This weekend was pretty productive for me. Besides typing this newsletter days early, I also organized all the Marvel comics I've been piling up since the move and redeemed the digital codes I'd left sitting. I started to read the X-Manhunt event, but opted to pick up Bitter Root: The Next Movement #1 instead. How good was it? Let's just say I spent an extra $4 for a digital copy, just to show you this spread:

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This issue didn't disappoint at all. It picks up 40 years after the original series (written by David F. Walker & Chuck Brown with Sanford Greene on art duties), and follows a new generation of the Sangerye family. Their hunting of Jinoo - monstrous manifestations of hate and racism - continues in the Deep South in 1964. I've always had a hard time describing Bitter Root. No matter how I say it, it sounds really on the nose, in a way that would be especially offputting to the 'keep your politics out of my comics' crowd. But somehow, the book devoting several pages of back matter to university level dissections of race, anthropology and sociology (shoutout to John Jennings) still feels like entertainment before all. I’m just counting down until this series adds even more to my list of all time favorite uses of Klansmen in fiction. I love it when a dope comic has something real to say, and MAN does this deliver. I just wish I wasn't so busy during the promo period for this book, as it deserves way more fanfare than it got online.

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Speaking of dope comics with something to say, Deniz Camp is having quite the year, huh? I've only been reading comics for half a decade, but this is the first time I've witnessed a writer become the talk of the town like this since my entry into the hobby. Assorted Crisis Events is the latest series debut from the breakout star writer of 20th Century Men, The Ultimates and Absolute Martian Manhunter (more on that one in next week's installment. This one is about the indies). It's an anthology series following different people as they experience the end of the world, comics style. It's like if Astro City had a baby with a comic by Grant Morrison. Issue 1 follows Ashley, a young woman who has experienced so many world-ending events, she's pretty much desensitized to them.

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I'm newer to the Camp-fire Consortium (Deniz, if you see this, can that pleeease be the name of your fan club??), but in the 3 series I've followed, he's never been afraid to wear his message on his sleeves. From the prison industrial complex, to post-war environmental degradation, half the fun of a Camp comic is seeing which issue he'll tackle in a given book. And just like Bitter Root, the messaging somehow takes a backseat to the trippy, action packed worldbuilding he does so well.

In Assorted Crisis Events #1, there isn't a singular message to latch onto. There are several quick hits that make you pause for a moment, as you watch the world crash before Ashley's eyes. The art by Eric Zawadski, colors by Jordie Bellaire & letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou all come together to really emphasize the tension in the air and overall bleak mood. Then as it comes to an end, you realize there was a singular theme this whole time. And you, the reader, played right into it. After all, in a world where nothing means anything, anything can mean everything.

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On The Channel

Digital Comics are quickly becoming my go-to reading method, so I was over the moon when DC reached out to promote some changes to their DC Universe Infinite subscription tiers. Thanks to my slow production schedule and an unexpected number revision requests, you may already have heard the news. But I’m gonna hope you click that pretty thumbnail anyway.

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On the Podcast

This week finally saw the return of Comics Are Dope (The Podcast). In Episode 58, I speak with Matthew Medney, founder of Gungnir Books. They’ve been putting together some awesome graphic novels, with work in prose and film coming soon. Our convo focused a lot on the importance of building great fan experiences in comics, and an emphasis on great storytelling. I hope you enjoy the listen!

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Read Something Dope Today,

BJ KICKS

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P.S.: Because I know you were wondering… My favorite uses of Klansmen in fiction in no particular order are Django Unchained, Jungle Action #19, and that one scene in Bad Boys II. Honorable Mention goes to the Will Smith episode of South Park. Also, I was waaaayyy too young the first time I saw A Time to Kill, so while I wouldn’t call it a favorite, that cross burning scene is etched in my head like my mom’s credit card number.

P.P.S.: I had to leave you with at least a half chuckle, right?