Casual Comics Preview and Hot Picks– Week of January 22, 2020

A couple of quick housekeeping items before I get to the Hot New Comics of the Week:

I was promised help this week from my podcast mates. They did not deliver. And, thus, these picks are once again the sole responsibility of me – your friendly Casual Comics Guy. I’ll take all the blame (and of course, the accolades) on these picks.

But, do take a moment to listen to the podcast if you haven’t yet. And feel free to leave comments in the web zone below.

Casual Comic Picks of the Week

Frankenstein Undone #1

OK – it’s the first issue in a series. Just the right time to get on board with the comic. The Frankenstein myth is also an easy gateway into an unfamiliar title.

Mignola takes on Frankenstein!  Frankenstein’s creator lies dead in the icy grip of the Arctic, and the monster searches for a new purpose. Just as he thinks he’s found one with a group of unlikely companions, disaster strikes–and the monster is catapulted out of Mary Shelley’s novel and into the world of Hellboy. Bridging Mary Shelley’s original Frankenstein novella and Mike Mignola’s Frankenstein Underground, this series brings together Mignola, Scott Allie, Ben Stenbeck, Brennan Wagner, and Clem Robins for an all-new horror adventure in the far north.

I’m not familiar with Mignola’s “Frankenstein Underground”, but he’s got an excellent track record for interesting gothic tales. Oh, so many years ago, I loved Fred Saberhagen’s “The Frankenstein Papers”, and the solicit for this comic gives me the same chills.

Clue TPB Candlestick

I’ve heard a ton of great things about this series from the fine gentlemen over at the Two Headed Nerd podcast. If you don’t already listen, you should.

Also, in running down my top movies of 2019, I find myself putting “Knives Out” easily in the top 5. So, maybe it’s time for the reinvention of the murder mystery genre.

Who did it? How’d they do it? And where? Answer these classic questions and solve the mystery in this graphic novel based on the timeless detective game. Cartoonist auteur Dash Shaw unleashes his murderous imagination on the quirky, thrilling, and mysterious world of Clue! Ripe with puzzles, secrets, and lies, everyone’s a suspect in this suspense-filled whodunit! Was it Miss Scarlet in the conservatory with the lead pipe? Suspicions mount as bodies start piling up.

More than 50% of my interest is from the raves that this got from the THN podcast. Now that it’s in a collected edition, sounds like the perfect time to pick it up.

Red Sonja and Vampirella Meet Betty and Veronica #8 

That’s a lot of characters from a lot of different universes all packed into one comic. How did they get through seven issues without me knowing about this title? Guess it’s my lack of ability to get to the comic shop every week.

Ever wonder how Red Sonja and Vampirella could make it to Riverdale to hang out with Betty and Veronica? Now you’re about to find out! But to do so, you’ll have to travel deep into interstellar space, for the answer lies not on Earth, but on Drakulon! And the revelation is TWICE as bananas as you could imagine!

Did I ever wonder… I absolutely did as soon as I read the title. If it was only as bananas as I could imagine, I might just wait. But it’s apparently TWICE as bananas as I can imagine. And that’s pretty darn bananas. Count me in for this issue.

I’m going to go ahead and assume that there’s no exaggeration going on here, and that this book is 2x as much craziness as I can imagine and name “Red Sonja and Vampirella Meet Betty and Veronica #8” as my Casual Comics Hot Pick of the Week!

Until we meet again… Cheers!

• CCG