On The Shelf This Week - 12.28.07
Order any of the below titles by clicking here!GREEN LANTERN #26, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Geoff Johns; Art by Mike McKone & Andy Lanning; Cover by Ivan Reis & Oclair Albert
The Sinestro Corps War has come to an end - and now DC is starting to tease this title’s involvement in the upcoming Final Crisis. Is there cause to be worried? The Green Lantern family of books has been the best that DC has had to offer, and a lot of that success had to do with the closed nature of the story. Very little of the “War” bled out into other books - it was exciting, and ultimately self contained. Readers who were just a little tired of endless crossovers really responded. And with this event over, this new arc promises to tie up loose ends from the War and set us up for Final Crisis.
Will exposure to yet another universe-spanning major event kill this title’s momentum? Time will tell of course, but until that time comes - this is still a title worth reading.
Of course, speaking of wrapping up the Sinestro Corps War, GREEN LANTERN SINESTRO CORPS SECRET FILES #1 is also out this week - a 64 Page ($4.99) issue featuring both Green Lantern and Sinestro Corps stories from the past, present, and future. Hopefully this will be a fitting coda to the event.
JSA CLASSIFIED #33, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Junior Thomas; Art by Staz Johnson & Rodney Ramos; Cover by Scott Kolins
Last issue was your annual JSA Thanksgiving story, this issue serves as the Christmas tale. Both were just a smidge late, but in this case it is doubtful that readers will actually care about a day or two. This issue features Alan Scott in a battle against Vandal Savage with “the life of a child in the balance.” Sounds like this might be a little too heavy to qualify as a “light holiday read,” but no one said Christmas stories had to be light.
This team did a decent job on the Thanksgiving issue - there is no reason to expect a dip in quality here.
MARVEL ILLUSTRATED PICTURE DORIAN GRAY #1 (OF 6), $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Oscar Wilde, Adapted by Roy Thomas, Art by Sebastian Fiumara
These Marvel Illustrated titles don’t tend to get a lot of attention, but they are usually of interest to people with a passing familiarity with the classics they are adapting. This is really the first story that might get a boost from the adaptation. Dorian Gray is such a visual tale, at least in the minds eye, that it is worth the cover price just to see how an artist might interpret the look of the painting throughout the course of the story. Roy Thomas providing the adapted script is a nice selling point, but even more important here will be Fiumara’s art. That will make or break this series.
NEW WARRIORS #7, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Kevin Grevious, Art by Jon Malin, Juan Vlasco, and Marte Gracia
Since the revelation that this team is made up of depowered mutants, some long-time New Warriors fans dropped this title in disgust. Writing as a New Warriors fan myself, I tend towards the opposite direction. It was pretty obvious from the start that this team wasn’t going to end up being the original team, and having it made up of actual establish characters makes the “tribute” all the more legitimate. Would you have cared as much if a random team of brand new characters started up this team? Doubtful.
On top of that, it finally picks up a story that has been woefully neglected since House of M - the depowered mutants. Sure, it is mentioned from time to time, and we certainly see them on occasion, but for the most part the mutants we see month in and month out are among the few to retain their abilities. What about those former X-Men who lost their powers? We have really needed to see more of them from moment one (and there should have been way more of them), and the fact that they finally have a stage is nothing but a good thing.
The end of the New Warriors isn’t something that is going to be reversed for a long time. No matter what you might think of the way they went out, it is totally unrealistic to think that Marvel is going to suddenly change their mind and bring back the team as it was. This title keeps their memory alive and introduces the team and its history to a whole new group of readers. In the long term, this is great for the property. In the short term, as long as the stories stay entertaining, I will be reading.
SPOTLIGHT PICK OF THE WEEK
LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #37, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Jim Shooter; Art and covers by Francis Manapul and John Livesay
This is the first time in a long time that an issue of the Legion has been this notable. Granted there were notable title and format changes - the addition of Supergirl and a reboot or two, but since Waid took over, the title has remained extremely consistent. Bedard has been writing the title since June, but he has become the consummate transition writer and has managed to keep the title compelling for Waid fans and ease the blow for those long time fans dreading the creative shift.
