A comiXologist Recommends:
Kara Szamborski recommends Tiny Titans: Return to the Treehouse #1
Tiny Titans #1: Return to the Treehouse is simply one of the most adorable books on the market. The fun plot and colorful aesthetic are appropriate for all ages, but if you’re a long time fan of the DC Universe, cameos that will delight you abound, and avid TV watchers will spot elements from the original Teen Titans animated series as well as the 1966 Batman show.
In the return issue of the wonderful and widely missed series (read the original run here!) members of the Brainiac Club try to earn their first badge by shrinking and bottling the Tiny Titans’ treehouse—but some of our heroes are trapped inside! The remaining unshrunk Titans turn to Robin for answers, and with the help of some borrowed Bat technology (and canine sidekicks) they search for their missing friends.
If you’re a Titans newbie, you’ll love the fun, non-continuity dependent story, and if you’re a long time Teen Titans fan you’ll appreciate nods to pieces of DC history that span mediums and decades. If you like Baltazar and Franco’s work on Tiny Titans, be sure to check out their creator owned Aw Yeah Comics! or their Superman Family Adventures (published between the original and current runs of Tiny Titans). Their excellent work has never failed to bring a smile to my face, and Tiny Titans #1 is no exception.
[Read Tiny Titans: Return to the Treehouse #1]
For fans of: superheroes, humor, team books
Kara Szamborski supervises the International Production team at comiXology. If you’re learning French at school, she thinks you should check out comixologyfrance for some awesome summer reading ideas.
A comiXologist Recommends:
Madeleine Lloyd-Davies recommends The Movement #12
This was a bittersweet read–I’m sorry to see this exciting new series end, but thrilled (and unsurprised) to see that the book held onto its vision until the end.
gailsimone has consistently committed to writing authentic, diverse characters, and this team proved to be the perfect vehicle to explore dynamics of power and class in a society where cops (and even superheroes!) are less easily classified as “good guys.” By targeting police corruption, and showing more interest in preserving their community than working with authorities, members of The Movement model a kind of activism that I’d love to see more of in comics.
In a final exchange with the team leader, a well-meaning policeman explains to the Movement’s leader that she probably wouldn’t be able to hack it with a legit superhero group like the Justice League: “you’re never going to change enough to fit in with them.” “Oh, I know,” she says with a smile. “That was never the plan. But sooner or later, Captain…they’re going to have to change to fit in with us.” I believe this is Gail Simone’s message to the titans of the mainstream publishing industry: scrappy comic book series like The Movement are coming for them, and they’re not planning to compromise.
Luckily for us, even though this particular series is coming to an end, Gail Simone isn’t going anywhere. You can read new issues from Red Sonja and Batgirl every month, but if you’re a fan of The Movement, I must insist that you start with her game-changing arc on Birds of Prey.
[Pick up The Movement #12 here!]
For fans of: superheroes, female leads, team books, diverse characters
Madeleine Lloyd-Davies, comiXology’s Production Director, has wanted to work in the comics industry since she was seven years old, sitting cross-legged on the floor in CVS and reading Jughead comics.
A comiXologist Recommends:
Kara Szamborski recommends Rat Queens #6 by kurtiswiebe & johnnyrocwell
In just six issues, Rat Queens has become everything I never knew I needed from a story. With the first story arc wrapped, it’s time to assess the damage—their world is wider than we thought, and Dee is actually [spoiler removed so you’re not spoiled, duh]. But there’s no time for the Queens to indulge in their morning after hangover; there are mushroom people to defeat!
If there is a group of characters who embody the hashtag mantra “sorry not sorry,” it’s the Queens. They fight, they party, and they curse a mean streak, but they love each other and their friendship feels real and interesting. Often compared to Skullkickers for its RPG roots, I’ve found the Rat Queens to be more reminiscent of gailsimone’s current run on Red Sonja for their unapologetic, barbarian behavior, and of Lumberjanes for the engaging action and snappy dialogue.
The Rat Queens are that one night stand you still think about, that bar crawl you’ll never forget (or remember), that punch you wish you’d thrown, that time you threw up in your purse after running from the cops. You know these girls; they’re like your friends after someone’s given them swords and a free rein. Betty just wants to see you smile, you wish Dee would enjoy the dang party already, we’re all running from something like Violet, we’re all angry at something like Hannah. You’d hate them if they ran your town, but you’d never, ever be bored. What are you waiting for? Step up and join the Queens.
For fans of: comedy, team books, female leads, diverse characters
Kara Szamborski supervises the International Production team at comiXology. She unironically loves the song “Sugar, Sugar” by The Archies.
A comiXologist Recommends:
Harris Smith recommends Justice League #29
One of my favorite things about DC Comics has always been their less-used, oddball characters, and it’s been fun over the past few years to see how overlooked superheroes like The Creeper and The Phantom Stranger have been reintroduced into the New 52. Justice League #29 brings us another eccentric favorite, the Metal Men! Created in 1962 by comics legends Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru, the bickering, often neurotic androids of the Metal Men have often brought a charming, ironically very human humor to their stories (although their excellent 2007 miniseries tended more towards the metaphysical than the comical) and fortunately writer Geoff Johns continues this tradition, ably aided by Doug Mahnke’s detailed, expressive artwork.
Particularly enjoyable in this issue are the Metal Men’s interactions with the Justice League’s Cyborg, partially a metal man himself. Johns has a history of imbuing his writing with a lot of humanity (particularly in his 2007 Justice Society of America series) and we get a taste of that here in the juxtaposition of Cyborg’s humorous introduction to the Metal Men against a more emotional face-off against his Crime Syndicate counterpart, Grid, a living computer virus made from Cyborg’s junked parts. Cyborg’s struggling with his own sense of what makes him human conflicting against Grid’s totally lack of humanity makes for a really compelling character dynamic in this issue.
If you’re a fan of the Metal Men or Cyborg, or if you’re gearing up for the finale of Forever Evil, or if you just enjoy well-written (and drawn) comics, Justice League #29’s got what you’re looking for in a superhero comic this week.
[Read Justice League #29 here]
For fans of: superheroes, team books, crossover events
Harris Smith is a Brooklyn-based comics and media professional. In addition to his role as a Senior Production Coordinator at comiXology, he edits several comics anthologies, including Jeans and Felony Comics, under the banner of Negative Pleasure Publications. He’s also the host of the weekly radio show Negative Pleasure on Newtown Radio.