IT’S NEW COMIC BOOK DAY!
But what to read?
Fortunately, the Major Spoilers Staff have comic book recommendations for you!
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #15
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Giuseppe Camuncoli
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: SPIDER-VERSE EPILOGUE See the fallout of Spider-Verse and what it means to Peter Parker and the rest of the Spiders!
ROB: Dan Slott’s work with all the different Spiders has been excellent, and I’m quite curious to see where each of the characters ends up, especially knowing what we know about the Superior Spider-Man. The Spiders have been saved, but a lot more is about to happen.
BATMAN #39
Writers: Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV
Artists: Greg Capullo & Various
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: “Endgame” part 5. The Joker is back! The penultimate issue of the Clown Prince of Crime’s horrifying return! Plus, in the backup story, the inmates and Mahreen finally learn the truth about The Joker!
WAYNE: Whenever the Joker shows up, it ought to be big! And when these creators bring him back, it’s HUGE! Don’t miss it!
THE BLACK HOOD #1
Writer: Duane Swierczynski
Artists: Michael Gaydos & Various
Publisher: Archie Comics Publications/Dark Circle Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: New Ongoing Series! “The Bullet’s Kiss,” Part 1 of 5. When Philadelphia police officer Greg Hettinger stepped into the middle of a gunfight, hot lead shredded his face-and he pulled the trigger, blind. Now Greg is waking up in a world where he’s a killer, hopelessly scarred and hooked on painkillers. What does a man do when he can no longer face the world, yet still wants to do good? He puts on a hood. Available with a regular die-cut cover by Michael Gaydos and variant covers by Francesco Francavilla, David Mack, Howard Chaykin, and David Williams.
WAYNE: I’ve had the chance to read this debut issue, and it’s full of surprises and suspense. I am on board with it and all the other Dark Circle titles! Highly recommended!
CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT #20
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Michael Broussard
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: Captain Midnight’s on the hunt for the greatest threat this world has ever known. The Archon is out there, but who is he, and what does he want? Midnight will have to rely on the ever-dangerous and unlikeliest of allies, Helios, to get the information he needs. But that knowledge lies deep within the heart of Project Black Sky’s most secret compound.
WAYNE: This title continues to define the word, “adventure,” and I love that! If you enjoy heroic action, be sure to pick up this comic!
CHEW #46
Writer: John Layman
Artist: Rob Guillory
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: “BLOOD PUDDIN’,” Part one New partner, new boss, new problems! Also: A new storyline!
ROB: Time for a new Chew story line. With the way the last one ended this should be interesting. And with the last chapter just around the corner, more plots should be connecting.
DARTH VADER #2
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Salvador Larroca
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: The original Dark Lord of the Sith stars in his first ongoing series!
Ever since Darth Vader made his first on-screen appearance, he became the one of the most popular villains to ever haunt an audience’s dreams! Now, follow Vader straight from the ending of A NEW HOPE (and the pages of the new STAR WARS comic book) into his own series, showing the Empire’s war with the Rebel Alliance from the other side! Writer Kieron Gillen (Uncanny X-Men, Journey Into Mystery, Iron Man) and artist Salvador Larroca (Invincible Iron Man, X-Men: No More Humans) bring us a peek behind the mask of evil!
GEORGE: The main Star Wars series is so far a bit of a letdown, focusing on heist-y shenanigans rather than bringing anything much new to the Star Wars universe. Darth Vader #1, by contrast, was fantastic. Gillen shined some light on the Dark Lord of the Sith’s motivations, and while I’m still waiting on Princess Leia, Darth Vader is my early favorite of Marvel’s Star Wars books.
GOTHAM ACADEMY #5
Writer: Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher
Artist: Karl Kerschl
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: This month’s assignment: Uncover the hideous secrets of Gotham Academy’s North Hall! Also: smooching?!
MATTHEW: Such a fun book, and really off the beaten bat-path. Support it, it’s worth every cent of that cover price…
STEPHEN: This is one of the best books that DC is putting out right now, and really deserving of your attention. Yes, it technically falls into the “Batman” family of books, but it doesn’t feel anything like a Batman book.
INTERSECT #4
Writer: Ray Fawkes
Artist: Ray Fawkes
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.50
SOLICITATION: One of our travellers in the warped city is destroyed and the streets are buckling with grief. Flowers grow in the blood of a hero. The Lady of Birds descends for love. Every month, a new facet of the riddle of INTERSECT reveals itself…
GEORGE: Intersect is bizarre, pretentious, and a maddeningly slippery read. I love it. Fawkes’ art consists of gorgeous watercolor splashes that look unlike anything on the pages of any other book out there. It’s as pretty an expression of Cronenbergian/Burroughs-esque body horror as you’ll ever see.
