ON THE SHELF THIS WEEK
byCraig Reade

ASPEN
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Cannon Hawke #2, $2.99. By J.T. Krul, Marcus To, Jason Gorder, & Beth Sotelo. Aspen is really hitting it hard this month with their latest title - this is the second Cannon Hawke issue out in October. Not to familiar with it myself, but the preview pages I have seen indicate that if you are a big fan of Michael Turner’s style, you will enjoy this title. But then, what is the point of having your own label if you are not going to make comics the way you want them? 32 Pages.

DC COMICS
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Adventures Of Superman #645, $2.50. Written by Greg Rucka, Art by Karl Kerschl. Still a pretty recent Superman reader myself, only reading Simone’s run on Action Comics thus far. But that might change this week, based on the cover of this comic alone. Not much to speak of in terms of background, but the way the characters were drawn and colored - I absolutely love it. If the art on the inside is anything like the cover, we are in for a treat with this issue. Comic art these days seems so homogenized, and this looks so much different than the rest of the pack. Hopefully I won’t be disappointed. 32 Pages.

Authority The Magnificient Kevin #3 (Of 5), $2.99. Just one week after the end of Revolution comes part 3 of the Magnificent Kevin series. Too much Authority at once? Perhaps, but it is a good time for the fans. Still - Authority seems to represent the “old” Wildstorm, while titles like Majestic are slowly reshaping the universe for a whole new crop of readers. It will be curious to see what shape the universe takes in the months and years to come. 32 Pages.

Batman Under The Hood TPB, $9.99. Written by Judd Winick, Art by Doug Mahnke, Tom Nguyen and others. This trade collects the generally hodge-podge return of the Red Hood to the streets of Gotham, along with the startling revelation as to who he is. I will spare that spoiler for the moment - there might be some of you waiting for the trade, that really haven’t heard yet who he is. That being said - this story seemed a bit off. While the initial revelation is a cool moment, it really doesn’t pack enough of a punch to make that cool moment worth it. Hopefully something else comes along eventually to clarify things. Can’t beat the price of this trade though - seven issues for under ten bucks is a great deal. 176 Pages.

Cartoon Network Block Party #14, $2.25. Written by Jim Alexander, Sholly Fisch, John Rozum and Tom Warburton, Art by Jeff Albrecht, John Delaney, Gary Fields, Maurice Fontenot, Matthew I. Jenkins, Jorge Pacheco and the Iguana. Once again, another installment of the best true anthology book published by the big two. Shame to have to say that about a “for kids” book like this one, but hey - it is the truth. This issue features stories about the Kids Next Door, Dexter, and Grim and Mandy. 32 Pages.

Catwoman #48, $2.50. Written by Will Pfeifer, Art by Pete Woods. Pfiefer’s story is really starting to grow on me, and a great time for it to. What, with an upcoming guest appearance by Zatanna, and Batman’s suspicion that her leaning towards the side of the angels might not be so genuine. A seriously good story is in the works here folks. Get on board while you still have a chance. 32 Pages.

Doom Patrol #17, $2.50. Written by John Byrne, Art by Byrne & Doug Hazlewood. A lot of people gave Byrne flak about the liberties he took with the Doom Patrol in this series, and might be happy at its cancellation. Though, is it such a good thing that this is happening now? It might not be that true to the team’s roots, but with the Doom Patrol playing such a heavy role in the current Teen Titans season, having any Doom Patrol book on the shelves might help draw in readers. Too late for this run, which ends next month, but maybe a new, more traditional Doom Patrol book is in the works? Time will tell. 32 Pages.

Flash #227, $2.50. Written by Joey Cavalieri, Art by Val Semeiks & Livesay. Man, I do hope all of this “the end” talk is nothing more than hype. I know there is a “Crisis,” but offing a Flash every time there is a “Crisis” isn’t exactly a fun sounding tradition. This week marks the second post-Johns era creative team, but their task still isn’t much easier. Coming up with an engaging Flash story right now is a tough sell - I don’t envy their task. Hopefully we see some improvement this month. 32 Pages.

