New comic book day is almost upon us! Each week, the staff at Major Spoilers sits down, sorts through the offerings and comes up with a comic book recommendation list, just for you!
ACTION COMICS #17
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artists: Rags Morales, Bradley Walker, Mark Propst, Andrew Hennessy
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: In the penultimate chapter to writer Grant Morrison’s critically acclaimed run, the Man of Steel faces one of his greatest opponents yet and prepares for a battle that spans not only time and space but imagination itself!
STEPHEN: WHAT THE EFFING EFF!? They said last month that this would be the last Grant Morrison issue, and now the solicitation says this is the second to the last issue!? DAMMIT GRANT MORRISON AND DC COMICS WOULD YOU MAKE UP YOUR MINDS!? Also… please take my money.
BORDERLANDS ORIGINS #4
Writer: Mike Neumann
Artist: Agustin Padilla
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: “Brick.” For the millions and millions of fans of the smash-hit video game BORDERLANDS, a lingering question exists: how did the Vault Hunters get on the bus with Marcus in the first place? Is punch-drama a real story genre? We say it is, so it is. Brick stars in the final story filled with violence, tiny dogs, orphans, and faces upon faces getting punched the hell in. Brick. Get ready.
ROB: Hey, I’ve enjoyed and recommended the first three, and this one’s Brick. What more could you ask for?
DAREDEVIL #23
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Chris Samnee
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: • If you’ve been missing the multiple Harvey and Eisner Ward winning comic, get in NOW!
• The PERFECT JUMPING ON POINT with an all new mystery that will take Matt Murdock to the edge like never before.
ZACH: Daredevil was of my favorite books for 2012 and it’s already looking to do the same this year. Waid has been crafting deep, personal stories the last two arcs and with the way the last issue ended it’s going to keep going that way. And come on, it’s Samnee art. Pick the book up for that alone.
FEVER RIDGE: A TALE OF MACARTHUR’S JUNGLE WAR #1
Writer: Mike Heimos
Artist: Nick Runge
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: The South Pacific theatre of World War II is usually seen from the perspective of the Marines fighting from Guadalcanal to Okinawa. Unsung in WWII fiction is the story of the 6th Army’s 6th Infantry Division (“the Sightseein’ Sixth”) and their jungle commandoes, the Alamo Scouts, under the command of Gen. Walter Kreuger, the trusted and savvy lieutenant of “America’s Caesar,” Douglas MacArthur.
Fever Ridge explores unique events, perspectives, exotic locales and peoples that are different than any you have encountered in other WWII stories… and ultimately is the story of a secret that could have changed the War, and the world.
GEORGE: For whatever reason, I’ve been fiending for realistic war comics lately. And while it seems like Garth Ennis has the whole genre on lock, a new challenger has appeared! I believe this is Mike Heimos’s comic debut, and the story he’s pitching is an interesting one. Plus, it’s partially based on his grandfather’s own exploits during the war. The promos look like Heimos and Nick Runge are attempting something more heady than mere run-and-gun adventures in the jungle, so here’s hoping they pull it off.
Game of Thrones Shield Pin: Greyjoy Sigil
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Price: $14.99
SOLICITATION: We are beginning a line of glassware featuring the house sigils from HBO’s award- winning television series Game of Thrones. The first offering was presented last month in Previews. New items feature Greyjoy house sigil on a pint glass, a shot glass, and a ceramic stein.
Joining the Greyjoy glassware items is the second in our line of Game of Thrones custom pins, replicating the unique shields as seen in the HBO series. It’s a wearable replica of the battle-tested shield of the House of Greyjoy.
Produced from the actual prop seen in the series, this high-quality piece measures approximately 60 mm high and 40 mm across and is zinc alloy with an antique finish.
RODRIGO: This item accomplishes and important trifecta for me. A) It’s a squid, B) It’s a pop culture reference and C) It’s still a squid.
Sign
Me
Up.
G.I. JOE #1
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Steve Kurth
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: YO JOE! The truth is out: the world knows the G.I. JOE team is real. Now Duke leads his squad directly into the public eye, confronting COBRA on American soil! The best of the best just got better, as Fred Van Lente and Steve Kurth lead the charge and we roll out one new G.I. Joe title a month for the next three months!
GEORGE: I’m a fan of G.I. Joe, but I have not been keeping up with IDW’s take on the series. With Retaliation hitting theaters in a month or so, I figure I should get reacquainted. And hey, just in time, here’s a soft relaunch/jumping-on point! Synergy! Snark aside, Fred Van Lente is a talent and there’s no reason to think he can’t write a solid G.I. Joe series. Look for a Major Spoilers review later in the week.
HELLBLAZER # 300
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artists: Giuseppe Camuncoli and Stefano Landini
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
SOLICITATION: It’s the heart-rending conclusion of “Death and Cigarettes”-and the end of Vertigo’s longest running series. John Constantine has escaped, cheated, narrowly avoided and even reversed death on multiple occasions over the past 25 years. Now, we will test whether the old boy has one more second chance in him. Don’t miss this epic, oversized special issue celebrating everything that makes John Constantine so bloody unique.
