Happy New Year one and all and welcome to 2016! So keeping up with traditions (13 comics to read in 2013, 13 Comics to read in 2013: Indy List, 14 Comics to Read in 2014 Black Superhero Edition and 15 Comics to Read in 2015 Black Superhero Edition) here are 16 Comics both indy and mainstream to read in 2016!
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- Black Panther: A Nation under our feet Ta Nehesi Coates by by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Author), Brian Stelfreeze (Illustrator), Chris Sprouse (Illustrator)
Synopsis: A new era for the Black Panther begins as the kingdom of Wakanda enters its final days! Award-winning writer Ta-Nehisi Coates confronts T’Challa with dramatic upheaval in his homeland that will make leading the African nation tougher than ever before. When a superhuman terrorist group that calls itself The People sparks a violent uprising, the land famed for incredible technology and proud warrior traditions will be thrown into turmoil. As Zenzi, leader of The People, poisons the populace against their king, the former queen Shuri’s spirit makes an uncanny journey through the Djalia, and a new Crew is formed! If Wakanda is to survive, it must adapt – but can its monarch, one of a long line of Black Panthers, survive the necessary change? Heavy lies the head that wears the cowl! 5/5
- (H)AFROCENTRIC by Juliana “Jewels” Smith (Author), Mike Hampton (Illustrator), Ronald Nelson (Illustrator), Kiese Laymon (Foreword)
Synopsis: This unflinching visual and literary tour-de-force tackles the most pressing issues of the day—including racism, patriarchy, gentrification, police violence, and the housing crisis—with humor and biting satire. When gentrification strikes the neighborhood surrounding Ronald Reagan University, Naima Pepper recruits a group of disgruntled undergrads of color to launch the first and only anti-gentrification social networking site, mydiaspora.com. The motley crew is poised to fight back against expensive avocado toast, muted Prius cars, exorbitant rent, and cultural appropriation. Whether Naima and the gang are transforming social media, leading protests, fighting rent hikes, or working as “Racial Translators,” the students at Ronald Reagan University combine their technically savvy and Black Millennial sensibilities with their individual backgrounds, goals, and aspirations.
- Revelation: Brotherman Dictator of Discipline by Guy Sims (Author), Dawud Anyabwile (Illustrator), Brian McGee (Illustrator)
Synopsis: A life interrupted by destiny! Antonio Valor‘s world…once commonplace and unsure…becomes clear and focused as he rises from the darkening depths of fear and doubt to the blinding illumination of understanding and strength. Brotherman: Revelation…the first installment of the inception of Big City’s mysterious purveyor of hope…of justice. The long awaited origin to ignite the senses and strike the imagination. A story that reaches back through the generations to set the foundation for the future. Anyabwile, Sims, and McGee deliver the dynamic first part of a hero’s saga…bursting with action, suspense, pain, and triumph. The wait is over! The revelation is revealed.
- BLACKJACK: THERE CAME A DARK HUNTER by by Alex Simmons (Author), Tim Fielder (Illustrator)
Synopsis: Arron Day, aka Blackjack, is an African-American soldier of fortune, in the 1930s, battling powerful enemies, the ghosts of his past, and the bigotry of his times. In this new, action packed, graphic novel Blackjack faces deception and danger in three different countries! From Spain to Budapest, alone, he’s pitted against a heavily armed strike force, and unseen killer, and a deadly band of hill raiders. If you enjoyed previous Blackjack tales such as, “SECOND BITE OF THE COBRA,” “BLOOD & HONOR,” “BURIED SECRETS,” or “SHOOTERS,” then this is the book for you! Created and written by Alex Simmons, and beautifully illustrated by Tim Fielder, “There Came A Dark Hunter “ is 64 pages of full color retro-pulp thrills! It is the 1930s – A Good Time For A Dark Hunter!
- MOON GIRL & DEVIL DINOSAUR by by Amy Reeder (Author), Brandon Montclare (Author), Natacha Bustos (Illustrator)
Synopsis: LUNELLA LAFAYETTE is a preteen super genius who wants to change the world-but learned the hard way that it takes MORE than just big brains. Fearful of the monstrous INHUMAN genes inside her, life is turned upside down when a savage, red-scaled tyrant is teleported from prehistoric past to a far-flung future we call TODAY. The pair are many things, and together the most amazing Marvel Team-Up.
