Hey there Phoenix friends! We’re back with another round of reviews and recommendations from our team to you. This month, DC goes all in, Image reveals an experiment on the horizon, and Kelly Sue Deconnick returns with a new slice of life comic! We’ve also got a new bunch of graphic novels, including a Magic the Gathering manga and new original graphic novel by Kieron Gillen. Curiosity piqued? Read on to find out more!

Reviews and Recommendations

As always, our monthly reviews and recommendations are brought to you by the folks on team Phoenix. This month features recommendations by Sloane, Elise, Nick, and Max! If you see something you like, don’t forget to head over to our subscription update form and put yourself down for any new series, one shot or graphic novel that caught your eye.

DC Goes All-In

 

In a move that feels extremely reminiscent of Marvel’s recent Ultimate Universe relaunch, DC is bringing us an all new set of titles with familiar-yet-different versions of everyone’s favorite characters. In the aftermath of the currently-ongoing Absolute Power crossover event, earth’s heroes end up going toe-to-toe with Darkseid and their battle sends shockwaves through the multiverse, creating the new Absolute Universe, with reinvented versions of familiar heroes that have been denied the advantages they have in our universe – think Batman without the money, or Wonder Woman without the Amazons. (See the DC All In Special #1 in October for more details!)

DC is using this as a chance to do a soft reboot of their entire line. Many ongoing titles are getting new creative teams (including Detective Comics, Titans, and Nightwing), and titles that are keeping their teams (such as Poison Ivy and Batman) are starting new arcs that are designed to be easy jumping on points for new readers. Plus they’re launching all new Absolute Universe titles for the alternate universe versions of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman that are also designed for readers to pick up without any prior knowledge of the characters’ history.

I’ve been reading comics long enough that my normal reaction to a universe wide relaunch like this would be cynicism – we’ve seen this kind of thing so many times before, to mixed results – but what’s really got me excited about this one is the creative teams that DC is bringing in. Not only are the ongoing titles getting exciting new writers and artists (like Tom Taylor on Detective Comics!) but the new Absolute titles are super exciting. Absolute Batman sees Scott Snyder writing Batman again after years away from the character, and Kelly Thompson (Birds of Prey) is doing Absolute Wonder Woman, and I can’t overstate how excited I am about it. Also Jason Aaron is doing Absolute Superman or whatever. 

To help ease confusion about the relaunch, here’s a quick and easy guide to what book is doing what:

New Absolute Universe Titles:

• DC All In Special #1 (One Shot) by Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, and Wes Craig
• Absolute Batman by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta
• Absolute Superman by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval
• Absolute Wonder Woman by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman

Ongoing Titles with New Creative Teams:

• Action Comics #1070 by Mark Waid, Mariko Tamaki (!!!), Clayton Henry, and Skylar Patridge 
• Detective Comics #1090 by Tom Taylor and Mikel Janín
• Titans #16 by John Layman and Pete Woods
• Batman and Robin #14 by Philip Kennedy Johnson and Javier Fernandez
• Harley Quinn #44 by Elliot Kalan and Mindy Lee
• Nightwing #119 by Dan Watters and Dexter Soy
• Catwoman #69 (NICE!) by Torunn Grønbekk and Fabiana Mascolo
• Green Arrow #350 by Joshua Williamson, Chris Condon, Amancay Nahuelpan, and Montos

Ongoing Titles with Fresh Storylines for New Readers:

• Batman #153 by Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jiménez
• Superman #19 by Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora
• Wonder Woman #14 by Tom King and Daniel Sampere
• Green Lantern #16 by Jeremy Adams and Xermánico
• The Flash #14 by Si Spurrier and Vasco Georgiev
• Poison Ivy #26 by G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Tanaka
• Birds of Prey #14 by Kelly Thompson and Sami Basri
• Power Girl #14 by Leah Williams and Adrianna Melo
• Shazam #16 by Josie Campbell and Emanuela Lupacchino

- Sloane

Iron Man

 

Marvel Comics

By Spencer Ackerman (writer) and Julius Ohta (artist)

Not to let DC get all the space in this month’s reviews - let’s talk Iron Man. Journalist Spencer Ackerman is taking over writing the book, and it looks like a really neat departure from Iron Man, mutant ally dealing with corporate takeover shenanigans in favor of more corporate thriller and down-to-earth tinkerer style Iron Man. Roxxon and A.I.M. have teamed up to take him on, and he’s sporting some trademark relaunch new threads - this time a jerry-rigged ‘improvised Iron Man’ armor. 

