HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
Order any of the below titles by clicking here!

ASTONISHING X-MEN GHOST BOXES #1 (OF 2), $3.99, Marvel Comics
Written by Warren Ellis, Art by Alan Davis and Frank Cho

No matter what you think of Warren Ellis’s young run on Astonishing X-Men, you can’t deny that it has made waves.

The reader response to his first couple issues has been all over the spectrum. Of course, there are a few camps who reacted as you might predict – Ellis die-hards find it to be brilliant, and those Whedon fans (let’s face it – there are people out there who will like anything he puts out, no matter how bad) who were upset that he left the title could find nothing but fault in Ellis’s story. The truth, as usual, is somewhere in the middle.

As has been the case since this title was first conceived, Ellis is writing a different sort of X-Men than the kind we are seeing in Legacy and Uncanny. It isn’t meant to fit in with the other books, and it is questionable whether it is really supposed to fit in continuity that strongly. It isn’t bad – it is definitely more cerebral than the mainstream X-books, but it does suffer from a sluggish pace, and the art could definitely be better. Ellis typically writes for the long term – and as a result, his early issues tend to suffer a bit before he really gets the ball rolling. So there is a lot of room for improvement. So if you were thinking of checking Astonishing out – do so, but be prepared to give it a few issues to really get going. It isn’t as bad as you might have heard from some fans who were expecting something else all together.

Of course, this two-issue story is a tie-in to the current arc, which focuses primarily on Subject X. Might be a good test series if you want to sample Ellis’s story before committing to the ongoing series, or just a good supplement if you have enjoyed Ellis’s run so far.

CAPTAIN AMERICA THEATER OF WAR OPERATION ZERO POINT, $3.99, Marvel Comics
Written by Daniel Knauf and Charles Knauf, Art by Mitch Breitweiser

This is the first of several promised specials that are intended to examine the career of Captain America. You know – if Steve Rogers was going to “stay dead” – this is a way that would really satisfy a lot of readers. There is no reason you can’t have classic Captain America stories set outside of current continuity – heck, let Bucky be the “modern” Captain America. Why not have a series that tells stories about the original, set during the War? It’s tough to say if these “specials” are leading into something, or if they are being published just for the sake of it, but if they are entertaining, it doesn’t really matter, does it? This issue will pit Captain America against Robot Nazis. Seriously, what more could you want? Should be a fun issue.

CHECKMATE #31, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Bruce Jones; Art and Cover by Manuel Garcia

And quite suddenly, this title comes to an end. This isn’t much of a surprise – a lot of its core readership was never satisfied after Rucka departed the title, and no matter how the story ended up, they just wouldn’t support Bruce Jones on their beloved book. The scorn might be well earned – his body of work since arriving at DC hasn’t been the best, and no one expected his run on this book would be that good.

Regardless of what you thought of the title, Checkmate’s sudden cancellation begs the question – did DC really mean to cancel this title after Rucka left? There was a dramatic shift in focus on this book once Jones came aboard, and the main cast took a back seat to the Chimera character. Did DC try and use this title as a vehicle to introduce this character, to eventually use in Final Crisis? Not a bad strategy – extending an existing ongoing would probably net more readers than just throwing a mini out there. Yeah, it hasn’t been anything like Rucka’s run since Jones took over, but it really hasn’t been a Checkmate book either. In any case, it comes to an end this month. Whether Checkmate as Rucka imagined it will ever return again remains to be seen.

FINAL CRISIS RAGE OF THE RED LANTERNS #1, $3.99, 40 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Geoff Johns; Art and covers by Shane Davis and Sandra Hope

It seems like we have been seeing the “Prelude to Darkest Night” tag on Green Lantern issues for months and months now – easily excusable, considering how good Green Lantern usually is, but it does make you wonder when we actually are getting to the “real” prelude. Nonetheless, this definitely seems a step in that direction, as this issue deals specifically with a group that should be on the forefront of that eventual struggle, the Red Lanterns. Specifically, this story will deal with Sinestro, and their rage towards him and probably the Sinestro Corps as well. Johns has been doing a good job patiently setting up each of the colored Lantern factions, and giving them each individual identities and purposes.

