Post-Crisis Comic Book Previews for 10/23/13

We're on the eve of the middle of the week, which means it must be time for our Post-Crisis Comic Book Previews!  Goodness, gracious me there is a wealth of phenomenal comics releasing on the morrow, including such titles as Pretty Deadly #1, Unwritten #54, Velvet #1, and much, much more.  Please join me after the cut as I look through some of the better books coming out this week.

Major Releases

DAREDEVIL #32

Written by Mark Waid

Art by Chris Samnee

The Man Without Fear--trapped in a nightmare situation!

Something final is building in Daredevil's life--and building fast! 

Grant: Oh, man.  Is Daredevil seriously going to be hanging out with the Legion of Monsters?  I know that it doesn't really fit in with what's been going on - like, at all at this point - but I still hope that's what we'll be getting in this month's issue.  If anyone can figure out a way for it to fit in naturally, it would be Mark Waid and Chris Samnee.  I mean, they've been doing a pretty solid job of late, so why not work in what I'm sure would be an incredibly enjoyable cameo for Halloween?  Fingers crossed, guys.

UNWRITTEN #54

Written by Mike Carey and Bill Willingham

Art by Peter Gross and Mark Buckingham

The big finale of “The Unwritten Fables” is here! The survivors of Fabletown have launched their final assault on Castle Dark—and been broken. Their king is dead and their champions defeated. But the battle’s not over until the wicked witch says it is, and Frau Totenkinder still has plans for Tom Taylor and Boy Blue. Unfortunately, the cure she has in mind is even worse than the disease...

Grant: This strange little crossover between The Unwritten and Fables has been rather enjoyable.  I'll admit to being a little curious as to how it really fits into the narratives of either series (particularly since I don't read Fables), but the story has been engaging enough that I've been willing to ignore that question for the moment.  Seeing as we're hitting the story's finale (and the final issue of The Unwritten while it goes on short term sabbatical before returning next year), hopefully our intrepid creators will make The Unwritten Fables' wider relevance a bit more obvious.

YOUNG AVENGERS #11

Written by Kieron Gillen

Art by Jamie McKelvie

They say you can never go home. For the Young Avengers, it's not true. They can go home. It's just that if they do, the universe may end. Better not go home then, eh?

WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOUNG AVENGERS? YOU'VE DECIDED TO GO HOME? GAHHKKH! YOU GUYS!

Is Kate Bishop an enemy in waiting? Is this the last we see of the loveable/strangle-able Kid Loki?

Are rhetorical questions a cheap device when writing solicits? All answers revealed, except the last one, which you'll have to work out by yourselves. 

Grant: Part of me agrees with the wider online consensus that this book has been moving a tad slowly (considering we've been dealing with the same villain - Mother - for 11 issues, I suppose that is something fo an understatement), but the other part of me is simply happy to have a book from the Big 2 that is clearly so lovingly crafted by its talented creators.  Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie are telling some top notch cape stories, which is a nice departure from the majority of what Marvel and DC seem keen on giving fans at the moment.

New Kids on the Block

PRETTY DEADLY #1

Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick

Art by Emma Rios

KELLY SUE DECONNICK (Avengers Assemble, Captain Marvel) & EMMA RÍOS (Strange, Osborn) reunite to bring you an all-new ongoing series that marries the magical realism of Sandman with the western brutality of Preacher. Death's daughter rides the wind on a horse made of smoke and her face bears the skull marks of her father. Her tale of retribution is as beautifully lush as it is unflinchingly savage. 

Grant: It seems like Image has been hemorrhaging new comic book series this year, but with Pretty Deadly #1 arriving this week, it looks like the biggest new book is about to arrive.  Don't get me wrong, a ton of the comics coming out of Image at the moment are wicked good, but I've been eagerly anticipating Pretty Deadly since the moment I heard that Emma Rios would be back on comic book interiors.  My mind is still reeling from her brilliant work on the Cloak and Dagger Spider-Island tie-in with Nick Spencer, so I can't wait for more.  Of course, teaming her with Kelly Sue DeConnick only increasing my appetite for this book.  Wednesday cannot come soon enough.

SAMURAI JACK #1

Written by Jim Zub

Art by Andy Suriano

Cartoon Network's hit animated series is back at IDW!

The legendary samurai known only as "Jack" is stranded in a strange future ruled by the demonic wizard, Aku. His quest to return back to the past has tested him many times, but now the stakes are higher than ever. Can an ancient relic known as the Rope of Eons finally take him home?

Writer Jim Zub (Skullkickers, Street Fighter) and artist Andy Suriano (Character Designer on the original Samurai Jack TV series) begin a new era of samurai adventure! 

Grant: Honest question: did Samurai Jack seriously not end with him getting home to stop Aku from ruining reality?  If not, that seems like kind of a major oversight?  I mean, everything I've seen of the show was really good, but shouldn't Genndy Tartakovsky and company have finished what they started?  But I digress.  I'm intrigued to see IDW tapping into more Cartoon Network properties, especially with Jim Zub (of Skullkickers' fame) in the writer's seat and an original Samurai Jack creator (in character designer Andy Suriano) for the art department.  If you were a big Jack fan (and, for example, actually know how the show ended), this one seems like a no-brainer.

