June 2022 – Indie Publisher Highlight Picks

Here’s the spotlight new books (and some trade/hardcovers/omnibuses) coming out of June for the indie publishers. I’ll be pointing out titles from last month as well, since I dropped the ball and didn’t cover them last month.

August Purgatory Underground #1

If it truly lives up to the 80s cartoon nostalgia, I’m in!

“As a long civil war ends, the once celebrated hero Captain August finds himself in the center of an intergalactic controversy. Running out of time and options, he accepts a dangerous mission to a decaying planet- and finds that the war isn’t nearly over! An action-packed sci-fi thriller that remixes the nostalgia of 80’s cartoons in a contemporary style!”

Blink #1 (Cover A – Filardi). A new Oni title. Seems like it’s been forever since I’ve had an Oni title in these previews highlights. This one looks worthy of checking out.

Blink #1 (Cover B – Filardi)
Blink #1 (Cover C – Filardi)

Blink #2 (Cover A – Sherman)
Blink #2 (Cover B – Ward)

“Wren Booker was three when she was found catatonic and covered in blood on the streets of New York. Since that day, she’s been haunted by a childhood she can’t remember. After decades of searching, Wren stumbles upon a cryptic website streaming multiple CCT feeds from strange rooms in a ruined building and something clicks, setting off hidden memories that lead her back to a place she’s seen in lifelong nightmares. Hunting for answers, Wren breaks into the building, but instead finds herself entangled in the camera-filled dark mazes of a decayed social experiment known only as BLINK. Eisner-nominated Christopher Sebela (Dirtbag Rapture), Hayden Sherman (Thumbs), and Nick Filardi (Rogue Planet) team up for a found-footage horror where uncovering your past will leave you trapped inside it.”

Blink #2 (Cover A – Sherman)

The plague from long ago is fascinating to read about. Hoping Cover the Dead With Lime #1 (Cover A – Hernan Gonzalez) is intriguing with horrors for my self entertainment. Lots of covers for this one, geez!

Cover the Dead With Lime #1 (Cover B – Hernan Gonzalez)
Cover the Dead With Lime #1 (Cover C – Caanan White)
Cover the Dead With Lime #1 (Cover D – Roman Stevens)
Cover the Dead With Lime #1 (Cover E – Frydendall)
Cover the Dead With Lime #1 (Cover F – Felitte)
Cover the Dead With Lime #1 (Cover G – Hernan Gonzalez)

Emmett #1 (Cover A – Fuenmayor). Reading the solicit, I still have no real idea what this is about. Might have to check it out just to find out.

Emmett #1 (Cover B – Bartlett)
Emmett #1 (Cover C – Fuenmayor)

“Welcome to Brooklyn Through the Looking Glass, where a golem with benefits, a spiraling genie, a demon who feeds on bad vibes, and a mischievous mermaid collide with heartbroken, hard-living, and hype-obsessed humans. Lesser Evils is a hilarious, pop culture-filled universe that explore what intimacy, spite, selflessness, and friendship mean today. Episode 1: Emmett Meet Lydia Loew, an artisan potter, who goes on a bender after a bad breakup. Then, in anguish and anger, she accidentally conjures up a golem from clay in her BUSHWICK studio. Enter EMMETT, a golem with benefits. He mixes a mean cocktail, is handy around the house, and will help Lydia exact revenge, with a vengeance.”

Forever Forward #1 (of 5) (Cover A – Jacob Phillips). I like Zaplan’s work most of the time and Phillips cover art is spot on.

Forever Forward #1 (of 5) (Cover B – Stefano Simeone)
Forever Forward #1 (of 5) (Cover C – Jahnoy Lindsay)

“Sci-fi writer Zack Kaplan and artist Arjuna Susini take you on a sci-fi adventure like no other, one that imagines time traveling through ‘the future’ as an Odyssey-style mythic journey home. When brilliant young scientist Dr. Lewis Moody accidentally launches himself, his secret longtime crush and three best friends 33 years into the future with his unproven quantum time machine, they find a mysterious message from their future selves: ‘The Only Way Back Is Forward.’ Now, as they jump again and again through strange future times, will they one day find the technology to time-travel back, or are they doomed to hopelessly travel forward… forever?”

