Welcome back to Conskipper’s New Comic Day Picks for the week of May 12, 2021!
Big name writers, artists, and characters lead the way this week, representing a wide variety of genres and choices at your local comic shop.
–Fantastic Four #32 (Marvel Comics): “The Bride of Doom” storyline kicks off with not one, but two weddings! Johnny Storm is ready to tie the knot with his alien girlfriend Sky and Victor Von Doom and his herald Victorious also walk the aisle in this double sized issue. And to complicate matters, a few of Storm’s exes are back as well! Dan Slott continues his strong run on the title, and is assisted by artist R.B. Silva on the Storm wedding and by Javier Rodriguez for the second tale in which Reed Richards and Doom lock horns again over a strange prize. A perfect start to the FF’s 60th Anniversary celebration!
-Justice League: Last Ride #1 (DC Comics): Chip Zdarsky and artist Miguel Mendonca take on the most famous and powerful heroes in the DC Universe in Justice League Last Ride. In this new limited series (in print for the first time after a digital first debut) Zdarsky and Mendonça imagine a disbanded Justice League destroyed by tragedy, mistrust, and anger. But a murder trail brings the bitter teammates back together to face a deadly challenge, even if they can longer stand each other. Zdarsky has firmly cemented himself as one of the best writers in the business and it is nice to see him get to work on DC’s biggest characters, just as he did (and continues to do) at Marvel. The cover by Darick Robertson is also out of this world.
-Time Before Time #1 (Image Comics): Declan Shalvey, Rory McConville, and Joe Palmer begin their blending of the crime and sci-fi genres in their new on-going Image Comics series Time Before Time. In the year 2140, low-level gangsters Tatsuo and Oscar decide to steal one of their boss’s time machines when things go wrong in the worst ways possible. All three creators have experience in multiple genres, and it shows in this extra-sized debut issue. This is the type of comic that Image is known for and it is our recommendation to hop on this series now before the hype train starts after the first trade is released (and remember, you heard it here first!).
-Heroes Reborn #2 (Marvel Comics): Didn’t issue one of Heroes Reborn come out last week? Indeed it did, and thank goodness we didn’t have to wait a month to continue this epic comics event. Hyperion once again take center stage in this issue, opposing his archenemy Victor Von Doom. Unfortunately for Hyperion, Doom isn’t the only villain he has to deal with as a jail break at the Negative Zone’s prison releases Ultron, General Annihilus and the Immortal Hulk, who quickly make their way back to Earth. This issue also contains a backup story starring Blade, who seems to be the only person who has any idea that things are not as they seem in this topsy-turvy world. Jason Aaron continues to provide bombastic storytelling and he trades out Ed McGuinness for Dale Keown and Scott Hanna this issue (a trend that will continue for the entire series), giving Keown the opportunity to illustrate the Hulk once again. This one is a lot of fun so far.
-The House of Lost Horizons #1 (Dark Horse Comics): Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson return to the world of Hellboy with Investigator Sarah Jewell (from Rise of the Black Flame and Witchfinder: The Reign of Darkness) first solo series. The supernatural murder mystery is illustrated by Leila del Duca and she captures the period and trappings of the murder mystery to a tee. The story begins when Jewell is trapped on a private island off the coast of Washington, along with a number of suspects who have gathered for an auction of occult items. Jewell and her earnest associate Marie Therése quickly get down to investigating a murder on the premises, incorporating all of the classic mystery tropes with the added excitement of the uncanny. An excellent start to Jewell’s story.
That’s it for this week, so be sure to keep supporting your local comic shop in a safe fashion.