Four Comics I Want for NCBD: 2016/01/13

By Cullen Stapleton on January 12, 2016 • ( 1 )

It’s been a weird week in the world for us as a people. Too many weird geopolitical shindigs, too many talented artists and creators lost to time and the ravages of illness, and too many award shows. Thankfully new comic book day is around the corner with some really crazy offerings for every person who reads this column regardless of your jam. So let’s toss another log on the fire, warm up some apple cider to drink, and settle into a reading groove.

In case you missed the podcast last week we discussed our Best of 2015 show and decided to put up a poll asking for your feedback on the categories we used for our lists. You can find the poll here and we’d love to hear from you! Now on to the books!

Leaving Megalopolis: Surviving Megalopolis #1 ($3.99, Dark Horse Comics): The follow up to the amazing Kickstarter from Gail Simone, (Secret Six, Swords Of Sorrow, multiple Convergence books), and Jim Calafiore, (Exiles, Aquaman), Leaving Megalopolis: Surviving Megalopolis is a six issue mini-series from Dark Horse Comics with the first issue hitting the stands tomorrow. (You can still purchase the first series in a single collected volume from Amazon here.) The elevator pitch for the series is this; a group of people are willing to return to Megalopolis after the horrific events of the first story when the city’s super-humans turned against the populace with open force. Some of the people returning to the city are there to rescue others while some are there to fight the super-powered beings and take the city back. The real fun from this series comes from seeing how truly bad the ‘heroes’ really are. The Kickstarter was a sleeper hit but you’ve got the chance to be in on the fun from day one with this book. Ages: 17 +

Secret Wars #9 ($4.99, Marvel Comics): This is it, True Believers! The end of the old Marvel Universe and the beginning of the All New, All Different Marvel Universe. The Ultimate and 616 universes have merged and the final, full outcome will be revealed. You have seen many of the new books in the All New, All Different line launch already, (Which wasn’t the original publishing plan, but then a delay and extra issues pushed the final chapter of Secret Wars to January), with questions lingering as to how and why certain teams have formed and certain individuals have appeared or disappeared. I suspect much like what happened with the first Secret Wars series written by Jim Shooter in the ’80s, the full impact of the series finale will still be relevant regardless of the chronological order and publishing date of the books and hopefully as impactful 30 years later. There is a really great interview here from Marvel’s Director of Content & Character Development, Sana Amanat, about the big moves and why you should believe this isn’t just a plain old reboot. Ages: 12 +

Constantine The Hellblazer #8 ($2.99, DC Comics): The DCU is full of magic and demons and a veritable playground for spirits of all stripes. Constantine has consistently been a great read for the last seven months with the visual storytelling being done by Riley Rossmo, (Proof, Dark Wolverine), and the writing duties being handled by Ming Doyle, (The Kitchen, Mara), and James Tynion IV, (The Woods, Batman Eternal). In this issue Constantine helps Papa Midnight break into a nightclub to steal ancient artifacts before Mr. Rumor finds them and uses them for evil! Give this book a try for the art and stay for the writing! Ages: 15+

Slash & Burn #3 ($3.99, Vertigo Comics): Look at the beautiful cover! Tula Lotay is creating some very unique pieces for this series, and the story and art on the inside are equally brilliant. Rosheen is a firefighter, and an arsonist. She’s also seeing people from her old life end up dead and she’s wondering if she’s the one doing the killing. This is a really interesting take on the forgotten past storyline and the artwork is challenging in both palette and pacing. Did I mention to notice the beautiful covers? Ages: 17+

As always, WCPE is so happy to be publishing #FCIW with the support of Elite Comics in Overland Park, KS. William and the Elite Crew run a friendly, clean, and safe comic shop which is welcoming to all and supportive of many local and national non-profits including The Hero Initiative. Stop in, pick up these four books, and let the gang at Elite Comics know that the Worst. Comic. Podcast. EVER! sent you over.