Sunstone, Vol. 3
Writing, Art, and Cover by Stjepan Šejić
Top Cow Productions, Inc.
Release Date: August 26, 2015
Cover Price: $14.99

If you haven’t heard of Stjepan Å ejić yet then I am ecstatic to be able to introduce you to his work today. If you have, then you know that Sunstone Volume 3 will be just as amazing as everything else he has done prior. I must however, before I go any further, mention that this particular item is very adult oriented. I mean that in the strictest sense of the term, it deals with adult situations, what some consider to be alternative lifestyles and in its most basic constructs it also contains a significant amount of nudity. Pervy, fun, kinky nudity to be precise.

This being the third volume of the Sunstone graphic novels, it should be obvious to even the uninitiated that the storyline has progressed and evolved after almost three hundred pages between the last two volumes. But the first thing you’ll notice while reading this series is that it is first and foremost a story about two people falling in love. Regardless of everything else, these characters embody love in its earliest days; not to say there isn’t an amazing amount of latex clothing coupled with collars and gags. However, BDSM toys aside, the fact that we are dealing with two women in a sexual relationship would be enough to keep most publishers at bay. Therefore, before I forget, I must applaud Top Cow for their open-mindedness and tolerant attitude, as it’s refreshing to see that in a publisher.

Stringers #1
Written by Marc Guggenheim
Art by Justin Greenwood
Colors by Ryan Hill
Letters by Crank!
Oni Comics
Release Date: August 26, 2015
Cover Price: $3.99

Oni Press focuses on publishing what they dub “real mainstream,” avoiding superhero tropes. Stringers is a new dramatic series that gathers the talents of Marc Guggenheim, Justin Greenwood, and Ryan Hill. Guggenheim has a long list of writing credits that span Marvel, DC, video games, and Hollywood screenplays, and he’s a co-showrunner of Arrow. Stringers is the second title he’s launched with Oni Press, which publishes Stumptown, also drawn by Justin Greenwood, colored by Ryan Hill, and lettered by Crank!

The Paybacks #1
Written by Donny Cates and Eliot Rahal
Art by Geoff Shaw
Colors by Lauren Affe
Letters by Michael Heisler
Cover by Geoff Shaw and Lauren Affe
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: September 16, 2015
Cover Price: $3.99

A beautifully self-aware new series from Dark Horse Comics answers the question: What happens to superheroes who miss their loan payments? The Paybacks are sent as repo men. Goodbye, super-car, jet-sub, and invisible plane. The tropes are familiar, yet the writing of Donny Cates and Eliot Rahal is smart and the characters, original. The Paybacks #1 pays off.

The first issue covers two parallel storylines. Archibald Primrose III a.k.a. Night Knight is a vainglorious caricature of an English Batman. His clich̩d confrontation with arch-villain Reflectoid is interrupted by a heroic ring tone Рhis butler announcing that the Paybacks have come to collect.

Our Friend Satan. I’m not going to lie to you, I was full of preconceived notions based solely on the title alone. As it turns out, I was pretty close on the expectation of it being a parody of everything we are taught/told/whatever in our formative years. In this story, Satan is effectively just the CEO of Hell, and he’s pretty damned tired of it. Constantly getting a bad rap, he’s scapegoated at every turn by the Catholic Church (not necessarily the good guys in this tale). And while the world at large has seen him portrayed as a monster with huge horns and a pitchfork, he’s actually a balding older gentleman who spends his days in a bathrobe and slippers, drinking copious amounts of Cthulhu Vodka with his buddy, and chess partner, Beelzebub. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg with this comic! Hilarity abounds in the most infernal of ways, you’ll never know what’s coming until it’s too late. That’ll teach those silly kids to summon up the Prince of Darkness!

A long time ago in an article far, far away I presented you with a Kickstarter Spotlight of The Threat from Stratum Comics. And thanks to 63 of you, the campaign was a success! Looking back, I reviewed the first issue three years ago and another contributor here assessed the second one a few months later.

I love independent comics like this one because they really bring our passions back to basics. But sometimes, creators realize that their vision wasn’t quite fully attained, hence the need for The Threat Issue 1 Reboot!