VELVET #1

Written by Ed Brubaker

Art by Steve Epting

ED BRUBAKER and STEVE EPTING redefined Captain America with the "Winter Soldier" saga . . . and everything they've done so far has been leading to VELVET!

When the world's best secret agent is killed, Velvet Templeton, the Personal Assistant to the Director of the Agency, is drawn off her desk and back into the field for the first time in nearly 20 years . . . and is immediately caught in a web of mystery, murder and hi-octane action.

Sexy and provocative, with a dark twist on the spy genre, this EXTRA-LENGTH first issue by two of the industry's best-selling creators will knock you out! 

Grant: Now here's yet another new title to get excited about.  Anything with Ed Brubaker's name on it deserves a closer look, and bringing in Steve Epting upgrades that to a must see.  The two know each other very well from their time on Captain America, and it will be fascinating to see what they do together on some creator owned spy comics.  Can't wait.

One Night Only

HELLBOY: THE MIDNIGHT CIRCUS

Written by Mike Mignola

Art by Duncan Fegredo

Young Hellboy runs away from the B.P.R.D. only to stumble upon a weird and fantastical circus and the few demons from Hell who inhabit it.

* Cover and story by Mike Mignola!

* Duncan Fegredo returns!

* An original graphic novel in hardcover!

"In the world of Hellboy, the stony hand that Hellboy uses to clobber opponents is called the Right Hand of Doom. For cartoonist and creator Mike Mignola, his right-hand man for doing Hellboy these days could be considered Duncan Fegredo." -Newsarama 

Grant: While we're still waiting on more Hellboy in Hell, Mike Mignola, along with Duncan Fegredo, have taken steps to ensure we don't have to go too long with some Hellboy in our life.  The two (along with Dave Stewart on colours - natch) are dropping an original graphic novel on the world that explores a Young Hellboy story.  This sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun.

You May Have Missed

RAT QUEENS #2

Written by Kurtis J. Wiebe

Art by Roc Upchurch

"GOLD, GUTS AND GROG," Part Two

Someone wants to kill the Rat Queens? The girls are seeing red and there's only one thing to do about it: get really, really drunk. And, eventually, maybe get to the bottom of who's trying to kill them. Because, let's be honest, they already know why. 

Grant: Holy jeez, Rat Queens took what small expectations I had, blew them out of the water, and then beat their corpses a bit longer for good measure.  This book was hilariously fun, presenting the crudest, rudest group of protagonists I've seen, plunked them into the middle of a self-aware D&D-esque fantasy town and set them loose on the world to see the havoc they could wrought.  It certainly didn't hurt that Roc Upchurch's art felt like the perfect way to realize this world and its many oddities.  It's only been a month since the first issue, but I'm glad we're finally getting more of the Queens.

SAVAGE WOLVERINE #10

Written by Jock

Art by Jock

Part 2 of a futuristic sci-fi Wolverine adventure from fan-favorite writer/artist Jock!

Logan has managed to survive so far on the alien planet he's been forced to call home.

But now, a mysterious child has arrived on the planet with a single-minded mission--to kill Wolverine!

When the truth of the child's past--and its connections to Logan's own--is revealed, Logan will have more than mere survival on his mind! 

Grant: Savage Wolverine #9 was a gorgeous book.  Jock's pages and panels were absolutely brilliant, as he slowly built up our status quo through them and a well-thought out series of captions.  The comic's shortcomings arose when we got to some actual dialogue.  It was awkward and choppy in a way that was quite jarring considering the book's opening.  That being said, the art does go a long way to blunt that problem, and it's entirely possible that things will get better as we go along.  Considering that this will only last a few more issues, I'm willing to stay on board for the moment.

SEX CRIMINALS #2

Written by Matt Fraction

Art by Chip Zdarksy

So who's the boy with the same sexy-time time-stopping gifts as Suzie? Meet John, who until last night thought he could freeze time with his junk. At long last not alone, what kind of horny hijinx will he and Suzie get up to together? What ANY of us would do if having sex stopped the whole world: We'd do crimes. 

Grant: Another gem of a book that dropped one month ago, Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarksy crafted an incredibly honest and genuine book about sex and sexual awakening.  It just so happens that they also worked in lots of jokes, as much crudeness as you can shake a stick at, and let's not forget, freezing time.  A sizeable chunk of the first issue was dedicated to establishing the world and its characters, so it'll be interesting to see what they do now that a lot of the heavy lifting is out of the way.

Pick of the Week

It's hard to believe how many wonderful books will be hitting stands tomorrow.  With such a large sample size, it isn't easy to pick out a favourite, but because that's what this part of the post is all about, I'll do it anyways.  Many of these comics would be deserving of the honours, but I'm going to have to go with Pretty Deadly #1.  It's Western, it's fantasy, it's by two of the hottest creators in the industry right now.  This book has a lot going for it, and I cannot wait to tear through it.

What say you?  On your end, which books are you simply dying to get your hands on?  Hit the comments to share your thoughts on the question.

Related Posts