StillontheShelf.com » On The Shelf This Week

May 13, 2008

On The Shelf This Week - 05.14.08

Filed under: On The Shelf — Craig Reade @ 10:22 pm

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
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ALL NEW IRON MANUAL, $4.99, 64 Pages, Marvel Comics
By Various

It is still Iron Man Movie Season, so here we have another one shot release to go along with that. Manual fans should be happy, as well as anyone who is checking out Iron Man for the first time. The manual will include the usual bios of everyone in the Iron Man Universe, in addition to technical schematics for a bunch of various Iron Man armors and the SHIELD Helicarrier (which will be cool for those who get into the tech-side of things). So as Manuals go, this one shouldn’t be too bad.

BATMAN #676, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Grant Morrison; Art and variant cover by Tony Daniel and Sandu Florea; Cover by Alex Ross

This issue is the start of the highly anticipated “Batman R.I.P.” story. So, are they actually going to kill Bruce Wayne? The smart money says no - for a number of reasons. Marketing is clearly the biggest reason - would they actually kill off Bruce Wayne right when a Batman movie is on tap? Even after it hits theaters, the DVD marketing has to be considered. On the other hand, with all the attention Marvel made for itself with the death of Captain America, perhaps the folks at Warner think that the attention Batman’s death could receive would equate to sales. So you never really know.

Plus, Grant Morrison might just do it. Many consider his run on New X-Men to be groundbreaking, and it wasn’t because he kept the status quo (the first volume of that run is being collected by Marvel in a hardcover this week - you can bet the timing isn’t accidental). He might just be striving to redefine Batman for the future here.

And if it doesn’t work out? Final Crisis is here - it can all be wiped right away.

GENEXT #1 (OF 5), $3.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Chris Claremont, Art by Patrick Scherberger, Norman Lee, and Chris Sotomayor

This one is based off of a Marvel.com poll in which readers were asked which project they would like to see Chris Claremont work on next. I think the voters made a good choice. Claremont can be hit and miss these days, and he seems to get the best response on titles where he is not spinning his own take on preexisting characters with a solid fanbase (these days). His vision of a future Marvel Universe could have a lot of potential, especially if he writes it with his own acclaimed runs in mind. Minis like these tend to pop back up again as an ongoing concept if successful - so this might not be the first Genext #1 we see, if all goes well. Definitely worth a look.

GIANT SIZE INCREDIBLE HULK #1, $3.99, 48 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Roger Stern, Art by John Byrn and Bob Layton

This one has been on the radar for a while - so it deserves one last mention, now that it is finally coming out. For those who haven’t heard, Stern and Byrne are returning to the Hulk for this Annual, exploring a chapter from the Hulk’s past through the eyes of Fred Sloan. This issue promises to be a good, old-fashioned Hulk story, especially good news for people who aren’t totally thrilled with the Hulk’s current direction. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Giant Size without a reprint story these days - this issue will reprint some of The Incredible Hulk Annual #7 from the same team. This one is on my list for the week.

HUNTRESS YEAR ONE #1 (OF 6), $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Ivory Madison; Art by Cliff Richards and Art Thibert; Cover by Matthew Clark

Ivory Madison is a total unknown in comics - she really doesn’t have anything of note to refer to, beyond her work with the Redroom.com writer’s social networking site - but I am not sure that would be enough to qualify her. On the other hand, I am not sure DC would either - so the pitch for this series must have been good enough to risk giving her a 6 issue series to tell the story. Untested - but worth giving a chance to. Of course, if you are a Huntress fan, or a Birds of Prey reader, you will already pick this up regardless.

WONDER WOMAN #20, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Gail Simone; Art by Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan; Cover by Lopresti

A brand new art team for Wonder Woman - should be a good one. Aaron Lopresti has a style that should fit well with Simone’s Wonder Woman. Of course, last issue ended a two part story, so once again we are at a “beginning” where new readers might be able to jump aboard. And you really should. Wonder Woman is the best it has been since well before the restart - and it doesn’t look like it is slowing down anytime soon. Hard to say how many more chances for new readers to come aboard there will be during Simone’s run.

SPOTLIGHT PICK OF THE WEEK

GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #1, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, Art by Paul Pelletier and Rick Maygar

Shouldn’t have to say too much about this - Abnett and Lanning have been on fire in the newly revitalized Cosmic Marvel Universe - and this series promises to be more of the same. The creative team is spot on, so you can expect the quality will be great, and though the final make-up of the team seems to be pending (at least, until the release of this issue), it seems clear that many fan favorites will have a part in this title.

You can’t say enough about the work Abnett and Lanning have done with Marvel over the past couple years, and this title looks to continue that tradition. This issue is the most sure bet of the week - it will be good.

DARK HORSE

BPRD 1946 #5 (OF 5) ~~$2.99~~ Now: $2.59
STAR WARS KNIGHTS OF OLD REPUBLIC #28 VECTOR PART 4 ~~$2.99~~ Now: $2.59

DC COMICS

52 AFTERMATH THE FOUR HORSEMEN TP ~~$19.99~~ Now: $15.99
BATMAN #676 ~~$2.99~~ Now: $2.69
BATMAN VERSUS THE JOKER STATUE ~~$195.00~~ Now: $169.99
FINAL CRISIS SKETCHBOOK ~~$2.99~~ Now: $2.89
GEN 13 #20 ~~$2.99~~ Now: $2.69
HUNTRESS YEAR ONE #1 (OF 6) ~~$2.99~~ Now: $2.69
SIMON DARK #8 ~~$2.99~~ Now: $2.59
WONDER WOMAN #20 ~~$2.99~~ Now: $2.69

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

RED SONJA #33 ~~$2.99~~ Now: $2.59

IDW

FX #3 (OF 6) ~~$3.99~~ Now: $3.49

MARVEL COMICS

FREE COMIC BOOK MONTH

Free Comic Book Day might be over and done with at your local shop, but X-World has free comics all month long. When perusing this week’s catalog, be sure to head over to the Free Comics Section to see what issues are available. New stuff added every Monday!

STRACZYNSKI ON THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD

There have been rumblings for some time that J. Michael Straczynski would be working on a DC project sometime soon - those rumors were laid to rest when his upcoming run on DC’s The Brave and the Bold was announced. This really is good news - that title never really got off to the start it could have, and a fresh pen on the book should do it a world of good. Already it has been announced that his first team-up will be Batman and the current Jim Corrigan Spectre - a seriously interesting combination to say the least. The official start hasn’t been announced - only that it will follow a Marv Wolfman guest arc. This is definitely one to watch out for.

NOTE: Opinions here may not reflect those of X-World Comics LLC or its staff and are solely the opinions of the writer.

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