Category Archives: This Week's Comics

This Week’s Comics

by Jesse

Such a fun batch of comics this week!  Here’s this Wednesday’s new and noteworthy titles.

  • AXE COP TP VOL 03 - I skipped Volume 2 because I picked up Bad Guy Earth in the single issue format, but with volume 3 the Nicolle bros. continue the printing of their webcomic.  Damn fine madness!
  • BATMAN ODYSSEY VOL 2 #6 (OF 7) - Kudos to DC for getting their act together on this book, as it’s been shipping pretty regularly. Unfortunately, volume 1 was unreadable, so I’ve passed up volume 2 completely.
  • GOON #38
  • INFINITE VACATION #4 (OF 5)
  • PROPHET #23 - The first arc of the “All-New, All-Different” Prophet wraps here.  Good, low-key sci-fi that you should be checking out.
  • REED GUNTHER #9 - Despite reassurances from several sources that this is a good read, my LCS doesn’t get it!  So I may never find out.
  • ROCKETEER ADVENTURES 2 #1 (OF 4) - I’m very glad to see this Rocketeer anthology return, and the news of an ongoing is certainly welcome, as long as IDW doesn’t oversaturate the market with poor content (see: Godzilla).
  • STEED AND MRS PEEL #3 (OF 6) - I wound up missing issue 2 and then realized I didn’t really miss it.  Should I go back and give it another try?
  • STRANGE TALENT OF LUTHER STRODE #6 (OF 6)
  • THUNDERBOLTS #171 - My enthusiasm for this book as been waning; I think it’s stretched too thin by the publishing schedule, but it’s still pretty solid.  Enjoy it now before it becomes Dark Avengers!

I haven’t had a chance to read any of last week’s new comics, but that’s okay because I found a copy of Daredevil #1 (the new series, let’s not get crazy) and got to read the first four issue of Mark Waid’s new title.  I mentioned being impressed by #8, but 1-4 prove it’s not a fluke.

Matt and I met up a couple weeks ago and he mentioned he’s never been a Daredevil fan.  We didn’t get to delve into that any further (I suspect daredevils killed his family when he was a small child), but this is definitely a DD run unlike any other, so I feel it’s worth examining on it’s own merits.  It doesn’t diavow anything that’s come previously, but it definitely takes the approach that the character is getting a fresh start.  For one, it’s not a dark, dour affair.  And complimenting that, it’s definitely a superhero book.  In these first issues he fights The Spot and Klaw.  The Spot, for crying out loud! And not just played for laughs.

Waid manages to meld the best of Superman and Batman in Matt Murdock, in that he can’t help but hear and address crime across New York, but has only martial training and good intentions to back it up.  (Waid manages to throw in a little Hal Jordan/Tony Stark as well, playing up his fearlessness and the the ladies man aspect of his character that MUST have been present this whole time, but never really addressed.)

Marcos Martin and the Paolo/Joe Rivera team are swapping off the art duties.  Both are incredibly strong draftsmen and storytellers, and both have novel new ways of displaying Matt’s radar sense, but if you made me choose, I’d pick the Riveras as the stronger team, if for no reason OTHER than how they showcase the radar.  It’s truly amazing.

If you — like Matt — have been on the fence (or are off the fence completely) on Daredevil, if you enjoy superhero comics you’ll enjoy Daredevil.  The comic springs to life in your hands, and it’s enthusiasm is contagious.

That said, that’s enough for this week.  What’s looking good to you?

This Week’s Comics

by Jesse

This is what I like to see, a bunch of new comics that don’t just focus on superheroes or Big-Two properties.  It’s going to be a good week!  Here are this week’s noteworthy titles.

  • ADVENTURE TIME #2 - While I stand by my review of issue #1, Matt makes some excellent points about this title, as he does so frequently.  Specifically,I agree that the focus should be on done-in-one stories.  Still, I enjoyed it a great deal and am psyched for the new issue.
  • FANTASTIC FOUR #604 - Good news: Marvel isn’t releasing this the same week as FF.  Bad news: the cover price has been jacked up to $3.99, which means it’s getting dropped.  That’s a real shame, since I’m just starting to get current.
  • GLORY #24 - A bit of Promethea-lite (but without all the Magick and funnier), the Extreme relaunch is still going strong.
  • MARK TWAIN TALES OF MYSTERY HC - I mention this new IDW release for Matt, who’s notrious for liking his mysteries Twainy.
  • PUNISHER #9
  • SAGA #1 - A new creator-owned title by Brian K. Vaughn, who’s been sorely missed recently.  Truth be told, I don’t really know what this is going to be about, I just want to be on-board based on the creators.

