Welcome back to Conskipper’s New Comic Day Picks for the week of July 29, 2020!
More and more comics are beginning to hit the shelves each week, with almost 90 new issues in stores today. This week we have a number one issue of a long-time favorite, the start of some new creative teams on prominent comics, and the return of an Image series after over a two year hiatus.
–Wonder Woman #759 (DC Comics): As we said in yesterday’s review of this issue, “As far as starts, this issue could serve as a blue print for how to kick off a new story arc.” The new team of Eisner Award winning writer Mariko Tamaki and exciting artist Mikel Janin jump into their run on Wonder Woman with an issue that captures what we love best about the character and is an easy entry point for those that haven’t read the book in years, or ever for that matter. This could be the start of a memorable run for Tamaki and Janin, so get in on the ground floor with this issue.
X-Factor #1 (Marvel Comics): Leah Williams and David Baldeón team-up to take on the investigative arm of the mutant family: X-Factor. The team features Northstar, Polaris, Prodigy, Eye-Boy, Daken, and Prestige, resulting in a nice mix of characters who long-time readers associate with the team (Polaris), other teams (the original Alpha Flight’s Northstar), and creative new additions to the group. Marvel has been on a real winning streak with their reinvention of the X-titles, and X-Factor is no exception.
Black Magic #12 (Image Comics): Many of us have experienced a delay in the return of a series that we love, but when it gets to be over two years, that’s a commitment! Thankfully, multiple Eisner Award winner Greg Rucka’s Black Magic returns this week after a long hiatus, and finally follows up on the cliffhanger from March of 2018. For those unfamiliar with the comic, both of the first two volumes are available so you don’t have too much to catch up on. Black Magic features police officer Rowan Black, who is also a witch. Rucka’s trademark hard-boiled style that he established on Queen & Country and Gotham Central is readily apparent in the storytelling aspects of Black Magic. Combine that sensibility with Nicola Scott’s excellent artwork, and you’ve got a winning combination.
Empyre #3 (Marvel Comics): Dan Slott, Al Ewing, and Valerio Schiti continue the cosmic adventure with this week’s new copy of Empyre. Due to the delays related to the world-wide pandemic, every week has brought a new issue, keeping fans engaged in the galaxy-spanning story. The familiar battleground of Wakanda is where the action takes place this week with the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and Black Panther continue to struggles against the combined might of the Kree/Skrull alliance. If you’re in the mood for a fun summer event series, pick it up.
Amazing Spider-Man #45 (Marvel Comics): The Sin-Eater returns in this new storyline from Nick Spencer, Mark Bagley, Andy Owens, and John Dell. Spider-Man is well known for having one of the best rogue’s gallery in comic history, but Sin-Eater doesn’t jump to the average fan’s lips when discussing them. The character was introduced in the “Death of Jean DeWolff” story arc by Peter David (originally published in 1985 in Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man issues #107-110) and was significant for the serious shift in tone for the comic. It remains one of the best Spider-Man stories of that decade, and we are all interested to see how the character is used in this new arc.
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.