So I got some new preview copies and read two new books by @thevaultcomics this week and both really have been really sticking with me.

The first is Giga by @AlexPaknadel @johnlestudio @adityab and Rosh and it's imagery and characters continue to roll around in my head the next day after I read it. It's about a civilization that centers around, and in, giant deactivated mechs. I find the world fascinating.

It's one of those ideas where you ask "How has no one done this already? That's brilliant." It's not only brilliant, but it's executed so well that you'll be seeing these images & imagining these characters well after reading the book. The book really makes me want to know more.

It's all too easy to identify with characters going through a massive upheaval of their lives, losing the familiar, and fighting for the things they care for, risking their lives to hold on to whatever or whoever makes them still feel alive.

The 2nd book from @thevaultcomics is The Devil's Red Bride, & it really evokes so many familiar things while at the same time being something different. It feels like part Usagi Yojimbo, part Kurasowa, part Mulan, all wrapped up into its own new story. This is a good thing.

The sign of a good comic is when you think about those scenes contained within after the book is over and this book has that in spades. I think that's because of the magic that the team has pulled here, drawing from the familiar, and adding their own unique spin.

After reading the book I found that why it seems familiar is it was inspired by real events. It made me want to know more about "onna-bugeisha" and the life of Tomoe Gozen where they drew inspiration. https://www.gamesradar.com/devils-red-bride-inspired-by-real-life-13th-century-female-samurai/

This ancient world that @SGirner, @John_Bivens, @croweffigies, and @jeffcpowell have created is haunting in its familiarity, which is a perfect way to tell the story of a woman haunted by her own past and attempting to avenge a bloody legacy so she can become something new.

As a bonus here's a great interview with the team by @sktchdcomic https://twitter.com/sktchdcomic/status/1300477344709181440

As for Giga, @graemem talked to the creators a while back. "I joke that Giga is a murder mystery with giant robots, but in truth it's a book about a deicide — about what happens when gods and their attendant belief systems die," - Alex Paknadel https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/giga-explores-aftermath-a-war-giant-monsters-1290006

"Sometimes history deems these deaths necessary, even if they lead to great schisms, demagoguery or even war; however, the lesson from history — and, I would argue, from our turbulent present — is that we need to be very careful in how we go about replacing our gods. - Paknadel