Lot of big ticket items coming out this week, including the debut of Ultimates 3. Not sure what to think of that, as I've already written it off as a lost cause based on the previews and interviews. Hopefully Loeb will prove me wrong, but I won't hold my breath. Other noteables are Annihilation: Conquest, JLA, JSA, WWH Aftershocks and Countdown Arena. Should be an interesting week, so hit the jump to see the rest of the books I'll be picking up this week.
ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST #2Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Art by Tom Raney
The sci-fi event of the year continues here! The Big Bad behind the entire saga was revealed on the last page of last issue – but what does this fan-fave villain want? And what does it have to do with the surprise ally that our heroes have also recently found? Plus: Who survived the STAR-LORD series to fight on here? And what about the motley crew led by Ronan? The titanic team of Andy Lanning & Dan Abnett (NOVA) and Tom Raney (ULTIMATE X-MEN) deliver the answers fast and furious in this issue!
Kirk Says: First issue was a great start. Let's hope issue two can provide a worthy follow up and some explanations into the whole Ultron thing.
COUNTDOWN: ARENA #1 (OF 4)Written by Keith Champagne
Art by Scott McDaniel and Andy Owens
Get ready for COUNTDOWN: ARENA — a 4-issue weekly event written by Keith Champagne (JSA) with art by Scott McDaniel and Andy Owens (GREEN ARROW) that pits the DCU's greatest heroes against themselves!
The villainous Monarch begins the last chapter of his campaign against the Monitors, combing the entire Multiverse to enlist the most powerful — or deadly — heroes and villains from throughout existence to join his army. The abducted must battle one another in Monarch's specially constructed Arena, where only the strongest will survive to join his battle against the Monitors.
Carefully selected from worlds throughout all 52 universes, including characters from SUPERMAN: RED SON, DC: THE NEW FRONTIER, BATMAN: GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT, JSA: LIBERTY FILES, JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NAIL, and TANGENT, among many others, three versions of each hero will walk into the Arena, and only one will walk away. Welcome to THE ARENA, where Monarch's only rule is to survive at all costs.
Kirk Says: Not sure what to expect from this fan voting based series. I'm hoping for some fun Multiverse spanning action though.
COUNTDOWN PRESENTS THE SEARCH FOR RAY PALMER: RED SONWritten by Alan Burnett
Art by Travel Foreman
At the height of the Cold War, the Challengers find themselves teamed with freedom fighter Batman against the Soviet President, Superman! The Challengers must choose between the life of a friend and the survival of the Multiverse.
Kirk Says: Red Son is one of the best Superman stories ever told. Hopefully this Ray Palmer issue will be a fun return to that universe.
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS #21Story by Paul Dini
Breakdowns by Keith Giffen
Script by Sean McKeever
Art by Jesus Saiz
Karate Kid meets an all-new/old OMAC at the Command D bunker! Jimmy Olsen crosses paths with Mister Miracle! Mary Marvel is taken to Paradise Island! One of the Rogues becomes a real drag! Things are changing for the Monitors! And…at long last…Ray Palmer!
Plus, more DC villains origin backup stories, including Granny Goodness and Sinestro! The COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS continues!
Kirk Says: Looks like this will be an Amazons related issue of Countdown, which is a bad thing if you ask me. Will they finally reveal she's actually Athena in Countdown? They've gone to great lengths to not clarify that for people that had the fortune of not sitting through Amazons Attack. The way Countdown treats her, it's like they are trying to build up some huge mystery about something revealed in another book.
HOUSE OF M: AVENGERS #2Written by Christos Gage
Art by Mike Perkins
The secret history of the House of M universe continues as Luke Cage's Avengers battle Shang-Chi's Dragons...Officer Misty Knight inflitrates the Avengers to take them down from within...and Thunderbird's FBI task force, The Brotherhood, recruits a new Sapien member: ex-Marine Frank Castle, aka The Punisher! And tragedy strikes as an Avenger heads toward death!
