Pull List: The 5 Comics You Absolutely Need to Read This Month
November is traditionally a quiet month in comics: the year is winding to a close, and publishers enjoy a brief lull ahead of the holidays. This year, however, there are all manner of wonders to be found in your local comic book emporiums, including comics that celebrate the history of one superhero universe and build diverse new casts (and creative teams) for another. There's also magic and talking motorcycles to be found, if you know where to look. Here are the five titles you should definitely be picking up in November.
Black Panther: World of Wakanda #1 (Marvel Entertainment)
Spinning out of the current Black Panther series, Ta-Nehisi Coates teams with Roxane Gay to write the lead story in this new series, which focuses on Ayo and Aneka, the women who rebelled against tradition for love. (The amazing Alitha E. Martinez illustrates.) The first issue also teams poet Yona Harvey with Afua Richardson for the origin of Zenzi, the woman behind the flagship series' conflict.
Marvel EntertainmentSugar & Spike: Metahuman Investigations (DC Entertainment)
Originally published as part of an anthology, Sugar & Spike is a funny, caustic love letter to the goofy histories that some of DC's greatest heroes would rather everyone forgot about. Keith Giffen writes with a mix of snark and affection, but the star of the show is the art of Bilquis Evely, which is utterly exquisite. No wonder she got tapped as the new artist for Wonder Woman soon afterwards.
DC Entertainment
Namesake #1 (Boom! Studios)
Steve Orlando is a writer whose star has been on the rise at DC in recent months, thanks to his Midnighter and Supergirl series. With Namesake, he and artist Jakub Rebelka have created a thoroughly unique creator-owned title: a protagonist who has to find a way to put his parents' remains to rest despite the fact that they belong to different worlds—which only intersect once every seven years. Hope you've got a good calendar app, man!
Boom! StudiosHarbinger Renegades #1 (Valiant Entertainment)
Mixing the high concept of Marvel's X-Men (kids with strange powers that we can't control or understand!) with a dose of contemporary politics, Harbinger Renegades revives one of Valiant's central franchises with a twist. Rafer Roberts and Transmetropolitan's Darick Robertson harness the fractured paranoia in US current events, turning it into a superhero story unlike any other in this new series.
Valiant Entertainment
Motro #1 (Oni Press)
Even if the idea of a fantasy epic about a superhumanly strong young boy and his talking miniature motorcycle trying to save lives by fulfilling a prophecy from the boy's dead father doesn't appeal to you—and it should, because that sounds amazing—then this book is worth a look because of those responsible: Ulises Fariñas, who co-writes (with Erick Freitas) and draws the series has an imagination like few others, and he and colorist Ryan Hill were the art team on the amazing-looking Judge Dredd: Mega-City Two a few years back. (He's also done some incredible work for this very publication!) This might be the most exciting, unexpected thing on the stands.
Oni Press
