Major Spoilers Staff Picks for April 09, 2014

It’s New Comic Book Day!

What should you pick up this week? The Major Spoilers Staff runs down the titles they are most looking forward to this week.

ALL NEW DOOP #1
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: David LaFuente
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: Who is Doop? Actually…what is Doop? Living in the margins of the X-Men, Doop’s origins have always remained shrouded in mystery as he hovered around with his video camera – freaking out readers and fellow X-Men alike. But his time has finally come! Where did Doop come from? What is he? All your questions will be answered! And this adventure will prove once and for all that Doop is, in fact, the most powerful X-Man! From the pages of the blockbuster X-Men crossover Battle of the Atom comes the story you didn’t see! Did you know Doop was an integral part of stopping the evil X-Men from the future? Don’t believe us? You will!

MATTHEW: DOOP! The most powerful X-Man of them all! I’m seriously hoping that this title is suddenly the next big thing, and that all the Wolverine and Deadpool fans are suddenly gushing about how cool Doop is all the time, wouldn’t that be awesome? Fingers crossed!

ASTRO CITY #11
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Artist: Brent Anderson
Publisher: Vertigo/DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: When you’re the Silver Adept, one of Astro City’s newest and most powerful mystic heroes, your life is full of magic, battle, demons, apocalypses and more. When you’re the Adept’s personal assistant, though, life gets really weird. A look at the woman behind the hero. Plus: sushi.

MATTHEW: It’s something of a slow week for me, but that doesn’t mean that Astro City isn’t consistently one of the best books on the stands. It’s been a while since we’ve gotten a spotlight on an all-new super-duper, and I’m looking forward to seeing Busiek in a Doctor Strange-type vein. I recommend this book to all my comics nerd brothers and sisters…

BATMAN ETERNAL #1
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Jason Fabok
Publisher: DC COMICS
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: Don’t dare miss the start of the Bat-story so big it’s going to take every week of the month to tell! A massive cast of Gotham City’s best (and worst) examines the relationship between Batman, his allies and his city. In this debut issue, Commissioner James Gordon is caught on the wrong side of the law!

JACK: Look, I don’t read that many comics, but when I do, I want to read some Batman action. And if I’m going to start reading comics again with earnest, getting in on the ground floor of a weekly series seems like the way to jump in the deep-end without fear. Just like Batman.

JASON: DC’s first weekly book of the new 52, will it be as great as 52 or will it sink to the depths of Countdown to FInal Crisis? Either way, I’m interested in this book, and really hope they knock it out of the park.

STEPHEN: Who doesn’t want more Batman in their lives? Other publishers have attempted to run a weekly series, so why don’t we see if Batman can handle yet another title from DC Comics? Snark aside, I’m interested in reading this book.

WAYNE: The Bat-book I’ve been so impatiently waiting for is finally here! Every week, an issue of this comic will be coming out, so I’m a very happy Bat-fan! Oh, and what a cool cover!

GREAT PACIFIC #14
Writer: Joe Harris
Artist: Martin Morazzo
Publisher: Image Comics

Cover Price: $2.99

SOLICITATION: “New Texas has attracted pioneers, homesteaders, and hard-working laborers, all toiling to transform the plastic wasteland into the paradise of Chas Worthington’s dreams. But when a new, powerful drug derived from the terraforming processes threatens productivity, Chas has to make some tough decisions.”

WAYNE: This comic challenges my way of thinking each issue, and I always enjoy that! I also can never figure out where the story is going, another reason to buy this book!

IRON FIST LIVING WEAPON #1
Writer: Kaare Andrews
Artist: Kaare Andrews
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: High above the city, in a multi-million dollar penthouse, Danny Rand, a.k.a. Iron Fist, “The Living Weapon,” is haunted by the consequences of choosing death over life. A message from Iron Fist’s mystical homeland of K’un-Lun brings Danny back to his blood soaked origin of betrayal and vengeance! Revenge is a weapon that cuts both ways…. Will Danny survive the bloodletting? A one-of-a-kind kung fu action epic directed by the inimitable Kaare Andrews!

ROB: It’s time for Danny to see the spotlight again. One of the more interesting self-contained stories in the Marvel U and I love to see more. Hopefully this will be as good as the last series was.

STEPHEN: CAN’T WAIT TO PICK THIS UP! Oh, it’s on digital format? Check that, I ALREADY PICKED THIS UP! WOOT!

