Major Spoilers Staff Picks for September 12, 2012

Another week is upon us Spoilerites! The pending comic flood is just around the corner, and if you are having difficulty wading through the volume of titles, take the jump for the books Major Spoilers is picking up this week!

ADVENTURE TIME: MARCELINE AND THE SCREAM QUEENS #3
Writer: Meredith Gran
Artist: Jen Bennett
Publisher: BOOM! Studios (kaboom! imprint)
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: THE FUN WILL NEVER END IN THIS POPULAR ADVENTURE TIME SPIN-OFF MINI-SERIES!

The band’s tour is underway, and the Scream Queens are rocking their way from one end of Ooo to the other! But Marceline isn’t convinced that they totally ruleÖ Will a rival band be enough to derail the tour for good?

Featuring story and art from popular cartoonist Meredith Gran (OCTOPUS PIE)!

Get on board for the summer’s hottest new series! Popular with all-ages and a great way to get girls into your store!

JIMMY: I’m a recent convert to Adventure Time, having been introduced to the franchise through the BOOM! Studios comic that I reviewed a couple weeks ago, and now I’m gleefully consuming all the Adventure Time I can get. This title isn’t as good as the main Adventure Time book (which is written by Ryan North, the guy who does Dinosaur Comics), but it’s still quite funny and it is headlined by my favorite Adventure Time character, Marceline.

BATGIRL #0
Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: Ed Benes
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: How did Barbara first become Batgirl? What led to her to don the cape and cowl?

A tale never before told in the DC Universe!

JIMMY: Week one of zero month was really successful overall for me; while there were a few duds, overall the concept was executed well. After a rocky start I’ve been loving Gail Simone’s Batgirl; she’s really found the youthened Barbara Gordon’s voice, and with art from Ed Benes I’m sure this issue will be fantastic.

BATMAN #0
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Greg Capullo
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Bruce Wayne has returned from his worldwide quest to take the law into his own hands!

This issue reveals the early steps of building everything that surrounds Batman – the costume, the cave, the car, the gadgets!

This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.

JIMMY: With the sheer number of Bat-titles DC has, it’s interesting to see how they break up the telling of Batman Before the New 52. We had The Dark Knight #0 which established Bruce as returning to Gotham seven years ago, and this promises to reveal more about how Bruce transitioned from a disillusioned young man training with martial artists around the world into the man we know today as Batman.

STEPHEN: I was so excited about this issue, that I thought it came out LAST week. Oh well, any week with Batman is going to be awesome…

CHEW #28
Writer: John Laymna
Artist: Rob Guillory
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: Remember last story arc when Tony Chu got kidnapped? This issue he gets kidnapped again! How lame is that? Meanwhile, we shamelessly pander to comics’ coveted “furry” demographic.

ROB: Tony Chu gets phsychic impressions off of whatever organic material he eats. How is this not enough of a hook for any semi-sane person to be reading this? If that’s not enough, how about the dozens of other crazy powers in this place, like making any working machine out of chocolate, or being able to describe the taste of something so well, people actually do taste it? OK, how about the interesting characters and compelling stories being told within that context?

ZACH: Since Chew #27 technically came out a couple years ago and it was just reprinted in June this is the first new issue of Chew, excluding the excellent Poyo One-Shot, since May. Three months is much too long to have to wait for Chew. Chew is an excellent series on multiple different levels, leaving no room for you not to buy it.

THE CREEP #1
Writer: John Arcudi
Artist: Jonathan Case
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $3.50
SOLICITATION: A pair of teen suicides raise terrible questions, but can a grim private eye commit himself to a case that is so closely connected to his own haunted past?

Don’t be a goon! Read The Creep!

GEORGE: If you didn’t catch my review of Issue #0, which collected the stories published in Dark Horse Comics Presents, I’m pretty high on Creep. John Arcudi’s been gangbusters working in the B. P. R. D. universe, so it’s a treat to see him finally working on his own homegrown character. And in Jonathan Case, he’s found a collaborator who can bring his words to life. Oxel Arhus is one of the more intriguing protagonists I’ve read lately, a private investigator with acromegaly plumbing a mystery with roots in his life before the disease.

RODRIGO: Again, you might be looking at this and saying “Wasn’t The Creep #1 in the staff picks a while ago? No, that was #0. But despite Dark Horse’s (mildly obnoxious) numbering system I’m still interested in this story.

DEMON KNIGHTS #0
Writer: Paul Cornell
Artist: Bernard Chang
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: Deep in the past of The New 52, Etrigan the Demon and Jason Blood struggle against Merlin and Lucifer! • The horrible curse that unite them is revealed!

ROB: Demon Knights has been one of my favorite reads every month for the last year, and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon. Now we’re getting more of Etrigan’s back story in this zero issue, which promises us a sight at the devil in the DCU. If you’ve been on the fence about this series, give this issue a shot, it should be worth your while.

