ADVENTUREMAN FAMILY TREE #1 by Matt Fraction and Terry Dodson. This picks up directly after the previous series with Claire and Rita dealing with the events in that series. That also means Rita has to go back to her EMT job while Claire digs deep into the Adventureman history, meaning that Adventureman appears via flashback. The story sets lots of things in motion but the real star here is Dodson’s art. If you have the first series, you already know where it goes. If not, get the trade paperback.
ALL NEW VENOM #1 by Al Ewing and Carlos Gomez. I swore I wouldn’t bite on ANOTHER VENOM series but here we are. Our core symbiote has moved on from Dylan Brock and is now connected to a new host. Dylan wants to know who and narrows it down to four possible candidates: Robbie Robertson, Rick Jones, Luke Cage, or Madame Masque. Or maybe, none of them. It’s a guessing game with a lot of red herrings about. The writing is crisp and Venom’s quips are almost of a Spider-Man level. Gomez, who previous worked on THE AMAZING MARY JANE, turns in some of his best art to date. While it may not be your cup of tea, it is certainly better than ANY of the VENOM movies!
ASSORTED CRISIS EVENTS #1 by Deniz Camp and Eric Zawadzki. Meet Ashley who wanders through her world and doesn’t know if the world is really ending! Yep…it’s that kind of story. Watch as she moves through her world that may actually be on a post-apocalyptic movie set and she does her best to get a specific clock repaired that may be able to stop the end of the world. Confused? You bet! This is science-fiction at an insane level! This is a book that requires many reads to find all the little bits throughout! Find yourself your beverage of choice and be ready for a long ride!
BLOOD TYPE #1 by Corinna Bechko and Andrea Sorrentino. This story, representing the first continuing series in the rebooted EC line of comics, makes its way here after introducing the main character in EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #3. It follows vampire Ada who finds herself on a Caribbean island where there may already be a vampire or a ghoul terrorizing the inhabitants of this resort. The story is curious fun and the art? Well…it IS Sorrentino!
EXQUISITE CORPSES #1 by James Tynion IV and Michael Walsh. Here’s the basics: every five years, the wealthiest families in America play a deadly game where their champions get dropped into a small town for a winner takes all tournament that will set for the countries direction. Yeah…winner takes all means the last mercenary standing wins. Seems simple enough but these hardcore killers are going to be taking out townspeople too. This 60 page monster is just the beginning as it is filled with blood, guts and various machinations. Good stuff!
FANTASTIC FOUR FANFARE #1 by Mark Waid, Alan Davis, Andrew Wheeler, Sara Pichelli, and Ramon Rosanas. Marvel steps back a little in time and gives readers a four issue mini-series featuring untold tales team members in each of the four issues. In this issue, Mark Waid tells the story of Johnny playing pranks on Ben, Alan Davis telling of a the team fighting aliens with Johnny as the hero, and Johnny dealing with the Mole Man while appearing on a reality show. Plus, bonus pin-ups! All in all, it’s a lot of harmless fun.
GATCHAMAN RYU: SCAVENGERS by Steve Orlando and Riccardo Robaldo. Following the recent mini-series and running alongside the current series, we get this: featuring another of the legendary Gatchaman team. It’s an okay story and the art works in an Anime style. Mostly aimed for die-hard fans.
GEHENNA NAKED AGGRESSION #1 by Patrick Kindlon and Maurizio Rosenzweig. From the mind of Patrick Kindlon, who was responsible for FRONTIERSMAN and ANTIOCH, which are also within this universe, we get Gehenna, who is on a major revenge mission. And a violent one at that as she finds herself embroiled in a war with the gangsters who killed her husband. It’s action packed and the art fits it. This is just such a fun read!
GIANT-SIZE X-MEN #1 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Al Ewing, Sara Pichelli, and Adam Kubert. What happens when Kamala Khan goes into the past via a time-travel device and ends up going out with the newly formed X-Men on their first mission-yeah: that mission. When Legion gets involved, things get dicey and then we have another time shift and our girl ends up meeting the Phoenix as this story continues in GIANT-SIZE DARK PHOENIX SAGA #1 and a few other one-shots set in key moments in X-Men history. Also included is a backup story set in the past with Xavier encountering a new, very powerful mutant.
