Featuring Cathy G. Johnson, Emma Yarlett, Kevin Panetta, Savanna Ganucheau, Alexander Matthews, Wilbur Dawbarn, Guillaume Singelin, Christopher Sebela, Ro Stein, Ted Brandt, Scott Snyder, Philip Tan and more
Bloom (£13-99, FirstSecond) by Kevin Panetta & Savanna Ganucheau.
Oh what a breath of fresh coastal air in beach-glass blues whose depths, especially at night, you can sink into!
There’s the pallid, ghostly glow of the cell phone across Ari’s face as he lies back on his bed – ever so tentatively hopeful about a bravely sent text message, then resigned about receiving any reply – and the fireworks in an evening sky, viewed from a hillside vantage point, are as thrilling for the reader as they are for those sharing an early, intimate moment.
Over and again, Panetta and Ganucheau display a profound understanding that there are pivotal moments in our lives that will linger with us forever. Accordingly, they let those quietly moving scenes play themselves out during the satisfied silence that follows, for example panning away across a front garden to a flourish of foliage beyond.
And at a full 350 pages, they are afforded plenty of space to do so.
Recommended especially to those of you who relished the Tamaki cousins’ astutely observed THIS ONE SUMMER, BLOOM is as much about the myriad broader aspects of any friendship – both established and burgeoning – as it is about the romantic affections gradually stirring then establishing themselves in young Ari’s heart, for the first time ever in his life towards any other individual.
I think we can all relate to that: the puzzle as to what one is feeling which can take months to figure out; the yearning for more in the meantime, the gut-churning hollow during any brief absence and, above all, the not-knowing as to whether those acute sentiments and physical sensations are reciprocated in part or at all which David Bowie so consummately communicated in ‘Stay’.
How do you even broach the subject? Will it ruin things if you do…?
It just so happens to be towards another lad, a slightly older youth called Hector with a positive, even and balanced maturity beyond his years which makes him almost unknowable to a more turbulent mind like Ari’s, for Ari has no idea what he wants from life other than, he believes, to escape what he considers to be the confines of his family bakery business for a more creative life in a much bigger and more culturally fertile metropolis.
Hector, meanwhile, is a beaming ray of practical and positive sunshine, and although far from overconfident he is the first to see the best in others, like Ari’s parents practising the delicate art of stretching phyllo pastry dough in perfect harmony and with consummate skill.
“It’s beautiful.”
“What? The phyllo?”
“Yeah. They’re in sync. It’s so cool.”
Notice the absence of any contradiction, Hector instead moving on to what moves him. A page later Hector expands:
“I would love to have something like that… To be on a team with someone… and to be better together than you ever could be alone.”
Hector has an idea about what he wants, partly because he’s also experienced what he doesn’t want: a relationship that wasn’t in synch but overly reliant and over-clingy. Ari only learns that Hector’s had this relationship with a guy by overhearing halfway through. It startles Ari as much for the normality and so casual, unguarded candour of the conversation as for its revelation, but it neither alarms him nor turns him into a suddenly self-aware sea of raging hormones. It’s simply something to be pondered – not brooded upon – because it’s time for all the friends to have fun at the fair instead…
All of which is to be applauded. All of it!
To their enormous credit, the creators avoid clichés whilst dotting down markers instead which we can all recognise in our own and others’ lives, regardless of our sexuality:
The first romantic physical touch, when Hector unexpectedly grabs Ari’s wrist – superb focus, there – in an exhilarating, shared “Let’s get out of here!” manoeuvre.
There’s that shared firework display and rooftop flat-on-your-back star-gazing experience (it may have been cloud shapes for you) in which one learns from the other’s prior knowledge, thoughts or experience.
Then there’s the incremental bonding over, again, shared pleasures, like baking bread together, wherein the more sweeping, organic border panels are demarked by blooms of floral bunting.
I won’t list which specific, seemingly mandatory stepping stones are refreshingly omitted for fear of spoiling surprises and deflecting your attention from what is so wonderful here. Instead, one of the things I loved best was Hector’s firm-but-fair attitude in not settling for second best and having learned from a previously clingy, cloying relationship and so not putting up with what he would be far too kind to call emotional blackmail in a relationship that is burgeoning but has not yet even established itself!
“I’m back!”
“What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean? I came back a day early. I saw some friends and decided I wanted to get back to work! I missed this place.”
