Click here for a full list of this week’s new releases
John Babos
- Detective Comics #39 – Anarky continues his New 52 intro.
- Earth 2 #31, Earth 2 World’s End #18 & New 52 Futures End #40 – The march to Convergence continues.
- G.I. Joe #5 – Love the new take on the ‘Joe’s and Cobra.
- Green Arrow #39 – Oliver Queen remains one of my fave heroes. Interesting seeing the CW Arrow’ization of the series.
- Imperium #1 – I’m not a fan of Harbinger, but I do always like villain-centric series. Will try this out.
Only 7 books this week. I can buy some Starbucks this week too.
Mike Maillaro
I actually am SO far behind on GI Joe. I have issues 1-4 and Snake Eyes bought, but not reading them until I get through the rest of the IDW stuff. Yeah, I am weird this way…
- Spawn #250 – Over the last few months, I’ve become a huge Spawn fan. I know, I know…REAL LATE TO THE PARTY. Issue 250 marks some dramatic changes to the series, including the return of Al Simmons (Al Simmons basically killed himself back in issue 185 and the series has been about his replacement). Issue 250 will also be the first issue of Spawn to be available digitally! This is a huge relief. I’ve had to drive all over the place for the last few issues. Lack of a local comic shop, plus a fairly niche title. Not a good combination.
- Guardians Of The Galaxy And X-Men Black Vortex Alpha #1 – Legendary Star-Lord has been pretty inconsistent since its launch, but I have been interested in this Black Vortex crossover. It’s going to flit through a number of odd titles over the next few months (including Cyclops and Captain Marvel), but I will definitely be checking it out. I love space stories and big sweeping crossovers.
- Postal #1 – I’m not going to lie…I completely forgot what this book was about. I know the solicit looking real interesting several months ago, so I added it to my pull list, but I actually had to check the solicits to see why: “The townsfolk of Eden, Wyoming wake up to the first official murder the town has seen in 25 years. Their reaction to this isn’t normal, and there’s a reason for that. Eden operates as a haven for fugitive criminals who remain here while new identities, often including facial reconstruction, are created for them. There is zero tolerance for any illegal activity that might draw attention to the town and an “official murder” is the last thing they want. A single, tight-knit family runs Eden with the youngest oddball son Mark Shiffron overseeing the postal branch, the only means of shipping in or out of the city. THE FBI has repeatedly been foiled trying to insert an undercover here; they see Mark as the weak link to exploit. This murder gives them a new opportunity.” Okay…that does sound awesome. Definitely count me in!
- Star Wars #2 – Really enjoyed the first issue here. If nothing else, this book is worth checking out just for John Cassaday’s terrific art. Star Wars has NEVER looked this good in a comic book.
- Ms Marvel #11 – I’ve loved this book since day one! Ms. Marvel’s battle with the Inventor seems to be winding down, so I’m really curious where the book goes from here. We haven’t heard much about what’s going to happen to Marvel’s many “new” books once Secret Wars throws a huge monkey wrench into the Marvel universe as we know it. I am going to be real disappointed if we don’t have Ms Marvel in the new Marvel Universe.
- Imperium #1 – I have to say, I’m a little tired of the constant “relaunches” of Harbinger. It’s become a very difficult book to follow. And without the Renegades, I’m not 100% sure it’s worth the effort. It’s fun to see the bad guys “win,” but that’s not what I loved about Harbinger. I will still give this book a fair try though.
- Saga #25 – Saga is back from its regularly scheduled hiatus! BKV and Fiona Staples are creating a real masterpiece here. I actually am glad they put in these hiatuses to ensure that Staples can do the art on each issue. That consistency has gone a long way towards ensuring this book is always among the best comics I read.
Alexander Lucard
- Imperium #1 – Essentially I view this as an Evil version of Unity rather than Harbinger. This is what Harada was going for in the firsty story arc of that series and now he’s trying again. It’ll be interesting to see where this goes, especially since Harbinger is the only series I feel isn’t as good as the original Valiant’s take (Killing Flamingo instead of Torque…ugh). The series continued to go downhill dramatically from there and when i compare the final battle between Harada and Sting in the original series to the drawn out emo fest that has been in Valiant 3.0 and Imperium is the last chance for the Harbinger side of Valiant for me. Here’s hoping it’s as good as the potential.
- Nameless #1 – An Image book by grant Morrison that sounds like a weird Cthulhu Mythos homage? Yeah, that gets a try from me.
- Swamp Thing #39 – I am going to be really sad when this series ends. The best thing about the New 52 were the original “Dark” titles. Now they’re all goign to be gone save for JL Dark.
