This week, we have a rare thing in comics: a short pull list! Admittedly, four of the ten issues are Dawn of X books, one Marvel Annual, two are DC and three are from Image. A little skewed, as far as publishers go, but all quality comics nonetheless. And, I have to admit, it is a lot less pressure having fewer comics to write about every week.
This week I'm particularly proud of the representation spotlights. I talk about writer/artists Johnnie Christmas and Mirka Andolfo in the sections on creators of color and women in comics, respectively. Both creators have strong styles of and sectors of the comics world they thrive in, with impressive work under their belts already. Then, in the spotlight on LGBTQ+ topics in comics, I talk about Northstar and Daken--two queer male comics characters as two very different examples of queer male portrayal. Continue Reading for all this and more!
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Spotlight on Creators of Color: Johnnie Christmas (Tartarus, Sheltered, Angel Catbird)
Johnnie Christmas is one of two impressive writer/artists I'm spotlighting this week, alongside Italy's Mirka Andolfo for my Women in Comics spotlight. Personally, I first encountered the work of Christmas when I started reading Tartarus, his current ongoing comic at Image with Jack T. Cole. While I talk a lot about Tartarus' plot further down, here is where I want to point out the more specific things I enjoy about it. For starters, the first issue of Tartarus starts us off with a prison break, with the most dangerous person in the galaxy on her way out. That's the first point that sparked my interest--the Big Bad Baddie who kicks it all off? She's a woman, and a mother, as we find out later. While we witness her apparent death in that first issue, we'll be seeing more of her and her exploits starting in issue #6. Another point that brings Tartarus above the pack is the broad variety of people who make up the cast of characters. Hardly will you spot a Caucasian man or woman in a crowd, many of these characters are black, brown, and all shades you can imagine between. Christmas is portraying this version of the possible future with primarily darker skin, even more so than our own English-speaking world. It wasn't something I consciously noticed until the second or third issue, but there aren't many white folks in the story at all. While some people might find that off-putting, I find it to be refreshing and conscientious. The most notable exception would be that warrior mother we meet in the first issue, but her children are clearly and strongly mixed. Speaking of the children, they are identical twins of the opposite sex, but artist Jack T. Cole did an excellent job of finding the similarities in their freckles and hair texture, while differentiating their faces with subtleties of their hairstyles. But I'm getting too far off the point here. In doing research on Christmas for this blurb, I found this interview, where he talks about his vision for Tartatus and it's uniquely Afrofuturistic perspective. Taking all of that information into account, Johnnie Christmas builds a comic that is well spoken, intelligent, and unique beyond a doubt. Then you start looking into his further work of the industry, and you realize that was just the tip of the impressive iceberg. Johnnie Christmas seems to have started his writing and art career after graduating from Pratt Art institute in New York City. Pratt is a well known art school, having put out some of the best talent across numerous artistic industries. He began his career in comics as an artist primarily, co-creating and doing the art for a series called Sheltered: A Pre-Apocalyptic Tale. Sheltered ran for three volumes, ending with issue #15 in 2013. Christmas did the art alongside writer and fellow co-creator Ed Brisson, an industry name himself. Christmas, being an artist as well as writer, is part of the club of comics creators who can handle their own anthology stories. In anthology comics, it's normal that each story has numerous creators, such as writer, artist, colorist, etc. When a creator who specializes in both, say Chip Zdarsky for example, works on an anthology, they tend to request to do the story themselves, to have better creative control and vision. Christmas has had an ongoing story, Firebug, published twice in the anthology comic called Island, specifically #7 and #5. Perhaps most notably, Christmas was co-creator and artist on Angel Catbird, Margaret Atwood's first graphic novel. Atwood herself is a force of nature, having written The Handmaid's Tale, among other notable works. As her first step into the comic world, Angel Catbird is a bit of a silly comic, but holds fast by it's overarching moral discussions such as animal and environmental conservancy. Check out Tartarus #5 this week to check out Johnnie Christmas' writing, or jump on to the series next week with a new arc!
