Love Letters #7

It doesn’t feel like an over-reaction to say the world is completely imploding in on itself right now, and wherever we end up a year or two from now, it’s going to be somewhere far from where we are right now. How convenient then to have comics, by far the best (I may be incredibly biased) way to escape into another world for 10 minutes, or half an hour, or a few hours, or the whole damn weekend. No matter how you view the world, you can read something that helps you feel comfortable in your beliefs and values, or that challenges them completely, or that doesn’t care about them at all and just wants you to have as much fun as they can cram in a page. Assuming you’re a fan of fun, here’s the books that gave me the most of it this month... 

Daredevil: Cold Day In Hell #1 

Dialogue: Charles Soule Art: Steve McNiven Letters: Clayton Cowles 

The Dark Knight Returns, but make it Daredevil? Well alright then. It’s impossible to read Cold Day in Hell and not immediately make the comparison between this and the all-time classic Batman story. From the premise of the story that sees a much older Daredevil suiting up again in a future that's been ravaged by a mysterious war, to the panel layouts, dialogue choices ("Air is cold. Like breathing in knives. But better") and even the art style that looks like Steve McNiven is purposely trying to evoke Frank Miller. And they actually pull it all off spectacularly, making it feel like a loving and original homage, rather than a lazy rip off.

The art and writing are well intertwined here that it was unsurprising to see in the behind the scenes notes at the back of the book (a nice addition!) that Soule and McNiven worked to develop the whole story together. It definitely helps the issue keep a great pace, and makes it feel cinematic in it's scope, there's no wasted space here. The series is only going to be three issues long, which says to me that they've got a really clear vision for what they're going for, and I wouldn't be surprised to see that lead to the trade collection of the full story being popular well into the future.

Go! Go! Loser Ranger! Vol 1 

Story and Art: Negi Haruba 

Shonen manga, typically aimed at a teenage male audience, plenty of fights and action packed scenes – you know, the kind that all the most popular anime are based on – it’s generally not my thing honestly, but Go! Go! Loser Ranger! really surprised me. It’s a Power Rangers rip off with a twist, where the Rangers are secretly the bad guys, exploiting the poor alien monsters they fight for fame and power. It pulled off the spoofy reverse trope really well, and is a great example of what can make shonen manga so popular. It’s really well paced, has a great hook, hits a nice balance of humour and heart and of course, has some top notch action scenes. A pleasant surprise this month! 

We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us #1 

Writing: Matthew Rosenberg Art: Stefano Landini Colours: Roma Titov and Jason Wordie Letters: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou 

I’ve been looking forward to this one since it was first announced and it definitely didn’t disappoint! Part sci-fi, part mystery, part James-Bond-with-a-twist, the first issue of this mini-series kicks goals on so many fronts. The spy thriller influence is obvious here, but Matthew Rosenberg really leans into it and you can tell he clearly has a love for the genre. The Bond character is the antagonist in this story though, instead we’re following the story of a young girl who’s the daughter of a scientist who may or may not be an evil genius villain living on a tropical island performing clandestine research. The art is perfectly suited to the story, Stefano Landini is great with character acting and expressions, and drapes the whole book in a retro coating that suits it perfectly. I love the designs of the robots, but to be far, I’m a sucker for a broken tin can robot companion in any kind of story, so I was easily won over here. I’m looking forward to a tale of revenge and discovery as this one plays out, there’s a lot of space for the story to unfold and plenty of twists to come I’m sure. 

The Lucky Devils #3 

Writing: Charles Soule Art: Ryan Browne Colours: Ryan Browne and Kevin Knipstein Letters: Christopher Crank 

The latest story from the Curse Words / Eight Billion Genies team has been massively enjoyable so far, with it’s first two issues setting up the series a lot of world building, while issue three really pushes the main plot along as the story dominoes begin to fall. The story centers on two of Hell’s devils looking to gain enough influence (by manipulating people in the real world) in order to rise up the ranks and overthrow the leadership of Hell from the inside. The charming, creative fun of the series is on full display here as the stakes start ramping up for the main characters and the humans they are trying to guide and manipulate up the social ladder. The art is at a high point for the series so far, Ryan Browne was really able to flex his muscles on this issue with a couple of highlights being a fantastic full page layout of an elevator ride in Hell, and a great sequence where one of the devils jumps out of a panel and races around the space in between panels across multiple pages before bounding back into a panel in a new scene. I’m having an absolute blast with The Lucky Devils and it’s already become one of the books I look forward to reading the most each month.