Book picks similar to
Early Adopters: Rogue Elements by D.T. Wilby


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creepy
graphic-death
gratuitous-violence

Silk (2021) #1


Maurene Goo - 2021
    Jonah Jameson. By night, she’s Silk, crime fighting super hero! But those worlds are about to collide, as an investigation into a series of gangland murders puts Silk and everyone she loves in danger! Who is this powerful new player in New York’s underworld, where did she come from, and what is she doing with that strange cat demon? It will take all of Cindy’s prowess as reporter and hero to find the answers…and stay alive! Written by Maurene Goo (I Believe in a Thing Called Love) and drawn by Takeshi Miyazawa (RUNAWAYS, GHOST SPIDER), Cindy is on assignment, and nothing can stop her!

The World Over


Cassiopeia Fletcher - 2021
    Now, the last US Government stronghold has sent a military recon-team from Camp David to the bombed out city of Seattle, but the mission turns deadly when a horde of horrifying, mutant creatures are released onto the streets.Oliver Marcus and Trisha Pike, the only survivors of their nine-man team, are rescued by a group of scavengers led by their superhuman leader, River Kingston.Driven by the need to find her lost husband, River is drawn in by Mycroft, the invisible puppet master behind New Texas, who promises her answers in exchange for favors. But as the world continues to warp and change around her, River becomes more and more wrapped up in the secrets and lies of post-apocalyptic politics that will ultimately determine the difference between life and death for the people she promised to protect.Because even with humanity dangling by a thread, people still like to have power. And they still like to abuse it.

Twilight


Howard Chaykin - 1990
    Originally published in 1990, TWILIGHT tells the story of how one of the Star Rovers, Karel Sorenson, became a living god when caught in an explosion with a race of immortal creatures called Methuseloids. It's up to renegade hero Tommy Tomorrow to stop his former ally -- but he ends up absorbing Sorenson's power and becoming an all-powerful tyrant himself. Also includes appearances by Star Hawkins, Manhunter 2070, Ironwolf, Space Ranger, Space Cabbie and other heroes.Collects TWILIGHT #1-3.

Discovery


Nate Johnson - 2017
     Machinist Mate Nick Barns goes from ship’s mechanic, to bodyguard, to Mission Leader. His only job, keep everyone alive until they are rescued. A task, the primitive Eundai are determined to make difficult. Xeno-sociologist Amanda Rogers' dreams have come true. Humans have finally found an intelligent species. They may be primitives, barely out of their own bronze age. The last thing these Eundai need is to be overwhelmed with human technology. History is filled with examples of primitive cultures being ruined after initial contact. It is her job to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Kid Normal


Greg James - 2017
    And it's not because he's worried about where to sit, and making friends, and fitting in, or not knowing where the loos are. It's because his mum has enrolled him at a school for superheroes by mistake. And unlike his fellow students, who can all control the weather or fly or conjure tiny horses from thin air, Murph has no special abilities whatsoever. But just because you don't have superpowers, it doesn't mean you can't save the day. Let's hope Murph realises that, and quick - because not far away is a great big bad guy who is half man and half wasp, and his mind is abuzz with evil plans . It's time for Kid Normal to become a hero! Perfect for fans of David Solomons, David Baddiel and Danny Wallace. Featuring brilliant illustrations by Erica Salcedo throughout.

Dissolution


W. Michael Gear - 2021
    MICHAEL GEAR, COMES AN ENTIRELY NEW TYPE OF WESTERN - A CONTEMPORARY APOCALYPTIC WESTERN.For anthropology graduate student Sam Delgado, headed to the wilds of Wyoming, this is his last chance to save his graduate career. He and his urban classmates see this as the adventure of a lifetime: They are going to horse-pack in the wilderness to map and test a high-altitude archaeological site.Until a cyber attack collapses the American banking system, and an already fractured nation descends into anarchy and chaos. All credit frozen, Sam and his archaeological field school is trapped in their high-altitude camp. With return to the East impossible, Sam, the woman he has come to love, and the rest of the students must rely on hard-bitten Wyoming ranchers for their very survival.Guided only by an illusive Shoshone spirit helper, Sam will discover the meaning of self-sacrifice. Even at the cost of his life.Haunting, provoking, frightening and prescient - in the end, all that stands between civilization and barbarism is one young man's courage and belief in himself."Gear is a master when it comes to vividly described settings: you can smell the smoke, hear the wind in the trees, and feel the cold."

Apocalypse Orphan (The Fractured Earth Saga Book 1)


Tim Allen - 2016
     With no way to stop the impending doomsday, the world descends into panic and anarchy. Massive transport ships are built to colonize the moon, and evacuation of a chosen few begins. After a shuttle mission to study the approaching comet goes awry, Wolf is forced into cryogenic deep sleep, and the onboard computer assumes control of the ship. Wolf awakens 50,000 years later to a wildly different earth. Endowed with incredible strength, he finds himself caught in a war between primitive tribes, and his survival depends on Syn, an advanced computer intelligence who has fallen in love with him. Will Wolf be able to help restore Earth to its past glory or is civilization doomed to fail?

