Were Money No Object – The April Preview Edition With Dark Horse, DC Comics, Image, Marvel, Ballantine, Boom & Valiant

Columns, Top Story

How nice it is to sit here, with some snow still on the ground, and think about June, and all the warm weather and great comics it will bring.

Dark Horse

I find it really interesting that there is a new Witchfinder mini-series that doesn’t have Mike Mignola’s name attached to it at all.  Were this being written by some of his usual collaborators, I’d be buying it for sure, especially with Tyler Crook drawing it, but since I don’t know Kim Newman or Maura McHugh, I’m going to wait and take a look at it on the stands.

DC

Dan Didio and Keith Giffen are reviving Jack Kirby’s classic characters for the New 52 in Infinity Man and the Forever People.  Giffen is a creator I hold in very high regard, but Didio is the opposite of that, so I’m going to pass.  Any guesses on whether or not this outlasts OMAC, their last collaboration?

Two issues in, three if you count the zero issue, and there is still no scheduled crossover with Justice League United.  I might actually buy this series.  I really like the lineup and the creators, and although I’m wary of pretty-boy Lobo showing up, if this title really does stand on its own, I’m going to start getting it.  Once it becomes involved in an event, I’m dropping it.

I guess that it’s a big deal that Geoff Johns and John Romita Jr. are taking over Superman for somebody, but that somebody is not me.  It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed work by either creator, so this is an easy pass.

Image

Image’s section in Previews is always the one that I’m most excited to look at each month, because it’s the one place where I’m guaranteed to find something new and exciting to look forward to.

This month, that’s Outcast, a new series by Robert Kirkman and Paul Azaceta.  It’s a horror series dealing with possession, and it should be pretty cool.  The first issue is double-sized for only $3, so it’s worth checking out.

Also causing excitement is The Wicked + The Divine, a new series by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie.  Both of these creators are at their best when they work together, as you can see from any issue of Phonogram or Young Avengers, and I love that they are reuniting for a creator-owned book.  I don’t even care what it’s about, I’m buying it.

Red City looks interesting.  Writer Daniel Corey wrote Moriarty, which was a good read, and I like science fiction cop stories.  I’ll see how I feel when it comes out.

I’ve been a fan of Ted McKeever’s work since the first issue of Metropol came out, but increasingly, I’ve not been able to really get what he’s going for in his recent series.  I think I’m going to trade-wait The Superannuated Man this time around.  Life is confusing enough.

That’s Because You’re a Robot is a one-shot drawn by Shaky Kane about two cops, one of whom is a robot.  I don’t need to know more than that to pre-order this.

Marvel

I can see myself ending up buying Original Sin despite myself, because I have a tendency to get drawn into Marvel’s event books, but the thought of Gamorra, Moon Knight, and Winter Soldier hanging out on another planet doesn’t really work for me.  What I’m not interested in, at least so far, is the Original Sins five-part series that has no creator names or description attached to it.  I also see that Original Sin has four issues between #3 and #4 (3.1, 3.2, etc.) which look like they could be two issues each of Iron Man and Hulk, based on the creative teams.  Why all the secrets?  Doesn’t that turn people off?

I just dropped Deadpool because I don’t want to pay a massive amount of money for #27, but issue 30 features disco-era Dazzler.  I may end up caving…

Does Hulk have enough popularity to support a second title, fashioned after Savage Wolverine, with rotating creators and story arcs called Savage Hulk?  I’m not sure, but a Hulk and X-Men story by Alan Davis is mighty tempting.  I love how the cover has the other characters, which are clearly the original X-Men, blacked out, but the solicitation text talks about them.  It’s a $4 book, so I’ll buy it at a sale some day.

The New Avengers Annual has art by Marco Rudy!  This is a Doctor Strange story, written by Frank J. Barbiere, and I know it’s going to be absolutely gorgeous.  Rudy is the most exciting artist working in comics right now, in my opinion.  Can’t wait to look at this.

June looks to be the month for oversized issues of X-Men by creators I don’t know.  There’s an Uncanny X-Men Special featuring Iron Man and Nova, and an Amazing X-Men Annual that focuses on Storm.  I’m not buying either of these.

I was going to drop Amazing X-Men, but now Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost are reuniting to write the comic, and my interest has been revived.  Unfortunately Ed McGuinness is still drawing the title, but I have hope that he won’t be able to maintain a monthly schedule and will get replaced soon.  This could be a good X-Book; Kyle and Yost’s X-Force and New X-Men were incredible.

Ballantine Books

It’s very exciting to see that Bryan Lee O’Malley’s new graphic novel, Seconds, the follow-up to Scott Pilgrim, is finally being released in July.  I think it’s a shame that O’Malley went with a book publisher rather than a comics publisher, but I’m sure the advance was a lot better.  It just would have been nice to give that kind of a financial boost to Oni Press.

Boom!

I’m intrigued by The Empty Man, a new series by writer Cullen Bunn and artist Vanesa Del Rey, who blew me away with her issue of Zero.  The fact that the word ‘J-Horror’ is used in describing this is a bit of a turnoff though.  I’ll wait and see.

Thomas Alsop also looks interesting, especially since I first thought that the cover, by series artist Palle Schmidt, was by Gabriel Bá and/or Fábio Moon.

Valiant

I’m not too happy to see that the Armor Hunters, Valiant’s next big event, has eighteen parts to it.  In addition to the four-issue Armor Hunters mini-series, there are tie-ins to Unity and X-O Manowar.  All that makes sense, as those titles are already pretty related.  What worries me are the two mini-series, Armor Hunters: Bloodshot and Armor Hunters: Harbinger.  At this point, I don’t know if these are replacing the monthly books for three months or are in addition to them, which would effectively double-ship them for the whole summer.  Right now, I already buy all of these titles, although Bloodshot is perennially on the edge of being cut.  I hope there is a compelling story reason to involve all these characters, and it’s not just a cash grab.  As for the chromium covers?  There is no way I’m spending an extra two dollars per book to pretend it’s twenty years ago.  I’m glad they are offering the standard editions, or I’d be skipping the entire event.

Was Eternal Warrior canceled?  This is the second month in a row that it wasn’t solicited.  If so, that’s too bad, it is just getting good.

So what caught your eye in this month’s Previews?  Let us know in the comments!

Get in touch and share your thoughts on what I've written: jfulton@insidepulse.com