It’s new comic book day! What’s everyone getting? What are you excited for? Sound off in the comments below! While you wait for shops to open, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web in our morning roundup.
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 are choosing up to five books and why they’re choosing the books. In other words, this is what we’re looking forward to and think you should be taking a look!
Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this Wednesday.
Joe
Top Picks: Daredevil #601 (Marvel) – The Mayor Fisk arc has been wonderful, and with the twist from last issue I am waiting what this one will bring. This is turning into one of the best runs on Daredevil I have read in years, and Soule and Garney keep rolling!
Infinity Countdown #2 (Marvel) – The Adam Warlock issue and the first issue of this event that is leading to another event (but don’t call it an event!) was filled with great set up. I am more than excited that Logan is back, and the characters they chose to have the infinity stones is very interesting and should lead to some great fun.
The Avengers #689 (Marvel) – Every week this comic delivers classic Avengers action while jugging many team members and creators, and I can not recommend it enough.
Action Comics #1000 (DC) – A landmark moment for comics, superheroes, and the one to spawn generation after generation of heroes. This is the guy who made it cool to wear the underwear on the outside (wait that’s not cool?). One thousand issues is insane!
The Black Monday Murders Vol. 2 (Image Comics) – I love this creepy detective occult series and this volume is just as wild as the first. Hickman is one of the best writers around today, so do not miss this!
Shay
Fight Club 2 TP (Dark Horse) – I am fangirling pretty hard for this soft cover version of my signed never taken off the shelf hard cover copy. Finally a copy that can come with me and an excuse to reread it.
Harley Quinn #42 (DC Comics) – I’ve been warming to the new team behind Harley and I am a sucker for seeing what the future holds my favorite villain.
John Wick #2 (Dynamite Entertainment) – More of the John Wick origin story and it should keep me going until the 3rs installment comes out next year.
Kick-Ass #3 (Image Comics) – Patience Lee is taking names and kicking ass so obviously I am all the way here for it.
Runaways TP Vol. 10 (Marvel) – Teens being teens and trying to save the world the way teens would.
Calexit #1 (4th Printing) (Black Mask Studios) – Because it is the start of an amazing series!
Brett
Top Pick: Fence #5 (BOOM! Studios) – BOOM! has been killing it with sports series that bring the popular manga genre to the west and this series is one of the best out there. Great characters, interaction, and stories.
Lucy Dreaming #2 (BOOM! Studios) – A fun start that seems to blend the magical girl genre with sci-fi.
Mister Miracle #8 (DC Comics) – One of the most intriguing comics out today. The second half of this series has me excited to see where it all goes and what the creative team has in store. A brilliant maxi-series and will absolutely be on many best of lists.
James Bond: The Body #4 (Dynamite Entertainment) – An intriguing series that has explored Bond in a new way and really breaking down the character in various aspects. A must for any Bond fan.
Transformers: Optimus Prime #17/Transformers: Optimus Prime #18/Transformers: Lost Light #17 (IDW Publishing) – Any week with Transformers comics I’m happy, but three in one week makes me beyond excited. So much more than meets the eye.
After six months on the New York Times bestseller list in hardcover, Dark Horse has revealed Fight Club 2 will be available in paperback! Bestselling novelist Chuck Palahniuk and acclaimed artist Cameron Stewart collaborated for one of the most highly anticipated comic book and literary events of the decade—the return of Tyler Durden. Fight Club 2 features a cover by legendary artist David Mack.
The first rule of Fight Club is to not talk about it, but Fight Club 2 garnered an avalanche of rave reviews while introducing a new generation of readers to Project Mayhem.
Ten years after starting Project Mayhem, Sebastian lives a mundane life. A kid, a wife. Pills to keep his destiny at bay. But it won’t last long; the wife has seen to that. He’s back where he started, but this go-round he’s got more at stake than his own life. The time has arrived . . .
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.
