5 new graphic novels we’re reading this weekend!
MAYDAY
April 1971. The CIA is handed the espionage coup of the decade when a KGB general defects with a list of all Soviet intelligence assets in Asia. Including spies within the US Army in Vietnam. All Jack Hudson has to do is get the defector and his microfilm from Hong Kong to California…and keep Palm Springs’ overzealous FBI office from turning everything into a freakshow.
All Codename: Felix has to do is kill the defector and get the microfilm back to the USSR, by any means possible. Easy, right? Now throw in a beautiful woman, a fast car, and a whole lot of drugs. The bloody new thriller from ALEX DE CAMPI (NO MERCY, Grindhouse, Archie vs. Predator), TONY PARKER (This Damned Band) and BLOND!
THE FLASH Vol. 2: Speed of Darkness
A new storm brews over Central City and disproves the old adage about lightning never, well…you know. Just as Barry begins to feel overwhelmed fighting crime, a new speedster debuts–but just where did this amazing new friend come from? Spinning directly out of the epic events of DC UNIVERSE: REBIRTH, the Fastest Man Alive finds himself at the center of a DC Universe at a crossroads.
From up-and-coming writer Joshua Williamson (Illuminati, Red Skull) and illustrator Carmine Di Giandomenico comes THE FLASH VOL. 2! Collects issues #9-13.
MOON KNIGHT Vol. 2: Reincarnations
Collecting Moon Knight (2016) #6-9, Moon Knight (1980) #2.
Meet the many men inside Moon Knight’s head as the focus shifts to his various incarnations! Marc Spector broke his body to escape the prison Khonshu built for his mind…but what if he’s still trapped? Steven Grant awoke in New York City, ready to produce Marvel’s next box-office smash - is he losing his mind, or will Moon Knight: The Movie be a blockbuster? And Jake Lockley is under arrest for murder! With the world calling on him to protect those who travel at night, Marc is losing control. The muddled mind of Moon Knight is reaching its limit!
ALTERS Vol. 1: The Story of Chalice
As the world struggles to accept the emergence of a new kind of human species known as alterations, or “Alters,” a young woman must navigate the path to becoming her true self, while struggling with the complications of her civilian life and the responsibilities of her newfound power.
This groundbreaking series–years in the making–begins the saga of a young woman who can only really be herself…whenever she is not herself.
Collecting issues 1-5 of the critically-acclaimed series, plus the original short story from AfterShock Genesis one-shot. Written by Eisner winner Paul Jenkins and illustrated by Leila Leiz.
JOSIE and the PUSSYCATS Vol. 1
Collects issues 1-5 of the top hit Josie and the Pussycats ongoing series.
JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS VOL. 1 is the first collection of an all-new take on the world’s biggest comic book band. Marguerite Bennett (DC Comics’ Bombshells, Marvel’s A-Force) and co-writer Cameron DeOrdio team with Audrey Mok (Heroine Chic) to retell the origin and story behind the music for Josie, Valerie and Melody.
Save on Moon Knight collections by Lemire, Bendis & Maleev, Ellis, and more!
Discover your new favorite Kodansha manga in this digital-first sale through 4/17
Go ahead and eat your fill of iZombie – collections and single issues are on sale!
This sale has One-Punch Man, Dragon Ball, My Hero Academia, and more Shonen Jump favs!
MOON KNIGHT #9 by Jeff Lemire, Francesco Francavilla, Wilfredo Torres, James Stokoe, Greg Smallwood, Michael Garland, and Jordie Bellaire
The many iterations of Marc Spector converge! In the clash of personalities, who will emerge victorious?!
Moon Knight by Brian Michael Bendis @brianmichaelbendis and Alex Maleev. Moon Knight sale ends tonight!
Some classic Marvel covers by Bill Sienkiewicz
Get Marvel Comics buy-one-get-one-free with the checkout code MARVEL. Sale ends tonight!
A comiXologist Recommends
Moon Knight #1 (Marvel Comics)
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Greg Smallwood
Who would have thought, not too many years ago, that Jeff Lemire, author of acclaimed graphic novels like Essex County and the Underwater Welder, and later the strange and heartbreaking Vertigo series Sweet Tooth, would become one of the most sought after and influential writers of superhero comics? He broke out as one of the brightest stars of DC’s New 52, writing Animal Man and Green Arrow, then the Teen Titans: Earth One graphic novel, and has since gone on to high profile, universe defining runs for Marvel and Valiant (as well as creator owned series for Image), all without sacrificing his signature style. Lemire’s work can be odd and disturbing, but it’s also heartfelt and sincere, not in a treacly, sentimental way, but in a real, human way that rings true. The people that Lemire writes about, whether Animal Men or Underwater Welders, are recognizable as people, not just characters on the page.
Now Lemire is bringing that style to Marvel’s Moon Knight, a character who has been revived many times over the years, with many different ideas behind him. A number of these reboots have been successful because the character, by his nature, is enigmatic, a bit of a cypher- in the earliest version, the character even possessed multiple personalities, essentially he was four different characters inhabiting the same body, something referred to in the early pages of Lemire’s Moon Knight #1.
The tone for the book is set as Marc Spector’s reality shifts between a mystical netherworld and what seems like a very real mental institution. Is he a madman with delusions of a career as a superhero, or an actual hero, misunderstood and imprisoned in an asylum? Or is he dead, and experiencing some hellish vision of the afterlife? Lemire raises more questions than he answers, setting up some very promising obstacles for Moon Knight to overcome as the series progresses. I definitely plan on sticking around for the ride, and you should too, if you don’t mind a little mind-bending mysticism mixed in with gutter level reality.
Wanna know how Jeff Lemire took the superhero world by storm? Just read Moon Knight #1.
Harris Smith is a senior production coordinator and social media editor at comiXology. He both enigmatic and a cypher.
