Comics I’m Picking Up the Week of February 20, 2019

Here are the books I’m looking forward to seeing at my local comic store the week of February 20, 2019.

Sharkey the Bounty Hunter

Publisher: Image Comics
Words/Story: Mark Millar
Art/Colors: Simone Bianchi

“Set in a brilliant new sci-fi universe, Sharkey is a blue-collar bounty hunter who tracks criminals across the galaxy in his converted, rocket-powered ice cream truck. Aided and abetted by his ten-year-old partner, he’s out for the biggest bounty of his career.”

Category: Tried and True Creators

Why I’m Excited: It’s been a few years since Simone Bianchi graced us with something inside a comic book cover, and Mark Millar only sometimes works for me—Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl were a “no” but Starlight was a “yes”—so I’m giving this a try.

Image Comics

Love Romances

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Words/Story: Dennis Hopeless, Gail Simone, Jon Adams, and more
Art/Colors: Annapaola Martello, Roge Antonio, and more

“LOVE STORIES THAT CAN ONLY BE TOLD IN A COMIC BOOK!
• Can robots fall in love?
• Is romance just a fantasy?
• Can love breach the corridor of death?”

Category: Tried and True Creators

Why I’m Excited: It seems hard to believe that at one point in the ’50s there were so many romance titles available from comics publishers that there was a “love glut.” Today, as the medium tries to reach out to new readers, I hope to see a bit more diversity in the style and content of stories offered. While I doubt that any American publication could hope to rival the ubiquity of shojo manga, any time an American publisher gets nostalgic for the “old days,” when soap operas didn’t need to include punching, I feel like it’s worth the price. There are some great creators here, so I hope the kiddos are well taken care of.

Marvel Comics

Long Road to Liquor City

Publisher: Oni Press
Words/Story: Macon Blair
Art/Colors: Joe Flood

“As jaunty hobos Jed and Thanny crisscross the country in search of the fabled Liquor City, they are pursued relentlessly by the fearsome railyard bull Sergeant Ronan O’Feathers, who wrongly blames the boys for his wife’s death. Fleeing O’Feathers and his posse, they encounter a succession of colorful characters along the way. Some are underdogs, fellow misfits the boys end up doing right by, even if only by accident. Some are greedy and cruel, bullies that the boys make a headache for because they don’t appreciate being pushed around or anyone who’s doing the pushing. The only constant is the absurdity and mayhem they leave in their wake.”

Category: Support Emerging Creators

Why I’m Excited: Back in 2017 I was urged to pick up Kyle Starks’s Rock Candy Mountain, and I was surprised at how funny and heartfelt a story of a Depression-era homeless guy could be. To modern audiences the humor of chemical addiction could be in poor taste, but Shameless has been a top cable series for nine seasons, so there is a way to do it well.

Oni Press

Also out this week from Marvel Comics is the first installment of the Age of X-Man: The Amazing Nightcrawler mini I mentioned a few weeks ago as well as a reprint of one of the first comics I bought from a back issue bin when I started thinking that a full series collection could actually grow in value, Dazzler #1.

See you at the racks!