  • SAUCER COUNTRY #1 - See the above, but replace BKV with Paul Cornell.
  • THIEF OF THIEVES #2

I feel like Jonathan Hickman is re-embracing his creator-owned indie roots.  With the news that he’s leaving both Fantastic Four and FF after a truly epic run, Manhattan Projects seems poised to fill the void.  Like a Warren Ellis comic, it’s full of dark science, big ideas, and life-or-death action.  Also — at least in the first issue — like a Warren Ellis comic it’s somewhat sterile, and full of scientific madness, but not a lot of characterization yet. There’s a good start with Oppenheimer, and Hickman appears set to recreate the Reed Richards/Victor Von Doom dynamic which I hope it is built upon, but the family aspect of both FF books are what kept it grounded and such fun to read.  With those, Hickman was able to rely on our previous familiarity with the characters and improve upon it.  With Manhattan, he has to invent that from scratch.  I have no doubt he will, and I understand there’s only so much room in a first issue, but that’s what will have to happen to take this from a good book to a great book.

The big surprise of last week was the TMNT Micro-Series Donatello one-shot.  A solid, fun story featuring the brainiest of the group, it was a nice look at how Donatello tries to relate to his three brothers and how isolated he is.  While Bryan Lynch’s writing was solid and fun to read, the art by Valerio Schiti was amazing.  Well-detailed, with expressive faces and plenty to look at each panel, I was really surprised at how well-drawn it was.  Not that I’ve had problems with artwork on any of the previous issues, but it’s generally been a more sketchy house style.  Schiti was like a breath of fresh air.

I confess I bought Hell Yeah based on some pre-release hype (and a nice Dave Gibbons-lite cover), but I was more or less pleased that I did.  In a world where superheroes only started to emerge about 20 years ago, they’re treated like gifted students and carefully raised.  Our main character has powers, but isn’t quite sure what to do with them, and has to figure that out along with everything else that has to go along with being 16.  He’s not a villain, but he’s not a hero yet, either.  It’s a nice bit of character examination that has him asking important questions about how you  become the person you will be, and yet never descends into cliche.  The art by Andre Szymanowicz is nice enough, but the characters are stilted enough there still seems to be room for growth.  The layouts are excellent, though, and the backgrounds and environments are well drawn.  Joe Keatinge’s script has me curious where this is going but, much like I’ve been railing about perpetual mysteries in other titles, I wish more #1 issues had more of a mission statement for where the book was heading.  I feel like more and more first issues read like they’re the second or third.  Oh, and Image?  The scanning on the first few pages was abysmal.

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

Tomorrow’s Comics

by Jesse

Alright, it’s Monday, so that means…Ah, yes.  Sorry for the delay, but this week’s This Week’s Comics was pushed back due to some travel plans.  Let’s look at this week’s new and noteworthy titles.

  • FATALE #3 – Truly, I’ve been enjoying Fatale, but I just can’t keep track of what’s going on from month to month.  Jess Nevins’ detailed notes in the backmatter are good, but not enough to keep me reading the monthly.  From here on out I move to the trade.  See you in 4 months, Brubaker and Philips!
  • HONEY BADGER ADVENTURES #1 – I’m not sure if this is about the creature or the football player, but either way, if I can find it I’ll pick it up.  Because both are awesome.

OR…

  • HULK #49 – Much like with Thunderbolts, the increasing frequency is leading to diminishing returns.  I may not be on-board too much longer.
  • MANHATTAN PROJECTS #1 – New Jonathan Hickman creator-owned!  Huzzah!
  • VENOM #14 – Wow, finally a non-point issue!  And potentially the place to hop off so I can get caught up, then decide to continue.
  • VILLAINS FOR HIRE #4 (OF 4)

A brief week, but that’s it.  What looks good to you?

This Week’s Comics

by Jesse

I’m a little grumpy about this week’s comics, but that may just be the fault of last week’s comics.  Here are THIS week’s new and noteworthy titles.

