ARCHIE #1: Archie #666 ended the long run on this classic comic character, his friends and the town of Riverdale. Now the comic has been reborn with a new direction courtesy of Mark Waid and Fiona Staples.It’s truly a modern day Archie Andrews. He goes to Riverdale High and tells us about Betty Cooper: the All-American girl who can fix a car and still be sweet and innocent. Reggie is still the suave bad boy and Jughead is now a master of manipulation; no longer tempted by bribes of food. Most of the issue is built around their break-up in what is known as the “Lipstick Incident”. The gang tries desperately to put them back together at the Homecoming Dance but Jughead throws a monkey wrench into their plans. In the process, Archie ends up filling in as guitar player in the band at the dance and that may be the jump-start their relationship needs to be rekindled. Oh yeah: Lodge Industries and a certain girl are waiting in the next issue. This is a great jumping on point of a book that also includes Archie’s first appearance from PEP #22 back in 1941. I have never been a fan of the humor of Archie and the gang but, with this book, the Archie horror themed books and the forthcoming JUGHEAD series by Chip Zdarsky and Erica Henderson, it’s a good time to get on the bandwagon.
BARB WIRE #1: Back in the day, some two decades ago, Chris Warner created a character named Barb Wire. She was part of the Comics Greatest World that included such titles as AGENTS OF LAW, CATALYST, GHOST, KING TIGER(getting a new series in August), DIVISION 13, HERO ZERO, MOTORHEAD, X and others. She also was the star of a film disaster starring Pamela Anderson. She was a bar owner and bounty hunter. Surprisingly, the new Barb Wire is also a bounty hunter who also runs a nightclub that is slowly being swallowed by bills. In the first issue, we see her blind brother tending bar, meet the supporting cast and watch as The Hammerhead gets trashed by an all out brawl involving Wyvern Stormblud. The story is totally cartoon fodder, but in a good, guilty pleasure way. The art by Patrick Olliffe is dynamite and possibly some of the best of his long career and hearkens back to his work on THE UNTOLD TALES OF SPIDER-MAN. This is not a title that will change the world; just make it a fun place to hang for a bit!
NEGATIVE SPACE #1: A very overweight and ugly man named Guy is a depressed writer who desperately tries to write his suicide note. Meanwhile, at the Kindred Corporation, a team tries everything they can to break this man and make him take his life, because he is messing up the order of things by living. See, there are monsters that feed on negative emotions and the corporation is responsible for creating those emotions to keep the monsters away. That is the basic premise in this new series from Ryan K. Lindsay and Owen Gieni. And it truly is as weird as it sounds. The art is quirky, the story is complex and it is far away from the standard superhero in tights tales! This is a weird little treat you should really put into your pull list.
THE SPIRIT #1: He’s back…well, sort of. Will Eisner’s legendary hero The Spirit, has made his way from DC Comics to Dynamite and the result is having Matt Wagner and Dan Schkade take their shot at him. “Who killed The Spirit” not only retells the origin of our hero, but also lets us know that Denny Colt has been missing for two years now, much to the dismay of Central City and Ellen Dolan. With our hero out of the picture, Sammy Strunk and Ebony White take the lead in the issue, as they set about to find out what happened to their friend. The issue builds slowly but it feels like it wants to be a success. There have been some major players who have handled this legend, including Paul Smith and Darwyn Cooke. I believe Wagner, whose MAGE is still one of my favorite comics of the last 20 years, has the chops to do that. I look forward to the next issue and beyond!
STRANGE FRUIT #1: Mark Waid and J. G. Jones, who also handles the art, combine their talents to bring us this tremendous first issue of a four issue mini-series. Set in Mississippi in 1927, it presents us with prejudice and more in a tale that brings a strange visitor to Earth with powers far beyond mortal men. The strange visitor is a large black man and seems to be the perfect foil for the KKK. This book is a beautiful piece of art with a great heart inside of it. It is a perfect fit for the recent news reports and issues with the Confederate flag, complete with a last page reveal that is so timely that it is scary. Boom Studios has done a great job with the production and the tale is amazing! I wish this was a weekly, so I could get to the end. But then, I also with it wasn’t a limited series so I could just wallow in Jones’ art.
THE TOMORROWS #1: In the near future, all forms of art are illegal and will result in death. The Atlus Corporation is run by a guy named Hughes and The Tomorrows and their supercomputer Warhol find the never-ending battle. This has the makings of an interesting series from Curt Pires and Jason Copland. The characterization is a little weak and Copeland’s art is on the very quirky side. It almost feels like were in the middle of a Pop Art painting. But that will change next issue, as each issue is done by a different artist. This book also feels like a superteam searching for a true revolution to fight; sort of like the Fantastic Four wanting to take down a regime run by Paste Pot Pete. It’s not the perfect comic book, but it is a little something different. I wouldn’t automatically add it to your pull list, but pick it up if you have some extra coin to spare.
WE STAND ON GUARD #1: It’s 2112 and the White House has been bombed, leading to Ottawa also being bombed, possibly because Canada burned down the White House in the War of 1812. In the process, Amber’s parents are killed and her dying father instructs her brother to never leave her side. Next, we jump to 2124 where Amber is trying to survive in the Northwest Territories when she comes across American battledroids and the Canadian resistance forces. The droid gets defeated and the characters are all introduced to each other. Unfortunately a monstrous battledroid arrives and it takes ingenuity and teamwork to bring it down. But Booth gets killed by the droid’s pilot and an argument ensues as to who should execute him. Amber does that without blinking, earning her place in the Two-Four.
Welcome to the future courtesy of Brian K. Vaughan and Steve Skroce. This is a powerful combination of creators. On one hand, you have Vaughan, who has given us such killer books as Y THE LAST MAN and SAGA, not to mention his writing for UNDER THE DOME and LOST. And you couple that with Skroce, who has illustrated X-MAN and CABLE, but has also done storyboards for all three MATRIX films. The art is tremendous and I LOVE Vaughan’s story. The weakest part to date is characterization, but how tough is that to do for seven characters in one issue. To that end, Booth’s death is there, but doesn’t leave a scar on the reader. And just where is Amber’s brother in all of this? Bottom line: pick this one up!
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Sunday, July 5, 2015
DC YOU Month #1, Part 2
JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001 #1: Currently, Lois Lane has managed to download her consciousness into the body of Ariel Masters and wants nothing more than to take out the Justice League. She checks in with Sinestro, who is busy getting busy. Superman, Batman, the female Guy Gardner, Wonder Woman and the Flash are on Wodin Twelve, where Starro consciousness has taken over every person on the planet. Guy heads to the Office Of Fathomless Bureaucracy on Moonshadow Six while over on Camelot Nine, Fire tells Ice how wonderful sex was with Etrigan. And, somewhere in the middle of all this, a craft carrying Kara Zor-El is heading towards Wodin Twelve.
Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis and Howard Porter are back for more merriment in the 31st Century. I so love this book! It is just great to see how heroes twisted and turned this way. And hey: we’ve even got Superman checking out Guy Gardner’s ass! Porter’s art has never looked as good and Giffen and DeMatteis make the humorous tag team Palmiotti and Conner WISH they could be. If you like your heroes turned upside down and inside out, this is truly the book for you!
LOBO #7: On Praxis Prime, Lobo is ready to take out his newest target: Varnu Vain. But a kill squad has showed up and killed Vain and some semi-innocent bystanders in the process. He takes out most of them but is captured by a team led by Kadra from the Void Whisper. As he realizes the Siamese twins he had bedded have set him up, he gains his revenge by depositing a bomb in the mouth of one of them, blowing her head off. Working for the Void Whisper, he meets with a priest, who gets killed by a tracker. No sooner does he realize there is a problem then he gets attacked by a Thangarian, a Daemonite and a Martian. Things don’t look good for the Last Czarnian.
Cullen Bunn and Cliff Richards give us more of what this book has previously offered: sex, blood, guts and a so-so story. So…exactly what we had prior to CONVERGENCE. Richards’ art is dynamite. You will love it if you like dismembered bodies, head shots and such. I can’t believe this book is rated T+ because I think it’s a bit gory for a T+ title. Maybe this should be a Vertigo book or get an M rating. Anyway, the story is so-so, the art rocks and I'm not certain if I'm going to continue or not. It's kind of like a car crash. You don't want to look but can't help to.
MARTIAN MANHUNTER #1: A bunch of kids dare a little girl to go wake an alien creature by the name of Mr. Biscuits. Meanwhile, Martian Manhunter, the alleged last of his kind, saves a passenger jet in trouble while revealing that his people have come to Earth. In Dubai, a cat burglar watches a royal prince be murdered by a Martian creature. In fact, there is a sudden outbreak of murder and terrorist incidents around the world, which leads J’onn to his friend Helen Demoff, where he asks her to kill him.
This book is totally the shining gem in DC’s releases for Week Three of the DC You lunch. Rob Williams gives us a story that poses more questions than answers. How is it that Martians now exist after we have long been told that J’onn was the last of his kind? Why the rise in murder and terrorism? Who is Mr. Bisquits? Why does J’onn need to die? This book is awesome! And Eddy Barrows art, with Eder Ferreira inking, is some of the best of his career. So…bottom line: the book LOOKS GREAT, READS GREAT and is a roller coaster ride from page one until the end. Add this to your pull list. This is required reading!
MIDNIGHTER #1: Someone who wants the Dragon’s Gold is attacking The Gardener in the God Garden. Meanwhile, Midnighter and his date are interrupted during dinner by an armed team looking for Modoran traitors. That means Midnighter is soon taking people out. Later, in a pool hall in Boston, he plays some pool, then takes his boyfriend to Moscow and Oakland before ending the day with some hot loving. Hours later, the two share a meaningful conversation about relationships before Midnighter injects Jason with a Smartmark tracker that allows Jason to contact Midnighter if he needs him. The Gardener calls to him and he goes to her, where he finds out that the mysterious assailant took the file that tells everything there is to tell about Midnighter.
