers, and Deadpool. Created by writer Kelly Thompson, Jeff is an adorable little shark with legs. His idea of a good time are walkies, getting pets and being on people’s lap, and hanging out with superheroes as they do superhero things! What will be in this one-shot? Who knows, but it’s gonna be cute and adorable. Like Jeff!

-Nick

And that’s it for this month! Tune in soon for a look at April’s books, and as always if you saw something here you wanted to add to your subscription, we’ve got a form for that! Just follow the link here to update your subscription, remove titles, or start a new one!