Hector came back a day early, even though he was with friends whom he hadn’t seen in yonks, because he wanted to see Ari! If you were Ari, wouldn’t your heart flutter…?
“Well welcome back.”
That’s flat.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
“Stop!”
Hector gingerly releases Ari’s arm.
“Okay…Sorry… Are you okay?”
“No! You left me here, Hector! Like I just didn’t matter. And I’m obviously not important to my friends.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m useless to my family. I just don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Ari. Nobody knows what they’re doing. You’re not alone in that.”
“Don’t act like you understand me. If you did, you wouldn’t have left me here.”
Oh. So here’s your pick-a-plot moment:
Do you sweep cute Ari into your arms and tell him you understand everything and that you’ll never leave him again?
Do you give him a slap and tell him to wise up to what he’s got going on for him, sugar, not least with a hot stud like you?
Do you say, “Well, I have evidently not been patient enough, so please do explain, for I am here to listen indefinitely to your petulant whinges”?
Or do you write and draw the next two panels instead, which are far from obvious but absolute class, then leave yet another double-page spread space to breathe…
And breathe out.
There’s some startlingly bad behaviour in evidence both on the part of Ari – who has a lot of growing up to do, but didn’t we all before we grew up? Have I grown up? – and within his circle of friends, so please don’t mistake this for one long cheesy grin. I’ve read some of those books and they bored me rigid. There are harsh times ahead for almost everyone, but also resilience and cake.
I leave you with re-stated admiration for Panetta & Ganucheau, but also for David Bowie because, boy, did this resonate with me, aged 17, from ‘Stay’:
“Stay…
“That’s what I meant to say or do something.
But what I never say is stay this time.
I really meant to so badly this time.
“‘Cause you can never really tell
When somebody wants something
You want too…”
SLH
Buy Bloom and read the Page 45 review here
The Breakaways s/c (£9-99, FirstSecond Books) by Cathy G. Johnson…
“Okay girls, we didn’t do very well last game. Why do you think that is? Sammy?”
“We suck?”
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.”
“Haha! Okay okay, girls girls. Now, c’mon girls, think more positively. Anyone else? Zoe, what do you think?”
“I hate running.”
“YES! That is one thing. What else? Molly?”
“We suck?”
“Okay okay okay, just for that, everyone has to run ten laps! MOVE MOVE MOVE!”
Haha, well they really do suck. But, given that this not remotely about football, it really doesn’t matter. Yes, I think we can safely say Roy Race will not be reading this to glean any coaching tips for Melchester Rovers… He could however pick up much useful information on how to build a harmonious and happy dressing room from a disparate set of social misfits and malcontents. Yes, the subtitle of “Bad At Soccer, Okay At Friends” just sums this up perfectly!
Here are the program notes from the comics chairman to rally the team and tell us all about the buy a pint, get a pie free offer.
“Faith, an introverted fifth grader with a vivid imagination, starts middle school worrying about how she will fit in. To her surprise, Amanda, a popular eighth grader, convinces her to join the school soccer team, the Bloodhounds. Having never played soccer in her life, Faith ends up on the C team, a ragtag group with a tendency for drama over teamwork.
Despite their losing streak, Faith and her fellow teammates form strong bonds both on and off the soccer field, which challenge their notions of loyalty, identity, friendship, and unity. The Breakaways is a positive exploration of the complexity of female friendships, as well as the ups and downs of middle school life.
Cathy G. Johnson brings this diverse and spirited group of girls to life with her joyful art style and honest, thoughtful writing.”
Yes she does, I must say. I found this exploration of friendship in its many different forms as well written and moving as NIMONA with a dash of the daft of the likes of LUMBERJANES and BAD MACHINERY thrown in for good measure too. I nearly said GIANT DAYS, which is of course a fabulous exploration of female friendship with added sauce liberally splashed all over it, but unlike GIANT DAYS this is most definitely all-ages fare, though there are most certainly elements of sensitively dealt with romance as well as much platonic playfulness.
It’s all about coming to terms with understanding who you are and what you want from your friendships with others, working towards those aims without trampling all over other people’s proverbial toes, and how to deal with the odd, spectacular relationship own goal.
