That’s right; comics! This time of year however has been good in terms of my taste in stories, so I will not be attending Arma this year. I cannot justify the price of admission just to rummage through the random boxes of unwanted back-issues from the three small comic outlets that always show up. Not to mention, the traverse can get depressing in a, same-shit-different-year, kind of vibe (New Zealand is a small country after all). So instead, I would like to recommend to you the comics that have me sold, over the merchandise convention currently on at ASB Showgrounds this long weekend:
Story By: Brian K. Vaughan / Art By: Cliff Chiang / Colours By: Matt Wilson / Letters and Design: Jared K. Fletcher / Cover By: Cliff Chiang / Published: October 7, 2015
Four 12-year-old paper delivery girls in 1988 band together to safely complete their neighborhood run the morning following Halloween, when they uncover something mysterious and otherworldly. This story has people talking, Stand By Me-meets-War Of The Worlds-talking. It is too early to say whether Brian K. Vaughan’s story will unfold well, it is likely however that this ongoing series will surprise many and become popular fast. The first issue is double-sized and delivers a terrific set-up and tone. What I loved the most about PAPER GIRLS is Matt Wilson’s colouring. I will be adding it to my pull-list.
And for those of you who are already in the know, here is a crib sheet so you can decipher the spoken (written?) alien language for yourself:
Story By: Kelly Sue DeConnick / Art By: Valentine De Landro & Robert Wilson IV / Cover By: Valentine De Landro
BITCH PLANET is a riff on the sexplotation genre, and in the hands of very talented minds it is a deliciously vicious sci-fi satire that has people praising its audacity — this comic has even spawned its own badass feminist movement with many readers taking to the needle and getting inked [see image below]
The story takes place in a dystopian reality where non-compliant women are sent to an off-planet prison, where a select few are invited to compete in a televised blood-sport for a chance at freedom.
Love the artwork in BITCH PLANET, but I am still waiting for that wow-moment that I get whenever I fall in love with a story. I have reason to be hopeful it will come though. I loved Kelly Sue DeConnick’s PRETTY DEADLY and am eagerly awaiting the second arc to be published soon.
Non-Compliant symbol — The blanket term for Bitch Planet’s women is “non-compliant.”
Story By: Rick Remender / Art By: Sean Gordon Murphy / Colours by: Matt Hollingsworth
Seriously, dude, this just came out and it is one of the best things that has happened this year — go get it! I think I am beginning to recognise how much I like Rick Remender’s work, and don’t get me started on Sean Murphy because I will never shut up about PUNK ROCK JESUS or THE WAKE — fan for life right hurr! Gorgeous work.
I have two words for you… Cyberpunk. Samurai.
TOKYO GHOST examines our growing addiction to technology while thirsting for a nature we continue to destroy. The Isles of Los Angeles 2089: Humanity is addicted to technology, a population of unemployed leisure seekers blissfully distracted from toxic contamination, who borrow, steal, and kill to buy their next digital fix. Getting a virtual buzz is the only thing left to live for. It’s the biggest industry, the only industry, the drug everyone needs, and gangsters run it all. And who do these gangsters turn to when they need their rule enforced? Constables Led Dent and Debbie Decay. This duo is about to be given a job that will force them out of the familiar squalor of Los Angeles to take down the last tech-less country on Earth: The Garden Nation of Tokyo.
This is a classic science fiction tale of trans-dimensional exploration, unimaginable adventure, entropy and never-ending peril. A group of dimensionauts including two children, after their inaugural jump, become victims of a sabotaged machine that teleports them from one parallel universe to the next, each one exceedingly more dangerous than the last.
The artwork truly does the story justice. New arc begins November 4, 2015.
Story By: Rick Remender / Art By: Greg Tocchini
Last but not least; LOW. This is the comic equivalent of an incredibly well produced Hollywood blockbuster epic! Unlike other series, every single issue has managed to deliver some amazing set-piece and wow me. Story, artwork, colours, all of it is amazing. It is like really good chocolate; as much as I want others to share my enjoyment, I also like keeping a few things for myself every so often, hence the reason why my first mention of LOW happens to be issue #10 lolz.
Millennia ago, mankind fled the earth’s surface into the bottomless depths of the darkest oceans. Shielded from a merciless sun’s scorching radiation, the human race tried to stave off certain extinction by sending robotic probes far into the galaxy, to search for a new home among the stars. Generations later, one family is about to be torn apart, in a conflict that will usher in the final race to save humanity from a world beyond hope.
Dive into an aquatic fantasy like none you’ve ever seen before, as writer RICK REMENDER (BLACK SCIENCE, Captain America) and artist GREG TOCCHINI (Last Days of American Crime) bring you a tale of mankind’s final hour in the cold, deathly dark of the sea.
As you can see, when I refer to comic books I don’t necessarily mean caped or masked superheroes. That isn’t where my interests lie. Unique visions and dynamic characters will always make my pull-list. I know there is something for everyone in the super extensive world of comics, I can only hope I maybe helped someone see past any stigma associated with the medium. Comics are out of this world awesome and the perfect medicine for the uninspired mind. Dear people, kids, if you are going to attend a pop-culture convention, you could at least freaking read one! Stop buying and selling DVDs at Arma, please. I’m embarrassed.
Posted in 🎨 A R T : A U D I O 🎶, 👽 [F]-F I L E S
Tags: "Pretty Deadly" -- Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick / Art by Jordie Bellaire & Emma Rios, Arma 2014, Armageddon Booze-Fish & The Pirate City Rollers' Skate Odyssey Finally! [F], Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, Comics, Cyberpunk, Dimensionauts, Greg Tocchini, I ♥ COMICS, LOW, Matt Hollingsworth, MY COMIC BOOKS!!!, My One Reason to Go to Armageddon, PAPER GIRLS, Publisher Image Comics, Punk Rock Jesus created by Sean Murphy, Rick Remender, science fiction, Sean Gordon Murphy, TOKYO GHOST
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