JLA #121, $2.50. Written by Bob Harras, Art by Tom Derenick & Dan Green. Of all the titles in the DCU, this is the one that is going to clearly be most affected by Infinite Crisis, at least at this point. In fact, in that light, it is the very first issue of a new chapter in the JLA, and the perfect time to start on the book. Issue #120 the old League crumbled, and now the remaining members must pick up the pieces. A good pick this week. 32 Pages.

JLA Classified #13, $2.50. Written by Warren Ellis, Art by Butch Guice. Ellis’s run on JLA Classified seems to be coming down on the thumbs-up side for me so far. It is still quite different from the Super-Buddies story that preceded it, but that isn’t such a bad thing really. And with the rest of the DCU embroiled in Infinite Crisis, it is nice to read something a little different. 32 pages.

Jack Cross #3, $2.50. Written by Warren Ellis, Art and cover by Gary Erskine. The “penultimate” (you know, we don’t see that word quite as much as we used to anymore) issue of the first story arc is upon us. So far, so good for Ellis on this series. It still might have more of a Vertigo feel to it, but it should do a little better under the Spin. Hopefully Eillis keeps up the pace on this book. 32 Pages.

Legion Of Super Heroes #11, $2.99. Written by Mark Waid, Art by Barry Kitson & Mick Gray. This title, much like the Losers, does seem to divide its readers. Things are picking up in the series, which is really exciting for the people who fall down on the “love” side of Legion, but I fear that all hope is lost for those that really found the title. This disparity is really quite surprising coming from Waid, who is typically so accessible. Maybe some people just weren’t meant to be Legion fans. If you are a fan of the Legion and aren’t reading this series, though, you really should rethink that. 40 Pages.

Losers #29, $2.99. Written by Andy Diggle, Art by Jock. Clock is ticking, and this series is counting down to its grand finale this January with issue #32. Can’t really pretend I was a huge fan of the book - the Losers was a divisive book, and I fell squarely in the bored camp. But the book had its fair share of supporters, including a good many reviewers with excellent reputations. And the book is well written, despite not being to my personal taste. So yeah - it is a shame to see this one go. It is a shame to see any book go with a sound fanbase, but especially so when there is some quality behind it. Comics need more well produced, non-super-hero books like this one. 32 Pages.

Loveless #1, $2.99. Written by Brian Azzarello, Art by Marcelo Frusin. Azzarello, back at Vertigo with another new ongoing. Frankly, this is where the guy needs to be. His work is generally solid when he has creative wiggle-room, but when confined to an ongoing book like Batman or Superman with very strict editorial guides, he tends to flounder a bit. Loveless is the latest in what seems to be a growing resurgence of the Western genre. At least, an attempt at a resurgence. How titles like this one fare will tell a lot about whether western comics are back to stay. 40 Pages.

Silent Dragon #4 (Of 6), $2.99. Written by Andy Diggle, Art by Leinil Yu & Gerry Alanguilan. Diggle fans sad that the Losers has to end still have a chance for a double dose for the next few months. Granted, this series has very little with that espionage thriller. Silent Dragon, as the name suggests, is more of a futuristic Japanese sci-fi action story. Diggle has done a pretty solid job with the story thus far, and enough can’t be said about Yu’s art. Might be worth tracking down the back issues on this one. 32 Pages.

Solo #7, $4.99. Written by Mike Allred & Lee Allred, Art and cover by Mike Allred. Ah, the Batoosi. Who could forget the dance that Adam West made famous. This title continues to impress, and even considering DCs tendancy to stick with titles much longer than Marvel, I am really honestly surprised it lasted this long. Not that this isn’t a quality book - far from it, but in the grand scheme, this one really doesn’t do too bad at all for a specialty book. Good stuff to check out if you want to see a creator spread his wings. 48 Pages.

Teen Titans #28, $2.50. Written by Gail Simone, Art by Rob Liefeld. There really isn’t a nice way to put this - but I will do my best. This collaboration should have never happened. Ever. Liefeld has had his moments - if you are truly objective, you have to recognize that. But the fact that it has been so long since his last one as an artist that most people forget them; that should be a big hint when thinking about using him on a title. And Gail Simone normally gets super high marks from me, but this story just isn’t engaging at all. It was suggested to me that a bad artist can drive even the best writer down, but I just don’t think that is the case. Even if the art was tough to follow, the words in the bubbles should be good enough to make you at least want to turn the page. A really rare off story for her - in fact, the last issue was the only time I have ever wanted to put one of Simone’s books down. Next month we have Johns writing and D’Anda and Alquiza on art. Issue #29 just can’t come soon enough. This month, we will just have to grin and bear it. 32 Pages.

