Post-Crisis Comic Book Previews for 08/04/10

Ryan's flying solo on the previews this week.  I'm still getting comics and will have reviews up, but just didn't have time to put together a full list and commentary for my own picks.  Before I let you get to the previews, just want to take a moment to remind you about our Three Years Later anniversary contest.  Enter at that link for a chance to win a Walking Dead Compendium (collects issues #1-48) or the runner-up prize of the Invincible Iron Man Omnibus.  Already entered?  Then hit the jump and find out what Ryan's buying this week and why.

DAREDEVIL: BLACK & WHITE

Written by Various

Art by Various

Daredevil, the blind avenger of Hell's Kitchen faces a life changing decision when he is presented with the chance to see again. But at what cost will Matt regain his sight? Guest starring Bullseye! The Kingpin of crime, ever the Machiavellian mastermind, uses lawyer Matt Murdock's quest for justice against him in a deadly money-making scheme. And the Man Without Fear finds himself embroiled in a gang war in Japan. All this and much more in this all-new, all-black-and-white one-shot in the spirit of the Mighty Marvel Magazines of yore, but ALL-NOW in style!

Ryan:  I absolutely love Marvel’s black-and-white anthology books.  Usually I wait until my comic book shop’s annual $1 back issue sale to pick these pricey bad-boys up, but with Daredevil in the midst of Shadowland, I can’t imagine the inventory will last long on this one.  I’ve never been a huge fan of Daredevil, but with books like this that usually doesn’t matter—I don’t care for Ares at all, but his anthology was amazing.  I expect all sorts of pulpy goodness here.

HAWKEYE & MOCKINGBIRD #3

Written by Jim McCann

Art by David Lopez

Hawkeye and Mockingbird declare war on their twisted reflections: Crossfire and Phantom Rider! What shocking event happened last issue to trigger this blood feud? And are Clint and Bobbi ready for the army that awaits them? What are the Death T.H.R.O.W.S.? And what deadly surprise awaits our heroes back at their H.Q.?

Ryan: The twists and turns in this book have done a great job of setting it apart from a lot of books on the stands these days.  I don’t think I could have ever guessed that I’d be enjoying this title as much as I have, but its been a great read so far.  With the Crossfire and Phantom Rider alliance producing some horrifying results last issue, this one should be an action-packed thrill ride and I’m really looking forward to it.

KILL SHAKESPEARE #4

Written by Conor McCreery and Anthony Del Col

Art by Andy Belanger

Enter Juliet... Pursued by deadly assassins, a threatened Hamlet and his witty defender Falstaff turn to the shadowy Prodigals for assistance. Who is the leader of these rebels? None other than Juliet Capulet, supported by the powerful warrior Othello. But they themselves have been followed and suddenly all must square off against Richard's men, the assassins, as well as an old friend...

Ryan:  A few weeks back, I took a look at the first three issues of this awesome title and was thoroughly impressed.  The crazy premise of Kill Shakespeare has been spun into a wildly entertaining epic that is a great homage and fun parody of William Shakespeare’s greatest plays.  This issue sees Juliet and Othello joining the fray?  Yeah, this is definitely my front runner for Book of the Week.

RED ROBIN #15

Written by Fabian Nicieza

Art by Marcus To

With Tim Drake targeted for assassination, will Red Robin have to eliminate his secret identity? Or is it all part of an elaborate ruse to draw out the lethal Egyptian assassin known as Scarab and get Vicki Vale off his trail?

Ryan:  Fabian Nicieza’s killer run on Red Robin rolls on this week with the Scarab targeting Tim Drake.  That is a fun twist on Tim’s own mission to clean-up the streets of Gotham by systematically destroying its underworld.  With this creative team, I can tell you that this is going to be one of the strongest books this week and really shouldn’t be missed.

S.H.I.E.L.D. #3

Written by Jonathan Hickman

Art by Dustin Weaver

The surprise hit of the year marches on! In this issue, discover the secrets of Sir Issac Newton, see how Galileo defeated Galactus long before the Fantastic Four ever did and find out what Leonardo da Vinci traveled over 400 years to do.

Ryan: S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 blew in like a storm of awesomeness, easily ranking amongst my favorite books of the year.  S.H.I.E.L.D. #2 blew in like a storm of disjointed and unfocused storytelling that overpowered a slew of awesome concepts.  Hopefully #3 will be more like the former than the latter, especially since the solicitation promises Galileo versus Galactus.  How cool is that?

SECRET SIX #24

Written by Gail Simone

Art by Jim Calafiore

In a small, corrupt mining boom-town, six remarkable strangers who hate each other band together in a bloody last stand against an army set on destroying them all!

Ryan:  I really hope that the cover isn’t a swerve and that this is actually a western-inspired issue.  Secret Six could not get much more awesome than that.  Of course, every time I swear that Secret Six couldn’t get much more awesome than it is, Gail Simone unveils a new layer of crazy and the book gets that much better.  There is no comic on the stands consistently better than Secret Six.

YOUNG ALLIES #3

Written by Sean McKeever

Art by David Baldeon

Gravity's dark obsession mounts, Firestar's life threatens to implode, Toro's frustrations grow, and Nomad and Arana make a shocking discovery about the origins of the Bastards of Evil, whose plans to follow up on their vicious debut get underway.

Ryan:  I was really taken by surprise by how excellent this series was in its debut issue.  While the second issue had some growing pains—mostly because of my unfamiliarity with the cast—I think that there is a ton of potential behind this series.  It’s got a fun premise, a great cast, and a superb creative team.  If Marvel is willing to stick with this series long enough for it to find its own identity, this could be one of the strongest titles in Marvel’s catalogue.

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