John Babos
- Action Comics #983 – Really glad to see such a powerful Revenge Squad go up against the Superman Family led by… Lex Luthor?!
- Bug The Adventures of the Forager #3 – The Allreds are channeling Kirby in the most amazing ways.
- Dark Days The Casting #1 – The road to Dark Nights: Metal and Dark Matter continues.
- Detective Comics #960 – Still waiting on Tim Drake’s return.
- Flash #26 – Zoom!
- Red Hood and the Outlaws #12 – I love, this quirky dark trinity
- Suicide Squad #21 – Enter Harley Quinn as field leader?! Wha?
- Superwoman #12 – Lana Lang as a super heroine has been refreshing.
- Titans #13 – Definitely in my Top 5 DC Rebirth reads.
Mike Maillaro
- DARK DAYS: THE CASTING #1 – I read FORGE and have been following the solicits for METAL, and I’ll be honest, I am still not sure where things are heading. BUT, I am really enjoying DC’s bigger picture. Funny enough, I am sort of reminded of the second DC SUPERHERO GIRLS movie where Dark Opal and Eclipso were stealing all kinds of alien metals for their plan.
- SPIDER-MEN II #1 – It kind of feels strange to have a sequel to SPIDER-MEN since Miles Morales exists in the mainstream Marvel universe, and as far as we knew, in the post-Secret Wars Marvel universe, he always has. Marvel hasn’t really filled in that backstory. In SPIDER-MEN II, we are supposed to meet Miles Morales of Marvel Earth. Looks like Bendis is just ignoring Secret Wars. Yey for Marvel editorial policies. Maybe they should have released this five years ago when SPIDER-MEN was still relevant.
- BUG THE ADVENTURES OF FORAGER #3 – While I lost interest in the rest of Young Animal, BUG has been awesome. I have always had such a love for Mike Allred’s art, and BUG reminds me so much of MADMAN. Shame this is only a mini-series, I definitely need more BUG!
- WONDER WOMAN #26 – Greg Rucka’s run was the first time I really read WONDER WOMAN for any extended period of time. That said, I am looking forward to seeing what Shea Fontana can do with the character. It’s definitely a good time to be a WONDER WOMAN fan.
- SUICIDE SQUAD #21 – Last issue, Harley Quinn was made leader of the SUICIDE SQUAD. This is a huge stretch for believably. But Suicide Squad has been pretty solid since REBIRTH started, so I am willing to see where this series goes from here. But if it’s just to market Harley Quinn more, a character I am very bored of, I don’t know how long I will stick around.
- UNCLE SCROOGE #28 – IDW has been doing a massive restructure of it’s Disney titles with Mickey, Donald, and Disney Comics and Stories all coming to abrupt ends to be replaced by quarterly titles. UNCLE SCROOGE is the last title continuing as it was all along. Hopefully they can get some interest on these books. I am a huge fan of these series, and it’s been great to see some stories that were never released in America before.
- HARBINGER RENEGADE #5 – Valiant has been hyping this issue up for a while now. A major character is supposed to die, and it’s supposed to set up some major changes in the Valiant universe. Plus HARD CORPS is back. I think it’s safe to assume Faith will be surviving this issue, but everyone else is fair game.
- Animosity #8
- Animosity The Rise #2
- Black-Eyed Kids #13
- World Reader #4
- Josie And The Pussycats #8
- Action Comics #983
- Batgirl And The Birds Of Prey #12
- Detective Comics #960
- Flash #26
- Hal Jordan And The Green Lantern Corps #24
- Justice League Of America #10
- New Super-Man #13
- Red Hood And The Outlaws #12
- Scooby Apocalypse #15
- Supergirl #11
- Titans #13
- Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files Dog Men #2
- Mighty Mouse #2
- Micronauts Wrath Of Karza #3 (Of 5)
- Youngblood #3
- Amazing Spider-Man #30
- Deadpool #33
- Defenders #3
- Generation X #4
- Hulk #8
- Jean Grey #4
- Old Man Logan #26
- Rocket #3
- Secret Warriors #4
- Star Wars Darth Vader #3
- Star Wars Doctor Aphra #9
- Uncanny Avengers #25
- Weapon X #5
- X-Men Blue #7
James Fulton
- Calexit #1 – I really enjoyed Pizzolo and Nahuelpan’s work on Young Terrorists, so I expect to be all over this new title about California’s secession from the United States. This is the week for secessionist comics, with new issues of Briggs Land and Grass Kings also coming out. Is there something in the zeitgeist perhaps?
