Major Spoilers Staff Picks for September 05, 2012

New Comic Book Day is just around the corner, and that means there are thousands of Spoilerites looking for recommendations for books to pick up.  The Major Spoilers Crew has sifted through the new comic release list and offer up their recommendations for the week.

ACTION COMICS #0
Writer: Grant Morrison and Sholly Fisch
Artist: Ben Oliver and CAFU
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: • Don’t miss “The Boy Who Stole Superman’s Cape”
• Grant Morrison weaves the history of Clark Kent’s early days in Metropolis!

STEPHEN: Will we finally get some needed answers to what is going on with Superman, or will this just be another general story of the time before issue #1 that has little bearing on the overall story? I don’t know, but I have been enjoying what Grant Morrison has been bringing to the table (even if it does give me a headache on many occasion), so I’m picking this one up!

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #693
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Humberto Ramos
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: • Spider-Man’s 50th Anniversary adventure ratchets up as an old foe returns!
• And an ALL-NEW character joins the Marvel Universe!
• WHO IS ALPHA?!

ROB: With the two best Spidey creators on the book and a crazy-powerful new character to mess with Spidey’s world there is nothing I’m more excited for this Wednesday than more Amazing Spider-Man. Give Alpha a chance and see what trouble he can cause in Parker’s relatively decent life.

STEPHEN: I really got a kick out of the big 50th Anniversary issue, and I’m not hating Alpha… yet, so bring it on Slott and Ramos, let’s see what kind of fun you have in store for me this week!

ZACH: As I am slowly coming to realize that the current form of Spider-Man that we have been enjoying from Dan Slott will probably be stopping in issue #700 I cling to these last remaining issues with all the strength I can muster. And you know it’s worth the money because one of the top five duos (Slott and Ramos) in comics is bringing us this issue.

DAMSELS #1
Writer:LEAH MOORE & JOHN REPPION
Artis: ANEKE
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, and Snow White come together with other damsels in a new adventure filled with danger and intrigue. In Damsels, the alluring princesses of classic fairy tales take up arms to save their kingdoms from war. Rediscover the darkness at the heart of fairy tales and why they’ll be no happily ever after. Damsels opens with Rapa wishing she had not got out of bed that morning, if she had a bed to get out of that is. The day began badly and has gone rapidly and literally downhill ever since. A series of peculiar and baffling encounters throw obstacle after obstacle into her path, intent it seems on preventing her progress. The thing is, until today she had no idea she was trying to make any progress, toward anything! A collection of hazy memories and bewildering tattoos are all she has to help her figure it all out, and to be honest, she’d just as soon not bother. Around her, we see the mountain city of Caumont thrown into overdrive by the arrival of Queen Talia and King Aurore of Perrault. The streets are thronged with cheering people, does it matter they aren’t exactly sure why they are cheering, or for whom?

RODRIGO: Fairy tale characters doing non-fairytale things has pretty much become its own genre. There are fewer books out there that are westerns or sci-fi than “This is the real story of Snow White”. But here’s where we start to see whether the genre has legs… After all, Zenescope already showed us that it has boobs.

DETECTIVE COMICS #0
Writer: Gregg Hurwitz
Artist: Tony S. Daniel, Richard Friend
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover $3.99
SOLICITATION: Discover how young Bruce Wayne learned to wield the martial arts, and how a major villain was introduced into his life.

ZACH: I have read the last few issues of Detective and they really haven’t been too bad, I would actually say quite enjoyable. Yet, there is only one reason why I want to pick this up and that’s so I can train myself to buy it every month now that John Layman starts writing next month! I can’t wait till Batman starts biting people to solve cases.

