11.12.14 [#PicksOfTheWeek]

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It’s not a terribly big week for me, but I’m excited to check out The Kitchen #1, Vertigo’s new 8-issue series by Ollie Masters and Ming Doyle, with covers by Becky Cloonan. The introductory issue is 32 pages for just $2.99, featuring mob wives in 1970’s Hell’s Kitchen (affectionately rebranded as “Clinton” in today’s NYC). With an area historically full of Italians and Irish comprising the Westies (sometimes erroneously referred to as the “West Side Boys” in pop culture), a gender-bending slant on organized crime, and the creative talent aboard, this is ripe with potential.

I’ve been quite impressed with the blend of genres, action, and heart in this sci-fi western, so I’ll definitely be picking up Copperhead #3 by Jay Faerber and Scott Godlewski, published by Image Comics. Oni Press is offering The Life After #5 by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Gabo, and I always look forward to the sardonic nature of their rendition of Ernest Hemingway.

Those are the only definite pulls for me, but I’ll take a flip through Deep State #1 (Justin Jordan’s new book at Boom! with artist Ariela Kristantina, featuring some tantalizing pop culture conspiracies), Wytches #2 (Scott Snyder’s new creator owned joint with Jock), Outcast #5 (the character-driven horror drama from Robert Kirkman and Paul Azaceta), Drifter #1 from Ivan Brandon and Nic Klein (mostly for the art!), and Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman’s Thor #2, to see if they pass muster.

I’m curious to check out Hawd Tales #1 from Devin Flynn, published by Revival House Press, and distributed by Alternative Comics in Cupertino, CA, which is near my old stomping grounds in the SF Bay Area. I’m not familiar with Flynn’s work, but Revival House is a magnet for small press talent, having featured such notable creators/publishers as Dave Nuss, Drew Beckmeyer, Mike Bertino, and Malachi Ward.

On the collected edition front, I’ll recommend Tales of Honor Vol. 1: On Basilisk Station, which collects issues 1-5 of this Image/Top Cow series adapting David Weber’s Honor Harrington novels. It’s a very rich world-build with interesting military procedural elements, and stars a compelling female lead. This next book probably doesn’t need a push from me because it already has rabid fans hitting the cosplay circuit in support of creators Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie. It’s The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 1: The Faust Act. WicDiv is a fun book, pairing McKelvie’s lean confectionary aesthetic with a pop myth quasi-religious examination of the fickle nature of fame.