It’s Wednesday, which means – NEW COMIC BOOK DAY! If you have having trouble picking a book off the shelf, let our fine staff of Spoilerites offer up a few suggestions to help you out.
ALL NEW X-MEN #1 NOW
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Stuart Immonen
Publisher: Marvel
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Marvel Now! The five original X-Men have been plucked from yesteryear and sent to the present. How will they deal with the current state of Xavier’s dream, and how will today’s X-Men cope with facing their former selves?
ROB: Initially I would have skipped this, except AvX and AvX Consequences were very good and the latter leads somewhat directly into this series which has me intrigued. If Bendis can make the classic characters believable as well as give us something good to work with on why/how they’re here then I’m in for awhile.
RODRIGO: I think mostly they’re just going to sit around and be like “Dude, you can’t smoke in restaurants anymore!” “Oh man, that’s weird, did they legalize pot yet?” “In Washington” “That’s random.”
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #697
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Giuseppe Camuncoli
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: • Spider-Man joins the WAR of the Goblins!
• We brought back Roderick Kingsley, the original Hobgoblin—will any other Goblins show?
• And the pieces of the puzzle are almost complete for AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #700…
GEORGE: I’ve been picking this book a lot lately, but Dan Slott is doing work on ASM– and seeing these two versions of the Hobgoblin go against each other has been a treat. Retitling aside, I’m pleased as punch that Marvel isn’t messing with the Slott/Spider-Man success as part of the NOW! initiative.
STEPHEN: Dan Slott’s run just keeps getting better and better. Too bad it all comes to an end with issue #700. Until then, keep reading, and keep buying.
BATMAN #14
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: • “DEATH OF THE FAMILY” continues!
• The Joker is back and somehow more sinister than ever! What caused this change? And can even Batman stop a Joker so driven and dangerous?
• And where is Alfred?
• Plus: In the backup feature, The Penguin is running out of options as he’s confronted by The Joker!
This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.
GEORGE: Scott Snyder’s opening salvo in the “Death of the Family” crossover was a fantastic read. His Joker is as terrifying as any I have ever read. It’s possible this storyline could be as good (or even better) than the modern classic “Night of the Owls” arc. If you like Batman in any way, and you’re not reading Snyder’s run on Batman, you’re missing out.
STEPHEN: Scott Snyder’s Joker is creeeeeeeeeepy. And I love it. Can’t wait to see what is in store this week – I just hope Alfred survives.
BETTIE PAGE IN DANGER #3
Writer: Peter Pants
Artist: Peter Pants
Publisher: Shh Productions
Cover Price: $9.95 (ADULTS ONLY)
SOLICITATION: The undisputed queen of pin-ups faces her biggest challenge yet in the final issue of this ingenious and quirky comic series as Bettie Page is once again placed in danger, fighting fellow topless model and best friend, Mexicali, who just may be an illegal alien… from space?! Will Bettie survive the alien abduction or encourage an alien seduction? Plus, another episode of ‘Strange Stripper Stories’ leaves nothing to the imagination as vintage photos of girls undressing tell the Tales from the Crypt-style story of one stripper who went too far! Also in this bra-busting issue is full-color modern model Claire Daring who dares readers to come along in her vintage muscle car for one hot ride in amazing 3-D, using the free 3-D glasses that are included with every issue. This is an officially licensed product by the management of Bettie Page’s estate.
RODRIGO: How did I not know this was a thing? This has the three things I love the most, Aliens and Bettie Page.
THE BOYS #72
Writer: Garth Ennis
Artists: Darick Robertson, Richard P. Clark
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Cover Price: $4.99
SOLICITATION: FINAL ISSUE!
The long day closes on the Brooklyn Bridge, as our hero finally meets his destiny. There’s one last deal to be done, As Stillwell finds out the real cost of doing business, and one last surprise for Rayner too- as she begins her long-dreamed of political career. The Boys’ story comes to an end in this final issue!!!
MATTHEW: Butcher, The Female, The Frenchman and Mother’s Milk are dead. Wee Hughie has been changed forever. Is there ANY chance that there’s a glimmer of a happy ending coming? I can’t decide whether I hope so or not, but either way, this is the finale to the series that has become one of the most consistent books on the stand… I will miss this dose of monthly madness, and I hope Annie January is in this last ish.
