Posts Tagged ‘ Dark Horse ’

I meant to post this yesterday but time got away from me (stupid day job) so I didn’t get a chance. I did post about this week’s DC #1s yesterday but here’s the rest of the publishers…

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 9 #1 – I was hugely disappointed with Season 8 and it’s ‘hey we don’t have a budget, let’s throw in everything’ plot, not to mention the way it incorporated Angel and Spike into it – but hey, it’s Buffy. Chances are I’ll check this out for an issue or two before switching to trades (or possibly digital). I picked up Angel & Faith last week, and that was a pleasant surprise – mainly due to Christos Gage’s strong writing, I think.

Witch Doctor #3 (of 4) – Still a good little book, but I don’t yet see a through-line for the mini. Enjoyable, though.

Amazing Spider-Man #669 – I’m really enjoying Spider-Island and particularly the fact that Peter’s becoming a hero without his mask. I hope that the main baddie behind this isn’t the Queen from Paul Jenkin’s Spectacular Spider-Man arc that tied into Avengers Disassembled and gave Peter his organic web-shooters – it would make sense, but I’d rather forget that story on account of it being terrible. There’s also something interesting going on with Mary Jane – it looks like she’s regretting leaving Peter, and Carlie seems to be getting more than a little cocky with her new powers. Pride cometh…

Daredevil #3 – Closing up the first arc; I’ll be honest, as much as I’m enjoying Waid’s take on Matt I think this is it for me. It’ll play well in trades so I think I’ll switch to them like most of my Marvel stuff these days.

Evolutionary War Omnibus HC – Why, Marvel? Why would you reprint perhaps one of the worst, most convoluted crossovers you ever put out in this format?

Spider-Island The Amazing Spider-Girl #2 (Of 3) – Eh, I think I’m on record as not loving Paul Tobin’s Spider-Girl but liking the character. I’m picking it up but out of habit, nothing else.

And the non-DC pick of the week…

Shinku #3 – Ron Marz and Lee Moder’s samurai vampire series so far has been bloody good (see what I did there?), and it’s my pick of the week. Early enough to hop on board.

For reasons I don’t understand (but are probably something to do with which public holidays are actually public holidays, and which only call themselves public holidays, and are actually just holidays for some companies and not others), new comics ship tomorrow in spite of yesterday being MLK Day. And there’s a lot to say…

Buffy The Vampire Slayer #40 – Okay, now the long (inter)national nightmare is over. The lackluster, confusing, and downright bad ‘Season Eight’ of Buffy is finally over. Aside from the awesome covers by Jo Chen, I’m going to pretend (a) this never happened, and (b) I didn’t buy every goddamn issue of the wretched thing, including this one.

DC Comics Presents The Atom #1 – Still a great format but I do wish they’d reprint something I actually want to read, instead of these Legends of the DC Universe issues that mainly read like discarded inventory issues the first time around.

House Of Mystery Volume 5 Under New Management TP – I think I missed the last volume of House of Mystery because I suddenly realized that I wasn’t actually enjoying the series that much, outside of the little tales-within-tales. Tell me, intranetz, has it got any better?

Justice League International Volume 5 TP – Ho ho! Not only do you get the opening issues of Justice League Europe (personally my favorite incarnation of the bwah-ha-ha era), but you also get a couple of annuals. Honestly, I’m so glad these series are being reprinted. Recommended! I need to pick up volume 4 before I get this though…

Secret Six Cats In The Cradle TP - I’m a couple of trades behind on my Secret Six (behold, a developing pattern), but I can’t say enough good things about this dirty side of the DCU. A consistently great read.

Starman Omnibus Volume 6 HC – I’m actually two trades behind here (they’re damn pricey) but this is the volume I’m looking forward to as James Robinson’s magnum opus reaches it’s conclusion through the Grand Guignol arc.

Supergirl #60 – I’m going out on a limb and guessing that I’m not strong enough to drop this in spite of a perfect opportunity (the change in creative teams) just like I didn’t drop Batgirl and Red Robin when I was so adamant I would. One of the few regular monthly comics that I still like for it’s fun.

Doctor Who #1 – Tony Lee returns with a new series for a new Doctor. I’ve only read his The Forgotten previously, but it was a good solid story. My main issue with comics set within ongoing TV series is that there’s always the knowledge that they have zero impact on the actual show. Then again on the plus side, they’re not Buffy.