Teen Titans Go #24, $2.25. Written by J. Torres, Art by Todd Nauck & Lary Stucker. The whole “switched powers” thing has been done on the cartoon before, but never at this level. In this issue every member of the team gets someone else’s power, and as you might imagine, hilarity ensues. As always, a fun all-ages read. 32 Pages.

Teen Titans Jam Packed Action Vol 1 TPB, $7.99. By Various. This is a great idea - I do love the JPA concept. Basically a reprint of the original show script, using screen captures of the show itself as art. Wish they would tell us ahead of time what episodes would be included here. By the Volume number, it is probably safe to assume that this is first season material. This is something they should do more often. Some Batman: The Animated Series JPAs would be kind of neat at this point. 96 Pages.

Wonder Woman #222, $2.50. Written by Greg Rucka, Art by Rags Morales & Mark Propst. There can be no doubt that some major stuff has happened in Wonder Woman - I am still a bit miffed that her killing Max Lord didn’t take place in the OMAC mini. It does raise the possibility that even more in the way of blockbuster events will take place in this title that directly relate to Infinite Crisis. The only problem with events of this magnitude - you know you have to read more than the mini itself to get all the juicy bits! 32 Pages.

Wraithborn #2 (Of 6), $2.99. Written by Joe Benitez & Marcia Chen, Art by Benitez & Joe Weems. On the surface, this book seems little more than your average half-naked chick with a sword kicking butt series. In other words, a dime a dozen. Has it turned out to be? Well, pretty much. Looks like Benitez and Chen did try to inject a bit of personality into the character, but to me, a bad-ass naked teen chick who kicks butt is just that, even if she isn’t super hard-core indestructible at first. Credit for trying something a little different, but in the end, it fits the genre. If that is your kind of comic, this one will be a good read for you. 32 Pages.

IMAGE COMICS
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Burglar Bill #4 (Of 6), $2.99. By Paul Grist. This month’s issue is solicited as an all-new, previously unpublished Burglar Bill story. Not going to mean much to many, since this title didn’t have near the exposure at Dancing Elephant, so it is all new to most of us. Regardless, this is fun stuff, and well worth a look if you need something just a bit different this week. 32 Pages.

Fear Agent #1, $2.99. Written by Rick Remender, Art by Tony Moore and Sean Parsons. Probably one of the best things about Image Comics these days is their virtual independence from the super-hero genre. Not that reading super-hero books is a bad thing, but it is nice to have more options than that. This story is a blending of sci-fi, horror, and war, following a character named Heath who travels from world to world experminating alien life. One would assume that these aliens are the bad, Aliens vs. Predator, want to kill humans kind, and not the happy-go-lucky Vulcan kind (wait, that didn’t sound right). This book looks like it will have a real old-pulp feel to it. Should be one to pick

Season Of The Witch #1 (Of 4), $3.50. Written by Jai Nitz, Art by Kevin Sharpe. Young, teenage girl? Check. Magic or otherwise super powers for said protagonist? Check. Despite my vocal distaste for this general comic formula, I do try to remain open minded about this kind of story. But the fact that the protagonist, a 14 year old girl, is presented as a sex-symbol twenty something doesn’t give me much hope that this will be something deeper. 32 Pages.

Small Gods #11, $2.99. Written by Jason rand, Art by Juan E. Ferreyra. Well, this series was cancelled, and set to end at issue 12, but vocal fans won it a temporary reprieve, and a short stint as a new mini. The future beyond that, of course, has a lot to do with how well the book sells from now until then. In my eyes, any time a group of fans can actually scream loud enough to make a publisher reverse a cancellation, even if only for a short time, the comic deserves a look. As Small Gods does this week. 32 Pages.