Honestly I’m really excited to see Spencer make the jump from journalist to comic writer. I think it’ll be interesting to see his takes on corporate politics / late-stage capitalism explored in this new book. To quote Spencer directly, “"In my day job reporting on national security, I've covered the real-life equivalents of the Stark Expo, watched experimental weapons in action, seen their impact on human beings, and tracked the massive wealth they generate for a select few. Tony struggles with challenges—and is sure about to struggle with challenges—that I've covered for years. Only now I can write about them the way I've always wanted to: in a super hero universe!"

- Nick

The Horizon Experiment 

Image

By So many, many people (see below)

This look ahead was originally just supposed to be for the upcoming The Sacred Damned #1 but when I started looking more into it I realized what an exciting can of worms I had opened. The Sacred Damned is only one of 5 exciting new books being teased in this series that is being pitched as a suite of pilots for potential new series. These books will focus on characters from diverse backgrounds in familiar genre settings bringing some fresh and new to the table. It’s like a flight of beer but for comics! So instead of just talking about one book I’m gonna give you a mini pitch for each:

The Manchurian

Pornsak Pichetshote (The Good Asian) and Terry and Rachel Dodson (Adventureman) team up to bring you a James Bond inspired spy thriller starring a suave Chinese super spy. 

The Sacred Damned

Sabir Pirzada (Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel) and Michael Walsh (The Silver Coin) bring you a book following, Inayah Jibril, a Muslim professor of the Occult and exorcist in what Image describes as, “a love letter to classic horror from Dracula to John Constantine.” At this point you must know all you have to do is whisper Constantine’s name in my general direction and I will spawn and read whatever book you’re talking about. 

Moon Dogs

Tananarive Due (The Keeper) and Kelsey Ramsey (Dark Spaces: Good Deeds) have set out to write about a family of black werewolves getting swept up in a building conflict as the truth about werewolves begins to come to light. 

Motherf#cking Monsters

Holtham is making his comics debut alongside artist Michael Lee Harris (Black Hitler, Coco Leche) in this book described as “ Evil Dead for blerds.” Heavily pop culture inspired, they tell the story of “A nerdy Black kid from Brooklyn and his friends stumble upon demon-worshipping frat assholes trying to take over the world in this love letter to Sam Raimi and Edgar Wright, set to a Wu-Tang soundtrack.”

Finders//Keepers

Finally Vita Ayala (X-Men, Wonder Woman) and Skylar Patridge (Relics of Youth, Resonant) team up for “reverse Indiana Jones” in a story focusing on archeology student Ines Guarua as she steals artifacts from museums and returns them to their native cultures.

- Elise

Batman and Robin: Year One  

DC Comics

By Mark Waid (writer) and Chris Samnee (artist)

You know what two comic tastes go great together? 

Mark Waid and Chris Samnee.

You know what’s one of Mark Waid’s favorite things to write about?

Batman and Robin.

You know what this book is?

If you said classic silver age Batman taking down his rogue’s gallery with his brand new sidekick Robin (complete with classic silver age looking cape, short shorts and pixie boots), then I think you understand exactly what this comic is going to do. And it’s going to do it very well. Mark has a great voice for Batman (see also Kingdom Come and Batman Superman World’s Finest) and super-heroes in general (looking at you Daredevil and Flash in particular), so if super-heroes and classic action comics are your jam, this book is for you!

- Nick

Vicarious

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! STUDIOS

(W) Ryan Parrott (A) Eleonora Carlini

I’ve lived in Seattle all my life. I have seen it grow and change and morph into the experience it is today. Something that I’ve seen the most, the thing that plagued my youth and fascinates my adulthood, is ridiculously wealthy people attempting to live vicariously (ha!) through the lens of the average person. This comic looks to discuss that in a very flavorful neo-noir style!

The story centers around Justin, a burgeoning social outcast who serendipitously finds himself with the opportunity to become a Proxy, a vessel that allows the rich to access their feelings and experiences through a technological implant. 

