HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
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AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL #16, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Tom Defalco, Art by Ron Frenz

This issue has the potential to be fun. It is another one-shot for Mayday (Spider-Girl is always best in one-shot form), this time introducing a new invisible villain that kills with a touch. That is really a good foil for Spider-Girl - as strong as her Spider-sense is, she should have no trouble detecting him and knowing how to hit him, but one mistake?

Of course, we all know she isn’t going to die. But the threat of it is what makes the story good. Should be a nice dose of classic superhero action.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #547, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Dan Slott, Art by Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines, and Morry Hollowell

Fans are certainly upset in the wake of One More Day. And honestly, can you blame them? It wasn’t handled well at all, and few people seemed genuinely pleased by it. However - I stand by my original assertion that it had to happen. One More Day might have been more like drinking Castor Oil than popping a fruit-flavored Flintstones vitamin, but it was still medicine the title sorely needed.

Of course fans are a little upset that some of the high points of the last couple decades have been wiped clean, like the marriage. But invariably when you see criticism, and demands that things be restored to normal, you almost always see “well, we could do without the Clone Saga.”

One More Day was handled badly. There is no nicer way to say it. But even as botched as it was, it was needed. From the looks of things, the first issue of a Brand New Day was pretty decent. We got a taste of Dan Slott’s work on Spider-Man way back on Free Comic Book Day last year, so we all had an idea of what to expect.

So yeah - getting here was rough. And we lost a lot of good stuff. But that doesn’t mean Spider-Man is ruined - in fact, in many ways he is fixed. And that was the goal of this whole thing. So as long as the quality of the new comics is good, there is no reason to give up on the web-slinger after one more botched story.

FEAR AGENT #18 HATCHET JOB (PT 2 OF 5), $2.99, 32 Pages, Dark Horse
Written by Rick Remender, Art by Jerome Opena and Michelle Madsen

Whew! That’s a relief. Fear Agent is occasionally late, (not as much as it was at Image, but its record is far from perfect at Dark Horse) but this was staring to be a concern. This issue was due out late last month, and the scheduled release date just came and went, with no mention at all of when we would be seeing it. Heck, as of this moment, the Dark Horse site still reflects a December release, and they are usually quite good about updating those.

So a big sigh of relief there. There is so little sci-fi of this caliber in comics these days - it would be a shame for it to go into comic limbo.

NEW EXILES #1, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Chris Claremont, Art by Tom Grummett, Scott Hanna, and Wil Quintana

Here is another release that may have some fans groaning, but might end up for the best. Long-time Exiles fans are understandably upset at the fate of their series - It was battered and bruised during its long run, and having Chris Claremont come aboard to hammer the coffin closed just seemed like one to many. While Blink and what was the Exiles have come to a close, that doesn’t mean this new version won’t be good. Claremont has a bad reputation these days, mostly deserved, but a lot of times he doesn’t get credit where it is due. He doesn’t do well when taking over established concepts, but when he is writing a book that is uniquely his own (New Excalibur, for example), he usually does a passable job, if not enjoyable.

While it will be impossible to sell Exiles fans on this title in many cases, if you look at this issue as the start of a brand-new series, and ignore what came before, you might actually like it on its own merits. It is possible, anyway.

WOLVERINE ORIGINS #21, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Daniel Way, Art by Steve Dillon and Matt Milla

This is an issue that Deadpool fans might want to pick up. It starts a brand new 5 issue arc that pits Wade Wilson against Wolverine, and it also starts - well, more on that later!

SPOTLIGHT PICK OF THE WEEK

INCREDIBLE HERCULES #113, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente, Art by Khoi Pham and Stephane Peru

It is no use missing the Hulk - he is gone from the pages of this title. Oddly, that isn’t bad though. This is the first official “Incredible Hercules” issue, but the story really started last month in the final Incredible Hulk. This move has promise - Hercules is a character ripe for a resurgence, and thus-far he has been handled brilliantly.

Everyone likes to get in on a title at the start of something good - this might be one of those moments.

DARK HORSE

FEAR AGENT #18 HATCHET JOB (PT 2 OF 5) $2.99 Now: $2.69
GRENDEL BEHOLD THE DEVIL #3 (OF 8) $2.99 Now: $2.69

DC COMICS

CATWOMAN #75 $2.99 Now: $2.59
CHECKMATE #22 $2.99 Now: $2.69
COUNTDOWN SPECIAL THE NEW GODS $4.99 Now: $4.39
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS 15 $2.99 Now: $2.69
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #17 $2.99 Now: $2.79
LEGION OF SUPER HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY #10 $2.25 Now: $1.99
PROGRAMME #7 (OF 12) $2.99 Now: $2.59
SCOOBY DOO #128 $2.25 Now: $2.59
WORLD OF WARCRAFT #3 $2.99 Now: $2.69

IMAGE COMICS

FELL #9 $1.99 Now: $1.79

MARVEL COMICS

AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL #16 $2.99 Now: $2.69
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #547 $2.99 Now: $2.69
AVENGERS CLASSIC #8 $2.99 Now: $2.59
CABLE DEADPOOL #49 $2.99 Now: $2.69
HEROES FOR HIRE VOL 3: WORLD WAR HULK $13.99 Now :$11.99
HOUSE OF M HC $29.99 Now: $24.99
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #12 $2.99 Now: $2.69
INCREDIBLE HERCULES #113 $2.99 Now: $2.69
[url=http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopexd.asp?id=26491]INCREDIBLE HERCULES #113 Pham Variant $13.99
IRON MAN POWER PACK #3 (OF 4) $2.99 Now: $2.59
MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS #20 $2.99 Now: $2.59
MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS #5 $3.99 Now: $3.49
MARVEL ILLUSTRATED ILIAD #2 (OF 8) $2.99 Now: $2.59
NEW EXILES #1 $2.99 Now: $2.69
NEW WARRIORS #8 $2.99 Now: $2.69
NEW X-MEN #46 $2.99 Now: $2.69
THUNDERBOLTS BY ELLIS VOL 1 FAITH IN MONSTERS TP $19.99 Now: $15.99
UNCANNY X-MEN #493 2ND PTG VAR $2.99 Now: $2.69
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #21 $2.99 Now: $2.79
X-FACTOR PREM HC MADROX MULTIPLE CHOICE $19.99 Now: $15.99
X-MEN #205 2ND PTG VAR $2.99 Now: $2.84

DEADPOOL ONGOING

Was it planned or a result of fan outrage? Impossible to say. But Wizard recently reported that Daniel Way and Steve Dillon will be starting a new Deadpool ongoing spinning out of Deadpool’s appearance in Wolverine: Origins.

Way’s name attached to this gave a lot of fans who might otherwise have been rejoicing pause. His work in Origins has not been well received, nor has his Ghost Writer. Way’s reputation has gotten so bad that people are honestly speculating that he is really Chuck Austen writing under a pen name. As preposterous as that sounds - it isn’t good company for him to be in.

Will it be terrible? Impossible to stay. Despite some very valid criticism of his recent work, his single issue of Agent X was arguably the best non-Simone-penned issue (and not too bad a read, fixed a lot), and his Bullseye: Greatest Hits series wasn’t all bad. So maybe there is some hope.

Worst case scenario? We find out if a bad Deadpool series is better than none at all. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that though.

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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