ON THE SHELF THIS WEEK
by Craig Reade

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

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #542, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics.
Written by J. Michael Straczynski, Art by Ron Garney, Bill Reinhold, and Matt Milla.

Going into One More Day, who knows what can happen in this issue. Since One More Day is supposed to “fix” Spider-Man, the rumors that they are going to completely erase the last several years of Spider-Man’s history is plausible. That being the case – anything could happen here. With just two issues left the Back in Black arc on Amazing, and provided this story will be completely erased once it is all said and done, just what will Peter Parker do here? Having a partial reboot of the Spider-Man continuity already planned is practically a license to let it all hang out.

These next two issues may well be the craziest ones this title has seen in a long time.

ANNIHILATION CONQUEST STAR LORD #1 (OF 4), $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics.
Written by Keith Giffen, Art by Timothy Green III, Victor Olazaba, and Nathan Fairbairn.

Another week, another Annihilation Conquest mini kick-off. Last week’s Quasar was a decent start – and with Keith Giffen at the helm for this mini, expectations are similarly high. The solicit for this issue mentions Rocket Raccoon – heck, if DC can bring back Detective Chimp and make it work, why not Rocket Raccoon?

This latest Annihilation event is chugging along quite smoothly. Best get aboard now before you miss out on it again!

CABLE DEADPOOL #43, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics.
Written by Fabian Nicieza, Art by Reilly Brown, Jeremy Freeman, and Gotham.

After a nice long run that focused almost solely on Deadpool, we are coming off a two-parter that remembered that Cable was also a star of this book. While that will satisfy fans of Cable, it is kind of nice to tip the scales back towards the Merc With a Mouth. With Wolverine to boot. While some people may get tired of Wolverine, who often makes guest appearances throughout the Marvel Universe, his pairings with Wolverine have always been entertaining.

Despite some initial misgivings about the direction Nicieza was taking his co-creation, he has really taken ownership of the character, paying due respect to the aspects of Deadpool’s history that came from other writers (forgetting some of the less-than-stellar moments), and really advancing the character. It has been a while since we had a good, old-fashioned Deadpool/Wolverine match-up. If recent history is any indication, Nicieza will spin another good tale here.

GRENDEL BEHOLD THE DEVIL #0, $0.50, 16 Pages, Dark Horse.
By Matt Wagner.

50 cent books are always worth at least a peak, especially from publishers like Image and Dark Horse. It always seems easier to jump into a new ongoing from DC or Marvel, but with Dark Horse, most of their titles like this are minis. Why gamble the full cover price on a 1 of 6 when you will have to work harder to find the issues, and fewer people you know will be reading it?

Plus, preview issues like this one give you everything in one shot. If it is well put together, you will walk away from this issue knowing everything you need to about Hunter Rose, the original Grendel, and the focus of this mini. Of course, Matt Wagner is the same writer who will be taking on the upcoming Zorro series – this would be an excellent chance to sample his work.

IRON MAN #20, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics.
Written by Christos Gage, Art by Butch Guice and Dean White.

It can’t be an easy task for a writer to helm the solo series of Iron Man. But there are some perks to writing him these days as well. Sure, there are those that don’t even consider Tony Stark a hero anymore. But if you think about the intent of Civil War, he was never supposed to be the villain. A failure in writing lead to the current perception of the character. In his eyes, he really did intend to do good. For Gage to take this damaged character and tell this story through his eyes, and actually make him the hero of his own title – lesser writers couldn’t pull it off. Thankfully, Gage doesn’t seem bothered by the challenge.

This issue follows up on Tony Starks crushing defeat by the Hulk. What happens to SHIELD now that Stark is missing? And what did happen to Iron Man? Many people dislike tie-in issues these days, but this one is probably worth checking out.

JSA CLASSIFIED #28, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics.
Written by Fabian Nicieza; Art and Cover by Steve Uy

This is exactly the kind of story this title was made for. Jakeem Thunder is a newer character that a lot of newer DCU readers would have no clue about. He has had relatively few appearances over this short 10 year history, despite being a regular member of the Justice Society, and since his backstory is somewhat complicated, it is difficult to really flesh out that history for the DC neophyte, especially when he is part of an ensemble book.

So, we get this issue, a stand alone that will focus on Jakeem and the Thunderbolt, and if done properly, will answer any of the basic questions people might have about the character. This title is a perfect supplement to the Justice Society of America title.

WONDER WOMAN #11, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics,
Written by Will Pfeifer; Art by Paco Diaz ; Cover by Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson

After wrapping up Jodi Picoult’s run last month, the slow countdown to Gail Simone’s ascension begins with this issue, a stand-alone from Will Pfeifer. You may recall Pfeifer stepping up and filling in on issue #5 of this title after the delays on Allan Heinberg’s arc. That issue was decent – it did get a lot of criticism, mostly from people who were really disappointed at the change, though. He has done a decent job on the Amazons Attack event, and that parallel should work well for this issue. Anyone who has been reading Catwoman since he took over will tell you that he can spin a great story.

Pfeifer would no doubt do fairly well as an ongoing Wonder Woman writer – but that is something we won’t get the chance to see for some time. Odds are we will be seeing Gail Simone at the helm of this title for a long, long time.

