Comics I’m Picking Up the Week of September 25, 2019

Here are the books I’m looking forward to seeing at my local comic store the week of September 25, 2019.

Rusty Brown

Publisher: Pantheon Books
Words/Story: Chris Ware
Art/Colors: Chris Ware

“A major graphic novel event more than 16 years in progress. Rusty Brown is a fully interactive, full-color articulation of the time-space interrelationships of three complete consciousnesses in the first half of a single midwestern American day and the tiny piece of human grit about which they involuntarily orbit. A sprawling, special snowflake accumulation of the biggest themes and the smallest moments of life, Rusty Brown literately and literally aims at nothing less than the coalescence of one half of all of existence into a single museum-quality picture story, expertly arranged to present the most convincingly ineffable and empathetic illusion of experience for both life-curious readers and traditional fans of standard reality. From childhood to old age, no frozen plotline is left unthawed in the entangled stories of a child who awakens without superpowers, a teen who matures into a paternal despot, a father who stores his emotional regrets on the surface of Mars, and a late-middle-aged woman who seeks the love of only one other person on planet Earth.”

Category: Tried and True Creator

Why I’m Excited: Chris Ware’s work has always  seemed to be a cross between an experiment in graphic design and a bleak newspaper strip, a la Mark Trail or Sally Forth without the pulp. He is “deft at balancing the demands of fine art, where sentimentality is an error, and those of storytelling, where emotion is everything” to quote The New York Times book review of Ware’s previous publication Building Stories—not so much a graphic novel as a portable immersive experience. Blurring the line between comics and what many call “fine art,” these books—whether you agree with Ware’s view that humans are destined for misery or not—are a must for anybody interested in the format of, and possibilities for, graphic storytelling.

Pantheon Books

Forever Maps

Publisher: Scout Comics
Words/Story: Michael Lagacé
Art/Colors: Todor Hristov

“In 1794, a young man named John is given a map. Curious, he follows it, and when he arrives at the end, he finds a similar map. This leads him to another, and then another, and on and on. Determined to find something, anything, else, he continues to follow these strange maps all over the country. Decades later, he learns that as long as he follows them, he doesn’t seem to get older . . . and it’s not until nearly a century later that he realizes when he stops, time begins to catch up with him. Torn between family and immortality, John must continually choose between living forever and having a life worth living.”

Category: Support Emerging Creators

Why I’m Excited: FYI: there will be no issue #2 of Forever Maps. Scout is developing a model where a single issue/chapter of a story are released (typical comic book length) and then the story is released as a completed trade paperback. It’s part of their BINGE! imprint. There are quite a few models in the “man lives forever and watches the world and people he loves age, die, and change.” Very few of those are able to capture what moves a person forward through the cycle of rebirth, even the best stories of vampire protagonists put a sort of hunger at the forefront of that movement. Here I hope the quest narrative is repurposed to illustrate the idealism that can create change in the world and shape a national consciousness.

Scout Comics

Relics of Youth

Publisher: Vault Comics
Words/Story: Matt Nicholas, Chad Rebmann
Art/Colors: Skylar Patridge

“Nat Rodrigues keeps dreaming of an island. Soon, the dreams become waking visions. Alone and concerned, Nat manages to locate other teenagers across the globe who share her intense obsession with the unmapped enclave. And then, the strangest part: Every one of them wakes one morning with a mysterious tattoo. A tattoo only the six of them can see. Now, each of them knows—no matter the obstacles in their way . . . they must discover this unknown paradise.”

Category: Support Emerging Creators

Why I’m Excited: If you’re still in mourning for the demise of Paper Girls this may just be the replacement you’ve been wanting. (Or the scratch for a persistent itch.) It’s part ’80s nostalgia romp, part character study of growing up in the world of contemporary social media posturing. Vault pays homage to Deadly Class (with a variant cover) and the coming together of a diverse cast that will be forced to work together in hopes of surviving (on a mysterious island) and finding the mysterious connection they share. Polar bear in a tropical jungle anyone? Smoke monster redux?

Vault Comics

New Mutants: War Children

Publisher: Marvel
Words/Story: Chris Claremont
Art/Colors: Bill Sienkiewicz

“When Warlock experiences a nightmare, he begins going haywire, and it’s up to his friends to save him! But as Warlock grows more frenzied, they should be worrying about being able to save themselves . . . and doubly so when Magik’s inner demon, Darkchylde, threatens to break free! ”

Category: Tried and True Creators

Why I’m Excited: “Don’t miss this momentous event as legendary creators Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz reunite with Magik, Wolfsbane, Cannonball, Cypher, Mirage, Karma, and Sunspot to share this never-before-told story of the New Mutants’ past!” For any comics kid of the late ’80s that solicit says it all.

Marvel Comics

Crisis on Infinite Earths Deluxe Edition

Publisher: DC
Words/Story: Mary Wolfman
Art/Colors: Dick Giordano, Jerry Ordway, Mike DeCarlo, Karl Kesel

“The 12-issue epic is collected in a new anniversary edition! The mysterious Anti-Monitor has begun a crusade to end all existence. As alternate Earths are destroyed, the Monitor quickly assembles a team of heroes from across time and space to stop the menace!”

Category: Library Essentials

Why I’m Excited: DC has been publishing comics much longer than their current rival, but it was Marvel that developed the concept of the “shared universe” in comics—bringing that success to the movie theatre over the last 10 years. Ironically, it was DC that most successfully deployed the concept of the multiverse into a compelling story. In the 30+ years since publication the format and tropes have been revived and revised by both IP management companies; and are soon to be a major television event! But it’s hard to fathom the impact that this publisher-driven event will had on the landscape of comics. I recommend a reread every few years, so keep an edition on hand. If you’re looking for a more complete picture of the impact of these superhero events (on DC specifically) and comics overall I suggest you watch this space for a “delux-er” deluxe version of the groundbreaking and influential story to be made available in the near future.

DC Comics

Also out this week: Continued evidence of the success of DC’s Wonder imprint with the extension of Dial H for Hero into a 12-issue series; and another take by the great Stjepan Šejić on the origins of the star of an upcoming Warner Bros. attempt at a comic book movie (for those that don’t follow those things I’m referring to Harley Quinn, not the Joaquin Phoenix thing that got a Cannes award).

See you at the racks!