So, if you’re reading this, you hopefully know that Midnighter is a gay character. That’s important to the whole story and, if you didn’t know that, you will figure it out real quick when you see he and Jason in about as graphic a situation as you can squeeze into a T+ rated book. Steve Orlando does a great job of mixing the action with the romance and Aco’s art fits the story nicely. Do I expect there will be some ire from some group about the gay angle? Sure I do. And DC will answer that they are only trying to appeal to their diverse audience. Do I think they are going to amp up that side of our anti-hero because they want to appeal to that diverse audience? Sure I do. And I am okay with that as long as it all fits into the story and they’re just not exploiting it because they can.
NEW SUICIDE SQUAD #9: Deadshot, Black Manta, and Captain Boomerang are informed of their newest mission. With Harley, Parasite, and Reverse Flash as their back-up, they are to infiltrate the League: the new version of the League of Assassins. Arriving in Turkey, they gain entrance into the organization. Once inside, they are tortured until they conform to the rules and goals of the League. Then they are taken out in the desert where they are forced to kill three would be heroes who have been frozen. It’s amazing what baseball bats will do to frozen people.
Sean Ryan writes us a killer story…literally! This is a dark and nasty issue, punctuated with some dark humor. And my favorite line? Floyd Lawton saying that Parasite is “kinda like if Grimace had sex with a nightmare”. Couple this with Philippe Briones awesome art and this book is a winner for sure! This is DC’s newest cash cow and they are going to make it as entertaining as possible. So yeah: this works!
OMEGA MEN #1: After “killing” the White Lantern, members of the Omega Men are hiding on the planet Ogyptu. As the police on the planet use strong-arm tactics to find them, they eventually run into Tigorr, Broot, Scrapps, and Primus. Defeating their hunters, the team blows up the place and makes their escape. And joining them, whether he wants to our not, is Kyle Rayner, who is kept in the dark and mutters Carol’s name.
Okay…you might find this a little hard to follow and that is because it is. Tom King gives us a great introduction for new fans and a re-introduction for long time fans of this team. But the book is far darker than the original and paints them as terrorists. But, obviously, they are the good kind of terrorists that are trying to take down the “Evil Empire”, if you will. Barnaby Bagenda’s painted art is nice, but I really wish we had his art from the preview story instead. It seemed to be darker and not as colorful, although we do get to see one of the Citadel soldier’s heads explode in living color! Again, another T+ book crawling with adult themes. I want to see where King is going with this and hope the next issue will fill in some of the holes in the story.
PREZ #1: Welcome to 2036 where the powers that be are looking for the best candidate to be President following the next election. The field is a joke and the spin on them is even worse. 19-year-old corn dog fry cook Beth Ross goes to visit her dying father in the hospital. She attempts to go on the show Double Dare Billionaire, but the show runs out of time. Her Sickstarter campaign is going even worse and she has nowhere near the 4 million dollars she needs to pay dad’s medical bills. Along the way, the Hacker Collective Anonymous runs a campaign to have her in the Presidential race. When all is done, no one has enough Electoral votes to win, so a Secret CEO meeting at the Build-A-Burger Headquarters, and Boss Smiley, seems to hold the key to our next President.
Close behind MARTIAN MANHUNTER #1, this is my second favorite book of Week #3. And that is a complete surprise, considering how awful the 8 page preview of this title was. Mark Russell and Ben Caldwell gives us a hysterical, historical romp. If NATIONAL LAMPOON MAGAZINE, the CLASSIC Seventies LAMPOON, mated with a CLASSIC SNL political sketch and had a baby, THIS would be that baby. Filled with way too many jokes that most teens will not get (Specifically the Hacker Collective Anonymous group that are all wearing there V FOR VENDETTA masks!), this book was laugh out loud funny at points. The satire is ripe and so is the topic. Definitely a must read, even if it has no connection to the classic DC series starring Prez Rickard. Now, I want BROTHER POWER back!
RED HOOD/ARSENAL #1: Roy Harper is in the middle of the Arizona Desert, observing a meet between Tara Battleworth and some terrorists. They have a captured CIA agent and the deal is to sell him back to the Senator that Battleworth works for. It all goes back fast, leading to Roy having to take action and take out the terrorists. Unfortunately, they shoot the Senator, leading Roy to realize that things have gotten that much worse. But then the Senator springs back to life and we all realize that it is really Red Hood in disguise. The real Senator is safely being held in a car trunk. Despite their bickering, maybe this team should work for the government, as Battleworth offers.
Okay…so this is exactly as I expected. It is the same book we previously had MINUS Starfire. That means, we have bickering between our heroes and some silly adventuring. Scott Lobdell does what he does and writes as he always has, meaning the characters sound like they came out of the Nineties and are full of easy to identify personality. And, as much as Lobdell gets bashed for this, I actually LIKED this isue, except I totally saw where the reveal with the Jason/Senator was goingThe art from Denis Medri, who previously worked on Image’s 13 CHAMBERS, is kind of different but fitting, reminding me of some of the better independent comic folks out there. All in all, I have read worse.
ROBIN, SON OF BATMAN #1: Robin and his pet griffin Goliath are being held captive in Bialya because Goliath got caught poaching their blessed cows. Elsewhere, Morgan Ducard’s daughter finds her father’s skeletal remains and his mask. Eventually Daman and Goliath get free as he screams that “the year of atonement is at hand”. In the end, a lone figure rises up in Nanda Parbat. If this REALLY Talia Al Ghul?
Wow! This one just pulls all the bits and pieces from the previous BATMAN AND ROBIN runs together into one amazing book! Patrick Gleason, artist extraordinaire, handles scripting and art chores on this book and it rocks! We bring in the Year of Blood, the late Morgan Ducard, a crazy dream sequence, a trip to Al Ghul Island, and a griffin named Goliath. This thing looks great, reads liked Peter Tomasi never left it and is setting some cool plot points for the future. If you were a fan of the previous incarnations, this one will put you right where you want to be.
SECRET SIX #3: It’s two days after our team has escaped Mockingbird and they are currently in hiding in Big Shot’s house. Catman is having a bit of an issue with a cop who likes to beta his dog and that may be an issue later. Unfortunately, they aren’t the best house guests as a bunch of them have had weird sex on his couch. Black Alice reveals her name is really Lori Zechlin and her origin may be tied to an accident involving her and her parents. Porcelain and the Ventriloquist go out to get some food and that results in them taking out a harassing tough guy who isn't as tough as he thought. When it comes time for dinner, Strix sets the table, even though she doesn’t know how.Catman finds out the cop next door has been beating his dog again and this leads to him beating the cop and taking possession of his dog. Later, we find that Big Shot is really Mr. Dibney and that Ed Nygma is Mockingbird.
This would be a killer book…if it would stay on schedule. There was a gap between issue #1 and issue #2 and then two months off for CONVERGENCE and no one remembers what the heck was going on. Okay, so this group has come together because they were held captive by someone named Mockingbird. But it’s two months later and we don’t remember what was happening. Gail Simone gives us the best story to date, as we get some background on the characters. And Dale Eaglesham comes on-board as artist and kicks the doors down! The characters jump off the page. I especially like that Big Shot looks like a character right out of Wrightson’s work on CAPTAIN STERN. And who is Mr. Dibney really? If this title would stay on track, this could be a great book. Unfortunately, it’s just another title hampered by scheduling issues.
SINESTRO #12: Sinestro and Soranik argue about his machinations. Later, Dez informs Sinestro that Soranik has made her move against her father, leading to a battle between father and daughter. In the end, Sinestro takes her Green Lantern ring from her and replaces it with a Yellow Lantern ring.
Here’s the highlight of the book: Brad Walker's art. Spectacular and fits the feel of the book beautifully! Cullen Bunn does a nice job in giving a wonderful father/daughter battle. I am still not a huge fan of this book, but this is one of the better issues thus far. For anyone who thinks that Sinestro is a great anti-hero, realize that Sinestro is in it for himself and allegedly for his people. He’s a bad guy, people. Deal with it!
STARFIRE #1: Picking up from the 8 page preview we got during CONVERGENCE, Kori is trying to start a new life in Key West. She is trying to convince Sheriff Gomez, who describes her as a “big orange Supergirl”, to help her. They go to a pawnshop, where she trades in her alien rock collection for “three large”. After, Starfire and Stella go out drinking, which leads to a couple of guys fighting over Kori. Next, they head off to a trailer park where Kori can rent a place until something permanent comes along. The issue ends with a huge storm bearing down on Key West and Stella’s brother in the Coast Guard, totally depressed sense the loss of his Maria two years before, is smack dab in the middle of it all. Looks to me like he may need to be saved by his soon to be new girlfriend, Starfire.
What we have here is Starfire suddenly sounding like a cross between Harley Quinn and Chrissy on THREE’S COMPANY. When did she become so naïve that she sounds DUMB? Oh wait: could it be that the team of Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti are writing this book AND HARLEY QUINN? Yeah…could be! We have a ditsy super heroine, a guy who is described by his own grandmother as being “horny as an alley cat”, and a sheriff who pumps her newest friends with booze while the big storm is coming. The highlight of this title is the art of Italian artist Emanuela Lupacchino. Her work, along with the inks of Ray McCarthy and the coloring job by Hi-Fi, makes this book stand out visually. Lupacchino lists her influences as people like Dave Stevens, Steve Rude, and Adam Hughes and it is obvious by the attention to the female form. Unfortunately, this beautiful looking book can’t save the awful story that goes with it.
