THE LOCUST MOON TOP 40
Counting down the hits this month
40. UNCANNY X-MEN #1
As dumb as AVENGERS VS. X-MEN may have been, the consequences have energized the X-universe. We love it for, among other things, this Cyclops propaganda poster.
39. HAPPY
Grant Morrison wraps up his tonally schizoid miniseries that draws equally from THE TWILIGHT ZONE, Disney movies, and a half-century of dumb comics about hit men.
38. Trying to find a title for the Locust Moon quarterly comics collection
Any suggestions?
37. Virtual Reality Helmets
Because, as James Bond reminds us, THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH.
36. KILL SHAKESPEARE: THE TIDE OF BLOOD
If comics be the food of love, play on. We’re excited for more adventures in the bardosphere.
35. This Cake
Celebrating the first year of the gloriously anachronistic RETROFIT COMICS with cake, booze and arguments.
34. She Died of Love
Because we’ve all got to die of something.
33. FABLES: Cubs in Toyland
The best FABLES storyline in years. The island of misfit toys turns out to be the island of killer toys. [RETROACTIVE SPOILER ALERT]
32. Quentin Tarantino’s Weird Fake Black Voice
We loved DJANGO, but we can’t stop watching this bizarre slice of awkward cake.
31. Children’s Books
Wonderful new releases by Neil Gaiman, Jeff Smith & Charles Vess make this a great month for miniature people. Who says comics aren’t for kids anymore?
30. BATMAN INC. #8
We’ll miss you Damien. Until you are resurrected when the sales drop.
29. A Lovely Gift from a Very Fine Editor
Thanks Andrew!
28. Suitcases
We’re packing ours to go to Bill Willingham’s FABLETOWN convention. I hear Minnesota is lovely this time of year.
27. COMEBACK
Ed Brisson’s tightly wound little sci-fi noir has to be read twice to be understood, but it’s worth it.
26. FF
Matt Fraction and Mike Allred remember that superhero comics are supposed to be fun.
25. This Tyrion Statue
Like a velvet dwarf cast in iron.
24. Hating DR. MANHATTAN
Because J.M. Straczyski took perhaps the most concisely poetic moment in the history of comics (“Nothing ever ends.”) and dared to tarnish it with lame explanatory elaboration. He probably thinks he improved it.
23. Loving MINUTEMEN
Because Darwyn Cooke did just the opposite: he found the cracks and empty spaces in Alan Moore’s masterpiece, and filled them with bleedingly human stories of damaged people longing for a brighter, bolder world.
22. Space Helmets
With a million thanks to the inimitable Mark Robinson for always reminding us to put ours on.
21. HAWKEYE
Because Chris Ware doesn’t make superhero books, and someone has to fill that void.
20. SAGA’s In-Laws
They make us feel all warm & fuzzy inside, and that’s not something you typically expect from in-laws. But it does make us afraid that the lady’s parents are bound to be a nightmare.
19. THE UNDERWATER WELDER
Jeff Lemire’s creepy, heartfelt graphic novel came out a few months ago, but we’re just catching up to its sad, strange beauty.
18. Two New Books by Alan Moore
The gorgeous League spinoff NEMO: HEART OF ICE and the somewhat baffling, spectacularly strange UNEARTHING.
17. Hand-drawn Sound Effects
A dying art form which the aforementioned Mr. Robinson and colorist extraordinaire Paul Little gloriously resurrect in Image’s I LOVE TROUBLE.
16. Jonathan Hickman’s AVENGERS and NEW AVENGERS
Comics as big as the western sky. Gods and monsters. Jack Kirby would be proud.
15. COPRA
Michel Fiffe’s fledgling epic brings a little Kirby krackle to indie comics.
14. Brandon Graham’s MULTIPLE WARHEADS
I don’t really know what the heck I just read, but I’m pretty sure I liked it.
13. IRON or The War After
This elegant and somber book by S.M. Vidaurri may be the heaviest funny-animal comic ever made. Out of the way, BLACKSAD.
12. THE MAKING OF
Brecht Evens’ delicate ink-wash graphic novel tells a story of how one man’s ambition shuts down the people around him.
11. FURY MAX
Who would have expected a book by Marvel Comics to tell the terrible truth about war?
10. This Record Player
We got it for the gallery.
9. COIN-OP
Maria & Peter Hoey’s gorgeously designed oddball comic series is filled with robots, jazz musicians, dream sequences, and some of the most appealingly inventive cartooning we’ve seen in a while.
8. IT WILL ALL HURT
A great new story by our dear friend and constant inspiration Farel Dalrymple, to tide us over while we hungrily await his masterwork, THE WRENCHIES.
7. You Never Give Me Your Money
Pack up your bags, get in the limousine.
6. Bob Kelly Jr.
He is definitely planning something.
5. Locust Moon Academy
The semester begins at the end of the month, and we start training/brainwashing a generation of comic book masterminds.
4. Night School
We lock our most treasured artists in the store overnight, 11pm-11am, with coffee, pens, and records. Let’s see what happens when people stop drawing polite, and start drawing REAL.
3. IDW’s MAD collection
This book must be seen to be believed. Worth the hefty price of admission for the Basil Wolverton stuff alone.
2. This Insanely Brilliant DIY Motion Comic
See what one man can do with some drawings, a knife, red paint, a balloon, and a book of matches.
1. DOWNER DUCK
Wait until you see his new story, HOW I GOT HERE. Just when you think Rob Woods is as good as a cartoonist can be, his works gets deeper, scarier, and more truthful. To be published in the DEPRESSED PUNX COLLECTION from Locust Moon Press
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