On the other hand, despite Waid’s consistency his work on this title was not universally loved. Unlike a lot of highly acclaimed runs (Brubaker on Captain America, Johns on Flash, etc), Waid managed to turn some readers completely off. Nothing wrong with that - the best stories aren’t always universally loved, and that could have been the case with Waid. In any case, Jim Shooter taking over does give all of those readers who weren’t enthralled by Waid’s run to finally give this title another chance.
Waid fans have had several months to mourn the loss of that creative team, and should be ready by now to give Shooter, Manapul, and Livesay a chance. With that audience, and the potential influx of new readers from the “Waid refugees,” this should be a huge issue this week.
DARK HORSE
STAR WARS KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC #24 $2.99 Now: $2.69
DC COMICS
52 AFTERMATH THE FOUR HORSEMEN #5 (OF 6) $2.99 Now: $2.69
ACTION COMICS #860 $2.99 Now: $2.69
BATMAN #672 $2.99 Now: $2.69
BRAVE AND THE BOLD #9 $2.99 Now: $2.69
COUNTDOWN ARENA #4 (OF 4) $3.99 Now: $3.49
COUNTDOWN TO ADVENTURE #5 (OF 8) $3.99 Now: $3.59
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS 18 $2.99 Now: $2.69
CRIME BIBLE THE FIVE LESSONS OF BLOOD #3 (OF 5) $2.99 Now: $2.69
DEATH OF THE NEW GODS #4 (OF 8) $3.50 Now: $2.99
FLASH #235 $2.99 Now: $2.69
GREEN LANTERN #26 $2.99 Now: $2.69
GREEN LANTERN SINESTRO CORPS SECRET FILES #1 $4.99 Now: $4.49
JSA CLASSIFIED #33 $2.99 Now: $2.79
LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #37 $2.99 Now: $2.69
UNCLE SAM AND THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS #4 (OF 8) $2.99 Now: $2.69
MARVEL COMICS
AVENGERS INITIATIVE #8 $2.99 Now: $2.69
BLACK PANTHER #33 $2.99 Now: $2.59
CAPTAIN AMERICA #33 $2.99 Now: $2.69
DAREDEVIL #103 $2.99 Now: $2.69
HOUSE OF M AVENGERS #3 (OF 5) $2.99 Now: $2.69
IRON MAN #24 $2.99 Now: $2.69
MARVEL ADVENTURES IRON MAN #8 $2.99 Now: $2.59
MARVEL ILLUSTRATED PICTURE DORIAN GRAY #1 (OF 6) $2.99 Now: $2.59
MARVEL SPOTLIGHT ONE MORE DAY BRAND NEW DAY $2.99 Now: $2.69
MARVEL ZOMBIES 2 #3 (OF 5) $2.99 Now: $2.69
RED PROPHET TALES OF ALVIN MAKER #11 (OF 12) $2.99 Now: $2.69
THOR #5 $2.99 Now: $2.69
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #49 $2.99 Now: $2.74
ULTIMATE POWER #9 (OF 9) $2.99 Now: $2.79
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #117 $2.99 Now: $2.69
UNCANNY X-MEN TP EXTREMISTS $13.99 Now: $10.99
THE SUPERMAN LAWSUIT
Unless you are serious about your comic news, you might not have heard of the impending cases in which Jerry Siegel’s heirs are disputing the ownership of Superman and Superboy.
It is a bit confusing, especially if you aren’t legal minded, but the facts behind this case make for some fascinating reading. It seems doubtful that DC would lose the rights to the character (a settlement of some kind seems likely, eventually - Superman is too valuable a character to give up), but it also begs the question - what happens when Superman eventually enters the public domain (if it does, you can expect another legal battle once Mickey Mouse inches closer to being handed over to the public domain again)?
