IT’S NEW COMIC BOOK DAY!
But what to read?
Fortunately, the Major Spoilers Staff have comic book recommendations for you!
BODIES #1
Writer: Si Spencer
Artist: Meghan Hetrick, Dean Ornston, Tula Lotay, Phil Winslade
Publisher: Vertigo/DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: VERTIGO brings you the miniseries of the summer, with four detectives, four time periods, and four dead bodies – all set in London. Edmond Hillinghead is an 1890s overachiever who’s trying to solve a murder no one cares about while hiding his own secret. Karl Whiteman is our dashing 1940s adventurer with a shocking past. Shahara Hasan is 2014’s kickass female Detective Sergeant, who walks the line between religion and power. And Maplewood, an amnesiac from post-apocalyptic 2050, brings a haunting perspective to it all. Si Spencer (HELLBLAZER: CITY OF DEMONS, THE VINYL UNDERGROUND) executes a centuries-spanning murder mystery like nothing you’ve ever seen before, with four sensational artists illustrating a six-page chapter in each issue: Dean Ormston, Phil Winslade, Meghan Hetrick and Tula Lotay.
MATTHEW: I miss the days of weird Vertigo titles, and this one looks like a doozie with a weird old-school premise. Given the high-concept, I’m not sure it’ll work, but it sounds like watching them try it will be a hoot…
CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT #13
Written by: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Manuel Garcia
Cover: Dustin Nguyen
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: “The madman responsible for the assassination of Arcadia’s police chief in Two Past Midnight escaped … and now Tempus is back! Addicted to technology, Tempus wants Jim Albright’s inventions … and he’ll happily kill to get them! No one knows the Secret Squadron headquarters better than Captain Midnight, but he’ll need all his cunning to protect his home from this lunatic!”
WAYNE: I really have come to like this new/old hero and his adventures. As a “fish out of water,” Jim is struggling to survive today, and who can’t relate with that! This series has action and adventure as well as characters I’m interested in seeing more of. I strongly recommend it if you haven’t tried it out!
CARTOON NETWORK SUPER SECRET CRISIS WAR #2
Writer: Louise Simonson
Artist: Derek Charm
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: A special connecting cover – collect all 6 subscription variant covers of Super Secret Crisis War, they make one HUGE image!
ROB: Big dumb fun! The level ridiculous (and obvious parody) that this book is just screams silly fun to me and happy to join the ride.
CHEW WARRIOR CHICKEN POYO #1
Writer: John Layman
Artist: Rob Guillory
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.50
SOLICITATION: Comics’ most beloved homicidal cybernetic kung fu rooster returns for what we humbly anticipate as the most important literary achievement of the 21st Century. All other comics will be made irrelevant. The best thing that’s ever happened to comics, and possibly the best thing that’s ever happened… EVER! Plus: an all-star pin-up gallery from some of the most staggeringly talented artists in the industry! DO. NOT. MISS.
ROB: So, this week is going to be mostly about the goofiest titles available and Poyo totally fits. Besides, who could refuse a solicitation like that?
COWL #3
Writer: Kyle Higgins, Alec Siegel
Artist: Rod Reis
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.50
SOLICITATION: Who is Radia? And why does Chicago fear her? Meanwhile, Geoffrey discovers that C.O.W.L.’s future is anything but guaranteed, and investigation into the union takes an unexpected turn.
GEORGE: This is COWL’s third issue and it’s the third time I’ve listed them as one of my staff picks. Who knew that a look at superheroics through the lens of mid-century organized labor could be so interesting?
DAY MEN #4
Written by: Matt Gagnon, Michael Alan Nelson
Artist: Brian Stelfreeze
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: “The Virgo family has suffered a devastating blow at the hands of the Ramses, but there’s no time to mourn … along with Titus, the Virgo’s champion, David sets out on a mission of revenge.
WAYNE: I like this book’s approach to vampires, that they need someone to do their bidding and protect them during the day, hence the book’s main character and title. I understand that Hollywood has already taken note off this comic, so you should, too! Lots of interesting goings-on in vampire-land, so be sure to get this book!
GHOST RIDER #5
Writer: Felipe Smith
Artist: Tradd Moore
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: ‘ENGINES OF VENGEANCE’ It’s the fight you’ve been waiting for: GHOST RIDER VS. a modified MR. HYDE ROBBIE REYES’ violent neighborhood has become a full-blown urban battlefield. Can he save it? Will he want to? All-out action and a twist that will hit you at a 100mph!
CHRIS: There’s something about Ghost Racer, I mean Ghost Rider, that keeps me coming back. There’s tons of kinetic energy and much of it is due to Tradd Moore’s art. Certainly a fun read.
