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After his continued success on a certain CW show, Cisco Ramone’s comics counterpart Paco Ramone (also known as Vibe) began to grow jealous of Cisco’s role on The Flash. The CW character has been able to take on some of the best material of the show serving as both the comedic relief and mad scientist. Wanting a piece of the action, Paco decided to hatch a plot for revenge via some of his best friends — the men and woman of the Beat Manor. First, we made Paco give us his staff picks, so we could deliver this fantastical article to the comics public, then we listened as Paco hatched one of the most sinister plans that several of the Beat Staff have ever heard. He decided to put a whoopee cushion on every single surface of S.T.A.R. Labs, and then replace Cisco with Paco for the day. He convinced several Beat Staffers to join him in his nonsensical farce. Unfortunately, The Reverse-Flash caught Paco (most of the Beat Staffers got out alive) and he was never heard from again. Disregard that story as you read about our top comics picks of the week.

Alex’s Picks:

Injection #1

Writer: Warren Ellis Artist: Declan Shalvey Colorist: Jordie Bellaire Publisher: Image Comics

INJECTION explores how loud and strange the world is becoming, and the sense that it’s all bubbling into chaos—a chaos poised to become the Next New Normal—and that we did this to ourselves without thinking for a second about how we were ever going to live inside it.

Relatively little has been announced regarding Injection’s plot. Which doesn’t matter, as the creative team of Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey have already cemented their names in the comics public as a great team. Shalvey has spent a lot of time getting the art up to the standards of Moon Knight, and spoken publicly about wanting experiment further in his main psychedelic style. This is going to be a red hot title this week even with the amount of crossovers shipping from Marvel and DC.

The Mantle #1

Writer: Ed Brisson Artist: Brian Level Publisher: Image

THE MANTLE follows Robbie—just your average, run-of-the-mill guy—as he drunkenly stumbles out of a punk show one evening. On his way home he’s hit with lightning and wakes to find that he’s been chosen as the new host for The Mantle, a power set of unimaginable scope. Despite his lack of interest, he’s forced into action. The Plague, a being who has spent 50 years killing every previous host of The Mantle, is already coming for him.

Sheltered author Ed Brisson is jumping on The Mantle, a comic with the intention of deconstructing superheroes. The title features the art of Brian Level, who previously worked on a title called In the Dark from IDW and assisted with art for Lazarus from Image is joining Brisson for the series. Watching the military-rooted writer jump onto a title with Punk Rock themes and superhero aesthetics is something that has captured my interest.

Dave’s Pick:

Southern Cross #3 (Image Comics)

(W) Becky Cloonan (A) Andy Belanger (CA) Becky Cloonan

The Southern Cross begins to give up its secrets, and Braith finds that the more she learns about her sister’s death, the less she actually knows her.

SOUTHERN CROSS #1

Writer: Becky Cloonan

Art: Andy Belanger

Colors: Lee Loughridge

Letters: Serge LaPointe

Publisher: Image

I imagine a typical Friday night for Becky Cloonan or Andy Belanger includes sipping wine and eating fancy cheeses while watching movies like Akira or The Abyss. How else could a science fiction mystery like Southern Cross exist? Regardless of the how, Southern Cross is now a thing, and it’s as necessary as any of the great 80’s sci-fi stories.

Written by Becky Cloonan (Gotham Academy), Southern Cross story is the journey of Alex Braith,  a young woman who hitches a ride on a space tanker called the Southern Cross. She’s traversing the galaxy to a moon called Titan in order to investigate the suspicious circumstances of her sister’s demise. The opening chapter is gritty and gives very little away as the story unfolds. We spend the majority of the issue learning about Alex and the corporation she suspects to be at fault, Zemi. Cloonan has crafted a character that readers can both love and hate. While her inner monologue gives us reason to feel for her; it’s the interactions with others aboard the ship that make you say “what an a**hole. “ For example there’s one tense exchange between Alex and her cabin punctuated by a dripping faucet in the background which makes it that much more uncomfortable to watch. Regardless of what side you fall on, Alex is a unique internal mystery of a character.