DOCTOR WHO ANNUAL 2012
Writers: Len Wein, Richard Dinnick, Tony Lee, Andy Diggle
Artists: Matthew Dow Smith, Mitch Gerads, Mark Buckingham
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $7.99
SOLICITATION: The Eleventh Doctor returns in this all-new Annual! This oversized issue contains three complete stories by an all-star lineup, featuring legendary writer-editor Len Wein, Doctor Who novelist Richard Dinnick, and writer Tony Lee, with art by Matthew Dow Smith, and Mitch Gerads. Also included is a prelude to the next ongoing series by series writer Andy Diggle and superstar artist Mark Buckingham!

RODRIGO: Doctor Who Anthology!? Let’s jump right in! Wait… Is River Song in this? River Song is probably in this isn’t she? …ok, let’s flip through it first, then jump right in.

HOAX HUNTERS #3
Writers: Michael Moreci & Steve Seeley
Artist: Axel Medellin
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: The carnival proved to be more dangerous than even the Hoax Hunters anticipated, and now they must battle Clive’s relentless forces to stay alive. Also, Jack digs further into his father’s mysterious past and is shocked by what he uncovers.

RODRIGO: Have not been keeping up with this, but the covers are consistently spectacular. Is that going to be enough to sell me on a book? Actually yes, the majority of my collection are crappy books with awesome covers, with the rest consisting of good books with awesome covers and then good books with so-so covers that more strong-willed people told me to get.

MANHATTAN PROJECTS #6
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Nick Pitarra
Publisher: Image
Cover Price: $3.50
SOLICITATION: While the Americans have progressively built the Manhattan Projects into massive success and thrust the west into future dominance, on the other side of the world the cold war rages on. Find out the secret history of the Russian science machine.

The thrilling FEEL GOOD, BAD SCIENCE series continues in THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS #6: STAR CITY!

GEORGE: Great series, you should be reading it. We here at Major Spoilers have been singing its praises since it was released. Nothing new to add to the conversation – any week that this is coming out, this is going to be one of the most anticipated titles. It hasn’t disappointed yet

STEPHEN: I love my science, and I love my fiction. Jonathan Hickman has brought them both together into what I can only imaging would be called Science Fiction and presents a fascinating story that I can’t put down.

ZACH: The Manhattan Projects is one of the standout new series of 2012, but it wouldn’t be half of what it is without the art from Nick Pitarra and colors from Cris Peter. Do yourself a favor and pick this up with the first five issues on Wednesday.

THE ROCKETEER: CARGO OF DOOM #2
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Chris Samnee
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: The 30th anniversary of the Rocketeer continues! Cliff finds himself the target of a scheme to ‘liberate’ the jetpack from him as a pair villains plot to stop him from interfering with their nefarious plans. Meanwhile, Cliff’s secret identity, rather precarious at the best of times, is discovered by someone outside of his immediate circle.

STEPHEN: Oh my goodness! I’ve read this issue already (review on issue #443 of the Major Spoilers Podcast), and I can tell you that the Cargo of Doom is perfect for this character, this setting, and for the creative team of Waid and Samnee. Can’t wait to read this again!

ZACH: Mark Waid and Chris Samnee are working together; this should be a no brainer. Go. Get. It.

SHADE #12
Writer: James Robinson
Artist: Gene Ha
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION:
• The final issue of The Shade’s year-long odyssey is here!
• Learn the truth about one of the most mysterious men in the DC Universe and see once and for all what makes him tick: good or evil?

ROB: The more I read Robinson the more I like him and this series has just been great. The Shade is an interesting anti-hero in that he isn’t super-dark or negative about it (other than the power set) and this has been a fun journey getting more pieces of his past together. Combine that with Ha’s gorgeous interiors and this is one series I’m happy to finish but sad to see go.

TEAM 7 #0
Writer: Justin Jordan
Artist: Jesus Merino
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: • Threads of the entire DC Universe collide in this new series set in the early days of The New 52 from writer Justin Jordan (The Strange Talents of Luther Strode).
• As Superman emerges, so too does the world’s counter measures against him and his kind!
• Dinah Lance, Amanda Waller, Steve Trevor, John Lynch, Alex Fairchild, Cole Cash, Slade Wilson are Team 7 – and their story will change everything you know about The New 52!

GEORGE: I think these New 52 issue 0s are ridiculously stupid, but at least DC is saving me some money this month. That said, I’m intrigued by this one, both because it has an interesting cast of characters and because Team 7’s run is just beginning (issue #1 actually comes out next month). I’m unfamiliar with the talents of Justin Jordan and Jesus Merino, but I’m going to give them a shot on this one. Hopefully they’ll succeed where others have failed in making readable New 52 versions of Grifter and Deathstroke.