Major Spoilers Staff Picks for April 25, 2012

Looking for something good to read this week? The Major Spoilers Staff has sifted through this week’s releases and have picked a number of books you might want to check out as well.

ABE SAPIEN VOLUME 2: THE DEVIL DOES NOT JEST TPB
Writers: Mike Mignola, John Arcudi
Artists: James Harren, Patric Reynolds, Peter Snejbjerg
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $17.99
SOLICITATION: Paranormal crime scenes wreak havoc on Abe Sapien as he investigates a recluse demonologist’s evil house, a haunted lake, and a sunken Soviet U-boat filled with zombies!
* Abe gets his hands dirty in these early adventures!
Dark Horse Comics

RODRIGO: I picked up The Devil Does Not Jest in the original issues, but I’m curious about the ‘other stories’ part. Honestly the art in TDDNJ is so fantastically creeptacular that it’s worth picking up again!

AVX: VS #1
Writer: Kathryn Immonen, Jason Aaron, Mark Waid
Artist: Immonen Illustrations Inc.
Publisher: Marvel
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: The Story: The Premier Tie-In To Avengers Vs. X-Men! • All-Out Action Featuring Cover To Cover Battles, Each Issue Expanding On Fights From The Main Avx Book—In Ways You Can’t Imagine! • This Issue: Iron Man Vs. Magneto And Thing Vs. Namor!

RODRIGO: THIS IS IT, THE X-MEN AND THE AVENGERS PUNCH EACH OTHER FOR AN ENTIRE ISSUE! DO YOU WANT PLOT!? GET IT SOMEWHERE ELSE! THIS COMIC IS ABOUT PUNCHING!
P! U! N! C! HING!

THE ART OF AMANDA CONNER
Amanda Conner (w & a & c)
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $24.99
SOLICITATION: Desperado and IDW are proud to present this inaugural collection of one of comics’ brightest and most popular talents in the field today. Her art has been called charming, inviting, friendly, and accessible, over a foundation of elegance, dynamic design, and personality, which can be found in every single panel of her work. Sought after by all the top writers in comics today—including Grant Morrison, Garth Ennis, Mark Millar, Warren Ellis, and Jimmy Palmiotti. Amanda Conner, with her amazing modern and tasteful take on the classic pin-up, has paved the way for countless female artists in an industry predominately male-oriented.

RODRIGO: I really enjoy Amanda Conner’s work. It’s like the side of a World War II bomber for a pilot that was really into Fern Gully. If such cross-temporal hijinx were possible. So yes, I will take one of these please.

STEPHEN: I’ve been waiting months for this collection to arrive. Ages ago I ordered it from Amazon, and every couple of weeks I would get an email saying the shipping date had changed, but this week is different, as the distributor told me the book was on its way! WOOT!

DAREDEVIL #11
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Marco Checchetto
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: “The Omega Effect” Concludes!
. Daredevil And Spider-Man Join Frank Castle In A Blitzkrieg Takedown Of New York Crime — But Don’t Take It For Granted That These Heroes Are All Working Together.

ZACH: The Omega Effect is in its final stage and is looking to end with a bang. This little mini-crossover event has made for enjoyable moments as we watch the personalities of Spider-Man, Punisher, Daredevil collide. What is possibly the most exciting part of the issue is getting to look at Paolo Rivera’s art work again.

FLASH #8
Writer: Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul
Artist: Francis Manapul
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: The Flash gets pulled into the Speed Force that gives him his super-speed powers . . . and he learns he’s not alone in there! Introducing Turbine, a prisoner of the Speed Force who just wants out–even if it means trading places with The Flash!

JIMMY: The Flash has been consistently enjoyable, with fantastic art and a fun if not outstanding story. It worked its way onto my pull list largely on the quality of Francis Manapul’s art (which is unusual for me, as I tend to be more story-focused in my enjoyment of comics) and every issue he expands how I view art in comic books in one way or another. This is a comic that’s consistently and fittingly ahead of everything else on the market, and I highly recommend everyone get it, at the very least for the art.