The potential that DC’s claim on their #1 icon might be threatened is interesting enough. But with comics as an art form reaching a certain age, the prospect that no company could claim sole ownership of certain legendary characters could totally change the landscape of comics as we know it.
In any case - it is definitely worth doing a little digging into, especially if your interest in comics extends beyond simply reading good stories.
NOTE: Opinions here may not reflect those of X-World Comics LLC or it’s staff and are solely the opinions of the writer.
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December 24, 2007
New Lost Toast!
Brandon is taking a little break this week, so we will get fill-in strips. So, a brand new Lost Toast is up today - this time by me!
Enjoy, and have a Merry Christmas! Hopefully I will have something more for you soon!
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December 20, 2007
A new Off the Cuff?
What’s this? Off the Cuff on the front page? Could it be a Christmas miracle? Well it’s probably a miracle Craig lets me post anywhere on this site, but that’s beside the point at the moment.
So what’s going to happen over the next few weeks? You’re guess is as good as mine, but I think we will begin to see an evolution of Off the Cuff. Perhaps it will even grow legs and begin to walk on legs. Or maybe it will evolve into something more pointless, but fun – like sporks.
Either way, I’m sure it will continue to be something. Probably.
– –
Nothing says “Christmas” quite like the Dark Knight. So I encourage everyone to check out this video clip of the upcoming Batman movie. I’ll admit I was a bit concerned about how Heath Ledger was going to play Joker. Not everyone can pull off Joker, but I really think Ledger has a shot.
This is the first time I’ve ever been “scared” by the Joker. Ledger really creeps me out. He’s certainly got the whole “killer clown” vibe.
The Joker is such a brilliant villain because he completely corrupts anything he comes into contact with. Harley Quinn used to be an innocent person, and now she’s as deranged as he is. All of his schemes involve toying (sometimes literally) with items from our childhood. Even dressing as a clown is corrupted. The Joker is the ultimate representation of all that is “not right” with the world.
I am more excited about the new Batman movie than any other super hero movie coming down the road. I can’t wait.
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December 19, 2007
Lost Toast - Season Finalé?
There are still a few more Lost Toasts coming out this year, but in terms of ongoing plot, this is the last one of 2007. Oh noes!
Will Fatman survive?
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On The Shelf This Week - 12.19.07
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
Order any of the below titles by clicking here!
BIRDS OF PREY #113, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Sean McKeever; Cover by Stephane Roux; Art by Nicola Scott & Doug Hazlewood
Could be explosive - or a huge letdown: this issue marks the start of Sean McKeever’s much anticipated run on Birds of Prey. It has been several months since Gail Simone ended her run, so that does take a little of the pressure off. However, McKeever probably won’t have a couple of arcs to ease into things like he did over at Teen Titans. A lot of fans expected him to hit the ground running on that title, only to find out that there were two or three stories that were in the works before he came on board that he had to “get through” before his stuff came up. Fans seem to be a little forgiving there, as that title did need a little push, but not so here.
CABLE DEADPOOL #48, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Fabian Nicieza, Art by Reilly Brown, Jeremy Freeman, and Gotham
With each passing issue drawing the end of this series even closer, it is almost a shame to see it becoming almost the perfect Deadpool book. Without Cable to drag things down, Deadpool has been free to shine, and shine he has. This month’s issue promises even more fun with an actual appearance by Brother Voodoo. Man, is that going to be a pairing - especially if Nicieza plays Voodoo straight.
Man, it is really, really tough to see Deadpool go. Hopefully Marvel makes an announcement about his future sooner rather than later.
COUNTDOWN RAY PALMER SUPERWOMAN BATWOMAN #1, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray; Art by Randy Green; Cover by Ryan Sook
You know, this title almost has an Exiles feel to it, doesn’t it?
