ON THE SHELF THIS WEEK
by Craig Reade

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
Order any of the below titles by clicking here!

ANNIHILATION CONQUEST WRAITH #1 (OF 4), $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel.
Written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Art by Kyle Hotz and Gina Going Raney.

It is a real surprise that Grillo-Marxauch is still being promoted based on his work on Lost and Medium. He doesn’t have that extensive of a comic resume, but when your first two books are Viper‘s Middleman series and the Super-Skrull mini from last year’s Annihilation, one would think he has earned more than enough credibility among comic readers that you wouldn’t have to fall back on his TV projects.

Looks like this is going to be a new Wraith (no, it seems as if Brian DeWolff will not be rising from the grave, at least I don’t think so!), and a new character is likely to play to Grillo-Marxauch‘s strengths. He is still fairly new to the comic genre after all, and having a little more creative liberty with characters usually helps newcomers tell a better story. It takes a lot of skill to deal with editorial constraints, and a new character just won’t have as many of those.

This Annihilation is already off to a better start than the last one – hopefully it keeps up!

BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL #7, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics.
Written by Michael Green; Art and Cover by Denys Cowan and John Floyd

This one might serve to divide readers, but it is what the Confidential line is supposed to be about. Set in the early days of Batman’s career, this six-parter will focus on the Joker in the days before he was the Clown Prince, and possibly shed some light on who he was before he was disfigured. How closely this origin will match the Killing Joke remains to be seen, of course. Should the Joker’s real origin be revealed? Well, there is certainly something to be said for both sides of the argument. On the one hand, it doesn’t really matter who he was – his character now is so firmly established that what he was before is nothing more than an interesting side-story. On the other hand, the Joker being such a powerful character, it is almost impossible to craft an origin worthy of such an iconic character.

DC has put together an interesting creative team for this arc. Michael Green was a producer on Smallville and a co-executive producer on Heroes. He doesn’t really have any comic experience, but he has been involved with two proven properties – he may be able to bring some fresh ideas to the table. Denys Cowan is known for his artwork on The Question, and more recently for his work on animated series like The Boondocks and Static Shock. Maybe not the ideal team for major revelations, but they might have an idea here.

GREEN ARROW YEAR ONE #1 (OF 6), $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics.
Written by Andy Diggle; Art and Cover by Jock

A little something more for Losers fans, who were just happy enough getting Diggle on Hellblazer – this month he reunites with Jock for the first issue of the Green Arrow Year One mini. Year One stories do seem to be all the rage these days, but with the Black Canary/Green Arrow wedding upcoming, it does make sense to highlight Ollie Queen like this. If anything, this mini is supposed to be definitive, so it will probably clean up some of the frayed ends to the Green Arrow origin story. The basics were always solid, but there were small differences (Were those homegrowers, pirates, or drug runners anyway) – this should straighten all of that out.

A good pick this week if you are new to Green Arrow and are curious about where he came from.

FANTASTIC FIVE #1 (OF 5), $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel.
Written by Tom DeFalco, Art by Ron Lim and Scott Koblish.

You know, it is really something of a shock that the MC2 resurgence has gone on this long. Not that it isn’t worthy – I’ve been a fan since the early days of MC2 (the J2 ongoing is still sorely missed), but it was lucky enough that Spider-Girl managed to survive so long. Sales aren’t really any higher than Spider-Girl ever was – maybe Marvel is just doing better in the trades on these – whatever the reason, they are a joy to read and it is great that they are around, no matter how long they last. Hopefully long enough for J2 to get a mini of his own! Enjoy them while they last.

GREEN LANTERN #21, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics.
Written by Geoff Johns; Art and Cover by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert.

