Even though the reboot hasn't happened yet, we know what will happen in the new DCU. Well, at least as much as the solicits will let us know, which is not much. DC along as all the other companies such as Marvel IDW, Image and Dark Horse have posted their solicits for November, and as always, we look through them so you know what to look for, what to avoid, and what to check out. Hit the jump to see our thoughts.
Ryan L's Thoughts
The Best Things in November
Our Love Is Real
Sometimes a comic comes along and it's so incredibly individual and crazy great that it grabs plenty of attention and deserves every line of it. This comic is unlike anything else and to see Sam Humphries and Steven Sanders put themselves on the line to self-fund a small print run was truly inspiring. To now see Image pick up the title and distribute it wider is a great recognition of quality triumphing. If you missed this comic the first time around, but caught the quality press, then make sure you get your hands on this book when it swings around again. Second chances don't occur often enough and this one is great.
Thought Bubble Anthology
Andy Diggle, Antony Johnston, Stuart Gordon, Charlie Adlard, Duncan Fegredo, D'Israeli, cover by Beck Cloonan, $2.99 for an oversized presentation, from Image, all profits go to Barnardos. Those are just the facts. This is the sort of thing I like to see popping up every now and then. Get into it.
Elektra: Assassin HC
I already own this as the Love & War HC but it's nice to see it get another printing for those who have found it hard to track down. For those who don't know, this is a book about Elektra. It was created way back in the 1980s. It's written by Frank Miller and drawn by Bill Sienkiewicz. It's a good book, it's alright, you may enjoy it. Seriously, buy this book. It's one of the most important works of the 80s and yet doesn't get mentioned alongside Watchmen/Swamp Thing/Dark Knight Returns as often as it should.
The Worst Things In November
Fabio Moon in Dark Horse Presents #6
I love Fabio Moon so this is a bad thing because it means I have to buy a massive anthology just to get his story. It's probably only 8 pages, too. Nuts, ha.
FF and Fantastic Four Split
Fantastic Four hadn't sold well for some time but Hickman picked it up by its boot straps, started with a great tale, continued a pretty solid run, and then killed one of the team for massive sales. Those sales then segued into a relaunch and new #1 as the FF and as it stands now the book is Top 10 material in sales. So, to capitalise on this, Marvel are splitting it up and taking the devoted audience and making them double down for two books. It can be said that if you like something you should want more of it but this just feels a little off for me. I hope it's quality, and the two books look different, but right now I just don't get a great vibe.
DC Solicits
The relaunch hasn't occurred yet so these #3 solicits don't seem to hold any context to them. Shame. I'm sure there's good comics there but I just didn't really look at any of them.
The Coolest Things In November
Gladstone's School For World Conquerors Vol 1
This book is a real gem. It's the sort of all ages treasure that doesn't pander to the kids at all, while it will actually appeal to them the most. It's supervillain kids learning the trade at a school and it's packed full of cool little characters, wicked set ups, and high octane fun. This trade us only $10 and it collects the first 6 issues, BARGAIN, but it also ships the same day as issue #7. Jumping on point is perfect and I encourage so many of you to get in there and sample the good.
The Occultist
Hell yeah! This book was a one-shot ages back and they said if it sold well enough it would warrant a return. It obviously did okay and so here we get the start of a 3 issue mini. Giddy up, I'm in for this strange mystical adventure tale. Get amongst it, people, it's Tim Seeley and it's unreal.
Ken's Thoughts
The Best Things in November
DC Sticking to a Monthly ScheduleWhen DC first announced they were going to take monthly books seriously, it kind of came as one of those announcements that are just lip service. But to their credit, the books will be coming out every month like promised, even if it means another artist. Add to it that DC have mentioned they want every book to be released the same week every month, and there is a sense of commitment to scheduling that you just don't see in comics anymore, where many publishers just take the customer for granted.
James Asmus Writing Generation Hope
Just last month I was saying that Asmus needed to get more work, and it looks like it was the strength of my words alone that got him the Generation Hope gig. OK, probably not, but it's a good move if Gillen has to focus on bigger things, because Asmus has already shown he can write a good Hope, and he's got a humor to his work that will do well to make the series not too angst-ridden for a teen book.
