Were Money No Object – The September Previews Edition

Columns, Top Story

November looks like it’s going to be a big month for comics, with Marvel Now! getting into full swing, and Image dropping a ton of new titles.  Let’s look through Previews together…

Dark Horse

I’m going to assume that theNumber 13 #0 solicited this month is a reprint of the stories that were in the earliest issues of Dark Horse Presents.  I liked Robert Love and David Walker’s story about a boy robot hunting for his father in a post-Apocalyptic world.  It’s taken Dark Horse a long time to revisit this story in what I assume is a mini-series.  I have to assume too much here – I wish that Dark Horse’s solicitations were clearer. Similarly, I don’t get what’s up with Mind MGMT #0.  It says here that this comic contains three stories that will help new readers get up to speed on the series (which is amazing), and that it’s ‘specially priced’.  However, it’s a 24 page comic for $2.99.  What’s special about that?  Oh well, I love this series, and Matt Kindt’s work in general, so I’ll buy it.

The new horror series Colder has a well-respected writer (Paul Tobin), and a great artist (Juan Ferreyra, who drew the last few year’s worth of Rex Mundi), but that cover is really creeping me out.  I don’t generally go in for horror comics, but I might give this a shot. Speaking of horror, I am on-board for Richard Corben’s adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Conqueror Worm.  That should be cool.

The first Star Wars Dawn of the Jedi mini-series spent way too much time introducing characters and setting up the ancient Star Wars universe, sacrificing drama and characterization to do so.  Normally, I would pass on this new mini, The Prisoner of Bogan, but John Ostrander has accrued so much respect and faith in me over the years, that I’m gladly giving this another try.

DC

Is Kyle Higgins off Nightwing now?  This month Previews has Tom DeFalco writing it, but I haven’t seen any articles or reports about this on the ‘net anywhere (which is strange, because following DC assignments has become the raison d’etre for many websites now).  I don’t know what’s going on, but I do know that I’m dropping this title now.I also think it’s time to drop Frankenstein Agent of SHADE.  I’ve wanted to like this comic, but it’s just not working for me, which makes it the first thing that Matt Kindt has written that I don’t like.  I am going to chalk it up to editorial interference, as I couldn’t find Jeff Lemire’s voice in this book when he wrote it, and I don’t sense Kindt’s now.  Tying it in to Rotworld reeks of desperation (as does his inclusion in Justice League Dark), so I’m done.  Unless the next issue amazes me…

Having dropped a bunch of DC titles lately, and with Vertigo cancelling or ending so many of theirs, I’m now buying the same number of DC comics I was in May 2011.  I thought that was interesting.  The only difference is that back then, I read a pretty diverse spread of comics.  Now, Batman-related titles make up almost a third of my DC purchases (and two of my Vertigo titles are ending this month or next).  I don’t even particularly like Batman more than other characters…

Image

Image is launching a number of new titles this month.  Lately, this company has been on fire, but these can’t all be amazing, can they?  Let’s look… Clone looks lovely (with art by Juan Jose Ryp, how can it be otherwise), but the story sounds a lot like Dancer and Garrison.  I don’t know writer David Shulner, but this is being put out by Robert Kirkman’s Skybound imprint, so it’s something I’ll want to take a look at when it hits the stands.  On the other hand, Great Pacific, written by Joe Harris, whose Ghost Projekt was awesome, is a definite buy.  It is about a young man who decides to fix the problem of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (something I’ve been interested in ever since I saw Ramin Bahrani’s amazing film Plastic Bag).

Comeback is written by Ed Brisson, the writer of the very good crime anthology Murder Book, and the letterer of Prophet.  He told me about this series at Fan Expo, which is about a company that uses time travel to save the lives of their clients’ loved ones.  Or maybe they don’t.  It should be good.  Nowhere Men is written by Image publisher Eric Stephenson, and looks like it might be good, if a little too slick.  It’s about science and fame.  I’ll flip through it. Storm Dogs is a science fiction crime thriller by David Hine and Doug Braithwaite.  I didn’t read past those two names – this is a definite addition to my pull-file, whatever it’s about.

I have no interest in the return of the Perphanauts, having not read their first series,but I am very excited about Where is Jake Ellis?, the sequel to the amazing Who is Jake Ellis?.  Nathan Edmondson and Tonci Zonjic created one of the most slick espionage comics of the year, and I’m looking forward to returning to their world.  Witch Doctor returns as well, with Malpractice.  This series can be described as Dr. Strange meets House, and it’s a lot of fun. I’ve never seen Scene of the Crime, a noir-ish crime comic by Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, and Sean Phillips which is being republished in a deluxe hardcover edition this month.  I’m going to need this.

