Category Archives: This Week's Comics

This Week’s Comics

by Jesse

So many comics came out last week I’ve barely been able to crack the surface, so expect more reviews next week.  I’m also going to start moving my capsule reviews to another day, just because, though I expect there won’t be much in the way of complaints there.  But here we are for this week’s new and noteworthy titles.

  • BATMAN INCORPORATED #1 – This falls under noteworthy, as it’s Grant Morrison’s return to Batman to wrap up everything from his run.  It sure would be nice to read this, but I just can’t bring myself to.
  • COMIC BOOK HISTORY OF COMICS GN – youngI’ve only read the first and last issues of Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey’s history of comics, but it’s really amazing.  If you’ve enjoyed Action Philosophers, it tackles the subject in a very similar manner and style.  And if you were inclined to explain the history of comics with  someone, what better way than with a comic?  Very highly recommended.
  • FANTASTIC FOUR #606
  • GODZILLA ONGOING #1 – I’m still pretty bitter about the way IDW allowed Kingdom of Monsters to wrap up and the uneven quality of Legends.  I’m going to have to give this one the flip test before Idecide to pay good money on Godzilla again.
  • HULK #52 – I’m still pretty far behind on Parker’s Hulk because of a few missing issues, but the plan is to stay on through the Mayan story arc.  Because, that’s why!
  • PROPHET #25 – Prophet is a pretty novel branch of the Extreme wing, but it’s really losing me.  It’s weirdness is just too vague after all this time.  I think I’m going to hop off after this arc.
  • YOUNGBLOOD #71 – The last of The Rob’s Extreme relaunch is here at last.  I expect this to last one or two issues before getting dropped again, just like volume 2, Bloodsport, Genesis, and Imperial.  For real.

That’s it for this week.  What looks good to you?

This Week’s Comics

by Jesse

After a couple painfully light weeks, it’s nice to have a hefty stack of comics to pick up this week.  Surprisingly, there are a good number of Image titles.  Marvel and DC, you’re on notice: Image is the publisher to beat right now.

  • ADVENTURE TIME #4 - I think I missed #3 somewhere along the line, but it continues to be a solid, fun read.
  • ATOMIC ROBO REAL SCIENCE ADV #2
  • DAREDEVIL #13 - Another book where I think I missed the last issue.  I obviously need to make some additions to my pull list so I stop spacing out when I go to my LCS.
  • FANTASTIC FOUR #605.1
  • GLORY #26 - After all’s said and done, Glory is the best book of the Image relaunch.  It’s not too dense (Prophet), doesn’t rely too much on back continuity (Bloodstrike), and isn’t a complete kick in the teeth (Supreme).  It’s just a fun, straightforward read.
  • MANHATTAN PROJECTS #3 - And since we’re discussing the best of things, I find this to be Jonathan Hickman’s best (creator-owned) title right now.  Science Madness at it’s weirdest!
  • SAGA #3
  • SAUCER COUNTRY #3 - It’s perhaps a little too obvious to call Saucer Country an X-Files/West Wing mash-up, but it’s an apt description.  It dives into the sci-fi of the aliens and the politics of a presidential campaign.  So far it’s doing both extremely well.
  • THIEF OF THIEVES #4
  • THUNDERBOLTS #174

So, Supreme #64.  Now that Alan Moore’s scripts have run out, it’s Erik Larsen’s turn to move the story forward.  (SPOILERS ahead!)  In a text piece at the back he talks about taking over after some epic runs during his time at Marvel, and how he feels it’s a cheat to start from scratch or ignore what’s come earlier.  Therefore, he decided to use Moore’s story as a jumping off point for his own stint on the book.  So far so good, and I completely agree with him on all those points.  Too often these days, a new creative team means a new direction and focus because the incoming team has their own ideas.  But my issue with this is that Larsen kicks off his tenure by putting an end to everything Alan Moore built.  Sure, this is comics, and a new writer wouldn’t have to work very hard to re-establish Mouse Supreme or Lion Supreme, but it wasn’t to my taste, so off the pull list it goes.

That’s enough ranting for this week.  What looks good to you?

Today’s Comics

by Jesse

Due to some traveling, this week’s This Week’s Comics is late, but I almost needn’t have bothered with as little is coming out.

  • ATOMIC ROBO TP VOL 06 GHOST OF STATION X - I picked up the individual issues, but this was a really fun series, and issue 2 starts out with a punch in the stomach I’ve only experienced a handful of times in mycomic-reading. Highly recommended.
  • TICK #100 TICK MEETS INVINCIBLE - I haven’t read The Tick since the series started relaunching in the late 90′s, but this promises to be an all-out extravaganza that may get me back on-board. I’m looking forward to meeting back up with the big blue bug.