Dungeons And Dragons #3 – I confess, I was wrong. When I read the #0 issue of this I was completely underwhelmed – but the first few issues of the ongoing have been incredibly good fun. I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys fantasy in general, or D&D and/or Skullkickers in particular.

Amazing Spider-Man #652 – I’m all for more Mac Gargan, even if he is back to being the Scorpion with a horribly designed new suit (and hey, I’d prefer to see more of the Camilla Black Scorpion, please), but I have zero interest in the Spider-Slayer or *sigh* an insect army. And honestly, who does?

Avengers Academy #8 – I picked this up last month because I told writer Christos Gage I would, and I’m sold on the book big time now. You should be too.

Avengers Citizen Kang TP – Collecting a 1992 story that ran through Avengers, Thor, Captain America and Fantastic Four annuals, I cannot warn you enough: don’t buy it. It features a story with the Avengers and the FF getting mixed up in some Kang hi-jinks involving the Terminatrix (an alternate version of Kang’s dead lady love, Ravonna) and her team of badly-designed Anachronauts. If the names aren’t enough to dissuade you, let me add that the art on the annuals was uniformly terrible as well. Look at it this way: I read it so you don’t have to.

Captain America Man & Wolf TP – And speaking of ‘stay away’, let me reiterate what I wrote about when I ran through the trades available of Mark Gruenwald’s run: Captain America becomes a werewolf and runs around the MU encountering people like Wolverine and Cable. Oh, and the conclusion ties in to the lackluster Infinity War, just to top it all off. Probably the low point of Gruenwald’s run. If you decide to buy it, just don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Invincible Iron Man #500 – I haven’t done the math to see if this renumbering actually works, but sure, why not? Expect it to be canceled in favor of an Iron Man Reborn mini-series within the year…

Mighty Marvel Women Of Marvel TP - Collecting last year’s one shots featuring women heroes (Firestar, Rescue, Namora, Sif, Valkyrie, Spitfire, X-23 and, er, Lady Deadpool and Galacta) plus Women of Marvel #1-2, which featured a bunch of shorter stories starring some of Marvel’s female characters, this is a hit-and-miss collection of stories – but all in all it’s probably worth picking up if you’re interested.

Secret Avengers Volume 1 Mission To Mars HC – Like all the current crop of Avengers books, I was looking forward to picking this up in trades but I’ve heard it’s pretty underwhelming. What say you? Wait for the dollar bin or the paperback or splash out?

Steve Rogers Super-Soldier HC – I’ll be honest, having Cap writer Ed Brubaker on this doesn’t hurt my chances of picking it up (oddly, I don’t have the same feeling for Secret Avengers above), but I haven’t actually heard anything about it. Is it any good?

Thor Ragnarok TP – The deluge of Thor reprints starts with a Roy Thomas/John Buscema story from Thor #272-278. I’ll be honest; I haven’t read much (if any) of Roy Thomas’ Thor but I can’t imagine that it’s aged too well. That said, Big John Buscema is on the art chores, so I will give this a look to see if I should pick it up – I’m a huge fan of his.

It’s a potentially big week for the Pull List (surprising given the number of things I’ve dropped) but I’m not 100% sure I’ll be picking it all up. Even so…

Conan The Road Of Kings #1 (Of 6) – While I haven’t picked up an issue of Conan since Dark Horse’s first volume ended – I always intended to pick the second volume in trades but never did – I’m tempted by this if only because it’s Roy Thomas’ first work on the title since his Marvel days (to my knowledge) and, barring Kurt Busiek, there’s nobody I’d rather see write the character.

Batgirl The Greatest Stories Ever Told TP – While I love Barbara Gordon as a character, there are relatively few stories I’ve read with her as Batgirl – namely the excellent and highly recommended Batgirl: Year One (which I don’t think has ever been collected in the US), a couple of flashback issues, and Batgirl: The Last Batgirl Story published just prior to The Killing Joke – so I’m, tempted to pick this up; judging from the issues collected there’s a minimal amount of Silver Age wackiness, so that’s a good thing.

DC Comics Presents Batman #3 – An odd collection of Ed Brubaker’s Batman run from just prior to Bruce Wayne: Murderer, these are mostly forgettable stories including a Joker: Last Laugh tie-in and a Santa Klaus story – which, I guess, is why it’s being published in December. Still, I do like the reprint format.