I thought Cathy G. Johnson weaved the multiple story strands together like a silky skilled striker gliding effortlessly through a mesmerised defence. She certainly doesn’t play favourites, though, as she frequently pits her characters against each other and also even against themselves. Especially themselves perhaps…
Art-wise, it is probably closest in style to some of the LUMBERJANES material, though you will also undoubtedly spot several snippets of many other all-ages favourites in there too. It’s bright and lively yet works just as well for the tender, touching moments. Of which there are plenty, including some touching moments that are very tenderly done too, if you follow my semantics.
A veritable triumph of how teamwork is always better than trying to go it alone if you can just overcome your fears and add your skills to the collective, be that a friendship or a football team. Accept no substitutes!
JR
Buy The Breakaways s/c and read the Page 45 review here
Dragon Post h/c (£10-99, Walker Books) by Emma Yarlett.
You’ll find interactive pockets of post inside, the envelopes already torn open by small hands which, quite rightly, should go nowhere near a sharp letter knife! Their individual postmarks are funny, as are the letters inside!
Now, Early Learning is very important and I don’t just mean reading skills, although they’re vital too. One of the only things I rue about being so blatantly unfit for parenting is that I don’t get to read to my kids at night, or listen to them read to me. To be clear: I don’t have any children. See “unfit…” etc.
However, life lessons learned early on are equally essential, and here your small human will learn exactly what to do should a big Day-Glo red dragon come to live with them. Government statistics show that this is an increasing common phenomenon, so best be prepared!
One day young Alex finds a big Day-Glo red dragon has come to live with him in the cupboard under his stairs. Actually, it’s more of a cellar which is thankfully both a little roomier and the perfect choice for maximum visual impact: the daylight floods in from the hallway, illuminating the fork-tailed, scaly lummox whose form positively radiates against the pitch black darkness. Also note the sense of scale: just like Luke Pearson in HILDA AND THE MIDNIGHT GIANT and Bryan Hitch in ULTIMATES SEASON ONE Emma Yarlett understands that a character needs to challenge its confines and bleed off the page while bending down in order to impress upon the observer just how gigantic they are.
Anyway, Alex finds himself in a quandary:
“I hoped it would stay.
“I’ve always wanted a DRAGON!”
Who hasn’t?
“But… this little dragon looked like it might set FIRE to the HOUSE…
“So I did the obvious thing.
“I wrote to the FIRE BRIGADE.”
Exhibit number one, then, is the fire brigade’s response which, as you’d expect, is calm, formal, authoritative, practical, detailed and — it is not!!! Far from self-assured, it is one long alarmist panic which pours the proverbial petrol on an already flammable situation before suggesting that Alex douses the dragon with water every day.
“The dragon LOVED it.”
It did not!
“I could tell.”
Hmmmm…
Lovely contradiction between the text and art, there, just like almost everything by Jon Klassen including SAM & DAVE DIG A HOLE, written by Mac Barnett. If I were that fish in the fishbowl, whose waters are waiting to be sacrificed to Project Douse The Dragon, I’d be a little less sedate. Nevertheless, it eyeballs Alex accusingly.
Now that we have the not inconsiderable matter of Health & Safety sorted out, it’s time to move onto Nutrition. Not having enjoyed the benefit of a dragon’s dietary requirements as expertly detailed by Philippa Rice in ST. COLIN AND THE DRAGON, Alex discovers that jam sandwiches simply don’t cut the mustard. I’d have tried Nutella and crisps in the softest white bread you can bake. I’m not just a cook, I am a chef!
See “unfit for parenting”.
This time Alex turns to a butcher selling “Sam & Ella’s free-range eggs” whose slogan is “nice to meat you”. So that looks promising. He receives a salivating reply within which:
“Your dragon sounds… delicious.
“I wonder if I could taste eat meet your dragon at your earliest convenience.”
There are several other worrisome issues, not least of which are the disquieted neighbours, and the solicitors are equally funny, but one should remember above all that dragons aren’t renowned for being domesticated and taking them for daily walks is impractical: they need to stretch their wings as well as their legs, so daily flights are advised. Thankfully, you can simply sit on their backs rather than exert yourself too.
This sounds ideal for someone like me. I had a retriever called Leela who refused to retrieve. You’d lob a length of green garden hose about the size of a decent bone as far away as you could, and she’d certainly attempt to locate then grab it, but then you’d have to chase the lolloping, ecstatic hound for a full five minutes before she’d even begin to consider surrendering her prize. Yup, our dog definitely understood the importance and entertainment value of exercising her teenage boy several times daily.
