You’ve seen the list of new comics that are arriving in stores this week, but what should you pick up? Take the jump as the Major Spoilers Staff picks the books they are most looking forward to this week.
ALL STAR WESTERN #5
Writers: Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti
Artist: Moritat and Phil Winslade
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Slippery sewer pipes make a brutal place for a fight – but that won’t stop Jonah Hex and Amadeus Arkham from facing off against a gang of kidnappers beneath Gotham City. And when the thugs get the best of them, Hex and Arkham find themselves swept away to a pitch-black cave with seemingly no way out – and lots of bats! Will they find a way to escape Gotham City’s dark underbelly before Hex’s matches are all burned out? Also: For the Barbary Ghost, death is only the beginning of her plan for revenge!
STEPHEN: From the start this has been a title that has been on my radar, and each month the dynamic duo of Gray and Palmiotti don’t fail to offer up a great story. Who would have though the history of Gotham City would be told in the pages of All-Star Western? There have been subtle little bits that have been dropped in here and there regarding the Court of Owls, and of course the team of Jonah Hex and Dr. Arkham make for an interesting pair. Last issue kicked off the Barbary Ghost back-up and I want to see what happens next.
ARCHIE #629 (ARCHIE MEETS KISS PT 3 )
Script: Alex Segura
Art & Cover: Dan Parent
Variant Cover by Francesco Francavilla
Publisher: Archie Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: In part three of the most historic team-up in comics, the Archies learn more about what brought the KISS members to Riverdale, and how the two groups have to unite to stop a band of monsters from turning Riverdale into a forgotten town, full of zombified teens!
MATTHEW: Oh, come on. Do I really need a reason? How ’bout the fact that Archie Comics has quietly become the most consistent and expansive of the shared universe comics? Or how about the thought of Jughead and Ace Frehley having a burger and discussing philosophy? Either way, we keep on shouting, we keep on shouting…
AQUAMAN #5
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Ivan REis
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: Aquaman has been left for dead in the middle of the desert! But how did the King of Atlantis find himself marooned in such a hellish environment? As Aquaman struggles to survive impossible odds, what extreme measures will he resort to in order to stay alive?
ROB: I never expected to say this, but Aquaman is awesome. Geoff Johns has done it again, taken a Silver-Age character and revitalizing it into something new and enjoyable once again. Johns has even taken the old jokes about Aquaman and turned them around as jokes in the book itself. Again, Aquaman is awesome.
BPRD: HELL ON EARTH RUSSIA #5
Writer: Mike Mignola, John Arcudi
Artist: Tyler Crook
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Cover Artist: Dave Johnson
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
SOLICITATION: After a brutal assault from proletariat zombies, the B.P.R.D. and the Russian bureau must form an alliance in order to rescue Johann from a deadly mine!
GEORGE: The latest BPRD series is coming to a close, and it is looking to end with a bang. This story has focused heavily on beleaguered administrator Kate Corrigan and spectral Johann Krauss as they travel to the Motherland to consult with their creepy Russian counterparts. Last issue had everything you’d want out of a good BPRD comic – disturbing body-horror art, cataclysmic plot implications and good cracking action.
BULLETPROOF COFFIN DISINTERRED #1
Writer: David Hine
Artist: Shaky Kane
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Back from the grave! The cult hit of 2011 returns with a tale of treachery, murder and unrequited lust. When headless corpses start to appear on the first night of the full moon, ace detective Johnny P. Sartre smells a rat…
GEORGE: Last year’s Bulletproof Coffin trade was one of my favorite reads of 2011. I’m super excited that David Hine and Shaky Kane are returning to deliver more meta-textual EC Comics-inspired weirdness. Kane’s grotesquely retro artwork is what first made me pick up the trade, but Hine’s mind-warping creativity sank the hook. I had no idea that Bulletproof Coffin was starting up again until I saw Monday’s release list, but this is my most anticipated book of the week. I can’t wait to read the adventures of Coffin Fly, The Unforgiving Eye and Ramona, Queen of the Stone Age, as they fight the likes of the Hateful Dead once again – or whatever other characters come from the fertile imaginations of Hine and Kane.
FLASH #5
Writer: Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato
Artist: Francis Manapul
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: Central City in chaos! Iris West captive in Iron Heights prison! And as Flash tries to deal with all of it, he must also try to save the life of his old friend Manuel Lago from Mob Rule, DC Comics’ hottest new Super Villain!
JIMMY: This is the latest comic that I’ve officially added to my pull list; I got to the point where I could no longer pass up Francis Manapul’s gorgeous artwork each week. The story has also been fascinating, and Barry Allen has become a truly compelling Flash. I don’t much care for how Iris West is being portrayed in the title, and I’m skeptical of the decision to move the Rogues from powerful equipment to being metas, but I am excited to see how Francis Manapul will persuade me.
