ON THE SHELF IN DECEMBER
by Craig Reade

DARK HORSE COMICS
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Page 18 – Outer Orbit #1 (of 4), $2.99, 32 Pages. By Zack Howard, Hand Ronionoff, Sean Murphy, and Charlie Kirchoff. A little sci-fi warm-up in anticipation of Fear Agent’s move to Dark Horse? Maybe, but don’t expect anything serious out of this comic book. Definitely set up as a tounge-and-cheeck sci-fi comedy, with a little partial nudity to boot. Hey – any comic that has a hairy green butt in the promo page has got to be weird. This one has some real potential.

Page 23 – The Bakers Meet Jingle Belle, $2.99, 32 pages. Written by Paul Dini, Art by Kyle Baker. Not even the awesomeness of Kyle Baker can change my mind about Jingle Belle this year. She used to be an annual Christmas tradition for me (well, most times AFTER Christmas, but a tradition all the same), but last year Dini decided to use what was supposed to be a festive and fun holiday comic and turn it into the tallest soap-box in the land. There is a time and a place for political grandstanding, and sometimes in comics that line is blurred. But a holiday comic? Not anywhere near the gray area. Jingle Belle is forever tainted as a result.

DC COMICS
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Page 57 – Batman Confidential #1, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Andy Diggle, Art by Whilce Portacio. Well, the much hyped Batman Confidential starts up this month, and quite possibly on the exact wrong foot. As you know, this series is supposed to look at the early days of Batman’s career, much like the focus of Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight. Problem is – LODK is still coming out, and there isn’t any apparent shift in focus for that book – at least, none announced. To stumble even farther, this title is starting with a long six issue story arc. Flashback books almost always end up being occasional reads, and long story arcs like this one lose readers fast, especially when the story really has no impact on the character’s actual development whatsoever. DC has already stumbled badly on this book – fans were looking for something fresh, dense (a couple issues, fine, but six? Come on!), and just about anything other than a flashier version Legends of the Dark Knight. Sadly, that is what we look to be getting.

Page 67 – Superman #659, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Kurt Busiek, Art by Rick Leonardi and Jesus Merino. Come on, you know you wanted to know – what did happen to Krypto after Infinite Crisis? Looks like Busiek is going to answer that question by focusing this entire issue on Superman’s Best Friend, and hints at a future story for the character. That is awesome – as corny as super-pets can be, Krypto is the exception that proves the rule. The dog is just cool – silly cape and all. Glad to see he is getting some page-time.

Page 72 – Birds of Prey #101, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Gail Simone, Art by Nicola Scott and Doug Hazlewood. Maybe a bit of a spoiler, but it could be good news for some. Manhunter figures prominently in this issue – and takes center stage on the cover. Is she a permanent addition to the title, or is this just a guest appearance? I am still greedy enough to want her ongoing to continue either way, but in the short term, this is an interesting development. Manhunter fans who aren’t reading Birds of Prey might want to pick up issue 100 and see about sticking around for a while.

Page 74 – DCU Infinite Christmas Special, $4.99, 80 Pages. By Various. Bad pun aside, a DC Christmas Special seems about as wrong as a Marvel Christmas Special seems right. Don’t ask me why – Marvel’s Holiday books are always something to look forward to. This just raises a curious eyebrow. In any case, DC is giving it a go this year, with a few short stories featuring Superman, Supergirl, Batwoman, Captain Marvel, Green Lantern, the Flash, and the Shadowpact. Worth a shot, especially if you like Christmas issues. Definitely getting a lot of material for your money at the very least.

Page 80 – Justice Society of America #1, $3.99, 48 Pages. Written by Geoff Johns, Art by Dale Eaglesham and Art Thibert. Maybe not as celebrated a start as Justice League of America was getting at this point in the game – but it should be no less anticipated. A fresh start for the Justice Society combined with DC’s renewed effort to make JSA Classified a gateway to this team of classic characters should make this an interesting era for the team. JSA was a fantastic book that was virtually impenetrable to the new DC reader, owing to a lot of obscure (today) characters with a ton of history. Everyone knows Superman and Batman at a glance, but Hourman and Mr. Terrific? Not so much so. Thanks to some exposure in Infinite Crisis, and the Classified exposés of characters like Power Girl, it is a great time for a fresh start. Check this title out – it is sure to be a good one.