Spotlight on LGBTQ+ Characters: Northstar and Daken from X-Factor
I've already spoken a touch on X-Factor writer Leah Williams and her outspoken bisexuality, so don't think I'm repeating myself this week. This week, I'm talking about one of the first queer comic book characters, who also happens to be half of the first gay marriage ceremony in comics! Comics and homosexuality have an uncomfortable history. I've been doing some research, and to be honest, this is one of about a million blurbs (I guess most people call them articles) on the subject of queerness in comics. If I can direct you to one particularly excellent one,here you go, it opens in a new tab. Aside from that, I'll do my best to summarize the information directly related to Northstar, since he stars in X-Factor now. Jean-Paul Beaubier, AKA Northstar, first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #120 in 1979. He was a Canadian hero and Skiing Olympian, alongside his twin sister, Aurora. As a member of the Canadian team, Alpha Flight, Northstar starred in their team series by the same name. It wasn't until 1992's Alpha Flight #106 that Jean-Paul finally outright stated, "I am gay." The statement was taken widely as public scandal because, well, it was the nineties. Unfortunately, Jean-Paul's queerness was largely ignored for the rest of the Alpha Flight run. It wouldn't be until 2012 that Northstar and his sports manager, Kyle, have the first queer marriage ceremony in comics. This wedding further enraged conservatives, but to anyone with similar ideology, I encourage you to read this quote from his co-creator, John Byrne: “There needs to be gays in comics because there are gays in real life. No other reason. The population of the fictional world should represent the real world. That’s why I created Northstar--I felt the Marvel Universe needed a gay superhero (even if I would never be allowed to say it in so many words in the comics themselves), and I felt that I should create one, rather than retrofitting an existing character.” Another queer character Williams has brought into X-Factor is, surprising some, Daken. As son of Wolverine, Daken has ultimately the same abilities, including those pesky animalistic tendencies. It only makes sense that someone who runs on animal-logic wouldn't find too much difference to care about between a man or a woman, sexually. Daken also has the power to employ pheromones to both men and women. In previous X-Men stories, as a villain, Daken has already been written explicitly queer. An issue of Wolverine: Origins has him seduce (okay, then murder) a man, and references to his queerness have been made through the years in Dark Wolverine, Dark Avengers, and other comics. But don't call him bisexual! According to Marjorie Liu, who wrote him in the late 2010's, when it comes to getting something done, Daken "will do anyone and anything and he's past that kind of identification. He's beyond it." So, I feel safe using queer as a general non-straight reference term. With Leah Williams having Daken openly flirt with male characters, she's confirming that Daken's sexuality is not only still firmly queer, it will also be relevant in the coming stories. We've already seen how Daken will do anything to get the job done, just like Liu stated years ago, so I'm thrilled with how well Williams knows her team. With two explicitly queer male members on X-Factor, I'm glad to have Leah Williams writing this one. I can't say if she was put on her her queer perspective or if that's just a bonus, but I'm glad to have her on team Dawn of X.
Spotlight on Women in Comics: Mirka Andolfo (Mercy, Harley Quinn: Black, White, and Red, Un/sacred)
I first heard of Mirka Andolfo when I started reading her current limited series, Mercy. The series has been published now in three languages: English, French and Andolfo's native Italian. With it's Gothic beauty and unmistakable art style, Mercy has been a success in all three formats, and has solidified Andolfo's high capabilities in the comic industry. Andolfo's first publication in the United States was a comic called Unnatural, which immediately caught on with a large fanbase. It followed the story of a girl in a society of animal-people, who dared to find love outside her own "prey" culture. It offered a lot for readers with interests in "furry" subcultures, and acted like a metaphor for taboo love. Un/Sacred is another unusual love story, with a delicate angel falling in love with a literal demon. It seems to take a lot of inspiration from Andolfo's original character and story, starring her creation Paprika. Paprika is an actual devil, and her short web comics revolve around her sexual exploits with her angelic boyfriend and his absolute obsession over ravishing her. The character, which Andolfo lovingly refers to as "Sweet Paprika Devil", is actually getting her own animates series soon. Andolfo has been working alongside Grey Ladder and Arancia Studios to make the show, which will obviously be adults-only. To make it even better, the executive producer, Gabriele Pennacchioli, is an Emmy winner for anthology series Love, Death, + Robots. The series ran on Netflix, and was one of the more original and enticing short series' I've seen in years. Andolfo herself describes the Sweet Paprika series, as they're calling it, as Bridget Jones’ Diary meets Sex & The City with a little bit of The Devil Wears Prada thrown in--an urban fairy tale about sexual liberation. As for Mirka Andolfo's future in comic books, she's quickly proved herself to be more than capable, in multiple languages. While she draws and writes Mercy and her other creator owned series', Andolfo has been a guest artist on many, many comics, so chances are you've seen her work already. At Marvel, she's had a few issues with Ms Marvel, but her work is more accessible at DC. Projects in she's had there include Wonder Woman, DC's Bombshells, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, RWBY, and the full interiors of Hex Wives. She was also able to recently draw and write the second story in the Harley Quinn: Black, White, and Red anthology. Whatever your comics interests, Mirka Andolfo is going to wind up center stage before long. She's been blazing an impressive trail through publishers of all kinds, and proving her capabilities as creator, writer, artist, and colorist for years now. I can only begin to imagine her future successes, and I'm glad to be here to watch them thrive.