Quantum and Woody!, Vol. 1: Kiss Kiss, Klang Klang


Daniel Kibblesmith - 2018
    And sometimes…you and your troublemaking adopted brother find yourselves trapped in a scientific lab explosion that grants you $@&%ing awesome superpowers. As a result of their accident, Eric and Woody Henderson – aka Quantum and Woody – must “klang” their wristbands together every 24 hours or both dissipate into nothingness. Which makes superhero-ing pretty awkward when you’re not on speaking terms at the moment. See, Eric has been keeping a pretty big secret: He knows who Woody’s birth father really is…and where he’s been hiding all these years.With great power comes great sibling rivalry! This winter, you’ll believe two men and one goat can split a one bedroom apartment and still be a credible threat to evil and injustice everywhere when QUANTUM AND WOODY make headlines and take names!Starting right here, deeply alarming and untrustworthy writer Daniel Kibblesmith (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert) and eye-popping artist Kano (Daredevil) give the Valiant Universe the adjective-worthy superheroes it deserves: QUANTUM AND WOODY!Collecting QUANTUM AND WOODY (2017) #1–5.

X-Men: The End


Chris Claremont - 2009
    The epic finale to the story of the Children of the Atom! Renowned X-Men scribe Chris Claremont (Uncanny X-Men) joins with star artist Sean Chen (Wolverine) for a trilogy in the style of the Lord of the Rings movies, one that spans the length and breadth of the X-Men canon and brings the saga of Marvel's mutants to a climax! Collects X-Men: The End -- Dreamers and Demons #1 to 6, Heroes and Martyrs #1 to 6, and Men and X-Men #1 to 6.

This is Not a Test


Courtney Summers - 2012
    Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won't stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn't sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she's failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she's forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group's fate is determined less and less by what's happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

Loup-Garou: The Beast of Harmony Falls


David Reuben - 2014
    Helens wilderness is being haunted by a killer. Hikers, loggers, and local residents are dying in horrible, mysterious ways, and lawmen Bud O'Brien and Charlie Redtail are forced to think it just might be a monster ... maybe Bigfoot itself. Enter Cryptozoologist Dr. Ian McDermott, Ph.D., who struggles with his own personal demons as he uncovers the impossible and ugly truth behind it all - an evil more malevolent than anyone ever imagined. Loup-Garou is the first in the Ian McDermott, Paranormal Investigator series. Atmospheric, often beautiful, and always intensely scary investigations into what we were told as children were only myths and legends. The hunt is on.

The Last Voyage


T.S. Snow - 2016
    She's far from it.Together, they’re Earth's last hope... they just don’t know it yet.Sinbad sh'en Singh had everything. A thriving smuggling career, his hologram on wanted posters on eleven planets, and plenty of women. Then she walked into his life.Andrea Talltrees, member of a backwards cult not believing in space travel or anything else invented after the Twentieth Century.She wants him to find her husband, a fugitive accused of being an Albegensian spy, the planet currently at war with Earth.He doesn’t want anything to do with an Earther, but a massive culture clash and a heavy dose of instant attraction get in the way, sending good sense flying out the viewport.They'll brave some very unsavory characters, maybe even prevent a second interplanetary war...if they can stop arguing.

Love for the Cold-Blooded, or The Part-Time Evil Minion's Guide to Accidentally Dating a Superhero


Alex Gabriel - 2014
    Evil minions. And one hell of a conflict of interest.Being related to a supervillain isn’t a big deal to Pat West. So what if his mom occasionally tries to take over the world? All Pat wants is to finish university and become an urban designer. That he moonlights as an evil minion sometimes – that’s just a family tradition.Then Pat accidentally sleeps with superhero Silver Paladin, otherwise known as reclusive billionaire Nick Andersen. It’s a simple misunderstanding. Pat never means to impersonate a prostitute, honest. But soon Pat is in way over his head, and threatening to fall for the worst possible guy.When Pat’s mother returns to bring the world to its knees, Silver Paladin races to stop her… and all of Pat’s secrets threaten to blow up in his face. How can Pat reconcile being a minion with wanting a hero? Will Nick’s feelings for Pat overcome what keeps them apart? Or will they both lose everything?“Love for the Cold-Blooded” is a light-hearted jaunt through a world of superheroes and villains, android dolphins, mind control rays, eldritch artifacts stolen from the tombs of ancient gods, and young men loving not wisely, but well.

Book of Death: The Fall of the Valiant Universe


Jeff Lemire - 2016
    From the modern day to the far future, the destinies of Bloodshot, Ninjak, the Harbinger Renegades, X-O Manowar, and more will stand revealed in these four essential, standalone chapters at the epicenter of the blockbuster Valiant event of the year.Join Jeff Lemire (Bloodshot Reborn), Matt Kindt (Ninjak), Joshua Dysart (harbinger), and Robert Venditti (X-O Manowar) and superstar artists Doug Braithwaite (Armor Hunters), Trevor Hairsine (Divinity), Kano (The Delinquents), and Clayton Henry (Archer & Armstrong), as they foretell the deadly future and final days of the greatest heroes of the Valiant Universe.Collecting: Book of Death: The Fall of Bloodshot, The Fall of Ninjak, The Fall of Harbinger, & The Fall of X-O Manowar