Mr Easta #1 (Cover A – Wallis) might be fun to read.

“The gloriously demented mind of Kit Wallis brings the galactic adventures of the third best assassin in the universe to Scout Comics! Incredible, kinetically charged artwork blasts the blood, mayhem and quirky humor directly through your brain like a high-caliber bullet. In this issue, it’s Elvis night at an interstellar backwater bar, but with all due respect to the King, that doesn’t stop Mr. Easta. With the help of Frank, his teleportation parasite, who can also transform into any handheld weapon imaginable, it’s business as usual.”

One Giant Leap #1 is an interesting concept and feels a little more original. I’m willing to check this one out.

“Alex is a Vtoob sensation and an adrenaline junkie. He’s celebrating his one millionth follower by jumping from one building to the next, pushing his limits and thrill for his viewers. Meanwhile, two celestials are playing a game of chess with real people as their pawns. What does this have to do with Alex’s One Giant Leap? The question of whether or not humans can fly will be answered in a series of events that shock and awe!”

Parker Girls #1 (Cover A – Terry Moore) is a must for any Moore fan. The great thing about Terry Moore is, he puts out quality over quantity. When you really focus on one story at a time, you get nothing but perfection most of the time.

I love Sci Fi and my all time favorite horror movie is the Exorcist, so Sacrament #1 (Cover A – Frusin) is right up my alley.

Sacrament #1 (Cover B – Deodato Jr)

“The Exorcist meets Alien in this sci-fi/horror story. In the year 3000, Mankind abandoned Earth and fled into outer space. Now, a disgraced priest, called into action to perform an exorcism on a remote space colony, is about to discover that no matter how far you run, you can’t escape your demons, and the Devil is, in fact, real”

Sparks of Chaos #1 (of 3) (Cover A – Makarov). Love the plot and concept. Definitely checking this one out.

Sparks of Chaos #1 (of 3) (Cover B – Malyshev)
Sparks of Chaos #1 (of 3) (Cover C – Malyshev)

“An epic journey begins here! A century ago, the ancient demigods were hunted down and forgotten by humanity. Now, they’re fighting back, in a steampunk twist on ancient myths! Featuring interconnected A Covers in the style of a Greek vase, each oversized issue contains 48 pages of Gods and Monsters battling for the fate of our world!”

I enjoy Santos work. Until My Knuckles Bleed One Deadly Shot #1 (Cover A – Santos) is a one-shot worthy of checking out.

Until My Knuckles Bleed One Deadly Shot #1 (Cover B – Santos)
Until My Knuckles Bleed One Deadly Shot #1 (Cover C – Blanco)

Brother of All Men #1 (Cover A – Marron) is on my hit list of indies to pick up.

Brother of All Men #2 is in June’s solicits.

It’s a BOOM! title but I could see this making it’s way as a streaming show or something perhaps. Worthy of keeping an eye on and checking out to read with Flavor Girls #1 (of 3).

Flavor Girls #2 (of 3)

“From Loïc Locatelli-Kournwsky, the singular voice behind Persephone, comes a new Magical Girl all-ages adventure with an environmental twist for fans of Sailor Moon, Save Yourself, and Power Rangers with colors by Eros de Santiago! Naoko, Camille, and V are the FLAVOR GIRLS, Sacred Fruit Guardians of Earth! They defend the earth-the source of their power-from the threat of ever-looming aliens, whose motives regarding the planet and its peoples are yet unknown… But Sara, a normal young woman and a U.N. applicant just doing her best to save the world, gets involved with the Flavor Girls in a way she never could have imagined.”

Little Red Riding Hood gets revenge in Little Red Ronin #1 (Cover A – Wallis).

Little Red Ronin #1 (Cover B – Valencia)

And Little Red Ronin #2 (Cover A – Wallis) is part of June’s solicits.

“A terrible beast has haunted the citizens of Poletown for decades. Although the monster hasn’t been seen in years, disappearances and gruesome killings still plague the townsfolk. Determined to clear her family name, Red hunts The Great Wolf in hopes of exonerating her grandmother, who lives in exile for spreading terrifying propaganda.”