MATTHEW: It’s really and truly the end of an era. Back in 1988, I walked into the late, lamented Gulliver’s Tattered Covers in Hays, Kansas, and picked up a weird-looking DC book featuring a character whom I knew from his run in Swamp Thing. Over the years, John has been through hell (literally, figuratively and otherwise), killed off most of his friends, and even found tiny bits of happiness. While I am looking forward to seeing his new ongoing in the New 52 continuity, it just won’t ever quite be the same. In a way, I’m hoping that Vertigo John finally wraps up in a satisfactory manner, or dies (or both.)
IT GIRL & THE ATOMICS #7
Writer: Jamie S. Rich
Artist: Mike Norton
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: “THE WORLD IS FLAT” Part 1 of 2
REVIVAL’s MIKE NORTON returns for an It Girl solo adventure. Our heroine has gone to the Alps to rescue a kidnapped scientist and keep his game-changing secret invention out of the wrong hands. Prepare for super-powered spies, mechanical men, and international intrigue in the start of our second story arc.
CHRIS: It Girl & The Atomics is one wacky book but that’s to be expected from a character created by Mike Allred. Jamie S. Rich has done a great job making this a fresh, fun read and Mike Norton’s art is, of course, fantastic. Fans of quirky comics should really be reading this. Great stuff!
JUDGE DREDD #4
Writer: Duane Swierczynski
Artist: Nelson Daniel, Inaki Miranda
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Kidnappers are jacking the DNA of some of Mega-City One’s most elite citizens, then growing clones to torture on live TV — unless the elite pay up big-time. There’s only one Judge tough enough to stop them, and he’s just signed on to be the bagman. But a double-cross within the Justice Department sends Dredd straight into the crosshairs of hundreds of perps who would love to relieve a Judge of all that money.
CHRIS: I’ve been on a Judge Dredd kick recently, burning my way through the Complete Case Files. IDW is feeding my addiction even more, putting out new Dredd comics. The storytelling still feels very British with a couple tales per issue, each one tying into an overarching story. Dredd looks awesome too. Big shoulder pads, big guns and most importantly big boots! Fans of Judge Dredd new and old need to check this out.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA: VIBE #1
Writer: Kreisberg, Andrew
Artist: Woods, Pete
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: * From the pages of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA and BIRDS OF PREY!
* KATANA is a former assassin on a noble quest to restore the OUTSIDERS to their former glory!
* Will she succeed, or will she be overcome by the power of her sword, the SoulTaker?
MATTHEW: So, here’s the thing: I knew that Vibe was kind of an obnoxious stereotype. Even so, I loved him, his brashness, his fake accent, his brother relationship with Steel and his goofy original costume. Now that they’re trying to make him relevant, I’m worried that everything that I liked about Vibe’s goony ’80s “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo” charm will be smashed under the hammer of “badass and awesome” that makes so much of the New 52 so homogenous. Either way, the costume is still goofy as hell…
LOCKE & KEY: OMEGA #3
Writer: Joe Hill
Artist: Gabriel Rodriguez
Publisher: IDW Publisher
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: As Kinsey Locke and the other students head to a dance at Lovecraft Academy, the demonic Dodge gathers shadowy forces of his own and enacts his evil endgame. The ‘Last Dance’ begins here.
STEPHEN: If you are just now getting into Locke & Key, I feel sorry for you. On the other hand, I also envy you, because you haven’t had to wait all these months and years for the story to get to this moment. Get it now, and be one of the cool kids this week, won’t you?
MIND MGMT #8
Writer: Matt Kindt
Artist: Matt Kindt
Publisher: Dark Horse
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: The psychic-spy agency Mind Management is being rebuilt, and Henry Lyme, the agent who brought it down the first time, will do anything to stop it! The next stop in Lyme’s recruitment drive brings he and investigator Meru to a quiet university where another defector teaches, but when the agents on their tail arrive, everything goes to hell! More secrets come out and the danger rises as MIND MGMT’s second arc heats up!
ZACH: I reviewed the kick off to this new arc of Mind MGMT last month and didn’t find it to be as strong as the previous issues, but I’m still holding on that it will pick up. All the pieces are there for another great story so I’m along for the ride and when the story gets crazy you aren’t going to want to miss it.
NOVA #1
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Ed McGuinness
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Marvel is pleased to present your first look at NOVA #1 from the chart-topping, award-winning creative team of Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness! You met Sam Alexander, the all-new Nova, in the pages of last year’s blockbuster hit Avengers VS X-Men—but what is his secret origin? How is he connected to the Guardians of the Galaxy? And just why is Sam the only one worthy to carry on the legacy of the Nova Corps? These answers reveal shocking secrets about the Marvel Universe and help set the stage for the biggest comic book event of the year!