Daredevil Annual #1
Chip Zdarsky has got to be one of my top creators of the modern age, without a doubt. His work on amazing comics such as Spider-Man: Life Story, Marvel Two-in-One, and Howard the Duck put him on the list for writing, while his ingenious art for Sex Criminals added him to the artists list. Daredevil is a character who's been pretty well fleshed out, yet Zdarsky is still keeping the series fresh. I've read a good bit of Daredevil comics in the past, including the entire Charles Soule and Brian Michael Bendis runs, so I'm being humble when I say my grasp of the character is decent. Even with all my reading, this is gong to go down as my favorite Daredevil series yet. The solicitation for the Annual issue is only three words: One More Day. In the Marvel world, One More Day is known to be the Spider-Man story where Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson make a deal with Mephisto (the devil of the Marvel Universe) that involves sacrificing their relationship and any memory of it. "One more day" refers to how Peter and MJ had one final day together before striking the deal. In the case of Matt Murdock's Daredevil, I'm honestly not sure what "One More Day" is referring to, but I have four decent guesses--the reasons this blurb is so long for just a pull list. First, if we're sticking with the romance route, maybe it has to do with Typhoid Mary. Mary recently made a reappearance in Daredevil during the battle of Hell's Kitchen. As it turns out, Mary has been hiding all these years in a church, as a nun, with no idea of her alternate personalities. When the church is attacked by villains in recent Daredevil issues, it triggers Mary's "evil" persona to come out. She and Murdock have been romantically entangled in the past, when she was in the healthiest of her three personalities. Due to that past connection, maybe the "one more day" in question is a day with Mary as her "normal", pacifist self, before she turns to the dark side again. Alternatively, it could be referring to one more day with his father, Jack Murdock. Jack was a local boxer, trying to fix fights to make some extra cash for his boy. He taught Matt to box, which is where his entire Daredevil fighting style stems from originally. My reasoning behind this theory is based on the cover of this Annual, which features Daredevil in costume, cloaked in a boxer's robes. The third and fourth options I can think of here, as they're tied together a bit, would be one more day as Daredevil, in the red suit. Earlier in the series, Matt made a promise to Spider-Man (in a quite frankly stunning scene that deserves awards all on it's own) not to don the Daredevil mask again. He runs for a time as a nameless vigilante, but with time and introspection is able to justify wearing the red suit again. When Spidey hears this, he comes to have strong words with Matt, who admits he's on his way to turning himself in to the police. Maybe this is his one more day as Daredevil, or similarly, one more day as a free man before going to prison. If I was a betting person, which I am certainly not, I would guess the story will be about his father, Jack. That is definitely the most compelling of the stories, and something Zdarsky would totally use to make his readers cry. His ability to mix humor with deep, compelling moments (or "gut punches" as I call them) is why this series is doing so well across the board, so I'm excited to read his first Annual with Matt and Co.
Bliss #2
If you're scratching your head, wondering where the blurb for Bliss #1 is, you can go ahead and stop. I never did it, because I didn't have a chance to read Bliss until recently. Needless to say, I was highly intrigued, and a, excited to see how the world and story play out. Bliss starts off in a massive trail, with one scrawny man standing in apparent defense of his criminal father. The story he spins is one many readers will connect with. Its the story of a father who is willing to do whatever it takes to save his son and give his family a better life. But the father and his family are constantly torn down by the walls society builds, and he's driven to desperation. In his moment of need, he goes to what looks like a local gang to offer himself for work. The group uses a drug called Bliss to make their employees forget the awful, horrendous deeds compelled upon them. The issue ends with the understanding that while there is sympathy to be had for the father, his crimes caused masses of pain in the community, and he will have to pay for it. Since the story is building so slowly and, in my opinion, in such a unique way, it might be a few issues before we see the full picture. Bliss is planned to be an eight-issue limited series with two story arcs, so I'm looking forward to seeing how everything evolves and progresses!