- BLUE HAND MOJO: DUST TO DUST by John Jennings
Synopsis: 1931. Bronzeville. Chicago. The mage, Frank “Half Dead” Johnson, is a marked man. Literally. A drunken decision fueled by tragedy has left him with half a soul, sorcerous powers, and two centuries to work off his debt to Scratch (aka The Devil) himself. Half-Dead is visited by a demon from his past who wants him to take on a very dangerous demon today.
- CONCRETE PARK VOL.2: R-E-S-P-E-C-T by by
Synopsis: Isaac and Luca’s dangerous attraction ignites, and Scare City burns. A strange destiny awaits them in the ancient ruins the exiles call Concrete Park. Concrete Park–a dark, sexy sci-fi saga by Tony Puryear (Eraser) and Erika Alexander (Living Single)–concludes its “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” arc!
- Nighthawk Hate Makes Hate (2016) by David Walker (Author), Ramon Villalobos (Illustrator), Martin Morazzo (Illustrator), Denys Cowan (Illustrator), Bill Sienkiewicz (Illustrator)
Synopsis: The Squadron Supreme’s Nighthawk is Chicago’s dark protector, dispensing decisive justice to those who truly deserve it. But someone even more brutal is targeting the city’s shadiest power brokers in a series of grisly murders. As the bodies pile up, Nighthawk must decide whether to hunt this psycho — or leave him to it! And as racial tension grips the city, Nighthawk faces another choice: defend his new home, or watch it burn. With white supremacists on one side and cops out to get him on the other, he’s bitten off more than he can chew — and that’s before he becomes the new obsession of the elusive serial killer the Revelator! Nighthawk’s in for a bloody, life-or-death fight that will define him. Can he save Chicago as a hero? Or does the city require a villain?
- GHETTO BROTHER: WARRIOR TO PEACEMAKER by Julian Voloj (Author), Claudia Ahlering (Illustrator), Jeff Chang (Introduction)
Synopsis: An engrossing and counter view of one of the most dangerous elements of American urban history, this graphic novel tells the true story of Benjy Melendez, a Bronx legend who founded, at the end of the 1960s, the formidable Ghetto Brothers gang. From the seemingly bombed-out ravages of his neighborhood, wracked by drugs, poverty, and violence, he managed to extract an incredibly positive energy from this riot ridden era: his multiracial gang promoted peace rather than violence. Among its many accomplishments, the gang held weekly concerts on the streets or in abandoned buildings, which fostered the emergence of hip-hop.
- Divinity: 1 by Matt Kindt (Author), Trevor Hairsine (Illustrator)
Synopsis: From New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (THE VALIANT, Mind MGMT) and blockbuster artist Trevor Hairsine (X-Men: Deadly Genesis) comes a shocking new vision of 21st century science fiction!
At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union – determined to win the Space Race at any cost – green lit a dangerously advanced mission. They sent a man farther into the cosmos than anyone has gone before or since. Lost in the stars, he encountered something unknown. Something that…changed him.
Long thought lost and erased from the history books, he has suddenly returned, crash-landing in the Australian Outback. The few that have been able to reach him believe him to be a deity – one who turned the scorched desert into a lush oasis. They say he can bend matter, space, and even time to his will. Now the rest of the world’s powers must decide for themselves – will the enigmatic Divinity offer his hand in friendship, or will Earth’s heroes fi nd themselves helpless against the wrath of the divine?
- Malika – Warrior Queen Part 1: An African Historical Fantasy by Roye Okupe (Author), Ayodele Elegba (Editor), Chima Kalu (Illustrator), Raphael Kazeem (Illustrator)
Synopsis: Set in fifteenth-century West Africa, Malika: Warrior Queen Part One follows the exploits of queen and military commander Malika, who struggles to keep the peace in her ever-expanding empire. Growing up as a prodigy, Malika inherited the crown from her father in the most unusual of circumstances, splitting the kingdom of Azzaz in half. After years of civil war, Malika was able to unite all of Azzaz, expanding it into one of the largest empires in all of West Africa. But expansion would not come without its costs. Enemies begin to rise within her council, and Azzaz grabbed the attention of one of the most feared superpowers the world has ever known: the Ming Dynasty. As Malika fights to win the clandestine war within the walls of her empire, she must now turn her attentions to an indomitable and treacherous foe with plans to vanquish her entire people. The story takes place in the same universe (the YouNeek YouNiverse) as the E.X.O. series, roughly 500 years before the events of Lagoon City.
