HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
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ACTION COMICS #866, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Geoff Johns; Art and cover by Gary Frank and Jon Sibal

Gary Frank’s hiatus wasn’t exactly a long one, but for those who couldn’t bear an issue and a half without him, he is back! This issue starts a brand new five-part arc involving Brainiac. Johns has been doing a pretty solid job on this title (which should surprise no one), and the timing seems right for a good Brainiac story. This one doesn’t look as if it will be crossing over into Final Crisis anytime soon, which is fabulous news - though it is supposed to be leading up to a Superman Event this year. Based on recent events, this is cause for some concern - though as long as they handle this one the same way they did the Sinestro Corps War, it should be good.

ETERNALS #1, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Charles Knauf and Daniel Knauf, Art and Cover by Daniel Acuna

Marvel has been touting this series for some time, it seems like almost the moment the Gaiman Eternals mini came to an end a little over a year ago. Maybe not that long, but the Eternals have certainly had something of a presence. Marvel is definitely making a move to cement the Eternals back into the Marvel Universe - this series is an ongoing, and will pick up right where the Gaiman series left off, and should continue on in a similar fashion to that which we have thus far seen in various guest appearances - the Eternals attempting to awaken other Eternals (much like we saw in Incredible Hercules), and worrying about the Horde. The Knauf’s have developed a really good reputation at Marvel - this should be a good series to try out.

FEAR AGENT #21 HATCHET JOB (PT 5 OF 5), $2.99, 32 Pages, Dark Horse
Written by Rick Remender, Art by Jerome Opena and Michelle Madsen

Oiy - this title is still late! In this case, the culprit is clear - the art is the reason for the delays. Sometimes you hear the excuse “good art is worth waiting for,” but when you hear tales of artists who spend their time playing WoW or doing something else not “work-related” instead of finishing an issue, you have to wonder.

Fear Agent is great. It is still great, despite the delays. And to Rick Remender and Dark Horse’s credit, despite the art hiccups they have managed to keep this title somewhat regular. Sure, it doesn’t come out on time, but a couple weeks after the original solicit, this title usually comes out (this issue is a little later than usual), and therefore it comes out almost monthly. Remender has also been totally willing to change-up the art team in order to put the book out on time - especially risky considering many readers get upset when the artist changes, and when someone like Tony Moore is involved, the fan attachment goes double.

Overall, Fear Agent is fighting the chronic tardiness, visibly and openly, and that makes up for a lot. Telling the readers the truth about the cause of chronic delays is a great step in the right direction, and actually being upfront about the solutions you are trying goes even further. Now if they actually come through… that is the test. Even despite the delays, Fear Agent is very much a title worth reading. Still the best Sci-fi book on the stands today.

GOTHAM UNDERGROUND #9 (OF 9), $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Frank Tieri; Art by J. Calafiore and Jack Purcell; Cover by Calafiore

This series was the very definition of a sleeper - a fantastic read, but it got very little attention. A shame too - there are so few great stories any longer that don’t directly tie into some major event, this one deserved to have a much bigger profile than it did. Gotham City has such a rich tapestry of characters, it is great when you read a story that can really bring all of those threads together. If you were one of the many who missed out on this one, it is going to make a fantastic trade purchase.

HULK RAGING THUNDER, $3.99, 48 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Jeff Parker, Art by Mitch Breitweiser and William Baumann

This one seems less a Hulk issue than a Thundra one-shot, though with The Incredible Hulk so close to being released in theaters, it makes sense that even if he appears only briefly in this issue that it would bear his name in the title, if only for merchandising. This issue looks like it is going to follow the usual “Giant-Size” format, with an original story (Hulk vs. Thundra, it would seem), along with a reprint of an old Thundra story (not sure which one, but one would presume it will be one of the early Thing stories). This will be a fun, action-packed issue, and while it might not be the best warm-up for the Hulk movie, it should still be a solid read.

MAGDALENA DAREDEVIL (ONE SHOT), $3.99, Image Comics
By Phil Hester and Andy Parks

A little late (wasn’t this one due in February?), but that is kind of par for the course with Image Comics. You really have to say that when it comes to these Top Cow/Marvel Crossovers, they have been doing a fantastic job of late. Everyone knows to expect the usual bland, status quo crossover when two characters from different publishers get together, but when Marvel and Top Cow cross-promote, at least lately, anything can happen (remember the Wolverine/Witchblade crossover?). And they usually do a good job pairing the characters as well - The Magdalena and Daredevil are a good fit, matching power-level and faith, it is easy to see how they could find common cause. As crossovers go, this is probably a good bet.

