5.20.15 [#PicksOfTheWeek]

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It’s a great time to be a Warren Ellis fan, as he’s plunged back into comics in a big way recently. We’ve had Supreme: Blue Rose, Blackcross, Injection, and now Trees #9 (Image) to thrill us. Ellis is one of the best practitioners of taking old-school sci-fi (typically starting with a compelling “what if?” premise) and pushing it up against modern social themes. This issue marks the start of the second arc with artist Jason Howard, whose been pushing himself to try on new styles and panel layouts as well. If you’re a fan of rich surprising characters operating in a unique classic sci-fi world-build, check it out.

I’ll also be picking up Mono: Pacific #2 (Titan) by Brian Wood and Sergio Sandoval, the conclusion of a WWII era romp that originally ran as a Madefire digital series in 8-page installments, collected for print by Titan Comics. This week also sees another issue of Charles Soule and Alberto Alburquerque’s sci-fi political mash-up in Letter 44 #16 (Oni Press). I’ll also be checking out Drones #2 (IDW) by Chris Lewis and Bruno Oliveira, which does some interesting things with military fetishization in modern times, Tithe #2 (Image) by Matt Hawkins and Rahsan Ekedal, which takes on the corruption of for-profit organized religion, and Winterworld: Frozen Fleet #1 (IDW) by Chuck Dixon and Esteve Polls, continuing this post-apocalyptic throwback in the bleak snow-filled future.