- X-O Manowar #33 – Sounds like a flashback filler issue, but I love this series so I’ll give it a go.
Interlude
Babos: Mike, I was irked before about Valiant ongoing series rotation. I think just XO and Unity are excluded from that. I don’t know how much of the rotation is based on poor sales (Harbinger, Bloodshot maybe) versus part of plan with good sellers (Archer and Armstrong replaced by Ivar, Timewalker). Overall, while I read most Valiant offerings (Bloodshot, Unity, A&A, Ivar, Ninjak) I have found all the books I’ve read or sampled (and don’t read regularly) are excellent on writing and art. I just can’t read all Valiant the way, sorta, I can’t read all Marvel and DC. I want diversity in my weekly reads. That said, pound-for-pound against any company, Valiant is solid across its line.
Lucard, I like your take on Imperium as evil Unity. Awesome. Sells it more for me than Harbinger 2.0.
Mike: I wouldn’t mind if they were still putting out the same number of books, but just rotated them. Like have 4 months of Harbinger, 4 months of Eternal Warrior, 4 months of Shadowman. But for the most part, we haven’t really gone more than a month or two without a Harbinger issue, or A+A tie-in, or Quantum and Woody series, special, or tie-in. So that makes the relaunches even odder to me.
James Fulton
- Nameless #1 – While I don’t love everything that Grant Morrison writes, I do love everything that Chris Burnham draws, so I’m excited to see what this new series is about. The cover image looks very nice…
- Sheltered #14 – Ed Brisson is quietly becoming one of my favourite writers. This is a series about a group of kids who have grown up in a survivalist community, who have killed their parents because they believe that an imminent volcanic eruption is going to wipe out humanity, and that they only have enough supplies ready for themselves. They are currently in a stand-off with the authorities, Waco Texas style, and last issue ended in an unexpected act of violence. The book is late, so I’ve been looking forward to this for a while now.
- Cluster #1 – Likewise, I’m excited about Brisson’s new series, this one at Boom! which is debuting this week. It’s a science fiction series involving prisoners who have been forced to fight as soldiers, and are lost on a distant planet. With Brisson writing, I know it will be good.
- Humans #4 – I really didn’t like the first issue of this series, which is about a motorcycle gang on a world where apes rule, and humans are less-evolved creatures that are sometimes used as workers. Something made me come back to give the book a second chance though, and the 2nd and 3rd issue were great, blending in the Vietnam War, the effects of PTSD, and a weird meth/LSD combo drug. Now I’m excited about this book.
- Stray Bullets: Sunshine and Roses #1 – David Lapham’s crime series has been a favourite of mine since it first debuted. I’m so glad he’s brought the book back, and imagine that this beginning of a new arc is a great place to jump on. Nobody tells thoughtful done-in-one stories that are part of a larger narrative better than Lapham.
Paul Miranda
- ALL-NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA: FEAR HIM #1 (of 4)
- ANT-MAN #2
- BATMAN ETERNAL #44 (of 52)
- BIRTHRIGHT #5
- FLASH: SEASON ZERO #5
- GRAYSON #7
- GREEN ARROW #39
- HAWKEYE #21
- NAMELESS #1
- RETURN of the LIVING DEADPOOL #1 (of 4)
- SPAWN #250
- SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE vol. 3
- UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #2
- WYTCHES #4
ALL-NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA: FEAR HIM #1 (of 4)
I want to see more of Sam Wilson a.k.a. FalCap. For real!! This is a new era and the change should stick! ‘Nuff said!!
ANT-MAN #2
I absolutely was floored by the first issue, more than I expected! I can’t wait to see what ANTics Scott will get involved in as he settles into Miami.
HAWKEYE #21
Two archer titles in one week? Does the Distinguished Competition have to worry?!? OMG! It’s about frickin’ time that this issue comes out. Like any other fervent fan, I’ve been dying while waiting. TBH, out of sight, out of mind. Thus, I forgot that there are still two issues left. Despite the long delay, I’m anxious for the pay-off. Plus, ALL-NEW HAWKEYE #1 will ship on time so it’d make sense to have this current volume wrap up beforehand.
NAMELESS #1
Grant Morrison doing another Image book. I’m looking forward to have my head explode @_@
SPAWN #250
I’ll admit that I’m just buying this because of the milestone mark. I did the same for SAVAGE DRAGON #200. Ten covers to promote this character. Long live the supernatural justice-maker.
SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE vol. 3
Another sequel already? Man, the years just fly by. I’ll be curious to see what new spins there are aside from the Super-Signal that was leaked online. JMS is a visionary.
UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #2
Why the heck would I fall for a cutesy book? AARRGGHH!! I’m NUTS over this title. Doreen rules supreme.