SUPERMAN #41: Clark gets an anonymous text message from a mysterious individual revealing the “unknown source” for technology advanced weapons. Clark and Jimmy head off to a factory in Technology Park where a well-dressed man is showing off his huge 3D printer which is making the advanced weapons. Clark and Jimmy get spotted by some guards, but Clark becomes Superman and is forced to use his solar flare to take out the 3D printer robot. Later they discover that the man in the suit is a recently elected Senator who no longer has a mustache. That leads to his arrest and celebration in the Daily Planet office. Clark gets another text informing him of a woman with blue hair coming to see him and instructs him to turn her over to the authorities or else. And he does. Later still, he rescues the woman from the “authorities” and gets shot in the process. Unfortunately, Lois gets involved with her snooping and jumps into Jimmy’s getaway car. Apparently the woman has information about who's really behind the weapons, but Clark may not be able to live to tell the tale.
TRUTH continues to move in mysterious ways as Gene Luen Yang takes over as writer, coupled with John Romita Jr.’s art. Fans were wondering exactly how good Yang’s work would be and, based on this first issue, I see it as a bonus to the franchise! His pacing is dead-on and the characterization jumps back and forth between feeling like the 21st Century Man of Steel meets his Sixties counterpart. This book feels right and hopefully won’t drift off into silly places. For now, I like the direction…especially because I want to know how this whole TRUTH story ties together.
SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #18: Clark and Diana are lying in bed when Clark gets a three A.M. panic call from Lana, telling him there is something in her parent’s house in Smallville. When Clark and Diana arrive at the house, no one is there and there is no sign of a struggle. Later, they go into town, where some of the regular folks question his being here and suggest that trouble follows him and they don’t want trouble anymore. Then they find out that they family home has been taken away, as has every Kent buried in town. That is when the Suicide Squad shows up to capture and collect.
Peter Tomasi and Doug Mahnke give us their unique chapter as part of the TRUTH storyline. I really like where this Superman story is going, but I want to know HOW did we get to this point. What happened, outside of Lois revealing Clark's secret identity, to cause Superman to become both powerless and hated? When are we going to have this piece of the puzzle revealed to us. You would think that, with four Superman titles issued in a month, we would have some answers by now. The book is a great read, considering I am not a big fan of the Diana and Clark relationship. MY CLARK KENT has a relationship with LOIS LANE.
TEEN TITANS #9: Red Robin and Chimera are setting up warning sensors in Chciago in hopes of capturing that mass-murdering Superboy. At street level, Bunker, Beast Boy and Raven are accosted by their fans when Superboy arrives and stops a train from hitting a girl. Manchester Black notices Superboy’s arrival and gathers his team-Power Girl, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Guardian, and Klarion-and sends them into action. The Titans manage to get Superboy out of there, but Blacks’ team arrives and Wonder Girl demands they release Kon to her.
Will Pfeifer and Kenneth Rocafort get points for turning what could have been a completely boring issue into only a halfway boring issue. And it has nothing to do with the creative team as it does the characters. This is NOT my Teen Titans. And who let Guardian and Klarion in here? Klarion ESPECIALLY!!! I like that we have could old, Manchester Black stirring up the pot, but even THIS VERSION is not the cold, calculating Manchester Black I love. So, the story was good, the art was equally as impressive….and we just need to shake up the team a bit. Once that’s done, I will LOVE this book!
WE ARE ROBIN #1: We begin with Duke Thomas getting beat up on the school yard for dating someone’s sister. He ends up at Leslie Thompkins place, which results in him being put into another foster home, as his parents have been missing since they were infected with Joker Toxin. Duke runs away and ends up under Gotham where he discovers an entire city of people being led by a madman who wants to tear Gotham down. Duke gets spotted but, before he can be captured, is saved by the group known as We Are Robin. In the end, we see the headquarters of the mysterious person known as "The Nest".
For those who don’t know, this title features Duke Thomas. He played a major role during ZERO YEAR and eventually became Robin in BATMAN AND ROBIN FUTURE’S END. So, if you followed those books, you are somewhat invested in this character. I’m guessing that this team and it’s mysterious benefactor will fight crime and help Duke find his parents. Lee Bermejo and Jorge Corona do a nice job of telling the tale, although I wish Bermejo had drawn it. I’m not completely thrilled with it Corona’s art and also wonder how DC gets away with a T Rating while dropping words like “ass” and “bitch” into it. Oh yeah: what’s with the $3.99 cover price DC “drawing the line at $2.99”? Is that because it’s a first issue? Shame on you!
WONDER WOMAN #41: Diana heads to Mount Olympus to check in on Donna Troy, who is being held captive there after leading the massacre of the brothers of the Amazons. She then goes to visit Zola and Zeke, who are chilling by the Pool of the Gods. Later, she checks in with Hephaestus to see how the captive Amazons there are doing and discovers that he has crafted a new costume for her. Later, she runs into some kid who is threatening to blow himself up. The two of them scuffle before he slips loose and gets away, after telling her that he knows she is the God of War. He goes to a secret location and learns that he needs a weapon powerful enough to kill a god to become the God of War.
While the story is cool, the costume SUCKS SO BADLY! Meredith Finch is responsible for this new design and it looks like an amalgam of a bunch of heroes, including stealing from Black Widow and Captain America. Why have we gotten rid of the classic image? If you are truly going to do this, can we just go back to the white pantsuit look from the Seventies? At least she looked bad ass instead of ridiculous. While David Finch’ art is his usual fine work, I cannot get past this horrible costume. Seriously, can we bring back Mod Girl Wonder Woman, get Denny O’Neal on-board, and get back to the days of pissing off feminists?
Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis and Howard Porter are back for more merriment in the 31st Century. I so love this book! It is just great to see how heroes twisted and turned this way. And hey: we’ve even got Superman checking out Guy Gardner’s ass! Porter’s art has never looked as good and Giffen and DeMatteis make the humorous tag team Palmiotti and Conner WISH they could be. If you like your heroes turned upside down and inside out, this is truly the book for you!
LOBO #7: On Praxis Prime, Lobo is ready to take out his newest target: Varnu Vain. But a kill squad has showed up and killed Vain and some semi-innocent bystanders in the process. He takes out most of them but is captured by a team led by Kadra from the Void Whisper. As he realizes the Siamese twins he had bedded have set him up, he gains his revenge by depositing a bomb in the mouth of one of them, blowing her head off. Working for the Void Whisper, he meets with a priest, who gets killed by a tracker. No sooner does he realize there is a problem then he gets attacked by a Thangarian, a Daemonite and a Martian. Things don’t look good for the Last Czarnian.
Cullen Bunn and Cliff Richards give us more of what this book has previously offered: sex, blood, guts and a so-so story. So…exactly what we had prior to CONVERGENCE. Richards’ art is dynamite. You will love it if you like dismembered bodies, head shots and such. I can’t believe this book is rated T+ because I think it’s a bit gory for a T+ title. Maybe this should be a Vertigo book or get an M rating. Anyway, the story is so-so, the art rocks and I'm not certain if I'm going to continue or not. It's kind of like a car crash. You don't want to look but can't help to.
MARTIAN MANHUNTER #1: A bunch of kids dare a little girl to go wake an alien creature by the name of Mr. Biscuits. Meanwhile, Martian Manhunter, the alleged last of his kind, saves a passenger jet in trouble while revealing that his people have come to Earth. In Dubai, a cat burglar watches a royal prince be murdered by a Martian creature. In fact, there is a sudden outbreak of murder and terrorist incidents around the world, which leads J’onn to his friend Helen Demoff, where he asks her to kill him.
This book is totally the shining gem in DC’s releases for Week Three of the DC You lunch. Rob Williams gives us a story that poses more questions than answers. How is it that Martians now exist after we have long been told that J’onn was the last of his kind? Why the rise in murder and terrorism? Who is Mr. Bisquits? Why does J’onn need to die? This book is awesome! And Eddy Barrows art, with Eder Ferreira inking, is some of the best of his career. So…bottom line: the book LOOKS GREAT, READS GREAT and is a roller coaster ride from page one until the end. Add this to your pull list. This is required reading!
MIDNIGHTER #1: Someone who wants the Dragon’s Gold is attacking The Gardener in the God Garden. Meanwhile, Midnighter and his date are interrupted during dinner by an armed team looking for Modoran traitors. That means Midnighter is soon taking people out. Later, in a pool hall in Boston, he plays some pool, then takes his boyfriend to Moscow and Oakland before ending the day with some hot loving. Hours later, the two share a meaningful conversation about relationships before Midnighter injects Jason with a Smartmark tracker that allows Jason to contact Midnighter if he needs him. The Gardener calls to him and he goes to her, where he finds out that the mysterious assailant took the file that tells everything there is to tell about Midnighter.
So, if you’re reading this, you hopefully know that Midnighter is a gay character. That’s important to the whole story and, if you didn’t know that, you will figure it out real quick when you see he and Jason in about as graphic a situation as you can squeeze into a T+ rated book. Steve Orlando does a great job of mixing the action with the romance and Aco’s art fits the story nicely. Do I expect there will be some ire from some group about the gay angle? Sure I do. And DC will answer that they are only trying to appeal to their diverse audience. Do I think they are going to amp up that side of our anti-hero because they want to appeal to that diverse audience? Sure I do. And I am okay with that as long as it all fits into the story and they’re just not exploiting it because they can.
NEW SUICIDE SQUAD #9: Deadshot, Black Manta, and Captain Boomerang are informed of their newest mission. With Harley, Parasite, and Reverse Flash as their back-up, they are to infiltrate the League: the new version of the League of Assassins. Arriving in Turkey, they gain entrance into the organization. Once inside, they are tortured until they conform to the rules and goals of the League. Then they are taken out in the desert where they are forced to kill three would be heroes who have been frozen. It’s amazing what baseball bats will do to frozen people.
Sean Ryan writes us a killer story…literally! This is a dark and nasty issue, punctuated with some dark humor. And my favorite line? Floyd Lawton saying that Parasite is “kinda like if Grimace had sex with a nightmare”. Couple this with Philippe Briones awesome art and this book is a winner for sure! This is DC’s newest cash cow and they are going to make it as entertaining as possible. So yeah: this works!