  • ATOMIC ROBO GHOST OF STATION X #5 (OF 5) - Well okay, THIS gets things off to a good start: the conclusion of the 6th volume of Atomic Robo!
  • FANTASTIC FOUR #603 - I’m one issue away from being able to get caught up on both Fantastic Four and FF, but unfortunately that issue is #587, the death of Johnny Storm, which is both rare and pricey at this point.
  • PROPHET #22 - I was VERY impressed with the Prophet relaunch and will be keeping up with it for a while.  It’s not really in the vein of what I normally pick up, but it’s interesting and very readable (unlike the original Prophet run, which I couldn’t wade through) so this comes highly recommended.
  • SECRET AVENGERS #23 - $4?  Yeah, no.  I’m sure I’ll snag it eventually, but not for 4 bucks and not based on the .1 issue that just came out.
  • TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ONGOING #7
  • UNCANNY X-FORCE #22
  • VENOM #13.3 - Just what in the world is going on here???  Point 3?  No Remender?  This is messed up, Marvel.

I’m not the biggest fan of the Adventure Time cartoon writing here, that honor goes to Matt, but I do enjoy it a great deal and check it out somewhat regularly.  Therefore when Boom! ??? announced they were doing a new Adventure Time series written by Ryan North of Dinosaur Comics, I was in. I’ve got to say, it’s pretty great.  It opens with a really
interesting sequence that reveals how the cartoon’s opening sequence was created, in a way that allows for the uninitiated to understand while providomg more depth if you get the reference.  There’s all sorts of easter eggs in this book, including light blue notes in the gutters that are JUST legible enough to read…if you see them.

The main story’s art by Shelli Paroline and Braden Lamb is drawn in the Adventure Time house style, but Aaron Renier’s backup tells a story in his own painted style instead, and it’s a nice touch that we get to see other artistic interpretations of the characters. Boom! and all the creators involved really knocked themselves out with this one, and it’s well worth picking up if you’re a fan of hijinks, high adventure, and high…fist-bumps.

I feel like I’m the only one excited by Rob Liefeld’s Extreme relaunch, but I’m genuinely enjoying it.  Prophet #21 was excellent, and Glory #23 continues the streak of success.  The Rob obviously knows to set up his talent and then get out of the way, as the characters are established and yet feel all-new.  Or in Glory’s case, 500 years old.  Credit artist Ross Campbell with that, as he manages to make Glory look young and childlike yet world-weary and battle-damaged, all at the same time.  The artwork really is an amazing strength.  Writer Joe Keatinge manages to incorporate a healthy amount of intrigue (and provides answers to key questions in the first issue!  What an concept!) while working in enough humor and action to keep things moving.  In fact, the only knock I can think of is that it feels a bit too much like Promethea in places.  As much as I enjoyed Prophet, I loved this book.  It’s been selling briskly, but if you find a copy on the shelf, grab it. 

 

 

Do. Not. Buy.

Bloodstrike and Youngblood will round out the relaunch in the next few months, and while they’re the titles I’m least looking forward to, the strength of the first half are going to force me to give them a chance.

The less said about Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters #12 the better. With the story mostly wrapped up in issue 11, IDW felt it was appropriate to charge $4 for shots of wreckage and a few wrap-up captions.  This is the biggest waste of money I may have ever spent on a comic, and IDW should never have put it out.

Ranting complete, that’s it for me this week.  What looks good to you?

This Week’s Comics

by Jesse

Man, there’s only one book for me out this week! I can’t remember the last time that happened.

  • VENOM #13.1 - I don’t understand what’s going on here at all. Venom #13 just shipped with a new story (the New New Fantastic Four) a couple weeks ago, and now here comes a “new jumping-on point”? Marvel, time to all get on the same page!

I suppose it’s good that this is a light week, as I’ve completed a few important runs this week. I’m now current (on finding, not reading…yet) Jeff Parker’s Thunderbolts. Every single issue is just a joy to read. I’ve also been trying to figure out who Kev Walker’s Juggernaut reminds me of, and it’s Marv from Sin City. I’ve also found all of the issues of Flashpoint, the end of my DC’s incarnation. The most expensive issue was #1, at $3.25. I hadn’t really been looking forward to it, but I imagine it will be a bittersweet read as it signifies my drifting away from DC.

Sorry for such a light report, but the books are what the books are. What’s looking good to you this week? It’s the perfect chance for me to jump in on something new.

This Week’s Comics

by Jesse

A strange assortment of books this time around, but enough to be enthusiastic about!   Here’s this week’s new and noteworthy titles.

