New Comics Wednesday: June 8th Edition

Every week, Project-Nerd gives me the comics. I read the comics, and then tell you what to buy.

My goal? To make sure you end up with the most well-rounded collection of comics possible. In the best of worlds, it always works out that way.

Here are this week’s picks:


LumberJanesGothamAcademy

Lumberjanes / Gotham Academy (Boom! Studios)
written by Chynna Clugston Flores; pencils by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell; inks by Maddy Gonzalez; Colors by Whitney Cogar; letters by Warren Montgomery 

This week sees two of the most critically-acclaimed all ages series in recent history—Boom!’s Lumberjanes and DC’s Gotham Academy—mash together for a highly anticipated whodunnit crossover. A perfect example of why Chynna Clugston-Flores is a benchmark setter for the all-ages genre, the book’s premise—in which both institutions find one of their adult teachers missing—gives characters from both properties the space and respect they deserve while making them feel absolutely necessary to each other. Meanwhile, the Valero-O’Connell/Gonzalez/Cogar art team find an aesthetic middle ground that takes influence from both series but maintains its own identity. It’s a hugely impressive team effort and the book promises to be one that I’ll look forward to every month.

That, and it’s just too damn fun to see the interactions between wildcards from different worlds like Maps and Riley.  


Kingsquest2

Kings Quest #2 (Dynamite)
written by Ben Acker & Heath Corson; art by Dan McDaid with Bob Q; colored by Omi Remalante with Bob Q; lettered by Simon Bowland

Ben Acker and Heath Corson are giving us a master class on how to build relationships between characters that either don’t like or don’t know each other very well. It’s incredibly enjoyable to read Lothar’s—the current Phantom—critical opinion of Flash Gordon’s fighting skills, or watch Dr. Zarkov and Mandrake have “the science vs. magic” debate while Prince Valiant just wants to see if his sword will slay an army of ghosts. Acker and Corson have given us a bunch of characters with a mismatched dynamic, and they’ve made it work through the huge personalities imbued in each one. Dan McDaid is doing some of his best work on this book, and there’s some really creative (and effective) visual storytelling at play here. This is easily my favorite superhero book right now. Can we turn this into an ongoing, Dynamite?


Magnus

Gold Key Alliance #3 (Dynamite)
written by Phil Hester; art by Brent Peeples; colors by Morgan Hickman; letters by Simon Bowland

I’m convinced that this book is strictly meant to be a vehicle for Phil Hester to get his hands on some of the most underused toys in the toy box and go full-on ape with them. Especially rewarding is the work he’s doing with a character that nobody’s cared about for decades—Doc Samson, who is made infinitely more interesting when he’s beating the hell out of a giant dragon in the NYC subway. In addition to that, Magnus fights a giant robot while he carries an evil robot head around for interrogation purposes, Solar takes on third world fascism, and Turok looks to be dealing with some sort of prehistoric time traveling anomalies. This is all supposed to fit together at some point, but for now I’m just enjoying the madness of it.


Batman 66

Batman ’66 Meets Steed and Mrs. Peel (Boom! Studios)
written by Ian Edgington; art by Matthew Dow Smith; colors by Jordie Bellaire; letters by Wes Abbott

Appropriately retro in its approach, humorously self referential in its dialogue, and inherently goofy in its execution, Batman ’66 Meets Steed and Mrs. Peel nails the aesthetic of its respective ‘60s television source material in every way. It’s full of the types of characters and situations that can only exist in Batman’s TV world that are tempered by the dry sophistication of Steed and Peel—to say that it laughs at its own jokes would be an understatement. There’s even an undercurrent of second wave feminism in the form of some Batgirl comments that make for some truly interesting and embarrassing Bruce Wayne moments. A smart book, and definitely worth your money.


Also available this week:

Alterna — The Alterna Character Guide

Boom! Studios — Adventure Time #53, Baker Street Peculiars #4, Big Trouble in Little China #25, Goldie Vance #3, Weavers #2 

Dark Horse — Abe Sapien #34, Harrow County #13, House of Penance #3, Prometheus: Life and Death #1

Dynamite — Train Called Love #9, Vampirella #4, Xena: Warrior Princess #3 

IDW — Brutal Nature #2, Classic Popeye #47, Donald Duck #14, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #229, Insufferable: On The Road #5, The Maxx: Maxximized #32, My Little Pony: Friends Forever #29, Star Trek #58, Star Trek: Manifest Destiny #4, TMNT: Bebop & Rocksteady Destroy Everything

Valiant — 4001 A.D.: Bloodshot #1, Ninjak #16


Project-Nerd is a press partner of BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, Alterna Comics, Valiant Comics, Black Mask Studios, Scout Comics, and IDW Publishing. If you would like to see your studios’ content included in our weekly release article, please contact our editors.

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