The Worst Things In November
Fantastic Four Renumbering
Elaborating a bit on what Ryan wrote, I think everyone knew Marvel was going to bring back Fantastic Four within a year after it was cancelled because of the milestone issue, but here we see Marvel pulling the same crazy numbering technique they did with the Hulk, where the FF issues count toward Fantastic Four, but at the same time FF still continues with #12. Only I think this time they actually add up to #600 and not #599.
Avenging Spider-Man = Delays
I think Zeb Wells is a good Spider-Man writer, having enjoyed his fill-ins during the Peter Parker: Spider-Man years. But Joe Madueria as the artist? Delays everywhere, and I think Marvel knows it too. During the phone conference announcement, it was the subject of some bantering. At least take the approach that Bendis and Hitch are doing with the next Marvel event, that it won't be announced until most of the work is done.
The Coolest Things In November
Runaways Running Into DakenThe cover to Daken #17 shows us the best Marvel teen group is returning to a comic, and it's about time. That last Runaways arc was pretty bad, but it doesn't mean they need to be put on the shelf for as long as they have. Like a plant, they need lots of love and sunlight, and their pet dinosaur back.
Paul Grist's Mudman
Jack Staff was a fun, quirky book, and I look forward to seeing what Grist can do for a teenage superhero given a rather unflattering medium to fight crime with. Does he turn into mud when he drinks too much water? Will he need to carry water around to mix with sand to make mud? The possibilities are endless!
Grant's Thoughts
The Best Things in November
The Return of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents
Like many, I fell in love with Nick Spencer's work over the course of the last year and a bit. While many will point to Morning Glories as his best series (and it's pretty darn fine, to be fair), I first came across his writings in the pages of DC's revival of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents title. The initial issues, appearing with 30 pages before DC started "Holding the Line", were absolutely phenomenal, making for some of the best, most thought out comics I have encountered in mainstream superheroics, and while the remainder of the series went down to 20 pages apiece, it continued to impress. The last arc focused more on Colleen and the Iron Maiden instead of the titular team, so I am excited to see the Agents take centre stage once again.
Victor Von Doom
I'm not trying to talk exclusively about Nick Spencer, but his recently announced Victor Von Doom miniseries has me genuinely intrigued. Spencer has already shown that he can write teenagers (as seen in the aforementioned Morning Glories), and while characters travelling to Hell is far from a new idea in comics, I'm willing to wait and see what Spencer does with the idea of a young Victor Von Doom venturing there to retrieve his mother's spirit. It also doesn't hurt that the art on this series is going to be done by Becky Cloonan, who did some great things with Brian Wood on Demo a few years back (among other impressive projects).
The Worst Thing in November
Fear Itself Point One, Two, Three...
I am not following Marvel's Fear Itself event, but I do know that the series concludes in October with issue #7. However, it an attempt to wring more money out of its readers, Marvel is adding three more issues that ostensibly complete the story, tying up all those pesky loose ends that weren't important enough to fit into the main book. Marvel is by no means the only company that releases far too many tie-in books for their events (I'm looking at you DC and your mostly awful Flashpoint books), but it's still frustrating to see companies nickel and diming their customers with books that continually claim to "change things forever" without actually doing anything. Admittedly, it looks like there will be some solid creative teams on these books, but I'm having a hard time believing that they're tied-in so directly to Fear Itself for any reason beyond trying to make a few more bucks. Clearly, I'm suffering from event fatigue. I know comics are a business, but do companies always have to be so transparent about it?
The Coolest Things in November
Valve Games' Comic Book AdaptationsAround the time Portal 2 came out, Comics Alliance put up the entirety of a 26 page Portal comic that Valve had produced to tell a different part of the game's story. If you haven't already read it, go do that. Right now, if you can. I can wait. ... You finished? Really good, right? Well apparently that's not the only comic that they've produced. They've also done comics for Team Fortress and Left4Dead. And if they're anything like that Portal story, I want to read them. Thankfully, Dark Horse is releasing a book collecting all of these stories. If you missed this going through the November solicitations on your own, that's because the book is actually on Dark Horse's October list, but it's slated to come out November 16th. I, for one, cannot wait.
