Catch It at the Comic Shop August 14th, 2019

Welcome to Catch it at the Comic Shop, where the Panel Patter team looks at what's coming out at your favorite store or digital device this week. Each one of us that participates picks up to five items due out this week, with a little bit about why we like them. (NOTE: We use solicitation material for this, so if we miss creators, please talk to your publisher!) Sometimes we might only have a few items to share, other weeks, keeping it to five will make for hard choices. Here's what the team wanted to highlight this week...

Neil's Pick:

Once & Future #1 by Kieron Gillen, Dan Mora, Tamra Bonvillain and Ed Dukeshire published by Boom Studios
It is almost impossible to turn on your TV in the UK without hearing about the impending doom that is Brexit. News channels informing us of the horrors that a “no-deal” Brexit could bring. Satirical shows making a mockery of the politics behind the whole process. It’s becoming too much to handle. Thankfully Kieron Gillen is here to put his spin on the stupidity that is modern-day nationalism. Gillen may not be referencing Brexit within Once & Future but I can see he’s influenced by it. Set in modern-day with a group of Nationalists wanting to bring back villains from an Arthurian myth. Once & Future could be the fun break we Brits need from the current state of our political system. In fact it could be what we all need. With art by Dan Mora and colour by the phenomenally talented Tamra Bonvillain, Once & Future is one comic that I hope brings some much-needed light to our current grey climate.



James' Picks:

Once & Future #1 by Kieron Gillen, Dan Mora, Tamra Bonvillain and Ed Dukeshire published by Boom Studios
There's been a lot of excitement around this comic, and having read the issue, I can tell you that the hype is deserved. This is one you're going to want to check out. As the author of many comics people adore, Gillen knows how to tell an instantly entertaining story with a great hook. And this story has all of that.  And Dan Mora is a fantastic artist - I know him from the absurd "young swole Santa Claus" comics he does with Grant Morrison, but he's a hell of an artist and he shows it here. This book is fun, witty, topical, and looks to be a fun adventure.

Captain Marvel #2 by Kelly Thompson and Carmen Carnero, published by Marvel Comics
This has been a very strong book since its relaunch. Thompson and Carnero are a terrific team, and they seem to be getting ready to put Carol through the wringer. She just recently discovered that she's part Kree, and people don't seem to be quite as open and accepting of her now that they know she's part alien. At the same time, her powers seem to be failing her, and there's a new hero who's shown up and seems weirdly familiar. It's a fun story so far, with terrific art from Carnero and great dialogue and other storytelling from Thompson.

Powers of X #2 by Jonathan Hickman and R.B. Silva, published by Marvel Comics
I promise not to pick this every single week, but...I might end up breaking that promise. Powers of X and House of X have me more excited about the X-Men than I've been since, well, I don't know when. And more excited about superhero comics. Hickman has that effect - I think back to the heady days of 2013 when Avengers, New Avengers, Infinity, Manhattan Projects and East of West were all coming out. It's been a fun time, getting this into a comic, discussing it with friends. And the books themselves have been fantastic as well. Big and engaging and full of mysteries.