As a reminder, there was a holiday on Monday, so comics are delayed until Thursday. However, the wait will be more than worth it as the week is jam packed with great books, such as Green Lantern, Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova, Incredible Hercules and more. One book I don't have listed in my previews that I *might* pick up is the new Starcraft comic. "Starcraft?", you say. "Isn't that a video game tie-in?". Why, yes, yes it is. However, it's being written by Keith Giffen, the man behind such cosmic goodness as Annihilation and Starlord, so you might see why I'm tempted to pick it up. I'll be taking a look at it on the shelf, but I'm not even sure if my shop has ordered any in or not either, so we'll see what it happens on Thursday.
Hit the jump to find out what I think of the books slated for this week and feel free to leave your own thoughts or suggestions for comics I should pick up.
AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #24Written by Christos Gage
Art by Humberto Ramos
THE INITIATIVE: DISASSEMBLED CONTINUES! A Dark Reign has fallen. Norman Osborn has disbanded S.H.I.E.L.D. and shut down Camp Hammond. That leaves the Shadow Initiative out in the cold...stuck in Madripoor with no means of escape, hunted by an army of Hydra agents, including Wolverine's old foes, Bloodscream and Roughhouse! They have no idea if Norman even knows they’re out there, or if they’re better off if he doesn’t! If you thought changing costumes was the biggest event in Taskmaster's career, you cannot miss this issue...
Kirk: Word of advice, you cannot tease a huge Taskmaster moment and not deliver Gage. This better be good or us Taskmaster fans will eat you alive.
DARK REIGN: ELEKTRA #3Written by Zeb Wells
Art by Clay Mann
A fatigued and badly wounded Elektra is out of H.A.M.M.E.R. custody and on the run, and Norman Osborn wants her
neutralized. Nothing for it but to send his best anti-Elektra operative – the Dark Avengers’ own…HAWKEYE! He killed her once when he was Bullseye. Does a wounded Elektra even stand a chance? From Zeb Wells (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN) and Clay Mann (DAREDEVIL)!
Kirk: While not exactly what most would consider the best series ever, this has been surprisingly entertaining, in a 'put your brain away and enjoy the action' type of way. There's just enough plot and story to keep things moving and a whole lot of great Elektra moments. Quite pleased with how this is shaping up and look forward to it.
GREEN LANTERN #41Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Philip Tan and Jonathan Glapion
Prelude to BLACKEST NIGHT! In "Agent Orange" part 3, the truth behind the eternally corrupt Vega System is finally revealed and the Green Lantern Corps will pay dearly for uncovering the secret. Meanwhile, the greed of Agent Orange knows no bounds as his demand for the universe explodes. Plus, Hal continues to struggle with the abilities of his new power ring.
Kirk: The only DC title on the ol' pull list and it's a doozy. While it's easy to say Green Lantern Corps has been better than Green Lantern over the past couple of months, that doesn't take away from Green Lantern either. Still one of the best books on the market.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #14Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Art by Brak Walker
A WAR OF KINGS TIE-IN! The savage battle between the Shi’Ar Imperium—ruled by Emperor Vulcan—and the Kree Empire—controlled by Black Bolt—explodes across the universe! The Guardians of the Galaxy know they’ve got to stop the war before it shakes the cosmos apart at the seams, but will any of these heavy hitters listen to a rag-tag bunch of self-appointed galactic protectors who spend half their time quarreling amongst themselves? Find out in the book IGN.com calls “...one of the best titles around”!
Kirk: Guardians of the Galaxy is back on track with these War of Kings tie-ins and after last issue, I can't wait for this one.
INCREDIBLE HERCULES #129Written by Greg Pak
Art by Ryan Stegman
In this issue: HERCULES AND AMADEUS CHO DIE!!! We heard that cheap death sells comics, and we're more than happy to oblige. Though seriously, if you had to plunge into the UNDERWORLD and bring back Hercules' slain father ZEUS to counter Hera's power, could you think of a better plan? And come to think of it, have you ever noticed how... impermanent death is in the Marvel Universe? Well, while hobnobbing among the most famous Marvel deceased over the last few years, Herc and Cho learn the terrible secret why -- and why PLUTO, Lord of the Dead, is fighting-mad about it!
Kirk: Hercules is another one of those books that is hard to describe just how good it is, similar to how Captain Britain and MI13 is. It's just got a certain charm to it, combined with the excellent writing, that can make just about any situation or plot work. As such, I'm looking forward to this tongue in cheek take on death in comics.
MS. MARVEL #39Written by Brian Reed
Art by Patrick Olliffe
The Dark Reign is in full effect. Carol Danvers is dead.
Moonstone has taken on the mantle of Ms. Marvel. And the only hope for the forces of good is...Machine Man?! Brian Reed & Patrick Olliffe kick off a new chapter in the legend of Ms. Marvel!
Kirk: I don't think I got around to reviewing the last issue of this, but Moonstone's first outing as Ms Marvel was actually fairly good, if a bit of a cliched inner mind turmoil type of character focus. Looking forward to how they move forward from here.
