Top Ten MOST ANTICIPATED Comics for 7/22/2020

This is the weekly Top 10 of single-issue comics that are coming to comic shops this week - DC books on Tuesday and everything else on Wednesday.

Before I jump into the list this week, a quick update on what else is going on with the WinMorr Games family: Over at The Comic Shop, which you can find at www.bookshop.org/shop/comics, I’m keeping some curated lists of comics and graphic novels updated weekly and I will also come out with a new list as often as I can. If you’re curious, you can browse books over there and you can order them on the spot. As a bookshop.org affiliate, I get 5% of sales proceeds, so I’m not quitting my day job or anything, but it is a way to support the blog.

 

Also, big news, I have joined comics twitter! Not sure this is a good idea, because doomscrolling is a thing, but I thought I’d give it a shot as a way to promote all the fun stuff I’ve got going on at WinMorr Games. If you’re a twitter-type person, you can find me over there @hipcomics. My Twitter alias is a bit of a joke, by the way, since I’m the last person to represent the hipster side of comics and games, but I thought it might draw a little attention. Can’t say that it has worked so far! Thanks so much for your support as I slowly build a presence across channels!

 

Ok friends, no more delay! Here is the list of ten comics coming to shops on Wednesday, July 22:

 

1.     Canopus no. 4 by Dave Chisholm

It was pretty obvious from the first preview pages that this wasn’t just your run-of-the-mill indie mini-series. Canopus is a sci-fi series about a woman astronaut who shows up on a strange planet with amnesia. The first two issues get pretty trippy and I’m eagerly awaiting the conclusion. Dave Chisholm is also a musician and his next project is a graphic novel about Charlie Parker. I’ll be sure to mention that when it comes out. By the way, if you’re new to comics, any book that only has one name on it is a great place to start, because anybody who is a storyteller, artist, and craftsman all in one really deserves your support!

2.     No Heroine by Frank Gogol, Criss Madd & Shawna Madd

Speculation is a strange thing – maybe you know how a creator or a book gets christened as “hot,” but it seems pretty ambiguous at times. At any rate, Frank Gogol’s last book, Dead End Kids, ended up being really hot among the speculators and there have been rumors about it being adapted to other media. No Heroine is his next book and there has been a bit of buzz about this one as well. If you actually care about the content, I believe this book involves vampire hunting as a metaphor for recovery from addiction. If the speculators don’t snap all these up, the rest of us will hopefully get to read one!

3.     Wynd no. 2 by James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynis

Boom just continues on their current roll and Wynd is their latest hot series. The first issue sold out and they're putting out a second printing along with issue no. 2 this week. Everything James Tynion IV touches turns to gold, so check it out if you can!

4.     Chu no. 1 by John Layman and Dan Boultwood

 This book is a sequel to Chew. If you don’t know about Chew, it’s described as a “food noir.” In the world that Layman and co. have built, folks have super powers associated with food. For example, main character Tony Chu can tell how something or someone died by tasting a bit of them. Yup. He has to taste body parts to solve crimes. Chew was one of the more thoroughly entertaining comics of recent memory, so it’s great to see this world expanding, with only the slight caveat that it doesn’t appear that Rob Guillory, the artist on Chew, is involved with this one. We’ll have to see if Dan Boultwood is able to carry the torch.

5.     Ezequiel Himes Zombie Hunter no. 2 by Victor Santos and Alberto Hernandez

I felt that the first one was worth checking out just based on the cover alone, and I guess the creators felt the same way, because they’re riffing on the same theme with this one – it’s basically the same close-up of the bad-ass dude who I can only assume to be Ezequiel Himes, except he is now bloody and bruised from what I can only assume to be zombies. Probably not anything too complicated going on here, but this is a two-issue mini series, so easy enough to pick them both up or to complete the set with this one.

6.     GI Joe: Complete Silence one-shot by Larry Hama, Steve Leialoha, and Jeremy Dale; $4.99

I almost missed this one and I gotta give the props to comics Twitter for pointing out that this is a reprint of the classic wordless G.I. Joe comic from 1984, as well as a newer wordless book from 2008. Great way to check out this piece of comics history if you don’t already have it in your collection.

7.     Sonic the Hedgehog no. 29 by Ian Flynn and Evan Stanley

As a personal aside, as I’m researching this list, my two kids are sitting next to me reading single issue comics – which truly warms my heart. I’ll continue to occasionally call out the books that my kids think are good. My nine-year-old son definitely gives Sonic the thumbs up. To be clear: this is not just some indulgence on my part. The next generation of readers is so important to keeping this medium alive, so do what you can to support kids comics! Buy comics for your nieces and nephews or young cousins! Also, I gotta say me and my son are both really eager to see what the heck is going to happen with the metal virus. Apparently this long-running storyline will be wrapping up soon!

8.     Empyre no. 2 by Al Ewing, Dan Slott, and Valerio Schiti; $4.99

I don’t know how you Marvel-heads afford these weekly comics, but if this is your thing, I guess your next five weeks are all planned out! I have seen a bit more hype for Empyre than for some of the recent big event books that flopped. We’ll see where all this lands, but who doesn’t love epic cosmic battles and lots of explosions?! Seriously, I’m sure this is a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to reading it at some point.

9.     Wolverine no. 3 by Ben Percy and Adam Kubert

You probably know what you’re going to get with this one. I had to call it out because it’s been so long since issue #2. Nice to see things getting back to normal, with the ole’ canucklehead back in action!

10. Batman no. 95 by James Tynion IV and Jorge Jimenez

There's not too much going on at DC that isn’t somehow connected to the Joker War. I won’t pretend to know what this is all about, but I wanted to call this one out cause the cardstock incentive covers by Jorge Jimenez look so cool! I know collectors are drooling over these things, but they’re hard to get. As I understand it, retailers can only order one of these for every 25 of the regular cover.  I noticed Legion of Superheroes no. 7 coming out next week has one, too, but it's not drawn by Jorge Jimenez.

 

Also, as always, I will call out some of the more expensive books out this week, which includes graphic novels and trade paperbacks. Legendary cartoonist and "Frank" creator Jim Wooding has a new book out entitled "And Now, Sir…Is This Your Missing Gonad?" Another book that caught my eye is Mister Invincible by Pascal Jousselin. We are going full meta here. The main character's superpower is the ability to manipulate the panels on the comics page. Sounds bizarre and I would love to flip through this thing. Finally there is a new edition of Stuck Rubber Baby out this week. It's the 25th Anniversary hardcover of this classic by Howard Cruse about the experience of being a gay man in 1960’s Alabama. Expect some really intense exploration of complicated themes – trigger warnings are in order for sure, but worth reading if you can as a window into that time and place that still has a lot to say to us today.

 

That’s all I’ve got for this week. Don’t forget to check out The Comics Shop over at Bookshop.org/shop/comics.

You can also email me at WinMorrGames@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter @hipcomics. Thanks for reading! Read more comics; stay safe and healthy; and I will see you next week!