PICKS OF THE WEEK - Mar. 11, 2020

• DECORUM #1: Arthur C. Clark go eat your heart out when it comes to Jonathan Hickman’s new interstellar creation of titanic proportions. If you’re familiar with his work then you know he likes to do a lot of world building with graphs, charts and visual cues to help understand and flesh out the universe he is presenting before you. It may seem daunting to some but, if you like your stories dense with a lot of hidden messages and allusions to things that will come into play later, then get ready for a wild ride. Mike Huddleston tackles the art and does a really superb job in crafting unique worlds and machines, that blend future and past, for some trippy visuals and motifs. Once the action settles into a more normal narrative; following the blunt brass of Neha, a courier, and the slick and striking assassin Imogen, you’ll be excited for where the story will take you next. If you’re itching for that next sci-fi epic, strap in for Decorum and get ready to blast off.

• MARVELS SNAPSHOTS: SUB-MARINER: Starting off Marvel’s new Snapshot line, Namor the Submariner takes center stage, as the king of the sea is remembered by one of the few humans who tried to show him what he’s been missing on land. Alan Brennert tells a great story about love and duty in an auspicious, old-timey fashion. He cuts to the core of Namor, his brashness and why he takes no prisoners when it comes to his type of heroics. The superstar of this story tough is Artist Jerry Ordway. His work evokes a time and style of an era gone by and with the help of colorist, Espen Grundetjern. they create a comic that feels like you’ve warped back in time to the 1940’s. The visuals really set the bar for what comics strive to create in making something both modern and nostalgic all at once. For any fan of Marvel, past and present, this is a great little story harkening back to comics’ roots and why Namor has stood the test of time as being the first bad boy of comics.

• STAR WARS – BOUNTY HUNTERS #1: The Next series in the new Star Wars line continues the tradition of epic, grand scale, story telling for all the tales you wished they’d tell. Marvel has listened and your prayers are answered. ‘Bounty Hunters’ is a no frills, thrill ride through the galaxy with their coolest and coldest stars. Following the cyborg Valance, Lizardman Bossk, and the dreaded Bobba Fett; their pasts and presents collide chasing the biggest bounty in the star system. Writer Ethan Sacks and Artist Paolo Villanelli have made an excellent comic book that is ferocious and frenzied and sets itself apart from all the rest in the line with its killer sense of style and tone. Nab this one before the booty’s gone.