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Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

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Age of Conan: Bêlit #1

Wednesdays are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in!

Each week our contributors choose what they can’t wait to read this week or just sounds interesting. In other words, this is what we’re looking forward to and think you should be taking a look at!

Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this Wednesday.

Age of Conan: Bêlit #1 (Marvel) – The she-devil of the sea who would be Queen gets her own series! Follow a teenage Bêlit on her own journey and adventure.

Assassin Nation #1 (Image Comics) – The world’s former greatest hitman hires the 20 best assassins to be his bodyguards to not just protect him but figure out who’s trying to kill him.

Batman Who Laughs: The Grim Knight #1 (DC Comics) – The breakout character gets the spotlight! Imagine Batman crossed with the Punisher.

Calamity Kate #1 (Dark Horse Comics) – Kate Strand reboots her destructive life and moves to LA to be the superhero she always wanted to be-Calamity Kate: gun-toting monster killer. Sounds like fun to us.

The Goon #1 (Albatross Funnybooks) – The Goon is back in a brand new series! We’re fans of this character and can’t wait to see where this new series goes.

Iliad (Candlewick Press) – The classic story gets a graphic novel adaptation.

Magnificent Ms. Marvel #1 (Marvel) – Ms. Marvel had a hell of a run and we’re expecting the same with a brand new creative team. We’re interested in seeing what the new team will deliver.

Marvel Action: Spider-Man #2 (IDW Publishing) – All-ages Spider-Man fun.

Riverdale Season 3 #1 (Archie Comics) – If you’re in to the CW television show, you want to get this issue which ties directly into the series.

Transformers #1 (IDW Publishing) – A new direction for Transformers comics exploring Cybertron before the war broke out.

Review: Honor Girl

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When it comes to infatuation it’s a feeling that brings both misery and joy in the same breath. It may be a one-way street and you may never be able to express the way you feel about the person. On the other end, the mere sight or mention of the person, may give you butterflies, which is enough to make your day. This is what makes asking someone out such a treacherous battleground to enter. Your feelings may get hurt.

All of that makes adolescence so trying for so many teenagers. That “awkward teenage phase” may last far past into adulthood. We usually have crushes as long as we draw breath. There’s nothing like the first one. Those are the ones we will always remember. In Maggie Thrash’s memoir Honor Girl, she talks about her first crush, an older woman.

We meet Maggie, as she has to spend her summer at Camp Bellflower for the summer, deep in the Appalachia.  There she meets other girls and one very familiar face form afar catches her eye, Erin, someone who is a few years older. One day, an unencumbered encounter between the two, leaves Maggie in knots over her. As the rest of camp goes, she gets closer to her friends and finds who she really is. By book’s end, not all is conquered but not all is lost.

Overall, it’s an engaging, funny, and true to life story which speaks to young women coming of age. The story as told by Thrash is entertaining and heartfelt. The art by Thrash is beautiful. It’s a graphic memoir that speaks to legions of LGBTQ children. It reminds them and lets them know that they’re not alone.

Story: Maggie Thrash Art: Maggie Thrash
Story: 9.5 Art: 9.3 Overall: 9.4 Recommendation: Buy

Review: Lost Soul, Be At Peace

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Depression is one of those issues that are usually dealt with at arm’s length. This is because, like so many things, isn’t understood by the vast majority. It’s considered taboo to discuss in ways. It’s a condition that so many people have experience with or know someone who does, yet we shy away from it. What most people don’t know is that people who do suffer from it, is that never really goes away.

Like most ailments, it’s a daily struggle where one bad day can make that malady even worse. One of the hardest parts of depression is what happens after depression. Its rarely ever explored or even dealt with in art. This is why Maggie Thrash’s second memoir, Lost Soul, Be At Peace is a welcome entry into the art form. We get to see the protagonist before and after her battle with depression.

We meet Maggie, a year and a half after a life altering event affected her life. Unfortunately, for Maggie, she feels invisible in her own home, as her father is a workaholic and her mother are more concerned with being a socialite and she is in a deep depression, one that consumes her every waking hour. Her only solace is her cat, Tommi, who disappears one day which leads Maggie to look for him and makes her realize a few things about herself. By book’s end, Maggie comes to some realizations, becomes closer to her parents and eventually embracing who she is now.

The graphic memoir is an engaging story that is at times personal and heartbreaking and at other times it’s downright funny. The story by Thrash is vulnerable, funny, and heartfelt. The art by Thrash is breathtaking. Altogether, it’s an excellent graphic memoir that both deals directly with the issue of depression and tells this story so well.

