John Babos
8 new books this week.
- Astonishing X-Men #1
- Batman ’66 Meets the LOSH #1
- Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye #10
- Green Arrow #27
- Green Lanterns #2
- Rapture #3
- Super Sons #6
- Trinity #11
I’m predominantly a DC guy.
That said, I’ve sadly seen my Valiant reads dwindle as several books that I read being cancelled or on hiatus or whatever Valiant calls them: Eternal Warrior, Ivar Timewalker plus Archer and Armstrong. Glad I still have Ninjak and Bloodshot though.
Now, Marvel, I’ve tried a few books that Marvel have stealth cancelled on me: Squadron Supreme, Thunderbolts and Prowler to name a few (although Prowler could have been a stealth mini-series as Marvel doesn’t announce if a superhero series is an ongoing or a mini anymore). I currently read Cable and Astonishing X-Men (the latter debuting this week with 2 faves of mine in Gambit and Bishop). However, with Marvel Legacy’s move to Cable 150, and a new writer, I may be off the book. I picked up Cable because James Robinson was writing it; well at least I’ll be able to read his Wonder Woman from DC Rebirth in the Fall.
Aftershock has me reading Rough Riders and Dynamite has me picking up anything Bionic.
And, that’s it for me. I need to save up for my kid’s education.
James Fulton
- Aliens: Dead Orbit #3 – James Stokoe is brilliant. His highly detailed art is perfect for this property.
- Astonishing X-Men #1 – I can’t tell you how ready I am for a solid flagship X-Men book. I think Charles Soule is an excellent choice to write it, but I don’t like Marvel’s decision to go with a new A-list artist with each issue. I think it will upset the momentum of the story too much.
- Generation Gone #1 – I’m cautiously optimistic about this book. It’s been a while since we’ve seen anything new from writer Ales Kot, whose work is either excellent or completely opaque. I’m hoping that he’s used the time he’s had off to craft this story better than his last couple of outings.
- Lazarus X Plus 66 #1 – I’d rather see new issues of the regular series, but understand why artist Michael Lark needed to take a breather after so long just working on this project. Greg Rucka’s world-building is always on point, and I think it will be cool to see some other artists play in this environment. Also, it’s Steve Lieber, Rucka’s Whiteout collaborator, so it has to be good.
- Letter 44 #33 – There are only two issues of this series left, including this one, which gives me a limited number of opportunities to talk about how much I love this comic. It’s the best political science fiction title I think I’ve ever read.
Mike Maillaro
Getting quite a few books this week, but most of them are long running series in the middle of arcs, so not a lot jumping out at me as “you need to talk about this book.”
- ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 – I have really enjoyed the X-books for the most part during ResurrXion. Really the only one that has been dragging for me some is ICEMAN. Charles Soule on ASTONISHING X-MEN is a great addition to the lineup, especially with Jim Cheung starting off the art (this book will have rotating artists).
- CLUE #2 – Not sure if I would still be reading this series if not for IDW being extremely generous with review copies. The first issue was all right, but the 4th wall breaking just didn’t work for me, and none of the characters felt all that fleshed out. Not sure what I was expecting here, but it just didn’t quite grab me like I was hoping.
- MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #17 – Last issue, several long running story threads came to an end. I’m curious where this series goes from here. The solicit was pretty vague “The next Power Rangers epic starts here! The Power Rangers are finally reunited, but can things ever be the same?”
- DUCKTALES #0 – With the new cartoon starting up next month, IDW is releasing an issue 0 to help build up anticipation. The shorts have been a lot of fun, and I love the new theme song. Very excited about this!
- PETER PARKER: THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #2 – The first issue was a nice return to basics for Spider-Man. I actually like Dan Slott’s work on Spider-Man quite a bit, but he’s been on the book so long now. It’s great to get some fresh eyes on the character.
- BATMAN #27 – Tom King really knows how to build up a story. So much of his stuff feels like it starts slow, but it quickly builds up to a frantic pace. That is exactly what The War of Jokes and Riddles has felt like for me so far.
- Jimmy’s Bastards #2
- Pestilence #3
- Archie #22
- Batwoman #5
- Green Arrow #27
- Green Lanterns #27
- Nightwing #25
- Super Sons #6
- Superman #27
- Trinity #11
- Back To The Future #21
- Rom Vs Transformers Shining Armor #1
- Walt Disney’s Comics And Stories #739
- Curse Words #6
- Invincible #138
- All-New Guardians Of The Galaxy #6
- Amazing Spider-Man Renew Your Vows #9
- America #5
- Daredevil #24
- Doctor Strange #23
- Invincible Iron Man #9
- Luke Cage #3
- Mighty Thor #21
- Monsters Unleashed #4
- Ms. Marvel #20
- Secret Empire #6 (Of 10)
- Secret Empire Brave New World #4 (Of 5)
- Spider-Man 2099 #25
- Star Wars Darth Maul #5 (Of 5)
- Star Wars Poe Dameron #17
- Totally Awesome Hulk #21
- U.S.Avengers #8,
- Ultimates 2 #9
- X-Men Gold #8
- Britannia We Who Are About To Die #4 (Of 4)
- Rapture #3 (Of 4)
- Secret Weapons #2 (Of 4)
Matt Graham
- InSEXts #12 – Animosity may be my favourite of Marguerite Bennet’s books, but before that there was InSEXts, a black comic Victorian body horror story about real love. The most recent arc has seen the lovers Lady and Mariah cross paths with an ancient horror that lurks beneath Paris. Now they’re locked in a museum together. I know which two I’m betting on to walk away.
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #17 – What a ride. This book kicked off with a non-stop cliffhanging serial adventure and just let up last issue. Here we go again.
- Batwoman #5 – In a more traditional “written for trade” pace, Batwoman’s Many Arms of Death Wraps up here. I’m surprised, as I thought the way last issue lead off was a tease for a larger gameplan, and it could still be, but this issue gets into the who and why of Batwoman’s scorned lover turned enemy.
- Grrl Scouts Magic Socks #3 – Jim Mahfood’s original series-turned-comic-turned-Internet-short-turned-comic is one of the purest uses of comic books I’ve seen in a while. Written, lettered, and illustrated by Mahfood, the book uses his inky, sticky, energetic art to tell a tale of four girls – Gwen, Rita, Daphne, and Josie – cutting a psychedelic trail of violence over a pair of magic socks.
You will read these issues over and over to piece together the surreal plot and admire the tattoo ready artwork.
- Astonishing X-Men #1 – This is the book I have been waiting for since X-Men relaunched. Charles Soule’s Uncanny Inhumans was a good book, but it read like an X-Men comic in terms of character motivation and themes. We all know Marvel was trying to put the Inhumans on top for a while and I’m glad Soule gets the chance to do it right with the real thing. I already know he has the tone, themes, and ensemble cast scripting down from Uncanny Inhumans. Jim Cheung is a perfect artistic fit for this flagship title, anchored with a cast that includes Rogue, Psylocke, Gambit, Logan, Archangel, and Bishop in his 90s threads. Mystique and Fantomex add some fresh blood to this nostalgia play.
This looks to continue the greatness of the Astonishing adjectived X-Men.
Also grabbing:
- Daredevil #24
- Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again #2
- X-Men Gold #8