Aaaaaanyway (reprise), this is a mischievous joy whose cover stands out on Page 45’s Young Readers shelves like some radioactive meteorite.
And it has pockets! Did I mention the pockets? Interactive pockets!
I am a sucker for any sort of interaction, especially one which requires me to pluck something out then pop it back in, like Eeyore and his burst balloon in ‘Winnie The Pooh’ on his birthday.
SLH
Buy Dragon Post h/c and read the Page 45 review here
Useleus – A Greek Oddity (£9-99, Bog-Eyed Books) by Alexander Matthews & Wilbur Dawbarn…
“Minotaur, why are we on a hill in the middle of nowhere?”
“Read that note I gave you again.”
“It says, “Stop asking stupid questions.” But I never ask stupid questions!”
“This morning you asked me who the first ever person to fold towels was!”
Just to stop you asking any questions like “What is this madness?” here is the publisher’s parchment scroll of stoopid to reveal all…
“From battling giants, to outwitting gods, to clashes with mythical creatures, Ancient History has never been more fun! An Asterix for the 21st Century, Useleus is skilfully written by Alexander Matthews and nimbly drawn by Wilbur Dawbarn. Leaping from the hallowed pages of popular children’s weekly comic, The Phoenix, USELEUS channels Ancient History through the madcap eyes of two renowned Beano and Dandy creators, Alex Matthews and Wilbur Dawbarn.”
Haha, I think Useleus’ mental capacities are much more in line with Sergio Aragones’ GROO as Asterix always had a bit of crafty smarts to go with his moustache and muscles, but poor old Useleus is the veritable empty gourd, all sound and no substance. Fortunately for him, though, much like Groo has his loyal canine companion Rufferto to patiently steer him in the right direction, or at least save him from total catastrophe, Useleus has the mighty Minotaur, now retired from labyrinth lurking and having taken on the mantle of teacher to his dimwit charge.
All the Grecian errr… classics of classics are here to confound, confuse and repeatedly marmalise our ‘hero’. We’ve got monsters aplenty including the three-headed Chimera and the riddling Sphinx, gallant legends such as Icarus and Achilles, plus vengeful gods such as Hera, Hades and the ever uppity, cantankerous granddaddy / daddy / brother of them all Zeus.
Even a passing knowledge of Greek history will ensure you know most of the set ups, including one involving a certain giant wooden horse… Watch Useleus blunder his way through adventure after adventure and somehow make it out alive, if never actually unscathed. He’s a tough cookie, I’ll give him that.
Fans of previous Bog Eyed Book publications such as Gary Northfield’s THE TERRIBLE TALES OF THE TEENYTINYSAURS and DEREK THE SHEEP plus DEREK THE SHEEP: FIRST SHEEP IN SPACE will undoubtedly love the level of utterly ridiculous and indeed the frenetic, frolicking art style. This is stoopid done right!
If for some reason, though, you’re more of a consequential cove and take a rather more highbrow approach to your ancient sequential scroll-based learnin’ please do check out Gareth Hinds THE ODYSSEY and THE ILLIAD, which despite being at the absolute other end of the sensible spectrum is just as superb in its own rather, well considerably more, serious right.
JR
Buy Useleus – A Greek Oddity and read the Page 45 review here
PTSD h/c (£19-99, FirstSecond Books) by Guillaume Singelin…
“I really need your help. I don’t have anywhere else to go.
“I got shot, but I can’t fix myself up. It’s these gangs. They control all the medicine.
“They know that they’re the only option.
“So they do whatever they want to us. I can tell you’re a vet, too.
“I’m sorry to come here begging for help, but I’m lost…”
“Hmmph, fine.”
She’s a people person, our Jun. Here are her discharge notes from the publisher’s medic to tell us why…
“After returning home from an unpopular war, Jun becomes an outsider in an indifferent world. Alone, desperate, and suffering from wounds both mental and physical, she seeks relief in the illicit drugs she manages to purchase or steal. Jun’s tough exterior served her well in combat, but she’ll need to nurture her vulnerability and humanity to survive at home.
With the support of her fellow vets, the kindness of a stranger who refuses to turn away, and the companionship of a dog named Red, Jun learns to navigate the psychological trauma that she experienced in the war.”
