[Inked In Blood] New And Upcoming Comics For July 23rd, 2015

IN SHOPS THIS WEEK:

WOLF #1

Writer: Ales Kot
Artist: Matt Taylor
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $5
Description: The crime noir thrills and characters reminiscent of True Detective meet with mythical stakes worthy of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman in this original fantasy/horror/crime saga for mature readers. Antoine Wolfe, a hard-boiled paranormal detective with a death wish, has to cope with sudden responsibility for an orphaned teenage girl who might be the key to the impending apocalypse, California-style. The road to hell and back begins in a MAX-SIZED FIRST ISSUE, with fifty-eight pages of story and no ads!

Our Take: Oh boy, another noir/crime drama set in Los Angeles, California. But this one, as writer Ales Kot insists, is tainted with a streak of horror (as well as fantasy?) and the few preview images out there featured a person on fire singing a tune? So, this is relevant for sure. Kot is divisive and purposefully so, which means when I go into his books, I’m critical as hell and this one will definitely be no different, if not more so, but I do love a lot of his work; CHANGE basically changed my view of mainstream comics and The Surface was an impossible mix of intellectually stimulating and fun. Will Wolf be part of that tradition of excellence, or will it fail to make an impact? STAY TUNED.

ARCHIE VS SHARKNADO ONE-SHOT

Writer: Anthony C Ferrante
Artist: Dan Parent, Rich Koslowski
Colors: Andre Szymanowicz, Casey Silver
Publisher: Archie Comics
Price: $5
Description: It’s that time of year in Riverdale! The end of the school year. Time for beaches, barbecues, fun in the sun and… sharknados!?! That’s right, get ready as Archie and the gang brave the storm of a tornado full a sharks that riffs off the pop culture phenomenon known as Sharknado! The story unfolds as sharknados are spotted on the “Feast” Coast! Our heroines have to figure out how to get back to Riverdale, where the storm is about to hit next. Soon Archie and the gang go, go, go as they battle the Sharknado-ravaged Riverdale! Who will live? Who will die? Will this take a bite out of the end-of-the-year prom? Uh… probably! The comic book action is also concurrent with the plot of Sharknado 3 and hits stands right before the film’s premiere in July on Syfy. Written by the Sharknado trilogy director Anthony C. Ferrante with Dan Parent.

Our Take: I’m not really sure what possessed me to pick this up but boy am I glad I did; Anthony C Ferrante isn’t nearly as clumsy a writer as his films would suggest. There’s a lot of really clever 4th wall breaking throughout the comic and there’s something about the mix of Archie and Sharknado that just makes too much damn sense, way more than Archie vs Predator does, honestly. There’s also something to be said for the hilarity of Sharknado being rendered in Archie form; it takes an already incredibly goofy premise and elevates it to surreal insanity, especially when things start getting gory. That being said, you still get the strangely off-kilter, over-explained character development that Ferrante’s movies are saddled with and, minus friends (or Rifftrax) to mock it with, it’s distracting. Well, the whole thing’s distracting really, but most of it’s in a fun, crazy way, probably more so than the movies, actually.

CLICK HERE FOR PREVIEW

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Dark Corridors #1

Writer/Artist: Rich Tommaso
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $4
Description: From the author of CLOVER HONEY and 8 ½ GHOSTS, RICH TOMMASO, comes an all-new ONGOING SERIES set in the fictional coastal city of RED CIRCLE-a city totally controlled by mobsters-who, after decades of wielding power, are silently being picked off one-by-one by unidentified female assassins. Like a GOODFELLAS script re imagined by Quentin Tarantino, this sprawling crime-adventure will keep you guessing and tuning in for more month after month!

Our Take: The premise for this sounds incredible and the preview looks just as tantalizing. There really isn’t much more to say other than; go read the preview. Well, I guess I should also add that the cover art is really something too.

In Shops: August 8th, 2015

CLICK HERE FOR PREVIEW

This Damned Band #1

Writer: Paul Cornell
Artist: Tony Parker
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Price: $4
Description: 1972: the world’s most famous rock band thought they were “worshiping Satan,” only to find they were actually . . . worshiping Satan.
From Paul Cornell (Wolverine, Action Comics) and Tony Parker (Mass Effect: Foundation) comes a darkly hilarious adventure of black magic and classic rock! A hilarious documentary-style thrill ride of black magic and rock music!

Our Take: I remember when DC Comics’ New 52 relaunched and one of the titles that caught my eye was Demon Knights, by a writer I had never heard of named Paul Cornell. But I’ve always been a fan of the titular demon, Etrigan, so I picked it up and was blown away by how well written (and illustrated) it was. Cornell’s now doing what appears to be his own comic, and the premise, again, is genius; a ’70s rock band that actually worships Satan? Yes. And thankfully, based on the preview, it falls more in line with the likes of Spinal Tap than anything, which means when the evil shit happens, it’ll be hilariously grim. In Shops: August 8th, 15th, 2015

CLICK HERE FOR PREVIEW