ANNIHILATION SCOURGE FANTASTIC FOUR #1 by Christos Gage and
Diego Olortegui. The Cancerverse has invaded the Negative Zone and Annihilus
and Bastaar have had to team up to stop it. Enter the FF, who are dragged into
the fight and forced to fight Cancerverse versions of themselves. All in all,
it’s another tie-in to this “event”. The art is great, the story runs from
silly to predictable and it takes Johnny Storm to rally the denizens of the
Negative Zone.
ANNIHILATION SCOURGE NOVA #1 by Matthew Rosenberg and Ibraim
Roberson. Nova teams up with Annihilus to lead the good fight against the Cancerverse,
where he had previously been trapped. It leads to a battle against The Sentry
and one he probably won’t win. Rosenberg does a great job of characterizing Ryder
as a troubled soul, who has trepidation about reliving his own past again. I
just wish the art lived up to the story.
ANNIHILATION SCOURGE SILVER SURFER #1 by Dan Abnett and Paul Davidson. Silver Surfer, now Black Surfer(see
SILVER SURFER BLACK if you don’t believe me), gets involved in the fight
against the Cancerverse. He meets up with The Sentry’s other half and merges
with him. Hey-it’s Dan Abnett and if anyone knows how to write a space
adventure, it’s him. Paul Davidson’s art style certainly feels like SILVER
SURFER BLACK. All in all, one of the best entries in this mini-series of
offshoots.
ANNIHILATION SCOURGE BETA RAY BILL #1 by Michael Moreci and
Alberto Alburquerque. Beta Ray Bill teams up with Lockjaw and fights The
Sentry. In the end, Bill is reborn and that takes us to ANNIHILATION SCOURGE OMEGA #1. Nothing fantastic to see here,
although it’s nice to see Lockjaw getting some use.
ANNIHILATION SCOURGE OMEGA #1 by Matthew Rosenberg and Manuel
Garcia. The combined forces fight against the Cancerverse with severe
consequences. Nova realizes that he must absorb the Cancerverse to save the
universe and so, once again, he makes the supreme sacrifice. But wait: leave it
to Annihilus to throw a curve-ball towards the ending. He brings Nova back to life,
although he still has the Cancerverse within him. So wait: four one-shots and
to bookend titles and this is what we get? Rich Ryder lives again and now Nova
possesses the power of the Cancerverse inside him. Couldn’t we have gotten all
this out of the way in a really big one-shot?
ARCHIE MEETS THE B-52’S #1 by Alex Seeura, Matthew Rosenberg
and Dan Parent. Well kids: get down to the Love Shack, bring Planet Claire and
do the Rock Lobster. Don’t expect major plot points-just rock and roll in this wonderful
slice of nostalgia.
AVENGERS OF THE WASTELAND #1 by Ed Brisson and Jonas Scharf.
Coming out of the events that ended in the death of Old Man Logan, a new team
is forged in the future, born out of Battleworld, timeline. Luke Cage’
daughter, Bruce Banner’s son, and a new Ant Man join together to fight Doctor
Doom. This whole alternate Earth timeline has been fun and this is the next
logical move. Brisson’s dialogue is neat and Scharf’ artwork fits. But wait: is
that the REAL Captain America? Read it while you can as Marvel has now made this a digital only release from here on out.
BASKETFUL OF HEADS #1 by Joe Hill and Leomacs. DC dives
headlong into the horror vein with the new line of Hill House Comics. Hill, son
of Stephen King, is a noted horror writer in his own right. Set in 1983 Maine,
it’s a twisted tale of murder and, yeah: a head in a basket(although not in
this issue)! It’s bloody good fun. Also included is the first part of a
serialized tale, running through all the Hill House titles, called Sea Dogs, by
Hill and Dan McDaid.
BATMAN WHITE KNIGHT: VON FREEZE #1 by San Murphy and Klaus
Janson. In this spin-off from the popular series, we get the origin story for
the famous villain. Nazis, experiments, Thomas Wayne and more. It ties in
beautifully to the White Night universe and Janson’s art is some of his best.
Highly recommended, even if you haven’t read any of the other titles.
CABLE #1 by Gerry Duggan and Phil Noto. Marvel unleashes yet
another X title with this new series starring the unaged Cable. He’s brash, sometimes
silly and not the wise sage I am used to. What we do get is a fight with
Wolverine, some Spaceknights, a big-ass sword and…the REAL Cable? So far, I
feel this is the weakest book in the line, both from story to art.
