Written by Jay Faerber
Art by Fran Bueno
32 pages, color
Published by Image Comics
When Noble Causes first burst onto the scene, it was easy to see that creator Jay Faerber had used the soap opera as one of his inspirations for the series of mini-series. Now, after three mini-series (and several one-shots), Noble Causes is back as an ongoing series… and the series has definitely inherited both all of the strengths and weaknesses of its spiritual parent.
Written by Jason Henderson
Art by Greg Scott
32 pages, color
Published by Image Comics
It may sound silly, but sometimes all you need is a good title to get a reader’s attention. Jason Henderson certainly found that in Sylvia Faust. Faust alone brings up memories of Dr. Faustus and his deal to sell his soul to the devil, but somehow the name Sylvia being attached adds a certain level of class and style to it. With that alone, I felt like I just had to give the book a try.
Written by Jay Ju
Pencilled by Leonel Castellani
Inked by Daniel Griffo
32 pages, color
Published by Image Comics
Every time I turn around these days, there seems to be another comic that looks like someone’s been stealing animation cells and sending them to a printer to assemble as a comic. That’s usually a good thing, mind you, especially when you end up with books that look like David and Goliath #1.
Written by Ivan Brandon and Miles Gunter
Art by Andy MacDonald
32 pages, color
Published by Image Comics
Who doesn’t love robots? Well, people who are afraid of robots, I suppose. But robots are still very much a source of interest and inspiration in this day and age, as ideas that were once considered fiction are rapidly becoming reality. Maybe that’s part of the genesis of NYC Mech, a new series from Image Comics. Because if you look at the world of NYC Mech, the idea of robots replacing humans seems to have definitely arrived.
Written by Laini Taylor-Di Bartolo
Art by Jim Di Bartolo
80 pages, black and white
Published by Image Comics
So often in comics, the learning curve is on display for everyone to see. With self-publishing a much easier possibility than in most other mediums, people are able to get their comics out to an audience while sometimes still learning the techniques of their chosen craft. It’s a thought that often crosses my mind when receiving review copies of books by new creators—but it never even entered my mind when reading Laini Taylor-Di Bartolo and Jim Di Bartolo’s The Drowned.
Written by Todd Livingston and Robert Tinnell
Art by Neil Vokes
104 pages, black and white
Published by Image Comics
Do you ever get the impression that you’re not reading so much a comic, but a movie pitch? It’s a phenomenon that crops up from time to time, often following in the wake of a comic suddenly getting an impressive option reported in the news. (Like, for instance, the fun 30 Days of Night.) It’s a feeling I was never able to shake while reading The Black Forest—that some creators figured this would be a way to both tell their story the way they wanted it to, and get it optioned for Hollywood. Everyone wins, right?
Written by Adam Shaw and Penny Register
Art by Adam Shaw
32 pages, color
Published by Image Comics
Pacing is an important aspect of comics. It’s true of almost every creative medium, of course, but for some reason comics are where I see it the most-abused these days. In this day and age, more and more people seem to be envisioning their comic as eventually seeing life as a single volume, and that’s great. Just don’t lose track of the readers who are reading it in its original serialized method of delivery.
Written by Phil Hester
Art by Mike Huddleston
32 pages, black and white
Published by Oni Press
A few years ago, Oni Press published Phil Hester and Mike Huddleston’s The Coffin, a mini-series that took the old comic book standby of suits of armor and turned it on its head into something far more interesting and different. Now they’re back with a brand new project, Deep Sleeper, and what could have been a very standard tale of journeying spirits seems to have that same spark of something more.
Written by Mike San Giacomo
Art by Mitchell Breitweiser
32 pages, color
Published by Image Comics
I’ll admit it, I read Phantom Jack #1 in spite of myself. The idea itself seemed perfectly ordinary—reporter can turn himself invisible—but what really grabbed my attention was creator Mike San Giacomo’s removing the book from Marvel’s stillborn Epic line and taking it to Image Comics. Between that and San Giacomo’s stream of online columns about the creation of the book, there was so much attention focused on the mechanics of the title and almost none about the actual content that it seemed to demand a review. Ultimately the question becomes, is Phantom Jack really worth all the fuss?
Written and penciled by Adam Pollina
Inked by Guillermo Zubiaga
56 pages, color
Published by Image Comics
Adam Pollina made me buy X-Force. No, it’s true. When he was drawing X-Force I bought the book every month, desperate to see how Pollina would draw the cast every month. You can imagine my delight, then, when I found out that Pollina had a new book being published by Image Comics. I had no idea what Romp would be about, but if it was Pollina, I’d be there.
