Coming Continuing Comics 1: a look at cool new super-comic solicits in February 2019

I've been reading comics for somewhere around a billion years now. And one of my favorite parts of buying weird and wonderful comics from a variety of publishers. This new feature will spin out from my own monthly adds to my pull list as I take a look and share comics I think look promising. These are comics I'm commenting upon with only covers and perhaps a few preview pages to look at. It does not serve as a full endorsement of anything, just a sampling of what I think looks interesting.

As a reminder, my definition of super powered fiction continues to cover a whole plethora of characters and stories, not just costumed superheroes. Be prepared to see several non-costumed characters with powers featured in these columns.

Punk Mambo

One of the best original creations of the modern Valiant is Punk Mambo, the voodoo practicing walker between the Louisiana bayou and the Shadowside. The character was already visually interesting but with Sixth Gun writer Cullen Bunn writing this new limited series, we can expect an amazing story with a major horror bent. With Adam Gorham on interiors, Dan Brereton absolutely kills it on the cover.

Brereton knocks this cover out of the park. 

Missed the Boat 1: Red Wolf

Missed the Boat is a new series where I focus on criminally under-appreciated works, series canceled too soon or subjects otherwise outside the normal grain of typical superheroes.

I have a tendency when it comes to big two super-books to seek out the smaller books. Sometimes this means I get a trade of a complete "ongoing" series that only lasted six issues. And sometimes these are some of the best books Marvel or DC can offer.

Red Wolf by Nathan Edmondson and Dalibor Talijic is just such a book. Featuring a time (and dimension) lost Native American sheriff first introduced in Marvel 1872 (himself a reboot of both an old western character and a modern hero dating back to the 70s.) But this new Red Wolf is dropped into a modern city of Santa Rosa.

This great Dale Keown cover probably shouldn't
have been a variant. Regular cover artist Jeffrey
Veregge probably did little to help the book's chances.

The story could have been a traditional fish-out-of-water time travel tale, but the creators do an excellent job of building a mythology around the town and the character in the six issues they have. Edmondson clearly hoped for a much longer run with the character, but the swift cancellation of several post-Secret Wars titles took Red Wolf with it.

It's a shame too, as for the first time Marvel seemed to have a credible Native American hero.

Red Wolf: Man Out of Time comes cheap on Amazon, so don't pass up a chance to read this strange single trade of a great series and wonder with me what could have been.

Best Character Ever 21: Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo Da Vinci’s impact on history is legendary. The quintessential Renaissance Man, Da Vinci did things hundreds of years ahead of his time. But as great as he was as a historical figure, I often think he offers many more possibilities as a figure in literature and pop culture. He’s certainly one I am always fascinated to see in fictional endeavors.

I think I first came across fictional Da Vinci in the film Hudson Hawk. I would have been about twelve when I first saw the legendary box office bomb starring Bruce Willis. But its backstory focused on Da Vinci and the quest to unlock the three pieces of the Philosopher’s Stone the legendary engineer inadvertently made. While Hudson Hawk certainly isn’t a masterpiece of cinematic history, it did instill me with a love for the fictional Da Vinci that has survived for over two decades.

Best Character Ever 13: Shotgun

Sometimes a character is awesome because of all the great stories he has been in. Sometimes a character is great because of all the potential he has. Sadly, Shotgun falls in to the latter.

J.R. Walker first appeared in the pages of Daredevil when the man was on his walkabout in the waning days of Ann Nocenti’s run. Created by artist John Romita Jr., Shotgun is presented as little more than a thug by Nocenti’s writing, albeit one with a sharp tongue. With a cool look and sporting the perfect early 90s load of giant guns (though these appearances were in 89, contemporary with Cable’s early appearances), it seemed like he would go somewhere.

Best Character Ever 12: Scarlet Witch

The modern writing of her has been so-so, but
Frank Cho certainly knows how to draw Wanda!

I don’t remember where exactly I first ran into the Scarlet Witch. Much like Wolverine, she was probably first introduced to me by the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition. Her illustration was by the legendary John Byrne and the pose showed a little more life than many of the character shots in the book. Her name and powers fascinated me. And like many young comic fans, I probably thought she was pretty hot in that skintight red costume.

When I finally started to read more Marvel books, West Coast Avengers immediately drew my attention. Wanda Maximoff and her husband Vision were on the team—much later I would find out they were just recent additions—and I instantly took to the split units under the pen of Steve Englehart and the pencils (for better or worse) of Al Milgrom. But it wouldn’t be long until John Byrne moved in to take over the book.