The Pull List: AFTERSHOCK COMICS Releases (Wednesday 6th April 2016)
AFTERSHOCK COMICS Releases: Wednesday 6th April 2016
Each week, we take a look at the forthcoming AFTERSHOCK COMICS titles available in stores, giving you a comprehensive guide to your comics pull list.
After a week’s delay, it’s nice to see Ennis, Coleby and Kalisz’s DREAMING EAGLES #4 finally hit the shelves – I know that a bunch of other AfterShock Comics books are attracting the lion’s share of attention (Brian Azzarello and Juan Doe’s AMERICAN MONSTER for one, the awesome SECOND SIGHT from David Hine and Alberto Ponticelli for another) but DE is the cornerstone book for the fledgling publisher for me, the one that sets the bar for the other books to follow. Not to say that they’re not punching their weight, too, mind…
- Paul Jenkins and Andy Clarke, ably backed up with some really strong colour work from Dan Brown, continue their rock’n’roll mashup of BABYLON 5, BLADE RUNNER and MULTIPLICITY with issue #5 of the sci-fi / comedy / detective / thriller / comedy (what, have I said that already? Okay, it’s fair to include it twice…) REPLICA, a book where you can tell that Jenkins and Clarke are having the ball of their lives! Layered to hell, tight as a nut and funny as fuck, this book is something else entirely, to any other book out there… And this issue is the one where your new favourite duplicate detectives have, er, all their cards on the table, for everyone to see. Literally.
- I’m not saying that the book that AfterShock have been touting particularly heavily is a total rehash, I will say that more mature readers that consider themselves fans of Alan Moore‘s THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN may want to look away now, as Adam Glass, Patrick Olliffe and Gabe Eltaeb tread a familiar path with their steampunk reimagining of American turn-of-the-20th-Century historical figures. Actually, that might be doing the book a bit of a dis-service as ROUGH RIDERS has instead people that actually lived in history, populating its cast list – Teddy Roosevelt, Jack Johnson and the like – rather than Moore’s pilfering of literature. This first issue sets up the coming together of these backbones of American deering-do in the grand old tradition of a collected hero team. To be fair, ROUGH RIDERS looks amazing with Olliffe producing work that stands against any book by the Big Two produced today, Glass’ characterisation of names we may know only from reference books is tightly rendered, with the initial setup being sure and steady yet very intriguing… I just hope that over-familiarity doesn’t stop this book in its tracks before its even got started. I’ll give issue #2 a go – but it better be bloody good if I’m going to stick with it.
- And, finally, the one you’ve – okay, I’ve – been waiting for: DREAMING EAGLES #4 continues to give a contemporary comics audience a timely history lesson in racial politics with this bold and unflinching story of WWII African-American flyers, battling not only the Germans in the air (in a whole new breed of aircraft) but also acceptance, equality and bigotry on the ground, with innuendo, double-talk and ulterior motives being the weapons of the day. And so it was and so it is today, which makes this truly a unique book on the shelves: Garth Ennis and Simon Coleby have produced a book that doesn’t hide behind any curtains, it is very much proclaiming a proud message of a disenfranchised minority, standing up for not only themselves but also the country they belong to. In a time when there are some, determined to keep minorities down and ‘in their place’, DREAMING EAGLES reminds us that ‘their place’ is right beside the rest of everybody else, fighting the good fight. Bravo.
It’s just a shame that there is only two more issues of DREAMING EAGLES left to go but I’m enjoying it while it lasts. And REPLICA can run from now to eternity, as far as I’m concerned. Three cracking books, available on the shelves of your local comic book shop today – have at it!
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MONTHLY TITLES
Click the thumbnails for hi-res versions!
DREAMING EAGLES #4
Writer: Garth Ennis
Artist: Simon Coleby
Colours: John Kalisz
Cover Art: Francesco Francavilla
“The next chapter in the saga of the Tuskegee squadrons begins, as new aircraft give them the capability to escort American bombers deep into the heart of the Nazi Reich.
But the German air force is far from defeated, and its pilots will fight tooth and nail to defend their homeland. And in the war-torn skies of occupied Europe, friends can prove just as deadly as any foe…“
Military / 33 Pages / Rating: 15+
Release Date: 6th April 2016 / Full Colour
Click HERE to buy this comic digitally from ComiXology, or HERE for your tablet from AMAZON:
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REPLICA #5
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Artist: Andy Clarke
Colours: Dan Brown
Cover Art: Andy Clarke
“Meet Trevor Churchill, an Earth-born peacekeeping agent on the intergalactic hub known as The Transfer. When Trevor’s already near impossible assignment becomes a bit too much for the errant detective, he turns to the only logical approach, REPLICATION. More of a good thing can’t hurt, right?!? A single clone could be helpful..unfortunately the REPLICATION process doesn’t go as planned…
ISSUE #5: In which we meet Clone Number 5 – a legal genius who was undercooked during the cloning process and came out half-baked. In which Trevor and the gang at the Precinct run afoul of the dreaded Scarlet Empire. In which our trusty heroes go for a “round of golf” and decide instead to undertake a naked assault on an alien Embassy. Because, you know… Tuesday.“
Science Fiction / 31 Pages / Rating: 15+
Release Date: 6th April 2016 / Full Colour
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ROUGH RIDERS #1
Writer: Adam Glass
Artist: Patrick Olliffe
Colours: Gabe Eltaeb
Cover Art: Patrick Olliffe
“Led by a young Theodore Roosevelt, a motley crew of soon-to-be American legends must work together to solve a mystery that threatens life itself. Harry Houdini — street magician and master of misdirection. Annie Oakley — a washed-up entertainer, eager for a chance to prove herself in a real war. Jack Johnson — an undefeated brawler and the son of ex-slaves, determined to get his shot at the heavyweight championship…
When a terrifying alien technology destroys the USS Maine, these unlikely allies set sail for bloody Cuba, into the heart of a brewing conflict, to wage a shadow war against the greatest threat mankind has ever known. Before they were famous, they were… ROUGH RIDERS.“
Action/Adventure / 32 Pages / Rating: 15+
Release Date: 6th April 2016 / Full Colour
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ROUGH RIDERS #1: variant cover art, Brian Stelfreeze
ROUGH RIDERS #1: variant cover art Francesco Francavilla ‘Little Shop Of Comics’
Here’s the release schedule for the rest of April…
And here’s a sneak peak at the two covers for the first issue of the next big AfterShock Comics hit, JACKPOT, coming next week from Ray Fawkes, Marco Failla and Stefani Rennee!