Captain Canuck Collected!
I'll be honest, I have no idea how well known Captain Canuck is outside the borders of the Great White North. Even I, a Canadian comic book reader, must admit to never having actually read anything featuring the character. All I know is that he is one of the few Canadian comic book superheroes that was both created and published in Canada, which is kind of a big deal for us. Originally published in the 1970s, there were a handful of issues before it ceased. There were also some attempts at reviving the character over the years, but they didn't yield much in the way of staying power. Fortunately, IDW is collecting the entirety of the original run of Captain Canuck, the final issue that was published in 2004, the newspaper strip, and the summer special, so I can educate myself on the entirety of this important part of my country's heritage in one handy tome. I guess you pesky foreigners could give it a look too, should you be interested.
The Best Things in November
Wolverine #18 & #19
I forgot to talk about it last month, or decided to talk about other things, but once again we have Jason Aaron reunited with usual partner in crime Ron Garney. The two of them have done some very awesome Wolverine stories in the past, and having them reunited again is wonderful. Add to the fact that this arc features guest appearances by Fat Cobra and Gorilla Man fighting through Chinatown all the way to the center of the Earth, (that's like six of my favorite things all together at the same time) and you know you are in for a crazy ride. Check this (and the previous issue) out, you won't be disappointed.
Rocking Rocketeer Adventures HC
Normally, when any solicit claims to have a "a veritable Who’s Who of writers and artists", you know that there normally is some hyperbolic sales pitch behind it. However, looking at the people that collaborated for this anthology that is now getting collected into one oversize HC, it's hard to argue against it. Just look through the list of collaborators, and you are bound to find one of your favorite creators somewhere in there. I'm really looking forward to checking out this bad boy.
The Worst Things in November
Boobs and Blood
Look, I don't know which one of you was it that saw Bleez, one of the members of the Red Lanterns, known for vomiting blood all over the place and thought "Wow, that's sexy!". All I want you to know is that I kind of hate you on principle alone, but DC seemingly is trying to appeal to your baser instincts with the upcoming Red Lanterns #3. The cover features the aforementioned Bleez touching herself in a seductive manner as a shower of blood falls on her rather big breasts. And who is doing the cover? None other than Ed Benes himself. It has to be seen to be believed.
Magneto: Not a Hero
It's always sad when a villain inevitably returns to their all-too-familiar status quo, but to have a miniseries explicitly claim in the title? That's straight up overkill. I really did enjoy Magneto's turn to ambivalence and partnership with the X-Men, and I honestly found him more interesting as the old man willing to relegate to the younger generation, acting as a guiding role. In any case, this could all be a very elaborate ruse and he will remain the same. I guess we will find out, but until then, I remain cautiously apprehensive to this whole thing. Also, the solicitations don't really explicitly say if this is going to be a mini or an ongoing. Weird.
The Coolest Things in November
Nothing to Shame...
I'll be checking out Shame Itself, which is not the latest last-minute Fear Itself tie-in, but one of those comics that Marvel likes to publish on occasion to remind us that they still like poking fun at themselves. I've checked out some of those before, such as Who Won't Wield The Shield? and they had their share of laugh-out-loud moments. Add in the fact that it has some really good artists attached to it, and I figure it should be pretty good. Also of note is that despite being $3.99, it features 40 pages of content.
Chase Finally Gets Collected
It's one of those hidden gems that didn't hit the right audience at the time but still managed to become a critical hit. Chase was a short lived series in the late 90's about a character named Cameron Chase and it featured the early artwork of J.H. Williams III, who you might now as the artist of Detective Comics/Batwoman. As a matter of fact, Cameron Chase is supposed to show up in an upcoming issue of Batwoman, so it might be a good time to catch up on her exploits. The only thing I'm not quite sure of is why this collection brings a bunch of "Secret Files" issues. I seriously hope that half of this book isn't assorted data entries that are not related to the character at all.