FASHION BEAST #1
Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Facundo Percio
Publisher: Avatar Press
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Alan Moore’s unearthed screenplay comes to life as an incredible comic book series almost three decades later! The mid-80′s were a stunning period of brilliance for Alan Moore, seeing him create true masterpieces including Miracleman, Watchmen – and Fashion Beast! Working with Malcolm McLaren (Sex Pistols), Alan Moore turned his attention to a classic re-telling of a fable through his unyielding and imaginative vision. The two developed a story that redefined Beauty and the Beast in a dystopian future city dominated by a fashion house, which Moore then fully-scripted into a huge screenplay. Never previously published, this epic work is now adapted for comics by long-time Moore collaborator, Antony Johnston (Courtyard) preserving every scrap of Moore’s original dialogue. All ten issues have been lovingly illustrated by Facundo Percio (Anna Mercury) and finally a true historical and visionary masterpiece is finally released to the World! Available with a Regular or Wraparound Cover by series artist Facundo Percio or Haute Couture Incentive (by Percio) or the very rare Tarot (by Paul Duffield) Incentive cover.

RODRIGO: Someone told me this is going to be a fictionalized biography of Christian Dior meshed with beauty and the beast. Which is really not something you get to read every day. We have seen Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but when can we expect “In Cold Vampire Blood”?

GUARDING THE GLOBE #1
Writer: Phil Hester
Artist: Todd Nauck
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: The Guardians of the Globe are BACK in an all-new, all-exciting ongoing series!

Your favorite heroes – Brit, Outrun, Invincible, Robot, Yeti, Kaboomerang, and more -face new challenges of epic proportions in stories by the all-star team of Phil Hester & Todd Nauck!

JIMMY: The Guarding the Globe mini was absolutely incredible, and while this new ongoing isn’t being written by Kirkman he’s still involved. Phil Hester is a great writer (and a talented artist, though that’s irrelevant to this comic) and while I’m not always a fan of Todd Nauck, I think his art will serve this title really well. This has been one of my most anticipated series for the past several months, so I’m really excited to finally read it!

HAWKEYE #2
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: David Aja
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: * What you need to know: Fraction. Aja. Hawkeye. Kate Bishop. Cars. Guns. * Stealing from the rich never looked so good. * Get. Now.

GEORGE: There was a lot of hype surrounding the debut of Hawkeye’s new solo series. Just look at that preposterous solicitation up there. But lo and behold, issue #1 came out and the reviews were rave. I never thought I could care about a Hawkeye solo title, but on the basis of those reviews, I picked up that first issue and yeah, it was as fun as folks said. I still feel bad about missing the boat on Mark Waid’s acclaimed current run on Daredevil, but I won’t be making the same mistake with Hawkeye, and neither should you.

JACK: Didn’t we almost get to see Hawkeye’s wiener in the first issue?  That kind of opening salvo is enough to hook me for a second outing, plus I hope we get to see some more trick arrow shots, because that other arrow guy just isn’t cutting it for me.

ROB: With a more down-to-earth tone and less focus on the super heroic side of Clint Barton’s life, Fraction has made Hawkeye a book to be watched, and read of course. Now we’re going to get the second Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) involved and this could become my favorite Marvel book rather quickly.

ZACH: The first issue of Hawkeye may be one of the best #1’s from a superhero book that I have read. Fraction didn’t go and try to rehash a backstory, but just jumped in and told a story of a superhero simply being a superb human. I’m completely hooked to this title and can’t wait to see what else is coming from a character that I recently couldn’t care less about.

HYPERNATURALS #3
Writer: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Artist: Tom Derenick and Andres Guinaldo
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning finish the first arc of their cosmic superhero masterpiece in the making and will have you begging for more! It’s the return of Prismatica as she rejoins the Hypernaturals and faces her greatest fear: the man who killed her husband and the most diabolical supervillain the Quantinuum has ever known…Sublime.

JIMMY: I reviewed the last issue of this title from BOOM! and discussed what an incredible job Abnett and Lanning have done with universe building in this title. If you haven’t been reading this, this is probably not the best issue to jump in on, but I highly recommend picking up issues 1 and 2 in addition to this. It has some similarities to Legion of Superheroes and other cosmic titles, so if you’re a fan of that genre this book is a must-read!

THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS, VOL. 1 SCIENCE. BAD.
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Nick Pitarra & Jordie Bellaire
Publisher: Image
Cover Price: $14.99
SOLICITATION: “SCIENCE. BAD.”
What if the research and development department created to produce the first atomic bomb was a front for a series of other, more unusual, programs?
Collecting the coolest new series of the year into one super science package.
Collects THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS #1-5

GEORGE: This is on my shortlist for the best ongoing monthly. If you’ve missed out on one of the most entertaining comics in recent memory, pick up this trade to get up to speed. If you haven’t heard about The Manhattan Projects, it’s a strange, alternative take on the science boffins that invented the atom bomb, with wacky, over-the-top pulp trappings. I’ve already got the single issues, but this series is so nice, I might just buy it twice.

THE RIDE: SOUTHERN GOTHIC #1
CREATED BY KEVEN GARDNER
WRITTEN BY RON MARZ, NATHAN EDMONDSON, JODY LEHEUP
PENCILS BY RICK LEONARDI, PAUL AZACETA, DAVID LAPHAM
INKS BY DEXTER VINES, PAUL AZACETA, DAVID LAPHAM
LETTERS BY ED DUKESHIRE
COVER BY ANDREW ROBINSON
SOLICITATION: Featuring a line-up of creators that is literally a who’€™s-who of legendary talent, fans of crime and action books will not be disappointed. Join Rick Leonardi (UNCANNY X-MEN), David Lapham (STRAY BULLETS), Ron Marz (GREEN LANTERN), Nathan Edmondson (WHO IS JAKE ELLIS?), Paul Azaceta (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN) and more! With fast cars, hot babes, and a healthy serving of the Dixie-Mafia, you simply can’€™t miss THE RIDE: SOUTHERN GOTHIC!

RODRIGO: A crime anthology! In today’s economy? MADNESS! But this actually looks very interesting. I’m not the kind to be wowed by big names. But I can be overwhelmed by lots of names, and this book has like eight people attached to it. So wow.

THANOS QUEST #1
Writer: Jim Starlin
Artist: Ron Lim
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $7.99
SOLICITATION:
• Thanos of Titan, the mad Eternal, has been released from Death’s domain.
• In return, he’s pledged to kill half the population of the universe using the most powerful weapons in existence: the Infinity Gems!
• If he obtains them all, Thanos will rule all he surveys!
• Collecting THANOS QUEST (1990) #1-2.

GEORGE: Marvel’s cosmic-minded offerings are a major blindspot for me. Never touched a book with Adam Warlock and my only exposure to Thanos comes from those old issues of Deadpool where Thanos got all kinds of jealous about Death’s hankering for ‘Pool. But I’ve heard a lot of good things about Jim Starlin, and with Marvel looking to push their space stuff more than ever, Thanos Quest looks like a good place to start. This collected two-shot is the jumping off point for all that Infinity Gauntlet/Quest/War hullabaloo, and it’s past time I educated myself on this superhero history.

ULTIMATE COMICS: SPIDER-MAN #14
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: David Marquez
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: DIVIDED WE FALL!
– The first-ever Ultimates/Ultimate Spider-Man team up!!
– With the nation at war, Miles Morales decides to become a member of the Ultimates and he will do anything it takes to earn the right.

JIMMY: Ultimate Spider-Man has been one of the best comics Marvel’s putting out, with Bendis doing a fantastic job of having transitioned from a beloved character in Ultimate Peter Parker to a completely new character, Miles Morales. Morales has quickly won my heart and that of fans, and while this title has missed the art of Sara Pichelli who has been doing Spider-Men, the writing has been top notch. I am not really familiar with the “Divided We Fall” arc in the Ultimate universe, but that didn’t detract any from last issue which was also a tie-in.

WORLDS FINEST #0
Writer: Paul Levitz
Artist: Kevin Maguire
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: It’s the origin of Supergirl and Robin on Earth 2! • How did their first mission on that world affect their situation as Power Girl and Huntress today?

ROB: What more could you ask for in 0 issue about the Worlds’ Finest? Of the 0 issues, especially those for the second and third waves, this is the one that has the most appeal to me. Given who these two are, it should also serve as a bit more world building for Earth 2 as well, at least in the sense of a decent timeline.