OMEGA MEN #1: After “killing” the White Lantern, members of the Omega Men are hiding on the planet Ogyptu. As the police on the planet use strong-arm tactics to find them, they eventually run into Tigorr, Broot, Scrapps, and Primus. Defeating their hunters, the team blows up the place and makes their escape. And joining them, whether he wants to our not, is Kyle Rayner, who is kept in the dark and mutters Carol’s name.
Okay…you might find this a little hard to follow and that is because it is. Tom King gives us a great introduction for new fans and a re-introduction for long time fans of this team. But the book is far darker than the original and paints them as terrorists. But, obviously, they are the good kind of terrorists that are trying to take down the “Evil Empire”, if you will. Barnaby Bagenda’s painted art is nice, but I really wish we had his art from the preview story instead. It seemed to be darker and not as colorful, although we do get to see one of the Citadel soldier’s heads explode in living color! Again, another T+ book crawling with adult themes. I want to see where King is going with this and hope the next issue will fill in some of the holes in the story.
PREZ #1: Welcome to 2036 where the powers that be are looking for the best candidate to be President following the next election. The field is a joke and the spin on them is even worse. 19-year-old corn dog fry cook Beth Ross goes to visit her dying father in the hospital. She attempts to go on the show Double Dare Billionaire, but the show runs out of time. Her Sickstarter campaign is going even worse and she has nowhere near the 4 million dollars she needs to pay dad’s medical bills. Along the way, the Hacker Collective Anonymous runs a campaign to have her in the Presidential race. When all is done, no one has enough Electoral votes to win, so a Secret CEO meeting at the Build-A-Burger Headquarters, and Boss Smiley, seems to hold the key to our next President.
Close behind MARTIAN MANHUNTER #1, this is my second favorite book of Week #3. And that is a complete surprise, considering how awful the 8 page preview of this title was. Mark Russell and Ben Caldwell gives us a hysterical, historical romp. If NATIONAL LAMPOON MAGAZINE, the CLASSIC Seventies LAMPOON, mated with a CLASSIC SNL political sketch and had a baby, THIS would be that baby. Filled with way too many jokes that most teens will not get (Specifically the Hacker Collective Anonymous group that are all wearing there V FOR VENDETTA masks!), this book was laugh out loud funny at points. The satire is ripe and so is the topic. Definitely a must read, even if it has no connection to the classic DC series starring Prez Rickard. Now, I want BROTHER POWER back!
RED HOOD/ARSENAL #1: Roy Harper is in the middle of the Arizona Desert, observing a meet between Tara Battleworth and some terrorists. They have a captured CIA agent and the deal is to sell him back to the Senator that Battleworth works for. It all goes back fast, leading to Roy having to take action and take out the terrorists. Unfortunately, they shoot the Senator, leading Roy to realize that things have gotten that much worse. But then the Senator springs back to life and we all realize that it is really Red Hood in disguise. The real Senator is safely being held in a car trunk. Despite their bickering, maybe this team should work for the government, as Battleworth offers.
Okay…so this is exactly as I expected. It is the same book we previously had MINUS Starfire. That means, we have bickering between our heroes and some silly adventuring. Scott Lobdell does what he does and writes as he always has, meaning the characters sound like they came out of the Nineties and are full of easy to identify personality. And, as much as Lobdell gets bashed for this, I actually LIKED this isue, except I totally saw where the reveal with the Jason/Senator was goingThe art from Denis Medri, who previously worked on Image’s 13 CHAMBERS, is kind of different but fitting, reminding me of some of the better independent comic folks out there. All in all, I have read worse.
ROBIN, SON OF BATMAN #1: Robin and his pet griffin Goliath are being held captive in Bialya because Goliath got caught poaching their blessed cows. Elsewhere, Morgan Ducard’s daughter finds her father’s skeletal remains and his mask. Eventually Daman and Goliath get free as he screams that “the year of atonement is at hand”. In the end, a lone figure rises up in Nanda Parbat. If this REALLY Talia Al Ghul?
Wow! This one just pulls all the bits and pieces from the previous BATMAN AND ROBIN runs together into one amazing book! Patrick Gleason, artist extraordinaire, handles scripting and art chores on this book and it rocks! We bring in the Year of Blood, the late Morgan Ducard, a crazy dream sequence, a trip to Al Ghul Island, and a griffin named Goliath. This thing looks great, reads liked Peter Tomasi never left it and is setting some cool plot points for the future. If you were a fan of the previous incarnations, this one will put you right where you want to be.
SECRET SIX #3: It’s two days after our team has escaped Mockingbird and they are currently in hiding in Big Shot’s house. Catman is having a bit of an issue with a cop who likes to beta his dog and that may be an issue later. Unfortunately, they aren’t the best house guests as a bunch of them have had weird sex on his couch. Black Alice reveals her name is really Lori Zechlin and her origin may be tied to an accident involving her and her parents. Porcelain and the Ventriloquist go out to get some food and that results in them taking out a harassing tough guy who isn't as tough as he thought. When it comes time for dinner, Strix sets the table, even though she doesn’t know how.Catman finds out the cop next door has been beating his dog again and this leads to him beating the cop and taking possession of his dog. Later, we find that Big Shot is really Mr. Dibney and that Ed Nygma is Mockingbird.
This would be a killer book…if it would stay on schedule. There was a gap between issue #1 and issue #2 and then two months off for CONVERGENCE and no one remembers what the heck was going on. Okay, so this group has come together because they were held captive by someone named Mockingbird. But it’s two months later and we don’t remember what was happening. Gail Simone gives us the best story to date, as we get some background on the characters. And Dale Eaglesham comes on-board as artist and kicks the doors down! The characters jump off the page. I especially like that Big Shot looks like a character right out of Wrightson’s work on CAPTAIN STERN. And who is Mr. Dibney really? If this title would stay on track, this could be a great book. Unfortunately, it’s just another title hampered by scheduling issues.
SINESTRO #12: Sinestro and Soranik argue about his machinations. Later, Dez informs Sinestro that Soranik has made her move against her father, leading to a battle between father and daughter. In the end, Sinestro takes her Green Lantern ring from her and replaces it with a Yellow Lantern ring.
Here’s the highlight of the book: Brad Walker's art. Spectacular and fits the feel of the book beautifully! Cullen Bunn does a nice job in giving a wonderful father/daughter battle. I am still not a huge fan of this book, but this is one of the better issues thus far. For anyone who thinks that Sinestro is a great anti-hero, realize that Sinestro is in it for himself and allegedly for his people. He’s a bad guy, people. Deal with it!
STARFIRE #1: Picking up from the 8 page preview we got during CONVERGENCE, Kori is trying to start a new life in Key West. She is trying to convince Sheriff Gomez, who describes her as a “big orange Supergirl”, to help her. They go to a pawnshop, where she trades in her alien rock collection for “three large”. After, Starfire and Stella go out drinking, which leads to a couple of guys fighting over Kori. Next, they head off to a trailer park where Kori can rent a place until something permanent comes along. The issue ends with a huge storm bearing down on Key West and Stella’s brother in the Coast Guard, totally depressed sense the loss of his Maria two years before, is smack dab in the middle of it all. Looks to me like he may need to be saved by his soon to be new girlfriend, Starfire.
What we have here is Starfire suddenly sounding like a cross between Harley Quinn and Chrissy on THREE’S COMPANY. When did she become so naïve that she sounds DUMB? Oh wait: could it be that the team of Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti are writing this book AND HARLEY QUINN? Yeah…could be! We have a ditsy super heroine, a guy who is described by his own grandmother as being “horny as an alley cat”, and a sheriff who pumps her newest friends with booze while the big storm is coming. The highlight of this title is the art of Italian artist Emanuela Lupacchino. Her work, along with the inks of Ray McCarthy and the coloring job by Hi-Fi, makes this book stand out visually. Lupacchino lists her influences as people like Dave Stevens, Steve Rude, and Adam Hughes and it is obvious by the attention to the female form. Unfortunately, this beautiful looking book can’t save the awful story that goes with it.
SUPERMAN #41: Clark gets an anonymous text message from a mysterious individual revealing the “unknown source” for technology advanced weapons. Clark and Jimmy head off to a factory in Technology Park where a well-dressed man is showing off his huge 3D printer which is making the advanced weapons. Clark and Jimmy get spotted by some guards, but Clark becomes Superman and is forced to use his solar flare to take out the 3D printer robot. Later they discover that the man in the suit is a recently elected Senator who no longer has a mustache. That leads to his arrest and celebration in the Daily Planet office. Clark gets another text informing him of a woman with blue hair coming to see him and instructs him to turn her over to the authorities or else. And he does. Later still, he rescues the woman from the “authorities” and gets shot in the process. Unfortunately, Lois gets involved with her snooping and jumps into Jimmy’s getaway car. Apparently the woman has information about who's really behind the weapons, but Clark may not be able to live to tell the tale.
TRUTH continues to move in mysterious ways as Gene Luen Yang takes over as writer, coupled with John Romita Jr.’s art. Fans were wondering exactly how good Yang’s work would be and, based on this first issue, I see it as a bonus to the franchise! His pacing is dead-on and the characterization jumps back and forth between feeling like the 21st Century Man of Steel meets his Sixties counterpart. This book feels right and hopefully won’t drift off into silly places. For now, I like the direction…especially because I want to know how this whole TRUTH story ties together.
SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #18: Clark and Diana are lying in bed when Clark gets a three A.M. panic call from Lana, telling him there is something in her parent’s house in Smallville. When Clark and Diana arrive at the house, no one is there and there is no sign of a struggle. Later, they go into town, where some of the regular folks question his being here and suggest that trouble follows him and they don’t want trouble anymore. Then they find out that they family home has been taken away, as has every Kent buried in town. That is when the Suicide Squad shows up to capture and collect.
