November saw it’s fair share of darker titles being added to our monthly pull list. Including vampires. But it also saw Hal Jordan return to his Parallax persona once again – and with a new demonic space vampire partner – a new number one for the Hill House series with a Twilight Zone style revolving around a creepy Dollhouse, and, of course, a guy with a gun for a face… only in comics, right?
1 – Family Tree #1
13th November 2019
Image Comics
In Family Tree, Jeff Lemire takes the prospect of metamorphosing into Groot and infuses it with a story about the end of the world. At it’s core is the story of a struggling family: single mum Loretta, working a crappy job at a convenience store, her troublesome son Josh, in the habit of getting in trouble at school, and her young daughter Meg, who’s itchy “rash” might need more than a soothing cream! With stylish art from Phil Hester, this is yet another Jeff Lemire series that offers a unique story, even if it sounds barking mad on paper. Loretta and her family are at its root, providing an intriguing family drama, a theme which Lemire has previously explored in his fantastical tales with the likes of Royal City.
2 – Space Riders: Vortex of Darkness #1
26th November 2019
Black Mask
20 years after the Space Riders defeated the king of hyperbole himself, the Destroyer God of Evil, naturally saving the galaxy in the process, their services are required again when the galaxy and all the dimensions and possible realities are threatened by the Mother of All Evil Gods. That’s her name, by the way, not merely an over the top description. Got to hand it to Carlos Giffoni: he sure likes his dramatic character names! What will unfold throughout the series is a mission to assassinate her very soul, with blood, pulp, and nonsensical visual stimuli worthy of Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, albeit in the most hardcore metal Jodorowsky way possible! Even the pages are aged and distressed to look like relics of a past decade…
3 – Olympia #1 (of 5)
20th November 2019
Image Comics
Just imagine: you’re sat under a tree, all alone, reading your favourite comic book – when suddenly, boom! A ball of fire crash lands in the field next you, which turns out to be your favourite superhero, Olympian! This is where we’re introduced to Elon, a lonely kid who has a chance encounter with his favourite superhero – though while nursing the wounded superhero back to health, it turns out our long haired blonde hero wasn’t the only thing to leap from the pages of his comic…
In Olympia, Curt and Tony Pire play with concepts of escapism and childhood fantasy, somewhat breaking the fourth-wall within its own pages, while the dramatic entrance of the Olympian may strike readers as familiar if they have seen Thor – and even more so, since there is somewhat of a resemblance between Olympian and Hemsworth’s Odinson. One of the artistic strengths of Alex Diotto, if a bit hit-and-miss at times, is perhaps the way Elon’s comic book looks like a genuine Jack Kirby comic, whereas the style of Olympia’s “real” world differs enough to separate the two realities.
4 – Green Lantern Blackstars #1
6th November
DC Comics
Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp’s Green Lantern saw Hal Jordon tackle aliens dealing in human souls as drugs – the usual intergalactic police business. However, after the conclusion of the 12-issue mini-series, Hal Jordan is once again named Parallax – though different in design from his ’90s days – and has formed a new team, the Black Star. The story opens up to Hal and his bride-to-be, Countess Bezelbeth (a vampiric space demon… because when in space?), unleashing ancient celestial horrors in order to bolster the Black Star ranks and bring “peace.”
It’s fair to say Grant Morrison’s appreciation for the zany and impossible being possible in the folds of a comic book, coupled with his appreciation for science-fiction, make him a great candidate for the Green Lantern Corps. It’s certainly about time he tackled our favourite space-cop, that’s for sure! And while Liam Sharp’s artistic contributions to the last series added a more old school ‘80s/ ‘90s vibe to the art, complete with Kirby-esque particle effects, heavy blacks, and trippy space scenery, Xermanico manages to capture a similar style with creative panel and page designs that allow for panels to bleed over to the rest of a page, heightening the sense of hallucinogenic sci-fi that stems from Morrison’s writing…
5 – Levius/est Vol. 1
20th November 2019
VIZ Media
Blending a stylised look that conveys a bit of Katsuhiro Otomo and Yoshitaka Amano within a world that leans towards becoming a steampunk Ghost in the Shell, Haruhisa Nakata’s Levius/est is a sequel to Levius, set in an alternative steampunk nineteenth-century. As a sequel to the original Levius, it manages to move its story forward while remaining approachable to newcomers thanks to a quick rehash of the first series. It takes place a year after the mechanical martial arts (MMA) battle between Levius and A.J., which left A.J. unable to remember the events that led to the battle, and Levius unconscious and in pain. It’s no wonder this has been picked up and adapted into an anime series as its world, characters and art direction suit the world of animation well!
Within his apocalyptic nineteenth-century world you’ll find a dramatic use of panel layouts, a detailed and stylised illustrative style, and elaborate battle sequences that feel expertly choreographed. Even if the character development here is somewhat lacking in comparison to the first story, Nakata’s vision of a violent steampunk world is both compelling and inspiring!
