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.
ALL-NEW GHOST RIDER #4
Writer: Felipe Smith
Artist: Tradd Thomas Moore
Publisher: Marvel
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: “ENGINES OF VENGEANCE” • The streets of East LA flare up with drug-fueled gang violence form DR. ZABO’s power-enhancing narcotic. • Will ROBBIE REYES submit to the sprit inside him and go too far in protecting the neighborhood? • What is MR. HYDE’s diabolical plan to expand his underground empire
RODRIGO: Still haven’t made up my mind about the new Ghost Rider. It seems like for everything there is to like there’s also something to dislike. I’ll give it a few more issues.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #3
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Humberto Ramos
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: • Because of her last encounter with Spider-Man, Felicia Hardy lost everything. Now the Black Cat is back, and she doesn’t want any apologies or excuses… just REVENGE. • Plus: Spidey teams up with a real hero, fireman Pedro Olivera… who just happens to be the current boyfriend to one Mary Jane Watson. • And… more on you-know-who from the opening scene back in ASM #1. You know who we’re talking about. Yeah, that’s right. You better not miss this one!
ROB: Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos. I only need that to pick up most any title, but here we have something more. Parker’s back and dealing with everything that Ock did in his name, and having more problems with the good than the bad. This is just good Spidey work here.
STEPHEN: I love the combo of Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos. I would read Amazing Spider-Man all the time if these two were always working on every issue. For this issue specifically, Humberto Ramos drawing Black Cat!? There’s no question why this is on my pull list this week!
CARTOON NETWORK SUPER SECRET CRISIS WAR #1
Writer: Louise Simonson
Artist: Derek Charm
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: The devious demon Aku has called together a League of Extraordinary Villains-composed of malevolent miscreants from different cartoon universes. When their evil robots show up in the world’s of The Powerpuff Girls, Ben 10, Samurai Jack, Dexter’s Laboratory and (even) Ed, Edd and Eddy, it’s up to all these fearless heroes to band together and put an end to the League’s nefarious plot of interdimensional conquest!
MATTHEW: One of the earliest comics I got hooked on was Marvel Super-Heroes’ Secret Wars, and I’m a sucker for a big universal crossover schmageggi. Plus, Powerpuff Girls! Bonus!
CHEW #42
Writer: John Layman
Artist: Rob Guillor
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: “CHICKEN TENDERS,” Part Two No animals were hurt during the making of this comic.
ROB: Yay, more Chew! I’m excited to finally start unraveling some of the mysteries that this series has been building up for forty plus issues now. It’s all on the down stroke from here as each arc should reveal more and more as we race to the finish.
C.O.W.L. #2
Writer: Kyle Higgens & Alec Siegel
Artist: Rod Reis
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.50
SOLICITATION: Moles, murder, and mayhem. As C.O.W.L. prepares to enter negotiations with the city, scandal threatens the organization. Can The Grey Raven keep C.O.W.L. from tearing itself apart? Plus, what really happened between him and Sparrow?
GEORGE: C.O.W.L. #1 introduced me to one of the more interesting original superhero universes I’ve read in some time. It was a confident debut and I’m excited for more.
DREAM POLICE #3
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Artist: Sid Kotian
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: In the Dreamscape, anything can happen. So when Katie begins investigating a case that threatens to get out of control, she realizes that she may have bitten off more than she can chew, raising the question: can Dream Police die? And if so, can she survive the darkness she has unwittingly unleashed? Meanwhile, Joe Thursday continues having flashes of memory concerning a former partner that neither he nor anyone else can remember. To solve this mystery, he will have to begin asking questions no one wants to answer…questions that threaten the very foundations of the Dreamscape.
PAIGE: This series is ELECTRIFYING. I absolutely adore the gritty film noir narration combined with surrealist plot. Dream Police #3 is at the top of my list this week.
THE MIDAS FLESH #7
Writer: Ryan North
Artist: Sarah Paroline
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: PEW! PEW! It’s the final big boss battle for the powerful weapon that could bring the federation to an end. There will be greed. There will be vengeance. THERE WILL BE GOLD.
PAIGE: After last issue’s incredible climax, I’ve been itching to get my hands on this. North consistently delivers excellent work and I can’t wait to see more.
MS MARVEL #5
Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Artist: Adrian Alphona
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: • How does a young girl from Jersey City become the next biggest super hero?
• Kamala has no idea either. But she’s comin’ for you, New York.
MATTHEW: Kamala Khan is a strong central character who reminds me of Lee/Ditko Spider-Man, in all the right ways. Add in the cerebral but weird art of Adrian Alphona, and you should give this book a chance already…
SAGA #20
Writer: Brian K. Vaughn
Artist: Fiona Staples
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: Something terrible happens.
ROB: The description for this issue is simply “something terrible happens” which in all actuality is how most issues of this series have gone. And it has been great. I’m quite looking forward to the more drama oriented aspect of the upcoming story point though.
SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR HC
Writer: Frank Miller
Artist: Frank Miller
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $25.00
SOLICITATION: Stuck with nothing but a seedy gumshoe job and some demons, Dwight’s thinking of all the ways he’s screwed up and what he’d give for one clear chance to wipe the slate clean, to dig his way out of the numb gray hell that is his life. And he’d give anything. Just to feel the fire. One more time. But he can’t let himself lose control again, can’t ever let the monster out. And then Ava calls.
RODRIGO: My Sin City experience was always piecemeal so it would be nice to pick this up and be able to read a story from beginning to end. Especially with the movie coming out soon.
STRAY BULLETS: KILLERS #4
Writer: David Lapham
Artist: David Lapham
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.50
SOLICITATION: When Eli’s teenage cousin gets his girlfriend Jane knocked up, he agrees to help him “solve” the problem. But a simple drive to the doctor’s becomes anything but when a double-cross, a twisted neighbor and a .38 revolver leave Eli both hopelessly in love and hopelessly holding the bag. Find out why picking the wrong hideout can get you dead in “Love, Monkey. Monkey, Love You”.
GEORGE: David Lapham’s Stray Bullets: Killers is as muscular, perverse, and entertaining as it was in its original run. Best part is, most issues can be safely enjoyed as a self-contained story, so if you’re looking for some hardboiled crime fiction, look no further.
TREES #2
Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Jason Howard
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: An Arctic research station. An Italian coastal town with an occult legacy. A new city in China. The future is being written in these places, in the shadow of a strange alien invasion that has become a historical mystery.
GEORGE: Trees #1 set-up some good mysteries in typical Ellis fashion, and Jason Howard’s work looked real pretty. It’s all about giant alien trees doing terrible things to the cities of the world so I don’t know why you wouldn’t be interested in this.
PAIGE: I enjoyed the first of this series a lot so I’m excited to pick this one up.
RODRIGO: I go back and forth on Warren Ellis. But I like an international mystery as much as the next guy, so I’ll probably go back and pick up issue #1 as well.
VANDROID #5
Writer: Tommy Lee Edwards/Noah Smith
Artist: Dan McDais
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Vandroid’s fiery vengeance rains down in honor of his creator’s memory! By becoming the hero he was never built to be, Vandroid fights to destroy the techno conspiracy that led to his own creation. But can he defeat his corporate enemies and their deadly new cyborg army? Nothing can prepare you for this explosive conclusion!
MATTHEW: This comic is an “adaptation” of a fictional (?) lost 70s grindhouse movie masterpiece, and the execution is just bizarre enough to work. I’m really surprised how much I enjoyed #4, and want to see how it all wraps up this week…
