Graphic Novel Roundup: New Midnight, Old Kindt, and a Very Freaky Frankenstein

The Complete Pistolwhip, by Matt Kindt and Jason Hall
Writer/artist Matt Kindt has made a name for himself with a number of well-received projects, including perhaps his biggest success, the soon-to-conlude MIND MGMT series that began in 2012. Naturally, it’s a good time to look back at some of his earlier work with a new edition of his first publication from 2001. Originally in black and white, but now colored and complete for the first time, Pistolwhip is a collaboration with writer Jason Hall that tells a pulpy, layered story inspired by old-time radio. I’m totally in.

Captain Midnight, Vol. 5: Lost Time, by Josh Williamson and Fernando Dagnino
Speaking of old radio shows: WWII fighting ace Captain Midnight is back in a new volume of his successful ongoing adventures from Dark Horse. Originally a 1940s-era radio hero, Captain Midnight’s modern series finds him having traversed the Bermuda triangle into the present to fight conspiracies and, of course, supervillains. Lost Time begins with the rebuilding of the Captain’s adopted town of Nightshade and culminates in a battle that threatens to unravel time itself. This series is having great fun taking old-timey tropes and putting them through a sci-fi wringer.

Sundowners, Vol. 1, by Tim Seeley and Jim Terry
Are these guys paranoid, or is somebody really out to get them? It’s nice to be reminded that there’s a lot of flexibility even within the seemingly narrow confines of the superhero genre. Seeley and Terry’s Sundowners involves a therapy group under the care of Dr. David “Shreds” Shrejic: four super-powered individuals in a world where superpowers aren’t uncommon, all convinced they’ve become delusional. The problem is, it’s a shared delusion of nefarious boogeymen working behind the scenes, for possibly nefarious purposes. And it might not be a delusion. Jim Terry’s rough, retro art is pretty great.

Frankenstein: The Mad Science of Dick Briefer, by Dick Briefer
One of America’s first ongoing horror comics series began in “Prize Comics” in 1940 as a modern-day retelling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The thing is, Dick Briefer’s strip didn’t stick with straight horror for long. Within a couple of years, he had developed a rogues gallery of villains and eventually had the big guy fighting alongside the allies in WWII. It gets weirder: after the war, Frankenstein came home and settled into cozy suburban domesticity, with adventures straddling the line between screwball comedy and satire, with an evolving art style to match. This new hardcover is a welcome retrospective of one of the quintessentially weird comics of mid-century America.

Wolverines, Vol. 2: Claw, Blade and Fang, by Ray Fawkes
Gone, but not forgotten, Wolverine’s legacy lives on in the hunt for his corpse. Presumably because it’s a highly valued collectible that will be worth big money on eBay. Or something. That’s the hook, but the real draw here is the new team of tough girls and guys (including new fave Fantomelle) carrying on in the wake of the big guy’s death while fighting a three-way (at least) war involving Mr. Sinister, Mystique, Lady Deathstrike, and the Amazing X-Men squad. Who doesn’t love a mutant melee?
What’s on your pull list?