The following originally ran in the Weekly Planet 9/12/18.
When people come into Forbidden Planet looking for new comics, I always recommend they follow creators over companies. If you fell in love with a story by a fantastic writer or you were bowled over by the stunning work of a great artist, it’s likely that you’ll have better luck by diving deeper into their other works than by, say, sticking to a particular genre. You’ll get more consistency from a creator than anything else. You’re purchasing a safety net. And there’s barely a net more dependable than Warren Ellis (Planetary, Nextwave) and Jason Howard (Horizon, Trees). And wouldn’t you know it? Their new comic CEMETERY BEACH is out today.
CEMETERY BEACH #1 kicks off a seven issue limited series which I have no doubts is going to astound. The premise: A pathfinder and a murderess escape captivity. What awaits them is the most dangerous scenario they’ve ever dealt with. They must flee on foot across an off-world colony founded and run by generations of lunatics. It’s the kind of premise that serialized fast-paced action dreams are made of.
Jason Howard is a wonderful artist. He crafts such dynamic, wonderful images and perfectly takes on the style of the story he’s telling. Super Dinosaur is a spot on reinterpretation of a Saturday morning cartoon show. Horizon paints a stunning sci-fi world. Howard’s work on Trees is so expressive and vivid that Ellis brought him back on this.
And speaking of Ellis… I mean what else can possibly be said about Warren Ellis? He is one of the biggest names in modern comics and no one has a question as to why. He’s one of the best to ever do the dang thing. Transmetropolitan is a comic book staple for so many people. Planetary and Nextwave both have top slots on so many top ten lists and among personal favorites that they’re virtually unimpeachable. He’s a cunning, funny writer with as firm a grasp on the medium as anyone working in comics today.
All this to say, CEMETERY BEACH #1 is as close to a guarantee as you’re liable to get. If you have a box, this comic almost definitely ticks it off. Image Comics has been on fire lately and CEMETERY BEACH is assuredly going to join the top ranks of the already top notch batch of comics.
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