Getting sick of hearing about the Green Lantern yet? Well, you should probably brace for it, it is going to be a hot topic for the next several months. Following up on the outstanding Sinestro Corps Special, this issue starts the Sinestro Corps crossover arc in the Green Lantern titles. I do think that DC has struck on something good in the big picture here. As good as World War Hulk is so far, readers are really tired of mega-events. Crossover fatigue has set in, and when that happens, it is time to go for the smaller events. A Green Lantern-only event is a good way to give readers that break. It will draw new readers to a core title, without requiring them to sacrifice some of their other monthly reads, or require them to empty their already tight wallets to buy dozens of crossover issues. This is an exciting storyline, but it is made even better by the fact that we don’t need to buy 3 issues of Supergirl, Superman, Batman, Nightwing, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Shadowpact, and the Blue Beetle to enjoy it.

You do need to buy Green Lantern to enjoy it, though, so if this isn’t on your list yet – add it. Between this and Annihilation once again, it is suddenly a good time for fans of the cosmic.

SHADOWPACT #15, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics.
Written by Bill Willingham; Art and Cover by Tom Derenick and Wayne Faucher.

Slowly and steadily, this title has become a very enjoyable read. Of course, some readers, particularly ardent fans of Bill Willingham, will say that it has been a great read from the first issue. And while well written, the artistic problems combined with some continuity issues really made this title difficult to get into. Things have finally hit a stride, though, and this has become a title to look forward to month after month as a complete package, not just a decent script. The addition of Zauriel is a good one – it is something of a shock that we haven’t seen the characters from the Helmet of Fate one-shots more than we have, but it is nice to see one of them find a regular home.

ULTIMATE X-MEN #84, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel.
Written by Robert Kirkman, Art by Yanick Paquette, Serge Lapointe, and Stephane Peru.

Robert Kirkman has been on the receiving end of a lot of criticism for his work on this title, and to be blunt, it has been deserved. Not that he hasn’t had flashes of brilliance, but since he took over this title has been rocky and for the most part not all that great. Not that this is any worse than Ultimate X-Men has been for a long time – this title suffered for the better part of its history due to a bloated cast and an over-reliance on ultimizations of 616 characters and storylines. If there was even an issue to give Kirkman one last chance, it is this one.

#84 is going to feature a brand new team under the leadership of Bishop. A clean slate and a fresh storyline is exactly what the doctor ordered here. The ball was set in motion a few months back, but this issue looks to be the key – it will either be the beginning of something special, or proof that there is no hope for improvement here. One to watch very closely.

SPOTLIGHT PICK OF THE WEEK

DEADPOOL GLI SUMMER FUN SPECTACULAR, $3.99, 48 Pages, Marvel Comics.
Written by Dan Slott and Fabian Nicieza, Art by Nelson Decastro.

In a week with two parts of the new Annihilation saga, the next part in the Sinestro Corps storyline, Green Lantern Year One kicking off, and the origin of the Joker, just how do you pick a single issue as the top pick? The easy way – you go with the funny.

Finally – the question will be answered – just what does Squirrel Girl think of the newfound fetish of her first love Robbie Baldwin, now Penance?

There is really so much to love about this issue. Naturally, with the Initiative in full swing, it makes sense that the Great Lakes Gang would step up as the official Wisconsin group. In a way, this is everything they have ever wanted – recognition and “official” status. And whenever they cross paths with Deadpool, it is all the better.

This will be the lighter side of the Civil War fallout to be sure, but don’t count Dan Slott out – he has a mean dark streak, if the GLA mini is any indication. But you can bet that the laughs will be there. With so many high impact issues to choose from this week, it might be easy to overlook something like this. But if you want some pure, uncomplicated comic fun, you really can’t miss this one.

