Cosmic Madness 2018 First Round : Image Comics Region
Welcome to the first round of Cosmic Madness!
And also welcome to the Image Comics region! Home to some of the most critically acclaimed, fan-favorite comics in the tournament. But it's not just about Walking Dead and Saga... there's also Chew, Kill or Be Killed, Luther Strode, and Cowboy Ninja Viking in there, too, which at various times Cosmic Comix staff have referred to as the greatest comics ever!
Now all you have to do is pick which titles you want to win in each contest. The first round of voting will go from March 14-17, with the second round kicking off on March 18.
All the info you need, including the complete bracket and info about the contest, is available at Cosmic Madness HQ! Now GET TO VOTING!
SAGA
Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Illustrated by Fiona Staples
From New York Times bestselling writer BRIAN K.VAUGHAN (Y: THE LAST MAN, EX MACHINA) and critically acclaimed artist FIONA STAPLES (MYSTERY SOCIETY, NORTH 40), SAGA is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in a sexy, subversive drama for adults.
WHY IT SHOULD WIN:
Well what do we have here? Saga. The poster child of Image comics? The poster child of Indy comics? The comic that every comic retailer in the country will tell you how many zillions of copies they’ve sold? Saga is the comic that every other non marvel non dc book is compared to. Read it and find out why.
VS.
CHEW
Written by John Layman
Illustrated by Rob Guillory
Tony Chu is a detective with a secret. A weird secret. Tony Chu is Cibopathic, which means he gets psychic impressions from whatever he eats. It also means he's a hell of a detective, as long as he doesn't mind nibbling on the corpse of a murder victim to figure out whodunit, and why. He's been brought on by the Special Crimes Division of the FDA, the most powerful law enforcement agency on the planet, to investigate their strangest, sickest, and most bizarre cases.
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: We used to pick best issues of the month (and week). Chew won best of the week and best of the month many, many, many times. There is a government conspiracy, a murder mystery, a rooster named Poyo, strange stellar writing in the sky, and chicken is illegal! It’s awesome.
WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE??
LUTHER STRODE
Written by Justin Jordan
Illustrated by Tradd Moore
Luther Strode is just your average geek until he sends for an exercise course from the back of an old comic book. What he gets is the instruction manual from a murder cult as old as mankind that does everything that it promised and more.
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: You've seen books like Luther Strode before. A unsuspecting hero is given powers beyond his wildest dreams. Then it all comes back to haunt him in the form of a psychopathic killer. However this is the BEST type of over the top super-powered beat down book thee is! The art is totally over the top. It’s awesome. Nobody does bloody fight scenes like Tradd Moore.
VS.
KILL OR BE KILLED
Written by Ed Brubaker
Illustrated by Sean Phillips
The darkly twisted story of a young man forced to kill bad people, and how he struggles to keep his secret as it slowly begins to ruin his life and the lives of his friends and loved ones. Both a thriller and a deconstruction of vigilantism, KILL OR BE KILLED is unlike anything this award-winning team has done before.
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: We’ve been calling it the best new book of the last year or two. Ed Brubaker and team mate is Sean Phillips are at the tops of their games. We love all their stuff but Kill or be Killed may be their best and we’re not even close to finished yet.
WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE??
DEADLY CLASS
Written by Rick Remender
Illustrated by Wes Craig
It's 1987. Marcus Lopez hates school. His grades suck. The jocks are hassling his friends. He can't focus in class. But the jocks are the children of Joseph Stalin's top assassin, the teachers are members of an ancient league of assassins, the class he's failing is "Dismemberment 101," and his crush has a double-digit body count. Welcome to the most brutal high school on earth, where the world's top crime families send the next generation of assassins to be trained. Murder is an art. Killing is a craft. At Kings Dominion School for the Deadly Arts, the dagger in your back isn't always metaphorical.
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: A High school full of assassins. A story that has lots of depth. It is a coming of age book in a environment that doesn't allow many to grow up or at all. Rick Remender writes a bunch of stuff, Low, Black Science among others. While many of them could have made the tornament, Deadly Class may be his best.
VS.
THE WALKING DEAD
Written by Robert Kirkman
Illustrated by Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard
An epidemic of apocalyptic proportions has swept the globe, causing the dead to rise and feed on the living. In a matter of months society has crumbled: There is no government, no grocery stores, no mail delivery, no cable TV. In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally begin living. Rick Grimes is not prepared for this. A couple months ago he was a small town cop who had never fired a shot and only ever saw one dead body. Separated from his family he must now sort through the death and confusion to try and find his wife and son.
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: What to say about Walking Dead. It's only the most important indy comic of the past decade. It won best book of the week and the month many times. Never forget the night (spoiler from 10 years ago) Carl got shot in the eye. Walking dead just lulls you right along and then really cool stuff happens. Haven't read it? Then what are you waiting for?
WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE??
EAST OF WEST
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Illustrated by Nick Dragotta
This is world. It is not the one we wanted, but it is the one we deserved. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse roam the Earth, signaling the End Times for humanity, and our best hope for life, lies in Death.
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: . Future apocalyptical world. Divided into 7 large city/state/countries that encompass the world. You know what I’m talking about here, a bunch of books try to do what Hickman has. Always gets us political intrigue, always gets us a war, always gets us secrets, always gets betrayal. And this book has them all. Also features the four horses of the apocalypse Some religious zealots and maybe the second coming. What more could you need?
VS.
COWBOY NINJA VIKING
Written by A. J. Lieberman
Illustrated by Riley Rossmo
It started with Dr. Sebastian Ghislain-rogue psychotherapist / covert op / DJ. Tasked with creating a counterintelligence unit, he turned to those long thought useless to society: patients with multiple personality disorder. These agents became known simply as Triplets. Misguided? Yeah. Impractical? Sure. But did it work? Absolutely not! Now someone has located each Triplet and created a band of ridiculously disturbed but highly effective assassins. Our only hope? A Triplet known as Cowboy Ninja Viking. We are so screwed!
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: There is no book like Cowboy Ninja Viking because there is no one crazy enough to try it. Writing three characters in the mind of a fourth while he fights against others with the same syndrome is insane. Yet somehow though they made it work and now it's one of the greatest comics ever. We can't wait to see if they can see if they can pull off the movie.