Welcome back to Conskipper’s New Comic Day Picks for the week of September 30, 2020!
Some weeks it is difficult to find five comics among all of the outstanding title on the racks at your local comic shop. And then some days, it is near impossible to cull the list down to five! This week was especially difficult (and our editorial meeting looked like last night’s presidential debate!) but we were able to narrow the list down to five series that you should be checking out (and be sure to check out all of the comics that didn’t make the list this week, because there are a ton of treats for this Wednesday).
–Batman Three Jokers #2 (DC Comics): Batman Three Jokers is the Bat-book that all the kids are talking about (and just in case you missed our spoiler-free review, be sure to give it a read before you head out to the store today). As stated in our review, “This chapter focuses on the moral dilemmas and questions that each character has to ask themselves (and their friends) after lapses in judgement and questionable, unethical decisions. Although the Jokers are again the catalysts in issue #2, the real meat of the story is about the responses that Batman, the Red Hood (Jason Todd), and Batwoman (Barbara Gordon) have to the Jokers.” Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok are hitting on all cylinders so far, and let’s hope the ending of the series next month is just as satisfying as the first two issues.
–Shangi-Chi #1 (Marvel Comics): The Master of Kung-Fu returns in his new series by the superstar team of Gene Luen Yang, Dike Ruan, and Philip Tan. Shangi-Chi has been a Marvel Universe staple since his debut in the early 70’s, but his stock is about to go up much higher with the general population when the master makes the jump to the silver screen next summer. Shangi-Chi #1 will certainly help casual fans familiarize themselves with the long-standing martial arts hero and provide a modern blue print for the character going forward (including a new costume that blends his original duds and his recent red Game of Death-inspired jumpsuit).
–Legion of Super-Heroes #9 (DC Comics): Hyperbole has always been the bread and butter of comic book covers, but the cover tag for Legion of Superheroes #9 which reads “Brian Michael Bendis Presents a Once-In-A-Lifetime All-Star Artist Event”, is no exaggeration! Bendis ain’t kiddin’, because this issue is filled with a spectacular art from cover to cover by some of the industry’s finest. With some many legionaries to illustrate, over 23 artists contributed to the issue, making it a feast for fans of long-time legends like Mike Grell, Arthur Adams, and John Romita Jr. to rising stars like Emanuela Lupacchino and Nicola Scott (and the script is pretty top-notch as well). This one can’t be missed.
–X-Ray Robot #2 (Dark Horse Comics): Speaking of great artists, Mike Allred returns with the second issue of his new series X-Ray Robot. Issue one of the series was released just before comic shops closed down across the country due to the pandemic this past spring, causing some to miss out on the first installment of the cosmic adventure. If you’re lucky, your local store may still have some copies of number one in stock (which is also available online from Dark Horse directly, as well as other digital and online retailers). Allred’s art and Laura Allred’s colors are a joy to look at, and the story, involving mad scientists, self-aware robots, and interdimensional travel is the typical blend of pop culture eras that one expects from the Allreds.
–The Goon #12 (Albatross Funnybooks): With October right around the corner, there is no hero more suited for Halloween than Eric Powell’s The Goon! With The Goon’s twentieth anniversary in the rearview mirror, and the many projects that Powell is currently working on (Hillbilly, Goon: Lords of Misery), writer Rodger Langridge’s (Fred the Clown, The Muppets) and artist Mike Norton (Revival, Battle Pug) have been guiding The Goon over the course of the last four issues, leading to the culmination of “Witch’s Brew” in issue #12. Langridge and Norton pack the issue (and storyline) with all the typical Goon trappings including witches, fish-monsters, and jaw-smacking action.
That’s it for this week, so be sure to browse through all of the titles at your local comic shop this week because a monster-sized Wednesday is a perfect lead-in to the month of October!