I’m super interested in this concept. I’m excited to see how the narrative discusses the concept of forced empathy through technology, as well as the eat the rich themes it’s nudging at. Looking forward to seeing where this goes!

- Max 

FML

Dark Horse Comics

By Kelly Sue Deconnick (writer) and David Lopez (artist)

If you’re new to comics, you probably don’t recognize Kelly Sue Deconnick’s name, but you’re probably familiar with her work as a pioneering intersectional feminist writer. It’s not out of line to say that she’s the reason we have a lot of the mainstream powerful female characters in the mainstream comic world, or the reason for an increase in diversity among comic creators in general. Her breakout work redefined Carol Danvers, AKA Captain Marvel, into the character we see today. Her creator owned work, Bitch Planet, hits almost presciently considering it was written a decade ago and still holds up very damn well. More recently, she’s responsible for that amazing Wonder Woman Historia book on our shelves (seriously give that a look sometime).

So when I heard she was working on a new book with artist David Lopez, I immediately knew I had to write about it. FML follows 16 year old Riley with an aging punk cartoonist slam dancer for a mom and a personal obsession with heavy metal. Riley draws out his anxieties and seeks refuge in the only place he knows - Forest Park Witches House. It’s got a little bit of that Bitch Planet this-world-sucks vibe, but combined with a bit of coming-of-age / innocence lost style stories that I imagine probably resonate with anyone who’s grown up in a post-Columbine middle or high school world.

This may be a little bit of an emotionally heavy book, but you better believe I’m gonna be checking this out on day one when it hits the shelves.

- Nick

One-Shots & Graphic Novels

October is a GOOD MONTH for graphic novels! Max, Nick, and Elise have a bunch they’re excited about. We’ve got the first trade of the Cabinet, a series that Elise and Max have found to be kind of a sleeper hit, some new queer fiction from Mags Visaggio, not to mention a new Kieron Gillen / Stephanie Hans team up book. Seriously, keep reading and check them out!

The Cabinet Vol. 1 TP

Image

By Jordan Hart and David Ebeltoft (writer) and Chiara Raimond (artist)

I’ve been beating myself up for not reading The Cabinet #1, on the day it came out, all summer. Not nearly enough people were talking about this series or reading it while the first arc was coming out (my coworker Max and I were the only two subscribers) and I am here to fix that. The Cabinet is a colorful irreverent romp perfect for fans of Ryan North and Erica Henderson’s  Danger and Other Unknown Risks or N.D. Stevenson’s Nimona. It follows Avani, a rebelliously optimistic teen with an insane mission and her metal-head corn-fed bodyguard/sidekick Trent. The two of them are on a mission to turn back time and trap an evil god in an overly complicated magical cabinet (affectionately nicknamed “Cabby”) where the god had slumbered for many years until Avani accidentally let him out when she was just a kid. 

As Avani and Trent travel the globe collecting all the pieces they need to activate the Cabinet they are pursued by an evil order of robed, sneaker-wearing wizards who want to seize the cabinet for themselves. The pages of this book absolutely burst with color and there isn’t a single character on either side of the conflict who doesn’t endear themself to you in one way or another. This book made me laugh out loud and ask myself every week, “When does the next issue come out?!” Well the wait is over and the entire first arc will be landing on shelves soon.

- Elise

Ditching Saskia

Flying Eye Books

By John Moore (writer) and Neetols (artist)

After Damien’s mom dies and he winds up living with his grandfather and struggling to fit in at a new school. He decides to save up and buy a spirit flower which will let him summon his mom’s spirit and he hopes this will help him get some kind of closure. What he isn’t expecting is to accidentally summon Saskia, an annoying and volatile little girl who won’t leave him alone. Saskia has her own problems and together they just might be able to help each other. Ditching Saskia is a story that is interested in exploring grief and how we remember and honor those who have passed. Sometimes the people we love are imperfect and sanitizing our memories of them once they pass may be doing us all a disservice. Through this warm and tender story Damien and Saskia must both come to terms with the legacy of memory and how sometimes a person's flaws make them the person you love so much to begin with.

