Part two of Perihelion by Antony Johnston and Justin Greenwood ramps up the tension as we are given hints of the various areas set up to explode by the end of this public holiday. Attention moves from the “Haircut Killer”, a serial murderer case established in the previous issue, to the more public (and dangerously crowd-based) sources of conflict. There’s the official celebration, mc’ed by a functionary who’s boring those gathered with his politicking. There’s a demonstration by rebels demanding […]

Time for a new mystery in the dynamite science fiction series by Antony Johnston and Justin Greenwood! Or maybe more than one. The latest arc begins here, with Perihelion, which is the day the space station is closest to the sun. It’s also an excuse for a Mardi Gras-like party that takes over the whole place. You don’t need to get up to speed with previous issues, since there’s a helpful introductory piece kicking off this issue, but I do […]

I’ve stopped talking about The Wicked + the Divine because, while I love reading it, I’m not sure I understand it fully. I thought it was about more than just making us love characters and then destroying them, although that is the premise of the series by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie — that a new group of gods have been created, they’re massively famous young people, and they’re going to die within two years. I may be wrong to […]

It’s the abandoned kids’ first night after the bus crash, and things are getting much worse for them quickly. Various members of the group are handling the trauma in different fashions. Some are ignoring the depth of their risk, trying to find something to sing around the campfire. Others are attempting to care for their injured comrades, without the necessary knowledge or supplies, and becoming overwhelmed by the effort. The worst are panicking, which does no one any good but […]

The Tithe is a heist story set in a megachurch carried out by a bunch of hackers. I have no idea what’s going to happen next, and that’s a good thing when it comes to adventure comics these days. Launching the book with a quote by Jim Bakker while pointing out his time in jail sets a certain mood as well. Matt Hawkins writes and Rahsan Ekedal draws the tale. A heavily armed crew wearing Jesus masks breaks into the […]

The Fuse: Gridlock is more obviously science fiction than the first volume, The Russia Shift. This time around, detectives Klem and Ralph are investigating a body found during a gridlocking race. That’s when spacesuited daredevils illegally compete on maglev bikes across the solar arrays that run the space station. Very high-tech, although the motivations are universal, regardless of the future setting. I don’t hear many people talking about this tightly plotted SF mystery series by Antony Johnston and Justin Greenwood, […]

Two of my favorite women making comics, Alex de Campi and Carla Speed McNeil (Finder, Bad Houses), have teamed up for a new Image series, No Mercy. Now, this series could be described as horror — it’s about a well-meaning but clueless group of privileged students traveling to Central America, where everything goes wrong and various of them end up maimed or dead — which I normally stay well away from, but in this case, I’m glad I gave it […]

I don’t like They’re Not Like Us. It’s aggressive and sometimes violent and mean and selfish. But I’m amazed by how writer Eric Stephenson and artist Simon Gane have found a truly new thing to do with superpowered young people. The first issue opens with Syd thinking about committing suicide by jumping from a building. She’s tired of the voices in her head and doesn’t know any other way to quiet them. You’re a superhero comic reader, you’ve seen this […]