Mike Maillaro
- MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #0 – It’s Morphin time! I am actually slightly embarrassed by how excited I am for this book. I was a little too old for Power Rangers when it first came out, but all of my kids are big fans, especially of the new series, Dino Charge. So I’ve been watching a lot of Power Rangers with them, and we’re all really looking forward to reading this next week.
- GROO FRIENDS AND FOES #12 – Has it been 12 issues already??? It was great having a regular dose of Groo every month for the last year. I have been a huge fan of the character since I got a random issue in a pack of comics years ago. In the issue, Groo’s dog Rufferto ends up getting worshipped by a group of villagers who thinks he resembles their god. I was only like 12 at the time, but I still thought it was real clever satire. I also had the privilege of meeting Sergio Argones and Mark Evanier. Sergio even drew my wife a picture of Groo holding a flower. So…uhm…buy this book!
- GREEN LANTERN CORPS – EDGE OF OBLIVION #1 – I am not sure why this book didn’t just continue as Lost Army. Instead, we get a 6 issue mini with a different creative team. I thought Lost Army was a great story, with several Green Lantern Corps members being stuck in the universe that existed before the current DCU. We’ve gotten to see some fresh takes on Green Lantern villains like Krona. Green Lantern had gotten pretty stale, and I thought Lost Army was a great new direction. Hopefully, Edge of Oblivion will keep things moving too.
- TROOP #2 – Troop is a cool new take on superheroes by actor, writer, director Noel Clarke. And just because I love shameless self-promotion, I was quoted on the promotional materials for the second issue, so of course this book would be featured on my list of the best books of the week.
- DEATH-DEFYING DOCTOR MIRAGE SECOND LIVES #2 – I was a huge fan of the old Valiant Doctor Mirage series. To be honest, I did kind of find the first new Valiant Doctor Mirage mini-series to be a little boring. I don’t think I even got around to finishing it. I was going to skip the second series too, but I ended up reading a preview copy of the first issue. I thought it was a huge improvement, and I will probably buy the rest of this series.
- SECRET WARS #9 – I am just happy that this series is finally over. I honestly have just about no interest in whatever happens in this comic. The “new” Marvel universe doesn’t seem like it was all that heavily impacted by however Secret Wars ended, so for me, the only reason this book is on my radar is because I had managed to work with my friends to review every single tie-in. Now we will finally be done with that obscene task!
- PRECINCT #2 – Precinct is a fun mashup steampunk murder mystery by Dynamite. Part of me was hoping that this was set in Dynamite’s Legenderry universe, but it’s still a great series on it’s own.
- BACK TO THE FUTURE #4 – IDW’s mini-series filling in the gaps of the Back to the Future movies has been a lot of fun. If nothing else, it’s been great to find out how Doc and Marty became friends in the first place. They recently announced this will be an ongoing series. Since we will probably never get another BTTF movie, it’s great to see the story continued and expanded.
- ALL-NEW – Marvel has four books this week with “All-New” in the title. All-New Hawkeye, All-New Wolverine, All-New X-Men, and All-New All-Different Avengers. I actually enjoy all four books, but my cynicism wonders if Marvel does that to ensure their books will be closer to the front of the store in comic shops that put their new books on the way alphabetically…which is quite a few shops I’ve been in.
- ROBIN WAR #2 – One of the most laid back crossovers I’ve seen in the years I’ve read comics. Just a handful of titles with most of them not even being necessary to the main story. I have enjoyed Robin War quite a bit, and I’m hoping this leads to some shakeups in the Bat-titles.
- SCARLET WITCH #2 – I wasn’t sure if I was going to pick up this book, but I enjoyed the lead-in from Uncanny Avengers Annual. James Robinson has been putting out some great books for Marvel (including SQUADRON SUPREME which also ships this week). I just hope that the “death of magic” going on here ties into Doctor Strange. That could make for a really cool story if it happened on a bigger scale.
Matt Graham
- Legend of Wonder Woman #1 – A Wonder Woman title written and penciled by Renae De Liz is a sure shot for me. She organized the Womanthology poroject and turned out an amazing The Last Unicorn comic and Peter Pan Kickstarter. One of the best storytellers in the business tackling one of my favourite DC characters. Done.
- All-New Wolverine #4 – My shop never got #3, even though Diamond charged them for it. I was told #3 is due next week, so I’ll grab both.
- All-New X-Men #3 – Uncanny was alright, but this is still the best X-Men book going.
