Post-Crisis Comic Book Previews for 02/06/13

February is here, and with it comes some Post-Crisis Comic Book Previews cheer! There's an abundance of excellent comics coming your way tomorrow, including the exciting Dia de las Muertos #1, the new Winter Soldier #15, and the lovely Young Romance #1, so check behind that cut to see these and lots more!

Major Releases

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE ANNUAL #1

Written by Christos Gage

Art by Tomm Coker

The spotlight falls on the Vision!

It's the return of Sunturion - more powerful and unstable than ever!

A major turning point in the life of the android Avenger!

Why You Should Care: Christos Gage is a talented writer who can string together some fine stories, and while I'm not as familiar with Tomm Coker, a quick Google search demonstrates that he is no slouch either. Annuals are often good places to find stories that are approachable regardless of whether or not you've been following the main series it relates to, and I have a feeling that this Avengers Assemble Annual will fall squarely in that category. On the other hand, I am a mite perplexed by the choice to focus on the Vision. Perhaps it's because he's not a character to which I have any strong affinity; I suppose there must be some Vision fans out there, right?

FEARLESS DEFENDERS #1

Written by Cullen Bunn

Art by Will Sliney

NEW TEAM! NEW VILLAINS! NEW CREATORS!

Valkyrie and Misty Knight are the Fearless Defenders and not since Power Man and Iron Fist has an unlikely duo kicked this much—well, you know. Writer Cullen Bunn (Venom, Sixth Gun, The Fearless) and new-to-Marvel artist Will Sliney (MacGyver, Star Wars) bring you the book everyone is going to be talking about on Thursday morning.

Why You Should Care: Marvel seems to be really insistent to make 'Fetch' happen, with Matt Fraction and Terry Dodson having had a kick at the Defenders can just last year. Admittedly, their series was cancelled to make way for the Marvel NOW! relaunch, but I don't believe it was setting too many sales charts aflame. Regardless, putting Marvel darling Cullen Bunn on the title speaks to the push Marvel is giving the book, and I must say that the premise actually sounds pretty neat. More badass ladies headlining comic books is a good thing in my books.

GREEN ARROW #17

Written by Jeff Lemire

Art by Andrea Sorrentino

• Welcome the new team of writer JEFF LEMIRE and artist ANDREA SORRENTINO!

• As Ollie struggles to come to terms with the loss of his fortune, his company and his heritage, he discovers a shocking truth about his father that ties to his time stranded on an island before he became Green Arrow.

• Plus: Green Arrow battles the deadly archer known as Komodo!

Why You Should Care: In a move that is clearly inspired by DC's Arrow television series, the company has tapped Jeff Lemire, one of their top writers, to helm the Green Arrow comic, which has been struggling creatively since pretty much issue #1. Fortunately, with Sweet Tooth having ended last month, Lemire has the free space on his dance card, and considering his credentials, I'm quite excited to see him on this book. I don't know what he'll have up his sleeve for the Emerald Archer, but it stands to be most excellent.

YOUNG ROMANCE: A NEW 52 VALENTINE'S DAY SPECIAL #1

Written by Andy Diggle, Ann Nocenti, Cecil Castellucci, Peter Milligan & others

Art by Gene Ha, Emanuella Luppichinno, Becky Cloonan, Phil Jimenez, Sanford Green & others

• Romance is in the air in this very special Special!

• Wonder Woman consults Eros himself about her feelings for The Man of Steel.

• Barbara Gordon has always been too busy for romance, but could her role as Batgirl bring her back to the first guy she ever kissed?

• Following the events of “Death in the Family,” how can Catwoman ease Batman’s troubled soul?

• Aquaman makes waves as he treats his wife like a queen for a day.

• From the pages of STORMWATCH, Apollo and Midnighter celebrate Valentine’s Day separately but with each other in mind. Who—or what—stands between them?

• Dick Grayson and the daughter of Lucious Fox meet-cute!

• Plus: Perforated Valentine’s Day cards featuring the stars of these stories!

Why You Should Care: I love comic books that tie-in with real world holidays. The Larfleeze Christmas Special from a few years back still stands as one of my favourite books of all time, and while this anthology seems to be a somewhat different beast than that, I hope that DC can recapture some of the lightning with this Valentine's Day Special. Even if they can't, with so many top drawer creators here, you know there has to be a few gems in the rough. Also: nothing wrong with Valentine's Day cards in comic books. Young Romance, will you Be Mine?

New Beginnings

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS #1

Written by Alex Link, Christopher Long & Dirk Manning

Art by Riley Rossmo

Inspired by the Mexican Day of the Dead, artist extraordinaire, RILEY ROSSMO (DEBRIS, GREEN WAKE, COWBOY NINJA VIKING, REBEL BLOOD) joins forces with nine different writers over three issues to tell tall tales from beyond the grave!

This issue's writers are ALEX LINK (REBEL BLOOD), CHRISTOPHER LONG (X-Men Unlimited, Hiding In Time, Easy Way) and DIRK MANNING (NIGHTMARE WORLD, Write or Wrong). Future issues will feature stories by ED BRISSON (COMEBACK), ALEX GRECIAN (PROOF), JOE KEATINGE (HELL YEAH), JEFF MARRIOTTE (FADE TO BLACK), KURTIS WIEBE (PETER PANZERFAUST) and JOSHUA WILLIAMSON (XENOHOLICS).

