IT’S NEW COMIC BOOK DAY!
But what to read?
Fortunately, the Major Spoilers Staff have comic book recommendations for you!
ALEX + ADA TP VOL #2
Writer: Sarah Vaughn, Jonathan Luna
Artist: Jonathan Luna
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $12.99
SOLICITATION: Tensions rise between humans and robots in this sci-fi/drama set in the near future. Alex took a huge risk to unlock Ada and it seems to have paid off – Ada can now think for herself and explore life as a sentient android. As Alex and Ada spend more time together, they become closer. But as restrictions tighten on androids, Ada feels unsure about her place in Alex’s life and the world. Collects Alex + Ada #6-10.
WAYNE: This is one of my very favorite books being produced right now! I love what it has to say about relationships and technology, and what we might see in the near future! Highly recommended!
ALL NEW HAWKEYE #1
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Ramon K. Perez
Publisher: Marvel
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Hawkeye returns in an all-new series featuring superstar writer Jeff Lemire in his Marvel debut and Eisner Award-winning artist Ramon Perez, as they bring you a fresh new look into the life of everyone’s favorite Avenger. With Kate Bishop, his trusted ward and protege back at his side (not titles she would use), Team Hawkeye is thrown into an all new adventure spanning two generations of avenging archers. Past and present lives collide as Kate and Clint face a threat that will challenge everything they know about what it means to be Hawkeye. But no one puts Hawkeye in a corner.
CHRIS: I’ve come to grips that Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye is over (at least I think it is?) but this series looks to be the next best thing. Jeff Lemire has established himself as a great writer and it will be interesting to see where he takes the character. I hope we can get more off the wall unique stuff rather than a typical superhero story.
WAYNE: I loved Mr. Lemire’s run on Green Arrow, so I’m hoping for the same magic on Hawkguy’s comic for that other company. Should be fun!
BIG MAN PLANS #1
Writer: Eric Powell, Tim Weisch
Artist: Eric Powell
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.50
SOLICITATION: From ERIC POWELL (Eisner award-winning creator of The Goon) and TIM WEISCH (a guy who used to be a bricklayer) comes BIG MAN PLANS, a brutal crime drama with a shocking mystery at its heart. Even the most marginalized in society can exact revenge if they don’t care how they do it.
CHRIS: So this is what Eric Powell has planned for after The Goon? The cover alone is enough to get me to crack it open and the premise is just as good. With Powell art and violent revenge, I can’t wait!
DARK ENGINE #5
Writer: Ryan Burton
Artist: John Bivens
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.50
SOLICITATION: THIS IS HOW THE WORLD BEGINS.
Sym is trapped at the bottom of the ocean, the Enemy is on the move, and there is evil at every turn. But there is light in the darkness-the Inkface Ranger rises.
GEORGE: This weird, strange series isn’t for everyone. But it’s certainly for me. It’s a bizarre, apocalyptic, time-hopping adventure with a cipher of a protagonist and an inescapable atmosphere of creeping dread. The art is frenetic and disturbing and I love Dark Engine so much.
DAY MEN #6
Writer: Matt Gagnon, Michael Alan Nelson
Artist: Brian Stelfreeze
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Kellen’s gambit is over: the Virgos’ last ditch attempt to find proof of the Scourge has failed, and Azalea will be subject to Justice by Day. But before that ultimate battle between Day Men occurs, David must race up to Vermont to save his mentor Blackwill from his betrayer, Lera.
WAYNE: It’s no wonder this book has been optioned for TV! It’s something different, and I love that in my reading! Who takes care of vampires when they’re asleep during the hours of sunlight? Why, the Day Men of course, and this book keeps me on the edge of my seat every time! Love it!
MIRACLEMAN #16
Writer: The Original Writer (Alan Moore)
Artist: John Totleben
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $5.99
SOLICITATION: • Miracleman’s existence has been revealed in a shocking fashion! Confronted with this new reality, he chooses to take action and realize his destiny.