GHOSTBUSTERS #18
Writer: Erik Burnham
Artist: Dan Schoening
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Tiamats chaotic presence continues to be felt in New York City, and the Ghostbusters are at wits end as to how to deal with it. Shes clearly too powerful to capture, and she may be impossible to destroy… does that leave only the most drastic of options open to the team? Mass Hysteria continues here!
ROB: Still enjoying what’s going on in Mass Hysteria and love the over-sized cast being used here. Now, as we continue the anniversary celebration, we’re going through all the many things that made Ghostbusters a classic.
HAWKEYE #19
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Chris Eliopoulos
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: Kate gets to the bottom of the greatest mystery in the entire Marvel Universe right this very hot second: just who the H is that guy in the trench coat that seems to live in her cat food aisle? The answer may surprise you. Or maybe not, maybe you’re super-good at this kind of thing. Anyway a simple investigation dovetails into Kate’s desperate race to stay one step ahead of the woman that’s sworn to kill her: Madame Masque and what started off as a zany summer vacation gets a little bloody. Buckle up, buttercups.
CHRIS: This is still going on? All smart-assery aside, Hawkeye is consistently wonderful. There hasn’t been an issue that’s disappointed. Unfortunately, I think the delays have hurt this one and less people are picking it up. Hope it stays around.
IRON MAN SPECIAL #1
Writer: Sean Ryan
Artist: Rahmat Handoko, Roberto Poggi, Craig Yeung, Livesay, Norman Lee
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
SOLICITATION: • Iron Man returns to space to settle a score, but ends up embroiled with the fugitive UNCANNY X-MEN!
• Their paths cross in pursuit of Cyclops, who’s been kidnapped by mysterious n’er do wells.
• All this and guest-starring NOVA, THE HUMAN ROCKET!
MATTHEW: The end of the last volume of Iron Man was weird, and I’m once again wondering what they’re going to do with the character in the new scheme of the Marvel Universe, so I’m gonna check this out. Perhaps it’ll be the key that turns Tony Stark back into a jerkface, and maybe explain why I want to read that…
JUSTICE LEAGUE #32
Written by: Geoff Johns
Artists: Ivan Reis, Joe Prado
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: “Lex Luthor continues his acclimation to his life as one of the world’s greatest heroes as they search for the mysterious power threatening to unravel our world. But are his sights really set on the Dark Knight? And are the Dark Knight’s set on him? Plus, someone else is targeting Luthor and his new allies – a man who believes he is Luthor’s superior in every way … and he may be right! Here comes The Chief and his treacherous Doom Patrol to the New 52!”
WAYNE: Luthor versus Batman. Just the thought of that intrigues me a lot. Then, too, I’ve been enjoying the updating of characters via the New 52, like the recent appearance of the Metal Men. I’m really interested in seeing what Johns has in mind for the Doom Patrol, so I’ll be there!
PROPHET #45
Writer: Brandon Graham, Simon Roy
Artist: Simon Roy
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: FINAL ISSUE OF PROPHET!
The War in Space reaches its climax, but the story will continue…
GEORGE: Oh, Prophet, I always liked you the best. This series did lose some focus after that amazing first arc, as the story transformed from one man’s journey through a post-human world into something much, much stranger. There were some issues a little too far out for even me, but Prophet ever stopped being some of the most imaginative sci-fi on the stands, and we’re worse off without it.
SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH ONE SHOT
Writer: Ron Marz
Artist: Ivan Rodriguez
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Cover Price: $4.99
SOLICITATION: The fog-shrouded town of Innsmouth holds deep secrets. There are legends of inhuman creatures raised from the depths, of supernatural rites and elder gods from beyond. When Lamont Cranston and Margo Lane find themselves trapped in Innsmouth, terrible truths will surface … truths only the Shadow can know. Writer Ron Marz and artist Matthew Dow Smith tell a Shadow story like no other, placing the pulp avenger in H.P. Lovecraft’s famous setting for a truly inspired one-shot that could only be called “The Shadow Over Innsmouth.”
MATTHEW: The Shadow? C’thulu? Together? Sign me up!
STEPHEN: BAM! I don’t even need to read the solicitation for this boo, the title says it all – BUY THIS BOOK!
WAKE #10
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Sean Murphy
Publisher: Vertigo Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: The series Buzzfeed called ‘the best horror comic of the year’ and Comics Alliance rated ‘most unpredictable’ and ‘uncanny and uncategorizable’ comes to a shocking conclusion. Will Leeward uncover a history buried thousands of leagues beneath the sea – or will the waves come crashing down on what little land is left?
CHRIS: Another one that’s been a long time coming. I can’t wait to see how Snyder ends this one. There’s been nothing but surprises along the way and I’m always pleased with the twists. If you haven’t read this, go out and find the issues or, at the very least, wait for the trade.
GEORGE: This bad boy just won a couple Eisners, even as it draws to a close. Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy’s ten issue series has featured undersea horrors, post-apocalyptic dolphin shenanigans and a great central mystery.