What comics are you reading lately? Every month, WWAC contributors sound off about the comics we read for fun lately that we especially enjoyed. Did you read any spooky comics during October that you recommend? Have you discovered a new favorite comic recently? Let us know on Twitter what you’re reading!
Draven Katayama: I just binge-read the twelve-issue run of Tomb Raider from 2016-2017 by Mariko Tamaki, Phillip Sevy, Michael Atiyeh, and Michael Heisler, with covers by Agustin Alessio and Tula Lotay. I was intrigued because I’m reading Tamaki’s X-23 series, I’m currently playing the 2013 Tomb Raider game, and I watched the movie that released this year. Tamaki, Sevy, and team take Lara on two wild goose chases: one to China to protect a scientist who’s being hunted by mysterious mercenaries, and another to Germany to rescue her fan-favorite friend, Sam Nishimura.
What makes this series especially fun is how Sevy draws Lara hearing enemies before they appear, then planning her attack or exit. Lara uses a lot of improvised weapons and distractions, from nail guns to an exploding motorcycle. Tamaki highlights Lara’s quick-thinking survival skills and fiercely loyal personality as Sevy moves the story from page to page in a highly kinetic, arrow-shooting, knife-stabbing experience.
Kelly Richards: Thanks to a sale on Comixology I’ve been working my way through the Hellboy omnibuses (omnibi?) by John Byrne, Mark Chiarello, Mike Mignola, and Dave Stewart and I don’t know if you all know this already but they are really good. Like REALLY GOOD. Everything is just so precise and exact. it’s kind of stunning and beautiful and just generally awesome.
Louis Skye: I’ve been on a marathon Jason Todd reading session off late. I’d read the Red Hood/Arsenal series some time ago and have loved the characters ever since. This year, I managed to read the Red Hood and the Outlaws: Rebirth series, which gives a pretty solid understanding of Jason’s past and his motivations. But, over the last month, I’ve gone back to the pre-Rebirth Red Hood comics — Batman: Hush, Batman: Under the Hood and Red Hood: Lost Days.
A lot of the story is similar but there’s more embellishment in the older comics, not to mention, way more violence. It’s interesting how the artists contort Jason’s looks when he’s being villainous, as opposed to the clean-cut, almost Nightwing-esque good looks he has in the current series now that he’s a bit of a hero. I’m fascinated by the many changing faces of this character, and how his story adds so many layers to the Bat-verse.
Jason finds out about the new Robin – Red Hood: The Lost Days #04 pic.twitter.com/Ox0C1MQ1T6
— best of Jason Todd (the pink hood) (@bestofjasontodd) December 7, 2016
Wendy Browne: I borrowed a bunch of books and comics from a friend at the beginning of the year and now, somehow, it is almost the end of the year, and I have not yet finished the pile and am furiously trying to do so before we meet up again in a couple of weeks. Her bookshelf is a stunning, awe-inspiring collection of everything from iconic superhero stories to critically acclaimed classics, with some statues and Funko Pop! figures tossed in for good measure. I’ve barely scratched the surface with the books I’ve borrowed, of which I’ve read and loved the weird world of Rob Davis’ The Motherless Oven as well as Rebel Angels by James Turner.
Right now, I’m working my way through Maus by Art Spiegelman. It is somewhat of a rite of passage to read the first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize. I had known the subject matter and how Spiegelman’s art and writing made such a horrifically dark and complex topic accessible even to younger readers, but I knew little else. I am pleasantly surprised to discover that it is told in the form of Spiegelman himself interviewing his father, a most endearing man, even in his moments of grumpiness. Spiegelman presents it all matter-of-factly, seemingly exactly as his interview process occured, complete with his father’s mutterings, tangents, and interruptions.
Spiegelman's Maus. Pause & remember how easily hatred leads to pure, Hellish horror #HolocaustMemorialDay pic.twitter.com/7tWfrCgnPg
— Forbidden Planet International (@fpinternational) January 27, 2017
Kate Kosturski: To get myself in the spooky (or spoopy) spirit of Halloween, I recently checked out “The Seance Room” from Source Point Press. Set in a castle owned by one Mr. Harry Weiss, the titular room contains six ghosts, each with their own special skills. As people enter the Seance Room, they are confronted with their secrets. Can they survive? If you like Tales From the Crypt, you’ll love this series. There are two issues out right now (and they’re on Comixology), with more coming in the New Year. Series writer Ben Goldsmith also has a Kickstarter running for a concept album based on “The Seance Room” – – it’s up for a few more days, so check it out and donate if you can!
Kat Overland: I, like Kelly, picked up some Hellboy omnibuses (omnibi?) from Comixology for the spooky season and have been really enjoying them. Mike Mignola’s art is just so crisp.
