Comic Book best picks of the week: 11/3/21

A new week, new comic books hit the stands and so many great issues were among the bunch to come out this week.

From medieval kingdoms to solving one’s own murder to other dimensions in space, this week’s comic book releases were incredibly varied and contained a bunch of excellent issues.

Best comic book picks

Dark Knights of Steel #1

Written by Tom Taylor, Art and color by Yasmine Putri

Batman is always called the Dark Knight, so what happens when he actually becomes one? That’s one of the many ideas behind the new alternate universe series Dark Knights of Steel from Tom Taylor (aka the king of alternate universes) and Yasmine Putri. This first issue of a universe where the DC universe is set within medieval times feels almost like a fever dream at times in the best way possible. Its an issue full of great character moments, as well as solid reimaginings of several characters, all the way from Batman to Black Lightning, and we haven’t even seen the lion’s share of characters that will probably appear.

The art is just absolutely incredible as well. Yasmine Putri hasn’t really done much in the way of interior art (none off the top of my head), but her covers are constantly incredible to see and always draw your eye whenever they’re released. Her interiors are just as good, if not better. Atmospheric in all the best possible ways, it really draws you into the world incredibly well while you’re reading it. If the art stays consistent, which it probably will, this is going to be an utterly gorgeous series.

Batman #116

Written by James Tynion IV, Art by Jorge Jimenez, Colors by Tomeu Morey, Back-up written by Becky Cloonan & Michael W. Conrad, Art by Jorge Corona, Colors by Sarah Stern

The penultimate issue of the “Fear State” storyline, we finally get to see Batman and Miracle Molly confront Scarecrow over his latest attempt to bring Gotham to its knees. Not going to lie, this arc hasn’t been the best crossover arc that has ever existed within the Batman series. It’s still a fun arc for what it’s trying to do though and some of the new characters, especially Miracle Molly, are great, particularly seeing how she interacts with Batman. The art also continues to be fantastic and there are a couple of splash pages in this issue that will almost definitely be used as promo material in the future.

The Batgirls back-up story is where this issue really shines. It’s short, but wonderful. It’s a sad, kind of depressing story that manages to keep the hope within it through one thing: Its excellently written characters. Stephanie and Cassandra are so great in this back-up and the final couple of panels will just bring a tear to your eye. Can’t wait for the first issue of the Batgirls series that will begin next month.

The Human Target #1

Written by Tom King, Art and colors by Greg Smallwood

What happens when the man who is paid to die as others is dying himself? Well, he has twelve days to figure out who murdered him, that’s what. And the prime suspects? The Justice League International, that’s who.

From the first page, it’s clear that you’re in for a great debut issue. It sets up the conflict, suspects, style, tone, and structure incredibly well and it manages to get you to care about Christopher Chance, a character who probably about ten people are die-hard fans of (which, hey, good for them). This issue feels like a detective noir ripped right out of a pulp novel in all of the best ways and it’s an engaging read from beginning to end.

And the art is pulpy in all the best ways, too. The style stays the same throughout, but the colors do a great job of changing the tone when it needs to. Often, there are dark, yellow colors that are used, which fits the noir tone, but there are times when the issue presents superheroes where the colors become much more vibrant, but still muted, which does a great job encapsulating that yes, this is a noir detective story, but it’s still within this fantastical world.

Primordial #2

Written by Jeff Lemire, Art by Andrea Sorrentino, Colors by Dave Stewart

Primordial is a book that is very hard to describe. It’s like 2001: A Space Odyssey featuring animals with government conspiracies and spies thrown into the mix. It’s hard to think of anything else like it, which is absolutely a good thing. This book is incredible. It’s impossible to tell where everything is heading, but that’s not a bad thing in the slightest, it simply just makes you want to read the next issue as soon as possible.

And, as what seems to be a great trend this week, the art in this issue is sublime, which isn’t surprising as it is Andrea Sorrentino. His work has always had a surreal tinge to it no matter what book he’s working on but, and while it’s hard to top Gideon Falls, this might just be some of his best work yet. The simple fact that he’s able to bring out emotions from animals incredibly well is a feat in and of itself, but to do so in several different types of animals is just incredible.

Friday Book One: The First Day of Christmas

Written by Ed Brubaker, Art by Marcos Martin with Muntsa Vicente

Take Nancy Drew, a single Hardy boy, cults, a small town in winter, throw them in a blender and you get Friday. Probably the most different book on this list, this is actually a YA comic with the first three issues originally released digitally before now being collected into this first volume of the story. It’s not your typical YA story though, no. It has all the typical tropes that one might expect in a YA story, but it goes about them in a very different way with an ending that is still able to surprise.

The problem some might have though is with the art. Marcos Martin is a great artist and his style and tone works very well for this book and tells the story very, very well. However, it is a style that is very different from a lot of other comic artwork that most are probably used to, so it might throw some off at first. However, it’s definitely worth getting over that hesitancy because you’re just missing out on some great artwork if you don’t.