So, unfortunately it’s a light week, but that will give me a chance to catch up on and report back on this year’s FCBD offerings. What looks good to you this week?

This Week’s Comics

by Jesse

A ridiculously light week this time around.  Here are this week’s new and noteworthy titles…minus Garfield, of course.

  • MIND THE GAP #1 - Not that I know what it’s about, but MtG is running the risk of being dangerously over-hyped.  However, coming out during such a light week (and backed by Image’s insanely good track record lately) I may still give it a shot.
  • PIGS #7
  • SUPREME #64 - Here’s where we really see if I keep Supreme on my pull list.  Alan Moore’s scripts have run out and Erik Larsen takes over the writing details and goes back the “Superman as a dick” mode.  Either he finds a novel new angle or I drop the book.
  • DAREDEVIL #12 - The best comic out right now, hands down.  The only downside is that the crossovers have included $3.99 comics I haven’t picked up yet, so there are still a few issues I haven’t read.
  • TEEN BOAT HC GN - The ANGST of Being a Teen…The THRILL of Being a Boat!  Sign me up!

No reviews this week, but don’t forget this Saturday is Geek Christmas, FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!

This Week’s Comics

by Jesse

Monday in the Spring!  The time when a young man’s thoughts turn to love, and a young geek’s heart looks to New Comic Day.  Here are this week’s new and noteworthy releases.

  • BLOODSTRIKE #27 - I thought the Bloodstrike relaunch was decent, but it’s also the Extreme title that stayed most faithful to it’s original concept.  In most circumstances that would be a plus, but since we’re talking about Extreme here, the more a title strays the better I’m finding it.  So I think I’ll pass.
  • DAREDEVIL #11
  • FF #17
  • GOON #39
  • POPEYE #1 (OF 4) - I mention this specifically for certain Popeye-loving readers of the blog.  I’ll pick it up because Roger Langridge is writing, but it will have to be unquestionably strong for me to keep going with it.
  • TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ONGOING #9
  • TWELVE #12 (OF 12) - I mention this in the hopes that Matt will let me know how long it’s been since the first issue came out.  It’s got to be closing in on 4 years, doesn’t it?
  • ROGER LANGRIDGES SNARKED #7 - It feels like we’re starting to sail toward a conclusion.  And while that’s undoubtedly a good thing (all stories need resolution, after all), I hope it’s not an ENDING.

I’ve apparently betrayed my inability to repeat myself ad infinitum by not being able to come up with more to say about DD, FF, or TMNT, but rest assured they still come highly recommended. That’s it for this week.  What looks good to you?

This Week’s Comics

by Jesse

Two days ’til Wednesday!  Here are this week’s new and noteworthy titles.

  • INCREDIBLE HULK #7 - The end of the Banner vs Hulk storyline arrives. I finally snagged the Incredible Hulk issues I was missing for my pull list and was underwhelmed.  It just didn’t speak to me and reminded me too much of the early Red Hulk issues.  I thought it was too good to be true that Jason Aaron and Jeff Parker were both writing Hulk titles and it is; I’m not really enjoying either of them anymore.
  • MANHATTAN PROJECTS #2
  • PROPHET #24 - The second arc of the relaunched Prophet title starts here!
  • PUNISHER #10 - I’m somewhat ambivalent about Rucka’s Punisher — it’s good but I’m not really interested in pursuing it any further (that’s the fault of the character, not Rucka).  But the tie-in to Daredevil and Spider-Man means I’m on board for this month.  Show me what you got, kids!
  • ROCKETEER ADVENTURES 2 #2 (OF 4) - I missed the first issue of this, somehow!  The new Rocketeer anthology is Good Comics, and even in those rare instances where a story doesn’t hit me the right way there’s another in a couple more pages.
  • TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES MICRO SERIES #4 LEONARDO
  • THUNDERBOLTS #173 - I was really, REALLY looking forward to this Thunderbolts vs Thunderbolts arc and it’s solid, but not quite what I had hoped.  The Underbolts team isn’t really where my interest lies, and even though they’re pairing up the Sofens and Fixers, I’d rather see more pair-offs.  Man, it’s nice to see Citizen V again, though. What a great character!  He’s the only one of the originals that really bummed me out to be a villain.

Secret #1 is a new Jonathan Hickman title I forgot to mention last week, mainly because I completely forgot it was coming out.  It’s pretty solid, though having too many characters that resemble each other meant I was somewhat confused for most of the issue and I couldn’t tell if that was deficient storytelling or the crux of the mystery.  There are bad men doing bad things and a security company pushing it’s services; hopefully it will lead someplace interesting. I’ve got to say, though, that cover is AWFUL.  Noticing Hickman’s name got me to buy it, but if I had just seen those teeth on the stand I never would have looked twice.  Sure it makes sense when you read the story, but REALLY.