  • FATALE #2 - Hellblazer Noir, I’d call this. A book worth checking in on, to be sure. I think it’ll be a fun one, and Brubaker and Philips tend not to overstay their welcome too long, so it’s not likely to be a six-year committment or anything.
  • HULK #48
  • PUNISHER #8
  • REED GUNTHER #8 - I put out a call for good all-ages books on our Google+ page a while back and got a very enthusiastic response for Reed Gunther. So I’m going to give it a shot.
  • STRANGE TALENT OF LUTHER STRODE #5 (OF 6)
  • TWELVE #9 (OF 12) - If Matt wants to dive back in to The Twelve, it’s back. If I had to put money on it, he doesn’t.
  • VENOM #13 - This is a $4 title, so I’ll have to back-issue dive for it in the future, but Remender is doing a callback to the 90s’s “New” Fantastic Four with X-23, Red Hulk, Venom, and the new Ghost Rider. I admit it, I’m curious!
  • WINTER SOLDIER #1 - I haven’t followed Brubaker’s Captain America run with any regularlity, but I’m intrigued enough to plunk down $3 to give it a shot. See how easy that is, Marvel? Solid creators and a reasonable cover price makes it easy to hook a new reader when the cost of entry is essentially disposable income.

In the past couple weeks I’ve gotten a chance to sample two Marvel .1 issues. Uncanny X-Force 19.1 and Secret Avengers 21.1 were both written by Rick Remender, so that’s a pretty good control variable to sample how they’re doing. Ostensibly a “good jumping-on point” for new readers, I was pleased to find them because I’m getting back on the monthly Marvel bandwagon but still have a little catching up to do on the regular series.

What I found with these was definitely a mixed bag, though. UXF was fairly impenetrable to me, and I’d read everything up to issue 11. I had no idea what was going on or why, and though I think I’d have enjoyed it a great deal if I were current on the series, I wasn’t, and thus the whole point of the Point 1 was negated. Secret Avengers did a much better job at getting me up to speed, though that was potentially just due to it being Remender’s first issue on the title. We find out that Captain America and Hawkeye are on a covert mission on foreign soil, and Cap is evaulating Hawkeye to take on a leadership role with whoever the rest of the team will be going forward. And as a jumping on point it worked great, but as a book in and of itself I had some issues. To wit:

  • A dude dressed like Captain America is NOT a fit for a covert mission. Though they address that in-story, it just feels like the wrong solution. I tell you, for all the times it feels like a character gets a new costume for a toy line or because the artist wants to put their own mark on a character, this is one of the times it would have made sense if he wore something else.
  • Hawkeye’s moviefication. Come on, Marvel, you know it won’t last. Hawkeye’s digs are iconic. You should make the movies conform to you or just let them be separate.
  • Hawkeye can fly now? Oh, sure, he’s firing some sort of rocket arrow, but that’s some serious Silver Age weirdness there. There’s even one panel where he’s swinging off like Romita’s Spider-Man. What the what?
  • The Avengers should be a bright and shiny superheroic example to the world, not a covert ops team. There’s a place for those teams (see: X-Force), but other than branding it doesn’t need to sit under the Avengers umbrella. There are plenty of unused Marvel trademarks, let’s use one of those. Or better yet, invent a new team name!

If I’m honest, the only issues of SA I’ve enjoyed at all were Warren Ellis’ brief run. I’ll give Remender a few issues because he’s usually great, but after that I’m willing to call the whole thing off for disinterest.

That’s enough ranting and raving for one week. What’s looking good to you?

This Week’s Comics

by Jesse

A light batch this time around.  Here’s this week’s new and noteworthy titles.

  • FANTASTIC FOUR #602 and FF #14 - I confess I don’t know why Marvel decided to release these both on the same day rather than spacing them throughout the month, but I’m getting them both, so I suppose it doesn’t matter.
  • GODZILLA KINGDOM OF MONSTERS #11 - And the monsters keep on rollin’.
  • SECRET AVENGERS #21.1 - I’m caught up through 17 and looking forward to seeing how Rick Remender takes over.  
  • TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ONGOING #6

Last week Prophet #21 led the new Extreme relaunch, surprising just about everybody, myself included.  I recently re-read (if you can call it that) a few older issues and even with the reliable Chuck Dixon scripting I found them fairly incomprehensible and Stephen Platt’s — which I remember being impressed with at the time — had not aged well at all.  
The conventional wisdom is that this is a European-style book, and while I can’t vouch for that description, it is unlike anything else on the stands right now.  The book allow for absolutely no knowledge of what’s come before, and yet contains many of the Liefeldian tropes you’d expect, like giant knives and orbiting space station acronyms.  The art is highly detailed, yet easy to read and follow.  Earth teems with fauna unlike anything I’ve seen represented in a comic before, a nice sign as to the creativity of the creators.  The plot, though a little on the complex side, is definitely easier to follow than the original series.  