Page 84 – Manhunter #26, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Marc Andreyko, Art by Javier Pina and Robin Riggs. Speaking of Manhunter, issue #26 has finally arrived. Many of you may recall Manhunter was cancelled as of #25, but in true Spider-Girl fashion, fan support gave this title a 5 issue reprieve. From the looks of this solicit, DC has something more in mind. Starting the arc off with a pretty major guest appearance (Wonder Woman), DC looks to be upping the stakes a little bit by inducing a little online reader participation.

Page 88 – The Spirit #1, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Darwyn Cooke, Art by Cooke and J. Bone. Looks like November’s one shot with Batman wasn’t the last we were going to see of Will Eisner’s The Spirit. Starting in December, a new The Spirit ongoing will start up, this time with New Frontier’s Cooke at the helm. Hopefully Cooke can do The Spirit justice. If so, this should be a great read.

Page 111 – Sandman Mystery Theater: Sleep of Reason #1 (of 5), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by John Rey Rieber, Art by Eric Nguyen. Been a while since we have seen a new Sandman mini- fans of those spin-offs should be pleased. This series takes a look at Kieran Marshall, a photojournalist who is forced to take up the mantle of the Sandman. Hopefully this series will live up to the name.

IMAGE COMICS
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Page 130 – Spawn/Batman: Inner Demons, $5.99, 56 Pages. By Todd McFarlane. McFarlane is back on Spawn with this one-shot team-up issue featuring Batman. In classic inter-publisher crossover action, Batman will square off against the Clown as Spawn contends with Batman’s own clown, the Joker. So far, this seems to be run-of-the-mill crossover stuff, but McFarlane fans should be pleased at his return.

Page 169 – The Darkness/Pitt First Look, $2.99, 24 Pages. Written by Paul Jenkins, Art by Dale Keown. You read that right – Pitt. Way back at conventions in 2003, Marc Silvestri was promising the return of Pitt. Sure, it took a little while (that is how it goes with Top Cow sometimes), but it looks like that promise is finally being realized. This one-shot is mostly a teaser for the upcoming 4 issue Darkness/Pitt series slated to come out next year, but it is more than enough to whet the palate of Pitt fans all around.

MARVEL COMICS
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Page M12 – Ultimate Vision #1 (of 5), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Mike Carey, Art by Brandon Peterson. The whole idea of a “female” robot never really made sense. Not that a “male” robot makes any more sense, but at least there the form is somewhat generic. Sex appeal and having all the right parts makes absolutely no sense on an android like this – especially one alien in origin. In any case, the character is back in her own mini in a story picking up right after Ultimate Extinction ends. If you enjoyed her character, be on the lookout for this mini.

Page M20 – Spider-Man: Reign #1 (of 4), $3.99, 48 Pages. By Kaare Andrews. This cover of a grieving Spider-Man draped over the gravestone of Mary Jane has been floating around the internet for a little while now – an image that lead many to believe that Marvel would be killing Mary Jane off shortly after Civil War. Of course, this cover instead turns out to be more of a What If? type scenario, a Spider-Man: The End if you will. The idea of killing Mary Jane is a very controversial one – maybe this mini is something of a test balloon to see if they could really pull it off?

Page M31 – Winter Soldier: Winter Kills, $3.99, 48 Pages. Written by Ed Brubaker, Art by Lee Weeks. Looks like Marvel isn’t going to be done with Bucky anytime soon. Handled properly (by anyone who might happen to write him after Brubaker), the Winter Soldier could be a very good thing for the Marvel Universe. It is a fresh idea and a virtually new character, but one with a very strong Marvel foundation. Many people share a similar complaint with Marvel – that it seems to have no regard to its own history. DC characters exude their history, Marvel seems to forget theirs. This character breaks that mold. The Winter Soldier is probably the most promising thing in the Marvel Universe right now.

Page M38 – Iron Man/Captain America: Casualties of War, $3.99, 48 Pages. Written by Christos Gage, Art by Jeremy Haun. Believe it or not, it is not always fun to repeatedly point out a story’s flaws. Easy sometimes, sure, but not always fun. Marvel has been on the receiving end of a lot of fire over the years for a lot of good reasons, but for some reason, Civil War seemed like it just might be the beginning of a turnaround. And despite some rocky specifics, that hope almost seemed well placed. Until it all unraveled. All the character inconsistencies, the lack of real plot development, the excessive use of tie-ins to tell the real story (well, what should have been the real story still hasn’t been told, but I digress) -it finally came crumbling down, and all hopes of something better seem dashed. This one-shot is a prime example of this. The image of a bloody Captain America standing over a smoldering Iron Man is just wrong. Not in the tragic ‘brother vs. brother’ since, but in the sense that it makes absolutely no sense for them to be at this point. One could spend pages calling Marvel to the floor over this, but really – it has all been done before, and it really couldn’t properly express the total disappointment in the end result of so much hype.

