Comics We’re Excited About For 5/27/2015

Every week, Paste takes a look at the most interesting releases due out Wednesday in comics, graphic novels and other goodies. Today, Marvel’s Secret Wars event offers two of its most colorful miniseries in The Infinity Gauntlet and Old Man Logan, but let’s not bury the lead. One of the most challenging, abrasive mainstream movies of any Gen Y’ers childhood receives a comic book sequel today, written with sterling cynicism by its original author with vivid, classic illustrations from Cameron Stewart. Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club 2 is as much a kinetic read as it is a pivotal watermark for the comic industry to receive such a high-profile cross-media debut. We are Jack’s eager eyes. Happy reading.

Fight Club 2
Writer: Chuck Palahniuk
Artist: Cameron Stewart
Publisher: Dark Horse

It feels like an eternity since Chuck Palahniuk announced Fight Club 2 last July, but the day has finally arrived for Dark Horse’s opening installment. The 10-part graphic novel catches up with Fight Club’s narrator—now named Sebastian—whose latest conflict is maybe his most menacing: middle age ennui. Sebastian’s traded IKEA catalogs for anti-depressants. Car payments. A sexually frustrated Marla. Fatherhood. And through all of it, issue #1 will force out Sebastian’s catalyst for change: Tyler Durden, who’s apparently developed an aversion to barber shops. Palahniuk’s unmistakable characters get a huge hand from Cameron Stewart’s vibrant art and some challenging layout choices, so Fight Club 2’s first installment is worth a read if only to see how a master transgressive writer translates in a new medium. And if you love it? Now’s the time to tack this on to your pull-list.Tyler Kane

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The Infinity Gauntlet #1
Writers: Gerry Duggan, Dustin Weaver
Artist: Dustin Weaver
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Not every Secret Wars series will impact the main Marvel Universe once the core mega-event wraps up, but odds are good that Gerry Duggan and Dustin Weaver’s reimagining of The Infinity Gauntlet leaves a legacy. The co-writers introduce Anwen Bakian, a young girl with familial ties to the Nova Corps who stumbles on some sort of mysterious stone that we can safely assume is an Infinity Gem. Dustin Weaver co-writes and provides his trademark detailed linework, a rare treat given the time it takes for him to compose a full issue. It’s unlikely that Marvel would choose to introduce a new character like Anwen and abandon her with this event, and with Duggan shepherding the core Nova title and current Nova Sam Alexander stepping up to the Avengers post-SW, there may just be an ongoing-sized vacancy to fill if this mini-series does well. Steve Foxe

Material #1
Writers: Ales Kot
Artists: Will Tempest
Publisher: Image Comics

It should be clear by now that the only thing predictable about an Ales Kot comic is its unpredictability. The young writer has cultured a name for himself by fusing action comics with radical politics, progressive philosophy and a desperate desire to dismantle everything the reader thinks she or he knows about reality. Material, his latest, reunites him with Zero contributor Will Tempest for a book Kot says he could “write for the rest of [his] life.” The high concept for Material seems to be anything and everything he and Tempest can absorb from the world today and infuse onto the page, kicking off with a faded actress, a rioter, a philosopher and a Guantanamo Bay survivor, lending at least a few meanings to the tagline “Everything is material.” Steve Foxe

Old Man Logan #1
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Andrea Sorrentino
Publisher: Marvel Comics

When Marvel began teasing Secret Wars with sequels to famous past event comics, some fans rolled their eyes. Old Man Logan, on the other hand, is a world even the most jaded readers would agree holds the potential for more stories. Mark Millar and Steve McNiven introduced a bleak future where the bad guys won and divided America into kingdoms to rule with cruel impunity. Logan, along with worse-for-wear versions of a few Marvel mainstays, fought back. Brian Michael Bendis and recent Marvel convert Andrea Sorrentino pick up the torch for this mini-series, which sees Logan undertaking a similar quest in the Wastelands. Old Man Logan is likely to make the biggest impact on readers already familiar with the original arc, but Bendis has a firm grasp on Logan’s voice and Sorrentino’s murky, ink-soaked pages convey the desperation of the setting well. There are much worse ways to get your Wolverine while the 616 version of the character takes a well-deserved break. Steve Foxe

Providence #1
Writers: Alan Moore
Artists: Jacen Burrows
Publisher: Avatar Press

The solicitation text for Providence is a piece of art on its own, overflowing with effusive praise anointing the series “the Watchmen of horror.” Possible (and likely) hyperbole aside, Providence reunites legendary/infamous writer Alan Moore with his Neonomicon collaborator Jacen Burrows for a return to Lovecraftian horror of the highest degree. Neonomicon stands tall among Lovecraft-inspired comics, capturing the subtler horrors of Lovecraft that often get lost among the tentacled old gods. While much of Providence’s plot remains mired in secrecy, we know that Moore’s protagonist is a Jewish gay man, two attributes sure to make the bigoted H.P. Lovecraft spin in his grave. It’s not rare for comics to take inspiration from the godfather of cosmic horror, but Moore and Burrows’ track record with the material, plus the way Moore plans to address Lovecraft’s problematic personal beliefs, should put Providence on the radar of horror fans everywhere. Steve Foxe

The Sandman: Overture #5
Writer: Neil Gaiman
Artist: J. H. Williams III
Publisher: DC Comics/ Vertigo

I don’t think anyone expected Overture to stick to its announced bimonthly release schedule, but we’re nearly two years out (the first issue dropped in October 2013) and have one more issue to go before it all wraps up. If any project can withstand such unwelcome delays, though, it’s this one. It’s all well and good that Neil Gaiman is in top form expanding the story of one of his most enduring creations, but artist J. H. Williams III is the primary reason huge shipping gaps are worth ignoring. Williams III (assisted by coloring legend Dave Stewart) seemingly reinvents the art form with each outing, from Promethea to Batwoman to Overture, every issue of which has included visual representations of abstract ideas that should be impossible to capture on paper. Vertigo (or, rather, its parent company) will surely milk this prequel for years to come with deluxe collections, Absolute Editions, artist’s editions, and so on—and we’ll recommend every one. Steve Foxe

Sons of the Devil #1
Writer: Brian Buccellato
Artist: Toni Infante
Publisher: Image Comics

Horror comics are having a quiet renaissance at the moment, bolstered by a handful of series that largely eschew the bombastic blood-soaked action of vampire or zombie tales for subtler, more psychological scares. If Sons of the Devil’s first issue is any indication, it can comfortably take its seat at the table next to Wytches, Outcast by Kirkman and Azaceta, and Pisces. Detective Comics writer Brian Buccellato and artist Toni Infante introduce readers to Travis, a troubled young man who discovers he has familial ties to a murderous cult. Sons is Infante’s debut work in America, and his bold, angular slashes of ink perfectly capture the grimy LA setting and darker goings-on bubbling beneath the surface. As a bonus for fans eager for more after this first issue, Buccellato created a live-action short that tells the same story with some extra content, available online for free. Steve Foxe