Matt's Thoughts
The Best Things in November
I forgot to talk about it last month, or decided to talk about other things, but once again we have Jason Aaron reunited with usual partner in crime Ron Garney. The two of them have done some very awesome Wolverine stories in the past, and having them reunited again is wonderful. Add to the fact that this arc features guest appearances by Fat Cobra and Gorilla Man fighting through Chinatown all the way to the center of the Earth, (that's like six of my favorite things all together at the same time) and you know you are in for a crazy ride. Check this (and the previous issue) out, you won't be disappointed.
Rocking Rocketeer Adventures HC
Normally, when any solicit claims to have a "a veritable Who’s Who of writers and artists", you know that there normally is some hyperbolic sales pitch behind it. However, looking at the people that collaborated for this anthology that is now getting collected into one oversize HC, it's hard to argue against it. Just look through the list of collaborators, and you are bound to find one of your favorite creators somewhere in there. I'm really looking forward to checking out this bad boy.
The Worst Things in November
Look, I don't know which one of you was it that saw Bleez, one of the members of the Red Lanterns, known for vomiting blood all over the place and thought "Wow, that's sexy!". All I want you to know is that I kind of hate you on principle alone, but DC seemingly is trying to appeal to your baser instincts with the upcoming Red Lanterns #3. The cover features the aforementioned Bleez touching herself in a seductive manner as a shower of blood falls on her rather big breasts. And who is doing the cover? None other than Ed Benes himself. It has to be seen to be believed.
Magneto: Not a Hero
It's always sad when a villain inevitably returns to their all-too-familiar status quo, but to have a miniseries explicitly claim in the title? That's straight up overkill. I really did enjoy Magneto's turn to ambivalence and partnership with the X-Men, and I honestly found him more interesting as the old man willing to relegate to the younger generation, acting as a guiding role. In any case, this could all be a very elaborate ruse and he will remain the same. I guess we will find out, but until then, I remain cautiously apprehensive to this whole thing. Also, the solicitations don't really explicitly say if this is going to be a mini or an ongoing. Weird.
The Coolest Things in November
I'll be checking out Shame Itself, which is not the latest last-minute Fear Itself tie-in, but one of those comics that Marvel likes to publish on occasion to remind us that they still like poking fun at themselves. I've checked out some of those before, such as Who Won't Wield The Shield? and they had their share of laugh-out-loud moments. Add in the fact that it has some really good artists attached to it, and I figure it should be pretty good. Also of note is that despite being $3.99, it features 40 pages of content.
Chase Finally Gets Collected
It's one of those hidden gems that didn't hit the right audience at the time but still managed to become a critical hit. Chase was a short lived series in the late 90's about a character named Cameron Chase and it featured the early artwork of J.H. Williams III, who you might now as the artist of Detective Comics/Batwoman. As a matter of fact, Cameron Chase is supposed to show up in an upcoming issue of Batwoman, so it might be a good time to catch up on her exploits. The only thing I'm not quite sure of is why this collection brings a bunch of "Secret Files" issues. I seriously hope that half of this book isn't assorted data entries that are not related to the character at all.
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4 comments:
the reason for the secret files issues is that, for years, it was a tradition to have a Chase story dealing with that hero in each secret files issue.
Mudman! Hey, nobody excited about pilot season? I am!
It seems like DC is releasing something cool each month after the relaunch (i.e. Huntress #1 along with the #2's in October, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1 along with the #3's in November - I'm assuming a new Batman Beyond #1 and a new Batman Inc #1 will be coming in the Winter-Spring). It will be interesting to see how that plays and if they stick to monthly schedules on those series too.
As for the .1 issues, I'm not sure what I hate more, the perpetuation of Fear Itself (although Brubaker SWEARS there's very important stuff in the Cap issue) or the .1 numbering. Quite frankly, I'm leaning towards the .1, .2 numbering in general. It's become overused. And I wouldn't have minded these issues so much if they had been called Fear Itself: Aftermath.
Saw that Thunder Agents. is a six issue miniseries on the solicits. Looks like another trade wait here. Gonna get my hands on the first trade in November.
I wanted to say thanks to Ryan for recommending "Our Love Is Real". It was an excellent read.
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