If I had to rank the books based on previews, I'd probably put Sky Doll, Batman Confidential and Skaar: Son of Hulk at the top of the pile for this week's comics.Sky Doll is Sky Doll. It's awesome European goodness that everyone should be picking up.
Batman Confidential is new, but I actually picked up the last issue after hearing about how good the Catwoman / Batgirl story was and am anxiously awaiting the follow up.
And Skaar is the return of a good Hulk book ever since Loeb destroyed the franchise when his Green Lantern colour spectrum meets Hulk rainbow brigade happened.
However, it's a pretty slow week compared to last week's offerings, but most of the books on my list look like they could be pretty good, so both my wallet and myself are pleased with how this week is shaping up. I'm still not sure about Trinity, though. I'm going to flip through it at the shop and make a snap decision on whether to give the second issue a try or not. At this point, I just don't see me sticking with it, but we'll see how it turns out on Wednesday.
ACTION COMICS #866Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Gary Frank and Jon Sibal
Superstar artist Gary Frank returns as the new world of Superman for 2008 and beyond begins in Part 1 of "Brainiac"! Decades ago, Krypton went to war with Brainiac, a cold and callous alien obsessed with the control of knowledge. Superman believes he's faced Brainiac before, but he's about to learn the truth behind his close encounters as he heads down the road to his greatest triumph...and greatest tragedy.
Kirk Says: I thought I was done with Johns' Action Comics, but I'm curious to see his take on Brainiac, who's been pretty much a Saturday morning cartoon villain for the past decade or more (see the Superman Y2K storyline for an example of this). This also seems to imply this is the first time we will ever see the "real" Brainiac.
BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL #18Written by Fabian Nicieza
Art by Kevin Maguire
Batgirl tracks Catwoman and the notebook stolen from Commissioner Gordon to a posh nightclub — where costumes are optional!
Kirk Says: No, I am not buying this for naked Catwoman and Batgirl fighting. I'm not. Stop looking at me like that. DON'T JUDGE ME!
In all seriousness, I heard about Batman Confidential #17 after it came out and picked it up the next time I was at the shop. It was pretty damn good and Fabian did an excellent job with Catwoman and Batgirl's voices and characterization. Enough so that I'm picking up this month's offering for the rest of the story. I may review both of the issues this week to make up for the fact I picked up last issue late.
As far as I know, this is all out of continuity or retelling type stories, so I'm not sure how essential this is to others, but the first issue was a lot of fun and wasn't bogged down in continuity or required the reader to have read the previous 16 issues and that's about all you can ask for in a comic.
BOOSTER GOLD #10Written by Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz
Art by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund
In order to correct the past and save the future, Booster Gold faces a startling reality — someone from his past must live and someone must die! Can the greatest hero the world has never known do what must be done to save all of time?
Kirk Says: That's a very striking cover and I'm not sure what the significance of having Booster and Ted in the line up wiht the guns is supposed to be nor the shadowy image of Ted in the background. It looks cool, though, so hopefully we find out what the deal is with it in the actual issue.
Previews have also shown this issue to have yet another black board scene. There were messages about Red Lanterns = Blood and the return of Jean Paul Valley (Azrael) and so on. As an obsessive compulsive comic nerd, these things are gold mines for easter eggs / advertisements and I love them, but I think they're starting to wear out their welcome a bit with the overuseage of this particular "preview" of things to come.
GOTHAM UNDERGROUND #9 (OF 9)Written by Frank Tieri
Art by J. Calafiore and Jack Purcell
Penguin's tenuous hold over the City quickly slips away as Batman and Gotham's other protectors close in for the final act of this epic gang war. Will Penguin pay the ultimate price? Or will the Dark Knight show Gotham's underworld boss a rare moment of grace? No matter the outcome, it all comes to an explosive conclusion here!
Kirk Says: Well, Gotham Underground is finally coming to a conclusion. Considering it "debuted" Spoiler's return, I kind of expected some resolution on why she attacked Oracle and where the stealth suit went or, hey, if this is even the real Spoiler, considering everyone else was an imitation villain in this series. It was an okay ride, but this is pretty much for Bat-fans only and I doubt the series had anything of true importance for the casual / average fan.
GREEN ARROW and BLACK CANARY #9Written by Judd Winick
Art by Mike Norton and Rodney Ramos
Green Arrow and Black Canary follow the trail of Connor Hawke's missing body to the heart of the League of Assassins — and face the resurrected Ra's al Ghul himself!
