ON THE SHELF THIS WEEK
by Craig Reade

DARK HORSE
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BPRD GARDEN OF SOULS #1 (OF 5), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by John Arcudi, Art by Guy Davis and Mike Mignola. Seems like a very good year for Hellboy and BPRD fans – another new mini is getting its start this week. This one deals with a bit of Abe Sapien’s past, which should make for a good read for fans of the character. Arcudi always does a good job with these minis – this one should be no different.

HELLGATE LONDON #3 (OF 4), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Ian Edginton, Art by Steve Pugh. It is always nice to see a CrossGen vet in the credits of a comic – though it does make one miss those books. Man, has it been so long? This series has turned out to be pretty good, and though there was some confusion about the number of issues (this may well actually be the last issue of this mini), it is shaping up to be a pretty solid lead. Might be one to check out in trades.

DC COMICS
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52 WEEK #45, $2.50, 32 Pages. Written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid; Art breakdowns by Keith Giffen; Art by Pat Olliffe and Drew Geraci; Backup features by Waid and various. So now the word is that Countdown is not a continuation of 52, that it is an original story all its own. Of course, that was an easy mistake to make. Seriously – if you look at the starting number, the week this is supposed to start, the title, DC’s initial marketing… How can you come away with any impression other than Countdown being a continuation of 52? Even if it isn’t, enough still is enough. Event fatigue is still strong, and another weekly book that leads into the next “big event” just isn’t a well timed idea. There are plenty of reasons beyond this book’s ties to 52 to be concerned.

BATMAN STRIKES #31, $2.25, 32 Pages. Written by Matt Manning; Art by Christopher Jones and Terry Beatty. Time flies huh? Seems like only yesterday we were all lamenting the end of Batman Adventures. It is nice to see this title going strong, though it is a real indication of how tastes have changed in such a short time.

CRISIS ON MULTIPLE EARTHS THE TEAM UPS VOL 1 TP, $14.99, 200 Pages. Written by Gardner Fox, John Broome and Mike Friedrich; Art by Gil Kane, Carmine Infantino, Neal Adams and others. Possibly a good trade to pick up if you like old team-up stories. This collects The Atom #29 and #36, the Brave and the Bold #62, The Flash #170 and #173, Green Lantern #45 and #2, and The Spectre #3. A decent buy if you enjoy old issues.

GREEN ARROW #72, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Judd Winick; Art and Cover by Scott McDaniel and Andy Owens. This title has become a shining example of what readers expect from a comic. An enjoyable story with great art, and actually ships on time month in and month out. This team really needs to be commended for their work – this title has been awesome since OYL got its start.

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #10, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Dave Gibbons; Art and Cover by Patrick Gleason and Rodney Ramos. Another title that is on a hot streak that won’t stop. Though it is starting to be a very good time for a few cameos from random Green Lanterns, like Rot Lop Fan! Sorry, that character is cool. In any case – despite a recent upsurge in quality on the main Green Lantern book, this still remains the best book in the line. Well worth checking out.

JLA CLASSIFIED #36, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Peter Milligan; Art by Carlos D’Anda. A new story arc means a new creative team on this book – this time Peter Milligan and company have decided on a Kid Amazo story. Last arc was a real improvement over the previous – let’s hope Milligan keeps up that trend.

ROBIN #160, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Adam Beechen; Art by Freddie Williams II; Cover by Patrick Gleason and Rodney Ramos. There hasn’t been much change in this book – it hasn’t gotten worse, but it is still a little out there. The biggest problem? Characterizations. Everyone seems so cookie-cutter, except Tim, who is just as awesome as can be, no vulnerabilities to speak of.

SUPERMAN #660, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Kurt Busiek; Art by Mike Manley and Bret Blevins. It does seem like a great time to be reading Superman. This title is getting stellar reviews – which isn’t a surprise considering Busiek is writing it. The man seems to do no wrong. The cover this month is pretty cool too. It is still a pin-up, but it isn’t one of those generic pose ones. A step in the right direction.

SUPERMAN BATMAN THE GREATEST STORIES EVER TOLD, $19.99, 192 Pages. Written by Edmond Hamilton, Jeph Loeb and others; Art by Curt Swan, Ed McGuinness and others. Another team-up trade – a real good week for you if you like classic team-up issues. This one collects Superman #76, World’s Finest Comics #142, 159, 176, and 207, Man of Steel #3, Batman and Superman: World’s Finest #7, Superman/Batman Secret Files 2003 and Superman/Batman Annual #1. If you like this team-up, this is a good buy for you.

TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED #6 (OF 8), $3.99, 48 Pages. Written by David Lapham and Brian Azzarello; Art by Eric Battle, Cliff Chiang and Prentis Rollins. This series initially got some rocky reviews, but that ship seems to have settled long ago. Maybe it was some trepidation about Crispus Allen as the Spectre? Any issue that features the Phantom Stranger is worth checking out, as this one does. Series is almost over – still hope that we will see a revival of this title as an ongoing in the future. Not much hope, but a little!