You can’t say that Jonathan Ross and Bryan Hitch, the creators behind America’s Got Powers, don’t give you a lot of comic for your $2.99. Unfortunately, despite the high page count there’s not a lot of story.  Maybe the premise itself just isn’t for me: super-powered kids compete for a spot on the world’s premiere super-team, a la Hunger Games.  But reality TV satire has no appeal for me and the spontaneous eruption of super-powers felt played out in the 90′s when Ultraverse and  Milestone (and probably many others) tried to take that shortcut.  So really the only thing left for me is Bryan Hitch’s amazing art.  And it IS great, as always, just not enough to make me go back for issue #2.

So that’s it for this week.  Our last poll is now closed, so next week because you demanded it, our list will be Superheroes That Are Also Urban Dictionary Entries.  What looks good to you?

This Week’s Comics

by Jesse

For some reason, I’m not feeling especially fired up with this week, but there are still solid comics coming out this Wednesday.  Here’s this week’s new and noteworthy titles.

  • ADVENTURE TIME #3
  •  FANTASTIC FOUR #605 - Last month’s issue was $3.99 and now this month’s* is back to $2.99.  Does anyone know what the difference is?Was the last issue double-sized?  Is marvel just assuming (probably correctly) that nobody looks at cover prices?
  • GLORY #25 - I’m seriously digging this book, and unlike many Image titles, the mystery isn’t unfolding, the story is.  A nice change of pace.
  • SAGA #2 - Brian K. Vaughn’s new series spent the first couple pages making me think it was a rehash of Preacher before turning into a really interesting sci-fi story.  I’m digging it a lot, as Vaughn fills the pages with new ideas.  I’ll probably pick up the first arc as floppies before going to TPB’s, though.  I suspect it will read better that way.
  • SAUCER COUNTRY #2 - Paul Cornell’s Saucer Country is a strange mix, taking the best parts of West wing and building a comic around it.  In this case, it’s a female, hispanic governor running for president. The catch?  She’s been abducted by aliens multiple times.  It’s an intriguing concept, but will have to speed up to keep me.  Like Saga, I’ll stick around for the first arc, then probably move to TPB’s or move on.
  • THIEF OF THIEVES #3

News also came out today that DC is launching a new title called National Comics, a series of done-in-one stories flushing out the new DCU by telling stories of lesser DC characters.  This is a great idea, but also admits to the flaw of launching a new universe today.  With the current model more or less requiring 6-issue story arcs for collections, it could take decades for the new world to fill out.  When DC launched it’s post-Crisis reboot, done-in-one stories were still a big part of comics, so each month a new character could be introduced or rounded out.  This meant in a year you got about 12 stories per title, so it was fairly easy to get a sense of the DCU pretty quickly.  Now, with six-issue arcs the norm it will take SIX TIMES AS LONG to get to the same place.  It’s a ridiculous way to universe-build, and we need only look at Crossgen as proof.  DC would never have been able to pull this off without characters we’re already attached to.

In other news I also took the time to get a good look at DC’s cover dress this weekend, and man, is it dull!  It looks like it was put together by comic-designing robots.

I can’t help but feel it’s cruel (and repetitive) to keep dumping on DC at every turn, but I get the vibe that DC has turned into a cynical trend-machine and can’t I keep it in check all the time.  That’s it for me this week, what looks good to you?

This Week’s Comics

by Jesse

A lot of potential LAST issues this week around.  Here are this week’s new and noteworthy titles.

  • DAREDEVIL #10.1 - I won’t repeat myself too much here, but more Waid DD is always a plus.
  • HELL YEAH #2 - I was planning on picking this up, but then I realized it’s probably a bad sign that I originally couldn’t remember a single thing about HY #1, other than thinking it was okay.
  • HULK #50 - So, I loathe the Red Hulk character and as much as I hate to say it, Jeff Parker’s losing some steam for me.  This may be a good jumping-off point for me, if it doesn’t capture my attention.
  • SUPREME #63 - This is the last of Alan Moore’s Supreme scripts, drawn by Erik Larsen.  I’m really psyched for it, and then Larsen kicks off his own run on the title.  I can’t see continuing after this issue, though.  Larsen talked to Bleeding Cool over the weekend about his plans going forward, and how Alan Moore’s Supreme was just a poorly-veiled Superman analogue, and how the original character was Superman as a dick.  All true statements, but Larsen plans on going back to the original asshole version, which I have less than zero interest in.  Sure, Liefeld’s crew did it first, but since then EVERYONE has done their Superman as an ass story, and I tend to hate each and everyone.  Dickishness just isn’t a character trait I find myself wanting to read about (see also: every Mark Millar book).  While I’m excited that we’ll finally get the complete Moore run, after that I’m out.
  • THUNDERBOLTS #172 – With T-bolts winding down, I’m waiting until the Dark Avengers relaunch to make the final verdict, but this is just coming out too frequently to really focus on the characters, it’s just trying to keep moving them forward.
  • VENOM #15

