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So, I’m keeping this mostly to new issue #1s again because I’m reading far too many comics in general these days to keep up with this. However, I’ll probably put in a non-#1 issue of particular import now and again. This time it’s four books from four different publishers! Lots of excellent stuff.
Providence #1 – I really liked this a lot. It builds slowly, revealing the main character slowly at first. In fact, it’s a book that took me a couple times through to really fully grasp what was going on. Or, at least, to be certain. It’s a lovely book to look at. It’s been a bit since I’ve read a book that Jacen Burrows has illustrated. I’m really impressed by the storytelling, style and detail of his work here. I can’t wait to dive into the second issue. You’ll get very little (direct) presence of Lovecraftian horror here. It’s all hidden and obscured—just below the surface or at the edges for the time being. Which is one of the things I love about Lovecraft’s stories, too. It’s a nicely designed package as a whole.
SIEGE #1 – Gillen writing Abigal Brand? Yes, please. Kate Bishop’s here too, along with America Chavez. The first issue is mostly just used to reintroduce you to the characters and bring you up to speed on what their life is like on Battleworld. At the end, the plot starts to really kick in. The cover is kind of ugly, I must confess. Too much branding going on between Battleworld, Secret Wars, Marvel, Digital Edition stamp, and the Ant-Man logo. The confusingly split cover doesn’t help, either. The art is sketchy and obscure, but not displeasingly so. The decision to switch artists for spreads helps add to the somewhat scattershot feel of the book as a whole, visually. But the writing is strong enough to overcome that, I think.
Negative Space #1 – I gave this one a go mostly on a whim after seeing something in the Dark Horse Twitter feed about it. I’m glad I did! The artwork is utterly unique, and I’m entirely intrigued (though far from clear) on what’s going on. The main protagonist is certainly not your typical one. An overweight writer struggling to write his own suicide note is certainly unique. But there’s a lot more to him than just that. The exact nature of the machinations going on around him is still mysterious by the end of the issue, but we’re given enough hints to keep it intriguing.
The Spire #1 – Another excellent entry. Too many good comics right now! I love that so many publishers are putting out such a variety of books these days. This one is about Sha, The Captain of the City Guard of the Spire, a tower-as-city in a post apocalyptic world. She’s some sort of mutant or genetically modified human. A murder mystery kicks things off, but there’s a lot of wonderful world-building here. I was instantly drawn into the story, and the artwork is really lovely, somewhere between a European and manga look.
