Welcome back to my weekly look at the new week’s list of new original graphic novels and trade paperbacks, where I talk about the books I want to buy, if I could afford to buy everything that I want to read, and suggest a few other books that are worth getting that I read in their original form.
Books I Wish I Could Buy
Revolver HC
by Matt Kindt; DC/Vertigo, $24.99
I’ve never read anything by Matt Kindt, although I did look through his stuff at TCAF this year and came very close to picking up The Secret History of the Giant Man (price being my barrier yet again). Is it as good as it looks?
Revolver has been given preview space in the back of this month’s Vertigo books, and it looks pretty interesting. From the solicitation text, and the preview, it appears to be about a guy who seems to flip between two different worlds on alternate days. One day he lives in our world, where his life is boring, and in the next he’s in some post-Apocalyptic crappy world. It appears that some of the conflict comes from the fact that the less desirable place is the more interesting one.
This sounds exactly like the type of book I enjoy, and the art in the preview pages looks pretty nice. Vertigo has been batting pretty close to 100 with their original graphic novels the last few years (Vertigo Crime being a slightly different story), so I feel confident that this is a book I would like.
Invincible Presents Vol. 1 Atom Eve & Rex Splode TPB
by Robert Kirkman, Benito Cereno, and Nate Bellegarde; Image, $14.99
As much as I love Invincible, I didn’t bother with the two mini-series collected here when they first came out, as they were set in the past and I didn’t think they had much to do with the current storyline. It having been a while since these were published, I can see that I was right in that assumption, but as Invincible has continued, I’ve found myself liking Atom Eve more and more.
The two stories here show us the early days of Eve, and her early partnership with Rex Splode, who I always liked for his bluntness. Kirkman was involved in the plotting of the books, and I don’t know anything about Cereno and Bellegarde, but I think that one or both of them are involved in the upcoming Guardians of the Globe mini-series.
As with most of Kirkman’s Image work (I didn’t like the Astounding Wolf-Man), I’m sure this is quite good.
Books I Think You Should Buy
Siege HC
by Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel; Marvel, $24.99
Siege was surprisingly better than most of the Marvel events of the last few years. Perhaps it’s because its story is more limited in scope, and didn’t try to take over the entire Marvel line à la Secret Invasion and Civil War, but instead focused on Norman Osborn’s hubris and its consequences.
The story should be familiar to anyone who reads Marvel Comics – in a bid to consolidate his power, Osborn manufactures an Asgardian threat, and attacks the Norse stronghold in its new location in Oklahoma. This leads into a huge battle between Osborn’s Avengers and Initiative teams (buttressed by the Hood’s crew) and the other Avenger teams.
Coipel does a great job on the art, keeping the pages from being too busy or overloaded, and Bendis takes the time to work in some nice character moments. It’s a good read, although I always wonder how much of a market there can be for these big event books, as I figure most people don’t trade-wait on something like this.
Spider-Man Gauntlet Book 1 Electro & Sandman TPB
by Joe Kelly, Dan Slott, Fred Van Lente, Mark Waid, Paul Azaceta, Barry Kitson, Adam Kubert, and Javier Pulido; Marvel, $19.99
I know that the Brand New Day Spider-Man can be a source of controversy (especially on this site it seems), but the issues collected here actually brought me back into reading Spider-Man (on an artist by artist basis).
The concept of The Gauntlet is that the family of Kraven the Hunter is setting Spider-Man up for defeat by manipulating events so that he is constantly facing off against his various regular foes. That conceit doesn’t really factor in too strongly for these issues; instead, you get a good run of Spidey fighting his traditional and best-known villains.
The two run-ins that give this book its subtitle are well-written and drawn. The Electro story is by Mark Waid and Paul Azaceta, as Electro becomes the leader of his own populist movement that is unhappy with federal bail-outs that ignore the little person. He’s basically running his own Tea Party, and his main target is the new owner of the Daily Bugle. I like it when artists like Azaceta draw super-hero stories.
The Sandman story is excellent. I don’t remember which of the writer’s are on it, but Javier Pulido’s art is worth purchasing the book for alone. The Sandman kidnaps his daughter and hides out on Governor’s Island, trying to create a safe and nurturing environment for her (out of sand, of course). This is the story that got me reading Spider-Man again. Of course, I couldn’t care less about Mary Jane and the marriage; I just want more art like this.
So, what would you buy this week were money no object?
