HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
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Batman #681, $3.99, 40 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Grant Morrison; Art by Tony Daniel and Sandu Florea; Cover by Alex Ross; Variant cover by Tony Daniel

This is it – the final issue of Batman: R.I.P. in which we are supposed to see the “devastating secret” that leads Bruce Wayne to hang up the cape. Yeah – it does look like this secret is going to be something that makes long-time Batman fans a little angry, but it will lead to a new status quo in the Batman family of books. One More Day was received by the fans with anger, but the result ended up being fairly positive. The same might well be the case here.

In any case – this long anticipated issue will set into motion a major shift in the Bat-Universe that Batman readers will be interested in, and is positioned to be a valuable issue for collectors to pick up. Definitely one to add to your list if you fall into either of those categories.

Birds Of Prey #124, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Tony Bedard; Art by Michael O’Hare and John Floyd; Cover by Stephane Roux

Speaking of Batman-family, this arc is something that shouldn’t be missed. The idea that Barbara would finally physically confront the Joker after all this time was an iffy-idea at best – she had developed so well without having him as a nemesis that bringing him back into the picture could be anti-climactic. It was anything but. Simone did such a good job developing Oracle as a character that when Bedard finally took her full circle, it was anything but a let down. This issue brings that confrontation to what will no doubt be a satisfying conclusion.

As you may know, this title is set to come to an end as of issue #127. A real shame – despite what is going on in Batman R.I.P. this book has been high quality and independent for years now. Everyone expected a sharp drop in quality after Simone departed, but Bedard has done a tremendous job keeping this title engaging and high-quality. Definitely not looking forward to this book’s finale, if only because it would be better if this title did not come to an end.

JSA Kingdom Come Special The Kingdom #1, $3.99, 48 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Geoff Johns; Art by Fernando Pasarin; Cover by Alex Ross; Variant Cover by Dale Eaglesham and Nathan Massengill

Another Kingdom Come one-shot special, this one focusing on Gog finally “healing” Citizen Steel. As we have seen recently with Doctor Mid-Nite, however, his miracles don’t always seem to be for the greater good. Also this issue we get a little more insight about Starman and his role in the current time.

This JSA story has been interesting, though it is really drawn out. It is kind of tough to see how the elements we are seeing in these one shots couldn’t be included in the story itself – but that is the way it goes with things like this. Should make for a good trade or hardcover collection, even if the story seems to be progressing a little slowly for a serial comic.

Looking forward to see what the new status-quo of this title will be once this arc ends. Seems like we have the makings of a new base of operations and supporting cast here. It’s interesting to see this coalesce.

Superman #682, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by James Robinson; Art by Renato Guedes and Wilson Magalháes; Cover by Alex Ross; Variant Cover by Stephane Roux

Supergirl #35 has come and gone, and it looks like it really wasn’t critical to the overall story after all. Some might view this as a negative, but it really isn’t – the New Krypton story clearly has implications for her, and it does make sense to show that to the readers. Meanwhile, in the Superman issues, the story is progressing much how you would expect, with tensions between the Kryptonians and the humans starting to come to a head in this issue. Thus far this mini-event has been very well done – wouldn’t mind seeing more of these small-scale events as opposed to the mega-event blow-outs we have been burdened with over the past several years.

Teen Titans #65, $2.99, 32 pages, DC Comics
Written by Sean McKeever; Art and Cover by Eddy Barrows and Ruy Jose

There have been several character threads going through Teen Titans these past few months – one of them looks like it will be resolved this issue when Wonder Girl’s rival challenges her for her spot. Of course, if you have been reading, you remember that her powers are quickly diminishing which will make the challenge all the more difficult.

Teen Titans has been outstanding in recent issues, and there really isn’t any reason to believe that this is going to change soon. Looking forward to seeing where McKeever takes this one.

Thor Man Of War, $3.99, Marvel Comics
Written by Matt Fraction, Art by Clay Mann, Patrick Zircher, Victor Olazaba, and June Chung

Another Thor story from Matt Fraction – it looks like Zircher is involved in this one as well, but with Clay Mann getting the first art credit, it would seem his involvement isn’t as heavy as it was in Ages of Thunder and Reign of Blood. This story is going to feature a “final” conflict between Odin and Thor, and promises to be quite action packed. If you have enjoyed Fraction’s previous Thor efforts (or just like his work in general), this will be a good buy this week.

