February 2014 Alternate Comics Diamond Previews Review
Marvel and DC are complete so now we will look at the other publishers. Dark Horse has a couple of releases worth noting. First up is Eve: True Stories HC. Daniel Way is the writer and is joined by a plethora of artists, and the main story deals with the downfall of the Band of Brothers alliance on February 5, 2009. This in game event is one of the most amazing stories about one player who brought down one of the most aggressive alliances in the game.
Last month Buffy returned for Season 10, and in April we get Angel & Faith Season 10 #1. Victor Gischler, who has proven himself capable of writing vampires for Marvel, and Buffy’s own Spike, is chronicling the adventures of Angel in London and Faith battling alongside Buffy.
Fred Van Lente is an extremely talented writer who has spent time with zombies, superheroes, and countless other characters but in April he is writing the adventures of Conan the Avenger in Conan the Avenger #1. A new series that brings Conan back to the world of high adventure and supernatural intrigue. Conan has not been a character that I have wanted to delve into but with a new series, a writer that is worth following, and impressive art displayed on the preview pages, I will at least check out the first arc.
Over at Image, Southern Bastards #1 hits stands in April. Jason Aaron is a writer who garnered accolades from critics and fans for his work on the DC Vertigo series Scalped, and a crime series set in Alabama seems to be up his alley. Throw in artwork by his Scalped artist Jason Latour and this one has hit written all over it.
Invincible #111 promises big changes for the title character. There is a traitor in his midst and he doesn’t catch it in time, leading to a new status quo, and a brutal new turn for the book. Kirkman continues to bring twists to the superhero genre in ways that other publishers are afraid to do.
Afterlife With Archie continues to be a top seller and the artwork and writing are the reasons why. Roberto Aguirre Sacasa (W), and Francesco Francavilla (A) continue to bring us the scary, and sometimes horrifying tale of a zombie apocalypse in Riverdale. Issue 6 of the series out in May brings us more on Sabrina, who unleashed the zombie plague unintentionally. Her Aunts banished her and now we get to see witches’ purgatory where she ended up. For those that missed the initial “Escape From Riverdale” arc can catch up before the sixth issue hits with the trade paperback collecting the first 5 issues. This book is hot, scary, fun, and should be on everyones reading list.
Garth Ennis is spending a fair amount of time at Avatar and April sees the release of a new Ennis written monthly with Caliban #1. Spending some time playing Dead Space makes me curious about this title. They aren’t related but science fiction and horror is a sub-genre that I have spent very little time in but with Ennis as writer, and Facundo Percio as the artist I will try out the first issue and go from there. If Facundo Percio is not familiar to fans, he is the artist that delivered stunning work on the Fashion Beast mini-series that I raved about months ago.
Dynamite continues to roll out their superhero universe, first there was Turok, now Solar: Man of the Atom joins them. Solar: Man of the Atom #1 by Frank Barbiere (W), and Joe Bennett (A) reintroduces us to the next Gold Key revival as a scientist attempts to understand the universe, and in these attempts he is transformed by an experimental radiation that gives him abilities far beyond that of normal man. I passed on Turok, but Solar has been a favourite of mine for years and even though I wish he was over at Valiant I will still pick this up.
Jeff Parker is a writer who is known for respecting and building on the past and he is bringing that talent to Dynamite in April with Flash Gordon #1. Evan Shaner joins Jeff as the artist. Flash is a daredevil whose thirst for adventure can lead to over confidence, and that could possibly spell doom for the universe. Flash, Ming, Mongo, everything people loved about the original Flash is back. Another first issue worth checking out.
A third book from Dynamite and the one I am most excited about is Battlestar Galactica: Six by J.T. Krul (W) and Igor Vitorino (A). The re-imagined Battlestar universe is one of the best examples of character and story driven science fiction and it has been a long time since Dynamite visited that universe, and they are doing it while looking at Six and who she was and how she got to where we found her when the series started ten years ago. Six is one of the most dynamically written characters in science fiction and a chance to explore her past is too good to pass up.
Valiant Entertainment is heading into an exciting third year of publishing and they are kicking off that excitement with a tragic end to one of the Renegades in Harbinger. I have passed on Harbinger monthly, instead opting for the hardcover route but with the life of a cast member in the balance and the stakes never having been higher I may have to hop back on for this arc. The first part of the three part “Death of a Renegade” kicks off in Harbinger #22.
That’s it for April, see you in a few weeks when we start heading more into spring and seeing what else 2014 has to offer fanboys and girls.
If you would like any of these comics, tell Judy to bring them in.
Good reading.