Mike Maillaro
- ROUGH RIDERS ON THE STORM #1 – ROUGH RIDERS was a real fun series from Aftershock, and I am glad that it’s getting a sequel. Three years after Rough Riders, Teddy Roosevelt is vice-president until the assassination of William McKinley puts him in the president’s seat. But is this assassin part of a bigger mystery? Roosevelt rounds up his team for another big adventure. Can’t wait!
- KAMANDI CHALLENGE #2 – The first issue of this series was a lot of fun. I don’t have a huge connection to Kamandi, but there are some real strong artists and writers joining in on this challenge, and that makes it worth checking out.
- CURSE WORDS #2 – CURSE WORDS issue 1 was great! An evil wizard comes to Earth to prepare to conquer the world…and realizes he really likes it here, so he sets up shop to help customers using magic. Charles Soule continues to write comics I love to read. Definitely one of the best in the business.
- HIGHLANDER THE AMERICAN DREAM #1 – Highlander is one of my favorite movies. Despite the fact most Highlander stuff released since then has been pretty crappy, I still hold on hope of getting good Highlander stories, so I will give this first issue a shot. But if It doesn’t grab me immediately, I doubt I will come back for a second issue.
- AVENGERS #4.1 – Marvel should consider just having Waid do an AVENGERS series set in the early days of the team. His point one issues have been really good, but I have found his “new” AVENGERS stories to be close to unreadable.
- CAPTAIN AMERICA STEVE ROGERS #12 – Last issue’s revisions to Cap’s back story continued to surprise and annoy me at the same time. I did like the way they sold the idea of why Baron Zemo became a hero for a short period of time, but these Cosmic Cube rewrites are just the epitome of lazy writing. I do want to see where this story is going, but it is definitely dragging on far too long.
- JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1 – In DETECTIVE COMICS #950, we got a back up story where Tim Drake realized that Batman was putting some big plans into place, including this new team of Justice Leaguers. I have always been a fan of the “less top heavy” versions of JLA and Avengers, and I am looking forward to this book. It appeals to me far more that Hitch’s JUSTICE LEAGUE.
- PROWLER #5 – In a bit of a throw away line at the end of CLONE CONSPIRACY, we find out that Prowler was only mostly dead. The real Prowler was alive the whole time, and will presumingly be replacing the clone in this series. Kind of a strange way to go with all of this, but I have liked Hobie Brown for a long time, so I am still pretty interested in seeing where this series goes now that the crossover is out of the way.
- Jughead #13
- Joyride #10
- Action Comics #974
- Astro City #41
- Batgirl #8
- Batman Beyond #5
- Blue Beetle #6
- Detective Comics #951
- Flash #17
- Future Quest #10
- Hal Jordan And The Green Lantern Corps #15
- Suicide Squad #12
- Supergirl Being Super #2
- Teen Titans #5
- Wonder Woman #17
- Back To The Future #17
- Revolutionaries #2
- Star Trek Green Lantern Volume 2 Stranger Worlds #3
- Fix #8
- Amazing Spider-Man #24
- Champions #1.MU
- Extraordinary X-Men #19
- Great Lakes Avengers #5
- Hulk #3
- Infamous Iron Man #5
- Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur #16
- Occupy Avengers #4
- Scarlet Witch #15
- Spider-Gwen #17
- Spider-Woman #16
- Thunderbolts #10
- Uncanny Avengers #20
- Letter 44 #30
- Divinity III Stalinverse #3 (Of 4)
- Harbinger Renegade #4
John Babos
Nine books this week, but sadly no Valiant. DC, AfterShock and Marvel represented though.
- Action Comics #974 – I’m pretty curious about who this Clark Kent is. I hope we get that reveal soon.
- Deathstroke #13 – Simply one of the best book of stands.
- Detective Comics #951 – Really hoping to see some movement on the Tim Drake / Mr. Oz subplot.
- Justice League of America #1 – Multiverse vs. new JLA!
- Prowler #5 – Curious if Hobie Brown is or is not a clone after the end of The Clone Conspiracy.
- Rough Riders On The Storm #1 – So glad that this series is back even if only as a one-shot. A highly recommended series. Solid story by Adam Glass and art by Pat Oliffe.
- Suicide Squad #12 – Amanda Waller dead or alive? Likely the latter, but curious about the story.
- Teen Titans #5 – Looking forward to the Lazarus Contract x-over between Deathstroke, Titans and TT. It will be good to understand why DC Rebirth needs a Teen Titans with Titans on shelves as well as Super Sons now.
- Thunderbolts #10 – Secret Empire should breathe some new life into this series considering the Winter Soldier: Bucky Barnes’ history with Captain America: Steve Rogers.
James Fulton
- Belfry One-Shot – I’ve been a fan of Gabriel Hardman’s work since he was drawing Red Hulk. His Invisible Republic is one of the best books out there, so this one-shot book about a vampire and a plane crash is a must-purchase.
- Justice League of America #1 – The one-shots and Rebirth issue are over, and it’s time to really see if this concept is going to work (although I suspect it will). I love the lineup on this team, and am a fan of Steve Orlando’s writing, so expectations are high.