- Last Song #1 – Black Mask has been excellent of late, so I thought I’d preorder this book about a band and their music. I love music as much as I do comics, and they often go well together, so it’s worth a shot.
- Mage: The Hero Denied #0 – I’ve been a big fan of Matt Wagner for decades now (even if I don’t read his licensed Dynamite stuff), so I’m definitely ready to dive into Mage again. I like that Kevin Matchstick has aged alongside Wagner (and, sadly, myself) so we are getting a more mature perspective on this character.
- Spider-Men II #1 – I strongly believe that the only good work that Brian Michael Bendis does these days has Miles Morales in it, and when Sara Pichelli is drawing him, I’m definitely down. Bendis writing Peter Parker is annoying though, so I’m a little trepidatious about this return to having these two characters meet again, especially since I don’t really understand Miles’s place in the post-Secret Wars landscape. As always, Bendis tends to ignore continuity in things like this.
Matt Graham
- Animosity #8 – The dog and his girl continue their journey.
- Animosity: Rise #2 – The supplementary one-shot to Animosity expands into a mini-series. The world of Animosity suits an anthology format, so I look forward to more facets being explored.
- Josie and the Pussycats #8 – My third Marguerite Bennett book of the week sees Josie and the Pussycats hitting Tokyo. For my money, Bennett and artist Audrey Mok have the best of all the new Archie line.
- Wonder Woman #26 – James Robinson’s run doesn’t start until #31, but Shea Fontana and Mirka Andolfo step in-between for a fresh arc. A good jumping on point for new and lapsed readers.
- Mage: The Hero Denied #0 – I first read about the 1980s Mage: The Hero Discovered in Wizard magazine as they looked back on it to hype The Hero Defined in 1997. This week, the final part of the trilogy begins. I haven’t read any Mage since 2004.
At first glance it’s a take on the Hero’s Journey by way King Arthur and Merlin, but it becomes a deconstruction of myth and literature and heroes all while showcasing Matt Wagner’s grown as an artist, writer, and storyteller. It’s a worthwhile read for anyone with an interest in comics, and this is a good jumping on point if you don’t want to start from scratch
- Edge of Venomverse #2 – I didn’t know what to expect from this event and I only picked it up because I dig Matthew Rosenberg’s ideas and scripting. He’s one of the rare writers at Marvel who can make a single issue feel packed with content these days. Also, sure, I’m the reader you can blame that thinks the idea of Venomizing heroes could be fun. Rosenberg’s first issue that reimagined not just X-23, but NYX, had enough care put into it, I’d have stuck around even if the next issue didn’t tackle Gwenpool.
In a summer of HYDRA Cap, Venom Everyone, and the looming Generations: Marvel, just bring back What If… while we’re doing these events.
- Gen X #4 – I did not like the first issue, but issues #2 and #3 recovered and stuck the landing. There’s a lot of nostalgic bias keeping my interest, but Christina Strain is banking on it with appearances by Chamber and now M-Plate (that’s two original Gen X throwbacks in one character!), so…hey, it’s working.
- Hulk #8 – Jen Walters hulked out for 3 pages in last week’s Daredevil, and that’s almost as much as she’s been Hulk in the past 7 issues of her own title. Mariko Tamaki went with a slow burn on the first arc with the new grieving, angry Jen, and while I don’t think it was the best way to kickoff the book, I enjoyed the deconstructing character studies and mental health commentary framing this title. It’s different and not what most readers want out of a book called Hulk, but I buy this over the other Hulk book with actual smashing, so you know where my tastes lie.
Last issue called back to Jen’s YouTube baking channel therapy from early on, and this issue looks like a quicker Hulk-out and beatdown is promised when her favourite bake streamers turn into the kind of monsters Hulks can smash.
- Jean Grey #4 – Jean Grey was always cool. Time displaced Teen Jean was extra cool. This current Jean in RessurXion is the coolest, bar none. Cullen Bunn has made some inspired choices with character growth, motives, and social dynamics over in X-Men Blue, making for some of the freshest Jean in years. Then we have Dennis Hopeless giving us Jean’s self-titled debut that’s all about beating the crap out of the Phoenix to avoid her destiny. This involves learning about the Phoenix and studying under all the great ass kickers in Marvel. This issue’s stop? The Odinson. One of the top books coming out of the X-Bullpen.
- Also grabbing:
- Deadly Class #29
- X-Men Blue #7
- Weapon X#5
