Welcome back to Conskipper’s New Comic Day Picks for the week of February 10, 2021!
Happy Valentine’s Day! What is the best way to spend it? At your local comic shop of course! Show those store owners some love! This week there are once again many different titles to choose from (along with a number of Valentine-themed specials). Our list this week is indicative of this, with four companies represented, and many other fine comics left off the list this week. Wherever your personal tastes in comics lean, you are sure to find something to read this week.
–Black Hammer Visions #1 (Dark Horse Comics): Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston’s Black Hammer crashed onto the scene in 2016, effectively blending classic super hero tropes and indie comic sensibilities, culminating in an Eisner Award for Best New Series in 2017. And although the original series wrapped up a few years ago, the Black Hammer universe is still churning out new comics based on the signature heroes (Barbalien, Colonel Weird), villains (Sherlock Frankenstein), and concepts only briefly introduced in the original series (Black Hammer ’45).
The newest spin-off, Black Hammer Visions, features a “who’s who” of creative talent ready to play in the Black Hammer sandbox. Issue one kicks off with writer/actor Patton Oswalt and artists Dean Kotz and Jason Wordie exploring the life of the frustrated Golden Gail attempting to strike a balance between her super hero life and her “normal” life. Oswalt’s take on Gail is spot on, capturing the tragically comic aspects of the character perfectly. If you are a fan of Black Hammer, get ready for a whole new set of exciting tales by a top notch set of creators.
-The Amazing Spider-Man #59 (Marvel Comics): Mr. Negative rocketed to stardom due to his role in Sony’s original Spider-Man video game and he is back in legacy issue #860 to menace Spider-Man once again. Martin Li and his Demons catch Peter Parker in a vulnerable moment, and they will certainly have no mercy. Nick Spencer’s run on the character has been a strong one, and one defined by the variety of villains that the wall-crawler has faced, and Mr. Negative has carved out a spot as one of Spidey’s newest and most intriguing bad guys. Marcelo Ferreira and Wayne Faucher’s art is sure to please hard core comic fans and newer video game devotees alike, so swing on in to your local shop and pick this one up.
-Space Bastards #2 (Humanoids): Right in time for Valentine’s Day, Darick Robertson and writers Eric Peterson and Joe Aubrey continue their wild space ride through the world of intergalactic postal workers. In this issue, the secret origin of the IPS is revealed (and it springs out of an interesting first idea by founder Roy Sharpton) and let us just say that it is bit more violent and competitive than your local P.O. If you enjoy irreverent humor and great art in the Humanoids tradition, you should really be reading this book. If you’d like to learn even more about Space Bastards, check out our two exclusive interviews with Robertson and Peterson and Aubrey.
-Radiant Black #1 (Image Comics): Kyle Higgins and Marcelo Costa’s brand-new series has a lot of people talking, and with good reason. Higgins previous work on Boom! Studios Power Rangers and Marvel’s recent Rise of Ultraman comics have paved the way for his unique take on super heroes and intergalactic intrigue. Accompanied by Costa’s dynamic, frenetic art (that would be suitable for any action-packed Super Sentai Series as well as the conventions of the American super hero story), Radiant Black is a fine start to a series that hits on all the familiar excitement of your favorite cosmic heroes.
-King in Black: Black Panther #1 (Marvel Comics): Knull’s symbiote army finally comes to Wakanda and, as you can imagine, T’Challa is none too pleased. The King in Black event has been a successful one for Marvel, especially with these type of one-shot tie-ins that allow readers to explore another side of the narrative, and do so in a nice compact story instead of a three or four part mini-series. Writer, actor and producer Geoffrey Thorne explores the complicated roles that T’Challa juggles on a daily basis in this issue, which are of course highlighted in times of crisis. Thorne is joined by artist German Peralta on the issue, and his art compliments Thorne’s storytelling by allowing the action to take center stage at points and also capture the look of a troubled ruler in King in Black: Black Panther. We would love to see more stories by this team.
