THE ARCHIES #1 by Alex Segura,
Matthew Rosenberg and Joe Eisma. Coming out of the one shot from earlier this
year, the newly established band is ready to take their act on the road. After
seeing a performance by the Bingos, they secure a van and off they go. This is
fun. I grew up with the television show and this is like a modern nostalgia
trip for me. Very interesting is the list of songs that the team listened to
while working on the book including music by Oasis, The Replacements, Fleetwood
Mac and Weezer.
BARBARELLA #1 by Mike Carey
and Kenan Yarar. Jean-Claude Forest’s legendary heroine is back, fighting for
her life and freedom. The story sets up nicely, especially for no one who is
familiar with the original source material. Yarar’s art is very evocative of
Forests’ and it flows nicely. Be aware: this is not a book for kids, as nudity
and Lesbian actions abound. All in all, it’s a fun take on a classic.
BETTY AND VERONICA VIXENS #1 by
Jaime Lee Rotante and Eva Cabrera. Archie and Reggie start their own biker gang
and get in trouble with the Serpents. That leads to Betty and Veronica becoming
bad biker chicks. OMG-this is so confusing! Is it set in the now or the
Fifties? Hard to tell by the feel. And
the art is straight out of first year art school homework. Not a
favortie, considering how much I like the new rebooted Archie line of books.
BLOODSHOT SALVATION #1 by
Jeff Lemire and Lewis LaRosa. I was so down on Valiant after the disappointing
BOOKS OF DEATH but they have lured me back in with great titles like the recent
BLOODSHOT runs. This title picks up where the last left off and we find our
hero having a wife and daughter. It jumps between the recent future and the now
as it tells two tales that tie together. Filled with action and plenty of
violence, this book shines as one of the cornerstones of the Valiant Universe.
Lemire’s writing is crisp and LaRosa’s art is gritty. Go seek out the previous
series and get caught up on this great book.
CABLE #150 by Ed Brisson and
Jon Malin. Springing out of the MARVEL LEGACY initiative, Cable has put
together a team of heroes including Doop, Shatterstar and Longshot to solve the
death of an External. I haven’t read this title since the first issue of the
Pre-Legacy series and that means I’m a bit confused. But Brisson’s writing is
consistent and Malin is truly channeling Rob Liefeld. This was good enough that
I may actually follow the series for a time.
CAPTAIN AMERICA #695 by Mark
Waid and Chris Samnee. Coming out of SECRET EMPIRE and diving in LEGACY, Cap is
back and on a very trippy cross-country trip that totally feels like a Jack
Kerouac novella. Steve Rogers returns to a Nebraska town a decade after first being
there and finds there is a celebration of his legacy. Bad guys show up and that
leads to Steve donning the costume and getting back into action. A nice
kick-off to what will hopefully be a long run for Waid and Samnee.
DAREDEVIL #595 #1 by Charles
Soule and Stefano Landini. With a return back to Legacy numbering, Daredevil
deals with the fact that Kingpin is now the Mayor of New York. That also means
that Fisk is out to get him. This issue sets up what could be a fun run as
Soule and Landini throw a big roadblock in front of our hero, who finds himself
on the wrong side of the law…again!
DC HOUSE OF HORROR #1 by Edward
Lee, Howard Porter, Brian Keene, Scott Kolins, Mary SanGiovanni, Bilquuis,
Evely, Bryan Smith, Brian Keene, Kyle Baker, Nick Cutter, Rags Morales, Ronald
Malfi, Dale Eaglesham, James White, Tom Raney, Weston Oche, and Howard Chaykin.
Eight horror themed stories featuring a host of DC Superheroes and villains
highlights this $10 collection. It is totlly worth it when you look at some of
the names involved, including Morales, Porter, Baker and Chaykin specifically.
Raney gets marks for the goriest of the tales featuring Two-Face.
DEADMAN #1 by Neal Adams.
Wow! This book looks great and the Glow-in-the-Dark cover is really cool. But
the narrative is really confusing. It jets back and forth between distant past
and present as Deadman deals with his murder and jumps into multiple bodies
including Jim Gordon and Bruce Wayne. Hoping the second issue gets clearer as
we go.
DOCTOR STRANGE #381 by Donny
Cates and Gabriel Hernandez Walta. Another Legacy numbered title, with a new
creative team, sees Doctor Strange out as the Sorcerer Supreme, having given
the reigns to…Loki? So where is Stephen now? He’s working as a veterinarian.
This is fun and unexpected, and I love Walta’s artwork. Stehen always wanted to
be a doctor again and now he is. And Loki? He even has to convince Jane Foster
Thor that he has turned over a new leaf…even though we have to figure he has an
alterior motive somewhere in there.
GENERATIONS: CAPTAIN MARVEL
AND CAPTAIN MAR-VELL #1 by Margaret Stohl and Brent Schoonover. Caro Danvers
finds herself fighting aliens and gets help from the original Captain in the
process. This eventually leads to a confrontation with Annihilus. This is just
another excuse for Marvel to pair up heroes from two eras and pass it off as
key pieces of SECRET EMPIRE. Only for die-hard fans.