This Search For Ray Palmer installment find the Challengers visiting the “gender-reversal” Earth, right smack in the middle of that Earth’s version of Amazons Attack. That is what is good about alternate universe What If’s - familiar situations with slightly different characters. This series has been entertaining so far - no reason to expect that this will change anytime soon. Should be a fun issue to pick up.
Still some very high hopes for this issue, despite the rocky start on Teen Titans. Should be a good read.
EXILES #100, $3.99, Marvel Comics
Written by Chris Claremont, Art by Tom Grummett, Scott Hanna, and Wil Quintana
Well - the final issue of Exiles has finally arrived (a good two months after issue #99), making way for the start of New Exiles. A lot of fans are mourning the death of the series (but let’s be fair here - the series pretty well died when Winnick left, it has just been on life support ever since). There really isn’t a lot more to add to that. Claremont is a legendary writer that doesn’t seem to be able to quite capture his former magic, and Exiles is a long running title that has been abused for the bulk of its run (but one with fans that have refused to give up on it).
On the one hand, it is sad to see it go. I was one of the people who followed the original Blink mini series into Exiles, and one who was really sad to see Winnick move on to DC. I let go early though - with all of the anger towards Claremont right now, a lot of people seem to forget the Chuck Austen era on this book, which might have been even worse. But even coming back from time to time to sample Bedard, or see if maybe the series had improved left me cold and disappointed.
This might be something of a unique opinion, but it is good that this title is coming to an end. Claremont will be on it for the foreseeable future, and the truth is that “Exiles” will always be under Winnick’s long shadow. So why not cut ties and start fresh? Give Claremont a team of characters he is comfortable with, and cut ties to the past?
This might be upsetting for long-time Exiles fans, but the series has been bad for a long time. For my part, I’d rather my favorite books be cancelled all together than have to endure month after month of terrible writing without end. Starting this book anew puts the old Exiles out of its misery, and opens the possibility of some real quality stuff down the road.
If you don’t buy that, you can at least pick up this issue, which reprints Exiles #1. You can say goodbye by once again reading this title at its very best.
INCREDIBLE HULK #112, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente, Art by Khoi Pham
Don’t let the title fool you - this issue is actually the start of the new Incredible Hercules series. The title doesn’t officially change until #113, but if you were thinking of trying this book out when Herc took over, this is the issue you need to pick up. The run looks promising - Pak and Van Lente will dive right into the aftermath of World War Hulk as Cho and Harc have to deal with their actions during the conflict.
Looking forward to checking this one out actually. The initial premise is really promising, and given the right supporting cast, Hercules could make for an interesting comic headliner. Not a lock for excellence, but certainly worth a shot.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #16, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Dwayne McDuffie; Art and cover by Joe Benitez & Victor Llamas
With Justice Society having their own little dip into the multiverse, this month Justice League gets a visit from at least one Tangent Comics hero, Lia Nelson. Well, more are seen on the cover, but she may well be the only one that plays a part.
Those of you who are eagerly awaiting Final Crisis should pick up this issue. The story here is supposed to lead into the upcoming “Tangent: Superman’s Reign” mini, which will in turn tie into Final Crisis. So the build-up to next summer really is starting now.
SPOTLIGHT PICK OF THE WEEK
MARVEL HOLIDAY SPECIAL, $3.99, 48 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Shaenon Garrity, Mike Carey, CB Cebulski, and Andrew Farago, Art by Lou Kang, Alina Urusov, and Nelson
Always worth mentioning - the annual Marvel Holiday Special. One of my favorite things about these specials is that the uber-serious pretense is gone, and more often than not we get a comic that is pure fun. Come on - where else are you going to get a story about Spider-Man and Wolverine delivering a cake to Aunt May anymore? Santas gone bad?
The Holiday Special is usually the one time you can forget about the major events, what titles tie into what, and just read and enjoy an issue on its own merits.