Peter Tomasi and Doug Mahnke give us their unique chapter as part of the TRUTH storyline. I really like where this Superman story is going, but I want to know HOW did we get to this point. What happened, outside of Lois revealing Clark's secret identity, to cause Superman to become both powerless and hated? When are we going to have this piece of the puzzle revealed to us. You would think that, with four Superman titles issued in a month, we would have some answers by now. The book is a great read, considering I am not a big fan of the Diana and Clark relationship. MY CLARK KENT has a relationship with LOIS LANE.
TEEN TITANS #9: Red Robin and Chimera are setting up warning sensors in Chciago in hopes of capturing that mass-murdering Superboy. At street level, Bunker, Beast Boy and Raven are accosted by their fans when Superboy arrives and stops a train from hitting a girl. Manchester Black notices Superboy’s arrival and gathers his team-Power Girl, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Guardian, and Klarion-and sends them into action. The Titans manage to get Superboy out of there, but Blacks’ team arrives and Wonder Girl demands they release Kon to her.
Will Pfeifer and Kenneth Rocafort get points for turning what could have been a completely boring issue into only a halfway boring issue. And it has nothing to do with the creative team as it does the characters. This is NOT my Teen Titans. And who let Guardian and Klarion in here? Klarion ESPECIALLY!!! I like that we have could old, Manchester Black stirring up the pot, but even THIS VERSION is not the cold, calculating Manchester Black I love. So, the story was good, the art was equally as impressive….and we just need to shake up the team a bit. Once that’s done, I will LOVE this book!
WE ARE ROBIN #1: We begin with Duke Thomas getting beat up on the school yard for dating someone’s sister. He ends up at Leslie Thompkins place, which results in him being put into another foster home, as his parents have been missing since they were infected with Joker Toxin. Duke runs away and ends up under Gotham where he discovers an entire city of people being led by a madman who wants to tear Gotham down. Duke gets spotted but, before he can be captured, is saved by the group known as We Are Robin. In the end, we see the headquarters of the mysterious person known as "The Nest".
For those who don’t know, this title features Duke Thomas. He played a major role during ZERO YEAR and eventually became Robin in BATMAN AND ROBIN FUTURE’S END. So, if you followed those books, you are somewhat invested in this character. I’m guessing that this team and it’s mysterious benefactor will fight crime and help Duke find his parents. Lee Bermejo and Jorge Corona do a nice job of telling the tale, although I wish Bermejo had drawn it. I’m not completely thrilled with it Corona’s art and also wonder how DC gets away with a T Rating while dropping words like “ass” and “bitch” into it. Oh yeah: what’s with the $3.99 cover price DC “drawing the line at $2.99”? Is that because it’s a first issue? Shame on you!
WONDER WOMAN #41: Diana heads to Mount Olympus to check in on Donna Troy, who is being held captive there after leading the massacre of the brothers of the Amazons. She then goes to visit Zola and Zeke, who are chilling by the Pool of the Gods. Later, she checks in with Hephaestus to see how the captive Amazons there are doing and discovers that he has crafted a new costume for her. Later, she runs into some kid who is threatening to blow himself up. The two of them scuffle before he slips loose and gets away, after telling her that he knows she is the God of War. He goes to a secret location and learns that he needs a weapon powerful enough to kill a god to become the God of War.
While the story is cool, the costume SUCKS SO BADLY! Meredith Finch is responsible for this new design and it looks like an amalgam of a bunch of heroes, including stealing from Black Widow and Captain America. Why have we gotten rid of the classic image? If you are truly going to do this, can we just go back to the white pantsuit look from the Seventies? At least she looked bad ass instead of ridiculous. While David Finch’ art is his usual fine work, I cannot get past this horrible costume. Seriously, can we bring back Mod Girl Wonder Woman, get Denny O’Neal on-board, and get back to the days of pissing off feminists?
Thursday, July 2, 2015
A sneak peek at the ALL-NEW ALL-DIFFERENT MARVEL
Marvel Comics has just released the ALL-NEW ALL-DIFFERENT FREE PREVIEW book featuring the first 45 revealed titles for the post SECRET WARS relaunch in October. Yeah: 45 titles! Rumor has it, the number could swell all the way up to 60! That’s a lot of reading and a lot of money involved. Think about it: 60 titles at $3.99 a month…that is just under $250 a month. And if you also read DC, Image, Valiant or any number of other books, you could be looking to get a second job just to feed your comic fix!
So, what are we looking at? Well, here we go, title by title, with creative teams and my opinion, for what that may be worth.
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN by Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez. The design work looks great and Bendis sure knows how to write a cool story. The fact that this is the FIRST title shown in the preview shows me this is a book they are totally going to push at people.
A-FORCE by G. Willow Wilson and Victor Ibanez. I read the first issue of the SECRET WARS series and immediately turned my nose to it after completing it. An all female Avengers team should be a hormone filled event and I’m seeing lots of that floating about in this title. But the meandering list of characters just scares me. And, after reading that SW issue…yeah: I’m good without this. And the tagline of A-Force to be reckoned with just makes me want to hurl!
ALL-NEW ALL-DIFFERENT AVENGERS by Mark Waid, Adam Kubert, Mahmud Asrar, with covers by Alex Ross. Did you read the FCBD issue? If you did, then you know this has the makings of being a long-winded, meandering pile! Your Avengers are Thor(the female one-who looks to also be in A-Force too), Captain America(the black one), Iron Man(the drunken one), The Vision(the mechanical one), Spider Man(the Ultimate one), Ms. Marvel (the Muslim one) and Nova(the young one). Too many characters I really don’t care about here to make me want to read this.
UNCANNY AVENGERS by Gerry Duggan and Ryan Stegman. Here’s a team for you: Steve Rogers(still old), The Human Torch(which one?), Rogue, the Amazing Spider Man, Quicksilver (in the UGLIEST outfit ever), Brother Voodoo(I think), some woman with a rising sun on her uniform…and Deadpool. Could this be the first time in my life that I DON’T READ an AVENGERS title? Could be!
NEW AVENGERS by Al Ewing and Gerardo Sandoval. With a line-up including Songbird, Hawkeye, Wiccan, Hulkling, Squirrel Girl and Sunspot and a tag line promoting Avengers Idea Mechanics, I find myself not being the LEAST bit interested in this title.
ULTIMATES by Al Ewing and Kenneth Rocafort. So, I’m confused as I thought the Ultimates were dead. And I’m also wondering if Rocafort has left DC for Marvel or is doing double duty. Anyway, the team appears to be Black Panther, Spectrum, Blue Marvel, Miss America, Captain Marvel…and Galactus(?). just for that last reveal alone, my interest is piqued. Galactus…REALLY?
DOCTOR STRANGE by Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo. Doctor Strange wielding spells and an axe? Yes please: count me in! I love Bachalo’s art and although Aaron can be hit or miss, I’m excited about this series!
CAPTAIN MARVEL by Tara Butters, Michele Fazekas and Kris Anka. I cannot say just how much I REALLY DISLIKED the previous series, mostly because I felt the writing was just awful. While I still long for all of the changes to the Marvel Universe to effectively give us the CLASSIC Captain Marvel back(hey-we now have a Gwen Stacey in the NEW Marvel Universe), I can almost deal with this title. With the show runners for AGENT CARTER writing it, this could be a fun, character driven title!
SAM WILSON, CAPTAIN AMERICA by Nick Spencer and Daniel Acuna. Sorry-I don’t LIKE Sam Wilson as Captain America and never have. Personally, I’m all about the Bucky Barnes as the replacement Captain America. Based on the illustration we were served up, it looks like Cap and Steve come to a crossroads and a split. Personally, I don’t care.
THE TOTALLY AWESOME HULK by Greg Pak and Frank Cho. I am SO STOKED for this title! The question is WHO is the Hulk? Based on the shadowy image we get, I think it MIGHT BE Amadeus Cho, especially because he is “totally awesome”. But really: Pak and Cho together? So, the stories will be epic and the babes will be booming!
THE MIGHTY THOR by Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman. Jane Foster, still dealing with cancer, continues her fight as Thor. Now, I dropped the series after the first issue, but picked it up for the revealing last issue. As I have said elsewhere, Aaron is hit or miss, so I may give him a chance. She’s not Don Blake but she’s also not Beta Ray Bill!
SCARLET WITCH by James Robinson, with covers by Kevin Wada. I am kind of scared about this one. Wanda has the ugliest costume this side of her brother’s costume and we have no listing of an artist, so who knows what this thing is going to look like. The saving grace IS James Robinson who is killing it with AIRBOY. We can only hope…
MS. MARVEL by G. Willow Wilson, Takeshi Miyazawa and Adrian Alphona. I read the first issue and found it so overtly Ethnic that I was offended by it. I am all in favor of diversity, but I was just feeling like the idea that she was Muslim was being shoved down my throat. Now, we have a new title and we have thrown Lockjaw and Medusa into the mix. And, if that weren’t enough, it LOOKS like BATGIRL! Enough! Let’s bring in young, female readers with good stories and cool artwork…not this stuff that looks like BAD MANGA!
ILLUMINATI by Josh Williamson and Shawn Crystal with cover art by Riley Rosmo. With the tagline, “Forever Evil”, there is hope that this thing is going to be killer! I’m not totally familiar with Williamson’s work on NAILBITER or GHOSTED and have yet to read his just released RED SKULL SECRET WARS book and I Know Crystal did a DEADPOOL mini series and FANTOMEX MAX, so I’m good with that. Looks like the team is made up of The Hood, Absorbing Man, Black Ant and some others. My guess: this is the new Thunderbolts crossed with the Frightful Four.
HAWKEYE by Jeff Lemire and Ramon Perez. I have to admit I am probably the biggest Jeff Lemire fan I know, so this is a given for me. But, based on the promo illustration, it looks like our hero is much older and the tag line says Hawkeye vs. Hawkeye, this is going to be much different from what we’ve been used to prior to SECRET WARS. Either way, count me in.
