While this week wasn’t the densest one when it comes to comics news, I actually prefer this flavor to those other ones as it gives me the chance to talk about some very specific things that captured my attention along the way. So, let’s look at ten things I liked or didn’t like in another edition of Comics Disassembled, with it all being led by the reveal of an early contender for comic of the year.

Deicidium, Standing Revealed

While we already knew that the dream team of writer Ram V, artists Anand RK and Evan Cagle, letterer Aditya Bidikar, designer Tom Muller, and editor Eric Harburn were teaming up for a new trilogy of books at the new French publisher Morgen and Image Comics, what we didn’t know is what it would be, what it would be about, or really anything specific about it beyond what I already said, to be honest. We knew it was announced as a major effort for Morgen’s launch with its focus on the French side of things from the beginning. We also knew that everyone was excited. But that was about it.

But now, we know a whole lot more, and that we’ll be getting a look at it sooner rather than later. The series is called Deicidium, its first book is titled Decidium: Omens, and that first volume will not just be published both by Morgen and Image but released simultaneously in both countries in October of this year. Readers eager to get a first look at this tome will be able to do so even sooner, though, as a 14-page preview will drop on Free Comic Book Day, or May 2nd of this year. What’s Deicidium about, you might be wondering? Well, this bit from Oliver Sava’s announcement piece at The AV Club will help with that.

“Inspired by the Heroes TV show, Shōnen manga, and ‘a healthy dose of urban fantasy and sci-fi,’ Deicidium imagines a world where the old gods are reborn in ordinary men and women around the world, making them targets for the global corporate church infrastructure that is threatened by their return.”

Yes. That sounds quite good indeed. It continues Ram’s explorations of gods in the real world, and the significant advance the team received and the project’s multi-country origins make it sound like everyone will be able to spread their wings a little bit more creatively. I like the sound of it. I also like the look of it, as Cagle’s drawing the first book, and as a grade A certified super fan of the guy, I expected premium work here. The preview pages in the announcement article go well beyond that, as they showcase a talent being unleashed even further after he built his skills for another 12 issues or so. It’s preposterously gorgeous art, and I highly recommend clicking through that previous link to ogle it like I did for three to seven hours today.

I find this whole project terribly interesting, and I have a great many questions about it. The good news is, I suspect I’ll be talking to the team soon enough about it, at which point I can dig into it with them. Especially the Heroes of it all. Never did I expect Ram to write a comic inspired by Heroes, and now I just want to know more about how that’s true!

R.E. Burke, Telling Her Story

We knew this project would be coming eventually, but it’s excellent to see it happen so quickly while finding such an ideal home. British cartoonist R.E. Burke, someone who quickly became rather famous after ICE (or United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detained her for three weeks after she tried to cross into Canada during an ordinary backpacking trip, will be telling her tale in an upcoming graphic novel. Titled Visiting America: 19 Days in an I.C.E. Facility, Burke’s memoir “will recount both her incarceration and the stories of the people she was incarcerated with,” per the announcement.

And, as noted, it found a good home in Fantagraphics, who acquired the worldwide rights for this book and will be publishing it in 2027. That’s about all we have right now. There’s no cover or anything like that quite yet. But it’s still great to see Burke digging deep and sharing her experiences as well as those of the people she met while in that ICE detention center. I’m looking forward to reading this one, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.