Shay
Top Pick: Fight Club 2 Library Edition (Dark Horse) – This was an amazing miniseries that stood up to the awesomeness of the book and the film. David Mack’s killer covers and Cameron Stewart’s art makes this hardcover edition worth having as a keepsake and an amazing read worth going back to time and time again. It’s a great sequel to an already iconic story and having it in hardcover form makes it a nice coffee table book so you can turn all your friends on to the magic.
Harley Quinn #5 (DC Comics) -The baddest chick is back in a new issue. This is the start of a new story arc ” Eat To This Beat”. We get to follow Harley on an undercover mission through NYC punk scene and that’s sure to be a fun ride and a super interesting arc. Excited is an understatement.
Shade, The Changing Girl #1 (DC Comics) – Intergalactic body jumper, a female lead, high school drama and more await in this new take on a unique series from DC. I’m hella interested in where this story goes because, the idea of someone trying to escape madness and getting trapped in the body of bully that everyone hates is a fun twist. I’m excited to see all the twists and turns that can happen when nothing is what it seems.
Wynonna Earp #8 (IDW Publishing) – The struggle is real for a werewolf trying to protect his family from the criminal pack of werewolves he ripped off. Lucky for Ibob that Black Badges baddest team has his back, with Val, Wynonna, Haught, Dolls , Smitty and, Doc on his protection detail. But, Ibob might have to step up and help in the fight because when things go wrong family and friends have to look out for each other and take no prisoners.
Jessica Jones #1 (Marvel) – Welcome to the present! A decade later Jessica Jones is back and ready slay with her PI gig. Things might be a little different but, Jess is still the same and that’s a good thing because I’m sure this series will keep us on our toes and get us ready for the next season on Jessica Jones on Netflix. 2018 seems like forever but, this should be the fix we all need.
Alex
Top Pick: A&A: The Adventures of Archer & Armstrong #8 (Valiant) – Always a pleasure to read, this series has become one of my favourite. The current story featuring a travelling circus of Armstrong clones has been an absolute blast, with just enough stabs at a typically standard superhero comic to make it to the top of the list.
Black #1 (Black Mask Studios) – It’s hard to understate how much of an impact this comic could have with it’s tale of a young black man shot by police, before he wakes up with superpowers. In a world where only black people have superpowers. This comic should have some significant buzz about it, but is it worth the hype? We’ll find out Wednesday.
Bloodshot Reborn #18 (Valiant) – I’m as surprised as you are that this is here the week after issue #17 came out, but it makes sense. The story wasn’t quite over for the Bloodshot gang, and a second issue of this comic in as many weeks isn’t a bad thing. Especially when the Bloodshots are stranded on a dingy in the middle of the ocean.
Green Lanterns #8 (DC Comics) – DC’s finest title right now. This series has gotten me excited about Green Lantern comics for the first time in a decade. The chemistry between Simon and Jessica echoes all the very best buddy cop movies, and their platonic relationship has developed very naturally over the course of the first seven issues.One of the very few comic books that I’m happy about the bi-weekly shipping schedule, but as ever with such a shipping schedule, I really hope that the quality keeps up with it.
Intertwined #1 (Dynamite Entertainment) – A kung-fu noir tale set in the 70’s? Sign me up.
Revolution #2 (IDW Publishing) – This is a comic that’s the fantasy of any kid who played with their Transformers and G.I. Joes at the same time. The kicker? The first issue was awesome, even if you haven’t been following the comic of the properties involved.
Brett
Top Pick: Black #1 (Black Mask Studios) – I’ve read it. I’ve reviewed it. It lives up to my high expectations and really delivers an entertaining comic that is also relevant.
Death of X #1 (Marvel) – Filling in the gap of what happened post Secret Wars and when we came into the new Marvel Universe, Death of X will let us know what set the Inhumans and X-Men on a collision course.
Jessica Jones #1 (Marvel) – Jones returns to her own series and it’s far overdue. At this point the question is if the series will live up to expectations?
Midnighter and Apollo #1 (DC Comics) – A follow up to Steve Orlando’s excellent Midnighter, the mini-series reunites this superpowered power couple.
Romulus #1 (Image Comics) – Written by Bryan Hill with art by Nelson Blake II, this series has been on my radar ever since Hill mentioned it on our podcast. Now, I finally get to see what the buzz is about and Anthony has more details below.