Marvel

November marks the beginning of Marvel Now!, and that means it’s time to decide on whether or not I’m going to use it as a good opportunity to trim the number of Marvel titles I buy each month.  My issue with most of these new titles is that Marvel is not being very up-front about how often they are going to be coming out.  If I’m on the line about a series, and it’s going to get double-shipped most months, I’ll pass.  Especially if it’s a $3.99 title.

Indestructible Hulk written by Mark Waid should be a no-brainer, but it’s $4, and I don’t know how often it’s going to come out.  Also, I’ve never been a big Hulk fan, except for the first half of Peter David’s run on the character.  I’ll wait on this, even if I am curious to find out how Quislet from the Legion of Super-Heroes becomes a member of the title’s cast.

I’m bored to death with Brian Michael Bendis these days (except for Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, which is awesome), so I’m going to pass on All-New X-Men.  It’s coming out every two weeks, it’s $4 an issue, and it features the original teen X-Men coming to the present.  The only thing I like about this idea is Stuart Immonen art, but if he’s having to pump it out on a bi-weekly schedule, even that’s probably not going to be very good.  Pass.

Kieron Gillen is tied with Jonathan Hickman as my favourite writer at Marvel right now.  Greg Land is one of my absolute least favourite artists.  I like Iron Man though, and Gillen is one of those writers who can rise above terrible art, so I’ll get this.  Land won’t be likely to stick around for long either, and hopefully he’ll get replaced by somebody good.

I love Jason Aaron when he writes his own stuff, and often like his Marvel work, but I imagine his Thor: God of Thunder is going to end up like his Incredible Hulk run – skippable.  For the last few years, too many Thor stories are steeped in the distant past; that Aaron is doing this again does not excite me.

So Rick Remender is sending Captain America to Dimension Z?  So how is he going to still be in all the Avengers titles?  I like Rick Remender’s writing, but I’m beyond done with John Romita Jr., and this doesn’t sound all that interesting to me.  Pass.

X-Men Legacy sounds like it could be good.  It’s focusing on Legion, which is an odd choice, but it’s double-shipping and it’s $4 an issue, with a writer who hasn’t really proven himself enough for my liking (Simon Spurrier), and a wildly inconsistent artist (Tan Eng Huat).  Pass. Matt Fraction has been very hit or miss at Marvel.

For Fantastic Fourhe’s joined by Mark Bagley, an artist I strongly dislike (perhaps even more than I do Greg Land).  He’s got the team heading off into ‘infinite time and space’ (maybe they’ll find Captain America), and I’m not that interested, even though the book is priced properly at $3.  FF, on the other hand, features an oddball team (Ant-Man, Medusa, the real She-Hulk, and Miss Thing), and is being drawn by Michael Allred.  This, I will buy.  I’m hoping we get the Matt Fraction of Casanova, as I can’t imagine Marvel is going to be watching this one too closely.

I’ve never liked Deadpool, so the combination of double-shipping and unproven Hollywood comedy writers with my intense dislike of the character means that art by Tony Moore is not going to get me to try it.  I do love that Geof Darrow cover though… Kelly Sue DeConnick being given Avengers Assemble is intriguing, but I’m still not interested in a tertiary Avengers book with Jonathan Hickman giving us two titles starting in December or January.

So Journey Into Mystery is continuing without Kieron Gillen and Loki.  Really, that means it’s continuing without me too.  I have a lot of respect for Kathryn Immonen, but I have no interest in reading the adventures of Sif with an unknown artist.

I’m pre-ordering three less Marvel books in November than I did in October.  Of the 19 I’m ordering, there are only 15 titles, and two of them (Avengers Academy and Defenders) are being cancelled with these issues.

Adhouse Books

I love Ethan Rilly’s Pope Hats, and am excited to see that the third issue has been solicited.  This series is like a cross between Optic Nerve and Scott Pilgrim, and mostly follows the travails of two young women who live in Toronto.  It’s good stuff.

Dynamite

I’m happy to see that Garth Ennis is bringing back the Battlefields title.  I like Ennis best when he is writing war comics, and I enjoyed all the previous incarnations of this title.  Ennis is paired with Carlos Ezquerra on this comic, returning to the ‘Tankies’ characters.  This will be good.

Valiant

You have to hand it to Valiant – they are expanding their line at a sustainable pace, and not just rushing endless amounts of product onto the stands.  The return of Shadowman might be interesting – Justin Jordan did a decent job on The Strange Talent of Luther Strode, and Patrick Zircher is a very reliable artist.  I’m looking forward to checking this out.

So, what would you buy, Were Money No Object?

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