July’s comics list puts the final nail in the coffin of our favourite series about the living dead, more sci-fi madness, time-travelling Templar Knights, and demons. So pretty standard in the world of comic books and manga, though the idea that you can post a blackhole in a FedEx box is pretty new and certainly fills a peculiar hole for something we didn’t realise we were missing…
1. Walking Dead #193
Image Comics – Released: July 3rd
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Cliff Rathburn & Charlie Adlard
The final issue concluding the 13 year-long Image Comics success series that has been appeasing our appetite for all things ‘zombie’ – bringing the trade paperback collection up to 32 volumes. Hope you have the bookshelf space for that! To say this is a landmark issue would be a understatement, given the success Robert Kirkman’s brain-eating child has had not only as an indie comic, but with the popular TV adaptation alongside the spin-off, Fear the Walking Dead, as well as the excellent – if heartbreaking – Telltales game series. The Walking Dead’s popularity has been infectious!
Naturally, I’ll avoid any spoilers or vague plot references since this really is an issue that needs to be experienced first hand. Besides that, chances are that if you’re a Walking Dead fan, you’ll be picking it up anyway. If you’re not caught up, well… this is the final issue. Why would you start here? While many fans were introduced to the series through Andrew Lincoln’s live-action TV version, the comic narrative and key characters differ somewhat, so even if you’re all caught up with the show, grabbing that first volume and gorging yourself on trade paperbacks like a Walker on a pie-eating contestant will still offer a unique experience. Just be prepared for unexpected tears, and a 32 volume long marathon. You may need to make some space…
2. Sea of Stars #1
Image Comics – Released: July 3rd
Writer: Jason Aaron & Dennis Hallum
Artist: Stephen Green
In Sea of Stars debut issue, Jason Aaron and Dennis Hallum shows us that in space, no one can hear you scream… from boredom! We are introduced to Gil and his son Kadyn, as they travel across the universe to make an important delivery. Naturally, the young Kadyn finds life on a big space rig boring, until an encounter with a giant intergalactic leviathan separates the two, leading to a story in which they must survive on their own until they are reunited.
Featuring giant space dolphins and surprisingly friendly space monkeys who have a taste for human flesh, Jason Aaron is joined by artist Stephen Green to offer Image fans a new science fiction comic that oozes charm with it’s beautiful art, colouring, and writing. But then, what else would you expect from the creative mind of Jason Aaron, writer behind Doctor Strange: Way of the Weird, Thor: Goddess of Thunder, and Southern Bastards? This first issue sets up a promising new series with a charm that is likely to strike a chord with fans of Images past science fiction offerings such as Descender (Jeff Lemire & Dustin Nguyen), with a captivating art style and young excitable protagonist set in a creative, colourful galaxy, featuring a high concentration of purple!
3. Collapser #1
DC’s Young Animal – Released: July 17th
Writer: Mikey Way & Shaun Simon
Artist: Ilias Kyriazis
Liam James balances a rough job at a nursing home, his relationship with his girlfriend, and his aspirations to become a DJ, with music being the one constant thing to quiet his anxious personality. However, upon receiving a black hole in his mail (literally, it even came boxed with a letter), his life becomes just that bit more complicated, as you can imagine. As it proceeds to attach itself to his chest, he is pulled into a cosmic conflict and granted cosmic powers he doesn’t comprehend. It’s understandable why he might be feeling more than a little anxious…
Collapser #1 sparks a new DC Young Animal series with writers Mikey Way and Shaun Simon, with art by Ilias Kyriazis. It’s an absorbing read – not only because of the, you know, black hole – that presents superpowers with super anxieties within a grounded reality, with relatable characters and life-like situations – an impression that is only heightened by the gritty art from Ilias Kyriazis.
4. Sera & The Royal Stars #1
Vault Comics – Released: July 17th
Writer: Jon Tsuei
Artist: Audrey Mock
Vault Comics new Sera & The Royal Stars is set during a civil war that rages throughout the Empire of Parsa in the middle of a famine. A vision from a deity sets Princes Sera on a quest to seek the Royal Stars to restore them to the heavens, hoping to save her people. Jon Tsuei’s fantasy quest takes inspiration from a Persian landscape, brought to life by artist Audrey Mock and colourist Raúl Angulo, making it look like an animated feature with somewhat of a Princess Mononoke vibe. With a healthy dose of Asian mythology, the charm and attraction of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and a hero who you’re bound to become deeply invested in, it’s no wonder Sera & The Royal Stars sold out on its first print run!
5. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Vol. 7
Viz – Released: July 2nd
Writer: Koyoharu Gotouge
Artist: Koyoharu Gotouge
It might surprise you to know that Demon Slayer involves demons and, yes, the slaying of said demons. Set during the Taisho-era, Tanjiro Kamado joins the Demon Slayer Corps after his family is slaughtered, leaving himself and his sister Nezuko as the sole survivors. Nezuko, however, is transformed into a demon – which according to this manga sounds cooler than it is – as a result of the attack, driving Tanjiro to avenge the loss of his family and find a way to turn his sister human again. Of course seven volumes in, you should probably go back and read over the past releases if you haven’t already. But if you like shonen, demons (and let’s face it, who doesn’t?), and a gritty world that still has a few light hearted moments, Demon Slayer is a manga series to look out for.
With its highly stylised art from Koyoharu Gotouge, Demon Slayer follows some of the typical shonen storytelling tropes, with its tragic start and vengeful hero training to become strong enough to defeat the series’ villains, but the charm of it’s characters and brutal setting – as well as its art – set this one apart from the others. In Volume 7, Tanjiro and co. recover from their previous demon encounter and learn a powerful new technique, which they’ll need for their next demon-hunting mission… aboard the Infinity Train! Just mind you don’t get turned into a demon, or you might end up fused to a drum like Kyogai or become half spider like the inventively named Older Brother Spider Demon…
6. Thumbs #2
Image Comics – Released: July 3rd
Writer: Sean Lewis
Artist: Hayden Sherman
Sean Lewis and Hayden Sherman’s Thumbs is set in a dystopian future in which modern comforts of technology have reduced its users to junkies, while a revolutionary group – who recruit members through a Fortnite-esque battle simulation game – strive to combat an Orwellian government who intend to ban it. Issue 2 continues from where the first left off, with our titular protagonist, Thumbs, waking up from a coma, trapped in an underground facility. Bad way to start the morning… With the threat of Power and mad ramblings of techno-junkies (no that isn’t a new music craze), Sean Lewis continues to foreshadow a unique, dismal future with the bleak, yet creative, art from Hayden Sherman, utilising a predominantly grey palette with splashes of hot pink that instantly draws you in.
7. Knights Temporal #1
Aftershock Comics – Released: July 31st
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Fran Galan
Featuring knights, sorcerers, demons, swords, and forests that displace time, Knights Temporal is a new, pun titled Aftershock fantasy comic, in which Auguste de Rivière, after returning from the Crusades, is flung to the present day after pursuing an evil sorcerer into a mysterious forest. Cullen Bunn’s first issue is full of intrigue and makes you question the motives of characters introduced by the end of it’s narration, leading to the possibility of a multilayered conspiracy set in the modern day, with a displaced Knight of the Templar and a dark sorcerer. Fran Galan’s art perfectly captures the gritty nature of the crusader knight with the gritty modern day city setting, using bright neon colours to contrast against the murkier tones of the past.
8. Platinum End Vol. 9
Viz – Released: July 2nd
Writer: Tsugumi Ohba
Artist: Takeshi Obata
From the creators of Death Note, Mirai Kakehashi is a student fed up with his life of abuse from his uncle and aunt, who have raised him since his parents’ death. However, when he is saved by a Guardian Angel, Nasse, after a suicide attempt, he is naturally granted powers that enter him into a battle Royale contest to become the next God, leading us to question how many battle Royale manga and anime we need? And how many of those involve becoming the ‘next God’? At any rate, this one will appeal to Death Note fans, inverting similar themes with a suicidal character who has a new found appreciation for life, contrasting against the murderous rampage of Light, with a focus on personal hardship with a dark supernatural thriller narrative.
9. Manor Black #1
Dark Horse Comics – Released: July 31st
Writer: Cullen Bunn & Brian Hurtt
Artist: Tyler Crook
When a new gothic horror comic opens with a van full of freaked out passengers trying to escape an unknown assailant, only to find said assailant has teleported in front of them causing the van to crash within the opening pages, you know you’re in for a good thrill ride! With evil magic kids and a creepy mansion with a dark secret (not to mention its ghostly corpses that seem to be able to talk…), Cullen Bunn (who now features twice on this list!) offers a dark supernatural thriller that combines magic, gothic horror and mystery, building up what promises to be a thrilling new gothic horror series from Dark Horse. There’s no BPRD to swoop in here though, so don’t expect a horned David Harbour dressed in red to come to anyone’s rescue. Tyler Crook’s painterly art compliments the writing, with some monochromatic colouring choices that add to the darker nature of the story, making effective use of colour to draw attention or break up a page.
