IT’S NEW COMIC BOOK DAY!
But what to read?
Fortunately, the Major Spoilers Staff have comic book recommendations for you!
ATOMIC ROBO: KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE #5
Writer: Brian Clevinger
Artist: Scott Wegener
Publisher: Red 5 Comics
Cover Price: $3.50
SOLICITATION: Baron Heinrich von Helsingard is poised to conquer the West with his invincible army of automatic soldiers and Basilisk war zeppelin. Atomic Robo, Doc Holliday, and U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves stole aboard, but they’re outmanned and outgunned, with no plans and no way out alive. Oh, and Robo’s nearly out of nuclear fuel.
STEPHEN: GET THIS BOOK! GET THIS BOOK! GET THIS BOOK!
AXIS REVOLUTIONS #1
Writer: : Dennis Hopeless, Simon Spurrier
Artist: Ken Lashley, Tan Eng Huat
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION:
• Companion series to Marvel’s newest blockbuster event, AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS!
• Featuring stories from the Avengers and X-Men’s epic battle with the Red Skull!
• As the Red Skull broadcasts hate across the globe, will our heroes be able to quell the madness? Or might they just be swept up in it?
MATTHEW: When it comes to Marvel crossover events, I actually look forward to these side-issues more than the core story. For the super-curious about our heroes adventures in the age of Red Onslaught, Stephen and I will be giving this one a run in this week’s Dueling Review.
BOBS BURGERS #3
Writer: Chad Brewster, Rachel Hastings, Mike Olsen
Artist: Tony Gennaro, Frank Forte, Kat Kosmala, Damon Wong
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Five brand-new stories of the Belcher family! Tina’s erotic friend fiction takes us to the Wild West for a sharp shooter stand-off, Bob makes a profitable prediction, Louise imagines a fantastically unfathomable fort, Linda pitches peculiar perfumes, and Gene presents a musical that is both euphonious and amphibious. From the creative team behind Bob’s Burgers, one of the most popular animated sitcoms on television, as seen on Fox!
MATTHEW: It’s a weird show, and this is a weird comic, but I recommend it anyway, especially if you’re a weird people…
CARTOON NETWORK SUPER SECRET CRISIS WAR #5
Writer: Louise Simonson
Artist: Derek Charm
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: With the fate of worlds depending on them, destroying robots—even the powerful Doppelgangers—isn’t cutting it! Now Samurai Jack, Ben 10, the Powerpuff Girls, and Dexter battle Aku and his League of Extraordinary Villains! The wild cards in this conflict? The unlikely team-up of Mojo Jojo and Ed, Edd, n’ Eddy!
ROB: I have been enjoying this ridiculous concept from the beginning and I look forward to enjoying it a few issues longer. Now I’m just wondering how it’s going to not affect the worlds involved.
DARK GODS #1
Writer: Justin Jordan
Artist: German Erramouspe
Publisher: Avatar Press Inc
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Justin Jordan is unleashed in an epic all-new, ongoing series! Murdock leads The Storm, humanity’s last line of defense against the brewing Primordial Chaos and The Serpent, Tiamet herself! But her children slowly emerge ahead of her return, as human-monster hybrids inflicting horrors in their wake. The Storm has to keep this bottled up, prevent the rest of humanity from breaking into panic, and hold back the flood of horrors that come with the return of the original evils, the Dark Gods themselves!
GEORGE: Justin Jordan’s a crazy dude. Luther Strode, Dead Body Road, Spread – these are all hits in my mind. Dark Gods seems like Jordan doing a Cthulhu/Lovecraft rift, which is definitely something up my alley. I’m just hoping it’s not too gross, in a Crossed sort of manner.
HARLEY QUINN ANNUAL #1
Writer: Jimmy Palmiotti & Amanda Conner
Artist: John Timms
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $5.99
SOLICITATION: We have to warn you, readers: This issue stinks! Seriously! Like, unpleasant odors are literally in the story! In this first-ever HQ ANNUAL, take a trip to Harley’s home of Coney Island in a groundbreaking “scent-ticular” issue, featuring actual, honest-to-gosh smells. This issue comes polybagged to contain the stench.
MATTHEW: As a semi-professional comics reviewer, I can’t turn down the option to say “This issue stinks.” Add in Amanda Conner art, and this one’s a no-brainer…
LITTLE NEMO RETURN TO SLUMBERLAND #2
Writer: Eric Shanower
Artist: Gabriel Rodriguez
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Betrayal and a kiss! Scratchy clothes and the threat of a tea party! Nemo just wants to get away from Slumberland-and his wish may come true when the insufferable Flip brings the sun to melt it all. Can this already be the final adventure in this exciting new vision of Winsor McKay’s classic comic strip?
ROB: I had begun wondering if this had only been a one-shot with a disappointing ending (or lack there of) when I saw this coming out this week. Re-imagining a classic is rather common these days, but this one has been handled quite well and I’m glad to see it continue.
STEPHEN: OH. MY. GOSH. Gabriel Rodriguez’s art is so beautiful, and Eric Shanower captures the essence of the original tale of Little Nemo in a series that is a must have.
SAGA #24
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Fiona Staples
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: Hey, it’s The Brand and Sweet Boy!
ROB: New character ahoy! I’m expecting this guy to be as interesting as the rest of the cast of Saga and not a single character has been disappointing. Hopefully with a new bounty hunter we’ll see the return of another.
SOUTHERN BASTARDS #5
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Jason Latour
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.50
SOLICITATION: The hit southern crime series returns, as JASON AARON (Scalped, Thor: God of Thunder) and JASON LATOUR (Wolverine & The X-Men, Loose Ends) pull back the curtain on the history of Craw County and its most famous and feared resident. In a place where only bastards flourish, what does it take to be the biggest, meanest, most powerful bastard of them all? Only Coach Boss knows. And if I was you, I wouldn’t ask him.
GEORGE: I loved the ending of the first arc. It would seem that rather than an immediate follow-up, we’ll be treated to some of Coach Boss’s backstory, which is fine by me. Southern Bastards is the Jasons Aaron and Latour firing on all cylinders and I highly recommend it.
TRUE STORIES #1
Writer: Derf Backderf
Artist: Derf Backderf
Publisher: Alternative Comics
Cover Price: $5.99
SOLICITATION: Derf, creator of the graphic novels Trashed, Punk Rock & Trailer Parks, and the international bestseller, My Friend Dahmer, presents the best of his True Stories from the long running The City comic strip, as seen in Best American Comics. It’s like Humans of New York, but somewhat stranger. Pressure… Pressure…
GEORGE: Derf is one of my favorite cartoonists – he’s a great introduction to the alternative side of things, with acerbic writing and a noodly aesthetic that can be both grotesque and sublime. His “True Stories” work is some of his best, so I’m very excited by this release.