The art of Andy Belanger (Black Church) is well suited for Southern Cross. From a design stand point; the world of the story feels outer space massive in scale yet almost “down to earth” in a way. The massive spaceports almost look like city skylines. Even the Southern Cross itself doesn’t feel alien; it opts for the look of an oil tanker at sea. These strategic touches make easy connections between the readers and themes they’ll uncover throughout the series. For all the comforts he puts in the book, Belanger knows when to get sci-fi weird. The Cross is half Delorean and half creepy parts of the Queen Mary. Belanger’s art buttresses the story all the way through to the end. Once you get to that final intense panel, the horrors really begin and you want issue two already.

When picking up the book, keep in mind you’re in for a slow burn with a deep mystery that will unravel at the right moments. If you enjoy tension and suspense… pick up Southern Cross. If you’re a fan of haunting style horror… pick up Southern Cross. Should you fancy complex and rewarding character… pick up Southern Cross. This has officially become my new vice, it’s just that addictive.

If your frequently used words list includes Batman, Clutch, and pastrami pizza follow Dave on twitter @bouncingsoul217.

By David Nieves

Since 1999 Becky Cloonan has been breaking down doors; whether they be from moving to new places or the ones every creator has to go through to make comics for a living. I had the overwhelming  joy of sitting down with her on the SDCC show floor last week. To no one’s surprise, I found her to be every bit the –best in the world– her poignant art style suggest.

We talked a little bit about her recent move back south of the wall. Becky has a genuine zest for life that would terrify the average person thinking about uprooting themselves to new surroundings. While she deals with the same angst of “where the grocery store is, the post office… trying to figure out my place in this neighborhood,” she finds inspiration and new contributions to the projects she’s in the middle of during her journeys.

Reflecting back on the dystopian opera that was True Lives of The Fabulous Killjoys, a process that’s been over five years in the making. The original story inspired the My Chemical Romance album Danger Days: The True Lives of The Fabulous Killjoys which then turned back into the comic book.  Killjoy’s end result being a Mad Max story with so much heart that it makes the tears shed in the opening of Up seem like a prick from a rose throne. On the subject of if the group would ever come back to tell more stories in the Killjoy’s world, all Cloonan would say is, “never say never.” It does sound as though it will be quite sometime before that would ever happen due to Shaun Simon’s upcoming projects, Gerard Way’s new album, and her own recently announced Image book Southern Cross.

Our conversation steered towards the comic book industry in general. After starting by self publishing her own books in 1999, she’s excited by how viable self-publishing has become over the last ten years. Not only has this been a coo for creators, but she’s noticed how much its changed the readership of comics. Cloonan and Way recently signed at Meltdown Comics in L.A. she was thrilled by the fact that “the line was like 90% girls and they all had their comics to be signed.” Her thoughts about the on going hot topic women in comics; Cloonan takes a very humble approach on the matter. In her words, “As much as I feel like I don’t represent women in comics, I don’t feel like I can carry that flag cause it’s too heavy (laughs). I represent myself, but at the same time I love to encourage young girls to get into drawing comics, get into reading comics.”

Her outlook on the future of comics is as upbeat as the artist’s demeanor. Cloonan talked about how all the conversations and strides we take today will pay off ten years from now. The artist emphasized, “It’s going to be healthier, it’s going to be bigger and we’re going to see even more amazing comics.”

Listen to our entire conversation below to hear just how fabulous Becky is:

Becky Cloonan isn’t just the story of a female creator in comics. After spending some time with her you start to see that she’s the tale of a girl who wants to tell stories through a lens of her ever-evolving perspective while along the way encouraging those of us with the same fears and anxieties to pursue their passions. The industry is a much better place for having her and you just can’t say that about everyone.

If you’re one of the five people on earth who haven’t read True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys check it out in stores and through Dark Horse Comics. Becky’s new Image book Southern Cross will be available in stores this Winter.