Welcome folks to our September Look Ahead! We’ve got a lot of stuff to cover, so if you want the skinny on comics hitting the shelves next month, need a copy of the Image catalog, or just wanna see what we think is cool - read on! 

Distributor Updates

Hey folks! Before we get into reviews and such, I wanted to take a moment to give everyone a quick heads up about some changes taking place on the back end at Phoenix, and also at the publisher/distributor level in the comics industry. Some of you may have heard about this, but for those who haven’t — Image is moving their stuff from Diamond Comics Distributors over to Lunar Distribution (the same folks we get our DC stuff from currently). At the same time, we’re also choosing to move our Dark Horse, IDW, and Marvel business over to Penguin Randomhouse rather than continue to go through Diamond for these publishers. 

There are a couple of reasons for this having, mostly to do with quality control over at Diamond and the way that our wholesale discounts are changing at the new companies vs. how Diamond was handling things. Without going into length, the bottom line is that we believe that we will be better able to serve our customers this way with fewer damages and shortages.

We expect the changeover to start happening in early September (hence the timing of this notification). Sloane and I are hard at work checking our orders as they come through, and making sure we’re getting all the books we’re supposed to. That said - we’re human, and I would be lying if I said I expect this transition to be seamless. All I can do right now is beg your patience and assure you that if we miss a special order or subscription, please let us know right away. We’ll jump on it and make sure we get it reordered for you. 

- Nick

Post-script - Oh I almost forgot! Image is taking their catalog out of the previews magazine and going totally digital. We’ll use these monthly blogs to post links where you can download the catalogs, and we’ll always post the two most recent ones. So without further ado, here are the September and October Image catalogs:

• September Image Catalog
• October Image Catalog

Reviews and Recommendations

Alrighty with that out of the way, welcome to the reviews and recommendations section for September! This month's reviews are courtesy of Sloane, Selena, and Nick. And as always, if you see anything you want, be sure to hit up the link to our subscription modification form here to start a subscription or add books to an existing subscription.

Creepshow Vol. 2 #1

Image Comics

By Garth Ennis, Becky Cloonan, and Phil Hester

A book so nice, Image did it twice! Last year’s wildly successful horror anthology based on the cult classic horror series is back, this time promising an even more star studded set of creative teams than the last one. For those of you who aren’t in the loop, George Romero’s Creepshow was a series of campy eighties horror movies, each of which contained a series of loosely connected horror vignettes. To celebrate it being turned into a TV show last year, Image put out a five issue Creepshow mini-series, each installment containing two short horror-comedy comics by different creative teams, including heavy-hitting writers like Steve Orlando and Kyle Starks. Think The Silver Coin but with more of a sense of humor about itself – the original movies were pretty goofy after all.

It did so well that now Image is back for round two, this time bringing out even bigger guns than the first time! Right out of the gate we have Garth Ennis spinning a chilling tale about… unborn babies of all things? To follow it up, Phil Hester tells the story of just how far a grieving son will go to see his mother one last time. The perfect mix of spooky and tongue-in-cheek, this retro horror throwback is the ultimate prelude to the amazing line-up of horror comics that will be hitting the shelves this fall.

 – Sloane

Rare Flavours

BOOM! Studios

By Ram V (writer) and Filipe Andrade (artist)

Ram V and Filipe Andrade, the creative duo that brought us The Many Deaths of Layla Starr, are teaming up again in Rare Flavours to return us to the fragrant streets of India for a mystical story of food, culture, and occult beings. This limited series will follow Rubin Baksh, a demonic Rakshasa (a shapeshifting demonic entity in Hindu mythology) who’s current life goal is to become the next Anthony Bourdain. With this goal in mind, he enlists the help of Mo, a filmmaker who has fallen on hard times to help produce the food show. Mo is entirely clueless as to Rubin’s true identity, or what is about to happen to the hapless humans who manage to guest on his show. 

As a person obsessed with food (cooking and eating it haha) I love just about any comic that has anything to do with food, and I am particularly excited for this spin on the life of a traveling food critic. I grew up watching the food channel and adored the way that the shows brought a taste of other cultures right into my living room. Plus, just from the few images in the previews I’ve seen I can already tell I am going to love the art style of this story. Bold watercolor with intensely contrasting colors is going to make for a veritable feast for the eyes. 

– Selena

Sainted Love #1

Vault Comics

By Steve Orlando (writer) and Giopota (artist)

Part cute queer romance, part gay history lesson, part sci-fi time travel adventure, Sainted Love is an exciting new queer comic from Vault. In 1907, genius inventor Malcom Irina and his bare-knuckle boxer boyfriend John Wolf are building a time machine to escape into a future where being gay isn’t so stigmatized. But as they’re putting the finishing touches on the device, their lab is raided by the police and they’re forced to use their untested time-portal to escape. 

At this point, the book goes full “gay Dr. Who” mode – Irina and Wolf find themselves hurled across time, meeting queer icons from across time and fighting those who would seek to erase them from history. Based on the previews I’ve seen, this book just oozes queer joy, a healthy counterbalance to the often sobering realities that queer people have faced in the past (and still face today). It’ll be fun to see what time periods they decide to visit and where the creative team takes the book going forward.