GAME OF THRONES #5
Writer: George R. R. Martin, Daniel Abraham
Artist: Tommy Patterson
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Storm clouds gather over Westeros in the fifth installment of Daniel Abraham’s gripping adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s fantasy masterpiece A Game of Thrones. A childish game gone horribly wrong pits Arya Stark against Prince Joffrey, with Sansa Stark in the middle. But behind youthful rivalries, cold-blooded political intrigue is at work as Queen Cersei uses all her wiles to blunt the influence of Eddard Stark, the Hand of the King. Meanwhile, Lady Catelyn has journeyed to King’s Landing with the blade used in the attempted assassination of her son Bran — evidence that will upset a precarious balance of power. And in Winterfell, a dying Bran takes a mystical journey … and faces a fateful choice.
STEPHEN: Haven’t been let down yet in this series, as the novel gets yet another adaptation that gives the reader the key bits needed to follow the hit book series that is also gearing up for a second season on HBO.
GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS #5
Writer: Tony Bedard
Artist: Tyler Kirkham
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: A spacecraft the size of a solar system is on a collision course with Oa, home of the Guardians! As the AWOL Green Lantern Kyle Rayner and members of each of the different Corps make their way to the alien vessel, deep within the ship – within the very sun that serves as the craft’s fuel source – the creature known as Seraphon stirs. A major new threat to the DC Universe debuts here!
ZACH: I didn’t read the first issue of New Guardians until a month after it released and I still beat myself up myself for not reading it sooner. This has been my first read of any books with Kyle Rayner in it and I have to say he has become my favorite human Green Lantern. I’m looking forward to seeing how actions in New Guardians affect the Green Lantern title and vice versa.
INCORRUPTIBLE #26
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Marcio Takara
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: THE LEGENDARY IRREDEEMABLE/INCORRUPTIBLE CROSSOVER’S UNFORGETTABLE CONCLUSION!Don’t miss the final issue of the crossover event answering the question that’s been teased since the beginning of IRREDEEMBLE and INCORRUPTIBLE…how did The Plutonian and Max Damage become sworn enemies? DON’T MISS THE FINAL ISSUE OF MARK WAID’S EPIC CROSSOVER EVENT! The fourth and final issue of the IRREDEEMABLE/INCORRUPTIBLE crossover series!
JIMMY: At the end of the last issue of Irredeemable (which I covered here ) we finally got some crossover between the two titles (in part three of the four part crossover event). I’m really anticipating this issue, which concludes the crossover and promises to actually have both characters interacting with each other, which is a truly shocking development for a crossover event.
INFESTATION 2 #1
Writer: Duane Swierczynski
Artist: David Messina
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Last year’s groundbreaking Infestation series, IDW’s first-ever event, saw many teams from multiple universes fight off a zombie invasion. Now, an even bigger threat has risen to threaten the growing IDW multiverse: Lovecraftian demons threaten to reach across time and space and destroy everyone everywhere and everywhen! Also featuring Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, this framing issue presents a threat that perhaps not even TRANSFORMERS, G.I. JOEs, Danger Girl, and others can surmount!
STEPHEN: This year’s Infestation event is all about the Cthulhu gods trying to break in, and with crossovers between Transformers, TMNT, Danger Girl, and more, I’m on board this infestation!
JUSTICE LEAGUE #5
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Jim Lee
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Now, with the teenaged powerhouse Cyborg at their side, this group of individual heroes must somehow put their differences aside to face the terror of Darkseid!
JIMMY: The big bad has finally been revealed (after an agonizingly slow yet beautifully drawn first four issues), and Cyborg’s finally in action. Unfortunately, this book still costs $3.99 without having a backup story or extra actual story content (the random “behind the scenes” stuff they’ve included has NOT been worth the extra dollar in my mind) so I probably won’t actually buy this issue, but it will probably be the first issue I bum off a friend when hanging out this week.
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #5
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Mikel Janin
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: Enchantress is out of control and more powerful than ever. She has brought a nation to its knees through her arcane powers. Will Madame Xanadu, John Constantine, Shade the Changing Man, Zatanna, Mindwarp, Deadman and June Moon be able to work together to defeat her? One thing is certain: One of these heroes will not make it out alive!
ROB: In the magic end of the DCnU we’re coming to the conclusion of the first story arc and I really want to know how the team will fully come together. Outside of that, we’re looking at an intriguing, mostly dysfunctional, group of characters that probably shouldn’t be on a team, let alone together, and this should make for a good read.
KING CONAN: PHOENIX ON THE SWORD #1
Conan the Cimmerian writer Tim Truman and artist Tomás Giorello return for another triumphant run. King Conan: The Phoenix on the Sword will surely be a crowd pleaser!
First hailing Conan as a liberator after he annihilated Aquilonia’s foes on the battlefield, common folk and politicians alike now rally to unseat the Cimmerian from his stolen throne. Conspirators plot to kill King Conan and take the crown for themselves, but their schemes pale in comparison to a terror waiting quietly in the wings—an enemy who has haunted Conan his whole adult life and whose wicked aspirations dwarf those of maneuvering politicians! It’s the return of Thoth-Amon!
