IT’S NEW COMIC BOOK DAY! #NCBD
The best day of the week just got a lot better with a new round of awesome comics arriving in stores this week. Staff members at Major Spoilers are here to help you with your comic book selection this week, with their roundup of comics they recommend.
BATMAN #1
Writer: Tom King
Artist: David Finch
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: “I AM GOTHAM” chapter one
No one has ever stopped the Caped Crusader. Not The Joker. Not Two-Face. Not even the entire Justice League. But how does Batman confront a new hero who wants to save the city from the Dark Knight?
JON: After reading the Batman Rebirth one-shot, I wasn’t exactly blown away. However, Tom King is an incredibly talented writer and I fully expect the momentum to be ramped up as we begin this new arc. Plus, David Finch’s art is certainly a major selling point.
STEPHEN: BATMAN! BATMAN! BATMAN!
WAYNE: I’m anxious to see how this new creative team handles my favorite hero! I enjoyed the Rebirth issue, so I’m ready for this new number one!
CIVIL WAR II #2
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: David Marquez
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
SOLICITATION: Two issues in one month? Hell yes! As the Marvel Universe reels from the events of the first issue, Tony Stark decides to take matters (and the law) into his own hands and declares war on the Inhumans. But not everyone agrees with Tony’s perspective and they are willing to die trying to stop him.
Rated T+
JON: I was skeptical when I picked up the first issue of Civil War II as the FCBD edition and issue #0 didn’t do much for me. However, issue #1 exceeded all of my expectations and I can’t wait to see how Bendis further escalates this story into a full-blown Civil War.
DARK KNIGHT: A TRUE BATMAN STORY HC
Writer: Paul Dini
Artist: Eduardo Risso
Cover Price: $22.99
SOLICITATION: The Caped Crusader has been the all-abiding icon of justice and authority for generations. But in this surprising original graphic novel, we see Batman in a new light – as the savior who helps a discouraged man recover from a brutal attack that left him unable to face the world.
In the 1990s, Eisner Award-winning writer Paul Dini had a flourishing career writing the hugely popular Batman: The Animated Series and Tiny Toon Adventures. Walking home one evening, he was jumped and viciously beaten within an inch of his life. His recovery process was arduous, hampered by the imagined antics of the villains he was writing for television including The Joker, Harley Quinn and the Penguin. But despite how bleak his circumstances were, or perhaps because of it, Dini also always imagined the Batman at his side during his darkest moments.
DARK NIGHT: A TRUE BATMAN STORY is the harrowing and eloquent autobiographical tale of Dini’s courageous struggle to overcome a truly desperate situation. It is a Batman story like none other and one that will truly resonate with fans. Art by the incredibly talented Eduardo Risso (100 BULLETS, DARK KNIGHT III: THE MASTER RACE).
WAYNE: A Vertigo Batman story! And something I never knew about Mr. Dini. Can’t miss this one!
DARK KNIGHT RETURNS THE LAST CRUSADE #1
Writer: Frank Miller, Brian Azzarello
Artist: John Romita, Bill Sienkiewicz
Cover Price: $6.99
SOLICITATION: Before the Dark Knight returned… The Joker. Poison Ivy. Selina Kyle And the last Robin.
WAYNE: Miller and Azzarello have been doing a great job on the Dark Knight, so this prequel looks more than worth the money! As a Bat-fan, I’m there!
NEIL GAIMANS HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES HC
Writer: Neil Gaiman
Artist: Gabriel Ba, Fabio Moon
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $17.99
SOLICITATION: Two teenage boys are in for a tremendous shock when they crash a party where the girls are far more than they appear!
From Neil Gaiman-one of the most celebrated authors of our time-and award-winning artists Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá, this sumptuous graphic novel is not to be missed!
MATTHEW: Where was this book in 1990 when I could have really used it? Either way, they had me at ‘Neil Gaiman’s.’
SCOOBY APOCALYPSE #2
Writer: Jim Lee & Various
Artist: Howard Porter
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: The apocalypse continues as Scooby and the gang explore a mysterious facility that may hold the key to their survival. Little do they know that a particularly powerful puppy and his gang of mutated mutts are waiting in the shadows-and they’re ready to attack!
MATTHEW: The first issue of this book surpassed my expectations, looked lovely and even made narrative sense of the things everyone has been mocking since it was solicited. I’m in, at least for an arc or two…
STEPHEN: Everyone was surprised by how good the first issue of this series was, and I expect the amazement will continue this week. Though Shaggy sports that weird look, this is a book that is going in the same direction (and hopefully success) that we’ve seen in Afterlife with Archie and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
SPIDER-GWEN #9
Writer: Jason Latour
Artist: Robbi Rodriguez
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: “WEAPON OF CHOICE” STARTS NOW! Gwen is dealing with the effects of the SPIDER-WOMEN crossover but has to face FRANK CASTLE head on! And The Mary Janes are all over this issue!
