Top 5 Comics of the Week - July 20, 2022
Indies rule the roost this week.
It was a pretty solid week for comics. Indie titles reigned supreme. Mm. Nachos Supreme. Anyway, here are this week’s books.
Dark Spaces: Wildfire #1. IDW Comics. Written by Scott Snyder. Art by Hayden Sherman. This book takes the top spot this week largely because of its interesting premise. The protagonists or antiheroes or stars of the book are incarcerated women who work as wildfire firefighters. They have the opportunity to perform, because of an impending wildfire, to perform a heist on someone that may or may not have wronged one of the women. It’s an intriguing setup for a heist book.
Scott Snyder knows how to write a comic. He paces things well. His internal monologues don’t feel forced. His characters, while not very fleshed out, seem believable. Hayden Sherman’s art is gorgeous. He has a very fluid art style that reminds me a bit of Juan Gedeon or Daniel Warren Johnson, but with their own unique twist. Their panel layout is solid and they’re effective visual storytellers.
I’m hoping this book stays clever. A premise alone isn’t enough to carry a book, but this one has some promise.
Ice Cream Man #31. Image Comics. Written by W. Maxwell Prince. Art by Martîn Morazzo. Every issue of Ice Cream Man that I’ve read has been solid, but this particular story is special. It’s a poetic essay on aging as viewed through two different lenses. A father watches his daughter grow up and grow into herself. The daughter watches her father grow old and deal with the consequences of old age. It’s sentimental without being maudlin. It has a touch of melancholy but it isn’t one of the more horrific or overly sad issues of this anthology series.
I feel like W. Maxwell Prince has tired a bit of the horror element of this book and has begun to tell more personal stories of a philosophical nature. His writing is fantastic and he crafts tales that could only really be told via the medium of comics. As always, Martin Morazzo is the perfect collaborator. His sparse line work doesn’t overshadow the message. It’s a great issue in a great series.
Do A Power Bomb #2. Image Comics. Writing and art by Daniel Warren Johnson. Daniel Warren Johnson combines the wackiness of pro wrestling, 1980s supernatural fantasies, and a family drama in an unexpectedly fantastic way. The plot is ridiculous and out there, but it’s grounded by the characters. He does an amazing job of choreographing action sequences. I felt like I was watching a real wrestling match. This issue doesn’t have quite the emotional punch of the first issue, but it does have a surprise reveal that was a bit shocking. If it keeps up like this miniseries has the potential to be something truly special.
Triskele #2. Scout Comics. Written by Felipe Pan. Art by Monaramis. This title wears its influences on its sleeve. There are strong vibes of Arthurian myth meets Chronicles of Narnia. A child protagonist starts seeing visions no one else sees and that leads him on a quest. Along the way, he faces temptations and meets people that may not be quite what they seem. It’s a slow-burn, visually gorgeous book that’s set in an indeterminate time period.
Felipe Pan definitely researched for this book. There are footnotes that explain old Gaelic sayings as well as references to actual moments in pre-British history. He writes with a slow, dreamlike quality that’s reinforced by Monaramis’s art. That art features a muted color palette and melds a sense of gravitas with whimsy in an interesting way. This is another title whose success will depend upon how it continues, but it’s a solid, if not overly fast-paced, beginning to an epic adventure.
Blink #1. Oni Press. Written by Cristopher Sebela. Art by Hayden Sherman. Blink is the tale of a writer who is dealing with past childhood trauma. A lot of the initial part of the story is told via a combination of inner monologuing and listicle writings. It’s an interesting device that works well in this context. This issue really is mainly set up without a whole lot of action. It does feature a believable relationship and what feels like an authentic way of dealing with and repressing woes.
Sebela’s writing is solid if not spectacular. I’ll probably wait for a trade paperback of this book to come out before I read any more. I have a feeling it’ll read better as a complete story. This is another book this week that’s illustrated by Hayden Sherman. Their art style varies a bit from their work on Dark Spaces Wildfire. It feels a bit tighter and restrained here, which fits in with the story. There’s a gorgeous 2-page spread of, well, apartment buildings. It’s not dynamic but it’s a crazy good drawing.
This title makes the number 5 spot on the list mostly because of the relationship characterization. The actual story itself didn’t grip me all that much, but we’ll see how it comes together when it’s all finished.
That’ll do it for this week’s reviews.
As always, you can watch a somewhat cranky video review of every comic book I read this week on my Youtube Channel
Please let me know in the comments what you thought of these books or if there are other books you liked better.