- Spawn: Ressurection by Szymon Kudranski (Artist)
Synopsis: NEW TEAM! NEW DIRECTION! The return of Al Simmons, and the start of a brand new era for SPAWN! No one quite knows where Al’s been all this time, but it’s clear he’s come back a changed man. Wiser, stronger, and with the memories from an experience that’s he’s still struggling to understand. Tucked away in a crime-ridden corner of New York City, he’s beginning to forge new alliances, preparing defenses, and testing out his newly acquired powers… because there’s a battle coming, and it’s something that makes the Heaven/Hell thing seem like a petty squabble. So just who did Al piss off so badly while he was away?
Paul Jenkins has replaced Brian Wood to be the next writer of SPAWN. Comics veteran Jenkins will be joining artist Jonboy Meyers starting with SPAWN: RESURRECTION, before the team takes over the regular series with SPAWN #251!
- Unity Vol. 1 by Matt Kindt (Author), Doug Braithwaite (Illustrator), Brian Reber (Illustrator)
Synopsis: To kill a king…they created an army.
The world’s most dangerous man, Toyo Harada, has been struck by the one thing he never thought possible – fear. Halfway across the globe, a new power threatens to topple modern civilization and, to preempt the cataclysm that is to come, Harada will unite the most unforgiving team the world has ever known – UNITY. Their mission: defeat the threat responsible for the destruction of MI-6, the decimation of an alien world, and the occupation of Eastern Europe… Unseat the warrior king armed with the universe’s most powerful weapon… Kill X-O Manowar!
Collecting UNITY #1-4 by New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (Mind MGMT) and superstar artist Doug Braithwaite (Justice), discover the greatest heroes of the Valiant Universe right here with the landmark first arc of the chart-topping series that Ain’t It Cool News calls “completely satisfying.”
- Wicked +Divine Vol. 2 Fandamonium by Kieron Gillen (Author), Jamie McKelvie (Illustrator), Matt Wilson (Illustrator)
Synopsis: The critically-lauded best-selling hyphen-abusing series of stardom, divinity, and death returns with a second volume that’s even grander than the first, because it contains six issues instead of five. THE FAUST ACT is over. Welcome to FANDEMONIUM. Includes cover gallery and anything else we’ll cram in the back, because we just can’t help ourselves.
- Black Panther: World of Wakanda by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Author), Roxane Gay (Author), Yona Harvey (Author), Rembert Browne (Author), Alitha Martinez (Illustrator), Afua Richardson (Illustrator), Joe Bennett (Illustrator)
Synopsis: Wakanda! Home of the Black Panther, a proud and vibrant nation whose legends and mysteries run deep. Now, delve deep into Wakanda’s lore with a love story where tenderness is matched by brutality! You know them as the Midnight Angels, but for now they are just Ayo and Aneka — young women recruited to become Dora Milaje, an elite task force trained to protect the crown of Wakanda at all costs. But with their king shamed and their queen killed, Ayo and Aneka must take justice into their own hands! They’ve been officers. Rebels. Lovers. But can they be leaders? Plus: the return of former White Tiger, Kasper Cole! As Wakanda burns, Cole can only watch helplessly from halfway around the world. Will he find a new beginning — or meet a painful end?
- Mosaic Vol.1: King of the World by Geoffrey Thorne (Author), Khary Randolph (Illustrator), Stuart Immonen (Illustrator)
Synopsis: It’s Marvel’s newest hero, MOSAIC! Morris Sackett is a professional basketball player and celebrity loved by millions. But when he comes into contact with the transformative Terrigen Mists, Morris is imbued with the ability to jump from person-to-person like a ghost and can control the bodies and memories of those he inhabits. But these fantastic new abilities come at a grave cost…
There you have it our list of 2016,
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