This mini is certainly going to be one to pick up if you are closely following Final Crisis, and want to get all the tie-ins, but it may be better to pick this up if you are simple a Green Lantern fan anxiously awaiting Blackest Night.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA THE NEXT AGE TP, $14.99, 144 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Geoff Johns Cover by Alex Ross; Art by Dale Eaglesham, Art Thibert and Ruy Jose

It has been a while since these issues were first released, but if you were one of those who missed the relaunch of Justice Society of America (despite how great this title usually is, it often doesn’t get nearly the same level of attention that the “star-studded,” but usually weaker Justice League gets), this is a great opportunity to catch up on those early issues. This trade collects the first four issues of the latest Justice Society of America run (Issue #1 was a 48 pager, which explains why there are so few issues in it), which is every issue prior to The Lightning Saga crossover with the Justice League of America which started up on issue #5 (this has already been released in Hardcover, but there is a trade paperback set to come out in January).

This title started strong, and this trade will be a great read for anyone who missed it the first time around.

SUPERMAN #681, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by James Robinson; Art by Renato Guedes and Jose Magalháes; Cover by Alex Ross; Variant cover by Bernard Chang

So far, so good for the start of the New Krypton event. (If you missed it, it started last week in the Superman: New Krypton Special #1) Of course, Johns is promising big things for this arc – saying that it will do for Superman what the Sinestro Corps War did for Green Lantern. Not sure if that is an apt comparison… it does seem more like namedropping than anything. Green Lantern: Rebirth and Green Lantern Corpse really lit up the Green Lantern franchise – the Sinestro Corps War, while exciting, really didn’t do anything other than build off what was already a strong and well-established franchise. Superman has been good lately – as has Action Comics (though Supergirl was in desperate need of focus and direction) – Superman doesn’t need an explosive Sinestro Corps War to make the franchise good, all it needs is good writing. It has gotten that lately, and with a solid start to this event, there is little doubt that it will ultimately be successful.

TEEN TITANS #64, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Sean McKeever; Art and cover by Eddy Barrows and Ruy Jose

Some writers, when taking over a team book, would just dump old team they weren’t interested in within a few issues, and jump right to the team they wanted to see on the title. It would seem that this isn’t the case for Sean McKeever, who has made the evolution of the Teen Titans team a core part of the story. Titans are dropping like flies for a variety of reasons, and while it is entirely possible that the will all come back at some point, the fact that upcoming stories deal with a drive to recruit new members suggests that some of the departed Titans will be gone for the foreseeable future. And though we might have seen the last of some of these Titans for a while, to McKeever’s credit, he made an effort to build each of them up before sending them on – giving each one of them some kind of hook that could be used by any writer who wants to make use of them. Fans often gripe that some writers don’t treat their favorite characters with respect – those writers could take a lesson from what is going on here. This is how you respect characters – even when you plan on dumping them. There is no reason to expect that any of these characters have been seen for the last time.

In the meantime, Teen Titans is among the cream of the DC crop right now. A can’t-miss every month. Here’s to that keeping up for a long time to come.

X-MEN FIRST CLASS GIANT SIZE SPECIAL #1, $3.99, Marvel Comics
Written by Jeff Parker and Roger Langridge, Art by Michael Cho, Roger Langridge, Nick Kilislian, Dean Haspiel, David Williams, and Jeff Parker

Marvel has kind of taken the First Class concept and beat it a bit to death with all the Wolverine: First Class spin-offs, but the original Jeff Parker product remains true to the original spirit and concept that made it such an enjoyable read. Adding to that mood is the fact that issue appears to be something of a Halloween special – that much the better. The current X-Men can’t ever recapture this feel, which makes the simplicity of a holiday special that much more believable when the characters aren’t burdened with the “serious and mature” baggage that they have today. If you want a fun, light-hearted read that doesn’t deal with CRISIS!!, and doesn’t tie into half a dozen other issues, then you should pick this issue up. You will enjoy it.