TEEN TITANS #44, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Geoff Johns, Art by Tony S. Daniel and Jonathan Glapion. Johns deserves praise for taking the hard step of at least partly explaining why Batgirl is acting so weird. It isn’t a good excuse, but it doesn’t really need to be. Someone needed to fall on that sword so we could all push it behind us – glad he took care of that for us all. The bad news is, Johns is departing Teen Titans – and handing over the title to Robin scribe Adam Beechen as of issue #47. For those that don’t like the current direction of Robin, this is bad news indeed.

WONDER WOMAN #5, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Will Pfeifer; Art by Jean Diaz, Geraldo Borges and Wellington Diaz. This is something that DC needs to be applauded for. Yes yes – changing gears in the middle of a story arc is generally a bad thing, be it an artist shift or a writer/story change. But this title was beyond late, and just not coming out. Maybe DC could have waited until Heinberg finished before putting out this issue, but in the grand scheme of things – he isn’t going to finish the last part any slower, and there will be Wonder Woman stories in the meantime. Creators should not be able to hold monthly books hostage like this, and if there is any anger at this switch, it should be directed at the people who aren’t meeting their deadlines, and not the publisher.

VERTIGO

FABLES #58 (MR), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Bill Willingham; Art by Mike Allred. OK, it is boring talking about Fables. There is never anything bad to complain about – never! Month in and month out the same thing – “This book is awesome, by this book, Willingham is the greatest!” Ug, can’t do it anymore! Please, can we get one slightly less than excellent issue here so there is something, anything to complain about? Please?

SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE SLEEP OF REASON #4 (OF 5) (MR), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by John Ney Rieber; Art by Eric Nguyen. It has been a pretty quiet release for this title in terms of buzz – what comments there are about this title end up fairly predictable. Long term fans of the franchise like it – not as much as previous stories though. New readers are a little baffled. This is probably the best you can expect from this book – it is doing all it really set out to, and wasn’t designed for a big new readers push. Should be a fairly enjoyable read if you are one of those long time fans.

WILDSTORM

GEN 13 #6, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Gail Simone; Art by Talent Caldwell. It really is amazing how well Simone does when she has this little to work with. Not that this title is amazing – it is pretty par for the course when compared to the original Wildstorm era, but Simone is at least making it readable, to her credit. If you are really dying to check out a new Wildstorm title, this is the one you should start with.

GRIFTER MIDNIGHTER #1 (OF 6), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Chuck Dixon; Art by Ryan Benjamin and Saleem Crawford. Already a crossover? That is a surprise. This might actually be a pretty good read, however – it is the perfect kind of story for Chuck Dixon to handle. If anyone can make this a compelling read, it is him. Might be worth checking this issue out as well.

STORMWATCH PHD #5, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Christos Gage; Art by Matthew Smith. This title has also done ok with its story, but it is really lacking in character development. Perhaps they are just counting on some reader familiarity with the cast, but Gage pretty well skipped any justification for the status the team enjoys. Maybe that is something that will improve with time.

IMAGE
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NOBLE CAUSES #28, $3.50, 32 Pages. Written by Jay Farber, Art by Yildiray Cinar. The art made all the different in the world. A couple issues ago, this book seemed to be teetering on the bring. Then Cinar comes aboard, and instant turnaround. Whew! Noble Causes has such a great cast of characters, it would be a shame to see this title fade away due to artistic difficulties. Hopefully Cinar only gets better – he still has a lot of room to grow with this position, but his initial effort can only de described as outstanding.

MARVEL COMICS
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AVENGERS EARTHS MIGHTIEST HEROES II #7 (OF 8), $3.99, 32 Pages. Written by Joe Casey, Art by William Rosado and Tom Palmer. Seems like this series has been going on for a long time, though it has been pretty well on time if memory serves. A good read for fans of the old Avengers – the price point is a stickler, but it should make a good trade buy when it is all said and done.

BLADE #7, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Marc Guggenheim, Art by Howard Chaykin. This issue promises the death of Blade – perhaps a weird selling point for a stand-alone issue, but that is the approach they are taking. Marvel is making a push for new readers on this book, and it seems to be on the verge for at least a slightly different direction. Maybe soon for something like that, but the series was really only resonating with real hard-core fans of the book, so perhaps it is time to try a little something different.

GHOST RIDER #9, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Daniel Way, Art by Javier Saltares and Mark Texeira. No offense to Daniel Way, but what would it take to get Ivan Velez on this book? His story in the recently released #94 was just outstanding, far more interesting than any other Ghost Rider book that has been released in recent memory. The movie was decent – a great popcorn flick, good enough that there might be a few people who saw the movie willing to check out a Ghost Rider book. Probably a little late to put that best foot forward, but one can dream.

IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN #6, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Robert Kirkman, Art by Phil Hester and Ande Parks. Kirkman’s work at Marvel is so strange. Sometimes it just doesn’t click, much like Ultimate X-Men. Other times it seems to be hitting on all cylinders, like this title. Maybe expectations are a little too high, considering how outstanding his work at Image was (though the lateness is starting to get frustrating), but it is gratifying to see him churn out something like that. Reminds you that he wasn’t just on the right side of two lucky flukes.

JACK KIRBYS GALACTIC BOUNTY HUNTERS #5, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Lisa Kirby and Stever Robertson, Art by Mike Thibodeaux and Karl Kesel. This series started off as a decent tribute, but sadly it is starting to lose a little steam. The original idea may have been Jack Kirby’s, but without his hand to guide it – well, nothing is certain. Hopefully Marvel will bring this to an end before it gets too far. Though another sci-fi book like this one in the near future wouldn’t be such a bad thing. No idea when issue #6 will be out – it isn’t even solicited yet. Maybe things are winding down on its own.

MOON KNIGHT #8, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Charlie Huston, Art by David Finch and Frank D’Armata. This book is still an outstanding read. It could be a little more fast paced (each issue reads a tad too fast), but that is such a minor flaw it is barely worth noticing. Seriously – how many of you thought two years ago that today, Moon Knight would be one of Marvel’s best books? That very idea would have sounded like the punch line to a bad joke. My how things change. It is great to see good old Spector being treated this well.

NEW AVENGERS #28, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Art by Leinil Francis Yu and Dave Stewart. Man, does it seem like we are suddenly surrounded with Avengers or what? New, Mighty, Illuminati – guess Joe Q was series when he said that he wanted the Avengers to be more than just the one book. Mighty Avengers got off to a good start – of course there were some criticisms (though the team was selected in a single issue – that little bit was handled way better than what we got in Justice League), but things seem to be shaping up pretty good for the expanded Avengers line. Still early enough yet to know for sure whether this split has staying power. Lots of people will be watching to see though.

NEW X-MEN #36, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost, Art by Paco Medina and Juan Vlasco. Sometimes you have to wonder why they just don’t change the title of this book to X-23 and get it over with. Over the past few issues, this book has settled into a comfortable mediocrity – far from the heights it once achieved, but far from a total waste. There is something here for some people, especially those who are looking for a pretty mindless action read. Sometimes you just need one of those.

SPIDER-MAN REIGN #4 (OF 4), $3.99, 32 Pages. By Kaare Andrews. After such a controversial cover lead this series off, it is kind of surprising that it has come and gone so quickly to almost no buzz. Especially considering how good it was – a dark but compelling Spider-Man mini – far from the average throwaway marquee character mini we get so often. If you missed this series, it is definitely worth picking up as a trade. Hopefully Andrews can close it out well.

THUNDERBOLTS #112, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Warren Ellis, Art by Mike Deodato. It is safe to say that fans are pretty divided about this new direction. On the one hand, Ellis is telling a decent story here. On the other, Nicieza’s Thunderbolts was so good – there seemed to be no reason at all to drop it the way they did. They couldn’t come up with a new name for this book, instead of just taking over a perfectly good title? This confusion is probably going to last for some time – it had to be expected. No matter how good a job Ellis does, there are going to be a large chunk of readers who will hate it, simply because it isn’t Nicieza’s book anymore. And to be honest – it is easy to relate to that position. The best thing to do would be to forget about comparing this to Nicieza’s run, and enjoy it on its own merits. But that is easier said than done.

THUNDERBOLTS PRESENTS ZEMO BORN BETTER #2 (OF 4), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Fabian Nicieza, Art by Tom Grummett, Gary Erskine, and Chris Sotomayor. On the other hand, Nicieza Thunderbolts fans have a little something to ease the transition – this excellent mini. The first issue was a solid read – as no doubt the rest of this mini will be. This is one to check out.

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN ULTIMATE COLLECTION VOL 1, $24.99, 352 Pages. Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Art by Mark Bagley. This is a good release. Ultimate Spider-Man trades aren’t exactly hard to come by, but thirteen issues this cheap is a great way to get caught up on things. The first year of Ultimate Spider-Man was simple phenomenal and was pretty groundbreaking. Who knew that this team would be able to string together a record setting run and maintain the quality? This trade will be a great addition to your bookshelf if you don’t already have these issues collected.

WOLVERINE ORIGINS #12, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Daniel Way, Art by Steve Dillon. Man, after the last issue of Wolverine, this action-oriented title is starting to look a little better isn’t it? Though it is almost the lesser of two evils – the Son of Wolverine vs. whatever the heck they are making Sabretooth into. Makes you really miss the good old days when Darick Robertson and Greg Rucka were on Wolverine, doesn’t it?

Craig’s Pick of the Week

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #1, $2.99, 32 Pages, Dark Horse. Written by Joss Whedon, Art by Georges Jeanty. Quite possibly the biggest Dark Horse release in some time. Whedon takes up the pen and continues the story of his creation where Season 7 of the show left off. This is one that no Buffy or Whedon fan should pass up. Can’t wait to see what he has in mind for this story.

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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