ON THE SHELF THIS WEEK
by Craig Reade

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
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AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL #13, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Tom Defalco, Art by Ron Frenz, Sal Buscema, and Gotham

So if Spider-Man’s last 20 years are retconned out of existence, will Spider-Girl vanish? Yes, yes, of course MC2 is a totally separate reality at this point, but still…

Defalco really has done a decent job on this title. Spider-Girl was starting to wane a bit towards the end of the last ongoing, but he kicked it into gear long enough to finish strong, and has kept going strong just over a year into Amazing. It was almost like he remembered the roots of this book, and what made it such a draw to readers. Defalco somehow manages to capture the style of a classic Spider-Man story, and puts just enough of a modern twist on it to make the issue palatable to modern readers. The heavy focus on the supporting cast in May’s personal life, the famous Parker bad luck when it comes to tragedy, and the involvement of the villains in Spider-Girl’s family life - these were all hallmarks of the best Spider-Man stories, and Defalco has adopted them with great success.

Amazing Spider-Girl isn’t mindblowing, but it is simply enjoyable. And that is good too.

BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL #10, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Michael Green; Art and Cover by Denys Cowan and John Floyd

This arc has been teasing it, but this issue is supposed to be where we finally see the origin of the Joker. Not that this hasn’t been done before, but it seems like always something came along later down the road to muddy the waters a bit. And who knows, another Crisis could come along any day now that could totally unravel this story. But hey - the Joker is way better when you don’t know where he comes from, isn’t he?

The story has been decent thus far, and though there are a ton of other origins, it is always at least fun to see what someone else comes up with, especially if it is somewhat decently written. This might not be as good as The Killing Joke, but it hasn’t been all that bad either.

CAPTAIN CARROT AND THE FINAL ARK #1 (OF 3), $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Bill Morrison; Art by Scott Shaw! and Al Gordon

It is easy to make fun, but the fact that DC is putting so much behind what some might consider to be an overly silly concept is really quite gratifying. There is nothing wrong with comics for fun, and if you read this series with that in mind, chances are you will enjoy it a lot more. And hey - this series is going to feature Starro, so it is definitely going to link the Zoo Crew to the DCU proper. So it is important for continuity!

FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #24, $3.99, 48 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by J. Michael Straczynski, Art by Joe Quesada, Danny Miki, and Richard Isanove

Well, part one of One More Day is in the can, and fans haven’t revolted yet. The atmosphere is kind of interesting, actually. One would expect a lot more anger and fighting at the prospect of erasing 20 years of the history of a major character like this, but things seem to be at a weird expecting calm. Of course, you have some people who love some of the changes we have seen in Spider-Man like organic web shooters, and there are still more than have resisted those changes since they happen, and couldn’t be happier. You also have those looking forward to wholesale changes in the mythos, like MJ being erased and Peter ending up with Gwen again, and of course there are others who find that idea completely distasteful.

Fans seem on the whole willing to give this story a chance though, which is everything Marvel could have hoped for. Now let’s hope they live up to their end of the bargain!

NOVA #7, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, Art by Sean Chen, Brian Denham, Scott Hanna, and Guru-EFX

You really can’t talk about this title too much. It is amazing that a character who’s appearances were always almost universally destined for the quarter bin has ended up headlining a book of this high quality with this much buzz. As a long-time fan of the character, even I am blown away at what a tremendous job this team has done on this book. This is the best that Nova has ever been, and it isn’t an exaggeration to say that in terms of overall quality, this may be the best book Marvel has on the shelves right now.

This issue is the last part of the Annihilation tie-in arc. But again, as the lead-up minis to Annihilation showed us last year, this story stands perfectly well on its own, and it isn’t necessary to pick up the other minis to enjoy this arc.

SIMON DARK #1, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Steve Niles; Art and Cover by Scott Hampton

OK, another Gotham vigilante? Normally that would be nothing special. Half the heroes in the DCU seem to have roots in Gotham, so another new one is likely to be lost in the shuffle eventually. It is Steve Niles that makes this one special. Niles has such an affinity with dark and creepy storytelling that anything he comes up with in the Gotham setting is worth checking out.

This character is supposed to have parallels with the Frankenstein mythos, so you can probably imagine what that might entail. Should be a good read - well worth checking out.

SPOTLIGHT PICK OF THE WEEK

GREEN ARROW BLACK CANARY #1, $3.50, 40 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Judd Winick; Art and Cover by Cliff Chiang; Variant cover by Chiang

OK, who didn’t see Ollie’s apparent death coming? Granted, probably very few suspected it would come like that. In fact, the end of the Wedding Special was so bizarre that you almost have to pick up this title just to satisfy that urge to know just what the heck happened there. Perhaps it was annoying to some readers, but it was a brilliant way to sell a series.

Winick was pretty well universally hailed for his outstanding work on the Green Arrow ongoing series, and it is only natural to expect that he will continue to do well here. You know this story had to be on his mind when Green Arrow ended - the fact that the Wedding has turned out like this only makes that move make so much more sense.

Just as Green Arrow’s apparent death was telegraphed, it is probably safe to say that all isn’t as it seems. I wouldn’t be surprised if, when all is said and done, Oliver Queen is alive and kicking.

DARK HORSE

BPRD KILLING GROUND #3 (OF 5), $2.99 Now: $2.79

DC COMICS

BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL #10, $2.99 Now: $2.79
BLACK ADAM THE DARK AGE #3 (OF 6), $2.99 Now: $2.39
CAPTAIN CARROT AND THE FINAL ARK #1 (OF 3), $2.99 Now: $2.59
COUNTDOWN 29, $2.99 Now: $2.59
EXTERMINATORS #22 (MR), $2.99 Now:$2.79
GREEN ARROW BLACK CANARY #1, $3.50 Now: $2.79
GREEN ARROW BLACK CANARY VAR ED #1, $9.99
GREEN LANTERN #24, $2.99 Now: $2.79
JACK OF FABLES #15 (MR), $2.99 Now: $2.69
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #38, $2.25 Now: $1.99
SIMON DARK #1, $2.99 Now: $2.25
STORMWATCH PHD #12, $2.99 Now:$2.79
SUPERMAN #668, $2.99 Now: $2.69
UN-MEN #3 (MR), $2.99 Now: $2.79
WONDER GIRL #2 (OF 6), $2.99 Now: $2.25

MARVEL COMICS

AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL #13, $2.99 Now: $2.79
CIVIL WAR CHRONICLES #4, $4.99 Now: $4.39
FANTASTIC FOUR #550, $2.99 Now: $2.69
FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #24, $3.99Now: $3.49
HEROES FOR HIRE #14, $2.99 Now: $2.69
MARVEL ADVENTURES HULK #4, $2.99 Now: $2.59
NEW AVENGERS #35, $2.99 Now: $2.69
NEW AVENGERS TRANSFORMERS #4 (OF 4), $2.99 Now: $2.59
NEW WARRIORS #5, $2.99 Now: $2.69
NOVA #7, $2.99 Now: $2.69
PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #12, $3.99 Now: $3.49
RUNAWAYS #28, $2.99 Now: $2.59
WORLD WAR HULK FRONT LINE #5 (OF 6), $2.99 Now: $2.69
X-FACTOR #24, $2.99 Now: $2.79
X-MEN DIE BY THE SWORD #1 (OF 5), $2.99 Now: $2.69

DEVIL’S DUE

DRAFTED #2, $3.50 Now: $3.19

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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