Strange Girl #4, $2.99. Written by Rick Remender, Art by Eric Ngyuen. A double shot of Remender this week. It seems like this one should be worth some digging to track down the back issues - it has a fun concept and the word from the few reviewers that have read it suggests that it is a seriously good read. The title centers on Earth after the Rapture, where a small group of people go seeking God in an effort to escape the hell that Earth has become once He took the faithful into heaven. Sounds serious, but it seems like there is a light-hearted element to it. Check this one out - you might like it. 32 Pages.

MARVEL COMICS
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Amazing Fantasy #14, $2.99. Written by Karl Kesel and Jay Faerber, Art by Carmine Di Giandomenico and Carlos Mango. Getting better! In addition to the second part of the Vegas story, we are being treated to an 8 page story about Captain Universe, a lead in to the upcoming event story arc. Short story arc, more than one story, all this title needs is a few extra pages and a headline character story each month to sell the book, and we have a pretty solid anthology on our hands! 32 Pages.

Amazing Spider-Man #525, $2.50. Written by Peter David, Art by Mike Deodato. Getting to sound like a broken drum already, but this month Peter David will be tackling all three Spider-Man titles. Straczynski will be returning in December to handle all three books, and back to regular duties on this book in January, all part of “The Other” storyline. Not much in the way of buzz yet - but then, with twelve issues, this story really is just getting started. We will all likely here much more as the story progresses. 32 Pages.

Arana Heart Of The Spider #10, $2.99. Written by Fiona Avery, Art by Roger Cruz. Still not sure what to make of this book. On the one hand, it is original material - we certainly didn’t need another X-Men title in this slot. On the other hand, don’t we already have a Spider-Girl book? This title isn’t exactly the same, but the character is close enough. Lumping her into the Spider-family book last week certainly didn’t help much. Potential here, but the character could probably use a real groundbreaking story to help her establish an identity beyond that of a Spider-Girl wanna-be. 32 Pages.

Black Panther #9, $2.99. Written by Reginald Hudlin, Art by David Yardin. The final part of the 4-part X-Men crossover story. So far, this crossover is faring about as well as the previous X-Men and Black Panther solo stories have - pretty unimpressive. Hopefully House of M and Decimation will fix some of the editorial problems books like these are having. But with issue 12 fast approaching, and no sign of the “rise to importance” of this book in site, one can’t help but conclude that those promises were just a bunch of hype. 32 Pages.

Black Widow 2 #2 (Of 6), $2.99. Written by Richard K Morgan, Art by Sean Phillips and Bill Sienkiewicz. I really get a funny feeling that in 2 months, I am going to be asking why you didn’t start reading this at the beginning. I mean, I told you how good the first Black Widow series was - I reminded you when the first issue came out, you must have seen the reviews it got. It still isn’t too late to jump in on this one - it has a good chance of being the best Marvel mini of the year. 32 Pages.

Book Of Lost Souls #1, $2.99. Written by J. Michael Straczynski, Art by Colleen Doran. Those lamenting the lack of JMS on Amazing Spider-Man might want to give this book a shot this week - the first issue of a multi-part mini. I only know of 5 issues for sure, but there could be more, Marvel hasn’t really said. But, it does look to be the longest ICON series since Powers, which is a pretty major milestone. This series looks like it will have some horror/fantasy themes, right up the alley of Distant Soils artist Colleen Doran, known for her fantasy work (and we can’t forget Marvel’s Power Pack). Should be a decent collaboration, one to look out for. 32 Pages.

Captain America #11, $2.99. Written by Ed Brubaker, Art by Steve Epting. Another one of those books that is just a pleasure to read. And an instance where Marvel got an idea right where DC seemed to flounder - specifically the Bucky as the Winter Soldier vs. Jason Todd as the Red Hood. If we are going to have a story about an old side-kick returning to oppose the hero, this is the way it should be done. Looking forward to seeing how this arc pans out. 32 Pages.

Daredevil #78, $2.99. Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Art by Alex Maleev. Is it too early to start talking about Brubaker on this book? Granted, there are still two issues after this one on the more than acclaimed Bendis/Maleev run, but honestly, how often can someone say “this is amazing, you must read it!” and not get a little bored? This is the fast approaching end of an extremely acclaimed run, so you can expect something major is bound to happen. A good time to get in on it, if only in anticipation of the new team. 32 Pages.