ANT-MAN by Nick Spencer and Ramon Rosanas with covers by Mark Brooks. I have to admit that I haven’t been reading this series, but I may give it a shot. From what I have been told, Scott Lang is Ant-Man and he has a supporting cast featuring Grizzly, Whirlwind, Porcupine, and Beetle. So, it’s The Avengers meets Thunderbolts meets the Masters of Evil?
VISION by Tom King and Gabriel H. Walta with covers by Marcos Martin. This has potential, as the rumor is that Vision creates an entire family for himself. With Tom King writing it, anything could be possible! Curious to see what Walta gives us in the art department.
CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS by Al Ewing and Paco Medina. Is Al Medina suddenly the new golden boy of the Marvel Universe as it suddenly seems like he is writing a ton of titles! Unfortunately, his recent Marvel work, CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE MIGHTY AVENGERS, and LOKI have done nothing for me. The promo shot with what seems to be the Maestro in the role of the Grandmaster, concerns me. It’s a revamped rehash.
AMAZING SPIDER MAN by Dan Slott and Giuseppe Camuncoli with covers by Alex Ross. Peter Parker is back, we think. Well, there is someone in the Spider suit, riding in a Spider Mobile(really?) in the cover art. And we do have Peter Parker in a tux with two babes on his arm. Is he in the suit or just acting as a mentor to Miles Morales. Since Miles is wearing his trademark suit on his Avengers team, we have to assume this is Peter. With Dan Slott at the helm, it should be great!
CARNAGE by Gerry Conway and Mike Perkins with covers by Mike Del Mundo. I am not a fan of all these carnage books that Marvel has shoved at us over the years, but with Gerry Conway at the helm it could either be great or awful, such as the recent AMAZING SPIDER-MAN .1 books. Perkins has been around the comics’ block for a while, with his early U.S. works being in NEGATIVE BURN back in the days of the Indys and he had great turns on RUSE and KISS KISS BANG BANG for CrossGen. It’s supposed to be a horror comic book. Let’s see how this plays. Personally, I’m looking forward to this.
SPIDER-WOMAN by Dennis Hopeless and Javier Rodriguez. I hate to make fun of a person’s name and tie it to a book, but I must. Who thought that taking Jessica Drew and making her PREGNANT was a good idea. I saw the cover, and the redesigned costume, and wanted to barf! Oh wait: this is the same ugly costume she has been wearing since issue #5. But knocked up? Lemme guess: we can have a contest to see who the baby daddy is! Oh brother!
SPIDER-MAN by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli. So here we have the Miles Morales Spider-Man. You can tell the difference because of his suit, his name (NOT AMAZING), and the fact that Bendis is writing him. If you liked him in the Ultimate Universe, you will probably be a fan of him here!
SPIDER-GWEN by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez. This character is the new darling of the Marvel Universe, as is seen by the astronomical prices for her first appearance in EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE # 2 (upwards of $300 CGC Graded and slabbed). I have to say I’m not a fan of the character but, for fans, this will fit right in to your pull list. I may snag the first few issues just to see how this Gwen and Peter Parker relate to each other.
SILK by Robbie Thompson and Stacey Lee with covers by Helen Chen. Sorry to say, I’m not reading this title either. I read her appearances during the whole SPIDER-VERSE thing in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and wasn’t impressed with her character. Thompson is currently writing the SILK series and Lee is drawing it, so I don’t expect any change except that the promo tag line refers to her as The Sinister Silk.
SPIDER-MAN 2099 by Peter David and Will Sliney with covers by Francesco Mattina. Peter David is a legend in the business and Miguel O’Hara is the legendary Spider-Man from Earth-928, which no longer exists. So, my guess is that we’re in present day New York here. I figure I’ll check it out, as he was probably my favorite of the 2099 characters back in the day.
WEB WARRIORS by Mike Costa and David Baldeon with covers by Julian Totino Tedcesco. And we need a Spider-Verse title like I need another ulcer! This book will feature the adventures of Spider-Man India, Spider-Ham, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man Noir, Anya Corazon and Spider-UK. Because hey: obviously readers can’t get enough Spider-Gwen!
DAREDEVIL by Charles Soule and Ron Garney. Daredevil has a new costume design and appears to be hanging with Gambit. I’m excited about this because it is Charles Soule, who did such amazing work for DC and has been doing nice work at Marvel, and legendary penciler Ron Garney. Who knows what havoc these two could wreak on this title!
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY by Brian Michael Bendis and Valerio Schiti. I’m not a fan of this group, even if the movie was the biggest thing to come out of last summer. I’m old school: give me Vance Astro and the boys! Well, Bendis and Schiti is giving us a new team of Guardians that features Venom, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, a new female Star-Lord, The Thing, and Groot. A FEMALE Star-Lord? Well, considering one of the SECRET WARS series was STAR LORD AND KITTY PRYDE…I wonder. And The Thing is here and the Human Torch is elsewhere. Boy…Marvel is serious when they want to distance themselves from the FANTASTIC FOUR movie!
DRAX by CM Punk, Cullen Bunn and Ed McGuiness. Oooh…here’s a concept. Draz is participating in an Intergalactic Fight Club, the tagline says Best in the Galaxy and CM Punk is writing it with Cullen Bunn. Yeah…that’s a stretch! But Ed McGuiness is drawing it. Ooh…I want this to be a well-written guilty pleasure book but I’m afraid!
HOWARD THE DUCK by Chip Zdarsky and Joe Quinones. Yawn! Sorry: this title irked me from the first pages of issue #1. Same creative team, so I expect more of the same.
NOVA by Sean Ryan and Cory Smith with covers by Humberto Ramos. The father and son team are back. I haven’t read this title since the first issue, so I must admit to being out of the loop. Ramos doing the covers is great, although I would love to see his interior work. This is probably not a title I will pick up outside of the first issue, but it remains to be seen. The first issue could blow me away and that could be that.
STAR-LORD by Sam Humphries with covers by Dave Johnson. Here is another title without an art team names and that alone scares me! Sam Humphries worked on THE ULTIMATES with Hickman and also AVENGERS A.I. and X-FORCE. And the promo art shows Star-Lord in an astronaut’s suit. Confused? Yeah…me too!
VENOM: SPACEKNIGHT by Robbie Thompson and Ariel Olivetti. Just the title alone makes me curious! I like Ariel Olivetti’s art and Thompson is working on SILK. And I have to assume that Venom is Flash Thompson. At least he was the last time I read the title. Yeah…I want to get a look at the first issue and really hope it doesn’t suck.
HOWLING COMMANDOS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. by Frank Barbiere and Brent Schnoover. What we have here is a team made up of Hit-Monkey, Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night, an undead Jasper Sitwell, Manphibian and Dum Dum Dugan and a bunch more monstrous heroes. This is either going to be the most surprising, amazing series in years or suck worse than almost anything you have read in years. Hopefully, the former but I truly have my doubts.
AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. by Marc Guggenheim and Mike Norton. Marvel continues it’s TV tie-in with the continuing adventures of Coulson and company. I stopped reading the most recent series after the first few issues and haven’t looked back. I want Nick Fury back and not the Son of Fury we had shoved at us as part of the Samuel L. Jackson retcon!
UNCANNY INHUMANS by Charles Soule and Steve McNiven. Soule and McNiven. This makes me VERY HAPPY! It looks as though our line-up is Black Bolt, Medusa, Gorgon, Beast, the Human Torch and possibly The Inhuman. This has the possibility to be huge!
KARNAK by Warren Ellis and Gerardo Zaffino with covers by David Aja. Holy Cow! We’re letting Warren Ellis take over the most volatile of all the Inhumans? YES PLEASE!!! This book is guaranteed to be THE most exciting of those titles announced so far. Anything Ellis touches is wonderfully weird and I expect this to be no exception!
ANGELA: ASGARD’S ASSASSIN by Marguerite Bennett, Kim Jacinto and Stephanie Hans with covers by Julian Totino Tedsesco. When Angela was this cool character over at Image, I was find with that. When she came over here, I wasn’t so fine with it. Now that we’re going to let Marguerite Bennett team her up with Hel to do battle with whatever, I have to throw up my hands and say “no thanks!” Todesco’s art look amazing but it’s only a cover. I have no idea what Jacinto and Hans is going to give us. To me, it doesn’t matter: it’s Marguerite Bennett messing with a character who should have stayed over at Image.
SQUADRON SUPREME by James Robinson and Leonard Kirk with covers by Alex Ross. Right off the bat, we have James Robinson, Leonard Kirk and Alex Ross. Okay: SIGN ME UP! Their Earth is dead and gone and so is the legendary Mark Gruenwald who wrote the DEFINITIVE Squadron Supreme story. If ANYONE could do that book justice, it’s Robinson!
EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN by Jeff Lemire and Humberto Ramos. Marvel has said that THIS is now the A Team when it comes to the mutant world. And it’s a heavy hitting creative team that will give us the closest thing to a classic version of the classic team. Iceman, Storm, Colossus, Magik, Old Man Logan, teen Jean Grey and Nightcrawler make up this team and I’m thrilled about it! .
UNCANNY X-MEN by Cullen Bunn and Greg Land. So, the A Team is now the second tier as Magneto runs a team made up of Psylocke, Mystique, Fantomex and Sabretooth. So, this is X-Force now? This is the team that is going to be the ones not afraid to do the dirty jobs? Bunn is uneven but Greg Land is amazing, so this book could either be spot-on amazing or downright awful. It’s a mutant Punisher styled army!.
ALL-NEW X-MEN by Dennis Hopeless and Mark Bagley. It’s a road trip book! We’ve put the teenage versions of Beast, Cyclops, Angel and Iceman and new Wolverine X-23 into a VW micro-bus and sent them off on the road. Well, this ain’t Kerouac and I’m already reading a road book in the form of BIZARRO over at DC. This one will REALLY need to hit it out of the park to make me jump on and stay on.
