Hey folks! Another month is in the books! We are still practicing social distancing and staying inside. That means that we are reading a lot of comics! Here are our picks for the best comics of September 2020.
Marcus Orchard – The Rise of Ultraman #1
The Rise of Ultraman #1 could have easily been a cheap cash-in on a neat property by Marvel Comics. Instead, they gave control to Kyle Higgins, a writer who is familiar with writing Kaiju-related works with his run on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. The main story is off to a solid enough start, but throw in some great bonus works with great artists and you have a lot of value. Fans of Ultraman, kaiju, or just cool science fiction action will want to check out this fantastic debut to the five-issue miniseries.
Hunter Sandlin – Ice Cream Man Presents: Quarantine Comix Special #1
Back towards the beginning of the pandemic, the creative team behind Ice Cream Man decided to raise money for brick-and-mortar comic book stores by releasing a “mini-comic” and donate half the profits to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation. This month they put out all of those mini-comics into one physical issue and it’s one of my favorite reads in recent memory. Half the fun for me was just finding out what each premise was and where it was headed. With only a few pages to set up and pay off a story, the writers had to get pretty creative. On top of all of that, ten short stories for six dollars is a pretty good deal. It’s a fun experience that really should not be missed.
Brandon Carlisle – The Ludocrats #5
The finale of this hilarious and joyful series ends just as creative and silly as it began. I strongly feel that this series should have been longer, but I’m happy with the story that was told. The ending wraps up all of the plot threads in an exciting and creative way, resulting in an incredibly wholesome and optimistic conclusion. Really clever wordplay and fourth-wall breaks make this series one of the funniest stories I’ve read in a while!
Ethan Maddux – Strange Academy #3
This book is a delight from start to finish. Going into the first issue, I expected it would be a cute enough romp, but I felt I’d never get my head around all the new characters being thrown my way. Somehow, in three issues Scottie Young And Humberto Ramoshave completely nullified this concern. Each character, despite their short existence, is distinct from consistent personalities and easily digestible relationships. I’m a longtime fan of Humberto Ramos, and this is easily his best work. His character designs in this series are incredible, with just about every character being recognizable through only their silhouette, and his masterful facial acting makes even the simplest dialogue appears exciting. This is one of the most fun books on the shelf, and I’m genuinely thrilled every time I see a new issue.
Alexander Cole – Faithless II #4
I’ve already raved about this issue in my main review so I’ll keep this short. Outstanding art, some great horror vibes, references to real-life supernatural Italian folk tales, and some nice character development for Faith. This issue really has me wondering where the series will go in the future. I thought this was a brilliant issue from start to finish. Admittedly I haven’t been able to read as many comics, as usual, this month but I’d still feel confident saying Faithless II #4 was the best comic released this month.
