Be sure it speaks Bocce!

Chapter 151: New books, mine and others...

Hi again.

Hope you’re hanging in there. In case you didn’t get it from this newsletter, I love comics a lot. Some might say too much, but we don’t like those people. With comics journalism* having been kicked around a lot these last few years, and social media** on life support the avenues for helping people discover new comics are less and less. Back when I worked in a comic shop I used to write a weekly column for the newsletter about new comics I was excited about. Not just random issues, but new #1s, new jumping on points for longer books, and new collected editions and graphic novels. People seemed to like it well enough. When I stopped working at the shop I started doing it on Twitter. People seemed to like it there too, but I stopped because… I got bored, maybe? I don’t even know why.

Now here I am with this platform, read by a lot of people who (I assume) also like comics. So I am thinking I will start to do a regular (hopefully) shoutout of books I think you all might like. I’m not going to make it an additional newsletter, so don’t worry about getting more posts from me. And maybe I’ll get busy and drop it. What do you think?

Doesn’t matter what you think now, because here is the first installment of me encouraging you to try new things!

Just kidding. Before we talk about other people, let’s talk about me! I have two books out this week. RED HOOD: GOTHAM WAR #2 from the fine folks at DC Comics and WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE? #15 from the fine folks at Image Comics.

I’m really proud of both of these books. Red Hood is by far one of my favorite DC characters and writing him on and off for the past 2 years has been a blast. And getting the chance to play in the fun little war that Chip, Tini, Jorge, Nico, and Ben built was wild. Figuring out what this story was, and how it tied into their event and my JOKER series was one of the trickiest things I’ve ever worked on. I’m really happy with how it turned out though. And hopefully this isn’t my last story with Jason and this crew.

This issue of WTFPFH? is a big one, in a way. It’s the beginning of an end for some characters, but it’s the calm before the storm that is issues #16-18. This is your brief moment of quiet, your chance to catch your breath, before we change everything. I’m excited for people to check out this issue, but even more excited for them to think about what the end of this issue means when they read next month’s issue. Intrigue!

Anyway, grab both books at your local comic shop today. And while you’re there…

Grab some other cool stuff out this week.

DRIVE LIKE HELL #1 by the always impressive ROAD OF BONES / SEA OF SORROWS creative team of Rich Douek and Alex Cormack, plus our WTFPFH? partner Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. I emphasize that because Hass’s name on a book has become like a stamp of cool. If he worked on it, it’s probably worth checking out. This is a badass story about lost loves, jobs gone bad, and cool cars. And there is some supernatural stuff thrown in to keep you on your toes.

NICE HOUSE ON THE LAKE Deluxe Edition by the amazing Álvaro Martínez Bueno and Jordie Bellaire, with newcomer James Tynion VI writing, is a real masterpiece. A haunting, creepy, and never what you expect meditation on the end of the world. It’s breathtakingly gorgeous and plays with the form in very fun ways. A must read.

DARK SPACES: DUNGEON #1 by Scott Snyder, Hayden Sherman, and co. reunite for a haunted house story of a different kind. Full of wonderful paranoia and bad vibes, this is a super fun first issue and well worth checking out this spooky season.

PALADIN OF AXES by Gerry Duggan, David O’Sullivan, & co. is a really hard book to describe. It’s the story of the guitar tech for the world’s biggest rock band, and what happens after he dies. It’s funny. It’s weird. It’s a ghost story. And it’s a one shot, so you can just buy it and enjoy it with no strings attached.

DRACULA #1 by Martin Simmonds, the brilliant artist on DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH, and first time writer James Tynion VII brings to gorgeous life the story of a lonely old Count who decides to try and make friends and see the world. It’s sort of like a feel good version of GREAT GATSBY. Read it. You’ll love it.

TWO GRAVES collected edition by the all star team Genevieve Valentine, Ming Doyle, Annie Wu, and Lee Loughridge, collects the first 6 issues of this beautiful and haunting story of Death and his lover on a doomed roadtrip. It’s even more badass than it sounds, which is pretty badass.

GONE #1 by Jock has such a short, punchy title and credits I feel dumb writing a long thing about it. A story of space refugees and mistaken identities. It’s mindblowingly beautiful and a ton of fun.

NIGHT CRUISING by Harry Nordlinger is a really fun one shot about a young guy driving around the highways and backroads of L.A. late at night, and the trouble he finds there. It really has the great, aimless, angst-filled vibe of a type of movie they don’t make anymore.

SLOWBURN #1 by Ollie Masters, Pierluigi Minotti, & co. is a gripping crime story about a couple on the run after a botched robbery, who find themselves laying low in a small town, for better or worse. I loved this book and you should definitely check it out if you’re a fan of gritty crime stories.

UNDER NINJA vol. 1 is the new book from Kengo Hanazawa. I loved his last series, the unlike anything else out there zombie manga I AM A HERO, so I have been very excited for this to come out for a while. It’s an alternate universe book where Ninja work as the post WWII security force throughout the Pacific. Expect weird gorgeousness.

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*There is still so much great comics journalism out there. Please go read, watch, and support places like SKTCHD, PANELxPANEL, WOMEN WRITE ABOUT COMICS, COMICPOP, iFANBOY, WORD BALLOON, COMIC BOOK CLUB LIVE, SHELFDUST, and a ton more I’m forgetting right now. Sorry.

**Did you know I’m doing a little look back on every comic I’ve ever written over on Instagram? I make a post but then I put a fun little song to it. It’s like being the world’s worst DJ. It’s fun.

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Stay safe. Take care of each other. Try new things!

-Matthew Rosenberg

NYC 10/25/23