Mike Maillaro
- YOUR PAL ARCHIE #1 – Just yesterday it was announced that after 24 years, Sega and Archie would be going their separate ways. And it seems like some of their relaunch books will be coming to an abrupt end (JUGHEAD and JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS). Add in the perpetual lateness of some big name titles like AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE and CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA, and to me it seems like Archie Comics can use a real positive story. And it comes in the form of YOUR PAL ARCHIE. Ty Templeton and Dan Parent are going to be telling new Archie stories, but in more of the classic writing and art style Archie fans are used to. I think this is a really cool idea, but I had been enjoying the new direction of the company.
- GO GO POWER RANGERS #1 – I honestly am not sure we really need a second ongoing Power Rangers series, but I absolutely loved the Pink Ranger mini-series. Definitely hoping this has more stories like that. I would also love to see some stories set after Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, even though MMPR is the most well-known and beloved. Next year is Power Rangers 25th anniversary after all.
- SAVAGE DRAGON #225 – Any comic reaching 225 issues is something to celebrate. Not loving the $10 cover price on this issue, but SAVAGE DRAGON continues to be a consistently excellent comic each and every issue. Eric Larson has promised to keep pushing the envelope on SAVAGE DRAGON, and he manages to deliver every time.
- FAITH AND THE FUTURE FORCE #1 – Faith teams up with the current Timewalker to save all of space and time. Faith is one of Valiant’s break out characters, and I really enjoyed the Timewalker series. This is definitely one of the books I am most excited about next week.
- SECRET EMPIRE #7 – I haven’t even read last week’s issue 6 yet. Nice to see Marvel getting an event out on relatively fast pace. I do think this event has dragged out a bit, but I really enjoy the concept and the execution has mostly been solid. Though I can’t help but wonder why the space team doesn’t just get out of the way and let the Chitauri either die against the forcefield surrounding Earth or break through the forcefield. Fighting a never ending losing battle seems foolish to me.
- WWE #7 – The Dean Ambrose/Sasha Banks storyline in the last few issues has been great. Dennis Hopeless has a real knack for building entertaining storylines around the WWE superstars. My only real issue with this comic is that it feels so far behind the product WWE is currently putting out. I would love to see it a little more integrated into current storylines.
- HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #25 – Well, it was nice seeing the Green and Yellow Lanterns getting along briefly, but that went to hell last issue. Soranik realizes Kyle has been lying to her and branded his chest with a Sinestro logo. And one of the Green Lanterns murdered one of the Sinestro Corps. Things like that tend to put a hamper on a working relationship.
- STAR WARS DOCTOR APHRA #10 – The last issue ended with Vader founding out Aphra was still alive. That should cause a pretty abrupt shift in the direction of this comic. You don’t piss off the Dark Lord of the Sith!
- SPAWN #276 – New creative team and new direction. Over the years, SPAWN has been really good about reinventing itself. The next arc promises to be more of a horror-driven storyline, which has always been my favorite type of SPAWN story.
- Previews #347
- Normals #3
- Rough Riders Riders On The Storm #5
- Action Comics #984
- Batgirl #13
- Batman Beyond #10
- Blue Beetle #11
- Detective Comics #961
- Flash #27
- Justice League Of America #11
- Kamandi Challenge #7 (Of 12)
- Suicide Squad #22
- Teen Titans #10
- Wonder Woman #27
- Nancy Drew And The Hardy Boys The Big Lie #5
- Back To The Future Biff To The Future #6 (Of 6)
- Revolutionaries #6
- Star Trek Boldly Go #10
- Postal #21
- Saga #45
- Ben Reilly The Scarlet Spider #5
- Cable #3
- Captain America Sam Wilson #24
- Captain America Steve Rogers #19
- Deadpool #34
- Gwenpool The Unbelievable #18
- Iceman #3
- Infamous Iron Man #10
- Mighty Captain Marvel #7
- Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur #21
- Occupy Avengers #9
- Punisher #14
- Weapon X #6
- X-Men Blue #8
- X-O Manowar #5
John Babos
9 new books this week.
- Action Comics #984
- Cable #3
- Detective Comics #961
- Doom Patrol #7
- Flash #27
- Hal Jordan & the GLC #25
- Rough Riders: Riders on the Storm #5
- Suicide Squad #22
- Teen Titans #10
Matt Graham
- Go Go Power Rangers #1 – My impression is that this series will focus on the original five, no Green Ranger, and deal with personal, character driven stories. The current Mighty Morphin Power Rangers book is at its best pushing the characters beyond what we got in the show, so I can’t say no to more of that. A focus on the original five also sounds good since the other book hit the ground running on the tail of the Green Ranger’s redemption. It could be good supplemental material to the widescreen action of the main book.
- Doom Patrol #7 – Mike Allred on art as the Chief returns to the Doom Patrol. This issue is long-awaited on a two fronts for me: it saw a delay and we only had page-long glimpses of Niles Caulder in the last six issues that made about as much sense as the rest of the book. Doom Patrol #6 did an admirable job starting to tie things up, but it didn’t finish the job. Hoping this one does. My big criticism of this book is it is not friendly to those not steeped in DP lore if they can’t just roll with things.
- Edge of Venomverse #3 – Edge of Venomverse, like Edge of Spiderverse, is all about one shots setting up the team of Venomized characters. This issue features an enVenomed Ghost Rider. It sounds like a What If… issue from the late 80s, and maybe it was. Even if that doesn’t sell you, the stories themselves have been great one shots that respect the host characters while playing in a type of body horror that is appropriate to the individual. X-23’s was violent and mirrored the symbiote’s battle for daily survival, Gwenpool’s was silly but with a creepy tone that the entire episode was wrong for Gwen’s life. I’m curious what’s in store for Ghost Rider.
And don’t forget, we got Spider-Gwen as a permanent fixture out of Spiderverse. Maybe Gwenompool or Venom-23 will catch on. Blame me if they do, I’ll be buying them.
- Unbelievable Gwenpool #18 – This book is dismissed by people whenever I recommend it to them. Some are tired of Gwen Stacy’s omnipresence (she’s not Gwen Stacy) and some hate the 4th Wall commentary. A shame, as if you look past the surface there’s one of the more creative risks and tones Marvel has taken in years. What started as a meta playground became a psychological thriller that could only be told as a comic book.
Couple this with Gurihuri’s artistic toolkit that continues to find new ways to inform the story and flip your expecations, and you have one of Marvel’s best books, period. It’s a bummer there’s such a kneejerk reaction to Gwen Stacy and Deadpool these days in the comic circles I travel.
- Spider-Gwen #22
- Mother Panic #9
- Cable #3
- Weapon X #6
- X-Men Blue #8