Page M39 – Marvel Holiday Special, $3.99, 48 Pages. Written by Mike Carey, Roger Langridge, Scott Gray, and Shaenon Garrity, Art by Mike Perkins, Roger Langridge and Ron Lim. An annual issue worth looking forward to – the Marvel Holiday Special! Nothing like a good hearted super-hero romp to get you in the mood for the holidays. A must-buy every year.

Page M42 – New Avengers: Illuminati #1 (of 5), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Brian Michael Bendis and Brian Reed, Art by Jim Cheung. Looks like Marvel is going to give this whole Illuminati business another go. Hopefully this will tie into the Hulk’s eventual return to Earth – Planet Hulk being about the best thing to come out of the last go-round. Hopefully this one is better than the last effort – time will tell, of course.

Page M43 – New Universal #1, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Warren Ellis, Art by Salvador Larroca. With the success of Heroes, it sure didn’t take long for Marvel to follow suit with a similar concept. Of course, this isn’t a new concept, now is it? Ellis is reviving Marvel’s New Universe, and it looks like they are going to be starting from scratch here. Ellis is a good choice for a project like this – he can be hit and miss, especially when he lets himself get lost wandering in plotless oblivion (as Planetary was often prone to), but he is quite capable of capturing the right atmosphere to make this new attempt at a New Universe a success. The White Event is almost upon us.

Page M50 – She-Hulk #14, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Dan Slott, Art by Rick Burchett. Ha! The origin of Awesome Andy – perhaps one of the very best characters in the Marvel Universe right now. OK, maybe not the best in terms of character depth and complexity, but he is one of the coolest. Nice to see the spotlight on him for a short time. This issue is supposed to tell how he went from the service of the Mad Thinker to being the big lug we all know and love. Should be a fun issue.

Page M79 – Red Prophet: The Tales of Alvin Maker #4 (of 12), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Orsen Scott Card and Roland Bernard Brown, Art by Renato Arlem. Whoa – Marvel hooking up with Dabel Brothers. Awesome for Dabel – they have been producing some great stuff of late, and the extra exposure will be a real left. This series, of course, is the adaptation of the first of the Alvin Maker novels. That series is set in a really rich universe, one with a lot of possibility, something that would eventually make for a great original comic series. Maybe if this adaptation does well, we will see something like that in the future. I know I would be up for a book like that one…

Craig’s Top Five of the Month

#5 – The Darkness/Pitt First Look, Image/Top Cow. First we have seen of Pitt in a long time. Hope it is good!

#4 – New Universal #1, Marvel. Will the latest effort at the New Universe pay off? Just might.

#3 – Marvel Holiday Special, Marvel. A tradition for me for sure. Nothing says Christmas like Marvel’s holiday book.

#2 – Manhunter #26, DC. Seriously – you need to be reading this title. It’s cancellation caused an uproar for a reason. You are missing out if you aren’t ALREADY reading it!

#1 – Justice Society of America #1, DC. This is as exciting, if not more exciting, than the new Justice League series. Remember all that time that JLA was a quality roller coaster? JSA was always good. Expect Justice Society to be just as consistent.

Craig’s Collection of the Month

Page 142 – The Complete Invincible Library Volume 1, $125.00, 768 Pages, Image Comics. Written by Robert Kirkman, Art by Ryan Ottley, Bill Crabtree, Cory Walker, and various. This is the collection of the month – hands down. This volume puts together content previously collected in the “Ultimate Collection” 1 and 2, including Invincible #0-24, The Free Comic Book Day 2004 Story, and promises 150 pages of extras. A great buy for an Invincible fan for sure. As hardcovers usually go, this might be a bit steep for a new Invincible reader, but it is possibly one of the few times it might be worth taking that plunge. Invincible has gotten solid raves from every quarter, and truly is one of (if not the) best superhero books on the shelf today. If you aren’t reading it, you should be. And this is the perfect way to get up to speed. Highly recommended.

NOTE: Opinions here may not reflect those of X-World Comics LLC or it’s staff and are solely the opinions of the writer. Want to comment on this week’s newsletter? Give your feedback here!

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