- Black Knight #3 – Dane Whitman has always been one of my favourite Avengers and I’m liking where this title is going.
- Scarlet Witch #2 – Love Marvel trying something different. Hoping James Robinson can work some Starman magic on this title. Edit: Can’t believe I overlooked it as Jim pointed out. Phenomenal artist Marco Rudy put in incredible work on this issue, ensuring that one page will be worth most other books’ entire contents. Buy it for that watercolored cityscape alone.
- Death-Defying Doctor Mirage Second Lives #2 – Grabbed last issue on a whim out of nostalgia for the original Valiant series. One of my favourite efforts from the new Valiant.
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #0 – I used to make fun of my friends for watching this show. Then the Green Ranger Saga hit. And then I saw Amy Jo Johnson. Then in my most akward preteen times I started to wish I had a little melody alert to excuse me from embarrassing situations so I could suit up. I never kept up with the show past Zeo, but I’m down for more of what I knew.
John Babos
9 books this week.
- Batman and Robin Eternal #15 – Batman’s teenaged sidekicks continue to be spotlit in this weekly series.
- Batman / Superman #28 – Writer Tom Taylor takes over the series, so I’m checking out this tale from the past when Batman was Bruce Wayne and Superman had powers. Looking forward to some Robson Rocha art too!
- Earth 2 Society #8 – More alternate Earth JSA goodness.
- Green Lantern Corps: Edge of Oblivion #1 – Writer Tom Taylor and artist Ethan Van Sciver take up the threads left by writer Cullen Bunn and artist Jesus Saiz in Green Lantern: Lost Army. Should be good.
- New Suicide Squad #16 – A fave concept and series.
- Ninjak #11 – The new arc continues with Shadowman!
- Robin War #2 – Didn’t really follow all the x-overs. Only picked up issue #1 and the books I usually read. Hopefully issue #2 will be accessible.
- Secret Wars #9 – It. Is. Finally. Over.
- Squadron Supreme #3 – I’m really enjoying writer James Robinson and artist Leonard Kirk’s take on Marvel’s multiversal JLA. It takes the archetypes into interesting and fresh directions.
James Fulton
- Injection #6 – Warren Ellis is basically revisiting his formula from Planetary, but with a more folklore and hacker based interpretation, and while it took a little while to really ‘get’ it, I am very much enjoying this title. Glad to see it back for the launch of the second arc.
- Scarlet Witch #2 – I’m surprised that Matt Graham didn’t comment on this, but this issue has art by the incredible Marco Rudy. Knowing that he would be painting #2 is the only reason why I picked up #1, in case I needed it to better understand the story. Beyond that, I have little interest in this title, but I love Rudy’s work, and hope we see him in a regular or semi-regular title again soon.
- Secret Wars #9 – Once this is over, I know I’m going to be annoyed and frustrated by it, but seeing as this will be Jonathan Hickman’s last Marvel book for the foreseeable future, I hope to see it wrap up his plot completely.
- Violent #2 – The first issue of this new Image series written by Ed Brisson and drawn by Adam Gorham was pretty much perfect. This is a crime series that deals with gentrification and the stigma of a criminal past, and it’s great. Really looking forward to this one.
- The Walking Dead #150 – Robert Kirkman has a habit of doing some pretty terrible things to his characters in milestone issues, so I am a little frightened of what might happen in this issue. I’m also amazed by just how successful this book is. I don’t read any other title that’s hit a number this big without being relaunched.
Phil Allen
Not a big week for me as I’m still catching up on reading (so close!)…
- Gotham Academy #14 – A new chapter of Gotham Academy begins, along with several guest creators!
- The Legend of Wonder Woman #1 – A new mini series focusing on Diana’s childhood on Themyscira. This should fill the void left by the cancellation of Sensation Comics for awhile!
- John Flood #6 – Final issue! This has been an interesting series with an original concept and I’m excited to see how it all ends.
- Injection #6 – New arc! It’s taken a couple issues for me to get into this series and now I’m intrigued to see where it’s going…
- Rebels #10 – What I find interesting about this series is the way Brian Wood tells the story of the Revolutionary war not just through so many different eyes, but from different sides of the war. In issue 9, we saw a Native American man ally with the settlers, and now we get the perspective of a Red Coat!
