The Cull Volume 1
Kelly Thompson, words; Mattia de Iulis, art and colors; Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, letters
Image Comics, 2024

The story starts out looking innocuous enough: five friends set off in the middle of the night to shoot a short film on a forbidden rock near their small coastal town the summer before they all go their separate ways. It’s low tide, and they find themselves in an alien world when they enter a cave. It turns out their leader, Cleo, had seen it before but not entered–and it is the real reason they are there. She is seeking her lost brother Jake, which was her real agenda all along. They come into a liminal space that may lead to several other worlds: each entrance a rock like the one they entered from. After choosing an entrance, they meet strange creatures and start developing weird powers (like energy wings, laser eye blasts, and energy blasts). The alien they met says some scary things about culling those who are not worthy of joining the Hive: starting with Cleo, before the others step in to save her.When they return to their home beach, it has been invaded by huge creatures (which had been briefly glimpsed in the introduction). It looks like they are home at first. But Jake is alive, and the marker flags they were leaving seem wrong. They are on the wrong Earth! A terrific setup for the next arc. Mattia de Iulis’ art is beautiful: almost photorealistic in the “normal” scenes and surreal in the alien ones.

Spy Superb
Matt Kindt: script, art and letters; Sharlene Kindt, colors
Dark Horse Books, 2023

This mystery-thriller from Kindt’s Flux House imprint is about a secret organization that has developed the perfect spy, after the death of their star spy by accident. Who is the perfect spy? A spy who doesn’t even realize they are a spy, AKA the “useful idiot.” This particular useful idiot is named Jay, a wannabe novelist with no friends. He is sent on missions without even realizing he’s on a mission, until he picks up the wrong phone with the wrong secret intel and now Russian hit-squads and elite assassins are after him. The assassins have some very specific skills (one of them does everything with scissors), and one of them becomes his defender. Jay believes he was a sleeper agent—and really is the “spy superb”. His complete obliviousness and lack of survival skills somehow make him effective. The Kindt’s artwork has the usual flair and energy. The compilation includes a short prose story , a collection of alternate covers, and a sketchbook.