MAGNUS: ROBOT FIGHTER #2
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Cory Smith

Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment

Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: “Russell Magnus thought he was a normal man living a normal life…until massive robots tore him from his home and thrust him into a world where men are controlled by machines! How does he get back to his family? Who is the mysterious and deadly Leeja Clane? And why is Magnus so damn good at fighting robots?”

WAYNE: The first issue was terrific, so I’m greatly looking forward to this second outing! Mr. Van Lente and crew are taking Magnus where no robot fighter has gone before, and it’s going to be a fun, bumpy ride!

NIGHTCRAWLER #1
Writer: Chris Claremont
Artist: Todd Nauck
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: NIGHTCRAWLER IS BACK! Newly-returned from the afterlife, veteran X-Man Kurt Wagner finds himself in a world that’s a far cry from the one he left: Professor Xavier is dead, Cyclops is on the run, and the X-Men are divided. But determined not to let his new lease on life go to waste, Nightcrawler hits the road alongside Wolverine, eager to right some wrongs and safeguard the future mutantkind…and he’s going to do it by the means he loves most: swashbuckling, lady-charming and-of course-BAMFing!

ROB: A Nightcrawler and Wolvering buddy comedy road trip story? Count me in. The story is just ripe for guest stars galore and actually sounds mostly fun.

THE ROYALS: MASTERS OF WAR #3
Writer: Rob Williams
Artist:Simon Coleby
Publisher: Vertigo
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: 1942. The Battle of Midway rages and The Royals are in its midst, fighting for control of the Pacific. Henry and Arthur find themselves cast as heroes alongside the newsreel-manufactured American super team “The Allies.” But how long can they stomach the killing and how long can Arthur stomach the commoners? Meanwhile, members of the Japanese Royal Family create water giants to smash American destroyers in two, and whispers swirl that The Emperor Jimmu is with his fleet – a power none can defeat.

RODRIGO: For a while there we were really saturated with World War II-based stuff, so I usually skip anything that has the number “1942” in its preview. That said, the execution of this is unique enough to interest me.

SAMURAI JACK #7
Writer: Jim Zub
Artist: Brittney Williams
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Samurai Jacqueline and the Scotswoman fight giants and wee folk alike as they struggle to free themselves from the gender-bending curse of the leprechauns. Cartoon Network’s hit animated series continues at IDW!

ROB: Still happy with the continuation of one of the greatest series of all time. Then we bring back the best recurring character in the series and it’s just icing on the cake.

RODRIGO: Not to be outdone by fellow Cartoon Network property, Adventure Time, Samurai Jack ventures into the world of gender-bending. It’s about time too, so far the only character in the series who ever changes gender is Aku.

SHUTTER #1
Writer: Joe Keatinge
Artist: Leila Del Duca
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.50
SOLICITATION: INDIANA JONES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY! Marvel Knights: Hulk and GLORY writer JOE KEATINGE teams up with artist extraordinaire LEILA DEL DUCA for her Image Comics debut in an all-new ongoing series combining the urban fantasy of Fables and the globe-spanning adventure of Y: The Last Man. Kate Kristopher, once the most famous explorer of an Earth far more fantastic than the one we know, is forced to return to the adventurous life she left behind when a family secret threatens to destroy everything she spent her life protecting.

RODRIGO: Shutter looks really good. I really hope the story is as impactful as the art previews I’ve seen floating around.

SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN #7
Writer: Soule, Charles
Artist: Siqueira, Paulo
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Doomsday has awakened and the Earth and heavens tremble! And discover how Superman and Wonder Woman survived a nuclear blast!

JASON: After last issues explosive and what some may call “nuclear” ending, this is definitely a book that any Superman fan would want to pick up. I’m not a fan of Superman crossovers, but I am a fan of what Charles Soule has been creating. So I’m in!

TWILIGHT ZONE #4
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Artist: Guiu Vilanova
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Trevor Richmond had it all, then lost it all, leaving behind a trail of ruined businesses, damaged relationships and criminal charges. He escaped into a new identity, free of consequences, only to find someone else living in his old identity…someone who is doing a much better job at it than he ever did. And now Trevor wants his life back. The final confrontation between two men fighting for one life comes to its fiery conclusion…and only one of them will survive.

MATTHEW: I’m still unsure about the “four-issue arc” nature of the new Twilight Zone book, as I’m not 100% sold that it holds the drama. Still, as the final chapter of the first story, this one is a kind of litmus test for how successful the new TZ will be. JMS is no Serling, but a sufficiently awesome wrap-up could put this title over the top…