- Other issues I’m looking forward to:
- All-New Hawkeye #3
- Batman ’66 Meets The Man from U.N.C.L.E. #2
- Batman / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2
- Catwoman #48
- Constantine: The Hellblazer #8
- Descender #9
- Fables: The Wolf Among Us #13
- The Robin War #2
Paul Miranda
- HERO HOURLY #2 (of 3)
This ain’t your typical 9-to-5 gig. Shape up or ship out!! What more trouble can Saul Smirkanski experience??
- inSEXts #2
Steamy, sexy, second serving.
- MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #0
Gonna be completely honest here, I just want to buy all seven covers. I’ve never got into MMPR in any medium. I’m familiar with all the characters but they’re not individuals that strike my fancy. Kyle Higgins will no doubt remain respectful and be guns blazing. Correction: Zord power!!
- PITIFUL HUMAN-LIZARD #3
- PITIFUL HUMAN-LIZARD #4
Woo-hoo!! It’s Jason Loo’s own creation: PHL. Double dose, no less!! This indie Canadian fave is now under the ChapterHouse Comics banner. It’s a gratifying way to acknowledge the delay and satisfy the readers’ craving ;-D
- SPIRIT LEAVES #1
Scottish ex-pat Rossi Gifford is now a red, white, and red Canadian!! I had the pleasure of meeting this triple-talented young lady at Toronto FANeXpo 2015. Her book was for sale at the ChapterHouse booth. I eagerly bought all three covers. I don’t mind purchasing them again to support her in every single way
- BURNT COMIX #1 (of 4)
My exploration of the outré continues in 2016. I have yet to read anything from Creature Entertainment. This will be my initiation.
- BATMAN Meets the MAN from U.N.C.L.E. #2 (of 6)
- BATMAN & ROBIN ETERNAL #15 (of 26)
- BATMAN/TMNT #2 (of 6)
- LEGEND of WONDER WOMAN #1 (of 9)
Woo-eee!!! I’ve been biting my nails in eager anticipation and furiously crossing off the calendar days. Renae De Liz is a new name in my limited knowledge but I’m going to admire and appreciate another triple-talented storyteller.
- ROBIN WAR #2 (of 2)
The concept has been cooler than the delivery. The tie-in issues have been satisfactory. The actual first issue of this was intriguing and an excellent lengthy start. It’s a no-brainer that things wrap up here. What will be the ramifications??
- SUPERMAN: AMERICAN ALIEN #3 (of 7)
Joëlle Jones is the latest rotating artist to jump on board Max Landis’ signature spin on a young Clark Kent long before his heroic career. Clark is mistaken for billionaire Bruce Wayne? That gets me going!!
- WALKING DEAD #150
If you’re not a comic connoisseur, walk away right now!! No pun intended. Aside from the epic run that is just entering its thirteenth year, the fan-frenzy has extended to all corners of the world!! With not one, but two live action series, this is the ultimate modern pop culture phenomenon. Anniversary issues are major game-changers by default. In other words: death of a major character. Who will kick the bucket??
- BIRTHRIGHT #13
- HUCK #3
- The VIOLENT #2
- SECRET WARS #9
Happy happy, joy joy This better not be a fake-out. Otherwise, I propose a full-fledged revolt!! No solicitations. No leaks. That’s a step in the right direction. I’m sure I’m one of millions pondering the fate of the FF.
- AGENTS of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1
January is the slow month of the year, the recovery period after X-Mas. Only one ANADM this time around. While the TV series is on hiatus, follow the crazy chronicles of Coulson and his crew here. Plus, Mockingbird’s newest duds with wicked wings should have you jumping for joy.
- ALL-NEW ALL-DIFFERENT AVENGERS #3
- ALL-NEW HAWKEYE #3
- SCARLET WITCH #2
- CAPTAIN AMERICA: SAM WILSON #5
Sam Wilson molted his Falcon identity the second he inherited the Sentinel of Liberty’s shield and moniker. DUH!! Continuing the ANADM tradition, a recently introduced character takes on the aviary appellation – Joaquin Torres!! His origin is unfolded in this issue.
- DEATH-DEFYING DR. MIRAGE: SECOND LIVES #2 (of 4)
- LUCIFER #1 Special Edition
- TRUE BELIEVERS: DETECTIVE DEADPOOL
- TRUE BELIEVERS: UNCANNY DEADPOOL
More affordable re-prints!! I keep harping on this: what’s free or reasonably priced can end up going for high amounts of cashola. There’s also the nostalgia factor and genuine interest.