In this issue: A mariachi falls in love with a woman who strongly resembles his lost love, a father is abused by a poltergeist, and a girl who's mother died when she was born visits the land of the dead in her dreams.

NOTE: Due to the special nature and size of this book and in order to maintain an on-time shipping schedule, this book will be solicited BI-MONTHLY.

Why You Should Care: I an industry that really seems to be riding big name writers, I'm really happy to see Image doing a book that highlights one of their artists. Especially when said artist is Riley Rossmo, who is one of the most exciting illustrators in comics today. He's been all over the place with titles like Wild Children, Debris, and Bedlam, and it's great to see him getting to run wild with his own little miniseries. It's yet another bonus that he'll be working with some mighty talented writers to tell stories all about the Mexican Day of the Dead. This is a winning combination all around.

FAIRY QUEST #1

Written by Paul Jenkins

Art by Humberto Ramos

The world of Fablewood, where all of the stories that have ever been told live side-by- side, is a sinister place indeed! Under the watchful eye of the dreaded Mister Grimm and his Think Police, Red Riding Hood and her Wolf must risk everything to try and escape and find sanctuary in a mysterious place called the Real World…

Written by industry legend Paul Jenkins (SENTRY, DEATHMATCH) and drawn by comics superstar Humberto Ramos (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN), the smash Kickstarter with product details success story, FAIRY QUEST, is now available in single issue format for the first time!

Why You Should Care: Fairy Quest is Paul Jenkins and Humberto Ramos' personal project, with the two having raised over $95,000 on Kickstarter last year to make the series a reality. Set in a world where Red Riding Hood and the Wolf have become friends and grown tired of their land of Fables, Fairy Quest was actually published through said Kickstarter as a hardcover that collected the entire first story. However, should you have missed out on that, Boom! has your back, as they're publishing that Fairy Quest story in a two issue miniseries, the first of which is available as of tomorrow.

SNAPSHOT #1

Written by Andy Diggle

Art by Jock

Jake Dobson is your typical nerd; works at the Near-Mint Rhino comic-book store in San Francisco. But when he finds a lost cell phone, he's horrified to discover it's full of snapshots of a murder victim. Suddenly he finds himself hunted by a vengeful hitman who wants his phone back... and Jake in a body bag! And then things start to get *really* complicated...

Don't miss the first ever creator-owned thriller from the team behind THE LOSERS and GREEN ARROW: YEAR ONE!

Why You Should Care: Andy Diggle and Jock make beautiful comics together. The solicitation tells you so on that last line: both The Losers and Green Arrow: Year One were quality stories. I don't think it's that crazy to imagine that these two repeated collaborators will be able to rekindle that magic for what could easily be the next great crime comic. There's definitely a lot of reasons to warrant giving this book a go.

WINTER SOLDIER #15

Written by Jason Latour

Art by Nic Klein

• All new mission! All New creative team! All new status quo!

• Join writer Jason Latour (Loose Ends, Wolverine) and artist Nic Klein (Dancer, Viking, Doc Savage) as they take the reins to the critically acclaimed series!

• In the wake of the hunt for the Black Widow, a broken and beaten Winter Soldier begins perhaps his most personal mission yet: a quest for redemption.

• But as Bucky looks to make peace with his deadly past, a new villain from his future is out for war…and blood…

Why You Should Care: With Ed Brubaker's time on the character (and mainstream Marvel comics) at an end, it's time for a new team of creators to take a shot at writing the ongoing adventures of Bucky Barnes. While I didn't stick with Brubaker to the end, I was taken with Bucky himself, so I'm intrigued to see what a new crop of talent might do with the man. It's even more exciting in my books that both Jason Latour and Nic Klein are relatively new to Big 2 comics. It's always great to see new creators getting work that will be seen by more readers.

You May Have Missed

ADVENTURE TIME WITH FIONNA & CAKE #2

Written by Natasha Allegri

Art by Natasha Allegri

Backup Story by Lucy Knisley

DON'T MISS FAN-FAVORITE ADVENTURE TIME CHARACTERS FIONNA AND CAKE IN THEIR OWN SERIES!

Get in on this explosively popular new ADVENTURE TIME mini-series, written and drawn by FIONNA AND CAKE creator and ADVENTURE TIME storyboard artist Natasha Allegri!

What will Fionna and Cake do with a flame-boy to care for? Find out in the hottest series of the year!

Why You Should Care: I was absolutely taken with Natasha Allegri's wonderful first issue Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake last month. Her story and art were whimsically divine, and Britt Wilson's lettering was aces. kaBoom!'s Adventure Time adaptations have been tickling my fancy in all the right ways, but I'm tempted to say that Fionna & Cake is my favourite example of it. There's just so much to love here, and I hope that this book is getting into as many people's hands as possible, because it's great.

