HOT FIVE: Week Of August 8, 2018

Welcome to Comicosity’s Hot Five(ish). Hot Five(ish) is a short list of the top books we think you’ll want to be checking out. Be they new title launches, key issues or just continuing stories from some of the industry’s most acclaimed books, this list is your guaranteed gold in the comic market.

CATWOMAN #2
Written by Joëlle Jones
Art by Joëlle Jones (Pencils) & Laura Allred (Colors)
Published by DC Comics – $3.99

Gotham’s a toxic litter box for Selina Kyle of late, so she hits the road looking to clear the air, change her look and clear her name, too-there’s a copycat burglar swiping her M.O. who needs sorting out. In her hometown, Catwoman runs afoul of a crime boss who’s also hunting this impostor. Can the two declare a truce to hunt a mutual enemy, or will Selina end up just more roadkill?

Why It’s Hot: The first issue of Joëlle Jones’ Catwoman run sort of got lost in the shuffle of the Batman #50 “controversy” despite being one of the best first isssues of the year. Now that the fallout from the wedding seems to be over it’s time for readers to appreciate just how good this book is. Joëlle Jones has been good for a long time, but this is truly her breakout comic. It’s really good stuff, and a comic that DC fans everywhere should be reading.

FANTASTIC FOUR #1
Written by Dan Slott
Art by Sara Pichelli, Simone Bianchi, Skottie Young (Pencils), Elisabetta D’Amico (Inks), Marte Gracia, Marco Russo & Jeremy Treece (Colors)
Published by Marvel Comics – $5.99

FOUREVER Part One

BECAUSE YOU DEMANDED IT – THE WORLD’S GREATEST COMIC MAGAZINE IS BACK!
Since the end of SECRET WARS, there’s been a gap in the Marvel Universe. A void no other team can fill. And it’s time for the world to move on. But can it? A life-changing decision by the Thing! A momentous declaration by the Human Torch! A clarion call-to-arms that summons Doctor Doom! And a signal in the sky that heralds the return of hope to the Marvel Universe! All this, and Alicia Masters adopts kittens! So cute! Plus, the Impossible Man!

AND BONUS STORIES ILLUSTRATED BY SIMONE BIANCHI AND SKOTTIE YOUNG!
IF YOU READ ONLY ONE MARVEL COMIC THIS MONTH, THIS IS THE ONE!

Why It’s Hot: Marvel’s First Family is back in the World’s Greatest Comic Magazine. As one wise man so succinctly put it “‘Nuff said.”

HOT LUNCH SPECIAL #1
Written by Eliot Rahal
Art by Jorge Fornes
Published by Aftershock Comics – $3.99

From Eliot Rahal, the writer of Cult Classic, The Paybacks and Quantum & Woody comes HOT LUNCH SPECIAL, with art by Jorge Fornes (Amazing X-Men, Wolverine, Magnus)! A midwestern noir series set in the harsh landscape of the northern Minnesota Iron Range-Hot Lunch Special is all about family, food and the fight for survival.

The Khourys are a classic immigrant success story: A fractious and quarrelsome Lebanese family who carved their slice of the American Dream by becoming the largest distributors of vending machine sandwiches in the upper northern Midwest.

Unfortunately, the Khourys gains have been ill-gotten and a branch of the Chicago Irish Mob has come back to collect a past debt. Fealty is demanded, shots are fired, and long-hidden family secrets are fully revealed. Now, Dorothy Khoury, the daughter of the family patriarch is forced to unite her splintered bloodline and fight back.

Only one question is worth asking…is blood thicker than sandwiches?

Why It’s Hot: This comic should be getting a lot more hype than it has been, because the first issue is great stuff. Rahal and Fornes have tapped into the Midwest crime sensibilities of something like Fargo to create a crime comic that’s unlike anything else currently being published in comics right now. If Ed Brubaker had a child with the Coen Bros. and Noah Hawley their child would be Hot Lunch Special. Yes, you read that right. If three men somehow had a baby it would come out as a fully formed comic book, and that right there is another reason you should pick this up.

THE SANDMAN UNIVERSE #1
Written by Si Spurrier, Nalo Hopkinson, Kat Howard & Dan Watters
Art by Bilquis Evely, Domo Stanton, Tom Fowler, Max Fiumara & Sebastian Fiumara
Published by DC Comics – $4.99

From the mind of New York Times #1 bestselling author Neil Gaiman comes a new world filled with dreams, nightmares and wonderful characters living together in a shared universe for a new story unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.

A rift between worlds has opened, revealing a space beyond the Dreaming. Meanwhile, a book from Lucien’s library is discovered by a group of children in the waking world where it should not exist. Lucien calls for Matthew the Raven to seek out their master, Daniel, Lord of Dreams.

As Matthew flies across the Waking World and others, he finds a young boy named Timothy Hunter who, in his dreams, has become the world’s most powerful magician-but in his nightmares he is the world’s greatest villain. A new House has appeared in the realm of the Dreaming: the House of Whispers, with its proprietor, a fortune-teller called Erzulie. And elsewhere, Lucifer has fallen again, only this time he might be trapped in a Hell of his own design.

Spiraling out of this special issue will be four all-new series set in the Sandman Universe. It all starts here!

Why It’s Hot: There are only a handful of comics that breakout from the old, outdated preconceived notions of what the medium can offer, and the original Sandman was one of them. Neil Gaiman’s story about The Dreaming captured people’s attention in ways creators can only hope for, and it became one of the most beloved comic books ever created. So, I don’t have to explain why a comic launching a return to that same universe from a lineup of phenomenal creators overseen by Neil Gaiman himself is a big deal.

WONDER WOMAN #52
Written by Steve Orlando
Art by ACO
Published by DC Comics – $3.99

At the behest of Aztek, Diana and Artemis join her for a trip to Mexico, but there’s no sightseeing on the agenda. Instead, they must rescue a long-lost Amazon who’s being held captive by rogue deity Tezcatlipoca, who’s trying to break into our world. Can our three heroes save the missing Amazon, stop a raging god and not kill one another in the process?

Why It’s Hot: Steve Orlando began his brief run on Wonder Woman with a quiet bang last issue. He produced a relatively quiet one and done that perfectly captured Diana’s compassion in one of the best single issues of the series ever. Now Orlando’s frequent collaborator, the amazing ACO, joins him for the next part of the adventure. Wonder Woman, Aztek, and Artemis are on a journey against gods to save an Amazon close to Diana’s heart. Orlando just gets what makes a good Wonder Woman story, and with ACO on art duties this creative team is making the most of their brief opportunity with this comic.

ALSO AVAILABLE THIS WEEK:

* Amazing Spider-Man #3
* Black Badge #1
* Charlie’s Angels #3
* Detective Comics #986
* Domino #5
* Exiles #6
* Farmhand #2
* The Flash #52
* Hawkman #3
* Nancy Drew #3
* Outpost Zero #2
* Supergirl #21
* Transformers Unicron #3

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