HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #548, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Dan Slott, Art by Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines, and Morry Hollowell

The first month of Brand New Day is coming to a close this month, and it seems kind of like the smoke is clearing after a demolition job. You don’t need to hear from me how upset fans of this title were about the way One More Day was handled – and every comic shop owner I have talked to has felt the after effects. Dozens of copies of Amazing Spider-Man are sitting on the shelves as angry fans dropped the book from their pull lists as a result of the deal with the devil.

And there is nothing wrong with that. It is unfortunate that the shop owners are stuck with the fallout of this trend – at first, but you can bet orders for subsequent months will be way down. Fans should vote with their wallets – and if a title has become that bad to you, you should drop it and try something else, instead of waiting to see if it will eventually get better.

In this case, it is kind of a shame though. Forgetting how we got to this point, Slott has told a great story, and seems to be an excellent choice to write Spider-Man in any continuity. This seems to be the one time that a title actually did get better, instead of wallowing in mediocrity for months on end.

Should Spider-fans put aside their anger and come right back into the fold? That is not for me to say. I think Slott deserves praise for his work on this opening story, and now that the parameters have been set for this title, the creators are coming through. So it is sad to see the drop, only because he might end up a victim of the backlash. Despite that, though, fans have a right to feel as they do, and their reaction to One More Day is perfectly reasonable.

Should you check out Brand New Day? If you want. You won’t be disappointed in the story or art quality – it is good. Despite how poorly One More Day ended up, the title is worth another chance. When you finally get the taste out of your mouth, anyway.

ASTONISHING X-MEN #24, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Joss Whedon, Art by John Cassaday and Laura Martin

This is it – the end of an era, as Cassaday and Whedon end their stint on Astonishing X-Men. It seems a little obsolete anymore with all the attention Marvel has paid the X-Men in recent times, so perhaps it is a good time to go out. When they first started on this title, the X-Men were floundering badly, and fans were revolting over the bad stories we were getting on the pages of the X-Men titles. Astonishing was like a godsend – it stood alone, didn’t get too involved with the less-than-stellar ongoing stories we were seeing in Adjectiveless and Uncanny X-Men, and finally started telling good X-Men stories again. In many ways, it was a harbinger of the vast improvements to the X-Men line we have seen in recent months (no matter what you think of Messiah Complex, you can’t deny it is infinitely better than what we were seeing three and four years ago).

Whedon and Cassaday will be missed on this title, but the timing is right for them to take a bow and go out on top. No doubt they will end this one with a bang.

JLA CLASSIFIED #51, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Roger Stern, Art by John Byrne and Mark Farmer

So suddenly – this title is cancelled. It looks like Stern and Byrne’s arc will be the last, as this title will come to a close as of #54. Honestly, this really isn’t too much of a surprise. This title has been plagued with some bad stories, and it honestly never lived up to its potential, instead filling the role of so many second-tier books that are designed to sell more issues based off the name, instead of going in their own unique direction. As good as JSA Classified is, JLA Classified could never really use that format – the Justice League members are too few and too well-known to really benefit from that kind of treatment. And most of them have their own ongoings anyway, so telling solo stories in JLA Classified would just be redundant.

That being said – we all have to hold our breaths to see if JSA Classified is getting cut next month. If that title goes, it will be a real travesty. As far as JLA Classified goes – I can’t think of too many better ways to have it go out than an arc by Roger Stern…

TEEN TITANS #55, $2.99
Written by Sean McKeever, Art by Eddy Barrows and Rob Hunter

Well – this is it. From McKeever’s own lips, this is the start of the good stuff. A lot of fans were a little disappointed in McKeever’s start on this book – especially considering the reputation he has as an excellent “teen character” writer. Even moreso than Birds of Prey, Teen Titans seemed like a title he was destined to write. But at the beginning, things weren’t so hot. Apparently he wasn’t too thrilled with it himself, and actually apologized, letting readers know that he had pre-existing story threads that he had to tie up from previous writers, and that the good stuff (his stuff) would be starting with this issue (#55)

ULTIMATE IRON MAN II #2 (OF 4), $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Orson Scott Card, Art by Pasqual Ferry and Justin Ponsor

Card and Ferry didn’t miss a single beat in the first issue of this new volume. Not that anyone thought they would. In many ways this one started off better than the last series, since we finally got to see Iron Man (and War Machine) in action – in regular man-sized suits. The first series was great because it developed Ultimate Tony Stark as an actual character – this one looks like it will develop Iron Man himself in a similar fashion. And like last time, Card demonstrated a firmer grasp of serial comic storytelling then most veterans of the industry – packing a lot of story in a 32 Page book, and not forgetting that it is supposed to end with a big ?! – making you want to pick up the next issue. Can’t wait to see where this one takes us.