Ultimate X-Men #98, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Aron Coleite, Art by Mark Brooks, Jaime Mendoza, and Edgar Delgado

Since Coleite has taken over, this title has improved somewhat, though it is still a ways from the lofty heights dominated by Ultimate Spider-Man. The Banshee arc was decent – action packed and chaotic, but there are still too many characters with too many ongoing plots. Perhaps this will thin out a bit as Ultimatum wraps up, but cutting down the sheer number of main players in this book will take this title the rest of the way up the quality hill. However, with Ultimatum here, it is likely that this book will be reshaped in that event’s wake. This issue is the first of the Ultimatum tie-ins. Coleite is doing a decent job with the book – now we will have to wait and see if things get better or worse once the changes this even mandates take hold.

SPOTLIGHT PICK OF THE WEEK

Nova #19, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, Art by Wellington Alves, Scott Hana, and Guru

And suddenly, there is a Nova Corps. The natural inclination is to look for the twist, but suddenly establishing a New Nova Corps the minute Worldmind had a defensible base of operations is very much in character. Between this and Guardians of the Galaxy, DnA did an amazing job tying these stories into the Secret Invasion event without damaging the integrity of their ongoing storylines. If we are going to be bombarded by a never-ending string of events, it would be great if every writer could handle event tie-in this well.

Nova has continued to be a solid read since it was relaunched, and has remained firmly at the top of Marvel’s publishing catalogue in terms of quality. If you still aren’t reading it, you really should at least give it a try.

DARK HORSE

Buffy The Vampire Slayer #19 $2.99 Now: $2.59
Star Wars Legacy #30 $2.99 Now: $2.69

DC COMICS

Batman #681 $3.99 Now: $3.49
Batman #681 (Incentive Tony Daniel Variant Cover) $34.99
Batman Gotham After Midnight #7 (of 12) $2.99 Now: $2.59
Birds Of Prey #124 $2.99 Now: $2.69
DMZ #36 $2.99 Now: $2.69
Ferryman #3 (of 5) $3.50 Now: $2.99
JSA Kingdom Come Special The Kingdom #1 $3.99 Now: $3.49
JSA Kingdom Come Special the Kingdom #1 (Incentive Dale Eaglesham Variant Cover) $8.99
Legion Of Super Heroes #48 $2.99 Now: $2.59
Reign In Hell #5 (of 8) $3.50 Now: $2.99
Superman #682 $2.99 Now: $2.69
Superman Batman Vs Vampires Werewolves #4 (of 6) $2.99 Now: $2.69
Teen Titans #65 $2.99 Now: $2.69
Trinity #26 $2.99 Now: $2.69
War That Time Forgot #7 (of 12) $2.99 Now: $2.59
Wildcats #5 $2.99 Now: $2.59
Wonder Woman #26 $2.99 Now: $2.69

MARVEL COMICS

Avengers The Initiative TP Vol 2 Killed In Action $19.99 Now: $15.99
Captain America #44 $2.99 Now: $2.69
Captain America #44 (Variant Sal Buscema Cover) $6.99
Captain America Premiere HC Vol 3 Death Of Captain America $19.99 Now: $15.99
Daredevil #113 $2.99 Now: $2.69
Ghost Rider Danny Ketch #2 (of 5) $3.99 Now: $3.49
Hulk #8 $2.99 Now: $2.69
Incredible Hercules #123 $2.99 Now: $2.69
Ms Marvel #33 $2.99 Now: $2.69
Nova #19 $2.99 Now: $2.69
Runaways #4 $2.99 Now: $2.59
Secret Invasion X-Men #4 (of 4) $2.99 Now: $2.59
She-Hulk #35 $2.99 Now: $2.69
Thor Man Of War $3.99 Now: $3.49
True Believers #5 (of 5) $2.99 Now: $2.59
Ultimate Spider-Man #128 $2.99 Now: $2.69
Ultimate X-Men #98 $2.99 Now: $2.69
Wolverine First Class #9 $2.99 Now: $2.59
Wolverine Origins #30 $2.99 Now: $2.69
X-Force #9 $2.99 Now: $2.69
X-Men First Class TP Band Of Brothers $14.99 Now: $11.99
X-Men Legacy HC Vol 2 Sins Of The Father $24.99 Now: $19.99
X-Men Legacy TP Vol 1 Divided He Stands $15.99 Now: $12.99

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

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