SALVATION RUN #7 (OF 7), $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Matthew Sturges; Variant Cover by Neal Adams; Art and Cover by Sean Chen and Walden Wong

Missed potential pretty well sums up the general feeling about this series. It wasn’t terrible, though there always seemed to be a little something missing here. Though - with one issue left, maybe something will change with #7. There did seem to be an overall story hiccup with the transition to Final Crisis for a lot of books, perhaps this is just an example of that. In this final issue, you can bet that the events will have been reoriented towards Final Crisis a bit better, and those strange, dull plot threads may have a little more meaning.

SPOTLIGHT PICK OF THE WEEK

SKY-DOLL #2, $5.99, 64 Pages, Marvel Comics
By Alessandro Barbucci and Barbara Canepa

Sky-Doll is, of course, the first of Marvel’s imports of the French Soliel Comics line. The first issue came out last month, and from that it is easy to see why the series achieved international acclaim. The series is racy - it is adult-oriented, and involves sentient “dolls” who serve as personal slaves. Despite the risqué themes, in many ways the comic seems like it would be at home under a Disney imprint. The art is fantastic and alive, and the characters seem like something right out of any classic Disney feature. Granted, the content is too adult-oriented, but in every way it is an excellent example of the blend between art and story.

The price might seem steep - but to keep in mind that this is a 64 Page full color book - so while it is twice the price of a regular comic, it is also twice the size. Just like 2 issues in one. I highly recommend this series.

DARK HORSE

FEAR AGENT #21 HATCHET JOB (PT 5 OF 5) $2.99 Now: $2.59

DC COMICS

ACTION COMICS #866 $2.99 Now: $2.69
CHUCK #1 (OF 6) $2.99 Now: $2.79
GOTHAM UNDERGROUND #9 (OF 9) $2.99 Now: $2.59
LEGION OF SUPER HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY #15 $2.25 Now: $1.99
SALVATION RUN #7 (OF 7) $2.99 Now: $2.69
SIMON DARK #9 $2.99 Now: $2.69
WONDER WOMAN #21 $2.99 Now: $2.69

IMAGE COMICS

CHARLATAN BALL #1 $2.99 Now: $2.69
MAGDALENA DAREDEVIL (ONE SHOT) $3.99 Now: $3.59
PILOT SEASON LADY PENDRAGON #1 $3.99 Now: $2.59

MARVEL COMICS

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #562 $2.99 Now: $2.69
CIVIL WAR CHRONICLES #12 $4.99 Now: $4.49
DARK TOWER LONG ROAD HOME #2 (OF 5) 2ND PTG VAR $3.99 Now: $3.49
ETERNALS #1 $2.99 Now: $2.69
HULK RAGING THUNDER $3.99 Now: $3.49
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #1 2ND PTG LARROCA VAR $2.99 Now: $2.79
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #1 2ND PTG MEINERDING VAR $2.99 Now: $2.79
MARVEL ADVENTURES HULK #12 $2.99 Now: $2.59
SECRET INVASION #1 3RD PTG YU VAR $3.99 Now: $3.49
SKY-DOLL #2 $5.99 Now: $4.99
SPIDER-MAN MAGAZINE #1 $6.99 Now: $5.99
SPIDER-MAN WITH GREAT POWER #4 (OF 5) $3.99 Now: $3.49

MARVEL MOVIE CROSSOVERS

Much hay was made of the post-credit Iron Man appearance of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, as well as a brief Shield sighting. Well, it seems that they aren’t done teasing an Avengers movie. In the Incredible Hulk, Robert Downey Jr. appears as Tony Stark for a decent-sized cameo (this clip is even being used to promote the film - no doubt as a result of Iron Man’s box office success), and there is even a rumor that Captain America will make an appearance of some sort, as well as the movie itself setting up the super-soldier serum plot for a Captain America movie.

Are we reading too much into all this? Maybe, but why ruin the fun?

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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