Prophet #21 is currently sold out, but should you find a copy, snag it.  And let it lure you into sampling more of the Extreme 2012 relaunch.  Glory, especially, looks to be a winner, and we’ll finally get the rest of Alan Moore’s Supreme scripts with Erik Larsen providing the art.

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

This Week’s Comics

by Jesse

Another week, another strange half-dozen assorted comics.  There’s this week’s new and noteworthy titles.

Not your daddy's Prophet comic!

  • PROPHET #21 - The Rob’s Extreme relaunch begins here!  When comicdom’s best writers like Warren Ellis and Rick Remender praise Liefeld’s comics, you KNOW they’re going to be something special.  Prophet looks to be the best of them, as John Prophet’s story picks up years after the original Stephen Platt series and promises a more more European-style book.  I don’t know how much it’ll appeal to me, really, but I’ve GOT to check out such a drastic revamp.
  • STEED AND MRS PEEL #1 (OF 6) - This one is new to me, but it looks like a new Grant Morrison series, so I’m in.
  • SUPERIOR #7 (OF 7) - I picked up the first handful of issues before last year’s experiment and I’m astounded to see it hadn’t wrapped up yet.  And it looks like I hadn’t missed it that much.  
  • THUNDERBOLTS #169
  • VENOM #12 
  • VOLTRON #2 - The Voltron relaunch wasn’t especially good.  Give it a miss unless your love of the big guy won’t let you do otherwise.

If your area is anything like mine, Fatale #1 got a lot of press and sold out quickly.  And with good reason.  Brubaker and Phillips’ latest is essentially a Hellblazer noir title, and the mystery is pretty intriguing.  While the seemingly-endless run of new mysteries is unquestionably producing more misses than hits, this isn’t one of them.  These guys have a great, established track record and I’ll be picking this one up for a while.

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

This Week’s Comics

by Jesse

It’s an especially light week, what with my not getting an New 52 titles and not padding my pull list with Marvel titles I wouldn’t  ordinarily pick up (like this week’s Avengers).  So this week’s This Week’s Comics is what I’ll actually drive home with, which is nice.
It was great to pick up Jeff Parker’s Hulk and Thunderbolts fresh, though.

Anyway, here are this week’s new and noteworthy titles.

  • PIGS #5 - The mystery gets deeper and Nate Cosby — an editor for Marvel  — shows he knows how to build it right.  I’ve complained some recently about aimless mysteries that exist for their own sake, and this is not one of those examples.*
  • ROGER LANGRIDGES SNARKED #4 - We’ve spoken at length about this title and writer/artist Roger Langridge.  We are fans of both.
  • STRANGE TALENT OF LUTHER STRODE #4 (OF 6) - What if the characters Mark Millar came up with weren’t completely sociopathic shitheads?  If that idea appeals to you, so will this.

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

* Matt asked then if Morning Glories was one of those titles and at the time it wasn’t, but I’ve just finished the second trade and we still have absolutely no idea what this school is, what it’s trying to do or why it’s so evil.  Twelve issues in.  I’m enjoying the book but that’s still a big FAIL.

This Week’s Comics

by Jesse

A new year, a new batch of comics, but at least they’re still shipping on time!  (That’s tomorrow, kids.)  Expect more mainstream titles to appear now that my experiment is over, but I’m still putting a halt to $4 books not released by independent publishers.  Marvel and DC should know better. That out of the way, here are this week’s new and noteworth titles.

  • AVENGERS ANNUAL #1
  • AVENGERS X-SANCTION #2 (OF 4) - The event sucker in me is all over this even as the fiscally responsible side doesn’t care.  This is one I won’t pick up this week but will wait until I can find cheaper.
  • GODZILLA LEGENDS #3 (OF 5) - I’ve spoken somewhat in depth about this title, and how it’s essentially horrible but still finds certain redeeming qualities.  Still, I’m over it unless there’s an absolutely insane cover.
  • GOON #37
  • HULK #47 - Hello, Jeff Parker!
  • PUNISHER #7 - I should be caught up on Rucka’s Punisher very soon, and I’m looking forward to continuing the run in real time.  I never thought I would say that about a non-Ennis Punisher.
  • THUNDERBOLTS #168 - See also HULK #47.
  • UNCANNY X-FORCE #19.1 - I’m about 8 issues behind on UXF, but these .1 issues are supposed to be good jumping-on points for titles, right?  In I jump, and it will determine whether or not I stay on the…trampoline?  What a weird metaphor.
  • VILLAINS FOR HIRE #2 (OF 4)

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