It’s nearly Wednesday, and you know what that means: a fresh load of comics and graphic novels! With so many publications hitting your local comics store, comics events or digital storefront, the BF team are here to lead you through the woods with our weekly staff picks. Satisfaction guaranteed!
SPOILER WARNING: It’s been widely spoilt already by DC Comics and the New York Times so it’s ripe for topical commentary but read no further if you want to avoid story details on Batman #50.
Comic of the Week
Escaping Wars and Waves: Encounters with Syrian Refugees
If you were in London last December then you would have had the chance to see Olivier Kugler’s work exhibited at Rich Mix and, as we did at BF, found yourself in awe of the power of his graphic reportage. We first came across his work a few years back in the pages of small press “graphic newspaper” Modern Times and there’s no doubting that his evocative portrayal of the plight of Syrian refugees captures the pure humanity of one of the greatest international crises of our time.
Technically this book isn’t released until Thursday but it’s near enough to add it to weekly round-up of must-buy releases. Mostly documenting his time with Médecins Sans Frontières this is an unforgettable record of Kugler’s meetings with both individuals and families in Iraqi Kurdistan, Kos and the jungle camp at Calais. We have long been huge fans of Myriad Editions here at BF but this has been a truly outstanding year of important releases from them.
It’s the kind of cliché we try and avoid using here at Broken Frontier but, seriously, if you buy just one comic or graphic novel this week it should be this…
Olivier Kugler (W/A) • Myriad Editions, £19.99
– Andy Oliver
Submerged #1
A modern retelling of the Orpheus myth for fans of urban fantasies.
After receiving a distressed message from her younger brother, Elysia Puente rushes out into the night during the biggest storm in New York City history. When she finds his broken phone outside a barricaded subway station, she has no choice but to journey into the underground in search of her lost brother.
If that’s not enough to hook you, check out this five page preview on the Vault website.
Vita Ayala (W), Lisa Sterle (A), Stelladia (C), Rachel Deering (L) • Vault, $3.99
– Tyler Chin-Tanner
New Lieutenants of Metal #1
The Mighty Krieg, Vandenborg Riot, Manowarrior, Steppenwulf… they are the New Lieutenants of Metal, a precision strike force described as “the most kick-ass, head-banging heroes ever assembled.”
While that may sound more like the summary of an Image comic from the mid-90s rather than one from 2018 fret not! Casey, Farinas and company’s new Image book most assuredly doesn’t take itself too seriously and is, rather, a colourful compilation of riotous action, pop cultural nods and engagingly animated art. And it’s clearly a week for eye-catching covers on new releases too!
Joe Casey (W), Ulises Farinas (A), Melody Often (C), Sonia Harris (D), Rus Wooton (L) • Image Comics, $3.99
– Andy Oliver
The Kurdles Adventure Magazine #1
Animation veteran Robert Goodin returns to the world of his Kurdles characters in a magazine format presentation of this offbeat, all-ages story. First appearing in graphic novel form in 2015 in a tale of an abandoned teddy bear, the oddball characters she met, and their anthropomorphically transforming forest homestead, this new offering boasts 48 pages of all-new material including work by Cathy Malkasian (Eartha).
The eerie and the familiar combine in a comics magazine that looks to have a genuine cross-generational appeal. Another must-grab comic this week for that cover alone…
Robert Goodin, Cathy Malkasian et al (W/A) • Fantagraphics Books, $10.00
– Andy Oliver
Catwoman #1
Looks like Catwoman is going solo! I don’t just mean that she’s got a new ongoing series, but, as the New York Times spoiled this past week, Selina Kyle does not end up marrying Bruce Wayne at the conclusion of Batman #50 (which also comes out this week).
So what is Catwoman up to now that she’s not hitched to the Bat? Well, she’s out to expose a copycat thief pulling heists all around Gotham, which are sending unwanted heat Selina’s way. All this, plus the the introduction to a new villain!
The series is written and illustrated by Joëlle Jones, who proved she can write kick-ass female characters with a dark edge in her creator-owned series Lady Killer. She even brought along colorist Laura Allred. I can’t wait to see what they do with this feline femme fatale.
Joëlle Jones (W/A), Laura Allred (C) • DC Comics, $3.99
– Tyler Chin-Tanner
Royal City #12
Jeff Lemire’s consistently excellent Royal City has been a continual favourite here at Broken Frontier over the last year or so. It was nominated in our annual Broken Frontier Awards for Best New Series (with Lemire also getting a Best Writer nomination nod) and earlier this year we gave you ‘3 Reasons Why You Need to Read Royal City‘ as well.
So you can imagine our disappointment when Lemire announced recently that his planned sprawling family saga will come to an end with the finale of this first extended arc. But with the individual stories of the Pike family converging across the decades, and Lemire on top form on this series, this is bound to be a finale you won’t want to miss!
Jeff Lemire (W/A), Steve Wands (L) • Image Comics, $3.99
– Andy Oliver
Girls
I first discovered Jenn Woodall’s work via the anthologies of the ever excellent Comic Book Slumber Party, the creative collective who most recently gave us the raucous sci-fi shorts of Deep Space Canine. Girls combines illustration and social commentary in a selction of striking and thought-provoking images of “fierce femmes”.
It’s also a one-shot that comes to us courtesy of US micropublisher Silver Sprocket who we’ve been giving a lot of attention to this year at Broken Frontier. From Tom Neely’s Unfinished… to Ivy Atoms’ Pinky and Pepper Forever through to BF Award-winning Your Black Friend they’re undoubedly the rising star publisher to watch at the moment.
Jenn Woodall (W/A) • Silver Sprocket, $12.00
– Andy Oliver