Kirk Says: I'm not even sure why I keep reading this series. It's not particularly great and features some of the most ridiculous moments I've ever seen, like Ollie and Dinah setting up and attempting to film a donkey show in order to coerce some thugs for information, but, like people staring at a gruesome car accident, I can't seem to look away from this title. I wonder if Ra's al Ghul, fresh out of Arkham in last week's Nightwing, is actually behind the kidnapping or if Winick will drag this story out even more.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #25Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Art and cover by Patrick Gleason and Prentis Rollins
The epic battle against Mongul begins here, as the true origin of the Black Mercy is revealed! The Green Lantern Corps find itself pitted not only against Mongul to save Sodam and Arisia, but an entire planet made of Black Mercys that seem to be under the control of a quite possibly darker and more disturbing force. This creature the Corps will come to fear is known simply as Mother Mercy — and it has no plans of showing any now or ever.
Kirk Says: This could be a Sinestro Corps War-level epic issue or fall flat on its face with the Black Mercy angle. It's really hard to tell, at this point. Mongul got taken down by Green Arrow and Hal in earlier issues of Green Lantern, so, I assume, if Ion gets free, this entire threat should be taken down in a few seconds. Even with a Sinestro ring, I doubt Mongul could match Superman-level Sodam combined with the Ion powers. Hopefully Tomasi can lean towards the SCW epicness with this battle instead of the Ion butt stomping copout.
SECRET INVASION: WHO DO YOU TRUST? #1Written by Christos Gage, Zeb Wells, Brian Reed, Mike Carey & Jeff Parker
Art by Mike Perkins, Leonard Kirk & Lee Weeks
SECRET INVASION One-Shot!
Five stories from across the Marvel Universe, illuminating key elements of the SECRET INVASION! Captain Marvel takes a stand! Marvel Boy makes a choice! Wonder Man and the Beast face off! Abigail Brand, Agent of SWORD finds the foe! And the Agents of Atlas enter the fight!
Kirk Says: I'm probably going to regret picking this issue up, but I want to see what Marvel Boy and Agent Brand are up to during Secret Invasion.
SKAAR: SON OF HULK #1Written by Greg Pak
Art by Ron Garney
Born in fire. Raised by monsters. Destined to destroy. On an alien planet shattered by war, no one is stronger than Skaar, the savage Son of Hulk. But as a Fillian warlord, an Imperial princess, and a mysterious Earthman spread chaos through the wastelands, will Skaar save the puny survivors -- or smash them? Another epic fever dream from Greg Pak, writer of "Planet Hulk" and World War Hulk" -- featuring the return of legendary Hulk artist Ron Garney!
Kirk Says: I wonder if Skaar will fight a Red Skaar after killing a green badguy that returns as a blue badguy? We could fly Iron Man up to Sakaar and have him scream, "Oh the humanity!", over and over. It'd be great. Maybe have him punch the Watcher while we're at.
Sorry, nerdrage boiling over. I've actually been looking forward to this series since WWH ended and it was first announced. Having Ron Garney on pencils is the icing on the cake and the only thing that could make this better would be a cherry on top in the form of the Warbound and, maybe, the WWH version of the Hulk returning to Sakaar and we can forget Loeb ever touched the franchise.
SKY DOLL #2Written by Alessandro Barbucci & Barbara Canepa
Art by Alessandro Barbucci
The internationally acclaimed best seller continues! Finally free from her life of servitude, Noa, our sexy Sky Doll, finds that the missionaries who helped free her may not have her best interests in mind. When the group arrives on an underwater world for a "pit stop", Noa discovers she may have been left out to dry. But she's not just some "wet behind the ears" android as she proves she knows her way around weapons and isn't afraid to use them to insure she's not soon drowning in a watery grave!
Kirk Says: I want to tell you all to go out and buy Sky Doll, but I'm half tempted to wait for the, hopefully, eventual oversized hardcover myself.
However, I'm still going to pick this issue up, even though I've read this series before (Heavy Metal Magazine version *throwsupthehorns*), just because it's that damn good. If you're looking to branch out into alternative comics (non-Marvel or DC super hero offerings), then this is a great place to start.
WONDER WOMAN #21Written by Gail Simone
Art by Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan
At the ends of the universe, Wonder Woman falls victim to the Black Horizon, risking the safety of her soul. To salvage her very existence, she must ally herself with the legendary Beowulf and another fearsome warrior from DC's past! But that's only half of Wonder Woman's troubles, as Tom "Nemesis" Tresser runs afoul of one of Diana's unexpected houseguests!
Kirk Says: I love the Fables-like frames that were used in the last issue of Wonder Woman and which can also be seen on this month's cover. Previews show they'll be using it on the interiors, too, which is awsome. I love that kind of stuff and really appreciate the amount of time and effort it takes an artist to actually do something so minor and insignificant, in relation to the rest of the panels. Just one of the reasons I'm loving the new regime on Wonder Woman.
The current storyline has Wonder Woman set up to go kill the devil, of all people, and I'm not sure if it's supposed to be Neron or an actual devil-like entity, but she's enlisted Beowulf's help and it looks like they're going to go kill Grendel together. Good times.