DAPHNE BYRNE #1 by Laura Marks and Kelley Jones. Another of
the titles in the Hill House Comics line. It’s a fun Gothic horror story with
ghosts, demons and creepy people. The highlight is Jones’ truly twisted artwork.
DCEASED: UNKILLABLES #1 by Tom Taylor and Kark Monstert. DC
continues to mine the post-apocalyptic world of the DCU, focusing this time on
Deathstroke and his team of survivors along with Red Hood and his group. If you’re
a fan of the zombie superhero genre, you’ll love this.
DOCTOR STRANGE ANNUAL #1 by Tini Howard, Pornsak Pichetshote,
Andy MacDonald and Lalit Kumar Sharma. It’s Halloween at Strange’ and that
means a gathering of some of the magic folks from the Marvel Universe. The backup
also is a Halloween tale, starring Wong as the protagonist. It’s all a fun
lead-in into the new Doctor Strange series.
DOCTOR STRANGE SURGEON SUPREME #1 by Mark Waid and Kev
Walker. Doc is back in action but, thanks to a deadly deal he made, he has use
of his hands again. So, he finds himself working as both a surgeon and a sorcerer.
Bet he didn’t expect to have to face off against The Wrecker, who now has a magically
enhanced crowbar. It’s a fun, different take on the character and the addition
of a classic Thor villain just amps up the whole thing.
GIANT SIZE X-MEN #1: JEAN GREY AND EMMA FROST by Jonathan
Hickman and Russell Dauterman. The first in a planned series of one-shots, this
focuses on two of the dynamic females in the X Universe. Short of dialogue but
long on visuals, it’s a quick and beautiful read.
GIANT SIZE X-MEN #1: NIGHTCRAWLER by Jonathan Hickman and
Alan Davis. The second in a planned series of one-shots y Hickman. This time,
it features not only Nightcrawler, but many of who we would refer to as the old
New Mutants. A mysterious mission, appearances by old friends and a metamorphosis
or tow. Fun read, iller art and worth five bucks.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #1 by Al Ewing and Juann Cabal.
Well, the space based team is back and, after their last series, things have
changed. So has the lineup. And Rocket, still recovering from his near death in
the last series, wears a suit now. And Hercules is here too! I like the
Guardians series because they’re just so much silly fun. Action, adventure and
great dialogue.
HARLEY QUINN AND THE BIRDS OF PREY by Ananda Connor and
Jimmy Palmiotti. Just I time for the movie…well…later than the movie, this was
supposed to be a DCU mini-series, then a one shot and now an oversized Black
Lavel title. That means we have familiar characters BASED on a movie most didn’t
see. The dialogue, while profanity filled, is snappy and Connor’s art is her
typical work. It’s fun and bloody but not sure if I’d continue to shell out six
bucks for it.
HAWKEYE FREEFALL #1 by Matthew Rosenberg and Otto Schmidt.
Hawkeye is back in action and so is Ronin. But are they one and the same That’s
what The Winter Soldier and the Winter Soldier want to know. I probably wouldn’t
have picked this up, but Rosenberg’s writing is so much fun and he totally gets
the smarmy archer right. The issue ends with a mystery that probably won’t be
solved for a few issues, so I guess I’m in for a few months anyway.
HELLIONS #1 by Zeb Wells and Stephen Segovia. The new era of
Marvel Mutants continues on with ANOTHER X-book…I believe this is now the
ELEVENTH monthly title. The team is Havok, Orphan-Maker, Nanny, Wild Child,
Empath, Scalphunter, Mr. Sinister and Psylocke. Okay: another team, a long of
arguing, some fights and the return of an old villain. I have yet to figure out
the agenda of all this, but the team makeup is fun.
INCOMING #1 by a whole host of folks. What was originally
supposed to be MARVEL COMICS # 1002 comes out, designed to set up plots that
will play out throughout the Marvel Universe in 2020. There’s a murder and a
search for the murderer. That leads to Skrulls, secret plans, tie ins to the
teen superhero titles and MEET THE SKRULLS. In the end, groundwork is placed that
will lead to space conflict, a host of new mini-series, EMPYRE and OUTLAWED-where
teen heroes are outlawed. All in all, it’s a very expensive way to set up a
year’s worth of stories.
IRON MAN 2020 #1 by Dan Slott, Christos Gage and Pete Woods.
Tony Stark has revealed that he is an A.I. and the A.I.’s of the world are
starting a revolution. So who’s in the suit? Tony’s brother Arno Stark, who has
seized control of Stark Unlimited. What follows is a confusing, boring tale
with a host of spin-off series. Yeah-not interested.
JOHN CONSTANTINE HELLBLAZER #1 by Simon Spurrier and Aaron Campbell.