6 – Dollhouse Family #1 (of 6)
13th November 2019
DC Black Label
Falling somewhere along the lines of a Twilight Zone episode or Stephen King short story, Mike Carey and Joe Hill have crafted another entry to the new Hill House universe that differs greatly in style from the Basketful of Heads with its mystical axe-wielding heroine. In Dollhouse Family, we’re introduced to Alice on her sixth birthday, where her dying great-aunt has gifted her a massive 19th-century dollhouse, complete with antique dolls – and when they say it became her whole world, they meant it quite literally as she shrinks down small enough to fit in! If Annabelle has taught us anything, it’s never trust antique dolls.
In the “real world” Alice’s family life is wrought with complications, with a verbally abusive mother and out-of-work father who becomes progressively more abusive and violent. Dollhouse Family is quick at getting to the dark and haunting, exploring the theme of what “family” means under such strenuous conditions, while the dollhouse and its idyllic family present Alice a chance to escape – sharing a few ideas, perhaps, from Lewis Carrol or even Gaiman’s Coraline. However these dolls seem quite keen on keeping her with them forever, while the strange relationship between the dolls themselves hints at something potentially more sinister. If that’s not enough, there’s also the mysterious “black room” with its promises to grant wishes in the real world, surrounded by an unnatural, dark aura…
7 – Morbius #1
13th November 2019
Marvel Comics
Like many supporting characters of the web-head, Morbius is a victim of his own ingenuity, having transformed himself into a “living vampire” during a lab experiment to find a cure for a rare blood disease he suffered from. In this brand-new #1, Vita Ayala begins his new chapter with a dark opening that brings gothic, bloodcurdling violence to a mobster lair belonging to the Melter, leading Morbius to “re-appropriate” chemical supplies to begin his own experiments in the hopes of finally curing himself of his vampiric condition!
Unlike most of Peter Parker’s colourful cast, Morbius – who is conversely pale and perpetually draped in mostly black – also has a tendency to quote and analyse Aristotle. So if you like Aristotle, good news: you’ll get a lot of that here.
The true star of this issue, however, is Marcelo Ferreira, who’s art work is at times evocative of a darker ‘90s Image comic – making heavy use of dark tones, dynamic poses, and extreme violence that add to the brooding gothic tone you might associate with a living vampire. Sadly this often overshadows the writing, which feels somewhat slow-paced and uneventful despite the action sequences, and occasionally the characters themselves look disproportional. Even still, Morbius has always been a unique character from Spider-Man’s rogues gallery, coming across as more of an anti-hero with his own mishaps and a pitiful situation that makes him sympathetic.
8 – Legion of Superheroes #1
6th November
DC Comics
Bendis takes John Kent into the 31st century in Legion of Superheroes #1, following on from the two-issue prologue, Legion of Superheroes: Millennium. Known for his works with Marvel Comics, particularly the Ultimate line, Legion of Superheroes reintroduces the heroes of the 31st century to the DC Universe, with a diverse cast of characters, bold art and colour design, and a good balance of humour that might appeal to fans of Titans, Young Justice, or even Young Avengers. Without a doubt, the quieter moments that see John Kent acquainting himself with his new “future” teammates are some of the most endearing, showing how each character boasts distinct design elements that help separate this series from simply being a Younger Justice League from the 31st Century.
It’s promising to see the premier issue to this series features excellent pacing and humour with an adequately intriguing cast of characters with potential to develop further as the series progresses. Sook’s art stands out in particular, not only for his character illustrations, but for the way he inventively uses camera placements and splash pages to add a sense of dynamic energy into each page. Even more impressive are the facial animations, showing a more emotive style that evokes a sense of intimacy between the reader and the Legionaries – to say nothing of the bold colours and line work on display!
9 – No Guns Life Vol. 2
13th November 2019
VIZ Media
Juzo Inui is an ex-soldier turned amnesiac-cyborg. Juzo was one of many discharged cybernetically enhanced soldiers known as the Extended (humans modified to become deadly weapons) – and if you couldn’t tell from the cover, his “cybernetic enhancement” involved having his head replaced… with a giant gun! No wonder he has difficulty remembering his past. Though curiously enough, the gun on his head can only be fired by someone behind him.
Now Juzo takes on cases involving other Extended, and in Volume 2 that includes protecting the fugitive son of the Berühren Corporation, Tetsuro, while helping to bring in Hayden Gondry, a suspect in a number of murders who had their auxiliary brains removed. Sounds a little like a Ghost in the Shell brain jacking heist. Tasuku Karasuma’s creative idea about fusing a gun to a persons body – like a sinister inversion of René Magritte’s “The Son of Man” – is a blast, boasting, as you might imagine, an equally creative art direction that somehow manages to make the unnatural idea of a man with a an artificial gun-head look… natural.