X-Factor #2
I have to hand it to Leah Williams for successfully creating a sideline X-Men team full of frankly random mutants, and making them into a team book I look forward to reading. With only one issue under her belt, that's an impressive feat to already have accomplished. The purpose of the new X-Factor team is different from any team we've ever seen, by nature. The missions they go on are assists for the Five and the Krakoan resurrection process. Since it's highly dangerous to accidentally resurrect someone who is still alive, X-Factor are the ones who track down missing mutants, and handle all the heavy lifting as well as research that involves making sure its appropriate to resurrect any mutant. For their first story arc, the new and improved X-Factor team is headed to the Mojoverse! I have a lot of mixed feelings about the Mojoverse and Mojo. He's a cool character, when you think about it, but he's frankly awful to look at. I understand this was the intention by his creators back in the day, I'm just not fond of truly gross characters. They're investigating the disappearance of a mutants who is a ballet dancer, so there's a lot of options as to why Mojo is involved. Based on the looks of the next book in the series, which concludes this plot line, the X-Factor team is going to end up stars in Mojo's streaming universe. I'm excited to see how they get there, if its on purpose or not, and what other crazy shenanigans this new team gets into!
Hellions #3
This is an exciting time to read Hellions! I'm slightly biased, as one of my favorite Marvel characters made her first appearance in YEARS in it's last issue. Madelyne Pryor is a villain, yes, but one of the most justified ones in all of comics. With Zeb Wells at the helm of Hellions, I'm praying her does Madelyne right and gives her some sense of revenge or justice. The last issue ended with Madelyne running off with Havok, who she previously had under a psychic spell, in love with her. In fact, there are several members of the new Hellions team that have a history with the Goblin Queen, so this is definitely going to get messy. There's one more issue in her story arc here with Hellions, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it won't be the last time we see Maddie in Dawn of X. And don't miss some of the killer variants of this issue starring the Goblin Queen herself! Jay Anacleto and Mike Mayhew have Maddie's variants, alongside standard series artist, Stephen Segovia. No matter what the situation ends up like for Madelyne Pryor, Hellions is one I know I'll be keeping up with for the long haul.
Mercy #5
Mercy has been a unique and beautiful take on classic science fiction and fantasy themes. The story, taking place in what looks like the Victorian age, follows a beautiful, mysterious maiden as she settles in to a new town. The local are taken with her, of course, but the happiness doesn't last. Before long, citizens start turning up having been through horrific endings. An alien is eating the townspeople! If you guessed the newcomer is the alien, you're obviously correct. She's in town with her sole alien companion, her butler. As the comic has gone on, we've gotten bits and pieces of Lady Hellaine's past, her true identity, and what she did to get where she is. There is a small child who believes Hellaine to be her mother, so my theory is that Hellaine stole the mother's dead body as a vessel. There's also still the growing group of alien hunters who have caught onto Hellaine's trail, and will no doubt continue to be a problem going forward. They had no issues capturing and almost killing her butler, so they are no doubt a force to be taken seriously. With only one issue left following this week's #5, expect things to start getting final answers in Mercy. This week's solicitation teases consequences for Lady Hellaine's past actions, so things might not end up so swell for the visiting Lady.
Tartarus #5
Tartarus is another comic I haven't written about before, but have recently caught up with and come to love. It might be comparable to Little Bird in terms of visuals and wold-building, combined a little with Ludocrats. The plot is, at it's most vague, a story we've seen before, but the setting and cast of characters set it apart like no other. An impressive female War Lord, of a sort, was the government's biggest threat, until she was killed. She left behind a mystery child, who we recently learned was actually one of a pair of identical twins. We've been following Tilde, one of the twins, as an adult, as she learns these truths of her origin. By mere happenstance, Tilde ends up forced into work with a group of professional ransomers. The situation gets more complicated when one of their leaders turns out to be her long lost twin brother. With Tilde's influence, the two are able to stop the kidnappings in their organization and turn "legit". This issue #5 is marketed to be the final issue of this first story arc, where Tilde and her brother are able to finally confront their mother's killer. The new story arc looks like it will be following their mother, Surka's, past, so I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of her! She was quite a thing to behold, even on paper, and I'm thrilled she wasn't in just one issue.