X-FORCE SPECIAL: AIN'T NO DOG #1Written by Charlie Huston & Jason Aaron
Art by Jefte Palo & Werther Dell'edera
"Ain’t No Dog”: There will be blood. Gallons of it. Because Cyclops needs only one scalpel for a surgical strike mission and Logan’s the ideal man for the job. Tonight, Wolverine flies solo—dressed in black and operating off the grid. And when the night is through, there will be mountains of corpses, and no one to answer to. What could be better? PLUS, this one-shot features a solo Warpath story, as he learns what it really means to go home again.
Kirk Says: Can't recall anything Huston has done off hand, but the main reason I'm picking this issue up is for the Jason Aaron story, which I assume will be the solo on Warpath.
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13 comments:
Wow....I have only 3 books in my pull this week. ASM, Trinity and Booster. I've decided to give Trinity at least 3 issues. I canx'ed GA & Black Canary after last ish. Maybe I'll try Sky Doll or Skaar since the pull is light on the wallet this week.
Charlie Huston wrote the relaunch of Moon Knight.
I wonder who the "Mysterious Earthman" is?
@cat - Ah, I really liked the opening Moon Knight arcs, but it just came out so slow, I kind of lost interest. Probably art related more than story.
Sky Doll has a hefty price tag (I think the last one was $5), but it has no ads and a much higher page count. You'll probalby have to pick up the first one, which your store may or may not have, to really get into the story.
@harry - I honestly didn't even pay attention to the Skaar solicit. Just assumed "Hulk's son smashes stuff". Now I'm not sure what to think about the mysterious Earthman. No one, to my knowledge, has gone "missing" on Earth to be a suprise baddy here.
I can't really think of a single legitimate candidate for that mystery character. Hmm, that's kind of annoying. Surfer is the only other person that knows where this planet is from the "regular" Marvel characters. Not even the Illuminators know about it since they picked a paradise planet before Hulk crashed.
Damn, I'm pissed I can't even think of a single potential mystery man.
The only villain I can think of is Vulcan. Perhaps the planet is located near Shi'ar space and he is trying to expand the empire.
The other humans in space (Star-Lord, Nova, Kitty) wouldn't really have a reason to be there.
Ooh, looks like DC's taking up the blog this week!
I think Charlie Huston is a crime fiction novelist; he's the current writer for Moon Knight, which makes sense, but isn't anything special.
You have a great point about the woeful way that Winick's writing Green Arrow/Black Canary. I've decided in my head not to get it when I go to the shop, and hopefully that works out. The least I'll do is skim through it though.
Winick had a few really good issues of GA & Black Canary but then it just got plain stupid. If he would have kept the tone the earlier issues had then I think it would have been easier to try and keep it on my pull. Is the book a light hearted comedy? A drama of a father looking for his lost son? It's trying to be both and it just doesn't feel right.
I hate Loeb.
What do you say about Runaways #30, they say it's supposed to come out this wednesday. The solicitation says it's supposed to be jaw-dropping... well, this arc is going on 13 months with all of those delays. It better be good.
@kevin t. - Yeah, seems like DC has the majority this week. For some reason, DC seems to publish less books or it might just be I don't collect all 8 Batman and Superman books, making it seem like it's less than Marvel's offerings. =p
In all honesty, I'm pretty sure Marvel just puts more books out, making it seem like they get the majority all the time.
@rawnzilla - Don't we all, don't we all.
@parallax - I'm pretty sure Runaways comes out next week with the Runaways / Young Avengers SI mini. Diamond doesn't have it listed this week and Marvel's catalogue has it for next week too.
I'll be getting it jus tto finish off the arc and Whedon's run, but I don't expect to enjoy it.
Great blog. I check it out all the time. (Thanks for turning me on to Atomic Robo, which I picked up on your recommendation and loved every issue.) I can't blame you for leaning against Trinity. I stuck with Countdown even when it became a chore to read, and now I regret it. I am going to give it four issues to grab me, and if I'm not loving it by then, I'm gone. Definitely looking forward to Skaar. I'm with you: the solicit is irrelevant. If it's Greg Pak playing in the Hulk's corner of the MU, I'm ready to take the plunge.
invincible #50 this week too!
Oh ya, I always forget to add the non-Marvel / DC stuff. Their sites are updated even less than the Big 2's and usually have the wrong release dates anyways.
Definitely getting Invincible #50. I assume The Walking Dead #50 should be out as well. I thought they were releasing them both at the same time, but could be mistaken. I'll have to doulbe check Diamond tomorrow to see.
Your buying Confidential for the Batgirl/Catwoman clothing-ripped fight reminded me of a...similar occurrence in a drawing found on a deviantart search:
http://kawaiidebu.deviantart.com/art/Gotham-Nights-Kiriban-22455407
Click it only if you wish to be very very disturbed.
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