MISTER X: RAZED #1
Writer: Dean Motter
Artist: Dean Motter
Cover Artist: Ty Templeton
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Visionary creator Dean Motter returns with a new masterpiece of retrofuturism! Radiant City is a metropolis as mysterious as its alleged creator—Mister X. What should’ve improved the city left it cursed. Now, Mister X must watch over the City of Dreams turned City of Nightmares, keeping vigil during a holiday season that’s anything but jolly.
RODRIGO: Mister X is the best comic you’re not reading right now.
ORPHAN BLACK #1
Writer: John Fawcett & Various
Artist: Szymon Kudranski
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: One. Of a kind. Sarah’s life was changed dramatically after witnessing the suicide of a woman who looked just like her. Sarah learned that, not only were she and the woman clones, but there were others just like them, and dangerous factions at work set on capturing them all. Now, the mysterious world of Orphan Black widens, with new layers of the conspiracy being peeled back in this miniseries by co-creator John Fawcett!
MATTHEW: I don’t know what the show is about, but it seems like something I might dig. Stephen and I will be checking it on this week’s episode of ‘Dueling Reviews!’
SECRET ORIGIN #10
Writers:Christy Marx, Dan Jurgens, Brenden Fletcher,Cameron Stewart
Artists: Sean Chen, Irene Koh, Stjepan Sejic
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
SOLICITATION: Get ready for The New 52 origins of Batgirl (written by Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher with art by Irene Koh), Firestorm (courtesy of writer Dan Jurgens and artist Sean Chen) and Poison Ivy (coming your way from writer Christy Marx and artist Stjepan Sejic)!
RODRIGO: Stjepan Sejic!? That’s great! What’s this book about? Batgirl!? She’s great!
SPIDER-GWEN #1
Writer: Jason Latour
Artist: Javier Rodriguez
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION:
• BECAUSE YOU DEMANDED IT! The breakout hit of the biggest Spider-Event of the century is taking comic shops by storm this winter with her own new ongoing series – SPIDER-GWEN!
• Gwen Stacy is Spider-Woman, but you knew that already. What you DON’T know is what friends and foes are waiting for her in the aftermath of Spider-Verse!
• From the fan-favorite creative team that brought you Spider-Gwen’s origin story in EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE, Jason Latour and Robbie Rodriguez!
GEORGE: I’m very excited for this series, but I do have to admit that it is in large part due to the excellent character and costume design. Gwen’s Spider-Verse story was a ‘hoot’ though, as the kids say, so here’s hoping this one matches the hype.
MATTHEW: Happy to see her get her own series, and I’m interested to see when/where it all takes place. Plus: Best costume in YEARS!
STEPHEN: Of all the books released this week, I think this one has the potential to be the real star. There is a lot of talk surrounding Spider-Gwen, and I’m picking this up, just on that talk alone.
THOR ANNUAL (2015) #1
Writer: Cm Punk
Artist: Rob Guillory
Publisher: Marvel
Cover Price: $4.99
SOLICITATION: Three stories featuring three Thors! Wrestling superstar CM Punk and Rob Guillory (Chew) on Young Thor’s idea for how to prove himself worthy of Mjolnir: a drinking competition! Noelle Stevenson (Lumberjanes) and Marguerite Sauvage tell a tale of the new Thor! And Jason Aaron on the Girls of Thunder’s quest to find the perfect birthday present for their grandfather, King Thor! How about a new Garden of Eden?
RODRIGO: You had me at (Lumberjanes)! But I’m interested in some of the other stuff too.
TMNT MUTANIMALS #1
Writer: Paul Allor
Artist: Andy Kuhn
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Old Hob, Slash, Herman the Hermit Crab, Mondo Gecko and Pigeon Pete have become a force to be reckoned with in the TMNT ongoing – and now they’ve got their own miniseries, in which their teamwork will be put to the ultimate test! When someone close to the group is kidnapped, the Mutanimals end up on an adventure more wild and dangerous than they could have imagined! What mysteries lurk at…The Null Group?
ROB: I have been raving about the newest TMNT books since I read the first one, so of course I’m excited to get more in the universe. I’m even more excited to see the characters getting the focus this time. Old Hob has become a very interesting character as the series progresses and I want to see his actual leadership come to the fore.