SPOTLIGHT PICK OF THE WEEK

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #1, $3.99, Marvel Comics
Written by Marc Guggenheim, Art by Mike McKone and Andy Lanning

This issue sets out to answer the “mystery of Jackpot’s identity” once and for all. This revelation seems like a real yawner on the surface for readers – it is either Mary Jane or isn’t – by them trying to link her to Mary Jane so obviously reeks of a bait and switch, which means that if she is Mary Jane, it is somewhat corny, if she isn’t – well, everyone would have seen that coming. However, any excitement over the answer to that question can only last for so long, so it is a good thing that they are going to put it to rest. If they stretched it out forever, the so-called mystery would have just become tiresome, and the time would just lessen any impact the revelation might have.

Now Amazing Spider-Man has been pretty good since Brand New Day, so there is no reason to expect this revelation will be a wet blanket (despite the cynicism). There has to be something more to this, and there is little doubt that any answers we get this issue will lead into some other major plot-line or mystery. As Annual sometimes do, this could well set the stage for some of the stories we are going to get in the year to come.

DC COMICS

CHECKMATE #31 $2.99 Now: $2.59
CHUCK #5 (OF 6) $2.99 Now: $2.59
DC UNIVERSE DECISIONS #4 (OF 4) $2.99 Now: $2.59
FERRYMAN #2 (OF 5) $3.50 Now: $2.69
FINAL CRISIS RAGE OF THE RED LANTERNS #1 $3.99 Now: $3.49
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #26 $2.99 Now: $2.69
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA THE NEXT AGE TP $14.99 Now: $12.99
LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #47 $2.99 Now: $2.59
MIRRORS EDGE #1 (OF 6) $3.99 Now: $3.49
RANN THANAGAR HOLY WAR #6 (OF 8) $3.50 Now: $2.99
REIGN IN HELL #4 (OF 8) $3.50 Now: $2.99
SUPERMAN #681 $2.99 Now: $2.79
SUPERMAN BATMAN #53 $2.99 Now: $2.69 TEEN TITANS #64 $2.99 Now: $2.59
TRINITY #22 $2.99 Now: $2.69
WAR THAT TIME FORGOT #6 (OF 12) $2.99 Now: $2.59
WORLD OF WARCRAFT #12 $2.99 Now: $2.59
WORLD OF WARCRAFT ASHBRINGER #2 (OF 4) $3.99 Now: $3.49

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

SHEENA DARK RISING #1 $3.50 Now: $2.99

MARVEL COMICS

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #575 $2.99 Now: $2.59
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #1 $3.99 Now: $3.49
ASTONISHING X-MEN GHOST BOXES #1 (OF 2) $3.99 Now: $3.49
CAPTAIN AMERICA THEATER OF WAR OPERATION ZERO POINT $3.99 Now: $3.49
MARVEL 1985 #6 (OF 6) $3.99 Now: $3.49
MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #41 $2.99 Now: $2.59
MARVEL SPOTLIGHT ULTIMATUM $2.99 Now: $2.59
SECRET INVASION X-MEN #3 (OF 4) $2.99 Now: $2.69
THOR #11 $2.99 Now: $2.69
ULTIMATE CAPTAIN AMERICA ANNUAL #1 $3.99 Now: $3.49
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #3 $3.99 Now: $3.49
WOLVERINE FIRST CLASS #8 $2.99 Now: $2.59
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #29 $2.99 Now: $2.59
X-FORCE #8 $2.99 Now: $2.59
X-MEN FIRST CLASS GIANT SIZE SPECIAL #1 $3.99 Now: $3.49

The opinions in this article are the writer’s alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of X-World Comics or comiXtreme.com.

Want to add your thoughts? Post your comments here!

Post your comments in the Forum!