Defenders #4 (Of 5), $2.99. Written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, Art by Kevin Maguire. These guys just can’t seem to write a dud, can they? I mean, it is a Defenders book - when you first hear about it, you figure it will flop just like Defenders books usually do. Then when you look at the creative team, the expectations go up, and then they meet those expectations, and you have a very fun read. It is books like this that just prove that super hero books don’t have to be uber-serious to be enjoyable. A good one to pick up as a trade if you missed it. 32 Pages.

Drax The Destroyer #2 (Of 4), $2.99. Written by Keith Giffen, Art by Mitch Breitweiser. Well, this series seems to be turning out surprisingly good, which has become fairly typical of Giffen’s work. Personally, I tend to get a little bored when the main characters of a story are uber-powerful beings (Drax and probably Thanos in this case), but that is simply a matter of taste. If you are a fan of the character, this series should be doing well by you. 32 Pages.

Hercules New Labors Of Hercules TPB, $13.99. Written by Frank Tieri, Art by Mark Texiera. A Hercules fan? How about a fan of the old Avengers in general? This series was probably the best Hercules story to come out in quite some time. Put this together with some of the Thor stuff, why is it that the old Avengers’s best stories come out when the team has been shattered? In any case - this series was a lot better than most thought it would be - an excellent pick up in trade format. Especially for the fans. 120 Pages.

Hulk Destruction #4 (Of 4), $2.99. Written by Peter David, Art by Jim Muniz. Man, seems like this one took forever to finish up - was it bimonthly? Could be totally wrong on that one. The series does have loose ties to the video game, or at least, it seems so. So anyone who has played through the game probably has an idea of how this one is wrapping up. This series will no doubt see trade format at some point. 32 Pages.

Kabuki #5, $4.99. By David Mack. Personally, the Kabuki stories generally bore me, a matter of personal taste more than anything. But no one can deny that Mack’s art is absolutely gorgeous. Thankfully, for anyone with similar tastes to mine, this edition is all about the art. There are supposed to be some bits of unpublished stories, but the real highlight here is the sketch pages, a bunch of previously unreleased art, some commentary, and a lot more. This one is really for fans of art in general, not just “comic art.” Mack certainly has transcended that genre. 48 Pages.

New Avengers #12, $2.50. Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Art by David Finch. Twelve issues into this “New” Avengers is as good a time as any to evaluate the concept as a whole thus far. The old arguments against it certainly apply still. But the fact is - people are talking about the book again. It is more popular than the old Avengers had been in a while, and it rests pretty comfortably on the top of the team book pile. I mean, Fantastic Four is a team book, but more like a “family” thing, not a team. Anyway - this was meant to be Marvel’s JLA, and they seem to have succeeded there. There are lots of ups and downs, but in the end this was a positive thing. Heck - I wasn’t a regular Avengers reader before, and I am now. That is improvement. Now if only they would drop that New from the title… 32 Pages.

New Thunderbolts #14, $2.99. Written by Fabian Nicieza, Art by Tom Grummett. Your standard hero vs hero here, this time with the Avengers vs. Thunderbolts. “New” in both cases. I suppose complaining about the plethora of New books is getting as old as the New titles, isn’t it? This sort hero vs. hero of thing doesn’t seem to happen as much as it used to, so it is kind of a treat to see. Should be a solid, fun issue, thought you might want to pick up issue #13 before diving into this one. 32 Pages.

New X-Men #19, $2.99. Written by Nunzio DeFillippis and Christina Weir, Art by Aaron Lopresti. Well, in a sense, the end of an era. The team on this book did a fantastic job of making this the best written X-book on the market, and though there was a bit of let down with the House of M tie-in, they still went out strong. Next issue, early next month, will feature a new creative team, and a new “New X-Men,” necessarily taking a different shape in the wake of House of M. Starring X-23. Perhaps it is overly negative, but characters like X-23 are a big reason that the mutant-verse is as over burdened as Quesada said it was. It is understandable that even the best X-books are going to have to change to make the mutant story more enjoyable, but to cast in the lead of this title the best example of an overly redundant, wholly unneeded mutant character does do some damage to the hope that Decimation will finally fix the X-books for good. Still trying to keep an open mind, but this makes me wary. 32 Pages.

