This weekend is going to be a blast. Not only do we get to see Iron Man 3, but it’s Free Comic Book Day, AND the unofficial official Star Wars Day (May the 4th Be With You). So what are you going to pick up? Take the jump for a rundown of the comics the Major Spoilers Staff recommends this week.
ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #1
Writer: Jeff Parker
Artist: Chris Samnee
Publisher: DC
Cover Price: $0.99
SOLICITATION: Superman squares off against a powerful but unstable maniac with telekinetic powers! But is he the real enemy? This is a Man of Steel tale like only fan-favorites Jeff Parker and Chris Samnee can deliver!
ZACH: Technically, Adventures of Superman #1 has already been released, with a digital release on Monday, but it still came out this week so it counts. It does, trust me. The only reason that you need to download this is that you can look at Chriss Samnee art for under a dollar. It’s like stealing.
HAWKEYE #10
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: David Aja
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: The most acclaimed new book of the year continues! Who pulled the trigger? Where have you seen him before? Have you seen him before? Maybe. But not like this. It’s murder, mayhem, and greasepaint make-up for the money, kids — and that means playtime is over, Monsieur Hulot. Caw caw.
CHRIS: I recommend this book so much I’m running out of things to write but I have to include it on my list, it’s that good. I have no idea what that solicitation means but I don’t care. I know it will be fantastic.
MATTHEW: Last issue ended with a “Holy Crap” moment, and the Rockford Files-inspired madness that is Clint Barton’s life continues to impress. I’ll continue to sell and oversell this until you all buy it and it outsells Avengers Vs. Ultron’s Blah Blah Blah.
ROB: Last issue was a huge bomb of a cliff-hanger. If you missed it, you need to pick up both issues. If you caught this one, then you’re like me and at the edge of your seat to find out what’s next.
STEPHEN: We’ve been giving praise to this comic for ten months now. You really have no reason to not listen to us at this point. Pick. It. Up.
IMAGE FIRSTS: BEDLAM #1
Writer: Nick Spencer
Artist: Riley Rossmo
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $1.00
SOLICITATION: Now available as an Image Firsts edition for only $1! Fillmore Press was once Madder Red, a homicidal maniac and criminal overlord who terrorized the town of Bedlam for years. Then he got better. This is what happens next. A double-sized introduction to a blood-soaked cityscape of murder, mayhem, and mystery!
CHRIS: Did you miss out on your chance to pick up the first issue of this wonderful, dark thriller? Here’s your chance to make up for that mistake and it will only cost you a dollar! For fans of creepy murder mysteries, just be prepared for some intense stuff.
IRON MAN #9
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Dale Eaglesham
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Cover Image:
SOLICITATION: THE SECRET ORIGIN OF TONY STARK
• Death’s Head and Iron Man team-up to hunt down a genocidal criminal. Not the problem.
• A shipful of dead badoon. Not the problem.
• What Tony finds in the depths of that ship: the problem. Big problem.
• The lead into the biggest Tony Stark story of the year.
GEORGE: Hey, Greg Land is off this book so it’s safe for me to read it! (Although, I will give him kudos for that dope cover.) This purports to tell the secret origin of Tony Stark, which has me intrigued. I put my faith in Kieron Gillen for it to be executed well.
THE MOVEMENT #1
Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: Freddie E Williams II
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: We are faceless. We are limitless. We see all. And we do not forgive.
Who defends the powerless against the GREEDY and the CORRUPT? Who protects the homeless and poverty-stricken from those who would PREY upon them in the DARK OF NIGHT?
When those who are sworn to protect us abuse their power, when toxic government calls down super-human lackeys to force order upon the populace…finally, there is a force, a citizen’s army, to push order BACK.
Let those who abuse the system know this as well: We have our OWN super humans now. They are not afraid of your badges or Leagues. And they will not be SILENCED.
We are your neighbors. We are your co-workers. And we are your children.
GEORGE: This book has been hyped to hell, and for something that’s supposed to tap into the national zeitgeist, it’s about a year or two too late. But I’m a Gail Simone fan, and it’s about time DC tried to develop a few new characters (hopefully a few aren’t legacy heroes). This should be a very interesting series.
MATTHEW: Gail Simone has been selling the hell out of this on her Twitter, and where I was originally mildly curious, I’m now dying to know what she’s having so much fun writing. Here’s hoping it’s as unforgettable as Secret Six and as unique as her Birds Of Prey.
STEPHEN: I’m on board for this even though I know NOTHING about this book. The solicitation makes the group sound like Anonymous, and if there’s one thing I know it’s this – Peanut butter and chocolate make for a great combination.
