Brew Your Hero’s Ballad Recommendations
Hey there folks! Welcome to the First Issue Club Brew your Hero’s Ballad comic recommendations!
Below you’ll find all the books we recommended at this year’s Planet Comicon engagement along with the creative teams and what booth you can find them at. We hope you enjoyed our little game and that you’ll stick around and give the show a listen.
Cheers!
Fear Agent
By Rick Remender, Tony Moore (Booth #3704), and Jerome Opena (Booth #3711)
Heath Houston is the last of the Fear Agents, a group that at one time defended Earth, but that time has passed. Now he’s an alien exterminator who’s haunted by his past and the question that makes Uatu shiver… “What if?”.
The club loves this book for it’s grimy sci fi aesthetic, endearing main character, and themes of redemption, the scars war leaves, and overcoming your flaws. Plus a healthy dose of dark humor and laser guns.
Batman Off World
By Jason Aaron (Booth #3115) and Doug Mahnke (Booth #138/140)
What if Batman had to fight aliens?! After encountering an alien invader one night in Gotham, Batman takes the fight to space and make sure the earth is safe from invasion. The story takes place early in the Dark Knight’s career so we get to see a young Batman take on a challenge he’s never seen in a foreign place.
The all star creative team makes this book an instant buy for the Club, but add the idea of Batman becoming Flash Gordon, and we can’t ignore this book.
Local Man
By Tim Seeley (Booth #3703) and Tony Fleecs
Local Man is a story about problems. Jack Xavier returns to his small midwestern home town after leaving a super hero team in disgrace and discovers that his present has more to do with is past than he ever imagined. It’s a mashup of 90’s Image nostalgia with the rural noir that made co-writer Tim Seeley’s Revival a fan favorite.
Trust us, you have no idea where this story goes, but you’ll love the ride.
Twig
By Skottie Young (Booth #3714/3715) and Kyle Strahm (Booth #3716)
Twig is the story of a fluffy blue creature who gets tasked with repairing a mystical crystal that will prevent darkness from taking over his fantasy homeland. If you like Labyrinth or the Dark Crystal, this one is a no brainer. Kyle Stram’s imaginative art is the perfect match to Skottie Young’s story of hope and determination.
The Club loves anything Young and Strahm put out and this one is the gem in their respective crowns. Sometimes we all need to take a break from the serious and embrace the fantasy cuteness. Even if it does end up getting a little serious.
Sea of Stars
By Jason Aaron (Booth #3115) and Dennis "Hopeless" Hallum (Booth #3717) and Stephen Green
A father and son overcome literal astronomical odds to reunite after their space ship is destroyed during a routine delivery. Featuring breathtaking space landscapes and harrowing sci-fi action, this one is sure to thrill and tug at your heartstrings.
It's easy to lose hope these days, but Sea of Stars never fails to make the Club feel like they can conquer the world… or at least our ‘To Read’ pile.
Bug Wars
By Jason Aaron (Booth #3115) and Mahmud Asrar
In Bug Wars we’re transported to a world where the locals are locked in a generation spanning war for the known universe: your backyard. A little bit Honey I Shrunk The Kids and a whole lot of John Carter of Mars, this book won’t let up, not that you’d want it to.
The Club loves a good action book, and you know Jason Aaron can deliver on that in the writing, but Asrar’s gorgeous visceral art is the cherry on top.
Deadly Tales of the Gunslinger
By Jimmy Palmiotti (Booth #124) and Patric Reynolds
Like Spawn? Like Guns? Well, peanut butter, meet chocolate. Palmiotti and Reynolds chronicle the origins of everyone’s favorite Hellspawn Cowpoke in this classic old west revenge tale that expands the Spawn Universe.
There’s no way the Club can miss a chance to see Jimmy Palmiotti write an old west character again, let alone one that involves the supernatural greatness that is Spawn.
The Last Boy
By Dan Panosian (Booth #122) and Alessio Avallone
What happens after Peter Pan and Wendy Darling’s adventures in Neverland? Peter is the last one who hasn’t grown up and has a bad encounter with an aging Captain Hook while Wendy yearns for the carefree days of childhood while the responsibilities of being an adult weigh heavy. Will they reunite and have one last daring adventure?! Well you gotta read the comic like the rest of us to find out.
This one JUST released on the 19th, so go to booth 122 and tell Dan how much you liked it or pick up a copy if your LCS sold out!
That’s all folks! Huge shoutout to Boulevard for sponsoring the show and hosting us at Planet. We’ll see you next year…and next issue!