The Weekly Crisis vs. Solicits for July 2010

It's a tough world out there and you have to plan ahead. That's why all the good comic publishers tell us exactly what they plan on doing months in advance. That way we can put our orders in to show support, or we can get a spoiler from a blurb and paste it all over the 'net, or we can just discus what's going on, which is the option that we here at The Weekly Crisis wholly endorse. We each choose a few items that interest us, in good or bad ways, and we let you, the ever-lovin' public, know all about it. What we discuss isn't an exact guaranteed "future pull list" it's just what caught our eye and we thought we'd share it with you.

RYAN L'S THOUGHTS

Scarlet #1

The new creator owned series from Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev published through Marvel's Icon imprint has me interested. I'm not certain that I'm interested enough to buy it just yet but I'm certainly going to keep an eye on the press closer to release date. I don't really dig Bendis that much these days, but when you remember this is the man who dominated Daredevil and introduced us to Alias then you have to give him some street credits for his work. This series might be interesting, and Maleev is quite the draw, and so I am very curious to see how sales go on this series. Not a lot of the Bendis crowds flocks with him to Spider-Woman, with her sales dropping sadly each month. Will Scarlet fare any better? I kind of hope so, to tell you the truth. I even hope that this title shows Bendis with a bit of a return to form. Here's all hoping for good news, because we could sure use more of that.

Ex Machina #50

I don't pick this up in singles, I only read the Deluxe HC's (he says in a snooty tone) but this issue is big news. Why, because this issue is the last one and then it's all over for Mayor Hundred and the gang. I'll do my best to stay away from any news and reports so I don't get spoilerised, but with this gone it means there'll be no more Brian K Vaughan on the shelves. However, and correct me if you know more, but ages back when Y: The Last Man ended BKV said he wanted to wrap Ex Machina properly and give it his full attention and then he'd look at launching another creator owned series. I know he's busy with writing drafts for Y movie scripts and another flick, The Vault (which sounds awesome, it's about a heist on the seed vault up in Norway!) but he's always professed a love of comics and I can only hope that he's working another pitch together for something new because it would be a guaranteed sell for me. So farewell Ex Machina, the King is dead, and hopefully, long live the King.

Shadowland #1

Do I even really need to explain myself here? Oh, this is your first time here,then I guess I do. Shadowland is the Daredevil family mini-event, a new initiative that Marvel is trying out, and something that has worked very well for the Cosmic titles for some time now. I am so stoked that they are taking this leap with Daredevil. He's always been a character that slinks around just outside of the mainstream and he usually gets the overall best reviews of any Marvel comic, it's true. So giving him a bigger scale to work in should be awesome, not to mention throwing Spider-Man, Wolverine, The Punisher, Ghost Rider, Moon Knight, Bullseye, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Misty Knight, and Colleen Wing at him. This is going to be pretty awesome, though it will mean a bunch of new DD readers so I'll have to assert my street cred by discussing how much I loved DD back before he got cool (that's the right thing to do, yeah?).

Shadowland Poster

In a bold display of Marvel really getting things right, they present me/us with Billy Tan's excellent Shadowland poster. It's got a stack of cool characters and it's bloody well drawn. This is one example where a picture really will speak for a thousand, or more, of my words, so I'll shut up and make with the pretty now.

MATT'S THOUGHTS

Action Comics #891

Now this is tempting! Paul Cornell, as you all should know by now, is all kinds of awesome. While I would love to see him do more Marvel work, the premise of Action Comics being about Lex Luthor as written by him sounds interesting, and full with possibilities (the orange ring is just a bonus in this case). Pete Woods is a name I am familiar with, but I can't think off the top of my head what his art looks like, or if I like it or not.

I'm seriously considering adding this into my pull list, but the Superman family of titles have been having way too many crossovers lately. I don't see any triangle numberings in these things, so it may be safe to jump back into the pool now? With this and JMS taking over the Superman title, maybe DC is finally putting an end to all those endless events and shake-ups in the franchise. What do you guys think?

(P.S. I still don't like these ugly David Finch covers that DC insists on putting in every series)

Amazing Spider-Man #638 & #639

This is the beginning of the One Moment in Time storyline where readers will finally see what really happened in the Peter/MJ wedding because of One More Day. I know some people want to know exactly what happened, but I'm certainly not one of them. One More Day was what caused me to stop buying the Spider-Man comics, and despite what your opinion of what Brand New Day and it's aftermath was like (there's mixed opinions), most people agree that One More Day was like pulling a band aid, or setting a bone, it was painful but a "necessary" step. Going back to revisit it sounds like putting the band aid back on, except this time it also has super glue in it.

Avengers: The Children's Crusade #1

The original creators of the Young Avengers are supposed to make a glorious come back in this maxi-series, that will also reintroduce the Scarlet Witch into the Marvel Universe. This has a lot of potential, but the bi-monthly schedule may be a real momentum killer for a book of this nature. Both creators are not exactly known for their prolific output, but with all the time that fans waited for this series to start, I figure they could have waited six more months and have the whole thing done and coming out monthly. That being said, I am excited for this, as the original Young Avengers series was great.

Death of Dracula #1

In theory, this sounds like a very interesting and potentially awesome idea, the solicit alone sounds chock full of crazy ideas, but there's a couple of things working against it. First of all, it's hard to do a vampire story after the critically acclaimed, and pretty much "end-all be-all" if you ask me, Vampire State story line in Captain Britain & MI 13. Secondly, this is supposed to be the start of an X-Men event, though there's no mention of that anywhere in the title or in the solicitations. And finally, it is written by Victor Gischler, who has yet to impress me with any of his writing, though his capacity to keep getting new series approved is astonishing.

X-Files/30 Days of Night #1

And filling in this month's role of "Unlikely Crossovers" we have this book, that probably no one demanded. Considering that both franchises are past their prime, this could be potentially horrendous. Was Steve Niles or Adam Jones ever involved with the writing of the X-Files show? Tom Mandrake is an inspired choice, I could see him drawing some scary vampires, though he is pretty much known for his superhero work (namely, the Spectre) so I don't know how effectively he'll capture the mood a book like this need. Anyway, this will probably do pretty good in trades and horrible in the direct market.

CONCLUSION

Those are some of the books that caught our eyes. Which books are you looking forward to in July? Which part of these solicits made you roll your eyes? Let us know in the comments section!

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