GENERATIONS: MILES MORALES
AND PETER PARKER #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Ramon Perez. Miles Morales
comes from a Marvel Universe that no longer exists. He is even more displaced
here as he ends up back in high school with a teenage Peter Parker. That means
a ton of classic cameos and Miles even gets to meet his mother and himself.
This issue is short on action but way long on heart and is possibly the best
issue of the GENERATIONS series thanks to Bendis’ love for these characters.
GENERATIONS: MS. MARVEL AND
MS. MARVEL #1 by G. Willow Wilson and Paulo Villanelli. During that one brief
instant during SECRET EMPIRE, a whole batch of heroes ends up misplaced in time
and meeting their original counterparts. Current Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan goes
back in time and meets up, and works for, Carol Danvers. Along the way, she
meets up with Peter Parker, J. Jonah Jameson and a host of Marvel characters
before joining forces with Carol to stop the big bad villain. This is a throw
off issue, like most of the GENERATIONS titles were.
GENERATIONS: SAM WILSON AND
STEVE ROGERS #1 by Nick Spencer and Paul Renaud. Sam Wilson gets sent back in time
and ends up in World War II where he not only ends up in the Army with Steve
Rogers but ends u teaming up with him. Sam ends up staying in this timeline and
eventually becomes a preacher, living to a ripe old age before seemingly
passing on and coming back to the present. This is a weird little tale that is
filled with heart and gives us a great look at the man behind the mask.
HARBINGER RENEGADE #0 by Rafer
Roberts and Juan Jose Ryp. Valiant continues to crank out entertaining pieces
following their dismal BOOKS OF DEATH mini-series. Set in the past, the
government agenecy known as OMEN is out hunting psiots. H.A.R.D. Corps, who
were responsible for killing Generation Zero, has teamed up with OMEN to race
against time to take down Alexander Solomon-the most dangerous psiot alive. The
results are graphic and unpredictable, but a whole lot of fun, as it ties to
the current HARBINGER series and leads into HARBINGER WARS 2, coming next May.
Get on the ground floor now!
THE INCREDIBLE HULK #709 by
Robbie Thompson and Joe Bennett. With a return to LEGACY numbering, even if the
way they got there is a bit convoluted, Amadeus Cho, the current Hulk, finds
himself on Planet Hulk, where he finds himself forced to battle in the arena. I
am not a big fan of the “teenage Hulk”, but this issue is relatively
satisfying. Thompson has the characterization down perfect and Bennett’s art is
dynamic. I thought this would be one and done for me, but I may stick around to
see what happens in a setting that is a major favorite with many Hulk fans.
THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #593 by
Brian Michael Bendis and, Stefano Caselli and Alex Maleev. Tony Stark’s body is
missing, Ben Grimm confronts Victor Von Doom and Ironheart gets involved with
Team Stark to figure out what happened. And who is that person in the end
looking to claim the Iron Man armor? Typical Bendis, this issue is filled with
hints and red herrings and some awesome dialogue. My hope is that Bendis’
eventual replacement won’t mess this up.
THE JETSONS #1 by Jimmy
Palmiotti and Pier Brito. DC reboots this classic cartoon in their typical
style. What that means is that we have all the classic characters but they have
been turned in such a way to make them new and fresh. George and Jane are
younger, the kids are older and Rosie the Robot has Grandma Jetson’s brain
inside her programming. Forget everything you know about the show and dive in.
It’s more action than comedy and quite fun!
JUGHEAD THE HUNGER #1 by
Frank Tieri, Pat Kennedy and Tim Kennedy. Archie releases another horror themes
book, since it appears we’ll never see AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE ever again.
Judhead is a werewolf and he’s fighting that family legacy. He falls in love
with a girl and eventually murders her in his alter ego. The art is quirky but
Teiri’s story is rock solid. If you can handle the kids of Riverdale being
turned like this, you’ll love this.
KID LOBOTOMY #1 by Peter
Milligan and Tess Fowler. Milligan…that’s pretty much all you need to know.
It’s typically trippy and that’s about all I can say. Milligan’s work always
tend to go that way and this is no exception. The Kid is a hero and a regular
guy with issues. Lots of them. I know this sounds very vague but that is
because it IS vague. Find a copy and dive in…maybe it will make sense to you.
Me-I look forward to the second issue and see what the heck happens.
MAESTRO #1 by Steve Skroce
and Dave Stewart. Welcome to a world of wizards and mystical beings and a poor
guy stuck in the middle. Our hero is poised to be the new Maestro and that may
mean a whole lot of trouble for this guy with the power and the money. He goes
from a strip club to another world and it may kill him in the end. What a fun
ride this was! I cannot wait to see where issue #2 takes us. Sharp writing from
Skroce and killer art by Stewart!
MARVEL LEGACY #1 by Jason
Aaron, Esad Ribic and Steve McNiven. Beginning with the Avengers of a million
years ago, this huge one-shot sends us through a tale that cleans up everything
from SECRET EMPIRE and reestablishes the classic heroes in their fight for what
is right. It is long and winding and sometimes just plain boring. But in the
end, we get a glimpse of the future and, SPOILER HERE, we get to see the
Richards children at play, leading all Marvel Zombies to breathe a sigh of hope
for the return of the original first family. This is the cornerstone for the
new LEGACY initiative and hopefully will put Marvel back on track. Oh yeah: the one trueWolverine is back!