SHANE: I’ve heard a few people complain that this series is too bland, but it is my favorite series from the New 52 that isn’t as saturated with smartphones and social networking. The Flash brings me back to my innocent years.

GOON #39
Writer: Eric Powell
Artist: Eric Powell
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $3.50
SOLICITATION: In order to try to compete with the gimmicks and rehashes of the Big Two superhero companies, Eric Powell has decided to completely sell out and relaunch the Goon in this super-epic, brand new, first-ever first edition of the 39th issue of The Goon! Not only do the Goon and Franky get new costumes, but we also discover there are different-colored versions of the Goon! Green Goon! Red Goon! Blue Goon! Purple Goon! WHAT A PLOT!

ZACH: Ever since Eric Powell gave a glimpse of what the cover was going to be I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. It would seem that Powell is not too concerned about making friends with the Big Two and is going for the throat and ridiculing them in every way possible. With new costumes and different colors of Goon this issue should be nothing short of hilarious.

NEW DEADWARDIANS #2
Writer: Dan Abnett
Artist: Ian Culbard
Publisher: Vertigo
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: Someone is killing the dead! Inspector Suttle’s investigation continues as he pursues the identity of the victim and attempts to determine the method of murder. But he must work circumspectly, because the answers he is seeking are literally matters of life and death, and they will rock the very cornerstones of Deadwardian Society.

GEORGE: The first issue of New Deadwardians did not disappoint. Dan Abnett’s creative worldbuilding presents a pre-WW1 England where the lower class is in the grips of a zombie plague while the upper class flirts with vampirism. The metaphor is simple, but effective, with an intriguing supernatural murder mystery at the core. This is more than just a trendy zombie/vampire cash-in. It’s actually quite good.

ScienTHORlogy #1
Writers: Rich Johnston
Artist: Michael Netzer
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Norse (and comic book) legend says Thor is the son of Odin. But, what if he was really the spawn of alien overlords, who harness volcanoes for ammunition for their intergalactic war, and inspire a sci-fi writer to create a church? What if that church was created to deal with the fallout of that war, and recruits movie stars to aid their cause? Another piece of The Avengefuls parody saga, Bleeding Cool’s Rich Johnston welcomes us to a religion whose God is stuck in an Australian soap opera.

JIMMY: I really have no idea what to expect from this. I’m not familiar with this “The Avengefuls parody saga” but since this is a #1, hopefully it’ll be new reader friendly. Mostly I’m interested in reading this because the title is ScienTHORlogy. Seriously. How can you NOT want to read that?

SECRET AVENGERS #26
Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Renato Guedes
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Thor Leads A Secret Team Of Avengers On A Suicide Mission To Stop The Phoenix By Any Means Necessary!

MATTHEW: Rick Remender has been doing some pretty amazing stuff on this title, setting up a compelling cast featuring Captain Britain, the original Human Torch, and the Irredeemable Ant-Man, and has been putting them through some heavy paces against an army of androids, synthezoids, adaptoids and other ‘oids as well. Suddenly, outta nowhere, this is the best Avengers book on the stands every month…

SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE SPECTRE TP
Writer: Various
Artist: Jim Aparo, Neal Adams
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $19.99
SOLICITATION: Don’t miss these grim tales of vengeance from the pages of SHOWCASE #60, 61 and 64, THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #72, 75, 116, 180 and 199, THE SPECTRE #1-10, ADVENTURE COMICS #431-440, DC COMICS PRESENTS #29 and GHOSTS #97-99.

MATTHEW: Not only do you get a big mess of Silver Age Spectre goodness, but you get the big guy’s appearances in The Brave & The Bold AND Michale Fleisher’s legendary “Wrath Of The Spectre” stories with JIM APARO art. Let me restate: JIM. APARO. SPECTRE. Add a low cover price, and we’re sold, American…

SNARKED #7
Writer: Roger Langridge
Artist: Roger Langridge
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $3.50
SOLICITATION: Harvey Award winner Roger Langridge (The Muppet Show, Thor: The Mighty Avenger) brings you the latest chapter of his critically acclaimed series Snarked! Shipwrecked on a deserted isle with no food and no map, our heroes stumble upon an ancient, lost civilization. But when the Walrus and the Carpenter are treated like plump deities, will Scarlett and Rusty be able to pry them away from their feast before they become one?

