The Weekly Crisis vs. Solicits For March 2012

We're back this month after a brief break with The Weekly Crisis solicitation picks for March 2012. What to look out for, both good and bad, it all starts here! And best of all, during this expensive holiday season, it's free! Hit the jump to see what the group recommends.

Ryan L's Thoughts

The Best Things in March

SAGA

BRIAN K VAUGHAN RETURNS. EVERYONE CAN REMAIN CALM. EVERYTHING IS GOOD.

Seriously, you like comics, right? Buy this comic. I am so excited for the return of my favourite writer. March cannot come quick enough.

Marvel's Season One Titles

Call me crazy but I'm looking forward to the Daredevil and X-Men Season One books. They genuinely have me excited. Chalk these two up as experiments I want in on. Are you getting any of these? Which ones? Why, or why not?

Legion Of Monsters TPB

Seriously, go buy this book. It's a hell of a show.

The Worst Things in March

Marvel Solicit Style

• I know the solicits aren't the comics.
• I know solicits are actually just for retailers.
• But I also know I like the well written solicits.
• They can sell an issue.
• They make solicit time fun.
• I know I think Marvel's new solicit style blows.
• But I'm sure it saves someone some time.

Marvel's Lack of Diversity

Something like 9 Avengers books. All those Spider and X titles. Soon the whole publisher will be just putting out titles around 6 majr characters and that's it - and it already looks so close to that with all those Thor books, Cap books, etc.

I miss the days where Marvel did nothing but create new characters.

My Wallet

Damn, this is sizing up to be a very good month on comics. I'm not sure if my funds can take such a hit. Hopefully I'll have some favours to call in, or something.

DC Stagnation

Don't get me wrong, DC is putting out some stellar content this month, like many others, but it all feels the same now. The DCnU was an exciting playground where every candy was to be tested. Some were spat out, others became addictive forces. But now when I look at the solicits all I see are the same books I've already made my mind up on. Sure, the odd character might cameo, or a creative team tweak will delight/annoy, but otherwise the whole month just feels the same.

Marvel get to drop new titles, creative team, all the time but DC feel locked into the wheels of a system. I'm actually looking forward to a few titles being cancelled so we can see what comes after. And maybe after a year some major creative team switch ups will occur. One can only hope. Until then, the books better keep exciting me - and that's probably the most important thing.

The Coolest Things in March

Rebel Blood by Riley Rossmo

A mini both written and illustrated by Rossmo. Score. Oh, it's got zombies. Hell yeah, awesome.

Sam Humphries Does John Carter

It's nice to see good things happen to good people. I dug Sam Humphries' work on Our Love Is Real and Sacrifice and now he's getting a very cool gig.

The Walking Dead: Cutting Room Floor

A book all about notes and process on one of my favourite titles of all time. It's the sort of thing so many people will not want and yet those of us who want it absolutely must have it. I am strangely keen on this and if you dig on the process then you should be, too.

Ken's Thoughts

The Best Things in March

Remender on Secret Avengers

After how well Remender is writing Venom and Uncanny X-Force, this feels like a perfect combination and might actually give the book a sense of direction it hasn't really had in a while. And it looks like Art Adams actually drew a cover that isn't just a one person portrait!

Fairest #1

The new complimentary Fables book by Willingham and Phil Jiminez starts, focusing on Sleeping Beauty, who we haven't seen in about three years. This is a title that is supposed to rotate among the women of Fabletown, and with Jiminez on art and Adam Hughes covers this is a book getting some premier talent.

SAGA #1

Like Ryan, I'm interested in this book because it's BKV writing another independent book, Fiona Staples drawing it, and forty-four pages of story for three bucks. That's three things that equal a winning combination. Really, make the first issue something you can't miss by offering a lot of bang for the buck.

The Worst Things in March

Marvel's Erratic Hardcover Pricing

The first Uncanny X-Men hardcover drops in March, and for four issues it will cost you twenty bucks. That's five dollars an issue, which is just ridiculous. Yet Deadpool vol. 10 is a hardcover that is six issues for twenty bucks. It's almost as if Uncanny is being skimped to allow for Deadpool. I don't care about sketches, or seeing the first issue in script form, if you don't have enough issues to at least create a justifiable price per issue hardcover just wait for another arc to finish or stop writing for the arc.

Fill-Ins Everywhere

I understand that the monthly artist is a rare thing these days, and that going digital means the publishers will have to stick to a stronger publishing schedule. But it looks really wrong in having things like Action Comics and Justice League have fill-in issues that are a polite way of saying "the real story continues two issues later." If an artist can't do more than six issues without a fill-in, plan accordingly somewhere along the line to make it not look so apparent, especially when you're only six months into a reboot. This isn't just a DC thing, Marvel will have one artist listed on books in the solicits and then come Wednesday it's got three artists and four inkers.

The Coolest Things in March

Ann Nocenti Returns

It's weird, because her name came out of the blue to take over Green Arrow, but I think it can work. Nocenti's Daredevil run was one of my favorites, as it went from street level stuff to fighting Mephisto with the Inhumans, yet remaining oddly coherent. Harvey Tolibao is also a nice artist to compliment  Nocenti, and I'll be picking up GA#7 simply because this is the kind of outside the box thinking that should be used more, especially with the second and third tier characters.

Dan Jurgens and Keith Giffen on Superman

Superman has been in a long slump, and worst of all he never seems to smile since the reboot, especially in the Superman title. Hopefully with Jurgens, a longtime Superman writer, and Keith Giffen taking over the book, things will look brighter for the grumpiest hero in the DCnU. And it's Jurgens on art, which is always a consistent thing to look out for.

The Manhattan Projects #1

Another interesting series from Jonathan Hickman, dealing with science run amok. It seems like something of a cross between BPRD and SHIELD. When you essentially put the solicit information on the front cover, and are using words and symbols to sell your book as opposed to a cover by a big name artist, that's something worth looking into if only by how it stands out against everything else.

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