 – Sloane

Coda #1

BOOM! Studios

By Simon Spurrier (writer) and Matias Bergara (artist)

Okay you may have heard me talk about Coda before back when the hardcover for the previous series came out. And this is me saying - hey if you haven’t read it yet, go do that! Come back and subscriber to this new five issue mini-series that follows the original. Matias Bergara is absolutely killing it on the art, and I am a sucker for anything Spurrier writes. If you caught Step by Bloody Step last year check it out - this is the same creative team. The book itself is colorful and sad all at the same time. There’s a vibrance to the color palette here that really belies the fact that the setting is post-apocalyptic fantasy. Literally, what happens when a magical world runs out of magic.

– Nick

PS - Boom, if you’re reading this for some reason plz reprint Godshaper kthxbai!

The Flash #1

DC COMICS

By Simon Spurrier (writer) and Mike Deodato Jr. (artist)

All aboard the Si Spurrier train this month! Wally West is back as the headliner for the Flash! And in a nod to all of you Mark Waid reading Flash fans we’re getting some great supporting characters in the form of Impulse (Bart Allen) and Max Mercury (Bart’s mentor and constantly aggravated parent-figure). Spurrier is a writer who loves him a good weird Grant Morrison-esque sci-fi plotline, and the ad copy for this book definitely infers that’s what we’re getting. Talk of dark whispers from beyond the speed force is a very very Si Spurrier idea. As is finding new ways to use / learn about his speed powers.

So yeah, color me excited to read this! And hey, if you’re looking for a good jumping in point for the Flash, there’s not gonna be a better one than this!

- Nick

Birds of Prey #1

DC Comics (Detective Comics Comics)

By Kelly Thompson (writer) and Leonardo Romero (artist)

You know her from a stellar run on Captain Marvel, a hilarious and down to earth West Coast Avengers, and most recently a really cool sci-fi / fantasy detective story in Black Cloak - this September, Kelly Thompson is bringing her writing chops to bear on Birds of Prey! 

…Okay I’ve tried three times now to summarize what Birds of Prey was as a comic series up to this point and the best thing that I got is - it’s Charlie’s Angels, but Charlie is Barbara Gordan (aka Oracle) and it’s incredibly good? Seriously, go find and read Gail Simone’s run on the book (both of them). It’s fun, it’s funny, it’s smart, and I regard it highly even now twentyish years later. If you can’t find the run anywhere, hit up the Netflix or (HBO)Max and watch the Justice League Unlimited episodes “Double Date.” You’ll get the feel for it right away, and it’s a great self-contained episode to boot.

Which is all by way of saying I have similarly high hopes for this book! It’s a new team consisting of Black Canary, Batgirl (Cassandra Cain), Harley Quinn, Big Barda, and Zealot. It’s a neat line-up with characters that span the history of the comic and bring a nod to the movie version of the team (which is also an oddly good film that defies my ability to aptly summarize it). The only true new character in the line-up, Zealot, is an include from the Wildstorm universe. I’m excited to see what’s in store for all of them, and from what little I can find online it looks like their first big showdown is with…Wonder Woman?

- Nick

Crossover Alert: Batman Catwoman Gotham War

In celebration of Batman Day (September 19th), DC’s doing a big old Bat-Family Crossover! Here’s a short checklist of all of the books, both one-shot and ongoing, that you’ll want to read to get the whole thing:

• BATMAN / CATWOMAN: THE GOTHAM WAR: BATTLE LINES #1
• BATMAN/CATWOMAN: THE GOTHAM WAR: RED HOOD #1-2
• BATMAN #137-138
• CATWOMAN #57-58
• BATMAN/CATWOMAN: THE GOTHAM WAR: SCORCHED EARTH #1

And that’s it! One mercifully short crossover, finished in just about 2-ish months.

Lightning Round Mini-Reviews

Speaking of mercifully short - there weren’t a ton of one-shots to go all in on this time, but there about….8 more comics I wanted to cover but don’t have time to write about / don’t have space in this blog to write about and you, kind reader, probably don’t want me to do that either (really - how many reviews can one read before one’s brain melts?). Instead, I’m a run down a few new books starting in September that I want to make sure people see!

Blue Beetle 

The team that brought you Blue Beetle Graduation Day is back with an ongoing! Heck yeah! (Also go read Washington’s Gay General by Josh. It’s heckin good).

Captain America

Babylon 5 Creator Joe Michael Straczynski takes the reins on what looks to be some classic 1940’s inspired Steve Rogers stories.

Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville

Justice League International fans, this one’s for you! It’s got Fire, Ice, L-Ron and Ambush bug all in the opening issue and it looks like a lotta fun so far.

Avengers Inc.

It’s Al Ewing doing an homage to the British tv show that shares the same name. Go read it if you liked his runs on Ant-Man and the Wasp!

Power Girl

Heck yeah, Karen Starr AKA Power Girl is getting her own ongoing! Leah Williams takes the reins of this series after her one-shot earlier this year. If you liked that, try this!

Ms Marvel the New Mutant

This one’s technically an August book but it’s August 30th and it was previously classified by Marvel, so hey don’t look at me like that. Plus it’s cowritten by Iman Velani (the actress who plays Kamala in the MCU) and Sabir Pirzada (Ms Marvel Dark Web). 

Wonder Woman

Tom King is bringing his love of grid-panels and prior experience as an ex-CIA operative to Wonder Woman! I mean, what else is there to say?

Batman and Robin

First we had Batman vs Robin, then Knight Terrors, and now a Batman and Robin book. All courtesy of Joshua WIlliamson. If you’ve been enjoying his work so far, why not jump on this too!

….And Sloane was complaining September was a slow month for comics. O.o

-Nick