- Mayday #4 – I think Alex DeCampi is in my top five of current comics writers. I love this Cold War era adventure book focused on two Soviet spies trying to get out of America, and have some fun while doing it.
- Motro #4 – Ulises Farinas’s very strange Mad Max-like title is a non-stop ride of unparalleled creativity. This book is completely unpredictable and gorgeous.
- Old Guard #1 – This new Greg Rucka written Image book reminds me a lot of the recent title Cry Havoc, although without mystical creatures. It looks like it would have been a Vertigo book about eight years ago, and I mean that in the most praise-giving way.
Matt Graham
- Quantum Teens Are Go #1 – Black Mask prides itself on its “punk rock ethic”. It sounds nice, but what does that really mean? In music, punk goes for short or fast songs with stripped down production, unconventional vocal styles and melodies, and generally an anti-establishment lyrical approach, wrapped in a do it yourself ethic to get their product out to be heard. Black Mask’s approach fits, allowing creators from all walks of life to put their voice into the medium, and every BM book I’ve read drips with independent, self-made garage ashcan spirit. They have the best stable of artists in recent years.
Magdalene Visaggio’s Kim and Kim, a book about interdimensional bounty hunters, was the standout last year for that, bringing politics, life experiences, and societal realities into its story, and like the best sci-fi, uses them to inform the story rather than as a crutch like so many lesser efforts.
Quantum Teens Are Go is Visaggio’s next title through Black Mask. It’s about a different pair of punks with a passion for science. This means they break into labs and steal the things they need to build a time machine. Mysterious forces are out to stop them from turning it on.
- Supergirl: Being Super #2 – Mariko Tamaki (This One Summer) and Joëlle Jones
(Lady Killer) teaming up for a Supergirl story as writer and artist was alI I needed to know. This Midvale based “Year One” title pit a young Kara against an earthquake – a threat she can’t beat into submission – in the opening issue, and now she has to deal with the aftermath while memories of another life surface. My most anticipated title this week.
- Monstress #10 – Marjorie Lui and Sana Takeda’s clockwork kaiju saga heats up as Maika faces an ancient ghost while searching for her past. This fantast about a young girl avenging her dead mother in an alternate Asia mixes the best of both creator’s skills just as it did when they teamed for X-23. Liu’s pacing and dialogue reads like a novel with faceted characterization while Takeda’s arts keeps the book flowing with some of the best paced paneling and staging since the original Sandman.
- Surgeon X #6 – A moment of remembrance for artist John Watkiss, who passed away at age 55 on January 20th. In addition to Surgeon X, he illustrated Deadman, issues of Sandman and Sandman Mystery Theatre, Conan, and served as a storyboard artist and character designer throughout the animation industry.
In this oversized finale, Dr. Rosa Scott has forsaken her Hippocratic oath to save London, but at the cost of her values and family. Rosa will come through, because I need the next arc, stat.
Sara Kenney’s dystopic London is too close to parts of our modern world of late, and the late John Watkiss’s art made the series feel like a high budget BBC mini with his eye for framing scenes and defining characters through body language and expressions that support Kenney’s precision fired dialogue.
- Hulk #3 – Mariko Tamaki (see Supergirl: Being Super) has also taken the reins on the latest Hulk book, about Jennifer Walters dealing with the death of Bruce Banner. It’s been slow, but as someone who has clinical depression, anger issues, and been caught out in some very real nervous breakdowns with all the frustrations and embarrassments that come with that, I find this title to be therapeutic and relatable in a way I didn’t expect when I picked up the first issue. A day to day book about Jennifer Walters coping with her grief isn’t what most She-Hulk fans may be looking for, and the legal focus isn’t as big as her more celebrated runs, either, but I’m enjoying this slow burn on the title for now as I trust Tamaki to be building to a big pay off. It helps that Nico Leon’s artwork does the heavy lifting, pacing scenes well and giving every character and environment nuanced detail to draw you in and buy the concept.
- Elektra #1 – Sure, why not.
Also:
- Black Panther #11
- Scarlet Witch #15
- Spider Woman #16
Phil Allen
Not a whole lot for me this week, but a few good things.
- Batman Beyond #5 – First arc finale! I was skeptical of this arc when the first big reveal came up but I think it came out pretty well.
- Curse Words #2 – I enjoyed the first issue, lots of fun and potential with just a touch of “problematic fave”.
- Detective Comics #951 – New arc, “League of Shadows”! This has been one of my favorite Bat-titles since Rebirth began, and it shows no sign of slowing yet. Can’t wait to find out when Tim comes back though.
- Justice League of America #1 – New series, new team!
- Loose Ends #2 – Also a good first issue, and I’m interested to see where it goes.
- The Flash #17 – “Rogues Reloaded” finale!
- The Old Guard #1 – I’m always a Greg Rucka fan, and the story sounds pretty interesting.
- The Visitor: How and Why He Stayed #1 – It really sounded like the Hellboy-verse might be slowing down a year or so ago but that doesn’t seem to be the case. This series adds to the mythos from the day one, and I’m fully on board.
- Other issues I’m looking forward to:
- Action Comics #974
- Batgirl #8
- Descender #19
- Hellblazer #7
- Jughead #13
- Mayday #4
- Reggie and Me #3
- Shutter #27
- Teen Titans #5
- Wonder Woman #17