It’s New Comic Book Day! I know we are excited, and you should be too, as there are a number of titles you will want (and should) pick up. But where to start? The staff members at Major Spoilers have shared a list of comics they are most looking forward to this week.
FATALE #23
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Sean Phillips
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.50
SOLICITATION: The strangest issue of FATALE yet, as Nicolas Lash finally learns the last of Josephine’s secrets, and the universe will never look the same. Don’t forget that every issue of FATALE contains extra art and articles not available anywhere but the single issues!
STEPHEN: I’m sorry to see this issue go (ending with issue 24), but until then I’m going to continue to read the heck out of Fatale. Since it will soon be a finite series, here’s your chance to go back and pick up the entire run and see what all the brouhaha is all about.
MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM THE ORIGIN #6: TO WAR
Writer: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
Artist: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
Publisher: Vertical Inc.
Cover Price: $29.95
SOLICITATION: The biggest name in Japanese science-fiction, Gundam, returns with one of its creators retelling its origins 25 years after the series debuted. In a civil war, half of humanity has been wiped out, and Zeon’s army of Zaku mobile suits have been the decisive weapon. With the Federation’s first Gundam out of action, civilian Amuro Ray miraculously stumbles on a second unit. Now, in control of a machine with unparalleled destructive power, will Amuro’s actions save the colony’s survivors or destroy them?
GEORGE: This manga reimagining of the original Gundam series is still going strong, as Vertical has prepared a fantastic presentation of this series. Yoshikazu Yasuhiko was a character designer on the original Mobile Suit Gundam, and his storytelling, visual and written, is as good as ever.
MPH #2
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Duncan Fegredo
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: A good guy dealt a tough hand, Roscoe’s found the perfect Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card in the form of super-speed pills called MPH. Now that he knows who put him away, he’ll find that revenge is a dish best served…lightning fast! The all-new Millarworld Universe zooms ahead at breakneck speed with Millar and Fegredo’s urban adventure tale.
STEPHEN: It’s tough when someone creates a new world full of heroes. The end result could be nothing more than a rip off of what has come before, or it could be something entirely new. With Mark Millar, a series could go either way. The first issue had an interesting hook to it, and I’m just interested enough to see what happens next, which will lead to the ultimate decision if this book will be part of my monthly pull.
SEX CRIMINALS #6
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Chip Zdarsky
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.50
SOLICITATION: TIME MAGAZINE’S COMIC OF THE YEAR RETURNS WITH ITS SECOND STORYLINE! After their narrow getaway from the Sex Police, Jon and Suzie are learning that this is “just the tip” of a massive iceberg. And what happens after the rush of a new relationship fades? Are they in love, lust, like, or just lame? Sexy fun times returns: We missed you so much, brimpers.
MATTHEW: I love comics, and this book is one of the most refreshing, funny, perverse adventures stories in recent memory. If you’re over 18 and not easily offended, I heartily recommend it…
SILVER SURFER #3
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Mike Allred
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION:
• Any old heroes can save the day. The Surfer and Dawn are out to save the day AFTER.
• As everything goes kablooey, find out why the fate of every possible tomorrow rests… in a wind-up toy monkey.
• No. Really. One of those creepy things with the cymbals.
• Also, after 48 years in comics, one of the most under appreciated characters in the entire Marvel Universe FINALLY gets a name. Have your handbooks ready!
MATTHEW: This is one of those awesome books that I can’t believe everyone isn’t gushing about… Fresh, fun and a little bit weird, which is how they used to describe me in college.
STAR TREK: CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER #1
Writer: Harlan Ellison, Scott Tipton, David Tipton
Artist: J.K. Woodward
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: For the first time ever, a visual presentation of the much-discussed, unrevised, unadulterated version of Harlan Ellison’s award-winning Star Trek teleplay script, “The City on the Edge of Forever!” This Hugo- and Writer’s Guild of America Award-winning teleplay has been much discussed for decades but only here can you see the story as Mr. Ellison originally intended!
GEORGE: Man, I kinda want this one just for that cover. But I’ll stay for a chance to see Harlan Ellison’s original version of the seminal Star Trek episode about time travel, Nazis and like, Vulcans and such.
MATTHEW: I’m intrigued by the idea of seeing what Ellison’s original story was like, as it was considered too dark and off-putting for the 1960s Trek. By that standard, it’s probably perfectly suited to today’s darker and less utopian vision, for better or worse. Either way, I want to read this book…
STEPHEN: Back in the day, the only way to watch Star Trek (the original series) was to wait until Sunday morning and hope you father didn’t want to watch The Wild Wild West instead. The one episode that I always looked forward to was City on the Edge of Forever, and I’m really excited to see this comic book adaptation to see what holds up, what doesn’t and what is changed from the original broadcast.
THE WICKED & THE DIVINE
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Jamie McKelvie, Matthew Wilson
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.50
SOLICITATION: Every ninety years, twelve gods incarnate as teenagers. They are loved. They are hated. In two years, they are dead. The team behind critically thermonuclear floor-fillers Young Avengers and PHONOGRAM reunite to start a new ongoing superhero fantasy with a beautiful oversized issue. Welcome to THE WICKED + THE DIVINE, where gods are the ultimate pop-stars. But remember: just because you’re immortal, doesn’t mean you’re going to live forever.
GEORGE: Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, of Phonogram and Young Avengers fame, are united again on The Wicked & The Divine. It looks like they’ll be exploring topics familiar to fans of the former titles – youth, fame, music, magic. And since both Phonogram and Young Avengers are excellent, there’s every reason to think that The Wicked & The Divine is worth reading.