Urmm… I think you forgot the one-woman crusade on the drug gangs that in fact forms a not insignificant part of the story…? It’s all a bit John J. Rambo in the classic original First Blood film about a disaffected Vietnam veteran returning home to a country that doesn’t want him mixed with Charles Bronson in full-on Death Wish wiping out the bad guys mode. A quiet reflective musing on the terrible toll PTSD takes on soldiers, this is not. Though Jun’s PTSD does indeed give perfect credence to her current situation and emotional turmoil.
I just wanted to be clear that this is primarily part action yarn, part redemption story, albeit with sufficient time given to the PTSD aspect of Jun’s bundle of problems that it does more than just pay lip service to it. But as a work of pure fast-paced fiction I certainly enjoyed it.
The excellent art is a heady melange of many, many, many current contemporary creators such Jen GARBAGE NIGHT Lee, Bryan SECONDS O’ Malley, Enrico VENICE CHRONICLES Casarosa etc. etc. (I really could go on and on) but manages to achieve its own fluid style, ably abetted by truly excellent colouring that really consolidates what could otherwise be perhaps a touch too light and gentle linework for such kinetic activity.
I did find myself occasionally losing my thread, which might be down to the actual sequential storytelling itself, but it’s a small-ish criticism and actually perhaps given the main protagonist’s issues a tiny loss of occasional coherence isn’t entirely inappropriate…
JR
Buy PTSD h/c and read the Page 45 review here
Crowded vol 1 s/c (£11-99, Image) by Christopher Sebela & Ro Stein, Ted Brandt.
Originally this was going to have been called CROWDFUNDEAD, which amused me greatly.
I’ll tell you why in a while. This is ever so clever and fresh.
As the cover to SOMETHING CITY made comically clear, we really should share our lawnmowers. Given how modest most of our lawns are, there are a ridiculous number of lawnmowers per suburban square mile.
But we are learning to share more: carpools for school have long been common; now some rent out their homes while on holiday. Then there’s the multiple job front whereby students take part-time work while studying and others take on a second and even third job to supplement their primary wages. Plus, there is now an app for everything.
Sebela has combined all three phenomena and pushed them along the trajectory they look like heading towards their logical, perhaps inevitable, conclusions.
So imagine an imminent future with even more flexibility in which we rent out, while we’re not using them, our houses, our cars (they don’t half sit idle for most of the day, even week!) and even our best clothes which we wear only to weddings. It does make sense, yes? We probably still won’t share that packet of Maltesers: some things are sacred, after all. Then we take out bit-jobs – a bash at babysitting, a dash of dog walking, a few hours ferrying folks about as a taxi service – all bid for and booked via cell-phone apps called Dogstroll, CitySitter, Kloset for clothes and ‘Palrent’ for when you want some idle company.
Charlotte Ellison embarks on all manner of such innocent yet lucrative activities on a daily basis. So why has someone trying to kill her?
Ah, well, they’re not exactly. Instead they’ve Kickstarted a campaign on Reapr, raising a not inconsiderable $1,257,642, with 2,249 backers committed to kill Charlotte Ellison. Someone’s popular – or unpopular.
And remember, in a world where any of us might try our hands a anything for a couple of hours if the money’s right, who knows what sort of amateur assassins might take the gig at the right bid? You’ll not see them coming.
Fortunately you can hire bodyguards with equal ease and that’s where Vita Slatter comes in. She may have the lowest rating on Dfend, but she too is wondering why someone might want Charlotte dead.
“Did you cut a guy off in traffic? Act rude to cashier? [Please don’t do that.] Borrow something years ago and forget to return it?”
Structured so that the past day’s recollection is split between action sequences, the first issue clapped along at a cracking pace, with an assured sense of off-hand humour and expressive outrage reminiscent of GIANT DAYS. I loved Ro Stein’s cross-section of Vita’s hopefully safe house, using its rooms stairs and landing as panels, with an ever so clever about-turn to keep the left-to-right reading flow.
Lastly, there’s a subtle little clue as the TV screen goes blank and plenty of pictures which betray the lies on people’s lips. That’s good comics, is that.
SLH
Buy Crowded vol 1 s/c and read the Page 45 review here
Dark Nights Metal – Dark Knights Rising s/c (£22-99, DC) by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Grant Morrison, Dan Abnett, various & Carmine DiGiandomenico, Philip Tan, Tony S. Daniel, Doug Mahnke.
