Wednesday is New Comic Book Day, the comic fan’s holy day of the week! Here are a few books that have us giddy this week.
Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1 (DC Comics)
For the past few weeks, DC has been releasing a series of one-shots that pair the publisher’s heroes with classic Warner Bros. cartoon characters. While a crossover between the famous Dark Knight Detective and Bugs Bunny’s eternal foil may not necessarily seem like an obvious fit, writer Tom King knows a thing or two about the Caped Crusader, having helmed two dozen issues of DC’s Rebirth relaunch of the Batman title. Further, with characters like Marvel’s The Vision, he has more than demonstrated that he knows how to pull pathos from and mine all sorts of characters, so it’ll be interesting to see what he does with perennial sad sack Elmer Fudd. Coupled with artist Lee Weeks moody noir renderings of both Fudd and Batman, Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1 might be the emotionally cathartic book you’ll read all month.
Jem and the Holograms: Infinite #1 (IDW Publishing)
Writer Kelly Thompson has helmed the Jem the IDW comic book universe since its inception, breathing new life into the beloved classic 1980s series about Jerrica Benton, her hologram-based alter ego, and her fellow bandmates the Holograms. While Thompson just closed the final chapter of the Jem and the Holograms series earlier this month, she has more tales of glamour and glitter, fashion and fame, up her sleeve with her “Infinite” six-part event, kicking off this week with Jem and the Holograms: Infinite #1. The story, crisscrossing between the pages of this Jem miniseries and Jem and the Holograms: The Misfits: Infinite, debuting next month, will follow our Holograms as they travel to an alternate world where the hologram tech that allows Jerrica to become Jem is used for nefarious purposes. Thompson is joined by artist Jen Hickman on the book, with linework that fits in with the Jem universe, yet has a flair all its own. It’ll be exciting to see how Thompson pushes the sci-fi elements that have always been just above the surface and amps them up to 11.
A.D. – After Death HC (Image Comics)
Image is dropping the collected, three-book hardcover of Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire’s epic tale A.D. – After Death this week and, if you didn’t give it a go the first time around, now’s your chance to experience a rollercoaster of emotions. From nostalgic longing to confronting morality to finding meaning in a world robbed of the sting of death, Snyder and Lemire bring pitch-perfect pacing and resonance to A.D., letting the story breathe and giving readers the chance to allow the ideas behind the yarn to linger.
Secret Weapons #1 (Valiant Entertainment)
Since learning that Arrival screenwriter Eric Heisserer would be tackling this event book, we’ve been eager to see what his hand would bring to the Valiant universe. By all accounts, Secret Weapons, which includes arts from Raul Allen and Patricia Martin, will pair action and innovation with the same deep introspection that Heisserer brought to Arrival, as well as inject a new and unique energy to the Valiant universe.
Batman/The Shadow #3 (DC Comics/Dynamite Entertainment)
If you’ve been reading writers Steve Orlando and Scott Snyder and artist Riley Rossmo’s miniseries pairing the old serial hero with the Caped Crusader, you already know that the team are using the opportunity not only to bring readers an action romp, but also use the tale to explore the often diametrically opposed worlds of science and magic, chaos and order. What better way than to throw the Joker into mix? We’ve seen how the Dark Knight contends with the Clown Prince of Crime’s nonsense; it’ll be interesting to see how The Shadow will fare against the cacophony of disorder that the Joker represents.