SPOTLIGHT PICK OF THE WEEK

FEAR AGENT LAST GOODBYE #2, $2.99, 32 Pages, Dark Horse.
Written by Rick Remender, Art by Tony Moore, Ande Parks, and Lee Loughridge.

Fear Agent moving over to Dark Horse really was a spot of good news. Sure, it wouldn’t be ongoing anymore, but considering that almost all of the really successful properties Dark Horse puts out are in the “series of minis” format, there was little concern there. Cal McDonald and Hellboy fans seem plenty happy with the system, so why couldn’t it work for Fear Agent? It is still really early yet, but so far, so good.

After a brief nod to those readers who followed the title over from Image, Remender turned back the clock, and began the tale of how the Fear Agents came to be. A real change of pace, but it has already added a great deal to the background of Heath Huston, adding read depth to the stories that came before this.

There really isn’t a sci-fi series out there right now that approaches this level of quality. We really need more like it.

DARK HORSE COMICS

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #5, $2.99 Now: $2.69
FEAR AGENT LAST GOODBYE #2, $2.99 Now: $2.59
GRENDEL BEHOLD THE DEVIL #0, $0.50
HELLBOY DARKNESS CALLS #4 (OF 6), $2.99 Now: $2.59

DC COMICS

ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN THE BOY WONDER #6, $2.99 Now: $2.25
ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN VAR EDITION #6, $8.99
BLUE BEETLE #17, $2.99 Now: $2.69
COUNTDOWN 40, $2.99 Now: $2.59
CROSSING MIDNIGHT #9 (MR), $2.99 Now: $2.69
DEATHBLOW #6, $2.99 Now: $2.59
GREEN ARROW YEAR ONE #2 (OF 6), $2.99 Now: $2.59
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #14, $2.99 Now: $2.69
HAWKGIRL #66, $2.99 Now: $2.59
JSA CLASSIFIED #28, $2.99 Now: $2.59
NINJA SCROLL #11, $2.99 Now: $2.59
SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #32, $2.99 Now: $2.59
SUPERMAN #665, $2.99 Now: $2.39
TEEN TITANS #49, $2.99 Now: $2.69
TEEN TITANS GO #45, $2.25 Now: $1.99
TESTAMENT #19 (MR), $2.99 Now: $2.59
WONDER WOMAN #11, $2.99 Now: $2.69

IMAGE COMICS

HIDING IN TIME #1 (OF 4), $3.50 Now: $2.99

MARVEL COMICS

ALL NEW OFF HB MARVEL UNIVERSE A TO Z UPDATE #3, $3.99 Now: $3.49
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #542, $2.99 Now: $2.69
ANNIHILATION CONQUEST STAR LORD #1 (OF 4), $2.99 Now: $2.79
BLACK PANTHER #29, $2.99 Now: $2.69
CABLE DEADPOOL #43, $2.99 Now: $2.79
FANTASTIC FIVE #2 (OF 5), $2.99 Now: $2.69
GHOST RIDER 2ND PTG SALTARES VAR #12, $2.99[/strike] Now: $2.69
HEROES FOR HIRE 2ND PTG VAR #11, $2.99[/strike] Now: $2.69
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #7, $2.99 Now: $2.69
INCREDIBLE HULK #108, $2.99 Now: $2.69
INCREDIBLE HULK 2ND PTG FRANK VAR #107, $2.99 Now: $2.69
INCREDIBLE HULK 3RD PTG VAR #106, $2.99 Now: $2.69
IRON MAN #20, $2.99 Now: $2.39
IRON MAN 2ND PTG VAR #19, $2.99 Now: $2.69
MAGICIAN APPRENTICE #9 (OF 12), $2.99 Now: $2.79
MIGHTY AVENGERS #4, $2.99 Now: $2.69
ONSLAUGHT REBORN #4 (OF 5), $2.99 Now: $2.69
SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #39, $2.99 Now: $2.69
SILVER SURFER REQUIEM #3 (OF 4), $3.99 Now: $3.49
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #44, $2.99 Now: $2.69
WOLVERINE #55, $2.99 Now: $2.69
WOLVERINE B&W VAR #55, $2.99 Now: $2.79
WOLVERINE LAND VAR #55, $3.99
X-MEN #201, $2.99 Now: $2.79
X-MEN FIRST CLASS VOL 2 #2, $2.99 Now: $2.69

SNIKT!

The often discussed Wolverine feature film has found a director in the form of Oscar Winner Gavin Hood. May not be huge news, but this does make the film one step closer to reality.

It is tough to say whether this selection is good news or not – he really only has 4 feature films to his credit. And though Tsotsi won the Best Foreign Language Film, the only Hollywood feature he has directed is the upcoming Rendition. His lack of American film experience, particularly this genre, might be a liability. Of course, Stargate SG1 fans might remember Hood as the Russian Colonel Alexi Vaelov from the Lockdown episode. Maybe this bit of sci-fi experience is enough to put him in touch with the wants of his target audience.

COMICON

Light news this week, no doubt all the major stuff is holding for panels at this years San Diego Comicon, which is being held at the usual place from July 26th-29th. Apparently, tickets are already sold out for Saturday, so if you are planning on attending and still haven’t purchased tickets, you should do so now through their website at – http://www.comic-con.org/.

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!