Another entry into the Sandman Universe of titles is here and it brings back
the classic, manipulating, heavy drinking, smoking and swearing Constantine we
love. Spurrier nails his character to perfection and it’s great to see classic
Constantine back in action. While I’m not reading the rest of the titles, of
which plot threads tie into, I am all over this!
JOKER: KILLER SMILE #1 by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino.
This is a severely twisted tale about a therapist treating The Joker and the repercussions.
And when I say twisted, believe it. Death, blood and a truly confusing story.
This is a mystery like an onion, filled with layers. Lemire’s story is a wild
one and Sorrentino’s art is truly beautiful. This is not your standard Joker tale
but is highly recommended.
KILLING RED SONJA #1 by Mark Russell, Bryce Ingman and Craig
Rousseau. A young warrior boy goes off on a mission of revenge to kill the
legendary warrior. Sonja doesn’t truly appear throughout the story because it
is not HER story to tell: it’s Orion’s. Russell’s tale is about growth and
change, with a touch of adventure. Rousseau’s style is a loose one, which gives
the book more of a storybook feel than a true comic story. This was fun and I
look forward to here this is going.
THE LOW LOW WOODS #1 by Carmen Maria Machado and Dani.
Another entry into the Joe Hill line of comics. A strange tale about to teenage
girls and a mysterious secret in their lives. This totally feels like an
independent book with art very reminiscent of 100 BULLETS. The pacing has a
nice build-up to the eventual conclusion and the mystery around things is
intriguing. Plus, another chapter of SEA DOGS.
MARVEL #1 by Alex Ross, Steve Darnall, Frank Espinosa, Kurt
Busiek, Sajan Saini and Steve Rude. Thirty years ago, Alex Ross created this great
mini-series that was a loving tribute to the classic days of Marvel. This one
shot hearkens back to that epic mini-series with three tales from the earliest
days of Marvel modern history. The highlight for me is the Avengers tale
illustrated by the always amazing Steve Rude. This was fun and ends with “to be
continued”, which it will in a series of eight forthcoming one-shots. Great
stuff.
MARVELS SNAPSHOTS: FANTASTIC FOUR #1 by Evan Dorkin, Sarah
Dyer and Benjamin Dewey. Another SNAPSHOTS one-shots and this one is set in the
groovy Sixties. Johnny Storm goes to his high school reunion and meets with
folks from his past, many for the first time since he became a superhero. It’s
beautifully illustrated in a Sixties style and has that old-school feel to it.
Dorkin and Dyer, the creators behind such diverse works as MILK AND CHEESE and
SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST deliver a fun story with heart that is out of their
normal wheelhouse. Another must read book for the Marvel fan.
MARVELS SNAPSHOTS: SUB-MARINER #1 by Alan Bennett and Jerry
Ordway. The first of eight spin-offs is a beautiful tribute to the Golden Age
of Marvel. Subby, along with classic versions of Captain America, Bucky and the
rest of the All Winners Squad are here and it’s just so refreshing. Beautiful
art from the ever dependable Jerry Ordway. This series has brought together
some of the greats in comics and I can’t wait to see what else is in the pipe.
OUTLAWED #1 by Eve Ewing and Kim Jacinto. The lead-in
one-shot to what could best be described as a teenage version of The Super
Human Registration Act finds an incident outlawing teenage superheroes.
Everyone you would expect to be here is: The Champions, Power Pack, The New
Warriors, Miles Morales and Ms. Marvel. While the art doesn’t live up, in my
opinion, the story does what it is meant to do: set up for a whole batch of one-shots, all promising major
changes in the status quo going forward.
PLUNGE #1 by Joe Hill and Stuart Immonen. Another Joe Hill
title with a horror bent. This time, a group of explorers go looking for a ship
missing for 40 years and quickly find that there are strange, eerie things
connected together at the site. Creepy story with decent art. Not up to par
with the other Hill titles, but the premise is fun.
THE QUESTION: THE DEATHS OF VIC SAGE #1 by Jeff Lemire,
Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz. Another Black Label title that digs into a
case featuring one of the MANY Questions throughout DC history. Vic Sage is
alive and well and has a case. Lemire hits all the right notes as he channels
Frank Miller’s noir style from SIN CITY, giving us a well-crafted, gritty tale.
Cowan and Sienkiewicz combine for some great looking art. Not the most popular character
in the DCU, but a great tale nonetheless.