OLD MAN LOGAN by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino. Yes, you read right: the hit team from GREEN ARROW have been reunited on this title. That alone should make you want to read this book. If you saw Sorrentino’s work on the OLD MAN LOGAN SECRET WARS title, you know it’s going to look amazing. With Lemire writing it-pure heaven!
ALL-NEW WOLVERINE by Tom Taylor and David Lopez. At long last, X-23 gets to wear the costume and take over. Dressed in her own version of the classic Wolverine costume(yes-the yellow and blue!), she looks amazing and scary at the same time thanks to Lopez’ art! And Taylor has been just doing great work on SUPERIOR IRON MAN. I tire of the million X-titles, but this may be worth picking up.
DEADPOOL by Gerry Duggan and Mike Hawthorne with covers by Tony Moore. Because we really needed a DEADPOOL title following SECRET WARS. Hey, let’s be honest: next to Spider-Gwen, he is probably Marvel’s most popular character. But let’s be honest: Deadpool jumped the shark many years ago when he had something like 3 titles running at once. Didn’t Marvel learn from the Punisher that has three titles running at once back in the day? I won’t be jumping on this title at all.
So that’s the first run. Now, you may have noticed some things that I, along with some other media outlets, see as being M.I.A. in the All-New, All-Different Marvel Universe. Most glaringly is NO FANTASTIC FOUR. Not just No book, but NO team! If you’ve been reading SECRET WARS, you can see where some of our team is. The Thing joins the new guardians team while Johnny Storm is in the Inhumans. Also missing from the new universe are such Marvel mainstays as Ghost Rider, The Winter Soldier, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Shang-Chi, Black Widow and The Punisher. There are even characters featured on the two two-page spreads at the beginning of the book who apparently have no home yet. Where is Red Wolf and Citizen V? Where is Arkon and company from WEIRDWORLD? Marvel has stated that this title will continue post SECRET WARS.
Again, word has it that there may be as many as 60 titles by the time everything relaunches, so maybe these characters are forthcoming. Personally, I will do exactly what I did when DC launched its’ NEW 52: I will sample each title and go from there. Unfortunately, I fear that many of these books won’t make it past issue #1 with me.
So, what are we looking at? Well, here we go, title by title, with creative teams and my opinion, for what that may be worth.
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN by Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez. The design work looks great and Bendis sure knows how to write a cool story. The fact that this is the FIRST title shown in the preview shows me this is a book they are totally going to push at people.
A-FORCE by G. Willow Wilson and Victor Ibanez. I read the first issue of the SECRET WARS series and immediately turned my nose to it after completing it. An all female Avengers team should be a hormone filled event and I’m seeing lots of that floating about in this title. But the meandering list of characters just scares me. And, after reading that SW issue…yeah: I’m good without this. And the tagline of A-Force to be reckoned with just makes me want to hurl!
ALL-NEW ALL-DIFFERENT AVENGERS by Mark Waid, Adam Kubert, Mahmud Asrar, with covers by Alex Ross. Did you read the FCBD issue? If you did, then you know this has the makings of being a long-winded, meandering pile! Your Avengers are Thor(the female one-who looks to also be in A-Force too), Captain America(the black one), Iron Man(the drunken one), The Vision(the mechanical one), Spider Man(the Ultimate one), Ms. Marvel (the Muslim one) and Nova(the young one). Too many characters I really don’t care about here to make me want to read this.
UNCANNY AVENGERS by Gerry Duggan and Ryan Stegman. Here’s a team for you: Steve Rogers(still old), The Human Torch(which one?), Rogue, the Amazing Spider Man, Quicksilver (in the UGLIEST outfit ever), Brother Voodoo(I think), some woman with a rising sun on her uniform…and Deadpool. Could this be the first time in my life that I DON’T READ an AVENGERS title? Could be!
NEW AVENGERS by Al Ewing and Gerardo Sandoval. With a line-up including Songbird, Hawkeye, Wiccan, Hulkling, Squirrel Girl and Sunspot and a tag line promoting Avengers Idea Mechanics, I find myself not being the LEAST bit interested in this title.
ULTIMATES by Al Ewing and Kenneth Rocafort. So, I’m confused as I thought the Ultimates were dead. And I’m also wondering if Rocafort has left DC for Marvel or is doing double duty. Anyway, the team appears to be Black Panther, Spectrum, Blue Marvel, Miss America, Captain Marvel…and Galactus(?). just for that last reveal alone, my interest is piqued. Galactus…REALLY?
DOCTOR STRANGE by Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo. Doctor Strange wielding spells and an axe? Yes please: count me in! I love Bachalo’s art and although Aaron can be hit or miss, I’m excited about this series!
CAPTAIN MARVEL by Tara Butters, Michele Fazekas and Kris Anka. I cannot say just how much I REALLY DISLIKED the previous series, mostly because I felt the writing was just awful. While I still long for all of the changes to the Marvel Universe to effectively give us the CLASSIC Captain Marvel back(hey-we now have a Gwen Stacey in the NEW Marvel Universe), I can almost deal with this title. With the show runners for AGENT CARTER writing it, this could be a fun, character driven title!
SAM WILSON, CAPTAIN AMERICA by Nick Spencer and Daniel Acuna. Sorry-I don’t LIKE Sam Wilson as Captain America and never have. Personally, I’m all about the Bucky Barnes as the replacement Captain America. Based on the illustration we were served up, it looks like Cap and Steve come to a crossroads and a split. Personally, I don’t care.
THE TOTALLY AWESOME HULK by Greg Pak and Frank Cho. I am SO STOKED for this title! The question is WHO is the Hulk? Based on the shadowy image we get, I think it MIGHT BE Amadeus Cho, especially because he is “totally awesome”. But really: Pak and Cho together? So, the stories will be epic and the babes will be booming!
THE MIGHTY THOR by Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman. Jane Foster, still dealing with cancer, continues her fight as Thor. Now, I dropped the series after the first issue, but picked it up for the revealing last issue. As I have said elsewhere, Aaron is hit or miss, so I may give him a chance. She’s not Don Blake but she’s also not Beta Ray Bill!
SCARLET WITCH by James Robinson, with covers by Kevin Wada. I am kind of scared about this one. Wanda has the ugliest costume this side of her brother’s costume and we have no listing of an artist, so who knows what this thing is going to look like. The saving grace IS James Robinson who is killing it with AIRBOY. We can only hope…
MS. MARVEL by G. Willow Wilson, Takeshi Miyazawa and Adrian Alphona. I read the first issue and found it so overtly Ethnic that I was offended by it. I am all in favor of diversity, but I was just feeling like the idea that she was Muslim was being shoved down my throat. Now, we have a new title and we have thrown Lockjaw and Medusa into the mix. And, if that weren’t enough, it LOOKS like BATGIRL! Enough! Let’s bring in young, female readers with good stories and cool artwork…not this stuff that looks like BAD MANGA!
ILLUMINATI by Josh Williamson and Shawn Crystal with cover art by Riley Rosmo. With the tagline, “Forever Evil”, there is hope that this thing is going to be killer! I’m not totally familiar with Williamson’s work on NAILBITER or GHOSTED and have yet to read his just released RED SKULL SECRET WARS book and I Know Crystal did a DEADPOOL mini series and FANTOMEX MAX, so I’m good with that. Looks like the team is made up of The Hood, Absorbing Man, Black Ant and some others. My guess: this is the new Thunderbolts crossed with the Frightful Four.
HAWKEYE by Jeff Lemire and Ramon Perez. I have to admit I am probably the biggest Jeff Lemire fan I know, so this is a given for me. But, based on the promo illustration, it looks like our hero is much older and the tag line says Hawkeye vs. Hawkeye, this is going to be much different from what we’ve been used to prior to SECRET WARS. Either way, count me in.
ANT-MAN by Nick Spencer and Ramon Rosanas with covers by Mark Brooks. I have to admit that I haven’t been reading this series, but I may give it a shot. From what I have been told, Scott Lang is Ant-Man and he has a supporting cast featuring Grizzly, Whirlwind, Porcupine, and Beetle. So, it’s The Avengers meets Thunderbolts meets the Masters of Evil?
VISION by Tom King and Gabriel H. Walta with covers by Marcos Martin. This has potential, as the rumor is that Vision creates an entire family for himself. With Tom King writing it, anything could be possible! Curious to see what Walta gives us in the art department.
CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS by Al Ewing and Paco Medina. Is Al Medina suddenly the new golden boy of the Marvel Universe as it suddenly seems like he is writing a ton of titles! Unfortunately, his recent Marvel work, CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE MIGHTY AVENGERS, and LOKI have done nothing for me. The promo shot with what seems to be the Maestro in the role of the Grandmaster, concerns me. It’s a revamped rehash.
AMAZING SPIDER MAN by Dan Slott and Giuseppe Camuncoli with covers by Alex Ross. Peter Parker is back, we think. Well, there is someone in the Spider suit, riding in a Spider Mobile(really?) in the cover art. And we do have Peter Parker in a tux with two babes on his arm. Is he in the suit or just acting as a mentor to Miles Morales. Since Miles is wearing his trademark suit on his Avengers team, we have to assume this is Peter. With Dan Slott at the helm, it should be great!
CARNAGE by Gerry Conway and Mike Perkins with covers by Mike Del Mundo. I am not a fan of all these carnage books that Marvel has shoved at us over the years, but with Gerry Conway at the helm it could either be great or awful, such as the recent AMAZING SPIDER-MAN .1 books. Perkins has been around the comics’ block for a while, with his early U.S. works being in NEGATIVE BURN back in the days of the Indys and he had great turns on RUSE and KISS KISS BANG BANG for CrossGen. It’s supposed to be a horror comic book. Let’s see how this plays. Personally, I’m looking forward to this.
