Comics continue to return this week, with some old favorites and big debuts.
If you’re wondering what to get this week, check out a few recommendations below from the Smash Pages crew. You can check the Comic List page to see what’s arriving in your local shop, and the comiXology new releases page for what’s available digitally. As always, you should check with your local shop on their hours, curbside pick-up, etc. in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Stay safe out there.
JK Parkin
This week brings the debut of Adventureman!, the long-in-development Image Comics series by Matt Fraction, Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson about a single mom who takes up the Adventureman identity. Originally announced in 2016, the series was supposed to debut in April, but the COVID-19 pandemic obviously kept that from happening. You can check out a preview of the 64-page, $3.99 first issue here.
I enjoyed the first issue of the Oni Press series Dryad, by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Justin Osterling, about a family living in a “high fantasy” world. Or are they? Weibe recently tweeted about issue #2, “Thought this was another high fantasy series from me? Think again. Here comes the curveball.” Anyway, so far this series has a great family vibe going, kind of like Saga, which I mean with all the praise that entails.
Ice Cream Man returns this week — not the delightful person who plays music and brings cold treats to your neighborhood, but the horror anthology comic by W. Maxwell Prince, Martin Morazzo and Chris O’Halloran. While every issues has ratcheted up the weirdness, this week’s issue #19 look to be a very special issue on that front — it’s billed as containing “step-by-step instructions to becoming a better ghost.” Here’s a preview. I’ve been re-reading this series during quarantine, and it’s interesting how the bigger story of the Ice Cream Man unfolds, as you learn more about its history.
And finally, the Eisner-nominated Daredevil run returns this week, by Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checcheto. It’s always amazing to me how many amazing runs there have been on Daredevil — and how they just keep coming. What is it about the character that seems to bring out the best in its creators?
Shane Bailey
After spending the last few weeks reading old Excalibur from the Claremont and Ellis days and X-Men eras throughout it’s history I’m absolutely ready to continue reading current Excalibur and New Mutants issues. I’m really loving these two books. They really walk the line between the familiar and the new, but it’s not rehashing the storylines that makes it seem familiar like past reboots, this just captures that feeling that you get when you first read the X-Men. That feeling that you know these characters, they’re family, they’re friends, but also you feel a bit lost because you have no idea what’s going to happen next. It’s doing something new with people you’ve known you’re whole life. That’s why I’m looking forward to Excalibur and New Mutants #10.
Speaking of new, the other book I’m looking forward to is Join The Future #2. I really enjoyed the first issue which introduced the main characters and set up the dichotomy of this world with those that traded their identity for luxury and technology and those that decided they wanted to be free even though they had to give up those luxuries and survive on their own. I’m really interested in seeing how those decisions play out and if our main character, Clementine Libby, can keep those convictions when the future has taken everything she knows. I’ve been following Zack Kaplan’s work for a while now and Piotr Kowalski, Brad Simpson and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhao are all phenomenal. Give it a chance and pick up this and the first issue. I’m sure you won’t regret it.