MATTHEW: Much as Vibe is to the 80s, Nova is to the 70s and also the 90s. (It’s complicated.) Rich Rider may still be gone in the Cancerverse, but there’s a new Nova in town. I’m extremely leery of what Jeph Loeb has up his incredibly inconsistent sleeve, and I don’t expect Ed McGuinness to last more than six issues on a monthly book, but the Nova name will buy them at least a 4-issue window of something. Here’s hoping it’s better than Red Hulk was, although, statistically speaking, that’s a VERY likely prospect seein’ as how the Red Hulk’s initial run puts the “Aw” in godawful…
SAGA #10
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Fiona Staples
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: Marko and Alana’s long-lost babysitter Izabel finally returns to the fold, but at what cost?
CHRIS: What more is there to say about Saga really? It’s awesome, plain and simple. I love Izabel and her return this issue is quite welcome. Vaughn and Staples have not had a misstep yet, creating something in a class of its own. One of the best comics on the stands.
SIXTH GUN: SONS OF THE GUN #1
Writer: Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt
Artist: Brian Churilla
Publisher: Oni Press
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: An untold tale of the Six! Since the very first issue of The Sixth Gun, readers have clamored for more information about General Hume’s horsemen. And now the story can be told. What happened to the horsemen after their master died? This issue, “Bloodthirsty” Bill Sumter finds himself alone, on the brink of death, and undergoing a frightening transformation.
ZACH: I haven’t kept with The Sixth Gun since we reviewed on the Major Spoilers Podcast, but what I have read is fantastic. I’m interested to see what back-stories are going to come from this series, but mainly I’m picking this up for the Brian Churilla art.
SWORD OF SORCERY #5
Writer: Christy Marx, Marc Andreyko
Artist: Aaron Lopresti, Andrei Bressan
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION:
• Amy learns how her father died and is forced to test her skills when she’s attacked by assassins from House Onyx!
• Plus: In the backup story: STALKER, the immortal warrior without a soul, must beat Lucifer at his own game!
ROB: Personally I blame Matthew for this, but I have grown quite fond of the Princess Amethyst and am happy to follow this title for some time longer. Besides, a new back-up is giving us another character for the Dark section of the DCU and tht should be interesting in its own right.
TALES FROM BEYOND SCIENCE HC
Writers: Mark Millar, Alan McKenzie, John Smith
Artist: Rian Hughes
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $16.99
SOLICITATION: Follow your host Hilary Tremayne on eight surreal journeys into the unknown. Discover the truth behind the mysteries of spontaneous human combustion, the Bermuda Triangle, the lost 13th month, and the real reason men have nipples.
Drawn by RIAN HUGHES and written by a Rogue’s Gallery of Britain’s finest comic writers that includes MARK MILLAR (KICK ASS, WANTED), ALAN MCKENZIE (THE HARRISON FORD STORY) and JOHN SMITH (DEVIN WAUGH), this hardcover volume collects the complete series.
RODRIGO: When in doubt, science fiction anthology. When in doubt and wanting something extra weird BRITTISH SCIENCE FICTION ANTHOLOGY.
THOR: GOD OF THUNDER #5
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Esad Ribic
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: • The shocking finale of our opening salvo…!
• As three Thors from three eras race to stop the God Butcher, the full extent of his vicious scheme takes terrifying shape.
GEORGE: I don’t know if the Norse portions of the Marvel universe have ever been better than in the wake of Marvel NOW! Jason Aaron’s written himself a tricky challenge in telling one story in three separate points in time, but he has handled it well. And now the first arc comes to a close. The conclusion should be pretty epic, if it’s anything like the lead-up.
TMNT ONGOING #19
Writer: Tom Waltz, Kevin Eastman
Artist: Ben Bates
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Time is running out for the Neutrino people at the mercy of General Krang. Up against incredible odds, Turtles and NRF forces devise a sneak attack against Krang and his army. Meanwhile, April desperately continues to search for info on the Turtles’ location at Stockgen, and Karai gets deeper into her own undercover mission!
ROB: I finally got into this series over the last couple months, and being a Turtles fan from way back when I have to say I’ve been more than impressed with where the series has gone. Blending the multitude of different ideas that came from the many different TMNT properties, this latest series has hooked me and I think it will do the same for any fan of any version of the Turtles.
VITRIOL THE HUNTER #1
Writer: Billy Martin & Brent Allen
Artist: Billy Martin
Publisher: IDW Publisher
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: They own the night… they yearn for the day! In this gothic sci-fi adventure, Billy Martin (guitarist of Good Charlotte) and Brent Allen bring a new grisly horror to life! As Basilika City’s last great hope, Vitriol stands as the only force that can stop Lord Barthus and his heinous vampire regime from overtaking the city.
RODRIGO: If you listen to the podcasts and you know what I sound like pretend that I’m saying this out loud: “A vampire comic written by the guy from Good Charlotte, this can’t not be great.”
