A comiXologist Recommends
Of Toasters and Existential Despair
First of all, we have to talk about how great the art is in this issue. Full disclosure here: Michael Walsh is one of my favorite artists. I first noticed him in the recent run of Secret Avengers, where his calligraphic line work gives a strong sense sense of energy and dynamism. And he does an amazing job as guest artist on this issue of Vision, but here the art reminded me more of the lines of a woodcut. This seemed entirely appropriate for the story, of Vision and Scarlet Witch “some time ago.” The style hailed a far off time, putting me in mind of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. As this is a somewhat twisted and tragic tale, the association worked well for the story.
Vision and Scarlet Witch shippers will glory in the hurt of this issue. If you count yourself among them, maybe you weren’t thrilled at the premise of this book, of Vision having a new family. Read this issue. Not only will you have the chance to revel in some choice Vision/Scarlet Witch moments, but you will understand. And it will hurt.
Existential despair is a funny thing. Literally, in this issue. Stop me if you heard the one about the toaster. What does it mean to be empty? What does it mean to have an identity, as a father, lover, friend? What does it mean to have someone you can discuss these things with? Someone who sees who you are? This issue uses Vision and Scarlet Witch’s relationship to ask some pretty big questions. I recommend reading it in the dark and then crying about the meaninglessness of it all, and then finding someone you love and hugging them very tight.
Tia Vasiliou is a Digital Editor at comiXology. That’s all she’s going to write for her bio because life is ultimately meaningless.
A comiXologist Recommends (their favorite comics of 2015)
Mike R’s picks
Favorite Issues:
Constantine: The Hellblazer #6
I was incredibly hesitant about this series from the get go, but issue one sold me and #6 ended up being one of the best comics I read all year. This issue in specific was a perfect combination of comedy, internal strife, monsters from within the shadows, and a wonderful bearded man—which is something very hard to come by in most comics, as far as I’m concerned. Constantine: The Hellblazer #6 is wonderful in art and writing and a perfect topper to the first arc of this series and one of the best comics of 2015.
Heathen #1
This book hit me like a ton of bricks. The cover, alone, was something to drool over, and reading the first few pages, it only gets better. A story about a Norse warrior cast out from her family who looks to redeem herself by saving a princess trapped on a mountain is a story I can get behind any day, and this book delivers a great end that hooks you immediately. This is one of those books I will buy until the day I die—and I hope it is published for that long. Natasha Alterici is a one-person-machine of brilliance, and this book is proof of her fantastic work.
Favorite Series that ended:
Iron Fist: The Living Weapon
There isn’t much to say here other than: This book was epic.
Zero
This book had a very satisfying end and I have to credit the MANY creators (specifically artists) who worked on this series for developing an incredible story over 18 issues. Special high-fives go out to Jordie Bellaire who colored the whole series.
Favorite Mini-series:
Godzilla in Hell
Godzilla goes to Hell and fights everything. What more do you need to know?
Favorite New Series:
Archie
Have you ever needed a breath of fresh air? Try the new Archie series. It’s happy and fun and angsty, but mostly fun and happy.
Paybacks
The question of, “Where do super heroes/villains get their money from?” is the basis of this new Dark Horse series, and boy does it deliver. Who lends the money? We don’t know. Who collects the money? Well, the Paybacks, of course—a mix bag of heroes and villains who owe a debt. A perfect mix of action and comedy (with a dash of mystery, because that’s cool too) drives this series and, well, it’s just plain fun. (editor’s note- this series is colored by Lauren Affe, a former comiXologist, so you know it’s good)
Favorite Covers:
Mike Rapin is a web developer at comiXology living in Queens with his girlfriend and two (sadistic and needy) cats—Twix and KitKat. He is also the host of the I Read Comic Books podcast—a weekly podcast about, you guessed it, comic books.
The Flash by Geoff Johns: Book One
Earth 2 Vol. 6: Collison
The Kitchen
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A comiXologist recommends:
Injection #1
by: Jonah Chuang
Let me first get this disclaimer out of the way: The Injection had me way before I read this first issue. When I found out that Warren Ellis, Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire (the superstar team behind one of my favorite comics series ever, Moon Knight) would be helming this project, I was already intrigued. Then I read the plot synopsis and I was hooked.