• From the ashes of great tragedy, the world will be reborn. The sick will be healed. Military powers will be disarmed. The planet will be restored. Poverty will be abolished. Every day shall be a day of miracles…a new dawn for humankind!
• The original Miracleman opus comes to its majestic close in “Olympus”!
MATTHEW: Yes, I read this story a million years ago in the original issues, but I’m still looking forward to seeing it fully remastered and redone for the modern audience. I just hope somebody is actually reading this thing, ‘cause were less than a year away from new Miracleman!
NAMELESS #2
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Chris Burnham, Nathan Fairbairn
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: On a former U.S. moonbase, kept secret since the Cold War, a terrible key unlocks an ancient box and a last-ditch plan is drafted to save humanity from the doomsday asteroid Xibalba-but is it already too late? The nightmare intensifies in MORRISON & BURNHAM’s apocalyptic occult horror epic!
CHRIS: Issue one was crazy awesome (emphasis on crazy) and I’m dying to see what comes next. The science fiction element looks to ramp up with this issue and Morrison is sure to deliver something wonderfully original. Definitely worth checking out!
GEORGE: Weird, Lovecraftian horror from the team of Morrison and Burnham. Of course issue #1 was going to be good. So will issue #2.
PRINCESS LEIA #1
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Terry Dodson
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Everyone’s favorite tough-talking-to-Tarkin, mind-probe-resisting, scoundrel-liking princess is back in her own comic book series. Star Wars: Princess Leia is a five-issue miniseries written by the legendary Mark Waid (Daredevil, among many others) and illustrated by fan favorite Terry Dodson (Uncanny X-Men). The title picks up where A New Hope leaves off — the Rebels have blown up the Death Star, but Leia must come to terms with the destruction of her own home planet — and is canonical within the Star Wars universe. So, if you want to know the Alderaan princesses’ full story, it’ll be essential reading.
GEORGE: I’ve been pretty excited for each of three new Marvel Star Wars series. Princess Leia has a tremendous creative team. While the Princess’s trauma in the wake of the destruction of Alderaan has been covered as recently as Brian Wood’s series for Dark Horse, the subject was never really trod in the films, so I’m interested in Waid’s interpretation.
MATTHEW: It is long past time that Leia gets some serious spotlight time, and with a team like this behind it, this mini should be a thrill-ride… Stephen and I will be checking it on this week’s episode of ‘Dueling Reviews’.
STEPHEN: Love Terry Dodson’s art, and Mark Waid is one of the greats, plus Star Wars AND Princess Leia. Take my money, Marvel! TAKE MY MONEY! Oh, you should give Marvel your money, too.
SUPER VILLAINS UNITE TP COMPLETE SUPER VILLAIN TEAM UP
Writer: Various
Artist: Ron Wilson
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $34.99
SOLICITATION: The Lord of Latveria and Atlantis’ Avenging Son forge the Marvel Universe’s most volatile alliance! But when the Sub-Mariner regrets his decision, he finds it’s not that easy to walk away from a pact with Doom. Can anything get him out of this torturous team-up? Maybe the Fantastic Four – but probably not the Avengers, who’ve been enslaved by Attuma! And while Dr. Doom has his gauntlets full keeping Namor in line, the Red Skull sets his sights on Latveria! When Captain America sides with Doom, you know you’re in trouble. But both Doom and the Skull plan to enslave the Earth – and the only ones standing in their way are Magneto and the Champions! Introducing the Shroud and featuring the villainy of the Hate-Monger!
MATTHEW: A Marvel clean sweep for me, this week! When I tracked these issues down in a pre-internet world, I never expected that 70s Marvel would ever make it to collected status, but I’m really glad they did. They’re quirky, they’re weird, and they feature Namor and Doctor Doom as our protagonists, a precursor to today’s anti-heroes and quasi-heroic types.
