New Comic Book Guide

New for Patrons: Guide to WildCATs (& WildStorm Events!)

March 8, 2023 by krisis Leave a Comment

I’m back with another Indie Comics Month guide for all Patrons of CK! This is the guide that was the first itch I had to create indie comics guides more than six years ago when I first launched mu Patreon campaign! At the time, I couldn’t believe that anyone would spend time on a guide page for an Image launch title from 1992 whose comics continuity was dead in the water. Now it has a hot new book to its name in the main DC Universe! That’s right, it’s time for a guide to Image’s fourth flagship title, the co-flagship of Jim Lee’s WildStorm imprint that later joined him at DC Comics. It’s a brand new Guide to WildCATs.

Guide to WildCATs

(Bonus: I also launched a quick Guide to WildStorm Events with every line-wide event in reading order.)

I know this material well, not only because I loved WildCATs back in the 90s, but because I was in the middle of putting together a complete run of WildCATs for binding when we moved to New Zealand! I have personally hunted down every issue in this guide without the help of a guide. This is a page that held absolutely no surprises for me.

That’s not the case for WildCATs itself, which I think is a book that would surprise a lot of people if they read beyond the famous first thirteen issues by Jim Lee. [Read more…] about New for Patrons: Guide to WildCATs (& WildStorm Events!)

New for Patrons: Guide to Savage Dragon by Erik Larsen

March 7, 2023 by krisis Leave a Comment

“Indie Comics Month” on Crushing Krisis continues! Today, my focus is back on the original Image Comics flagship titles that began launching in 1992. Last week I debuted a Guide to Youngblood and made a massive update to my Guide to Spawn. Today, I’m back with a guide for all Patrons of CK for the third of Image’s original ongoing titles – and one of the longest-running indie comics! That’s right, it’s Erik Larsen’s green-skinned, head-finned cop with amnesia in my brand new Guide to Savage Dragon!

Guide to Savage Dragon by Erik Larsen

Savage Dragon was my least favorite of all the Image Comics launch titles back in 1992, which has less to do with the character of Savage Dragon and more to do with the fact that I wasn’t familiar with Eric Larsen from my brief time of hoovering up X-Men comics the way I was with Lee, Liefeld, and Silvestri – nor did he have cool, mysterious powers like Spawn or Shadowhawk.

With 30 years of hindsight, I can see that Erik Larsen launched the most unique and sustainable character out of all of the Image flagships – and that Larsen proved himself to be one of the most-consistent Image founders alongside Todd McFarlane. [Read more…] about New for Patrons: Guide to Savage Dragon by Erik Larsen

New for Patrons: Guide to Princeless & Raven The Pirate Princess

March 6, 2023 by krisis Leave a Comment

If you thought I was skipping a Indie Comics Month day just because I launched that Guide to Star-Lord earlier today, you thought wrong! Just like I launched my new Guide to Lumberjanes last Friday after a significant X-Men guide update, I’ve got a list of some favorite all-ages series and smaller indies to launch alongside my major Marvel guide launches and updates for the rest of this month. Today I bring to all Patrons of CK I guide to the only princess I’ve allowed onto our bookshelves (other than Diana!) – and that’s because she’s the self-saving kind! Yes, it’s a Guide to Princeless & Raven The Pirate Princess from the always-brilliant Jeremy Whitley!

Guide to Princeless & Raven the Pirate Princess

If Lumberjanes is my #1 all-ages comic recommendation, Princeless is a very close #2. Princeless every bit as witty, silly, and thought-provoking as Lumberjanes and with a terrific concept.

And, I only found it because I am incredibly stubborn and an absolutely voracious comic-reader!

You may recall my story about how most of the comics-reading internet decided that the utterly brilliant Unstoppable Wasp was terrible, which meant it took me a while to get to read it. Once I did, I wanted to read everything by author Jeremy Whitley, who seemed to have a real golden touch when it came to writing dynamic, empowered, but also flawed young women.

In looking up his other credits, I noticed he was writing a book I had never heard of: “Princeless” for Action Lab Comics. I had Action Labs on my “publisher quota” list for 2019 to force myself to sample at least 10 issues from them on my way to reading 4,000 comics that year, but I was hesitant. I had read one semi-acclaimed title from Action lab’s “Danger Zone” adult-oriented line and it was one of my most-hated books of the last decade. Maybe of all time!

If anyone had the goodwill to get me to give them another shot, it was Whitley. [Read more…] about New for Patrons: Guide to Princeless & Raven The Pirate Princess

New for Patrons: Guide to Star-Lord, Peter Quill

March 6, 2023 by krisis Leave a Comment

It might be my Indie Comics Month here on Crushing Krisis, but it’s also a month to focus on a certain group of Marvel galactic heroes as we approach their third (and final?) entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe! Today I have a guide for all Patrons of CK that focuses on the leader of this ragtag band of galactic guardians and his odd trio of origins in the Marvel Universe – a Guide to Star-Lord, Peter Quill.

Guide to Star-Lord, Peter Quill

Often in these launch posts I admit to you that I was a little unclear on the origins of a character or that I learned a lot about them in my full read of their material.

This is a rare case where I can say I was TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY WRONG about my understanding about a character’s origins! In my defense, Peter Quill’s origins had just changed a year prior to the creation of my original Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy – and Marvel was still recollecting his original (no-longer-canonical) origins along with other Guardians materials!

First things first: The happy-go-lucky Star-Lord you all know (and many of you love) from the Marvel Cinematic Universe has very little to do with the Marvel Comics version of the character. Although Brian Bendis and subsequent authors have gradually introduced the goofball levity of the film version into comics, there’s no mistaking that the comic version of Peter Quill is considerably more experienced and downright grizzled than his film counterpart.

Actually, I’d say Star-Lord is the #1 example of Marvel Cinematic Universe continuity and characterization changing a character permanently in the comics! All of the other Guardians characters were already much closer to their film counterparts than Peter Quill as of the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

Once you can get past the shock (and, perhaps, betrayal) of this surprising revelation, let’s move on to exploring the two (or, maybe three?) comic origins of Peter Quill. [Read more…] about New for Patrons: Guide to Star-Lord, Peter Quill

New for Patrons: Guide to Lumberjanes

March 3, 2023 by krisis Leave a Comment

I’m back today with another Indie Comic Month new guide for all Patrons of CK! This time, we’re departing from Image Comics in the 90s to focus on another group of comics that have a major presence in my life and in my home: all-age comics! This guide is for a comic I originally despised but eventually grew to love so much that it’s my number one recommendation to anyone introducing comics to kids of any age, from 0 to teen. It also has a wonderfully diverse cast of characters! It’s time to don your badges and move into the cabin in my Guide to Lumberjanes!

Guide to Lumberjanes

If you think there’s not enough about Lumberjanes to warrant a full on Guide to Lumberjanes, think again! Not only are there 20 original paperback volumes, but a pair of “Bonus Tracks” volumes, three OGNs, four prose novels, a fleet of translated editions, and a pair of (very different) accompanying guidebooks!

Lumberjanes first arrived in my home back in 2015 and it was not love at first sight. I picked up the first volume after hearing buzz about how wholesome and wonderful this little series about a magical summer camp was. However, I’d describe the dialog in those initial four issues as “MORE SCREAMING.” It’s a lot of howled exclamations in response to everything, to the point that some of the pages simply aren’t all that coherent.

I read the book and set it aside in my “to donate” pile.

Then, something magical happened…. [Read more…] about New for Patrons: Guide to Lumberjanes