Anthony
Black #1 (Black Mask Studios) – It has been repeatedly said but Black Mask Studios releases titles that are always intriguing, fresh and deserving of a wider scope of people’s comic radar. Black suggest a what if story that puts a focus on a topic that is unfortunately not new but being more publicized as an influx of stories of police brutality against black individuals rises. What if only black people had superpowers? There needs to be more diverse titles like Black with a creative team like writer Kwanza Osajyefo, co-creator and designer Tim Smith III, artist Jamal Igle and cover artist Khary Randolph.
Moonshine #1 (Image Comics) – A crime story set in the prohibition era that includes a werewolf? With the creative team of Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso (100 Bullets) back together, this is an absolute must buy.
Paper Girls #10 (Image Comics) – The second arc comes to a close. Paper Girls is one of those titles that are a continuous treat to read, fleshing out the characters and weirdness of time travel all with a helping of humour each and every month.
Romulus #1 (Image Comics) – From writer Bryan Hill (Postal) and artist Nelson Blake II, Romulus sounds like one of those titles that has potential to be a big hit. A woman named Ashlar is on a mission to fight against a secret organization that trained and betrayed her. With an awesome sounding lead, secret organizations, and a manipulated past in need of a present day reality check, Romulus has a lot of promise.
A&A: The Adventures of Archer and Armstrong #8 (Valiant) – Archer and Armstrong look to continue to fight against a clone of Armstrongs from a local circus. A&A never fails to be entertaining and hilarious and since this is the last part of this circus of nightmares, it will be very interesting to see what exactly will be found out about Armstrong’s wife, setting up the next arc.
Ten years after starting Project Mayhem, he lives a mundane life. A kid, a wife. Pills to keep his destiny at bay. But it won’t last long—the wife has seen to that. He’s back where he started, but this go-round he’s got more at stake than his own life. The time has arrived . . . The Fight Club 2 trade collects issues #1–#10 of the series.
New York Times best-selling novelist Chuck Palahniuk and acclaimed artist Cameron Stewart have collaborated for one of the most highly anticipated literary events of 2016: the return of Tyler Durden. The first rule of Fight Club 2 might be not to talk about it, but Fight Club 2 is generating international headlines and will introduce a new generation of readers to Project Mayhem.
The critically acclaimed ten-issue comic series concluded last month, and the hardcover collection hits bookshelves on June 15. As announced last week, Palahniuk will also appear on a 10-city book tour to support the release of his graphic novel.
Ten years after starting Project Mayhem, Sebastian lives a mundane life. A kid, a wife. Pills to keep his destiny at bay. But it won’t last long; the wife has seen to that. He’s back where he started, but this go-round he’s got more at stake than his own life. The time has arrived . . .
An oversized, slipcased hardcover limited edition will be released in October. It features a tip-in plate signed by Chuck Palahniuk, ninety pages of bonus content, and a striking new cover by legendary artist David Mack.
Fight Club 2 Library Edition is in stores October 5, 2016.
Fight Club 2 comes to an end this issue. Like a truly talented escape artist, the interest was not in how Chuck Palahniuk would escape the death-trap he had placed himself in last issue but rather in being there to witness his spectacular and gruesome death.
And, like a truly talented escape artist, he somehow managed to pull it off.
Years of stale marriage between Marla Singer and Sebastian led to the return of Sebastian’s alter-ego, social-terrorist Tyler Durden. Tyler kidnapped their son, demonstrating his ability to transcend the bounds of his old host and live immortal as an idea. Sebastian and Marla each pursued their own leads to track down and save their son from the growing threat of Rize or Die, Tyler’s own private army. Though they each reached their son, they failed to stop Tyler’s plan to destroy the world in order to grow a new one.
After the last issue, there was a sense of anger and betrayal that accused Palahniuk of self-indulgence. In the final pages, the writer began communicating directly with Sebastian in order to save the day. That filthy term “deus ex machina” may have been used once or twice. In fact, the climax to the story felt like a great disappointment considering the caliber of the story until that point.
