Honorable Mentions: December 2021

​​What you may have missed in December!

Santa has come and gone, and the workout equipment has been pulled out from the basement (for at least a month or two). Cover up that treadmill with some shortboxes filled with our honorable mentions from last month! 

Honorable Mention Highlights: December 2021

• Refuse x Last Resort Double Shot (W: Matt Kindt/A: Marguerite Sauvage; W: Mark Russell/A: Adam Pollina)
• Gotham City Villains Anniversary Giant (W: Variety; A: Variety)
• Buckhead #1 (w: Shobo, a: George Kambadais)
• One-Star Squadron #1 (w: Mark Russell, a: Steve Lieber)
• Lunar Room #1 (w: Danny Lore, a: Gio Sposito)
• No Holds Bard #1 (w: Eric Gladstone, a: Gabrielle M. Kari)
• Ms. Marvel: Beyond the Limit #1 (w: Samira Ahmed, a: Andres Genolet)
• Apache Delivery Service #1 (w: Matt Kindt, a: Tyler Jenkins)
• A King's Vengeance #1 (w: Peter Ricq & Davila LeBlanc, a: Peter Ricq)

Refuse x Last Resort Double Shot
One side is a beautiful, near-wordless journey of a woman utterly isolated and striving to get back to her world. The other side is a tongue-in-cheek exploration of how ridiculously exploitative capitalism is, and the complications of being surrounded by, well, yourself. It's a huge book being a double-shot and all, but definitely worth a pick-up.

Gotham City Villains Anniversary Giant
I don't have to say a whole lot about this book. You know why? Because the first story is by Danny DeVito, detailing how The Penguin and Catwoman fell in love, cured COVID-19, and saved the world. See, that's enough.

Buckhead #1
This book is zany, and fast, and honestly a little disorienting (but in a good way?). While many books struggle to gain speed in the first issue, this one feels almost like they put too much into the opening chapter, but with tech meeting ancient civilizations meeting an entertainingly diverse cast, I think I'm into it.

One-Star Squadron #1
If you aren't Batman or Tony Stark or Oliver Queen, it's unlikely your superhero-ing can serve as a moneymaking endeavor. That is, unless you team up with an agency that helps you live a secure life with a plan (and maybe a pension). I always appreciate a story talking about the mundane surrounded by the fantastic. And what's more mundane than paying taxes?

Lunar Room #1
I think this has a lot of potential to be a cool magical Neo-Noir story, but the first issue didnt entirely hook me. I like the world and the mystery thats building, but the characters were a smidge on the cliche side. Still, werewolves and magic in a gritty city underbelly, could appeal to the World of Darkness crowd and those adjacent.

No Holds Bard #1
SHAKESPEARE AS BATMAN. I love the concept of this, but the delivery is a bit ho hum. It is too aware of the joke instead of just letting the concept be funny on its own. Still, i had fun on the ride, even if there was an occasional eye roll in the mix.
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Ms. Marvel: Beyond the Limit #1
I didn't know I needed Ms. Marvel to have her own Spider-esque web of multiverses - but now I do! Giving her a new story to help those unfamiliar get acquainted before her new show hits, I'm excited to see a very multi-faceted tale all about Kamala(s).

Apache Delivery Service #1
This book has a lot going for it - minimalist storytelling, an emotional time period and setting, a diverse cast with a broad experience, and evocative imagery. It's not a "nice" book, but it has potential to be an impactful one.

A King's Vengeance #1
​Tonally dark, ultra-violent Adventure Time. This book lays out a fairly basic concept and then delivers with some dope art and cool character design. Nifty book all around.