Looking for something new to read this week, but don’t know where to turn? Have no fear Dear Spoilerite, Major Spoilers has you covered. The staff has gone through the new comic release list, and pick the books they are most looking forward to this week.
ACTION COMICS #18
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Rags Morales, Mark Propst
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
SOLICITATION:
• You don’t dare miss Grant Morrison’s stunning, extra-sized final issue of ACTION COMICS!
• It’s no small battle as Superman fights to save all of creation in this epic!
• This issue is destined to be a milestone in The New 52!
• Plus: In the backup story, whatever happened to the men of tomorrow(s)?
ROB: I’m pretty sure they said it correctly just above, “you don’t dare miss Grant Morrison’s final issue” and I’m not planning on it. It’s been an interesting ride with Morrison at the helm, allowing me to enjoy Superman more than ever and I’m sad to see it end, but I can’t wait to read how it does.
STEPHEN: I’m going to have mixed feelings about this issue. On the one hand, this is supposed to be the final issue in Grant Morrison’s run. On the other hand, it wouldn’t surprise me to see this run go five more issues… As the final issue in the mega-arc, this is where everything gets wrapped and I hope it is as epic as the buildup has been.
ALL NEW X-MEN #9
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: David Marquez
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: • The Original Five X-Men get new costumes!
• Series main-artist Stuart Immonen returns!
• Mystique makes her big move.
GEORGE: Last issue had a hell of an ending. It’s possible to criticize this title for the usual Bendis tics – All New X-Men is talky, it’s slow to get rolling, and really not too much has happened nine issues in. But it is a book I look forward to each week. While there might not be action, there sure is a lot of tension. I haven’t read a capper as good as what ended All New X-Men #8 since… well, Saga #11.
ART OF CRIME #1
Writers: Erick Warfield, Paul Grimshaw
Artist: Edward Laroche, Marc Sandroni
Publisher: Art of Fiction
Cover Price: $3.95
SOLICITATION: A look into the lives of two men drawn into a friendship through a life of crime, and driven to murder over the love of a woman. Thirty-six full-color pages of crime, cars, and killings. With a cover by Bruce Timm!
ZACH: The wonderful part of having books coming out from the minor publisher (been to minorspoilers.com lately?) listed is that you can stumble across a title you might have missed normally. I have no idea what will lie inside this book but the cover art looks nice so I’ll be trying to track this down on Wednesday.
AVENGERS #8
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Dustin Weaver
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: “SYSTEM FAILURE”
• The Avengers face off against the World Breaker.
• Discover the imminent threat to the Avengers World.
• Watch as we get our first hints as the hidden connections between the events of Avengers and New Avengers.
GEORGE: Marvel NOW! has been much more successful for me than the Nu52 reboot. Marvel’s big league books are almost all worth reading, and Avengers is on the top of the list. Hickman’s doing a big, multiverse story, and his ambition is matched only by the storytelling. The art on this title has been phenomenal too, making Avengers one of my top picks month in and out.
BPRD HELL ON EARTH #105 COLD DAY IN HELL #1
Writer: Mike Mignola, John Arcudi
Artist: Peter Snejbjerg
Publisher: Dark Horse
Cover Price: $3.50
SOLICITATION: Following the deadly events of The Return of the Master, the reanimated director of the Russian occult sciences division leads a rescue mission through a blizzard as the B.P.R.D. engage in battle with more bat-faced monsters. Why are the Russians obsessed with a fallen radio tower in the middle of nowhere?
ZACH: I have been constantly told over the last year that I need to be reading books within the Hellboy Universe, so why not finally start checking them out this week? The solicit makes it sound as if big events just unfolded so hopefully this is still a nice place to jump into the mix.
CHEW #32
Writer: John Layman
Artist: Rob Guillory
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: Revelations! Fights! Milkshakes!
ROB: Haven’t I told you that Chew is the best book already? Oh, you’re new? Well, Chew is the best and you will be astounded as to how true that is.
ZACH: Chew has been on a steady build of intensity over the last two arcs and it may just continue all the way till it ends in issue 60. If you haven’t been reading Chew you have been missing out on a great humor/tragedy story with fantastic art. This is always first read of the week material for me.
CONSTANTINE #1
Writer: Jeff Lemire, Ray Fawkes
Artist: Renato Guedes
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: • The star of JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK is unleashed in his all-new ongoing series!
• Liar, cheater, manipulator…John Constantine is all of these, and yet he uses these skills and more to protect the world from the darkest corners of the DC Universe.
• What Constantine learns in this first issue will shake the very foundations of the New 52…and only he knows how to deal with it!
CHRIS: I’ve read few comics with John Constantine in them so what better a place to get reacquainted with the character than his reintroduction into the DC Universe! I enjoyed what I read of Justice League Dark and if this is anything similar, I’m in.
RODRIGO: OMG! I’ve totes been waiting for someone to make a comic out of my fav Keanu Reeves movie! It’s about time DC comics! Now someone needs to start making comics out of that Ryan Reynolds green guy and I’ll be set.