Kirk Says: First issue was a rather dull origin issue for an alternate reality Avengers team. Not sure where this mini-series is going or if the return to the House of M even has a point, but I'm hoping for some fun alternate reality action with this issue.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #15Written by Dwayne McDuffie
Art by Ed Benes and Sandra Hope
It's the brawl of the century, delivered by writer Dwayne McDuffie (Justice League Unlimited) and artists Ed Benes and Sandra Hope, as the Justice League of America takes on the Injustice League in the final chapter of "Unlimited"!
Kirk Says: Been really digging McDuffie's JLA and this should be a great ending to a fun ride.
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #11Written by Geoff Johns & Alex Ross
Art by Dale Eaglesham & Ruy Jose
The epic storyline by Geoff Johns and Alex Ross, THY KINGDOM COME, continues! Adjusting to this strange, new Earth, the Superman from Kingdom Come discovers he may have more in common with the heroes of the Justice Society than he believes. Plus, Jay Garrick and Wally West pull out the cosmic treadmill!
Kirk Says: Pretty much nothing happened last issue with the debut of the Kingdom Come Superman. He sat and drank some tea before saving a girl from committing suicide. While nothing technically wrong with the issue, it felt like filler and fluff. This issue should be a lot better with the JLA coming to meet the 'new' Superman.
MS. MARVEL #22Written by Brian Reed
Art by Aaron Lopresti
The Brood return! Carol Danvers is alone and powerless on Monster Island, surrounded by creatures that want her blood! Brian Reed (CAPTAIN MARVEL) and Aaron Lopresti (INCREDIBLE HULK) bring you a tale of monsters and the many faces of Ms. Marvel!
Kirk Says: Loved the last few issues with Machine Man. Hopefully he gets some more face time this issue. As for Ms Marvel, not digging this Brood thing or her wonky new powers.
ROBIN #169Written by Peter Milligan
Art by Freddie Williams II
Part 5 of the 7-part "Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul!" Robin goes off the deep end as the temptations of Ra's al Ghul prove too strong to resist! Will Nightwing take his big brother role to heart and try to drag Tim off the ledge? Guest-starring Batman, Damian and Talia al Ghul.
Kirk Says: This crossover has been going full tilt the last few chapters. I'm hoping they drope it back a few notches and explain all the randomness that is going on and who and what some of these new and old characters actually want or are doing in this crossover.
SILVER SURFER: IN THY NAME #2Written by Simon Spurrier
Art by Tan Eng Huat
Seeking only to help the helpless, the Silver Surfer rids an alien city of a demonic threat and is declared a Savior by its beleaguered inhabitants. As assassinations, political maneuverings and simmering tensions fester in the shadows, the Surfer must question whether a figurehead – even a reluctant one – is responsible for the actions of his disciples…Brewing conflict leaps from the page, as artist Tan Eng Huat (Doom Patrol, Batman) and writer Simon Spurrier (2000AD, Gutsville) step-up a gear in the Surfer’s most explosive adventure yet.
Kirk Says: Loved the first issue of this series. I hope they can keep it up. This could be one of the best mini-series of the year based on the first issue.
THE ORDER #5Written by Matt Fraction
Art by Barry Kitson
The Marvel Universe's newest superhero team continues to protect the Golden State from all KINDS of comic-book insanity: the team investigates gamma-irradiated monsters living in the hidden cities beneath Los Angeles that only the Hopi Indians prophesied; the super-murder investigation hits a snag as the more-human-than-human girl gang called the BLACK DAHLIAS goes around killing off the suspects; we learn a scoonch more about the mysterious M.A.N. from S.H.A.D.O.W.; and, the awesome-cherry plopped atop our sundae of fabulousness, the Order are told they can't buy their Los Angeles dream house. Where oh where will the Order hang their hat? Here's a hint: It's San Franawesome. By Matt Fraction (PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL, IMMORTAL IRON FIST and Casanova) and Barry Kitson (Legion of Super-Heroes, Empire,JLA Year One).