Ghost-Spider #10
To the best of my knowledge, this is the last issue of Ghost Spider. This is a little disturbing, since from my point of view, there's no way the plot threads can get all wrapped up in one issue. The last issue saw not only Gwen beginning a relationship with the elusive and mysterious Storm Siblings, she's getting a little too close to Earth-616's new law on under-21 superheroes, such as herself. Plus, there's the bit of tease we had on the Maker, Reed Richards of Earth-1610, and have yet to fully see what he's up to. I'm clinging on to the hope that Gwen gets a new, connected series following up after this one. Donny Cates is working on a new event for this winter called the King in Black, which many Spider-types are getting involved with, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed Gwen comes back at that point, too.
X-Men #11
As another Empyre event tie-in, this X-Men issue will involve lots of trees and death. No, really. Just look at the one-line solicitation: The Trees are Killing the Children. An important point to remember, as the alien plant race known as the Cotati invaded the Earth through all plant matter, is that the mutant island of Krakoa is, in fact, a mutant island. It is a living, breathing being, needing sustenance just like the rest of is. Krakoa feeds off mutant life, which is a constant process of draining it's own citizens. With so many mutants on the island, however, it ends up being a difference no one notices. This is important because as the Cotati invade Krakoa, they will no doubt not be expecting the island itself to fight back. Remember, a few issues of X-Men ago, when a secondary island attached itself to Krakoa, almost like a mate? We met a character then called the High Summoner of Arrako, the son of Apocalypse's first Horseman of War. Arrako is the name of the island that found it's way to Krakoa and latched on. Originally, the two islands were one being. Now that they are together again, it will no doubt be what saves them and their inhabitants from the Cotati.
Batgirl #48
I'm thrilled to be finally reading Batgirl, even though this is one of it's last issues. This run of Batgirl wraps up with issue #50, and Barbara Gordon's future is a little unknown after that. Series writer Cecil Castellucci write on twitter after it's cancellation that there had originally been plans for Barbara to join another series after, but that were cancelled as well. Recently, however, she also tweeted that in writing the final issue she finds herself excited to see the building blocks going into place for what Batgirl has in her future. With this in mind, I find myself just a little hopeful that Babs will continue to grow in glory in another comic series, soon. This issue teases the return of Barbara's brother, James Gordon, Jr. The history of James is a little wonky these days, but for the most part I get the gist of it. It's alluded that he gave the Joker Babs' address in exchange for their mother's life, and was an inmate at Arkham for a time. More recently, he was "made sane" with an experimental drug, and helped his father, Detective Jim Gordon, take down the Grim Knight. Now, it looks like the Joker has gotten his grubby mitts on James Jr., and wants him to go after his own sister, again. While on the surface, this seems like just another trope being abused, I don't think Cecil Castellucci is going to force Barbara to turn on her own brother, or out her through something incredibly emotionally painful right at the series' end. Peeking at the solicitation for the next issue, Batgirl will likely get her brother to expand on their sibling bond, instead of kill her for the Joker.
Wonder Woman #761
One more big welcome to Mariko Tamaki on her Wonder Woman run! If you haven't read my review of her first issue writing Wonder Woman, you can read that here in a new window. The last issue, #760, followed up her first on the series beautifully, and further made me excited for more. This week, Diana is forced to work with none other than Maxwell Lord! My theory is still looking strong, that Liar Liar is the one taking over the minds of the city, and making Max Lord look like he's to blame. I've been looking into the future solicitation of Wonder Woman, which some might call spoilers. It looks like after this first story arc featuring new villain Liar Liar, Diana will go on a short run with Max Lord at her side, possibly with the support of Lord Industries, as well. But by the last available solicitation, issue #767 will have not only the inevitable betrayal of Maxwell Lord, but the return of Liar Liar as well! I'm not sure how long DC plans on keeping things running before another eventual reboot, but we have issues through November, at least. Based on everything I've been reading, this is going to be the Wonder Woman run I've been waiting for!
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