GIANT-SIZE WACKY RACES #1 by Ivan Cohen and Mariano Benitez Chapo. Truth be told: I grew up on the silliness of WACKY RACES-even have the complete series on DVD. And this is not the first time that show has been adapted into a comic story. This time around, the usual cast of characters are here, fronted by our heroine Penelope Pitstop, but there is also a whole subplot involving politics that plays heavily into the full story. It’s a fun ride with a mix of racing action and character development. And don’t be surprised to see a sequel as there is a bit of a cliffhanger ending here too.
GODZILLA VS: #1 by Ryan North, Joe Kelly, Fabian Nicieza, David F. Walker, Jason Aaron, Gerry Duggan, John Romita Jr., Nick Bradshaw, Emilio Laiso, Georges Jeanty, Aaron Kuder, and Guiseppe Camuncoli. Only in the world of comics could Godzilla exists in the Marvel, DC, and IDW universes. Marvel has unleashed a series of 6 one shots starring, Thor, the Fantastic Four, Hulk, The Avengers, the X-Men and Spider-Man; all as a lead-up to the forthcoming GODZILLA DESTROYS THE MARVEL UNIVERSE. These are just fun, probably not canon stories…because Thor dies, among other things. Each story finds itself in various eras. For example: The X-Men is the era with Sunfire in it and Spider-Man is wearing his black suit, discovering it is a symbiote. And the Fantastic Four gets help from the Silver Surfer, not long after he arrives on Earth. They are just fun with some great creators behind them.
GWENPOOL #1 by Cavan Scott and Stefano Nesi. Everyone’s favorite real girl from a real world, Gwendolyn Poole is back by popular demand in a new mini-series. Let’s be honest: this is just a wacky mashup of Gwen Stacy meets Deadpool, so expect the same kind of fourth wall breaking craziness. The story is sort of silly, including an appearance by Fing Fang Foom, but the art is a winner. This is one of those titles that will either be a hit or a miss for you, depending on how much you already like the character.
HEAT SEEKER: EXPOSED #1 by Charles Ardai and Ace Continuado. Following what happened in HEAT SEEKER: COMBUSTION, Dahlia Racers has to deal with being on the run. And she’s being pursued by a reporter who now finds herself in the middle of things. Unfortunately, this potential ally is in it for herself and that is a problem for Racers. If you’re a fan of Ardai and his cast of characters, you’ll love it!
HUCK: BIG BAD WORLD #1 by Mark Millar and Rafael Albuquerque. Millar’s special hero comes back and his world and life has changed. But he is still about helping the helpless and the weak. Along the way, we get more of his back story and discovers he is not the only hero in the world. He also gets his heart broken. The first story was amazing and this one looks to equal it.
HULK & DR. STRANGE #1 by J. Michael Straczynski, Natacha Bustos, and Herman Peralta. Bruce Banner meets with Dr. Strange in an effort to go back in time and see how his alter ego was created. Nothing really new here. The backup has Agatha Harkness and Aunt May engaging in a book club with also a visit from the Salem Seven. It’s fun and we get to see Aunt May kick ass!
ILLUMINATI #1 by Bryan Edward Hill, Denys Cowan, and Bill Sienkiewicz. This one flew under my radar but, when I saw it at my LCS, I jumped on it as the pairing of Cowan and Sienkiewicz is always magic. Throw in Hill, known for his work on DETECTIVE COMICS and ULTIMATE BLACK PANTHER, and it just amps things up. It starts with a murder that leads Lilly to investigate her sister’s death. Sounds simple enough except her sister’s ghost is now riding with her. It’s eerie and a slow building story with some amazing art! This is highly recommended!
IMPERIAL #1 by Jonathan Hickman, Iban Coello, and Federico Vicentini. The next big thing in the space faring world of the Marvel Universe is the start of a war among the various factions. We have Kree, Skrulls, Wakanans, Star Lord, Peter Quill and the Worldbreaker. We also have a series of unexplained deaths and it looks like the Wakadans are responsible. Quite simply: Hickman is upsetting the apple cart again and the rules are gonna change!