JIMMY: I’m a big fan of all-ages comics, and Snarked has largely been an enjoyable one, though I’m afraid it might be settling into a bit of a routine. At $3.99 a month it’s on the pricey side, so I’m singling this out as a staff pick because it’s potentially on the chopping block; I’m really hoping this issue knocks it out of the park and convinces me to stick around.

STAR WARS BLOOD TIES BOBA FETT IS DEAD #1
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Chris Scalf
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $3.50
SOLICITATION: The news spreads from one end of the galaxy to the other like wildfire: Boba Fett, the galaxy’s most feared bounty hunter, is dead.

But when members of the team that killed Fett are themselves picked off one by one, Connor Freeman–the son of one of Jango Fett’s clones–gets pulled into the action in a most unexpected way!

GEORGE: Please note – this pick is due entirely to misguided nostalgia for an extremely overrated character. But darn it, Boba Fett is still cool to me, I don’t care how many times he dies or how many clones he has. This book could be eminently ridiculous, but I’ve managed to avoid a lot of the Extended Universe Boba Fett-related stuff and seeing that Mandalorian armor is giving me a strange itch. It’s time to dive back in.

SUPERCROOKS #2
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Leinil Yu
Publisher: Marvel Icon
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: Johnny Bolt Is A Villain Living In A World Where Pickings Are Slim And The “Heroes” Are Everywhere. Now, With Little Left To Lose, He’s Convincing His Pals That Their Last, Best Hope Lies Overseas. But Will Culture Shock Get To Them Before The Policía Do? Continuing The High-Stakes Escapade From The Creative Team That Brought You Superior!

MATTHEW: I don’t know how it happened, but I was completely hooked by the first issue of this book. Leinil Yu’s art was note-perfect, and the story is an interesting one, with Mark Millar abandoning (most) of his usual hyperbolic frammistattery for some lovely character work. If it keeps going the way it’s been going, we could have another “Powers” on our hands…

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ONGOING #9
Writer: Tom Waltz
Artist: Dan Duncan
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: You’d think that General Krang’s arrival in New York City would be bad enough news, right? Oh no, there’s still plenty more misery to go around! The Turtle’s home in the sewers is destroyed thanks to a sinister team-up between Baxter Stockman and Old Hob. Now that the Turtles are homeless, with one of their own captured, things have never looked bleaker for our heroes. The key to their salvation may lie with… April O’Neil??

GEORGE: When the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came back to the stands, I was surprised by how quality the comic was. That surprise has transformed into a comfortable expectation of entertaining comics with every issue I read. This is series that fires on all cylinders, providing good-looking art and interesting scripts every month. The latest issue has Splinter in captivity, and a possible confrontation looms with General Krang. I don’t know if there are many things more dangerous than a cornered ninja rat. Looks like readers of TMNT will find out soon enough .

TOON TUMBLERS SILVER SURFER CLEAR PINT GLASS
Price: $10.99
SOLICITATION: Available for the first time available in PREVIEWS are these clear versions of three of PopFun’s best selling ‘Toon Tumblers pint glasses featuring Marvel’s biggest heroes, like Iron Man, Captain America, and the Avengers! Please note: these glasses are clear, not frosted. Not for sale or distribution in California.

ZACH: I’m always on the look out for my own personal glass that can both hold the liquid I want to drink and display a little bit of who I am, and this one fits that high calling. I can just picture myself now sitting on my porch after a long day, drinking a nice cold Roy Rodgers (Coke and grenadine, try it, it’s awesome), pondering how many Avengers teasers will come out tomorrow.

ROBOT OVERLORD: That wraps it up for our staff picks of the week, besides picking up the comics on this list, what else are you pulling to read?