SPIDER-WOMAN by Dennis Hopeless and Javier Rodriguez. I hate to make fun of a person’s name and tie it to a book, but I must. Who thought that taking Jessica Drew and making her PREGNANT was a good idea. I saw the cover, and the redesigned costume, and wanted to barf! Oh wait: this is the same ugly costume she has been wearing since issue #5. But knocked up? Lemme guess: we can have a contest to see who the baby daddy is! Oh brother!
SPIDER-MAN by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli. So here we have the Miles Morales Spider-Man. You can tell the difference because of his suit, his name (NOT AMAZING), and the fact that Bendis is writing him. If you liked him in the Ultimate Universe, you will probably be a fan of him here!
SPIDER-GWEN by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez. This character is the new darling of the Marvel Universe, as is seen by the astronomical prices for her first appearance in EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE # 2 (upwards of $300 CGC Graded and slabbed). I have to say I’m not a fan of the character but, for fans, this will fit right in to your pull list. I may snag the first few issues just to see how this Gwen and Peter Parker relate to each other.
SILK by Robbie Thompson and Stacey Lee with covers by Helen Chen. Sorry to say, I’m not reading this title either. I read her appearances during the whole SPIDER-VERSE thing in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and wasn’t impressed with her character. Thompson is currently writing the SILK series and Lee is drawing it, so I don’t expect any change except that the promo tag line refers to her as The Sinister Silk.
SPIDER-MAN 2099 by Peter David and Will Sliney with covers by Francesco Mattina. Peter David is a legend in the business and Miguel O’Hara is the legendary Spider-Man from Earth-928, which no longer exists. So, my guess is that we’re in present day New York here. I figure I’ll check it out, as he was probably my favorite of the 2099 characters back in the day.
WEB WARRIORS by Mike Costa and David Baldeon with covers by Julian Totino Tedcesco. And we need a Spider-Verse title like I need another ulcer! This book will feature the adventures of Spider-Man India, Spider-Ham, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man Noir, Anya Corazon and Spider-UK. Because hey: obviously readers can’t get enough Spider-Gwen!
DAREDEVIL by Charles Soule and Ron Garney. Daredevil has a new costume design and appears to be hanging with Gambit. I’m excited about this because it is Charles Soule, who did such amazing work for DC and has been doing nice work at Marvel, and legendary penciler Ron Garney. Who knows what havoc these two could wreak on this title!
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY by Brian Michael Bendis and Valerio Schiti. I’m not a fan of this group, even if the movie was the biggest thing to come out of last summer. I’m old school: give me Vance Astro and the boys! Well, Bendis and Schiti is giving us a new team of Guardians that features Venom, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, a new female Star-Lord, The Thing, and Groot. A FEMALE Star-Lord? Well, considering one of the SECRET WARS series was STAR LORD AND KITTY PRYDE…I wonder. And The Thing is here and the Human Torch is elsewhere. Boy…Marvel is serious when they want to distance themselves from the FANTASTIC FOUR movie!
DRAX by CM Punk, Cullen Bunn and Ed McGuiness. Oooh…here’s a concept. Draz is participating in an Intergalactic Fight Club, the tagline says Best in the Galaxy and CM Punk is writing it with Cullen Bunn. Yeah…that’s a stretch! But Ed McGuiness is drawing it. Ooh…I want this to be a well-written guilty pleasure book but I’m afraid!
HOWARD THE DUCK by Chip Zdarsky and Joe Quinones. Yawn! Sorry: this title irked me from the first pages of issue #1. Same creative team, so I expect more of the same.
NOVA by Sean Ryan and Cory Smith with covers by Humberto Ramos. The father and son team are back. I haven’t read this title since the first issue, so I must admit to being out of the loop. Ramos doing the covers is great, although I would love to see his interior work. This is probably not a title I will pick up outside of the first issue, but it remains to be seen. The first issue could blow me away and that could be that.
STAR-LORD by Sam Humphries with covers by Dave Johnson. Here is another title without an art team names and that alone scares me! Sam Humphries worked on THE ULTIMATES with Hickman and also AVENGERS A.I. and X-FORCE. And the promo art shows Star-Lord in an astronaut’s suit. Confused? Yeah…me too!
VENOM: SPACEKNIGHT by Robbie Thompson and Ariel Olivetti. Just the title alone makes me curious! I like Ariel Olivetti’s art and Thompson is working on SILK. And I have to assume that Venom is Flash Thompson. At least he was the last time I read the title. Yeah…I want to get a look at the first issue and really hope it doesn’t suck.
HOWLING COMMANDOS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. by Frank Barbiere and Brent Schnoover. What we have here is a team made up of Hit-Monkey, Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night, an undead Jasper Sitwell, Manphibian and Dum Dum Dugan and a bunch more monstrous heroes. This is either going to be the most surprising, amazing series in years or suck worse than almost anything you have read in years. Hopefully, the former but I truly have my doubts.
AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. by Marc Guggenheim and Mike Norton. Marvel continues it’s TV tie-in with the continuing adventures of Coulson and company. I stopped reading the most recent series after the first few issues and haven’t looked back. I want Nick Fury back and not the Son of Fury we had shoved at us as part of the Samuel L. Jackson retcon!
UNCANNY INHUMANS by Charles Soule and Steve McNiven. Soule and McNiven. This makes me VERY HAPPY! It looks as though our line-up is Black Bolt, Medusa, Gorgon, Beast, the Human Torch and possibly The Inhuman. This has the possibility to be huge!
KARNAK by Warren Ellis and Gerardo Zaffino with covers by David Aja. Holy Cow! We’re letting Warren Ellis take over the most volatile of all the Inhumans? YES PLEASE!!! This book is guaranteed to be THE most exciting of those titles announced so far. Anything Ellis touches is wonderfully weird and I expect this to be no exception!
ANGELA: ASGARD’S ASSASSIN by Marguerite Bennett, Kim Jacinto and Stephanie Hans with covers by Julian Totino Tedsesco. When Angela was this cool character over at Image, I was find with that. When she came over here, I wasn’t so fine with it. Now that we’re going to let Marguerite Bennett team her up with Hel to do battle with whatever, I have to throw up my hands and say “no thanks!” Todesco’s art look amazing but it’s only a cover. I have no idea what Jacinto and Hans is going to give us. To me, it doesn’t matter: it’s Marguerite Bennett messing with a character who should have stayed over at Image.
SQUADRON SUPREME by James Robinson and Leonard Kirk with covers by Alex Ross. Right off the bat, we have James Robinson, Leonard Kirk and Alex Ross. Okay: SIGN ME UP! Their Earth is dead and gone and so is the legendary Mark Gruenwald who wrote the DEFINITIVE Squadron Supreme story. If ANYONE could do that book justice, it’s Robinson!
EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN by Jeff Lemire and Humberto Ramos. Marvel has said that THIS is now the A Team when it comes to the mutant world. And it’s a heavy hitting creative team that will give us the closest thing to a classic version of the classic team. Iceman, Storm, Colossus, Magik, Old Man Logan, teen Jean Grey and Nightcrawler make up this team and I’m thrilled about it! .
UNCANNY X-MEN by Cullen Bunn and Greg Land. So, the A Team is now the second tier as Magneto runs a team made up of Psylocke, Mystique, Fantomex and Sabretooth. So, this is X-Force now? This is the team that is going to be the ones not afraid to do the dirty jobs? Bunn is uneven but Greg Land is amazing, so this book could either be spot-on amazing or downright awful. It’s a mutant Punisher styled army!.
ALL-NEW X-MEN by Dennis Hopeless and Mark Bagley. It’s a road trip book! We’ve put the teenage versions of Beast, Cyclops, Angel and Iceman and new Wolverine X-23 into a VW micro-bus and sent them off on the road. Well, this ain’t Kerouac and I’m already reading a road book in the form of BIZARRO over at DC. This one will REALLY need to hit it out of the park to make me jump on and stay on.
OLD MAN LOGAN by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino. Yes, you read right: the hit team from GREEN ARROW have been reunited on this title. That alone should make you want to read this book. If you saw Sorrentino’s work on the OLD MAN LOGAN SECRET WARS title, you know it’s going to look amazing. With Lemire writing it-pure heaven!
ALL-NEW WOLVERINE by Tom Taylor and David Lopez. At long last, X-23 gets to wear the costume and take over. Dressed in her own version of the classic Wolverine costume(yes-the yellow and blue!), she looks amazing and scary at the same time thanks to Lopez’ art! And Taylor has been just doing great work on SUPERIOR IRON MAN. I tire of the million X-titles, but this may be worth picking up.
DEADPOOL by Gerry Duggan and Mike Hawthorne with covers by Tony Moore. Because we really needed a DEADPOOL title following SECRET WARS. Hey, let’s be honest: next to Spider-Gwen, he is probably Marvel’s most popular character. But let’s be honest: Deadpool jumped the shark many years ago when he had something like 3 titles running at once. Didn’t Marvel learn from the Punisher that has three titles running at once back in the day? I won’t be jumping on this title at all.
So that’s the first run. Now, you may have noticed some things that I, along with some other media outlets, see as being M.I.A. in the All-New, All-Different Marvel Universe. Most glaringly is NO FANTASTIC FOUR. Not just No book, but NO team! If you’ve been reading SECRET WARS, you can see where some of our team is. The Thing joins the new guardians team while Johnny Storm is in the Inhumans. Also missing from the new universe are such Marvel mainstays as Ghost Rider, The Winter Soldier, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Shang-Chi, Black Widow and The Punisher. There are even characters featured on the two two-page spreads at the beginning of the book who apparently have no home yet. Where is Red Wolf and Citizen V? Where is Arkon and company from WEIRDWORLD? Marvel has stated that this title will continue post SECRET WARS.
Again, word has it that there may be as many as 60 titles by the time everything relaunches, so maybe these characters are forthcoming. Personally, I will do exactly what I did when DC launched its’ NEW 52: I will sample each title and go from there. Unfortunately, I fear that many of these books won’t make it past issue #1 with me.
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