Welcome back to Conskipper’s New Comic Day Picks for the week of November 11, 2020!
Happy Veterans Day to all those that have served and continue to serve domestically and around the globe. This week’s picks include a perfect stocking stuffer from Dark Horse Comics (but please don’t actually put it in one), the debut of a new villain-lead series from Marvel, and three perennial DC heroes, including one that will sadly fly into the sunset (for the time being).
–Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. The Seven Wives Club One-Shot (Dark Horse Comics): Do you ever have a hard time transitioning from the Halloween season to the holidays, letting go of the skeletons and bats for holly and wreaths? If so, Conskipper has an excellent option for you this week in the form of Mike Mignola and Adam Hughes latest collaboration. Speaking of the holidays, this is the same team that brought home an Eisner Award for their last effort, the one-shot Hellboy: Krampusnacht. In The Seven Wives Club, Hellboy helps out a young girl whose ghost hunt at an abandoned medical school goes terribly wrong. Mignola’s writing and Hughes gorgeous art make this an excellent choice this week or for the Hellboy fan on your early gift list.
–Taskmaster #1 (Marvel Comics): No villain has been hotter than the Taskmaster in recent years, and although his big screen debut in Black Widow has been delayed an entire year, the upward trajectory of the character as a major player continues to be on the upswing. Writer Jed MacKay and artist Allessandro Vitti turn up the heat for the skull-faced mercenary in their new series after he is accused of murdering SHIELD’s Maria Hill. MacKay knows his way around the Marvel Universe and villains in particular (with his outstanding Black Cat series) and Vitti’s realistic style is the perfect compliment to the espionage-fueled tale. Get this one early as it is sure to sell out!
–Green Lantern #9 (DC Comics): Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp continue their highly successful run on DC’s top space-faring hero with an issue that includes the trial of Hyperman and some romance for Hal Jordan and his one true love, Carol Ferris. Laura Martin’s romance comics throwback cover provides the perfect hook for this complex tale of love. Although Morrison is often praised for his psychedelic trips of fancy, he also delivers modern hero stories using the conventions that he knows so well concerning the early days of DC comics. If you haven’t checked out Green Lantern in awhile, now is the time to get your power ring back on.
–Superman #27 (DC Comics): Superman has been one of the most consistently great comics over the past few years, due to Brian Michael Bendis’ stewardship, returning the original super hero the the lofty heights he deserves. Artists Ivan Reis and Danny Miki and colorist/cover artist Alex Sinclair join Bendis as the continue the cosmic-level threat of Synmar. Superman’s quest for more information about his mysterious new foe takes him to a corner of the universe that he’s never been to (quiet an accomplishment for such a well-travelled man). The creative team on the title deliver once again with this issue, reminding us that there are still new stories to tell that are centered around the character that launched a genre.
–Hawkman #29 (DC Comics): Robert Vendetti, Fernando Pasarin, and Oclair Albert put the finishing touches on the latest Hawkman series with the last issue of their run. Unfortunately, Hawkman series seem to end at a quicker rate than Carter Hall’s reincarnation cycle, but fans of the character continually come back for more. If you haven’t been reading this fine series, there is no better time than now to track down those back issues and enjoy the entire story. Perhaps with DC’s Black Adam film on the way we will once again be graced with a new reboot, and hopefully this creative team gets the chance to weave more stories featuring Hall and his unique supporting cast.
That’s it for this week. Be safe and continue to support your local comic retailer.