Reading issue ten was like sitting on the couch until sunrise, knowing your roommate went out, got drunk, wrecked your car and had sex with your girlfriend. It was like drinking cup after cup of increasingly stale coffee to see what he would have to say for himself when he walked in the door confused and embarrassed.
It was like having your roommate walk in clear-headed and calm and explain to you exactly what he had one.
Then you sit there, take one more sip and say, “Okay… I get that.”
Last month, I told people to pass on issue #9. There really seemed to be no explanation to redeem the frustration I felt having read the climax after all my eager anticipation. This pre-release review, this spoiler-absent review, is intended to assure you that if you did pass on issue #9 and do not plan to buy #10, you should make amends now.
Fight Club 2 #10 does not expunge what happened last issue. In fact, it further breaks from traditional storytelling, especially within the comic medium. However, it’s direction is challenging precisely in the way a real story should be challenging. It is an organic and authentic progression that makes clear the disappointment and frustration that came in the last issue was just the death pangs of leaving behind the confines the story still lived in. It has become, like Tyler, something more.
Need more convincing? Ask in the comments or on Twitter and I will assure you.
Fight Club 2 nears its conclusion, taking time for writer Chuck Palahniuk to join the readers in asking, “What happens next?”
After years of marriage, Marla Singer and Sebastian (the narrator of the previous story) have settled down and started a family. Following the return of Tyler Durden, Sebastian’s alter-ego, their boy is kidnapped in order to be Tyler’s new host. Attempting to rescue their boy from Rize or Die, Tyler’s militarized manifestation of Project Mayhem, the two parents set out separately. Now their own resources have brought them together again, facing down Tyler’s new host, Junior.
Does anyone remember the Daffy Duck cartoon, “The Scarlet Pumpernickel”? In it, Daffy Duck is pitching an idea about a swashbuckling hero who doesn’t know how to resolve the climax of his story. Instead, he continues to layer upon tension and story development until he himself is so overwhelmed by expectation he feels compelled to blow his brains out. Chuck Palahniuk plays that role in this story.
Fight Club was amazing story. Fight Club 2 has been amazing, as well. It has built the world of Sebastian and the character of Tyler Durden into an idea that transcends any one man. However, the ideas that drove the story clearly got further than the plot did. As the story climaxes in this issue, with Tyler having begun a nuclear attack intended to cleanse the planet, Sebastian is literally speaking to Palahniuk, receiving instructions on the phone about what to do. Most people will agree a Deus ex Machina is cheap, a thinly veiled one is even more so. However, it such a flimsy device even considered a Deus ex Machina when it fails to deliver the main characters from harm?
The last few pages aren’t spent trying to find out what happens next, eagerly fearing the worst. Instead, the reader begins scanning the last few panels hoping to see any sign the narrative will balance out. It doesn’t. The result is not simply the sense that the story was underdeveloped, it leaves the impression that there should have been a stronger editorial position that ensured the story did not become a writer work-shopping the story during the climax. Which literally happens here.
Climax and conclusion should be a part of the initial proposal for a limited story. It should be presented as evident and logical in the very beginning, long before the book goes to print. What happens instead is the readers spend forty dollars for a story that went out unfinished.
Fight Club 2 is about as high-concept as the original, but when you’re receiving each issue once a month, it takes a moment to try to get all the characters in the right place, to remind yourself the rules of the story. When it’s been several months since the last installment, it’s even more confusing. When the story itself ends with the author throwing his hands up, the stylized flower petals and floating iodine pills are no longer artistic, they are a stylized distraction from what is actually on the page.
At this point, the conclusion in the next issue can’t do much to undo the damage of this issue. The climax has been botched by uncertainty and unwelcome meta-intrusion. If there was no idea how to resolve the conflict and climax of this story, what is the point of the upcoming Fight Club 3?
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!
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!
Fight Club 2 nears its conclusion, taking time for writer Chuck Palahniuk to join the readers in asking, “What happens next?”
It’s new comic book day! What’s everyone excited for? What are you planning on getting? Sound off in the comments below!