Essentially, there’s a group of crazy people who mess the world up and are trying to fix it. The series deals with those crazies as they deal with the physical manifestations of the fallout of their mistake, the mysterious ‘Injection’. It’s like Fringe, but with all members of the team are Walter Bishops. It’s subtle, mysterious, and very intellectual.
Warren Ellis’s handling of future fiction and mental illness in this book is as spot on as ever. Just as promised in its solicit, this first issue sets up a really complex universe which includes elements of sci-fi, supernatural horror, transdimensional misadventure and paranormal weirdness. These things, however, are not blatantly the focus of the story. If you like Image’s Trees, it’s very similar to that in that the characters only tangentially react to the spectacular elements in the story and mostly just carry on with their individual stories. Part of the reason for that is the characters are crazy, but it also seems to be a function of Ellis’s world building. He’s creating an interesting world where the abnormal comes off as commonplace.
The most captivating part of this book for me is the big mystery surrounding the title. What IS the Injection?? We see the symbol pop up all over the book in weird places but it’s not directly explained. It seems to be responsible for a bunch of mind-boggling craziness, like a lightning and fungi filled parallel universe, or a roasted human plugged into a computer that still talks, that incite your curiosity and inflame your imagination. With such a solid setup I can’t wait to see what kind of magnificent payoff Shalvey and Ellis have in store.
[Check out Injection #1 on comiXology]
Jonah Chuang is a Production Coordinator Assistant at comixology. He’s going to Disney World next week!
Kate Kasenow recommends: Howtoons (Re)Ignition Vol. 1
The combination of instructional material in comic format isn’t a new one, but it’s a rare book that combines the two into a cohesive story. One such shining example that lands on shelves today is Howtoons (Re)Ignition Vol. 1—and let me tell you something right now, this book has it all: Science! Marshmallow guns! Adventure! Robot dinosaurs! Action! Go-karts! In fact, the greatest achievement of Howtoons is that it combines all this excellent material into a fun and educational plot.
Fred Van Lente has crafted a truly unique reading experience with his simple and yet layered writing while the art team of Tom Fowler (tomfowlerstuff) and Jordie Bellaire (jordiecolorsthings) have created a rich and vibrant world full of characters that delight as well as inspire. When Celine and Tuck’s parents go missing during a global apocalypse, the step-siblings must work together to survive and find them. Although a premise like that might sound grim, Howtoons remains optimistic even while tackling the deeper issues of family relationships, loneliness, and survival. As an added bonus, everything that Celine and Tuck learn or make in their adventures is explained to readers with detailed instructions. Given the wide array of situations that the step-siblings find themselves in, these how-to’s are not only fun but sometimes incredibly practical.
Howtoons (Re)Ignition is a great book for kids of all ages as well as adults—so really, what are we all waiting for? Let’s get making!
[Read Howtoons: (Re)Ignition Vol. 1 on comiXology]
Kate Kasenow is a comics artist from Indiana currently living in Manhattan. She works at ComiXology as a Lead Digital Editor and spends most of her spare time re-reading J. R. R. Tolkien.
Need a recommendation for the #MarvelBOGO happening right now? Those six warrenellis/dshalv/jordiecolorsthings Moon Knight issues…. I’ll tell you hwhat.
possibly the best logan/ororo moment so far
SO. GOOD.
Okay so I gotta set the record straight here… I saw some people online saying that the current run of Deadpool wasn’t very good and THEY ARE SO SO VERY MUCH WRONG!
The story arc from which the above photoset was taken, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, written by Gerry Duggan & Brian Posehn, with art from Declan Shalvey, and colors by Jordie Bellaire, may in fact be the very BEST Deadpool story ever. All the creators are on their A game here, and the story ranges from exciting, to hilarious, to heartbreaking, and back with aplomb.
For people who think Deadpool is nothing more than a walking punchline, read this collection and learn how wrong you are. You’re doing yourself a disservice by avoiding this series because of preconceived notions.