NOVA #25Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Art by Andrea Di Vito
The Nova Corps rushes to the front line of the terrible conflagration between the Shi’Ar Imperium and the Kree Empire—and gets decimated! To save them, Richard Rider must wrest control of the Nova Force from no less than the Worldmind itself! Be prepared for shocks and surprises in this stunning showdown issue of the series that has Aint It Cool News raving “a gem of a comic…just buy this book”!
Kirk: It seems like it's been forever since Richard lost the Nova Force and his status as Nova Prime, but it looks like the whole Worldmind/Ego situation and his lack of Nova-ness will be fixed with this issue. There's a little war going on that might be of interest, too. Something to do with kings, I think...
RUNAWAYS #10Written by James Asmus & Christ Yost
Art by Sara Pichelli
When Runaway Molly Hayes responds to the X-Men’s
psychic invitation welcoming all mutants to a new home in San
Francisco, she declares it “Moll-ifest Destiny” and heads to the Headlands to investigate! But when she finds herself back-to-back with Wolverine, cornered by a villain with a vendetta, she might find being an X-Man isn’t just secret clubhouses and cool-looking costumes…
Kirk: While Runaways has been decidedly average over the past year or two, I've actually been looking forward to this issue for a while now. Yost did some great things with the Runaways in the Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers mini, which amounted to a Runaways: Guest Starring the Young Avengers book, and I'm looking forward to seeing his work on this issue, which has all the hallmarks of being great with a Molly and Wolverine focus. Plus, how can you not buy it with a cover like that?
WOLVERINE #72Written by Mark Millar
Art by Steve McNiven
Logan and Hawkeye have finally reached their journey’s end, made it to New Babylon, and delivered Hawkeye’s secret cargo. But the completion of their mission has come with a great price…and Logan is out for revenge on the man responsible for the annihilation of the world’s super heroes, the President of the United States! Don’t miss the penultimate issue of the greatest Wolverine story ever told by modern masters MARK MILLAR and STEVE MCNIVEN! Part 7 (of 8).
Kirk: No, not a misprint. In case you've been living under a rock, Marvel decided to publish issue #73 two weeks back due to the delay for #72, which sees print this week. I believe the reasoning for confusing fans was something to do with a movie coming out and not meeting the 30+ Wolverine appearances for that week.
X-FORCE #15Written by Craig Kyle & Chris Yost
Art by Clayton Crain
"X-FORCE/CABLE: MESSIAH WAR" The War heats up! As Stryfe gets even closer to learning the secret of Hope Summers, Bishop has no choice but to make his move. X-Force has split into two strike teams... but only betrayal and death await them. And the choice Archangel makes will change everything. Plus, the battle a millennia in the making... CABLE vs. STRYFE. Part 5 (of 7)
Kirk: Not sure why, but it feels like it's been forever since the last part of this storyline came out. We're on the home stretch now, so I hope the story starts ramping up and answering some questions along the way.
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7 comments:
Only Wolverine #72 for me this week, but damn there are some cool looking collections coming out.
Green Lantern has really slowed down lately, especially after the Red Lanterns arc. Now I just wait until the arc is finished and read it in one go and try to avoid spoilers until then. Lantern is still pretty good, but Corps has really blown me away with this current arc.
Those space books look insane. I've been sitting on the three Annihilation hardcovers for a while now. It's about time I got around to reading them.
Is anybody looking forward to Kathryn Immonen's Runaways? Her Hellcat series was really fun, so I hope she stays around for a while.
I have to say the art on that Elektra cover is fantastic. I was just stunned when I first saw it. Among the many things I like about it, she actually looks Greek!
After monthes of lame writing by Terry Moore, it's nice to see Runaways looking great again, especially with Yost writing and some Emma Rios' art.
Looking forward for Ms Marvel too, especially since the artist is not Patrick (Spider Ugly Girl) Olliffe, but Sana (DWS: Gentle) Takeda.
I fear the big "surprise" about Taskmaster will not be a "surprise" for those who read the sollicits for next monthes (I really should stop reading advanced sollicits)
Even though "Agent Orange" has been a disappointment thus far I am always excited about a new issue of Green Lantern.
I have enjoyed reading X-Force in the comic shop but it still hasn't piqued my curiosity enough to warrant a purchase ( will probably give it a go once this crossover is finished ).
I've never read an issue of Hercules and am shamed to admit such . . . Should I just jump in or pick up the first trade???
@DragonKnight900 - A good spot is Hercules origin issue from a few issues back (sorry, I cant recall the exact number, but i think it was 125 or 126). It gave an idea of who Herc is, how he fits in the Marvel universe and set up some plot threads dealing with Hera and Athena that are being followed up on now. Of course, the earlier God Squad and other arcs were great, too, but it's fairly easy to jump in on with that origin issue setup for this arc.
You know, reading that Incredible Herc blurb, it almost feels like they are specifically making fun of that Blackest Night blurb, where it talked about why so many DC heroes die, or something along those lines.
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