DARK HORSE COMICS

BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #127 (MR), $2.99 Now: $2.59
BPRD GARDEN OF SOULS #5 (OF 5), $2.99 Now: $2.59
STAR WARS LEGACY #14, $2.99 Now: $2.59
STAR WARS REBELLION #8, $2.99 Now: $2.59

DC COMICS

100 BULLETS #84, $2.99 Now: $2.59
BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL #7, $2.99 Now: $2.69
BATMAN STRIKES #35, $2.25 Now: $1.99
COUNTDOWN 42, $2.99 Now: $2.59
DMZ #21 (MR), $2.99 Now: $2.69
FABLES #63 (MR), $2.99 Now: $2.69
GEN 13 #10, $2.99 Now: $2.69
GREEN ARROW YEAR ONE #1 (OF 6), $2.99 Now: $2.39
GREEN LANTERN #21, $2.99 Now: $2.69
GREEN LANTERN VAR ED #21, $10.99
GRIFTER MIDNIGHTER #5 (OF 6) , $2.99 Now: $2.79
JLA CLASSIFIED #40, $2.99 Now: $2.69
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #7, $2.99 Now: $2.69
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA VAR ED #7, $9.99
SHADOWPACT #15, $2.99 Now: $2.79
STORMWATCH PHD #9, $2.99 Now: $2.59
SUPERMAN #664, $2.99 Now: $2.69
SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL #5, $2.99 Now: $2.69

IMAGE COMICS

REPO #2 (OF 5), $3.50 Now: $2.99

MARVEL COMICS

AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL #10, $2.99 Now: $2.69
ANNIHILATION CONQUEST WRAITH #1 (OF 4), $2.99 Now: $2.25
BLADE #11, $2.99 Now: $2.69
CIVIL WAR CHRONICLES #1, $4.99 Now: $4.39
DEADPOOL GLI SUMMER FUN SPECTACULAR, $3.99 Now: $3.49
EXILES #96, $2.99 Now: $2.69
FANTASTIC FIVE #1 (OF 5), $2.99 Now: $2.25
HEDGE KNIGHT 2 SWORN SWORD #2 (OF 6), $2.99 Now: $2.59
NEW AVENGERS #32, $2.99 Now: $2.69
NOVA #4, $2.99 Now: $2.39
OMEGA FLIGHT #4 CWI (OF 5), $2.99 Now: $2.69
PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #9, $2.99 Now: $2.59
SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE #20, $2.99 Now: $2.59
SUB-MARINER #2 CWI (OF 6), $2.99 Now: $2.59
ULTIMATE X-MEN #84, $2.99 Now: $2.59
WONDER MAN MY FAIR SUPER HERO, $13.99 Now: $10.99
WORLD WAR HULK GAMMA CORPS #1 (OF 4), $2.99 Now: $2.69
X-FACTOR #21, $2.99 Now: $2.69

Zuda

DC announcing a new imprint might not seem so exciting, but the fact that it is a web-comic imprint is worth raising an eyebrow.

Zudacomics.com is going to feature all new content in a variety of genres, all submitted by the general public.

The prospect of getting your work officially “published” by DC is enough to get a lot of “aspiring” creators excited, but this is potentially important for a totally different reason. We are in a transitional period in media. While it is unlikely that the print format will die all together, we are at a time when electronic media is taking the place of the print. It makes sense that comics would start to go that direction as well. Of course, as any comic reader will tell you, reading a paper comic is way more enjoyable than reading one on a computer screen. What if that very fact is what kills comics all together some years in the future?

You have to adapt with the times, and it is entirely probable that because comics are generally better in print that in a future dominated by electronic media, sequential art storytelling could become obsolete, and wither away. What does all this have to do with Zuda beyond the obvious?

One of the things that caught my eye was the format of the submissions. One of the reasons traditional comics aren’t as enjoyable on a computer screen has everything to do with format. Who likes to scroll to see the rest of the panels on a page, or have a large panel broken up by the limitations of size? Comics aren’t as fun to read on the computer because they aren’t made to be read on one. Zuda may change that. By standardizing all of their work to a 4:3 aspect ratio, they are in essence creating a standard format for a new digital comic media. Not that they thought of it first, mind you, but they are certainly in the best position to implement it.

This might seem like a novel idea, and a great opportunity for aspiring creators, but it is far bigger than that. This is a test balloon for the future form of sequential art. Definitely something to keep an eye on.

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!

Post your comments in the Forum!