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The best comics of 2021: Eternals, Tunnels, the Good Asia and more
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It’s starting to look a lot like the holiday season, which means different things to different people. For some, it is an opportunity to spend time with their loved ones; for others, a chance to finally release Phil Spector’s Christmas album and repeat it next month. The end of the year also means it’s time to look back on the best releases of the past 12 months, that’s where I come in. Below are nine of the best comics to be released in 2021, spanning the gamut of superhero film that is a source of documentation for the memoir of one of America’s most beloved political figures of the past decades. .
Think of them as the perfect gift guide for the comic book lover in your life, even if that’s you.
‘Cyclopedia Exotica’
I’m not sure anyone really expects one of the most touching, insightful looks of the year on disability, bigotry, and the human condition to be a collection of short films about a filled world. of various Cyclops (Cyclopii?) Originally serialized on Instagram, but Aminder Dhaliwal’s sequel to the Marvelous “The world of women ” is a total joy from start to finish: a book about dealing with xenophobia and simple well-meaning misunderstandings on a regular basis while maintaining a sense of dignity – and a sense of humor – at the same time. Hilarious, slyly subtle, and quite often gorgeous.
Cyclopedia Exotica by Aminder Dhaliwal
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‘Monsters’
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Years in the making, comic book veteran Windsor-Smith has returned to the medium with this mammoth revision of some familiar superhero comic book tropes, like a US military experiment to create a super-soldier comes to something. much less camera-friendly, leaving behind a mystery that will ruin many lives as it is slowly uncovered over the years. Filled with obsessively detailed artwork and a pervasive sense of loss, “Monsters “ is that rarest thing: a deconstruction of the superhero genre that gives the source material more than it takes.
Barry Windsor-Smith Monsters
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“The good Asia”
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Talking about a revisionist takes on genres that we all know and love ”,The good Asian ” takes a fresh look at film noir and private investigator stories in general via a story set in 1930s San Francisco, where a Chinese-American detective’s efforts to solve a missing person case go to the against… well, the racism that exists in 1930s America. Heavily researched and grounded in real life, the result is something that feels brand new and groundbreaking, while still honoring the traditions of the stories on which it relies on, both real and imaginary.
The good Asian of Pornsak Pichetshote, Alexandre Tefenkgi, Lee Loughridge and Dave Johnson
$ 14.99
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“Rorschach” and “Strange Adventures”
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These two old projects “Batman” and “Mr. Miracle “ writer Tom King tells different stories, but ones that feel very conversational with each other; in “Strange adventuresThe hero of an intergalactic war’s attempts to sell his version of events slowly crumble as his trauma becomes more evident, while Rorschach – located in the world of “Watchmen “ – speaks of an attempted murder which appears to have been committed by a person who was himself the product of traumatic events. Taken separately, these are awe-inspiring works featuring stunning works of art; taken together, they are some of the most essential pieces of superhero storytelling released in years.
Strange Adventures of Tom King, Mitch Gerards and Evan Shaner
$ 29.99
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“Distant sector”
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The famous science fiction novelist Jemesin (“The city we have become ”) makes his comic book writing debut with this dizzying take on the Green Lantern myth, in which a human attempts to bring something akin to law and order to a remote part of the universe – hence the “distant sector” – populated by AIs who feast on human and alien internet memes who have worked to rid themselves of all emotion. There’s a lot more going on below the surface, as you would expect in any murder mystery, but it’s Jemesin’s world-building and Campbell’s amazing artwork that stands out in this book.
Distant Sector by NK Jemesin and Jamal Campbell
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“The many deaths of Laila Starr”
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The title of this wonderful realistic and magical tale only hints at what’s inside; Laila Starr, for example, is not just an ordinary person who dies more than once – she is in fact the Hindu personification of death made mortal flesh, who came to Mumbai today on a mission to maintain her sanity. to be. But can Laila really take the necessary steps to prevent humanity from evolving into a whole new state of being, or will her own journey to Earth take her to places she couldn’t imagine? ?
The many deaths of Laila Starr from Ram V and Filipe Andrade
$ 14.99
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‘The Eternals Vol. 1: Only death is eternal ‘
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Who really expected that, the same year the obscure 1970s comic book became Marvel Studios’ next big movie, a comic book revival of “Eternals “ would exploit new ground and redefine the whole concept, adding a great deal of tragedy to the base story to make it a true Marvel idea. What price is too high to protect the world – and what happens when you don’t know who was forced to pay that price from the start?
Eternals: Vol. 1: Only Death is Eternal by Kieron Gillen, Esad Ribic and Matt Wilson
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“Execute: Book 1”
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The first of three volumes constituting a second memoir of a graphic novel by the late Lewis – almost entirely completed by the time of his death – “To run” pick up where “March” interrupted, with Lewis in the 1960s, dealing with the consequences of passing the Voting Rights Act. With the counterculture accelerating alongside the long overdue changes in America’s attitude toward race, it was only a matter of time before the pushback happened …
Run: Book One (Run, 1) by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin
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‘Tunnels’
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What initially looks like setting up a “The Raiders of the Lost Ark”-style romp – a race against time to complete an archaeological dig to uncover a religious artefact of great significance – is, in fact, the backdrop to what may be Modan’s most political book to date, as the Israelis and Palestinians are working in disputed territory in the Middle East to try to find out what could be a real conduit to God. Biting, toned and daring in its satire and ambition, “the tunnels ” is a book that works on many levels and is successful at all.
Rutu Modan Tunnels
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‘Brink: Book Four’
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Ignore “Book Four” in the title; the final installment of this British sci-fi comic can easily serve as a standalone introduction to the series as a whole and the sly sense of humor that permeates the “True detective “ meets “The extent “ installation of the whole. If the idea of a criminal investigation into a viral video that drives viewers crazy on a planet that fines you every time you swear sounds absurd and disturbing, that’s the point – and things only get bigger. stranger from there.
Brink: Volume 4 by Dan Abnett and INJ Culbard
$ 15.99
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