New X-Men Academy X Yearbook Special, $3.99. Written by Nunzio DeFillippis and Christina Weir, art by Georges Jeanty. Yearbook is really an apt definition of this issue. Part annual, part Official Handbook, and coming at the end of an acclaimed run not unlike a yearbook, this issue will break down the various New Mutants and Hellions that have appeared in this title under DeFillippis and Weir’s run. A great curtain call for this title. 48 Pages.

Sentry #2 (Of 8), $2.99. Written by Paul Jenkins, Art by John Romita, Jr. Fairly decent start, though this book seems really geared towards existing fans of the Sentry, rather than a means to introduce a long dormant character to a new crop of readers seeing him in New Avengers for the first time. Is this a bad thing? Really too early to tell. But don’t expect to walk into this one if you are a Sentry neophyte and totally get it. 32 Pages.

Ultimate Fantastic Four Vol 4 Inhuman TPB, $12.99. Written by Mark Millar and Mike Carey, Art by Jae Lee. You know, if you were to buy the issues collected in this trade individually (Ultimate Fantastic Four #19-20 and Annual #1), it would actually be cheaper than buying the trade. By like $4 - those issues individually have a cover price of $8.74. This had to be a mistake - just had to be. So looking at the page count, it doesn’t appear on the surface that another issue isn’t included here. But if there were ad pages removed, and another issue crammed in there, that still makes this collection a couple bucks more than the issues itself. And Marvel didn’t promote any extras in this collection - you really have to ask what gives! There has to be a typo in this solicit somewhere. 96 Pages.

Ultimate Secret #4 (Of 4), $2.99. Written by Warren Ellis, Art by Tom Raney. Well, looks like this one is finally moving along. Still going to be a long wait for the concluding series, Ultimate Extinction, which is set to start up in January. Good to see this one finally get wrapped up, but for those waiting with baited breath to see how this turns out, I am sorry to say that the wait isn’t over. 32 Pages.

Wolverine #35, $2.50. Written by Daniel Way, Art by Javier Saltares. It has been said before, but Way really has an unenviable task here. To start a title on an event crossover, an event where your lead character is a main player, where you really have no say what is going to happen. Not only is it tough to ease into the character, it is almost impossible to use the time to set the stage for your stories that are to come. Nope, don’t envy Way one bit. In that light, he has gotten some poor reviews for his work thus far. To that, Wolverine fans should cut the guy a little bit of slack. At least, for a little while. There aren’t many tougher positions for a writer to be in. 32 Pages.

X-Men The End Vol 2 Heroes And Martyrs TPB, $14.99. Written by Chris Claremont, Art by Sean Chen. Once again - House of M kind of puts this series in a whole new light, doesn’t it? Since the universe is to be drastically altered, why not suppose what the end of that old universe might have been like? Works for me. This trade collects Heroes and Martyrs #1-6, the second X-Men: The End series. 144 Pages.

Young Avengers #8, $2.99. Written by Allan Heinburg, Art by Andrea Di Vito. You know, a Young Avengers/Runaways crossover might be kind of neat. Maybe that is only me, but it could be a pretty fun read. In any case, this title continues to be a solid read, and shouldn’t be affected at all by any House of M shake ups. Andrea Di Vito is still on a guest stint on this book, but she is doing a fantastic job, and there is no rush to see her go anywhere soon. Might not be the best first issue to jump aboard, but you have to start sometime. 32 Pages.

Craig’s Pick of the Week

JSA Classified #4, $2.50. Written by Geoff Johns, Art and cover by Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palmiotti. This one is a no-brainer for pick of the week. With all of the hubbub surrounding the end of Infinite Crisis #1, casting the light once again on the original Crisis, the question of Power Girl’s origin becomes that much more important. This issue, picking up with Power Girl’s confrontation with Psycho Pirate, promises to answer once and for all just who Power Girl is. This is really a can’t miss issue this week, especially since Power Girl almost certainly is going to play a major role in the next issue of Infinite Crisis. 32 Pages.

NOTE: Opinions here may not reflect those of X-World Comics LLC or it’s staff and are solely the opinions of the writer.

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