Sleeping Beauty takes on the horror genre with Boom! Studios new release Briar. Post-apocalyptic backdrop with many horrifying elements makes this the perfect book for the Halloween season.

Written by Christopher Cantwell (Iron Man, The United States of Captain America, Halt and Catch Fire) and illustrated by rising artist Germán Garcia (Ka-Zar: Lord of the Savage Land), Briar #1 hit your local comic book shop on September 21, 2022.

What if Sleeping Beauty never got her happily ever after… and instead had to save herself? Set in a brutal fantasy world that time forgot, this isn’t the fairy tale you know! A reimagining of a classic tale as an epic dark fantasy adventure.

Cantwell is man behind an amazing Iron Man run at Marvel Comics and brings his outstanding talent to the horror side of things with his co-creation with Garcia. The creative team does a wonderful job with fantasy world-building and mixing just the right about to horror into the story.

Garcia art style in Briar gives you the feel of a vintage fairytale, but kicks it up a notch. Taking happily ever after story and makes it dark and gritty. Garcia’s work on Briar Rose, this version of the fable’s cursed princess, reminds us of Erica Slaughter of Something Is Killing The Children. Cantwell and Garcia take what was once familiar and pushes it to the unfamiliar.

In a world of new horror books hitting the shelves, Briar will stand out amongst the titles and is definitely worth the read.

Keep an eye out for the second issue in this series coming to your local comic book shop on November 30, 2022.

The creative team behind Flawed #1 don’t beat around the bush with the flawed judicial system and corruption featured in their debut issue at Image Comics.

Flawed #1 was written by Chuck Brown (Bitter Root) with illustrations and cover by Prenzy (On The Stump) and lettering by Becca Carey.

Ultra-violent, high-octane limited series that’s Frasier meets The Punisher!

Gem Ezz is a psychiatrist in the Kafkaesque city of Setham, where corruption and brutality rule the streets. By day, she uses words to solve her patients’ problems. By night, she takes a more direct-and sometimes deadly-approach. But when her practice puts her in the sights of an immortal serial killer, Gem finds herself embroiled in a power struggle that threatens everything she’s ever known.

Blood, gore, guts, and ultra-violent. That is the simple description for the debut issue of Flawed. However, it is much more than that. The deep dive into flaws in our judicial system especially to the poor and people of color adds so much depth and meaning to the comic book.

Prenzy’s outstanding illustrations gives an animated feel to the violence to give you a less jarring experience to allow you to read with out having to turn away. The art style adds perfectly to the script by Brown.

This is one of the better books we have read at Capes and Tights over the past few months and is well worth the pick-up at your local comic book shop. Keep an eye out for the second issue in this series coming on October 26, 2022.

Comic creator Declan Shalvey is back with a new creator own comic book series Old Dog at Image Comics.

Old Dog was written and illustrated by Shalvey (Time Before Time, Moon Knight) with letters by Clayton Cowles. The first issue of the series hit your local comic book shop on Wednesday, September 28.

Jack Lynch was a once-promising CIA operative. On the eve of retirement, looking back at a failed career, he is tasked with one final mission…that goes horribly wrong. He wakes years later to a changed world and deeper changes within him. When a shadow group offers Lynch a second chance at a life of adventure, he’s paired with the last person he could ever imagine. In order to adjust, this old dog will have to learn some new tricks…

It seems like when Shelvey is fully in charge of the story and art for his books they turn out fantastic! With outstanding script and stellar art, Old Dog gives you just what you’d expect from the comic book veteran.

Glimpses of Moon Knight-esque imagery and limited color pallet with splashes of red for the blood make the book is gritty yet appealing to a wide range of readers. There is definitely a noir element to the book that will remind you of Frank Miller‘s Sin City. His use of panels and angles gives you a complete reading experience worth the purchase of the book.

Old Dog leaves you satisfied with the story arc in the debut issue, but allows you to feel wanting to know more. This series will be added to my pull list each release for sure.

Shalvey’s fans are always clamoring for more illustrated work on top of his recent run of writing and this series gives you the best of both worlds.

The second issue of Old Dog hits shelves on November 2, 2022.