NEW: Guide to Giant Generator by Rick Remender

Today I’m back with a different kind of guide for Patrons of CK – one that I’ve been considering for well over half a decade and finally decided to buckle down and complete. And, let me tell you, this is not the one I ever expected to be the first example! But, after an entire quarter of reading almost every comic out in the Direct Market, there’s one imprint that has been sticking out to me for generating non-stop positive reactions from readers with a wide array of comics. Some of them have even hooked me, noted curmudgeon. And, that’s why today I’m bringing you my first ever guide to a creator-centric imprint with my Guide to Giant Generator – an Image Comics imprint helmed by Rick Remender!!

Guide to Rick Remender’s Giant Generator

This guide is available exclusively to Patrons and will be available to the public later this year with the release of Giant Generator’s recently teased Wave 3 of comic titles.

Choosing Giant Generator as my first creator-centric guide was genuinely a big shock to me. Back in 2012 when Rick Remender’s Uncanny X-Force (2010) wrapped up I was sure that he was one of my favorite comic writers. But, after reading almost all of what he has recently deemed “Wave 0” of his creator-owned Giant Generator titles like Black Science (2013), Deadly Class (2014), and Low (2014) I felt like I wasn’t vibing with Remender all all?

So, what changed?

First, I think a big part of the change has been reading thousands of comics every year from 2017 to present. The sheer volume of my reading as well as the cross-industry breadth of what I consum has significantly expanded my critical barometer. I’m much better at telling the different between “this is bad” and “this is way too cynical for me to appreciate,” and I’ve realized that almost all of Remender’s solo books fit into the latter category rather than the former (with one notable exception!).

Second, I have a decade more life experience then I did during my original critical evaluation of Remender’s works. I may still not vibe with his cynicism, but now I more deeply appreciate his DIY punk attitude and how it informs his narrative choices. Watching him formalize Giant Generator while continuing to eschew offers to return to Big Two and licensed IP just cemented my appreciation.

And, third, everybody keeps talking about the damn books – me included! I picked up Dust to Dust (2024) in January not realizing it was a Remender book since he only has a story credit in it and it blew me away.

It set up regular residence in my Top 10 Series of 2025 through all of January and February, only to be replaced with another Giant Generator book – The Tin Can Society (2024).

Meanwhile, I caught up on The Sacrificers (2023), and while it’s definitely too cynical for me I cannot help but obsess over the entire alternate world of mythology Remender has constructed there.

As I worked on this week’s Image Comics new releases post, I realized I wanted to be able to refer to trade collections and jumping on points for those books… plus, I saw that Remender teased “Wave 3” of Giant Generator books and it is packed with visionary artists I love: Steve Epting, Daniel Acuna, André Lima Araújo, Greg Tocchini, & Yanick Paquette!

Thus this Giant Generator Guide was born!

I have a plan of other Imprints and Publishing lines I want to cover and a wishlist of favorite creators for whom I’d like to create living bibliographies, but the sheer range of books from Giant Generator and Remender’s “I want to make books with my friends” ethos won me over.

This guide works a little differently than typical Crushing Comics guides since there’s no shared universe of continuity at Giant Generator (yet). Instead, it has two Tables of Contents to follow Giant Generator’s series – one arranged by Wave, the other alphabetical. Then, each series is presented, including its release dates, creators, and a list of all of its multiple collection formats with ISBNs and digital purchase links,

Get instant access to new Guide to Giant Generator and every future guide to Marvel, DC, Indie Comics, and more! Become a Patron of CK for as little as $2 a month or $20.40 a year to gain access to this exclusive guide and over 70 other guides months before the general public gains access to them. Plus, in the past year I’ve also updated over 150 of my 200+ guides for both Patrons and the general public.

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DC Guides (7): Batman – Index of Ongoing Titles, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Birds of Prey, Green Lantern Corps, Green Lantern: Hal Jordan, Green Lantern: Kyle Rayner, Omega Men