Staff Picks (June): King #1

Bernard Chang and Joshua Fialkov hit a sidewinder pitch right out of the park with King, a "last man on earth" dystopian wackyland parade. King is our last man, and Los Angeles is our mutant-covered hive-world. The freeways are covered in tentacle gods and the boss man is a behemoth. But that’s the thing: the world’s over, the human race is shot, but there’s still a commute, there’s still a supervisor, and just cause you’re the last homo sapiens doesn’t mean there’s not still work to do!

I’ve got a special place in my heart for ludicrous future fantasy. Tank Girl? Transmetropolitan? Let’s add King. Chang and Fialkov have laid out a world where our protagonist contends with a duck woman sworn to vengeance, a murderous pterodactyl co-worker, and a troop of cybernetic bears. While that’s plain crazy from a narrative perspective, these two creators to have the chops it takes to navigate that kind of corkscrew plotting and intricate illustration and bring us all up gasping. So raise a glass, grab an issue, and let's toast! Long live King!

What’s cooler than Ninjas? Nothing, you say? How about a look into the last days of a war-ravaged Spy-Ninja as the entire universe descends into darkness? Eh?! Beat that!

—Sarah Martinez

Publisher: Jet City Comics Item Code: JUN151393 Release Date: 8/19/2015 SRP: $2.99