Kirk Says: I've come to the conclusion this series just isn't for me. Just doesn't click with me. I'll stick out for another issue or two and then will most likely drop this title.
ULTIMATES 3 #1Written by Jeph Loeb
Art by Joe Madureira
The countdown to Ultimatum begins here and when it's over, the Ultimate Universe will never be the same! And when we say that in the Ultimate Universe, you know we ain't fooling around! A year later, who are the Ultimates? After going through the tumultuous events of the past two volumes, the Ultimates find themselves operating out of Tony Stark's mansion in New York where, no longer working for S.H.I.E.L.D., they have to make it on their own. But, a terrible secret is about to tear them apart and bring about a murder at the mansion! One of Earth's greatest heroes will die and there'll be plenty of suspects! New Members! New Adventures! And New Secrets! All this and Ultimate Venom too! Join Eisner winner and Emmy-nominated writer Jeph Loeb (TV's Heroes, FALLEN SON) and the superstar team of Joe Madureira & Christian Lichtner (UNCANNY X-MEN, Battle Chasers) as they take the Ultimates on their wildest ride yet!
Kirk Says: Well, it's finally here. I'll give it a fair crack, but it's going to take a lot to break my prejudice towards this issue.
ULTIMATE X-MEN #88Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Yanick Paquette
The conclusion to the Sentinels saga has it all: The X-Men vs. Stryfe! The X-Men vs. the Fenris Twins! The X-Men versus the Sentinels! Can one team possibly defeat three foes?
Kirk Says: Not sure why Kirkman's work on UXM is so much worse than just about everything else he writes. It's like he's rehashing everything from the 90's. I'll probably drop this after the Apocalypse stuff. Maybe ride it out until issue 100.
UNCANNY X-MEN #493Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Billy Tan
Battered by Sinister, the X-Men retreat to the mansion to lick their wounds. But in the war for the future of mutantkind, the battle never ends. The school is overrun by a mysterious new player who enlists one of the X-Men’s oldest foes. And when Cyclops learns who has the baby, he’s forced to make a tough decision.
Kirk Says: A lot's happened the last few issues in Messiah Complex, but this event just isn't pulling me in. This Cable reveal was telegraphed a mile away, but I'm curious to see how he survived and how he managed to get the baby before everyone else.
WORLD WAR HULK: AFTERSMASH #1Written by Greg Pak
Art by Rafa Sandoval
World War Hulk is over. But the Aftersmash has just begun. Heroes and monsters rise and fall as the events of "World War Hulk" reverberate through the blasted ruins of New York City with goliath impact in a massive story featuring the Warbound, the Renegades, Heroes for Hire, Iron Man, Tom Foster, and Damage Control. And yes, smashing will be involved.
Kirk Says: I was less than thrilled with WWH's conclusion. Hopefully this follow up will answer some of my lingering questions, but I just don't care that much about it anymore to make me excited about picking this issue up.
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5 comments:
no comicbook moments of the week?!
Nice Blog :)
suburban glamour #2 comes out this week as well, good series.
@sam - I'm going to try to put last week's Moments of the Week up tomorrow. With the Thursday shipping and various personal things I had to take care of this weekend, I just didn't have time to go through all the books, get the scans of the pages and put the post together.
Hopefully, they'll be better late than never and I should be back on track with everything this week. I felt the reviews were a little rushed and not quite up to snuff this week and I didn't want to toss together 4 or 5 images and call it a post for last week's Moments. So, look for that tomorrow.
@teri - thanks. =)
@sazyski - Oh, thanks for letting me know. I really enjoyed the first issue of SG. Image's solicits are terrible, so I rarely ever bother trying to figure out if they are correct or not when I do my Previews. Also, I typically pick up most Image / Vertigo / Indy books in trades, so that's another reason I rarely have them listed.
they are terrible. and their website sucks.
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