- Elise

Girlmode

Harper Collins

By Magdalene Visaggio (writer) and Paulina Gancheau (artist)

This new book from GLAAD award winner Magdalene Visaggio is about recently out trans teenager Phoebe, who moves to a new school in junior year of highschool. She finds herself thrust into a new world of gendered expectations, as her new friend Mackenzie tries to ‘teach her how to be a girl,’ and the boys she likes end up trying to foist their own ideas about gender roles onto her as well. According to Visaggio, “It's a story about adolescence and suddenly being aware of the expectations people place on you and your body, being suddenly commodified and sexualized before you even really know it's happening.”

It’s a story that’s relatable to both cis and trans women alike, about how society pressures us into conforming to different ideas of womanhood, with lots of classic teen-movie tropes thrown in for good measure. Phoebe’s struggles to get by in highschool are like those we’ve all faced, and the expressive yet clean art by Paulina Gancheau really drives home just how she’s feeling about things. A great choice for fans of the movie Clueless, folks who enjoyed store favorite comic Cheer Up!, or anyone who’s been struggling with a few too many of other people’s expectations in their life.

- Sloane

We Called Them Giants

 

Image Comics

By Kieron Gillen (writer) and Stephanie Hans (artist)

Clearly not content to just write one awesome book recently, Kieron has teamed back up with Stephanie Hans to create a book where protagonist Lori awakes to find the world nearly empty. Scraping by in the ruins of civilization, Lori eaks out a life alone…until They appear. What are They? Big mysterious giant people(?) that look like one part kirby-style celestial, and one part super hero constantly in motion (I promise this looks cool, but it’s a thing you kinda have to see to understand). For that you’re gonna have to read the book. I can say that Gillen is on record as saying that the idea for this book came during the pandemic, and he wanted to communicate that feeling of loneliness and isolation that we all felt during that period, but stopping before it got into utter despair that a lot of pandemic inspired books do. I’ve had a chance to preview some of the art for this book, and Stephanie’s use of color (or lack thereof in certain cases) is utterly gorgeous. I am excited to sit down with this book when it hits the shelves October 30th!

- Nick

PS - If you haven’t read the Power Fantasy #1 yet WHY NOT?!?! Get your butt over here and take a read!

Destroy All Humans. They Can’t Be Regenerated

Viz Media

(W) Katsura Ise (A/CA) Takuma Yokota

Magic? The Gathering? In MY Manga???

High School? Romance? In MY Magic the Gathering???

If you’re a Magic fan, you should know that each volume of this Manga comes with a promo card. 

If you’re a Manga fan, you should know that this story is very cute and had me giggling and kicking my feet.

If you remember Nostradamus and that whole King of Terror thing, you’ll never believe one of the primary themes of this story.

The Manga follows two high schoolers in the 90s who fall in love with each other while slinging spells and casting creatures and resolving batches. That’s right folks, this is set right before the stack was added to the Magic rules. True 90s Magic! Combo Winter! Memory Jar into Megrim into Yawg Will! Cataclysm! City of Traitors was only pretty good! I’ll trade you a Gaea’s Cradle for that Hatred! 

I’ve been reading bad translations of this comic for a couple months now and I’m a big fan. I almost care more about the romance than the sick Magic the Gathering gameplay. If you liked how the Yu-Gi-Oh anime did their card battles, you’ll enjoy this one!

(Nick would like you to know that they’re in this manga and they hate it (they love it (they hate it)))

- Max

Adventure Time Compendium Vol. 1 

Oni Press

(W) Ryan North (A) Various

Y’know… BMO was right. If there was some amazing force outside of time to take us back where we were and hang each moment up like pictures on the wall inside a tiny billion frames so that we could see it all, it would look like the Adventure Time Comics finally collected in ONE BIG COMPENDIUM. 

Adventure Time is literally my favorite TV show of all time. It is my ultimate comfort show. I’ve watched all 10 seasons 5 times, and I’m always waiting for my next rewatch. Unfortunately, I never got to read the comics because by the time I was hankering for a perusing, they were all unavailable or being resold at exorbitant prices on the internet. But now, they’re finally being collected into multiple omibuses (omnibi? omnobides?). These are collected side stories that can be read separate from the show, and their canon significance is debated. So, while the show isn’t required to watch to read this volume, I still highly recommend both!

- Max

And that's it for our October look aheads! Next month's look aheads should be up by early-mid October for November. Thanks for reading, and if you saw something you wanted to add to your pull (or want to start a subscription for the book), use our handy little subscription update form and submit that request! We'll get right on that.