FANTASTIC FOUR #1
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Mark Bagley
Publisher: Marvel
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: Marvel Now! begins for Marvel’s First Family! Four adults. Two kids. One “car.” The Fantastic Four take a journey through all of infinite time and space!
MATTHEW: Fraction AND Bagley, together on the book that should be the centerpiece of the Marvel Universe? Yes, please! I’m looking forward to this one, even though I’m sure it’ll get undersold the way Fantastic Four always seems to. (If Hickman’s run couldn’t take over the world, not much could, honestly.) Fingers crossed for a blockbuster hit, here.
ZACH: I’m hoping that the whole “he wrote that good thing so this has to be good too” idea works with Matt Fraction. His run on Hawkeye has been excellent so here’s to hoping Fantastic Four is as well. It’s also a $2.99 book from Marvel so that has to make you happy.
GREAT PACIFIC #1
Writer: Joe Harris
Artist: Martin Morazzo
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION:
“TRASHED!”, Part One
Chas Worthington dreams of big things, solving bigger problems, and making his mark on the world. Only no one takes the twenty-one year-old heir to one of the biggest oil fortunes in history very seriously. That is, until he turns his back on his cushy life of wealth and prestige, and seeks to solve an environmental disaster twice the size of his native Texas known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The epic sci-fi adventure and survival tale begins!
RODRIGO: We’re the Planeteers, you can be one too, cuz saving our planet is the thing to do!
LOCKE & KEY: Omega #1
Writer: Joe Hill
Artist: Gabriel Rodriguez
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: A season of lies and murders has come to a head; the shadows rise and the water falls, as Dodge approaches the Black Door… with the Omega Key in his possession and nothing left to stand in his way.
STEPHEN: This is it, the final arc of Locke & Key featuring the Locke children and their adventures with keys. The good thing is there is more Locke & Key on the way in the coming years, but for now, pick up this book!
ZACH: I’m still on volume four of Locke & Key but thanks to a long road trip coming up and a digital sale on volume five I will be caught up later this week and ready for this issue. Locke & Key has been an amazing series and I recommended it to anyone wanting to get into comics. I’ve given it to two of my friends who have never read comics and they ate it up.
SAGA #7
Writer: Brian K Vaughan
Artist: Fiona Staples
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATIONS: Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ smash-hit ongoing series returns! An all-new adventure begins, as new parents Marko and Alana make an unexpected discovery in the vast emptiness of outer space.
GEORGE: Sometimes I have kneejerk reactions to hyped comic books. “Nothing can be that good,” I say to myself. “I’m not falling for that.” So I avoided Saga after all the hype surrounding the ballyhooed first issue. But people kept talking about it (our own Zach, Rob and Matthew amongst them). I finally checked out the trade last month, and yep, it is that good. I’m on board. An overlord race of robots with TVs for heads? A spider-person bounty hunter? Rocket ship trees? Yes yes yes.
MATTHEW: What can I say about Saga? It’s like the expanded universe of Star Wars, only I actually like most of it. There’s a lot of wild stuff flying in these pages, and it’s irreverent, fun and touching all at once. You should totally read this, really.
ROB: Arc one was very, very good, and fortunately didn’t end with the bang planned on a lesser launch. Now, with the new family off-planet, the really journey begins, and it promises to be very interesting from here on out. If you haven’t read this yet, grab the first book, if you have read it, rejoice for we get more.
ZACH: Buy. This. Comic. Now.
X-TREME X-MEN #6
Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Stephen Segovia & Raul Valdes
Publisher: Marvel
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: The team’s mission hits home as they land in the United States of California, birthplace of Kurt Waggoner, the team’s Nightcrawler!
ROB: There are three things that should get most anybody interested in this book, Dazzler, evil Xaviers, and a good Xavier head in a bottle. Harkening back to the reality-jumping nature of the great Exiles series, this book has given us a couple great versions of the Marvel multiverse to look at along with an interesting cast that includes a version of Wolverine that is likable. With this being a decent jumping on point NOW! is a good time to bite.