STEPHEN: So… yeah… bringing a character from Vertigo, a mature comic line, to the regular DCU is going to have some big ramifications. Sure, Constatine has been floating around Main DCU Earth for a months now, but here is where we see if the commitment to move was a good one or a bad one. I’m sure Matthew would have this on his list, but he’s super busy, and didn’t get his recommendations in this week. IF you want to hear what we think about this issue, be sure to check out the next installment of Dueling Reviews – part of the Major Spoilers Podcast Network.
DARK HORSE PRESENTS #22
Writers: Caitlín R. Kiernan, Michael Avon Oeming, Geoffrey Thorne, Howard Chaykin, Denis Medri, Patrick Alexander, Simon Roy, Jason Wordie, Shannon Wheeler, Michael T. Gilbert, Steve Moncuse
Artists: Michael Avon Oeming, Howard Chaykin, Denis Medri, Patrick Alexander, Simon Roy, Jason Wordie, Shannon Wheeler, Michael T. Gilbert, Steve Moncuse, Geof Darrow, Steve Lieber, Todd Harris
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $7.99
SOLICITATION: In this jam-packed issue of DHP, Mike Richardson interviews artist extraordinaire and Shaolin Cowboy creator Geof Darrow! Plus, delve into the alternate history of Howard Chaykin’s Custer, enjoy the return of Steve Moncuse’s Fish Police, and read new comics by Patrick Alexander!
* Howard Chaykin returns to the pages of DHP with Custer!
* Michael Avon Oeming’s The Victories,Shannon Wheeler’s Villain House, and Caitlín R. Kiernan’s Alabaster continue!
“Seriously, this is comics’ best kept secret trove of great comics.”—Comic Book Resources
RODRIGO: Every comic company struggles with the viability of anthology books. So what makes Dark Horse Presents successful? Honestly? Probably the same thing that makes Dark Horse as a company successful, the fact that they tend to stay out of the superhero game.
MYSTERY SOCIETY SPECIAL 2013
Writer: Steve Niles
Artist: Andrew Ritchie
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: The Mystery Society returns! Our outlandish heroes plumb the depths of the ocean to carry out an exchange with an eccentric collector who isn’t what he seems. What horrors await Nick Mystery, Anastasia, Secret Skull and the rest of the team at the bottom of the sea?
CHRIS: Mystery Society was incredible but I thought I would never see more. I’m over the moon now that we’re finally getting something new from this title. Hopefully this will lead to another mini-series or, even better, an ongoing. From what I’ve heard, that probably won’t happen, so I’ll take what I can get.
SAGA #11
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Fiona Staples
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: It’s an intergalactic family reunion, as Hazel’s parents and grandparents join forces to escape a dying world.
GEORGE: Another great cliff-hanger leads me to pick this issue. One of Vaughan’s great idiosyncratic creations seemingly bit the dust last issue as the action ratcheted up another notch. I came around to Saga a bit after the rest of the crew, but even this one-time cynic has to admit that Saga is darn good reading.
TMNT ONGOING #20
Writer: Tom Waltz, Kevin Eastman
Artist: Ben Bates
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: The Turtles bring the battle to Krang, and it’s up to Fugitoid’s secret weapon to turn the tide of the Neutrino war! The devastating conclusion to “Krang War” is here!
ROB: I don’t think I’ve enjoyed the Turtles more than I have with this series. Everything is still blending multiple facets of Turtle lore into something remarkably new and impressive that still hits all the right nostalgic buttons.
TRANSFORMERS: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE #15
Writer: James Roberts
Artist: Alex Milne
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: DEATH IN THE RANKS! Rodimus and his crew are confronted by the enemy within-and not everyone will survive the encounter. Everything has been building to this: all-out war aboard the Lost Light!
CHRIS: Yeah, I’m biased because I’m a Transformers freak but IDW’s Transformers series have all been bliss. Transformers comics haven’t been this good or fun since some of the Marvel ones from the late ‘80’s. If you want some good giant robot stories minus the humans, this and Robots In Disguise are for you.
WILD ROVER FT THE SACRIFICE ONE SHOT
Writer: Michael Avon Oeming
Artists: Michael Avon Oeming, Victor Santos
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: Like his mother before him, Shane’s an alcoholic. But his family curse goes deeper than that-Shane needs to overcome the black magic at the heart of his addiction by killing a liquor demon if he hopes to reclaim his soul.
RODRIGO: What an interesting concept. Are we in for a metaphorical battle with personified inner demons? A loose excuse for an action-packed romp? A horrifying simplification of a real-world disease? LET’S FIND OUT!
ZOMBIES VS. CHEERLEADERS #1
Writer: Steven L. Frank & Various
Artist: Matt Hebb & Various
Publisher: 3 Finger Prints
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Don’t miss the exciting re-launch of Zombies Vs. Cheerleaders! Always thrilling, pretty freaking funny, and never disappointing. Check out what all the commotion is about – macabre humor featuring, it can never be overstated, two things everyone loves: Zombies and Cheerleaders! Featuring a hot wraparound cover by Mike DeBalfo, the first issue contains an 8-page bonus story!
CHRIS: Yeah, sure, why the hell not? I like zombies and cheerleaders can be hot, so I should like this book, right? I mean, how bad could it be?