SPOTLIGHT PICK OF THE WEEK

YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #1 (OF 6), $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Ed Brubaker, Art by Paco Medina and Juan Velasco

Finally, the Young Avengers are back! This series should be a series of one-shots with different creative teams focusing on different members of the team. Some might be a little upset that we are getting this story before Heinberg could return to work on his “Season Two.” But, to be fair – in this industry, a title shouldn’t be held up forever because a creator can’t meet their deadlines (a problem DC fans were all-too familiar with last year), so while we will certainly see Heinberg back at some point, there is no reason we can’t have Young Avengers stories in the meantime. Ed Brubaker is a great choice to kick things off – he has become Marvel’s go-to guy, and his work is almost always well-received. Few will have cause to complain about his work on these characters – of that you can be sure.

This should be a great series which will go a long way towards bringing the Young Avengers back into the spotlight in the Marvel Universe.

DC COMICS

AUTHORITY PRIME #4 (OF 6) $2.99 Now: $2.69
COUNTDOWN LORD HAVOK AND THE EXTREMISTS #4 (OF 6) $2.99 Now: $2.69
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS 14 $2.99 Now: $2.69
CRIME BIBLE THE FIVE LESSONS OF BLOOD #4 (OF 5) $2.99 Now: $2.59
JLA CLASSIFIED #51 $2.99 Now: $2.69
JLA THE HYPOTHETICAL WOMAN TP $12.99 Now: $10.99
SUPERMAN BATMAN #45 $2.99 Now: $2.69
SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL #11 $2.99 Now: $2.79
TEEN TITANS #55 $2.99 Now: $2.69
UNCLE SAM AND THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS #5 (OF 8) $2.99 Now: $2.69
WONDER WOMAN #16 $2.99 Now: $2.69

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

RED SONJA #29 $2.99 Now: $2.69

IMAGE COMICS

AFTER THE CAPE II #3 (OF 3) $2.99 Now: $2.69

MARVEL COMICS

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #548 $2.99 Now: $2.69
ASTONISHING X-MEN #24 $2.99 Now: $2.69
FANTASTIC FOUR TP THE END $14.99 Now: $11.99
MARVEL ADVENTURES IRON MAN #9 $2.99 Now: $2.59
MARVEL ILLUSTRATED PICTURE DORIAN GRAY #2 (OF 6) $2.99 Now: $2.59
ORDER #7 $2.99 Now: $2.59
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #50 $2.99 Now: $2.69
ULTIMATE IRON MAN II #2 (OF 4) $2.99 Now: $2.69
ULTIMATE VISION TP $14.99 Now: $11.99
ULTIMATES 3 #2 (OF 5) $2.99 Now: $2.69
WORLD WAR HULK AFTERSMASH DAMAGE CONTROL #1 (OF 3) $2.99 Now: $2.69
X-MEN #207 $2.99 Now: $2.69
X-MEN FIRST CLASS VOL 2 #8 (OF 8) $2.99 Now: $2.69
YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #1 (OF 6) $2.99 Now: $2.69

New Guardians of the Galaxy

As long as this new title doesn’t in any way interfere with Nova – it is the best possible news. Abnett and Lanning have revitalized the cosmic landscape of the Marvel Universe, and it is only fitting that yet another ongoing comes of their efforts on Annihilation Conquest. Guardians of the Galaxy (a forerunner to the 31st century version?) will assemble a group of defenders made up of some of the mainstays of both Annihilation sagas. In simple language, a cosmic team book.

We are at a point where Abnett and Lanning can pen any of these characters, and it will be a great title. No matter what the “final roster” of the team is, this will be a can’t miss series. The first issue is due out in June – so there is some time to wait. At least there is still an Annihilation series going on to fill the void until Guardians is released.

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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