ROB: Seeing as Gwen’s powers are in a dubious state post Spider-Women, it’s going to be interesting to see how that is handled going forward. Or if it’s not, then seeing Frank Castle, Police Superstar, is going to be fun.
STAR WARS: HAN SOLO #1
Writer: Marjorie M. Liu
Artist: Mark Brooks
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Everyone’s favorite scoundrel gets his very own series! Han is given a top-secret undercover mission for the Rebellion – rescuing a number of informants and spies. His cover for the assignment? Only the biggest and most infamous starship race in the galaxy! You know – the race Han has dreamt of winning his entire life. Will he keep his mind on the mission? And can he manage to pull it off while keeping the lead? Best-selling author Marjorie Liu (X-MEN) comes to the Galaxy Far, Far Away along with superstar cover artist Mark Brooks (ULTIMATE X-MEN) in his return to interior art! Face it, readers – there aren’t enough scoundrels in your life!
MATTHEW: Han Solo holds a special place in my heart as the first actual really-real character action figure I ever got from Star Wars. (I had me Death Star Droid, though…) I’m interested in reading this, mostly for the writer.
TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE #1
Writer: Joe Hill
Artist: Gabriel Rodriguez
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Joe Hill’s nerve-shredding re-imagining of Tales from the Darkside never made it to your TV set…but the dead are restless and refuse to stay buried! This summer, IDW releases DARKSIDE, a four-issue comic-book adaptation of the episodes written by Hill and illustrated here by Locke & Key co-creator Gabriel Rodriguez! Three stories of the macabre and malevolent! One coulda-been, shoulda-been TV epic on paper with pictures that don’t move! Step out of the warm, sunlit world you think of as reality and get ready to take a chilling walk… on the DARKSIDE.
STEPHEN: The creative minds behind Locke & Key reunite to take on Tales from the Darkside? Should you even ask if you should pick this book up? The answer, Dear Reader, is YES!
TMNT BEBOP & ROCKSTEADY DESTROY EVERYTHING #3
Writer: Ben Bates, Dustin Weaver
Artist: Ben Bates, Damian Couceiro
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Chaos spreads and the next stop in Bebop and Rocksteady’s itinerary is Stockgen when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were just regular baby Turtles!
ROB: I’m still riding the high of the title here. And the ridiculousness that is multiple versions of Bebop and Rocksteady running around the timestream. This book has been hilarious.
TMNT ONGOING #59
Writer: Tom Waltz, Kevin Eastman
Artist: Dave Wachter
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: The Turtles return to NYC thinking that the worst is finally behind them. Little do they know that the ultimate danger lurks within their very headquarters!
ROB: Poor Alopex, getting manipulated every step of the way. This series is still my favorite ongoing title currently and I doubt that will stop any time soon.
TITANS REBIRTH #1
Writer: Dan Abnett
Artist: Brett Booth
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: Friends. Teammates. Titans. Donna Troy, Arsenal, Garth, Lilith, and Nightwing were all that and more until a mysterious force erased their memories, forcing them to forget what they could accomplish together. Reunited with their memories returned, the Titans must destroy the interdimensional demon that broke them apart and threatens reality itself.
JON: Dan Abnett is more than capable of crafting an excellent story and from what I’ve read, it sounds as though this book will have the closest ties to the major reveal at the end of the DC Universe Rebirth special. I’m really excited to see where this one goes.
STEPHEN: If you want to follow the saga of Wally West, you need to pick up this issue to see how Wally reconnects with his old Teen Titans teammates. It’s a book worth picking up this week.
WEIRD DETECTIVE #1
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artsit: Gulu Vilanova
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: The streets of New York have been plagued by a pattern of crimes too weird and bizarre for the average detective. Lurking in the evidence are shadows of loathsome horrors from beyond space and time, seeking to usher in the unimaginable evil of the Old Ones. And the only man capable of fighting against the unspeakable terrors isn’t a man at all. Detective Sebastian Greene is one of them—it takes a monster to catch a monster.
STEPHEN: You got your Cthulhu mythos in my detective book! You got your detective book in my Cthulhu mythos! Two great tastes that taste great together smash into one another in this new series from Fred Van Lente and Gulu Vilanova. It’s definitely weird, and you need to be up on your Cthulhu mythos to get everything that is going on, but I liked the weirdness of it all.
ROBOT OVERLORD: WHAT WILL YOU BE BUYING THIS WEEK? USE THE COMMENT SECTION BELOW!