Thanks to the holiday weekend, we’re a day behind on getting our comic book recommendations out to you this week. On the plus side, you can take the jump right now to see what books Major Spoilers staff members are looking forward to this week.
ADVENTURE TIME ANNUAL #1
Writer: Rodger Langridge, Derek Fridolfs
Artist: Rodger Langridge & Various
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Cover Price: $4.99
SOLICITATION: THE FUN WILL NEVER END IN THIS SPECIAL EXPANDED ADVENTURE TIME ANNUAL! Featuring some of the hottest talent in comics today putting their creative spin on the land of Ooo! A great tool for bringing readers into the series and an awesome book for die-hard ADVENTURE TIME FANS! Featuring stories from Roger Langridge, Derek Fridolfs, Dustin Nguyen and others!
ZACH: The Adventure Time comic is what pulled me into the animated show, so I will certainly not be missing the annual this week. Adventure Time continually stretches what can be done from a narrative aspect inside of a comic book (go read the Free Comic Book Day issue for proof) so I can’t wait to see what the creative team has come up for the annual.
CHEW #34
Writer: John Layman
Artist: Rob Guillory
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: On the trail of the vampire!
ROB: Tony Chu, cibopath, best book this week, read it.
DOCTOR WHO: Prisoners of Time #5
Writer: Scott Tipton, David Tipton
Artist: Philip Bond
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Our yearlong celebration of Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary continues! TBD, as the Fifth Doctor takes the spotlight in this issue of a 12-part epic adventure featuring all 11 incarnations of the Doctor!
MATTHEW: The Fifth Doctor at last! Will Tegan be there? Will the Master? What about Khameleon? Actually, Khameleon kind of sucks, but anyway… THE FIFTH DOCTOR!
STEPHEN: Knowing that the big 50 is coming up in November, and now knowing what the Doctor’s name really is (it’s Phil by the way), I’ll be picking up this issue just to see who the villain will be snatching out of the time-stream next.
EARTH 2 ANNUAL #1
Writer: James Robinson
Artist: Yildiray Cinar
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
SOLICITATION: The new Batman of Earth 2 debuts as The Atom begins a mission to lead a new team of heroes-but are any of them prepared for the threat they’re about to face?
KEVIN: I believe Jame Robinson has done a great job revamping Golden Age heroes so far. It is great to see these classic characters form a new legacy with a younger generation. Although it is a different artist for this annual issue, the story can be just as good as the ongoing series.
ROB: Everything’s better with Batman, right? Well, we’re about to find out here, and just who the new Batman of Earth 2 actually is. I’m guessing Jason Todd right now, but that’s just me.
MORNING GLORIES #27
Writer: Nick Spencer
Artist: Joe Eisma
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: “THERE IS NO BEGINNING”
The double-sized Season 2 premiere! With an astonishing array of covers by some of the hottest artists working today: JENNY FRISON, ROB GUILLORY, SHAWN MARTINBROUGH, JAMIE McKELVIE, EMMA RIOS and MORNING GLORIES’ own JOE EISMA!
MATTHEW: With this double size, season premier, Morning Glories is back, and I can honestly say that, even though I still have no idea what’s going on, the story is good enough that I’m still hooked on the book.
STEPHEN: Season 2, huh? Considering the bomb that dropped in the last issue, and knowing that this “season” will make about as much sense as the last, I’m going to go along for the ride and see how messed (in a good way) this issue will be.
ZACH: After binge reading this entire series the week that issue 26 arrived last month I cannot wait for issue 27 and the premiere of the second season of Morning Glories. Morning Glories is one of the most frustrating-ly good reads in comics right now and I cannot recommend enough that you read ever single issue and then jump in this week. You will not be disappointed.
NEW AVENGERS #6
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Steve Epting, Rick Magyar
Publisher: Marvel
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: “BLUE”
• Using the knowledge gained from the Black Swan, the Illuminati rework all their plans and cross the uncrossable line.
• The first secret alliance is formed.
• If an incursion is normally RED, what does a BLUE one mean?
MATTHEW: After what the Illuminati did to Captain America, I despair that there are no heroes left in the Marvel Universe. Can The Black Panther turn things around for his too-smart-for-anybody’s-good contemporaries?
SILENCE & CO. TPB
Writer: Gur Benshemesh
Artist: Ron Randall
Cover Price: $9.99
SOLICITATION: Disillusioned hitman Alexander Maranzano feels trapped by the criminal life and family obligations he has always known. Contracted by the shadowy Silence & Co. to fulfill a contract, what starts out as just another job quickly turns into a deadly race for answers. From the dusty streets of Marrakesh to the lush jungles of Colombia and back to New York City, Alex’s search for revenge and the truth triggers a series of events that alter everything he has ever known.
CHRIS: This is a little indy trade coming out this week. The solicitation sounds like a nice dark, dramatic story. A manager at one of the stores I work at (Graham Crackers Comics, yay!) read this and said it was great. At only $9.99, it’s worth a shot. Hey, it’s cheaper than a movie ticket!