MOMMY BLOG #1 by Marguerite Bennett and Eleonora Carlini.Meet Astrid. She has a Podcast/blog called Wondermommies. She’s a respected member of the community. She is also a serial killer. That’s it, folks! It has LADY KILLER vibes and you will go from booing Astrid to cheering her.
MONEY SHOT: BIG BANG #1 by Tim Seeley, Patton Oswalt, and Garth Graham. Those sexual space farers are back for another run. And such a hoot! We have space adventures, time travel and sex! What more could you want in a comic? The story is cool, the dialogue is snappy and the art fits! It’s like STAR TREK was a soft-core porn!
PREDATOR VERSUS SPIDER-MAN #2 by Benjamin Percy and Marcelo Ferreira. This got pulled by my LCS by mistake and, once I got home, I was determined to return it and swap it out for something else. Glad I didn’t! In a world where Xenomorphs and Godzilla have invaded the MU, we get this. And it’s a fun ride! Bring in the Predator and Karven the Hunter, have the city in peril and a bit of gore and you have a winner. The story is cool and the art rocks! Believe it or not, it’s highly recommended!
RUNAWAYS #1 by Rainbow Rowell and Elena Casagrande. The Runaways are back and their story continues right where we left off. Unfortunately, Doom runs the world and his Doombots are coming for the team’s own Doombot. They need some help and the return of a long lost friend may be their answer. I have been a Runaways fan since the beginning so I was all over this. It’s a teen superhero book and, if you’ve never read the previous runs, you will be so confused. Either get the collected editions or go on Wikipedia to get caught up.
SISTERHOOD #1 by Maytal Zchut and Leila Leiz. This mini-series is set in the HYDE STREET Universe, so you can expect it to be weird. Two close friends go to college together and one of them drowns due to a sorority hazing, leading the other to seek revenge. But when she seeks out a psychic at a shop called Sisterhood to help her, she quickly learns that what you ask for could be even more troubling. Zchut embraces this story that feels like BEVERLY HILLS 90210 meets AMERICAN HORROR STORY while Leiz delivers with great, detailed art. If you’re not invested in the HYDE STREET universe, you really should be.
SISTER IMPERATOR #1 by Tobias Forge, Corinna Bechko, and Puste. For the uninitiated, Sister Imperator is the creation of Ghost’s Tobias Forge and this is her origin story. And it is a grisly one! This book will not appeal to anyone except the die-hard Ghost fans. It is kind of cool and when our heroine ends up in a circus, things in her life change…although she has already had her share of trauma with a creepy stepfather. It is dark in spots and humorous in others, but the kind of dark humor that will not set you into fits of laughter.
SLEEP #1 by Zander Cannon. I have been a Zander Cannon fan since his work on THE REPLACEMENT GOD back in the mid-Nineties. He has been busy over the years doing work on such titles as TOP 10 and KAIJUMAX. SLEEP tells the talk of a poor soul who, once he falls asleep, becomes a killer. It is very quirky and in Cannon’s quirky art style. It is very weird but I like where it is going.
VANISHING POINT #1 by Mark Russell and Juan Doe. An astronaut goes on a ten year mission to the Jupiter asteroid belt and discovers that stuff is bad out there…really bad! This is the first issue of this anthology series and this one pulls at the heartstrings. Russell is usually great at providing humor in his writing but this is deadly serious. I can’t wait to see where he takes things from here.
WOLVERINE AND KITTY PRYDE #1 by Chris Claremont and Damian Couceiro. There is one major reason for reading this mini-series and his name is Claremont. This mini-series is set during the early days of Logan’s association with Kitty, following his killing Ogun. So this may be a new story but it is basically a story dropping into the past continuity. Obviously they team up during her training and end up in a crazy and unexpected mission. The art is okay but it’s Claremont’s love for these characters that shines.
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CRIMSON JUSTICE #1 by Frank Tieri and Inaki Miranda. Crimson Justice is a retired superhero who is really needed now as the Dr. Mayhem is back in action. But will he come out of retirement? And where is the rest of his team? Could this junkie prostitute really be Scarlet Girl? These are the questions readers will ask as this series goes on, even though Crimson Justice appears in the end. But who is in the costume? A great little mystery series masquerading as a superhero jaunt.
