Weekly Comic Features: September 28, 2022

You can't kill the metal...​

Briar #1 (w: Christopher Cantwell, a: Germán Garcia)
Publisher: BOOM! Studios

Cantwell's strength has always been his ability to look at narratives from a creative, often unexpected angle, and Briar is a perfect example of this. This book is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty wherein the princess was never awoken by love's true kiss, or whatever fairy tale nonsense. Instead, she is left in perpetual sleep as her family's kingdom falls to ruin. When the shattered remains of her castle are raided by a lone thief a hundred years later, the thief decides to steal a smooch in addition to stealing her necklace, which awakens Briar Rose into a horrible, twisted new world full of danger. She soon meets a Norrish woman who calls herself "Spider," and the two women are  thrust into a campaign of survival. Dripping with style and Cantwell's brand of subtle humor, this book is an absolutely fascinating tale beautifully rendered by the softness of Garcia's art. Incredible book and easily the next big thing.

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The Roadie #1 (w: Tim Seeley, a: Fran Galán)
​Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Cringe lyrics and bad takes on music aside, this is a pretty fun book. It comes in with a very Tim Seeley premise: A Heavy Metal roadie who is the son of a warlock and travels around with bands so he can banish the demons they inadvertently summon with their gosh dern devil music. Mixed in is a commentary on the evolving nature of the music industry and what it's like being those that have been left behind. Now, it's possible that said commentary could go in the "thems was better days, darn this hip hop music" kind of direction, and while we see two characters dunk on rap music, it's possible that line of thinking is just limited to the characters themselves and establishing their POV instead of that of the creators, which I'm hoping is the case. Time will tell. Anyway, our lead man Joe is living a mostly boring life as the tide of Heavy Metal has slowed in recent years. He works at a car shop and lives modestly - until he is contacted by a demon and drafted into saving the world from a rising demonic power out to assassinate a daughter he never knew he had. It's old school heavy metal versus MAGA vs pop music. It's weird, but I dig it.