So pick this issue up, enjoy some good, innocent fun, and have a Merry Christmas next week!
DARK HORSE COMICS
REX MUNDI #9 $2.99 Now $2.69
DC COMICS
BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #3 $2.99 Now $2.69
COUNTDOWN ARENA #3 (OF 4) $3.99 Now $3.49
COUNTDOWN RAY PALMER SUPERWOMAN BATWOMAN #1 $2.99 Now $2.79
COUNTDOWN SPECIAL THE ATOM 80 PAGE GIANT #2 (OF 2) $4.99 Now $4.39
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS 19 $2.99 Now $2.69
DETECTIVE COMICS #839 $2.99 Now $2.69
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #16 $2.99 Now $2.69
METAMORPHO YEAR ONE #6 (OF 6) $2.99 Now $2.69
PROGRAMME #6 (OF 12) $2.99 Now $2.59
SCOOBY DOO #127 $2.25 Now $1.99
SHADOWPACT #20 $2.99 Now $2.59
SUPERMAN #671 $2.99 Now $2.8
SUPERMAN BATMAN #44 $2.99 Now $2.69
WORLD OF WARCRAFT #2 $2.99 Now $2.89
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
PAINKILLER JANE #4 $3.50 Now $2.99
RED SONJA #28 $2.99 Now $2.79
SAVAGE TALES #5 $4.99 Now $4.49
IDW
ANGEL AFTER THE FALL #2 $3.99 Now $3.49
MARVEL COMICS
AVENGERS CLASSIC #7 $2.99 Now $2.59
CABLE DEADPOOL #48 $2.99 Now $2.74
CAPTAIN AMERICA CHOSEN #5 (OF 6) $3.99 Now $3.59
EXILES #100 $3.99 Now $3.59
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #11 $2.99 Now $2.69
INCREDIBLE HULK #112 $2.99 Now $2.79
MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS #19 $2.99 Now $2.59
MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #31 $2.99 Now $2.59
MARVEL HOLIDAY SPECIAL $3.99 Free With $19 Purchase!
MIGHTY AVENGERS #6 $2.99 Now $2.69
NEW X-MEN #44 2ND PTG RAMOS VAR $2.99 Now $2.89
NEW X-MEN #45 $2.99 Now $2.79
SHE-HULK #24 $2.99 Now $2.69
THOR #4 2ND PTG VAR $2.99 Now $2.69
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR TP VOL 09 SILVER SURFER $13.99 Now $11.99
ULTIMATE X-MEN #89 $2.99 Now $2.59
WHAT IF CIVIL WAR $3.99 Now $3.49
WOLVERINE FIREBREAK ONE SHOT $3.99 Now $3.59
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #20 $2.99 Now $2.69
WORLD WAR HULK WARBOUND #1 (OF 5) $2.99 Now $2.79
X-MEN TP BLINDED BY THE LIGHT $14.99 Now $11.99
X-MEN TP VOL 01 COMPLETE ONSLAUGHT EPIC $29.99 Now $23.99
THE GUNSLINGER RETURNS
Fans who have enjoyed the first Dark Tower series can rejoice - Marvel is following it up right away with a new 5-parter (The Long Road Home) starting in March. Same creative team as well - Furth and David providing the story and Jae Lee and Richard Isanove on art. You can rest easy - the story is continuing, and the creative team will remain unchanged. At least for another five issues!
RASL
Well, it looks like RASL is coming! For those that don’t know, RASL is Jeff Smith’s (the creator of Bone) latest self-publishing effort, his fist since Bone came to an end a few years ago. Looks like the first issue will be due out in February, and despite earlier plans to the contrary, the individual issues will not be oversized, but instead 32 full pages of story in each issue.
If you are curious to check out a preview, copies of the six pages Smith made available at Comicon have been posted on his site here. Looking forward to February!
NOTE: Opinions here may not reflect those of X-World Comics LLC or it’s staff and are solely the opinions of the writer.
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