Welcome back to Conskipper’s New Comic Day Picks for the week of August 19, 2020!
At this point, your local comic shop should be stocked with a full summer’s worth of comic books and graphic novels, especially with some companies catching up on the backlog of material by releasing new issues in a series ever week. This week we have a number of specials and one-shots to highlight not only the best on the racks this week, but also to stress some great jumping-on points and introductions to some excellent comics and creative teams.
–Batman Three Jokers#1 (DC Comics): DC follows up on a extremely successful weekend (and you can read all of the DC FanDome coverage on Conskipper’s main news page) with one of the most anticipated comic releases of the year, let alone the summer. Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok’s examination of Batman’s chief nemesis was guaranteed to attract attention right out of the gate, but with three clown princes of crime featured in Batman Three Jokers, the ante certainly went up. As we said in our Conskipper review of issue one “The fact that a fan who hasn’t read a Batman comic since the late 80’s can jump into the story is a positive feature of the book, and it at least initially appears that Johns and Fabok are setting up another multiverse approach to the various eras of the Joker without drawing attention to it at this early stage.” If you are long-time fan or new to comics, Batman Three Jokers works on both levels and so far provides everything we expect in an “event” comic.
Daredevil Annual #1 (Marvel Comics): Chip Zdarsky’ s excellent run on Daredevil has firmly established him as one of the great writers who have guided Matt Murdock over the past 60 years. Along with artists Manuel Garcia and Chris Mooneyham, Zdarsky examines the earliest history of Matt Murdock in this annual, especially regarding his perceptions of his father, “Battlin’ Jack” Murdock, and another surprise family member. The story’s title “One More Day” may induce seizures in some sections of Marvel fandom, but don’t worry, while this story will surprise readers, the reaction should be much less dire for fans of Daredevil as opposed to the infamous 2007 Spider-Man tale.
Spawn #309 (Image Comics): Spawn recently celebrated his 300th issue anniversary and reminded fans and the industry how successful the characters has been over the past 30 years, from animated series, to films, to highly articulated action figures. And if you haven’t checked out the source material in awhile, the current comic storyline is firing on all cylinders, with an army of Spawns including She-Spawn, Reaper, Medieval Spawn (featured on the cover of this issue by Francesco Mattina), and now Gunslinger Spawn. Todd Mcfarlane continues to guide the ship as the writer and Ken Lashley’s art will please Spawn fans of any era with his eye for detail and spectacle.
Plunge #6 (DC Comics): Joe Hill and Stuart Immonen wrap up their Lovecraft meets John Carpenter’s The Thing oceanic horror tale with this final issue. Hill’s Hill House Comics imprint has been a boon for horror comic fans over the past year (and you can read our interview with Mr. Hill right here) and Plunge has been one of the standout titles. Plunge would make a perfect film adaptation, informed by Immonen’s photo-realistic artwork and devilish creatures. If you missed any issues in this series, the trade paperback will also be available soon.
Fantastic Four: Antithesis #1 (Marvel Comics): It is hard to believe that comic art legend Neal Adams has never illustrated a Fantastic Four story. Coupled with the fact that Adams will team with Mark Waid on this new four issue series, and you have a winner for long-time Marvel fans. The cover is pure Adams, with the Thing cradling a tortured Silver Surfer, while the rest of the team looks on in horror. Antithesis should be another way to appeal to older generations of fans and also introduce a younger audience to not only the FF, but also the work of Adams and Waid.
That’s it for this week, so enjoy this week’s comics and don’t forget to check out all of the Free Comic Book Summer issues available this week and support your local comic shops.