This week for the last week in new comics, felt brief and limited for me. I picked one issue, from a personal favorite début. Then, took my chances with two new series. Both, new takes on old concepts but in very different directions. How did that go? Find out below…

Here we go, (with minor spoilers)…

RECENT COMICS:

Hadrian’s Wall #1 (Image Comics), by Kyle Higgins, Alex Siegel, Rod Reis

Here, we have a strong start to a series that feels fresh, though it takes from a lot of old genres and mixes them together. It’s a murder mystery, a science fiction tale, an emotional drama. Stemming from an alternate timeline where America and the Soviet Union exchanged nuclear strikes, there is a new Cold War brewing between Earth and the Theta colony. The main driver to the story is a drug-addicted investigator looking for answers to a sudden death in space. The situation is a bit complex, as connections involve his troubled past. The first issue is mostly a set-up on the set-up and key players for the first act. The mix of paint and digital color gives the atmosphere a soft tone throughout, with little speckles and stokes to establish mood and drama. There is a lack of personality throughout the players here, where the past gives more of the emotion than the present. That’s a good thing, to where we wonder where all the emotion will come from. The ending gives a good direction for all that, and then I think the story will (and should) accelerate in the following issues.

Animosity #2 (Aftershock), by Marguerite Bennett , Rafael De la Torre

I loved the first issue, leading to my excitement for the second issue here. The story continues the strange global development, where animals become intelligent and talk (never mind the impossible non-explanation of it all). My expectations were a bit different as I was expecting more of a horror story with dark comedic elements. Yet, I feel much of that was left, in favor of something odd uplifting about the spirit of humanity. The animals overall don’t see as vengeful as they appeared in the first issue. Here, there are other aspects to their nature bringing it all perhaps to something that will turn over the Earth into some Planet of Apes (and other animals). But then the book takes a brutal turn, where many humans have now become the monsters. Some driven by their volatile natures, to commit new terrible acts of violence. This leads to an ending where the survival is not against both the violent humans and animals, while an innocent representation of both must team-up go on a quest.

Doom Patrol #1 (DC), by Gerard Way, Nick Derington, Tamra Bonvillian

DC’s weirdest superheroes are back in this new series written by the former leader singer of My Chemical Romance (also the writer of the critically acclaimed Umbrella Academy comic series). Here, I am greatly confused on what the hell is going on, where it was, and where it’s going. I could try to explain it, but would just come off as misguided perhaps, by those who better understand this series. I never read the classic Grant Morrison run, but I do feel a sort of throwback to the classic Vertigo comics of that early late 80s, early 90s era, where abstract thinking and surreality where welcome among the mainstream. I love the art and panel play going on throughout, while I felt captivated at this overall puzzle with vague references to characters I have come to somewhat know through the DC Universe. I will likely not pick up the second issue, as I feel that perhaps this book is not for me. I do however appreciate DC Comics to do bold things again with new imprints. This carries the new “Young Animal” imprint, where I hope other titles will follow in originally, but something with a bit less puzzling for my brain.

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That’s all until next time. Did we miss anything on the shelves, that is a worthy read?  Do you have further thoughts on the books covered here? Leave a comment below!

Orion T – SW chief writer and seeker of great comic books and all related wonderful things.