Story: Maggie Thrash Art: Maggie Thrash
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

Review: MWD: Hell is Coming Home

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As the world becomes more mired in politics, it is always interesting to hear a viewpoint about war from someone who has never served. It’s true that every citizen is entitled to their opinion but the thing about intelligent discourse is that one requires real world experience beyond one’s limited view.

There can be an indifference for many war veterans when they come home and have to listen to people who have never served talk about things only service members have had “skin in the game” in. This becomes true of veterans who have served in a war zone. We experience life different from those family and friends. That gap becomes even wider when we come home. In the honestly told and beautifully illustrated MWD: Hell Is Coming Home this experience is eloquently articulated.

We meet Liz, a war veteran who had just come home, as she gets a tattoo of her military working dog, Ender. She looks forward to returning back to Iraq. We flashback to 2004 in Iraq, where during a patrol, her and Ender stop a suicide bomber before he could detonate his bomb. The graphic novel explores how it is for female military members and the many unnecessary situations they have to deal with including having to prove themselves as soldiers. On one patrol with her friend, Simms, her vehicle gets hit with an IED, leaving Liz, the sole survivor. As she returns home to her family, her mood is somber, as the way she sees her friends and family is different. Liz feels entirely alone after the situation and finds herself in a downward spiral of flashbacks and blackout drinking. Things are destined for a horrific ending when she befriends a dog reminding her of her partner she left behind.

The graphic novel is a powerful portrayal of PTSD and the difficulties of coming home after being deployed. The story by Brian David Johnson and Jan Egleson is raw, heartfelt, and sincere. The art by Laila Miskevski and Karl Stevens is precise, lifelike and stunning. Altogether, an important book that shows military veterans who have PTSD not as victims but as humans.

Story: Brian David Johnson and Jan Egleson Art: Laila Miskevski and Karl Stevens
Story: 10 Art: 9.7 Overall: 9.8 Recommendation: Buy

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

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Wednesdays are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in!

We’re bringing back something we haven’t done for a while, what the team thinks. Our contributors are choosing up to five books each week and why they’re choosing the books.

Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this Wednesday.

Alex

Top Pick: Eternal Warrior: Awakening #1 (Valiant) – You’re not surprised to see this here, are you? You shouldn’t be. It’s a comic featuring one of my favourite characters by my favourite publisher.

All-Star Batman #10 (DC Comics) – Scott Snyder on Batman. That’s exactly why I’m pumped about this.

Old Man Logan #23 (Marvel) – I am LOVING this arc. Jeff Lemire is taking Logan back through so key, and not-so-key moments in his life. It’s a fascinating story that I wish was longer than the four issues it’s billed for.

Redline #3 (Oni Press) – So here’s the deal. This comic is EVERYTHING that I usually avoid in fiction… and yet I’m loving every bloody page of this series. Go figure, eh?

 

Shay

Top Pick: Suicide Squad #17 (DC Comics) – Amanda has recruited Zod to help take down the Peoples version of the Suicide Squad. Grab popcorn and watch the battle begin!

Top Pick: America #3 (Marvel) – America joins the X-Men , which is either about to be hella awesome or short lived.

Black Panther and the Crew #2 (Marvel) – Misty Knight looking into a police cover up, issue #2 is calling out some social justice issues and, I’m here for it.

Kingpin #4 (Marvel) – The humanizing of Kingpin continues.

Rocket #1 (Marvel) – Wise cracks and space crimes abound. Who wouldn’t want to get in on the ground floor of this?

 

Brett

Top Pick: Medisin #1 (Action Lab: Danger Zone) – This has been one that’s been on my radar for a while. The story is about a criminal mastermind who recruits a team of down on their luck physicians to handle health care for super villains. The concept sounds amazing and can’t wait to dive in and read this.

Bug: The Adventures of Forager #1 (DC’s Young Animal) – A new series from DC’s Young Animal imprint. I don’t know much about the character other than it’s a Jack Kirby creation or what to expect but the fact it’s Lee Allred and Michael Allred has me intrigued enough to check it out.

Honor Girl (Candlewick Press) – This is one I know nothing about but saw it in the list of releases and decided to take a look at the description. A graphic memoir by Maggie Trash that focuses on one’s first love and fist heartbreak.

Rough Riders: Riders on the Storm #3 (Aftershock Comics) – Fun, I don’t really need to say much more than that.

Solar Flare #2 (Vault Comics) – The first issue built the tension perfectly and it looks like we’re about to see the disaster break out. Really looking forward to this summer blockbuster in comic book form.

Star Wars: The Screaming Citadel #1 (Marvel) – Marvel has been killing it when it comes to their Star Wars comics. A new “event” and crossover is something I actually look forward to as they’ve shown so far, they can pull it off and do it well.