Welcome back to Conskipper’s New Comic Day Picks for the week of September 2, 2020!
As the hot summer months give way to the cooler month of September, the amount of comics and high quality choices haven’t slowed down. This week we highlight some excellent work being done by creative teams across the industry and in a number of genres, satisfying those seeking classic comic heroes and fans of mind-blowing science fiction.
–Strange Adventures #5 (DC Comics): Tom King and Mitch Gerard’s work on the varying perspectives shared by Adam Strange and the rest of the universe is reaching similar heights to their landmark Mr. Miracle series. Part mystery, part adventure, Strange Adventures examines heroism through a cloudy lens, and King and Gerard are clearly creating one of the most compelling and intelligent storylines that one can find in comics today in this series.
–Empyre #6 (Marvel Comics): Empyre (and the numerous crossover series) has been one of the most enjoyable Marvel events in recent years, pleasing fans that go back to the original Kree-Skrull War and those that have just started reading comics in the past few years. Dan Slott and Al Ewing (along with artist Valerio Schiti) are at the top of their game, weaving in bits of Marvel history and allowing the characters that we all know and love to drive the narrative. If you missed this series, be sure to track down the upcoming collection this fall.
–Black Widow #1 (Marvel Comics): Writer Kelly Thompson and artist Elena Casagrande’s take on Natasha Romanoff in a brand new Black Widow series. Thompson has quickly become one of the architects of the modern Marvel universe with her runs of Hawkeye, West Coast Avengers, and Captain Marvel, and many fans have anxiously awaited her and Casagrande’s spy thriller. And according to the early previews, the series will indeed take her back to her roots as Marvel’s super-spy. With the upcoming Black Widow film currently on hold, if you are looking for an engaging Black Widow tale, you can’t go wrong with this new series.
–We Only Find Them When They’re Dead #1 (BOOM! Studios): Al Ewing and Simone Di Meo’s (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) highly anticipated new sci-fi series from BOOM! Studios debuts today and it is as strange and wonderful as Ewing’s work on Immortal Hulk and The Ultimates. The main story features an Ahab-esque Captain Malik and his crew, working to harvest giant corpses on space gods (hence the title) and the quest to find a living god drives Malik to the farthest reaches of the cosmos. If you like trippy, character-driven stories, Ewing and Di Meo do not disappoint.
–Young Justice #18 (DC Comics): Brian Michael Bendis and David F. Walker are joined by Powers collaborator Michael Avon Oeming and Scott Godlewski for a “dangerous date night” for Tim Drake and Stephanie Brown. The entire current run on Young Justice has been a fun ride full of whip-smart dialogue and kinetic comic art, and this issue is no exception.
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.