So Hurricane Sandy is a thing that’s happened. Trains are out for at least 3-4 days, busses will be back by Wednesday, and comics will probably be in shops by Thursday. The last one is the least important, but now you know.
Assuming you prepared for Sandy, you should be fine, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll be spending most of your time off being smarmy on twitter (That Disney buying Star Wars news is ripe for jokes!) and getting day-drunk. I also suggest that sort of behavior be left to professionals like myself. However, you can be super cool and spend the next day (or two) reading comics. I going to suggest some books to read today that you should have, can get digitally by the proper LEGAL channels or pick up once FPNYC opens up later this week.
The Walking Dead is probably the most watched show on cable TV on the moment, and with over 100 issues out, a hurricane may be the best time to get caught up on the series. It also may leave you TERRIBLY depressed. So instead of the TWD I’m going to suggest Robert Kirkman’s super hero opus “Invincible”, a book I’m fairly certain I’ve mention once or twice before. It’s a few issues short of 100, but it’s damn good. Kirkman’ script are very much in the same vein of Stan Lee’s legendary “Amazing Spider-Man” run, and Ryan Ottley is one of the best artists out there. But it’s far from the only Image book worth reading. Nick Spencer’s “Morning Glories” is a wonderful and violent mix of “The Island” and “Runaways, and is less than 20 issues in. Ed Brubaker’s “Fatale” is noir meets Lovecraft with 8 issues in (9 ships this week in theory) and there’s Brain K. Vaughan’s “Saga”, which with only 6 issues out, I will argue is the best book on the market right now, let alone debut in 2012. Image is kicking ass this year, and all these books can be found in print/digital/trade/hardcover.
Marvel has launched 3 books within the last year that may be under your radar for some reason. Mark Waid’s take on Daredevil is probably the best book Marvel has out as of late, winning a ton of awards and receiving acclaim by….a lot of people and critics. If for some reason you haven’t picked it up yet, shame on you, Waid has been putting out some career defining work out, and he’s had a murder’s row of artists helping him out. There’s at least 3 trades out collecting his run so far. However if there’s a book coming close to catching up, it’s Fraction’s Hawkeye. With only 3 issues out, Fraction’s take on the character has been both hilarious and thrilling, with David Aja’s pencils being nothing less than spectacular. People may be burnt out on the character after Clint getting a bit of a push post-Avengers (the movie), but this title is definitely worth the $3. Wrapping up the Marvel end of suggestion is Kelly Sue Deconnick’ s Captain Marvel series, which while not as strong art wise, has seen some amazing scripts by KSD since it’s debut. It’s also the lone female book coming out of Marvel that has a female lead and a female writer. So yeah, support that shit.
Or you can just read all of the Hellboy/BRPD stuff published by Dark Horse to date. Which is a fine choice, seeing how the quality of these stories range from great to amazing. And it can be purchased in various trades/hardcovers/digital collections for various, but certainly fair prices. And it’s totally worth it. Easily one of the best franchises in comics today.
I’ll wrap it up here. Hopefully you’ll find something you like in my picks and give it a try. It’s certainly safer/more productive than jet-skiing in the Hudson during a friggin hurricane.