Major Spoilers Staff Picks for August 20, 2014

IT’S NEW COMIC BOOK DAY!

But what to read?

Fortunately, the Major Spoilers Staff have comic book recommendations for you!

THE AGENCY #2
Writer: Ruben Romero, Bethany Romero, Roger Cabrera
Artist: Eric Koda

Publisher: Think Alike Productions

Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: “Chapter Two: Discovery. The United States has created the International Agency of Magic (IAM) to control the use of magic and stop magical related crimes across the globe. IAM operatives respond to a terrorist attack in London as Riley begins his training at the IAM Headquarters.”

WAYNE: I really enjoyed the first issue of this book, and now can’t wait for the second one! Great story, vibrant characters (including teen-age magician Riley), dynamic art and a logical use of magic – love it! In order to get this book, though, you’ll need to go to comixology.com, but that’s a good thing since you can also get the first issue there as well! Want to learn more? Listen to my interview with creator Ruben Romero at this link!

ALL NEW GHOST RIDER #6
Writer: Felipe Smith
Artist: Damion Scott, Robert Campanella
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION:
• GHOST RIDER has become a local hero
• Can ROBBIE REYES resist the call of street racing?
• Who is the mysterious figure who takes an interest in the new Ghost Rider?

MATTHEW: I’m amused by fans of the Danny Ketch Ghost Rider calling Robbie Reyes “the new kid”. Johnny Blaze has words for… Wait, Carter Slade said what? Aaaaaaaanywaaaay, this is a cool setup, and the execution has been good. It fell off my radar for a minute, but I’m looking forward to this issue and seeing where the new Rider ends up.

GIANT ROBOT WARRIOR MAINTENANCE CREW #1 OF 3
Writer: Nate Hill
Artist: Mervyn McKoy

Publisher: Cosmic Times
Cover Price: $2.99

SOLICITATION: “The robot warrior known as Herotron is famous throughout the Republic of Worlds as a champion of peace, a defender of justice and a protector of all colonized planets. Whenever a new galactic threat might arise, Republic citizens can rest easy knowing that Herotron and its brave Pilots are out there. But what most people don’t realize is that deep within Herotron’s service tunnels, an overworked Maintenance Crew struggles to keep the robot working. It’s a never-ending job done in terrible conditions, and it doesn’t help that Herotron’s pilots are complete morons.”

WAYNE: This miniseries is a fun take on huge robots like the Transformers and Voltron, with excellent characterization and shining art. It’s great fun! Look for this comic at your local shop as well as an interview with artist Mervyn McKoy in an upcoming episode of my Wayne’s Comics Podcast.

JUSTICE INC #1
Writer(s): Michael Uslan
Artist: Giovanni Timpano
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: An event 75 years in the making! Stretched across time, The Shadow, Doc Savage, and The Avenger meet for the first time in Justice, Inc. #1! With the stakes this high, it will take three heroes to fight together as the Justice, Inc.!

MATTHEW: I’m not a pulp fan like Stephen is, but I loved The Avenger in his ‘70s run at DC Comics, and I have an appreciation of The Shadow and Doc Whatsisname.

STEPHEN: I’m a much bigger fan of pulp than Matthew is, and this series has the potential to be a lot of fun. Granted, Defenders of the Planet came and went without a blip, and considering The Shadow, and Doc Savage are on opposite ends of the spectrum (see our interview with Chris Roberson), this could go either way.

LITTLE NEMO RETURN TO SLUMBERLAND #1
Writer: Eric Shanower
Artist: Gabriel Rodriguez
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: An all-new, all-ages series full of magic and whimsy from award-winning creators Eric Shanower (Adventures in Oz) and Gabriel Rodriguez (Locke & Key)! Spinning out of Winsor McKay’s brilliant early 20th century strip, Little Nemo in Slumberland sees King Morpheus’ daughter, in the Royal Palace of Slumberland, select her next-playmate: Nemo! Only Nemo has no interest in being anyone’s playmate, dream or no dream!

ROB: Been a fan of Little Nemo since we got the weird classic Nintendo game when I was a kid. This gives me a chance to see what new things can come from such a fantastic classic property.

THE MULTIVERSITY #1
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Joe Prado, Ivan Reis
Covers by: Joe Prado, Ivan Reis, Bryan Hitch, Chris Burnham
Publisher: DC Comics

Cover Price: $4.99
SOLICITATION: “The biggest adventure in DC’s history is here! Join visionary writer Grant Morrison, today’s most talented artists, and a cast of unforgettable characters from 52 alternative Earths of the known DC Multiverse! Prepare to meet the Vampire League of Earth-43, the Justice Riders of Earth-18, Superdemon, Doc Fate, the super-sons of Superman and Batman, the rampaging Retaliators of Earth-8, the Atomic Knights of Justice, Dino-Cop, Sister Miracle, Lady Quark, the legion of Sivanas, the Nazi New Reichsmen of Earth-10 and the latest, greatest Super Hero of Earth-Prime: YOU!.”

JACK: I’ve eaten my “sammich” and I’m ready for this book to sing to me, in the way that only a Grant Morrison comic can. This is going to be one of the greatest series of the year, and if you aren’t on board now, you’ll be sorry later!

STEPHEN: I’m anxious to see if this series is going to be a game changer for DC Comics, and I hope it ushers in a whole new era of story telling across the DC multiverse. In reality, I’m expecting this to be a nice popular series, but too ambitious for DC to take seriously for the long term.

WAYNE: This event has been a long time coming, and I’m looking forward to it if for no other reason than to see DC heroes I haven’t encountered in a long while (like Captain Carrot) and new versions of Superman and Green Lantern. I do have some trepidations because Mr. Morrison is terrific when he’s good, but awful when he’s not so good. Should be worth checking out if nothing else, though!

SUPER SECRET CRISIS WAR GRIM ADV OF BILLY & MANDY #1
Writer: Kate Leth, Louise Simonson
Artist: Troy Little, Derek Charm
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: A special connecting cover – collect all 5 subscription variant covers of Super Secret Crisis War One Shots, they make one HUGE image!

ROB: This “Crossover” has been fun so far and I think the utter ridiculousness that can be found here should make for even more fun. Besides, this is likely to be the darkest of the series and that sound even more fun.

SUPREME: BLUE ROSE #2
Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Tula Lotay
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: 2.99
SOLICITATION: Diana Dane is being transported by Darius Dax in the hunt for the mysterious Ethan Crane. It’s a car ride that takes her a lot further than she expects: out into the nature of the universe itself.

MATTHEW: I wasn’t sure what to make of this book before the first issue, but I was pleasantly surprised about what came of it. Will this issue keep up the excellence? (Fingers are crossed.)

TMNT ANNUAL 2014
Writer: Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz
Artist: Kevin Eastman
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $7.99
SOLICITATION: The Turtles are whisked away to another dimension by a stranger-Renet! Forced to fight for their survival in a tournament featuring the greatest warriors in the universe, the brothers will have to master new fighting techniques and forge new alliances. But with the deck stacked against them, their chance of survival is slim!

ROB: The start of the Turtles in Time story that’s been going on for a few months, which is awesome for that story type. Besides, we get a full Eastman drawn book, and that should be fantastic.