Comic book picks of the week: 12/15/21

Another new week, another set of comic books have been released onto shelves across comic shops and bookstores.

From the youth in Gotham to the wild unknowns of outer space, this week’s comic book releases have a little bit of something for everyone.

Best comic book releases this week:

Batgirls #1

Written by Becky Cloonan & Michael W. Conrad, Art by Jorge Corona, Colors by Sarah Stern

It’s been a long-time coming, but finally, Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain are headlining their own series once again, for the first time in a decade. They’ve been a fairly small presence within the Bat-family since the end of James Tynion IV’s run on Detective Comics, so it’s fantastic to finally see them getting their time to shine once again. This may not (will not) be the bestselling book that DC is putting out, but it will definitely have a loyal fanbase, very much in part to how Steph and Cass are written here.

Their characterizations are just wonderful. They feel incredibly different from one another in just the right ways that allows them to bounce off of each other well. Cass is the quiet, serious one, while Steph is the exuberant, light-hearted one. It’s just so fun to read throughout the entire issue. At times, there is very much a YA feeling to the book, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, as both of these characters are supposed to be younger (late teens-early twenties), so actually seeing that on page is very nice.

Primordial #4

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

Primordial is such a weird series and that’s honestly what is making it so great. This is honestly probably the weakest issue of the series so far and it’s still an absolute blast to read. It’s bonkers and out there in all of the best ways. Seriously, what other book has a dog and two primates trying to pilot a ship made out of what looks to be gemstones? Nothing else, that’s right. And the ending of this issue sets up the final two so incredibly well as well.

But who continues to be the star of this series is Andrea Sorrentino. His art continues to be absolutely incredible and mind-bending on every single page. The amount of detail that the animals alone have is fantastic and the emotion that he’s able to bring out of them is mind-boggling. The way that he’s able to visually personify the animals without taking away any of the features – nor adding any human-like features – is just wonderful to behold.

Batman: The Imposter #3

Written by Mattson Tomlin, Art by Andrea Sorrentino, Colors by Jordie Bellaire

Batman: The Imposter has been nothing short of astounding throughout its three issue run and that very much continues through to the final pages of this issue. This is a gripping finale that pushes Batman and Bruce Wayne to places rarely seen within the Batman mythos. This is such a great series that has echoes of everything from Batman: Mask of the Phantasm to Batman: Arkham Knight, but does entirely its own thing and it’s all the better for it.

And just like Primordial, the true star of this issue, and this series, is once again Andrea Sorrentino. The fact that, as an artist, Sorrentino has two books coming out on the same day is crazy in and of itself, but to have them both look as insanely good as they do? Almost unheard of. There’s a double-page spread in this issue that very much has a mirror-like quality to it that is probably one of the best spreads of the year.

Robin & Batman #2

Written by Jeff Lemire, Art & Colors by Dustin Nguyen

Just like his frequent collaborator, Andrea Sorrentino, this is also Jeff Lemire’s second book on this list this week and man, does he write a fantastic Robin origin story. There really shouldn’t be anywhere left to go with Dick Grayson origin stories at this point as there has been, well, a lot by now. However, nothing in this book feels like any of the other Robin origin stories. This feels like a modern-telling of a Silver Age story, with costumes and specific characters ripped straight from that time period. It’s very different and it works because of that.

The art is also great as well. Dustin Nguyen’s painted art is perfect for the tone of this series as it captures the perfect amount of youthful exuberance that Dick has while toeing the line of the darker world that Batman inhabits.

Have you been reading any good comic book stories lately? Tell us your best comic book picks below!