HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
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AMBUSH BUG YEAR NONE #1 (OF 6), $2.99, 32 Pages. DC Comics
Written by Keith Giffen and Robert Loren Fleming; Art by Giffen and Al Milgrom; Cover by J.H. Williams III; Variant Cover by Giffen

Giffen is back again with his Amush Bug creation - this will be a great pick-up for anyone looking for a light-hearted read. There is a lot to spoof in comics these days, and with so much revolving around heavy themes and overhyped major event crossovers, sometimes it is nice to have something you can just laugh at. This series is the right medicine for that.

There have been some recent appearances of Ambush Bug, either as a brief cameo or mention, but he hasn’t had a real solid appearance since 52. A good sure bet this week.

AVENGERS INITIATIVE #15, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Dan Slott and Christos Gage, Art by Harvey Tolibao and Daniele Rudoni

It isn’t an exaggeration to say that this is one of Marvel’s “Must Read” titles. The Slott/Gage combination has proven to be a winner, and as “Avengers” titles go, this one is consistently well written and entertaining. Even if that is contrary to logic - the whole genesis of this title was an event tie-in, and it continues to be neck-deep in event plotlines (Secret Invasion, this time), Gage and Slott have managed to make the events integral parts of the title’s ongoing story, instead of a distraction. A definite safe bet this week.

IMMORTAL IRON FIST #17, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Duane Swierczynski, Art by Travel Foreman and Matt Milla

Creative team changes sometimes are heralded with great fanfare, but sometimes they are greeted with a collective gasp and cringe from the readers. Sadly, this might be one of the latter. Brubaker, Fraction, and Aja quietly made this book one of Marvel’s best, and their departure in favor of Cable’s Swierczynski definitely earned the ire of some long-time readers. This probably does signal that the title will be drawing a little bit closer to the overall universe, which is great for readers who dig the interconnected universe, but it probably means the end of the deep story and breathtaking art that we have come to expect from this book. Still - it could end up being a decent action read - so all hope isn’t lost for this book.¬

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #23, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Dwayne McDuffie; Art and cover by Ed Benes

So far this arc is off to a pretty good start, which is a good sign. It is kind of hard to believe that this title is almost two years old. Not really in a good way - for all the fanfare surrounding this title’s relaunch, it has been horribly overrated and frankly outshined by Justice Society of America through most of its run. Not that this is necessarily the fault of the creative team - DC has been mired in Events or Event Gear-Up though this title’s entire history. Still, this story pretty well stands on its own, which almost goes to show that we generally do get better stories out of a title when they are more inward focused. Some readers of late may have been vacillating about this title - hate to prolong what might be the inevitable, but this might not be the arc to finally decide to drop it. It might even be a good issue to give this book a try. Hopefully this is the beginning of a permanent improvement for Justice League of America.

LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #44, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Jim Shooter; Art and cover by Francis Manapul and Livesay; Variant Cover by Neal Adams

Shooter’s return to the Legion of Superheroes has thus-far been a success. This isn’t totally a surprise, but whenever someone returns to a title after thirty-some years, it is a little scary. But he did hit the ground running, and has so far managed to bring back his own feel for the book, without discounting what has happened to these characters in the passing decades.

Legion, for a long time, has been a love or hate title. Mark Waid did an excellent job writing the book, but his style on this title was a real turn-off to a lot of readers which made it difficult for the book to get a more universal appeal. Bedard’s short stint was decent, but it was really just filler for Shooter’s return. Shooter’s arrival has ended up signifying the end of that “love or hate” period, opening the title up to more universal acceptance. Or at the very least “love or kinda like” instead of “love or hate.”

SPOTLIGHT PICK OF THE WEEK

UNCANNY X-MEN #500, $3.99, Marvel Comics
Written by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction, Art by Greg Land, Terry Dodson, and Justin Ponsor

500 issues of Uncanny X-Men - man, 500 issues. This is a big one for Marvel - Uncanny, if I am not mistaken, is the only Marvel title to have actually lasted 500 issues without renumbering, volume merging, or any other later-reversed #1 relaunches. An achievement to say the least.

As often happens around the time of a major milestone issue, the X-Men have had a bit of a status quo shift with their move to the West Coast. This issue promises to “begin” the new era for the X-Men, so you can bet that it will be extremely new reader friendly, and probably action packed. Should be some tributes to history as well, with Sentinels, Magneto, and Master Mold promised to appear. Brubaker and Fraction are an absolutely outstanding team - this looks like it could be a solid start to a strong run of issues. About time the X-Men was good for a change…

DC COMICS

AMBUSH BUG YEAR NONE #1 (OF 6) $2.99 Now: $2.69
BATMAN #676 RIP 3RD PTG $2.99 Now: $2.69
BATMAN GOTHAM AFTER MIDNITE #3 (OF 12) $2.99 Now: $2.69
BRAVE AND THE BOLD #15 $2.99 Now: $2.69
DMZ #33 $2.99 Now: $2.59
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #23 $2.99 Now: $2.69
LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #44 $2.99 Now: $2.69
TRINITY #8 $2.99 Now: $2.69
TWO FACE YEAR ONE #1 (OF 2) $5.99 Now: $4.99

MARVEL COMICS

ANGEL REVELATIONS #3 (OF 5) $3.99 Now: $3.49
AVENGERS INITIATIVE #15 $2.99 Now: $2.69
DAREDEVIL #109 $2.99 Now: $2.59
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #17 $2.99 Now: $2.69
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #17 AJA VAR $9.99
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #17 DRAGON LOGO VAR $18.99
MARVEL ADVENTURES SUPER HEROES #1 $2.99 Now: $2.69
NEW AVENGERS #43 $2.99 Now: $2.69
SHE-HULK #31 $2.99 Now: $2.59
ULTIMATE X-MEN #96 $2.99 Now: $2.69
UNCANNY X-MEN #500 $3.99 Now: $3.59
WOLVERINE FIRST CLASS #5 $2.99 Now: $2.69
X-MEN LEGACY #214 $2.99 Now: $2.69

Ender’s Game Mini

In the recently announced Marvel Solicits for October was the announcement of a comic adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game series. This should be fantastic. The Dabel version of Wyrms was solid, but since Ender’s Game is Card’s most famous title, this adaptation is going to be much, much bigger news. I am also glad to see it is Ender’s Game solo - and not a melt of that and Ender’s Shadow. The latter title (and series) were interesting, but this sort of thing will be much better with Ender’s Game all on its own. Glad to see they are finally doing this.

Kirkman Named Image Partner

All I can say is, what took them so long? Invincible and the Walking Dead have come to represent Image every bit as much as Spawn and Savage Dragon. It may have been the first time this has ever happened since Image was founded, but then again, we haven’t seen a character like Invincible come around since the label was founded. This most certainly dashes any hope of seeing Invincible ever migrate to Marvel, but it is great news for Kirkman. Hopefully it leads to some real positive change at Image.

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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