SPIDER-MAN 2099 TP VOL 01
Writer: Peter David
Artist: Rick Leonardi, Kelley Jones
Publisher: Marvel comics
Cover Price: $24.99
SOLICITATION: The year is 2099 – the ultra-rich are above the law, and megacorporations rule. Venture, the Specialist, the Vulture – the future is full of menaces, but none so vile as a corrupt government and the corporations behind it! A scary future needs a hero who’s just as creepy – perhaps a wall-crawler of some kind? See the world of tomorrow and the cast who inhabit it as the Spider-Man of 2099 battles evil in both high and low society in the 2099 imprint’s flagship title, written by industry legend Peter Da id! Collecting SPIDER-MAN 2099 #1-10.
GEORGE: I got a soft spot for Miguel O’Hara, the Spider-Man from the year 2099. The concept is so painfully 90s – extremely cyberpunk and extremely extreme. But in Peter David’s deft hands, Spider-Man 2099 was better than it had any right to be. I grew up with this title, and I’m more than a little pumped to see if it lives up to my halcyon memories. Even if this title is not as great as I remember, I’m sure it’s still plenty entertaining.
TMNT ONGOING #22
Writer: Tom Waltz, Kevin Eastman
Artist: Mateus Santolouco
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: “City Fall” — Part 1: A normal night on the town for Raphael and Casey turns deadly when the Foot Clan appears in full force. The resulting chaos is only the first step in Shredder’s master plan! The stakes have never been higher, and lives are on the line. Don’t miss the start of the biggest story arc to hit the TMNT yet!
ROB: More Turtles, more awesome. This has been at the top of my lists each issue and we should have a decent jumping on point here as well. Now that we’re getting back to the classic foe with the new plan, let’s see what happens next.
TRANSFORMERS: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE #17
Writer: James Roberts
Artist: Alex Milne
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: REMAIN IN LIGHT! MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE’s first full-blown epic moves into high gear as RODIMUS leads his crew to the gates of heaven-or hell. But larger forces are closing in and an ancient plan is reaching fruition-and as an old friend calls time on the AUTOBOTS’ quest, one thing becomes clear: the LEGISLATORS are on the march.
CHRIS: Of course this will be one of my picks, but why should you read it? The writing and art are phenomenal. Humor, action, drama, this book has it all. The relationships are so well done that when a death occurs it is very emotional for the characters as well as the reader. Not just a great Transformers comic but a great comic in general.
WAKE #1
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Sean Murphy
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: ‘THERE’S SOMETHING DOWN THERE…’ When Marine Biologist Lee Archer is approached by the Department of Homeland Security for help with a new threat, she declines, but quickly realizes they won’t take no for an answer. Soon she is plunging to the depths of the Arctic Circle to a secret, underwater oilrig where they’ve discovered something miraculous and terrifying… Writer Scott Snyder (BATMAN, AMERICAN VAMPIRE) and artist Sean Murphy (PUNK ROCK JESUS) bring their acclaimed talents to this sci-fi/horror epic that explores the horrors of the deep, probes the origins of human history, and leaps far beyond to a frightening future.
CHRIS: Scott Snyder writing and Sean Murphy on art? I almost don’t care what it is I love both their work so much. This sounds like a cool and different horror story and I’m really looking forward to reading it.
GEORGE: I’m glad to see DC Comics is willing to back off the Nu52 orthodoxy and let some of their creators do some Vertigo-style, non-superhero work – like, y’know, Vertigo used to do. But I guess when your creators are Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy, it’s hard to say know. This is the first shot of a ten issue miniseries featuring deep-sea horror from two immensely creative talents. I’m super excited.
ZACH: Honestly, the only reason that I will be checking Wake out this week is because Scott Synder is attached. I have found what he has done on Batman to be enjoyable and like what I read in American Vampire when we reviewed it on the Major Spoilers Podcast. With his history it compels me to at least give Wake a chance without reading much about it.
X-MEN #1
Writer: Brian Wood
Artist: Olivier Coipel
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Because you demanded it! The X-Women finally get their own book, from critically acclaimed superstars Brian Wood (X-MEN, ULTIMATE X-MEN, DMZ, The Massive) and Olivier Coipel (AVX, HOUSE OF M, THOR)! An old enemy shows up at the X-Men’s door, seeking asylum from an ancient evil come back to earth. Meanwhile, Jubilee has come home, and she’s brought with her an orphaned baby who might hold the key to the earth’s survival…or its destruction. Against a backdrop of what seems like an alien invasion and an eons-spanning war between brother and sister, Storm steps up and puts together a team to protect the child and stop a new threat that could destroy all life on earth
CHRIS: An all woman X-Men team! Written by…a man. A little disappointing but I’m willing to give this a shot since it’s nice to see female heroes get their time to shine. Do we need another X-book? Absolutely not, but Marvel’s at least trying something a little different. Plus, Storm has a Mohawk, so that’s cool. When did she get that back?
GEORGE: I’ve been looking forward to this thing for months. I always enjoy reading Brian Wood’s work, and this is a tremendous cast he’s assembled. There is a glut of X-Books on the stands these days, but so many of them are quality. While I hope this is another great addition to the family, my pocketbook probably doesn’t. Oh well.
KEVIN: I am a big fan of Oliver Coipel’s art ever since House of M. Although an all female lineup is nothing new, it is the first time a major superhero team has done it. The initial issue will determine how good it will be.
ROBOT OVERLORD: There you go, meatbags. Go forth and consume!