REVENGE OF THE COSMIC GHOST RIDER #1 by Dennis Hallum and
Scott Hepburn. Marvel continues to mine the success it found by the
introduction of Frank Castle-Cosmic Ghost Rider. I liked the previous entry,
but this is just a cash grab where our space faring anti-hero goes off into
space to …well, get revenge. Hallum’s story is truly “hopeless” and Hepburn’s
art style leaves me cold. Recommended for die hard fans only.
ROAD TO EMPYRE #1 by Robbie Thompson, Javier Rodriguez,
Alvaro Lopez and Mattia Delulis. The run-up to the next Marvel “event” is here.
With a new Kree-Skrull war looming, the Warners, straight out of a mini-series
that almost no one read, including me, are Skrull spies posing as humans. Their
world has been turned upside down by the murder of Mr. Warner and now they are
poised to take revenge on those responsible. Along the ay, there is a retelling
of the entire history of the Krees and the Skrulls. As a primer to what has
been and will come, it’s good. Of course, this ill lead into numerous one-shots
and crossovers over the next few months.
SPIDER -WOMAN #1 by Karla Pacheco, ere Perez and Paulo
Siqueira. Jessica Drew has always been a character that I have enjoyed. In her
career she has had her origin messed with, been an Avenger and a mom. So, to
see her in her on series again, and wearing her classic costume, was a
no-brainer for me. But she’s not in her old costume, except for briefly in the
beautifully illustrated back-up, and her mouth is more like Deadpool, with
expletives carefully edited out throughout. Both tales were fun, with a nice cliff
hanger ending in the main story. This is a keeper for me.
STAR WARS #1 by Charles Soule and Jesus Saiz. Having gotten
the rights to the Lucas legend back in their grasp, Marvel continues to mine
the success of their previous series with this one. Set immediately after the
events at the end of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, Soule and Saiz chart a path to connect
Episode Five to Episode Six. The story hits all the right notes to make fans
happy and Saiz’ phot realistic art gets all the characters right. This title is
sure to please fans of the property.
STRANGE ACADEMY #1 by Scottie Young and Humberto Ramos. Marvel
introduces its own version of Hogwarts and brigs us a whole new cast of
potential magic users I this surprisingly delightful tale. You just have to
love a series where the teaching staff is Strange, Hellstrom, Nico Minoru, the
Scarlet Witch, Magik and Shaman, among others. Young’s dialogue is fun, Ramos’
art shines and this could be one of my favorite new titles. Silly but fun.
STRANGE ADVENTURES #1 by Tom King and Mitch Gerads. The team
that turned Mister Miracle upside down is back to do the same to Adam Strange.
He’s a fighter and an author and a father and a hero. But he is fighting a
demon which we think we know about but it’s still a mystery. If you loved
MISTER MIRACLE, you will love this.
2099, including CONAN, DOOM, THE PUNISHER, GHOST RIDER,
VENOM, SPIDER-MAN and 2099 OMEGA. The future is changing, and it may affect our
past. This was a series of one shots and, for me was a waste of my time and
money. The stories were wonky and the art didn’t do anything for me. And the
entire overarching story just left me bored, as I really couldn’t get to care
for the characters. I loved the old 2099 series, but this was just a waste.
THOR #1 by Donny Cates and Nic Klein. The Thunder God has
got his mojo back, got his hammer back and is now the ruler of Asgard. He still
has daddy issues and problems with his family, but the classic Thor is back.
Sort of. By the end of the tale, he has had a costume change and become the Herald
of Thunder. Cates has made quite the name of himself with his recent turns and great
stories with so many Marvel characters that had loss their way. Hopefully, he
will do the same here.
WOLVERINE #1 by Benjamin Percy, Adam Kubert and Viktor
Bogdanovic. The ragin’ Cajun is back and joins the ever-growing lineup of X
titles. And he does what he does: he drinks, he battles, he gets shredded, he
regenerates and repeat. It’s standard Wolverine fare. Kubert’s art is the
saving grace, although the inking and coloring softens it a bit. Bogdanovic
channels Marc Silvestri’s style in the back-up, but that too is standard
Wolverine fare. It’s an okay book, but not what this highly recognized and
fan-appreciated character should be.
WONDER WOMAN DEAD EARTH #1 by Daniel Warren Johnson. The
creator behind EXTREMITY and the critically acclaimed MURDER FALCON gives us
his take on the Amazon Princess. Set on a long dead Earth, it’s an epic story
of retribution and takes Diana to a place she has never been. Picture MAD MAX
in the DC Universe. His story is great even as his art style takes a bit to get
used to. Another Black Label title that allows creators to step outside of the
standard comic box. Is it worth seven bucks? I’ll figure that out once I get
into issue #2.
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