THE MIGHTY THOR #700 by Jason
Aaron, Walter Simonson, Russell Dauterman, Daniel Acuna, James Harren, Beckly
Cloonan, Das Pastoras, Chris Burnham, Andrew MacLean, Jill Thompson, Mike Del
Mundo and Olivier Coipel. Set in the current continuity, which will result in
the death of Thor(a Thor, that is) is an oversized monster of a tale that sets
the future in motion. Old friends, including the frog, and old enemies,
specifically Magog, arrive and Jane Foster is still dying. It’s an epic tale
with a host of classic artists bringing it all together. Go hunt down the
Previews Exclusive variant cover featuring Banner Hut and Odinson by Todd
Nauck.
MOON KNIGHT #188 by Max
Bemis. If you have ever read an Avatar book, especially CROSSED and PROVIDENCE,
then you have seen Burrows’ work and he pulls out the stops here. With guest
appearances by Khonshu and Amon Ra, and even the title character, this is one
creepy tale of crazy! I love this new direction and can’t wait to see what’s
next!
NINJA-K #1 by Christopher Gage
and Tomas Giorello. Valiant reboots this character with a twist: he’s the 10th
Ninja, thus the new hyphenated name. Colin King still has the mantle, but we
learn that someone is kicking off former members. Oh yeah: King is also having
a romantic relationship with Livewire. We get some history on his predecessors
and see what he’s doing to save the lives of the others. The concept is cool
and Giorello’s art is top notch! This book is highly recommended, especially
for fans of butt kicking action adventure.!
NOT BRAND ECHH #14 by Nick
Spencer, Jay Fosgitt, Katie Cook, Ryan North, Erica Henderson, Nick Kocher,
Brian Churilla, Christopher Hastings, Gurihiru, and Chip Zdarsky. After 48
years, this satirical series returns with a one shot that tries to emulate the
good old days. And while it has a host of established and upcoming artists,
it’s not like the old days of Kirby, Colon and Severin. And, where the original
series took shots at popular movies and television shows, but featuring Marvel
characters, this one just focuses on parodying Marvel heroes and storylines,
most notably SECRET EMPIRE. I have to say, I was greatly disappointed.
POWER PACK #63 by Devin
Grayson and Marika Cresta. Back in action after all these years, we see Katie
Power telling her teacher an “imaginary story” that is completely based on a
Power’s family adventure. If you were expecting a new tale, you will be disappointed.
If you were a fan of this series, you’ll love this. Seek out the June Brigman
variant cover-this makes the book totally worth the price of admission.
THE RUFF AND REDDY SHOW #1 by Howard Chaykin and Mac Ray. While the name comes from the same Hanna Barbera
television cartoon of the late 1950’s, this tale is far from that! Television
stars in their own right, Reddy is a misogynist and Ruff is equally foul. They
run into trouble when their show is cancelled, and they go their separate ways,
each desperately trying to ply their trade as performers. Well, the time is
now, and someone decides it’s time to put the air back together. It’s raw and
edgy and a little hard to swallow. Let’s see where creative takes this thing…
SHANG-CHI #126 by CM Punk and
Dalibor Talajic. First problem with this book is that CM Punk wrote it. He
needs to stick to the ring, either of them. Second problem is Shang-Chi nows
has a pet monkey of Kung Fun who travels and fights with him wearing a little
version of his master’s costume. And the story-it deals with a villain named
Dr. Mel Prasis=Malpractice. It’s a mess from word one. I want Fu Manhu and the
full supporting cast back like Leiko, Blackjack Tarr Nayland Smith
THE WILDSTORM: MICHAEL CRAY
#1 by Bryan Hill, Warren Ellis and N. Steven Harris. Warren Ellis continues to
recreate the Wildstorm Universe in his own image. Cray is still an assassin for
hire and, besides dealing with his past and his powers, this leads him into a
potential confrontation with Green Arrow. Is this in the DC Universe or not is
anyone’s guess. The art is spectacular and, except for trying to figure out
where this sits in DC Continuity, the story is intriguing. It’s a fun ride.
SILVER SABLE #36 by Christa
Faust, Paulo Siqueira and Jose Luis. Until recently, the world thought she was
dead, after faking her own death. Now she is back and is all about taking down
some terrorists known as the S.S.S. This is a long action sequence with great
art and little else. It felt like a DIE HARD movie with a female lead. Here is
a character with so much potential and she comes off like Frank Castle in
white. Just a major disappointment.
WONDER WOMAN/CONAN #1 by Gail
Simone and Aaron Lopresti. What happens when you cross two universes together
and pair two classic heroes in a team-up? You get this book. Simone’s writing
is mixed, with her take on the Amazon princess being spot-on and Conan being a
little weak. She is certainly no Robert E. Howard. Lopresti shines on his art,
as usual.
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