By JV Tanjuatco
With comics taking on possibly their biggest year yet in the film industry, let’s take a step back to the root of it all—vibrant illustrations, dramatic speech bubbles and the good ol’ new paper smell. Here’s a lineup of some of the most anticipated releases for comics this 2019. From classics like Batman Detective celebrating their 1000th issue to exciting crossovers headed by Thor, this year’s going to be an exciting ride for comic enthusiasts.
War of the Realms
This April Marvel’s latest crossover event will center on Thor. With Asgard in ruins and Mjolnir destroyed, Thor gathers the Avengers, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Venom, Wolverine, Punisher and many other heroes to stave off the Dark Elf invasion of Earth. Writer Jason Aaron and artist Russell Dauterman have demonstrated a blend of MCU heroics and Lord of the Rings grandeur in their Thor issues so this is not to be missed.
Detective Comics #1000
One of the granddaddies of comics will have its 1000th issue printed this March and DC will celebrate by making it a giant-sized 96-pager! The book will be packed with Batman stories from Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Geoff Johns, Tom King, Tony Daniel, Brian Bendis, Alex Maleev, and other DC’s A-list creators.
Criminal #1
The dynamic duo of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips return to their critically acclaimed Image noir title (now on sale!). Once again, they’re getting grim and gritty with the Lawless family and other sociopaths in these tense and suspenseful tales. And yet somehow Brubaker and Phillips have the skill to make readers empathize with these shady felons.
Guardians of the Galaxy #1
After their last adventure, the Guardians are a mess – one member is dead and another has quit the team while the rest are still dealing with these ramifications. The galaxy still needs saving though and this means a new team to take on the challenge (on sale this January)! Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw did a great job redefining Thanos so it’s going to be fun to see which cosmic characters they’ll select to bring about a new age of GOTG greatness!
Lazarus Risen #1
From Greg Rucka and Michael Lark, the creators who gave us some of the best Batman and Daredevil stories in a recent memory, comes this dystopian drama where multinational corporations control different parts of the world. The Lazarus are genetically-enhanced warriors that enforce the corporations’ interests and are caught up in a new world war. This critically acclaimed title has actually been around for some time and is being re-launched as a quarterly series packed with more story and material.
Doomsday Clock Finale
It’s a long time coming but this ongoing sequel to Watchmen is nearing the climax with many mysteries that need solving! Is the US government weaponizing their heroes? What exactly is Doctor Manhattan’s agenda? Is Superman destined to kill him? Writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank aim to provide answers that will leave the DC Universe forever changed!
Miracleman: Silver Age
We’re hoping that the rumors that this long-awaited series will be released this year are true. Neil Gaiman’s scripts are all complete but artist Mark Buckingham wanted to re-master his beautiful art for a new generation. Gaiman and Buckingham were just hitting their stride in this dark superhero series when their stint was cut short in the eighties. So it would be great if they could finally finish the story started decades ago.
About The Author:
JV Tanjuatco, comic book writer/editor/publisher, founded Comic Book Lab that publishes the comic book titles Mythopolis and War of Whispers (co-created and co-written by him). Comic Book Lab’s most recent project was the graphic novel anthology Stay: 21 Comic Stories authored by Palanca Award winner Angelo R. Lacuesta and illustrated by a stellar line-up of artists including Trese’s Kajo Baldisimo. He has also written articles/reviews for Spot.ph and Ain’t It Cool.
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