20 May 2022 comics
Over the last 6 (?) months or so I’ve gotten back into comics. Hard. After basically giving them up completely when the pandemic started (probably a bit before that actually… maybe…?)
But since reading again there are two series I’ve been really, really enjoying and they are both anthology series’.
First, Silver Coin is a horror anthology series drawn by Michael Walsh revolving around, you guessed it, a haunted silver coin. The cool thing here is Walsh brings in a different writer for each issue, writing one issue himself every five, to close out each arc, with the third kicking off soon. Given there is a new writer every issue, you get a really unique vibe every go, but the consistent art grounds it and keeps it familiar. It doesn’t hurt that Walsh has been bringing in writers who are at their peaks right now such as Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth), James Tynion IV (The Nice House on the Lake), and many, many others.
You can hear Michael Walsh talk more about it and other work on the Off Panel podcast.
The second series is Monkey Meat, a completely different beast as a one-person production in the world of the Monkey Meat Company. Juni Ba does everything with their unique artistic style and smart and fun stories that touch on society, capitalism, and so much more. Juni wrapped the first arc with issue five this month and my sincere hope is these five issues have done well enough that Juni can continue to deliver stories in the Monkey Meat world for years to come.
Once again, you can hear Juni discussing the launch of the book, why Juni wanted a publisher that would never capitalize on the IP, and future plans if it’s a success, on the Off Panel podcast.
Before I let you go, I have to mention Ice Cream Man. I haven’t actually read it yet, but plan to immediately. It’s the anthology series that’s been around the longest (out of these three) and I imagine gave the comic world some confidence that maybe anthology series’ could be successful once again.
If you like good story telling and beautiful art, check these out, if only so that it boosts their numbers so I can continue to read them. Comics are a beautiful art form.