RODRIGO: A new arc of Conan? count me in, especially because it sounds like this story features annoying animal sidekick Needle from the CONAN: THE ADVENTURER TV show. Why is that a good thing? Well if he’s in a comic then I don’t have to hear him, do I?
MANARA LIBRARY HC VOL 02
Writer: Milo Manara
Artist: Milo Manara
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $59.99
SOLICITATION: Dark Horse continues to bring the works of Italian comics master Milo Manara to American audiences with volume 2 of The Milo Manara Library! This deluxe hardcover, newly translated by Eurocomics expert Kim Thompson, features the sweeping historical epic El Gaucho, the second of Manara’s storied collaborations with his mentor Hugo Pratt, author of the internationally acclaimed Corto Maltese. Rounding out this volume is Trial by Jury, a series of shorts, never before published in the US, in which some of history’s most notorious figures undergo a mock trial.
MATTHEW: Ridiculously lush backgrounds, incredible character design, some deeply gorgeous women, and occcasionally some of the most amazingly rendered nudity you’re ever gonna see in comics: Milo Manara is a criminally underrated comics genius, and if you’ve never heard of him (as many of you will undoubtedly tell me), you have NO idea what you’re missing.
SECRET AVENGERS #21.1
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Penciller: Mike Deodato
Colorist: Rainier Beredo
Letterer: David Lanphear
Artist: Stuart Immonen
Publisher: Marvel
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: RUN THE MISSION. DON’T GET SEEN. SAVE THE WORLD.
Something is dangerously awry in the Office Of National Emergency (O*N*E)…
MATTHEW: I like Hawkeye. I like Captain Britain. I like Secret Avengers. Until there’s some chocolate and peanut butter involved, this particular issue is the most interesting combination of stuff that may or may not make sense around. (I’m wondering how this will tie in to the good Captain’s appearances in Uncanny X-Force, too.)
TEEN TITANS #5
Writer: Cott Lobdell
Artist: Brett Booth
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: In their first battle as a team, The Teen Titans square off against N.O.W.H.E.R.E.’s most powerful weapon… The Superboy! But can the cunning of Red Robin, the speed of Kid Flash and the psionic might of Bunker stop a threat that has already taken out the powerhouse known as Wonder Girl? The fight rages from a battle cruiser docked in the Hudson River to the Central Park Zoo, but as a world stands up and takes notice, there is a very real possibility the Teen Titans might not survive their high profile debut!
ROB: The Titans have finally come together as a team, and it’s to take down Superboy! Lobdell has been having some fun with this one and building the relationships well, but I’m looking forward to the team’s first outing as an actual superhero team.
ZACH: When the New 52 happened I had no knowledge of the Teen Titans and no real desire to pick the title up. This all changed when I flipped issue one open and saw the beautiful art by Brett Booth. You should pick this up solely for the art, but the story has been a fun ride too.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #6
Writer: Tom Waltz, Kevin Eastman
Layouts: Kevin Eastman
Artist: Dan Duncan
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: It’s a new year and the TMNT and Master Splinter look to the future even as they struggle to come to grips with past mysteries. Meanwhile, General Krang grows increasingly impatient with Baxter Stockman, who is prepared to unleash a horrific new weapon to assist Old Hob in his dark quest to return the turtles and their sensei to StockGen Research, where lab intern April O’Neil continues to suspect all is not what it seems.
GEORGE: Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz’s reboot of the now venerable TMNT franchise has been well worth reading, month after month. The series is familiar, yet new with a few interesting wrinkles added to the turtles’ backstories. With the turtle family reunited, I am looking forward to what’s coming next.
ZACH: Reading IDW’s new Turtles series has taken me back to my childhood way back in the 90’s. Since then I have always had a place in my heart for all four brothers, so I’m pleased to see them reunited again and ready for some butt-kicking action. I have been disappointed in the amount of pizza they have consumed so far, it just hasn’t been enough.
There you are, Dear Reader, a plethora of comics for you to pick up and read this week!
5 Comments
I just wanted to say, in case you were wondering. I really love the Staff Picks of the Week. You get me to consider some things I would not otherwise.
Glad you enjoy them. Hopefully everyone else does, too.
Of course they do! People love picks!
Sorry Rodrigo: unless Truman has completely lost his mind, Needle won’t be appearing in “The Phoenix on the Sword,” what with the story being based on the 1932 original Conan story by Robert E. Howard. Which, ahem, didn’t feature Needle, though parts of the story were indeed mined for “Conan the Adventurer.”
Have you noticed how the reboot has redirected the focus of DC back to the (new, sorry MM) big seven? Wonder Woman, Flash, Batman, Action, Justice League (I haven’t followed GL) are all very good comics.
This was clearly a marketing decision, but I think it’s also good for the fans. These are the folks that got most of us into DC in the first place.