5 new comics to read in December, including the stunning return of The New Gods
Plus, animals in mech suits and cozy romance vignettes.
Welcome to The A.V. Club’s monthly comics preview, where we recommend new books to check out over the next few weeks. This month, we’ve got five exciting picks, ranging from a time-travel family drama to the psychedelic space adventure of three animals in mech suits.
Backflash by Mat Johnson, Steve Lieber, and Lee Loughridge (December 3)
In the throes of romance, the simplest words and actions can be imbued with a magical power that connects people in profound ways. Cartoonist Madeline Mouse captures these feelings on the page in Belly Full Of Heart (Silver Sprocket Press), a collection of illustrated vignettes spotlighting the tenderness of queer love through a visual perspective brimming with warmth and vitality. Mouse combines poetic writing with free-flowing artwork that blends natural imagery with more abstract shapes, finding ways to describe the indescribable with passionate immediacy. Deciding who gets to eat the last strawberry becomes an affectionate game in which the satisfaction of giving is as great as the satisfaction of eating. These lovers are curious, generous, silly, and sincere, and Mouse has a talent for turning potentially saccharine romantic moments into celebrations of the joy and wonder that come from having chemistry with another person.
Most Popular Confession by Nobuyuki Fukumoto and Kaiji Kawaguchi (December 17)
It’s that time of year to bundle up inside and enjoy the company of others away from the cold, but that can be difficult when your companion is a murderer. Originally published in Japan in 1998 and recently adapted into a live-action film, Confession (Kodansha USA) follows two mountain climbers stranded in a snowstorm. Certain he is about to die, one confesses to an unsolved murder to unburden his soul, putting his partner in a tense position when they find safe harbor in an abandoned cabin. Writer Nobuyuki Fukumoto is best known for high-stakes gambling dramas, but with Confession, he delivers a stripped-down, intimate scenario that is hyperfocused on the connection between these two men and the dual psychological pressures of the threats outside and inside in the cabin. It’s a story that demands emotional nuance in the artwork, and Kaiji Kawaguchi’s characterizations depict the growing unease between the two men as paranoia takes over. It only takes a few words to change a relationship forever, and as the reality of the confession sinks in, it’s hard not to see their temporary sanctuary as a future crime scene.
Man’s Best by Pornsak Pichetshote and Jesse Lonergan (December 18)
What is it about animals in mech suits that sparks so much comic-book innovation? Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s WE3 was revolutionary in how it presented movement and the passage of time on the page, and that experimental spirit lives on in Pornsak Pichetshote and Jesse Lonergan’s Man’s Best (Boom! Studios). Instead of WE3’s animal assassins, Man’s Best spotlights a trio of emotional support animals separated from their human companions on a dangerous alien planet. The unpredictable landscape gives Lonergan the opportunity to think outside the box in depicting space and time, specifically in how he thinks about the shape and position of panels, how they relate to the panels around them, and how the gutters that separate them can be manipulated to enhance motion between them. The visuals get increasingly trippy as the story progresses, intensifying the obstacles that stand in the way of the animals finding their way back home. A twisty sci-fi narrative with a charming cast of characters learning valuable lessons about leadership and friendship, Man’s Best has an all-ages appeal that makes it a great holiday gift and a welcoming gateway into more formally inventive visual storytelling.
Related Content The New Gods #1 by Ram V, Evan Cagle, and Francesco Segala (December 25)
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