PLANET OF THE APES CATACLYSM #6

Written by Corinna Sara Bechko & Gabriel Hardman

Art by Benjamin Dewey

Eight years before Astronaut George Taylor fell from the stars...the stars fell on the PLANET OF THE APES! As Ape City struggles to build itself back together, tensions between the ape races are reaching a boiling point as aid quickly runs out. Zira and Lucius struggle to find help before chaos descends, once again, on the planet of the apes!

Why You Should Care: Speaking of great, Boom!'s Planet of the Apes tie-in comics have also been of rather superior quality. Corinna Sara Bechko and Gabriel Hardman have been telling stories that anyone can appreciate and enjoy, whether a long time fan of Planet of the Apes or a complete neophyte to the series. Benjamin Dewey is only joining them on the title with this issue, but he showed himself to be a solid artist with his contribution to the Planet of the Apes Annual last summer.

The Balance

ANIMAL MAN #17

Written by Jeff Lemire and Scott Snyder

Art by Steve Pugh

• The epic climax of “ROTWORLD” starts here and continues into this month’s SWAMP THING #17!

• All hope seems lost! Can Buddy find a way to stop the Rot before it takes over the world?

• Before that can even happen, Buddy must confront the horrible truth about the fate of his family.

Why You Should Care: At a certain point, it started to feel like this day would never come, but it would seem that Rotworld is finally coming to an end. Unfortunately, I have to say that Animal Man has been moving so slowly that I can't quite imagine how Lemire is going to wrap all the loose ends up. I suppose the fact that this story is bleeding over into the pages of Swamp Thing #17 will help that along, but I imagine Scott Snyder has been having similar pacing issues on his end. We'll see.

FASHION BEAST #6

Written by Alan Moore, Malcolm McLaren & Antony Johnston

Art by Facuno Percio

Alan Moore's time-lost masterpiece spins a complex web of mythology over a world on the precipice of nuclear annihilation.

Doll discovers the frightening truth behind the powerful Patron, Celestine. Beneath the mysterious layers of deformity lies a heart beaten down by the vanities of man and a fashion obsessed mother.

Will the revelation of what is really behind the fashion empire boost Doll into immortality or tear her to pieces?

Why You Should Care: I've definitely been enjoying my time with Fashion Beast, but I'm still kind of hard pressed to say what the heck it's about. This book is moving at a pretty glacial pace, but Antony Johnston and Facuon Percio manage to do enough with Alan Moore's old script in their adaptation that I keep coming back for more. This series is intended to be but ten issues long, so this will officially put us on the back end of things.

HARBINGER #0

Written by Joshua D.M. Dysart

Art by Mico Suayan

Toyo Harada, CEO of Harada Global Conglomerates and the most powerful psionic the world has ever known, has a vision for the perfect future. It's a vision he will realize whether we like it or not. In order to achieve it, he's built a private army of super-powered psiots. But who was Harada before he became the world's most powerful man? And what are the origins of the Harbinger Foundation? Don't miss those answers and more in this special standalone issue that will define the future of the Valiant Universe.

Why You Should Care: While I haven't been following Harbinger, this book from Valiant has been getting plenty of positive vibes from various corners of the internet. And although I'm not big on issue #0s, this is ostensibly a good jumping on point, so if you've been wondering what all the fuss has been about, Harbinger #0 should be a good place to find out.

HELLBOY IN HELL #3

Written by Mike Mignola

Art by Mike Mignola

Hellboy meets more of his family members, and it’s not a fond reunion, as blood sprays through the air in Hell.

Why You Should Care: I'll say the same thing I've said the last two times: it's Mike Mignola writing AND drawing a comic book. Even better, it's him writing and drawing Hellboy, the character that really put Mignola on the map. And Hellboy, having died, is now in Hell, where things have been getting real weird and real intense. Also, Dave Stewart, colourist extraordinaire, is on colours. What's not the like here? I certainly can't think of anything. Go buy this book.

SWAMP THING #17

Written by Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire

Art by Marco Rudy

• The epic finale of “ROTWORLD” continues from this month’s ANIMAL MAN #17!

• What will it cost our heroes to stop this apocalypse from happening? The answer will blow your mind.

Why You Should Care: As I mentioned above, Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire are finishing up their Rotworld Swamp Thing / Animal Man tie-in, with Swamp Thing #17 as the final issue. As anyone who has been following comics longer than a week guessed, the apocalypse seen in this story is not sticking around, although this solicitation seems to be making the claim that there will be a cost to our heroes for that return to the status quo. While I don't really buy that either, I will be buying this book. I imagine a good number of you will be doing likewise. The real question is whether anyone will stick around to buy issue #18.

Pick of the Week

There's a lot of tempting books for my pick of the week this time around - least of which would be Jeff Lemire's Green Arrow #17 - but I'm going to have to go with Young Romance: A New 52 Valentine's Day Special #1. I think this book is going to be a ton of fun, and the only way I could be more excited is if DC had had the wherewithal to not bother numbering this comic (unless, that is, they plan to make this an annual event?).

Which titles are holding your interest this week? I'd love to hear what you're pulling, so drop me a line in the comments!