ZACH: With DC’s current track record with Gail it is enough to follow this book to see if any more shenanigans happen. I’m also hoping that Gail makes Bane the leader of this peoples’ army and that it becomes a tie-in for a future Secret Six series.
POLARITY #2
Writer: Max Bemis
Artist: Jorge Coelho
Publisher: Boom
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: With great power comes great responsibility, but who has time for that in the New York City art scene? Tim is finally realizing that his powers are not just a manifestation of his manic depression, and what better way to use them than to exact total revenge on the hipsters and jocks that have tormented him? Tune in to issue #2 of POLARITY where Tim defames and debases hipsters as only SAY ANYTHING frontman Max Bemis could write. Each issue comes with a free download for a new original song written and performed by Max Bemis!
ZACH: The first issue was half devoted to ridiculing the hipster lifestyle and half building up the psychosis of our main character and the potential superpowers that he posses which ultimately made for an interesting read. It was an entertaining enough read that issue two deserves a read and with this mini-series only coming in at four issues I will certainly be seeing it to the end.
SESAME STREET #1
Writer: Jason M. Burns
Artist: Amy Mebberson
Publisher: Ape Entertainment
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: Sunny Day! Chase the clouds away as Sesame Street comes to comics for the first time! Join Elmo, Big Bird, Grover, Cookie Monster, and all of your favorites in this fantastic first issue! Featured this issue, Elmo decides to become a superhero, but he doesn’t have any powers! It will be up to the always lovable Super Grover to teach Elmo that he can have any superpowers he wants, because he already has the greatest superpower – imagination! Available with 5 interlocking covers.
MATTHEW: You had me at Prairie Dawn. Fingers crossed, this could be awesome. Worst case, funny trainwreck!
SUICIDE RISK #1
Writer: Mike Carey
Artist: Elena Casagrande
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Cover Price: $3.99
Cover Image:
SOLICITATION: Heroes are dying, and cops are dying twofold. Humanity is underpowered in the face of their onslaught, and people are suffering untold casualties trying to stem the flow. After barely surviving a super-powered bank heist gone horribly wrong, beat cop Leo Winters vowed to try and find a way to stop them. Following a lead, he discovered two lowlifes who seemed to be able to grant a person powers…for the right price.
Thing is: you don’t get to choose which power. It’s seemingly random, a crap-shoot, a risk.
Will Leo decide to take that risk? And why is it that even the heroes in this world eventually break…bad?
GEORGE: This is a writer’s week for me. I haven’t seen any Mike Carey books recently, but I recall liking his work. And I’m a sucker for superhero deconstructionism, which this sounds like. Superheroes are actually scary things, and I love when that theme is explored. The art looks nice in the previews, too.
SUPER DINOSAUR #19
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Jason Howard & Cliff Rathburn
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: Who or WHAT is TYRANNOSAURUS X – and HOW can Derek Dynamo and Super Dinosaur ever hope to defeat him?! EEK!
ROB: It’s been awhile since I’ve mentioned Super Dinosaur, but it still remains one of my top reads each month. Now, with many of the characters and world being established, we’re getting into a bit more serious tone and characterization. The book still remains fun, but it has even further levels than it did previously.
SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #9
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Ryan Stegman
Publisher: Marvel
Cover Price: $3.99
SOLICITATION: IT ENDS HERE! “SUPERIOR NO MORE!” * The hottest comic in comics comes to a turning point that will get you angrier than you were after Spidey #700! * The time has come to see who will live, who will die, and who will emerge as the one, true Superior Spider-Man!
ROB: Ock has found the fragments of Peter’s consciousness that still remains and it’s time to try to take them out. Slott has sold me on everything Spidey up til now, so I’m still game, but what will remain once this issue is over?
TEN GRAND #1
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Artist: Ben Templesmith
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
SOLICITATION: Joe Fitzgerald was a mob enforcer until the day he met Laura, who convinced him to leave that world behind. Before quitting, Joe agreed to one last job, little realizing that the man he’d been sent to kill was deeply involved in demonology. He survived Joe’s attempt and came after him, fatally wounding Joe and killing Laura. As he lay dying, an angelic force (who may or may not be what she appears) pointed out that where she is going, he can’t follow, and where he is going, he wouldn’t want her to follow. But if he will agree to work for them as a different kind of enforcer, they will bring him to life and keep on bringing him to life every time he is killed in a righteous cause. The reward: for those five minutes of death, he will be with Laura again. Would you endure an eternity of pain and death, dying over and over, to be with the woman you love for just five minutes each time you died?
CHRIS: I don’t know what to expect from this title, but I do know I love me some Templesmith art and Straczynski’s been known to write a good story. The concept sounds cool and I hope the execution is done well. Image has been putting out some great new titles, so I’m eager to sink my teeth into this one.