More than any of the other Extreme relaunch titles, Bloodstrike #26 feels more like a direct continuation than Glory or Prophet.  That may just be because I’m more familiar with Bloodstrike’s original series than the others, but part of it is the direct references to previously established team members and continuity.  It was a good effort by Tim Seeley and artist Franchesco Gaston, whose linework gave it a very animated feel, showcasing the black ops side of Youngblood, but it wasn’t really something that sparked my interest.  It feels like it would appeal to the 13-year olds much in the same way the original title did, and maybe that’s how it should be.

Frank Castle has always been reflective of the times he lives in, so it makes sense the story approaches do too.   As I’m getting up to speed on Greg Rucka’s Punisher run, it’s becoming somewhat apparent that the past decade for Frank Castle has mirrored Batman’s career. Under Garth Ennis, The Punisher took on the mob and organized crime. Matt Fraction and Rick Remender placed him squarely inside the Marvel Universe, squaring off against heroes and  supervillains alike, a character with a real place inside the 616.  With the new series Rucka decided to take the next step and made The Punisher a force of nature, rarely seen but largely felt, and while Frank does show up the real action seems to occur leading up to and in the aftermath of his appearances.  He’s playing up the urban myth aspect like Batman or Todd McFarlance tries to do with Spawn.  I really think that’s a smart move, as Frank Castle is of such a singular mind that he’s the least interesting thing in his own world.  Still, I’ve never been a huge fan of the character since I prefer my heroes to actually be, you know, heroic.  I love the angle, but once I find the issues on my pull list I think I’ll let Frank drop off my radar until his next reinvention.  Punisher, Inc?

Rick Remender’s walking a very thin line with his Venom ongoing.  He has to appeal to fans of the Venom character, the huge drooling hulk who only wants to eat brains, as well as people like me, who have tuned in more to see how Flash Thompson’s plays out.  But Remender’s a master writer who made a sewn-together Frank Castle Frankenstein story work, so he pulls it all together.  Flash is essentially playing Peter Parker, a government agent partnered with the alien symbiote  trying desperately not to let it take control of his body, while at the same time trying to prevent the job from taking over his life.  If you’ve read Spider-Man you’ve read Venom, but it really works with the dark twist.  And it works fine from the drooling monster angle, to be honest.  This is the most interesting I’ve ever found him as the lead in his own book.

That’s this week, then.  What looks good to you?

Tomorrow’s Comics

by Jesse

I’m so excited for this week, no preamble.  We’re jumping right in! Here are this week’s new and noteworthy releases.

Yes, that's a robot about to whack something with a tiny dinosaur.

  • ATOMIC ROBO REAL SCIENCE ADV #1 $2.75 - New Atomic Robo, and look at that price!  Many issues of AR include backup features written by Brian Clevenger and drawn by other available artists.  Real Science Adventures takes these from the backups and makes them the featured story.  I admit I always appreciate Scott Wegener’s art the most on Robo, partially because he’s just that good, but mainly because the quality of the guest artists tends to fluctuate pretty wildly.  Still, new Robo is new Robo, and you can’t go wrong for less than $3.
  • BLOODSTRIKE #26 - I am SO torn about this one!  On the one hand, it’s Bloodstrike, the main signal that the 90′s had gotten dangerously out of control (yeah, yeah, I read it.  Shut up.).  On the other, The Rob’s Extreme relaunch has been surprisingly good, so it’s got the virtue of being in good company.  I’m in for now.
  • DAREDEVIL #10 - I believe I covered this.
  • FF #16 - After finally finding FF #1, I’ve read the first year’s worth of stories now.  It’s technically good, but I definitely feel like it misses out on part of the appeal of Hickman’s run, namely that just about every story was a standalone but fed into the whole.  It was very artfully done, and after 12 issues a complete story hasn’t been told yet.  I think that’s pretty poor form.  Still, it’s solid FF’ery if you can be patient with it.
  • SNARKED #6
  • TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ONGOING #8

I had planned to take this space to mention Greg Rucka’s new Punisher series, but that will have to wait until next week, when I’ll pair it up with Rick Remender’s new Venom.  So that’s it for this week.  What looks good to you?