““D.C.” You wondered what it means, but think about it Bobo… brother…
““Detective Chimp.”
“We’ve watched your life. Immortality has its rewards. We got this fixed back in 2067. The 53rd world is here to help. So… ready to save the Universe, Bobo?”
So that’s what DC means. And obviously Bobo is, now he’s not losing his marbles. The concluding issue in this collection, DARK KNIGHTS RISING: THE WILD HUNT #1, is a glorious rip-snorting ruckus of MULTIVERSITY-inspired madness featuring everyone’s favourite simian Sherlock. Errr… what do you mean you’ve never heard of him?
As I was reading this, I thought it felt like a Morrison-penned portion of malarkey, so wasn’t remotely surprised to find him co-credited on this issue. No idea of precisely how much he was involved, or if it is purely to acknowledge the use of several of his concepts and characters, but it has the feel of being touched by Morrison at least… which is the typically rum and uncanny sensation you would expect.
The other seven issues: BATMAN: THE RED DEATH #1, BATMAN: THE DEVASTATOR #1, BATMAN: THE MERCILESS #1, BATMAN: THE MURDER MACHINE #1, BATMAN: THE DROWNED #1, BATMAN: THE DAWNBREAKER #1, THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #1 are essentially mad What If? – or perhaps I should say Evil Elseworld – mash-ups each featuring a Batman, and in one case a Batwoman, from an Earth in the Multiversity lost to the dark, who has somehow merged or blended or become corrupted with someone else, those unfortunates being: Flash, Superman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Aqua Woman, Green Lantern and just for good measure, the Joker.
So, in other words, these are the origin stories of all the bad guys deployed by the demon Barbatos in the main DARK NIGHTS: METAL series. These creation cameos are all, I must add, fabulously good fun and tortuously and frankly quite sadistically well thought out. So whilst you absolutely do not need this volume to help you understand the metallic mayhem, I can certainly recommend it.
JR
Buy Dark Nights Metal – Dark Knights Rising s/c and read the Page 45 review here
Arrived, Online & Ready To Buy!
New reviews to follow, but if they’re new formats of previous books, reviews may already be up; others will retain their Diamond previews information we receive displayed as ‘Publisher Blurb’.
3D Sweeties h/c (£22-99, Fantagraphics) by Julian Glander
Barrier Limited Edition Slipcase Set (£23-99, Image) by Brian K. Vaughan & Marcos Martin
Catwad: It’s Me (£7-99, Scholastic) by Jim Benton
Cretaceous (£13-99, Oni Press Inc.) by Tadd Galusha
Jim Henson’s Beneath The Dark Crystal vol 1 h/c (£18-99, Archaia) by Adam Smith & Alexandria Huntington
Lumberjanes vol 11: Time After Crime (£10-99, Boom Entertainment) by Shannon Watters, Kat Leyh & Ayme Sotuyo
Middle-Earth: Journeys In Myth And Legend h/c (£35-99, Dark Horse) by Donato Giancola
Our Super Adventure vol 1: Press Start To Begin h/c (£13-99, Oni Press) by Sarah Graley
Strangers In Paradise XXV vol 2: Hide And Seek s/c (£14-50, Abstract Studios) by Terry Moore
Stumptown vol 4: The Case Of The Cup Of Joe s/c (£17-99, Oni Press) by Greg Rucka & Justin Greenwood
Sunstone vol 6 s/c (£14-99, Top Cow) by Stjepan Sejic
Tales From The Hidden Valley vol 2: Hello, Mister Cold (£12-99, Flying Eye Books) by Carles Porta
Flash vol 9: Reckoning Of The Forces s/c (Rebirth) (£14-99, DC) by Joshua Williamson & Christian Duce, Scott Kolins
Mera: Tidebreaker s/c (£14-99, DC) by Danielle Paige & Stephen Byrne
Super Sons Book 1: The Polarshield Project s/c (£8-99, DC) by Ridley Pearson & Ile Gonzalez
Defenders: The Best Defense s/c (£17-99, Marvel) by Al Ewing, Chip Zdarsky, Gerry Duggan, Jason Latour & Simone Di Meo, Carlos Magno, Greg Smallwood
Ms. Marvel vol 10: Teenage Wasteland s/c (£17-99, Marvel) by G. Willow Wilson & various
The Ancient Magus Bride vol 10 (£9-99, Seven Seas) by Kore Yamazaki