Green Lantern Plastic Man Weapons Of Mass Deception #1 – This seems a little random; a Hal Jordan and Plastic Man team up by Marv Wolfman and Brent Anderson; after the events in the JLA book just prior to Blackest Night, I’m not even sure that Plastic Man has himself together enough to utilize his powers, so I suspect that this is an inventory story that DC are pushing out.

Supergirl #59 – The end of Sterling Gates’ great run on the book. Yes, it suffered a little from having to deal with the New Krypton status quo for a year, but all in all this is the best that the character has been used since she was reintroduced to the DCU a few years back. Nick Spencer has some big shoes to fill.

Superman Secret Origin Deluxe Edition HC - Finally. I picked up the first issue and liked it but felt that it would read better in one sitting – and as it took forever to complete, seems like I was right. Looking forward to getting this, if only because I’m a huge fan of Gary Frank’s art.

Vertigo Resurrected Hellblazer #1 – I guess this is the Vertigo version of the DC Comics Presents. This collects two two-issue arcs on Hellblazer, one by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon and the other by Jason Aaron and Sean Murphy. I’ve been looking for somewhere to start reading the Hellblazer trades, so this feels like it might be as good a place as any.

Dungeons And Dragons #2 – I thought the #0 issue was a bit lackluster, but I enjoyed the hell out of #1. I know, I’m as surprised as you are. I said it before, but between this and Skull Kickers it’s a great time to read fantasy comics.

Next Men #1 – I’ve never read an issue of John Byrne’s Next Men and I doubt I ever will. There are many, many properties I’d prefer to see him return to, but they’d all rely on him playing nice with Marvel and/or DC which just doesn’t seem on the cards any time soon. A pity, because his Angel mini series and one-shots have actually been pretty strong on the art front.

Wynonna Earp Yeti Wars GN – To say Beau Smith is overlooked as a writer is putting it mildly; his work on Guy Gardner: Warrior in the late 90s and his first Wynonna Earp series seem to be sadly overlooked these days. I’m more than happy to see Earp back in some new material – and the character and world she inhabits would make for a great movie adaptation – just as long as Megan Fox isn’t involved.

Proof Endangered #1 – I’ve been a big proponent of Proof from the start, even if I think it lost its direction part way through the run. Even so, I’m glad it’s getting a second push with a new #1, and I’ll continue to support it. Hopefully now that a lot of the trappings of the first series have been stripped away it’ll give the series a fresh focus.

Velocity #3 (Of 4) – I could have sworn this was an ongoing when it was first solicited. In any case, this is a good take on Top Cow’s resident speedster, and Kenneth Rocafort is doing great work on the art side. It’s written by the always reliable Ron Marz, who appears to have become Top Cow’s sole architect over the past few years.

Amazing Spider-Man #650 – I’m still not sure where I stand on the new Hobgoblin, the easy (and relatively graphic) dispatch of the old Hobgoblin (unless of course it was Roderick’s twin masquerading as him somehow), or Peter’s new job – but I have to admit I’m enjoying the hell out of Big Time so far.

Avengers Academy #7 – I know, I was going to pick this up in trades but Christos Gage has convinced me otherwise. And don’t forget: send me a creative pic of you reading #7 to be in with a chance of winning the Avengers Academy Vol 1 HC!

Black Panther The Man Without Fear #513 – Honestly, I have no interest in the book and haven’t picked up Black Panther regularly since early in Priest’s run (well, I’m not counting his time on the FF), but this preview art is gorgeous.

Generation X Classic Volume 1 TP – If you’ve never picked up Generation X before, you should give this a look. Collecting their introduction as part of the (oddly uncollected) Phalanx Covenant crossover and their first four issues under Scott Lobdell and Chris Bachalo before they got sucked into the Age of Apocalypse, I’d recommend this if only for the mad genius of Bachalo’s artwork on his section of the book.

Uncanny X-Men The Birth Of Generation Hope TP – I’m supposed to be picking this up at some point but I recently canceled almost all of my Amazon pre-orders so it won’t be arriving as scheduled. I haven’t really heard much good or bad about this arc or Generation Hope, but it’s the X-Men so I probably will get it at some point. Hardly a glowing endorsement, I know…

Due to the holiday, this week’s comics are out on Thursday and it’s slim pickings on the monthly front…

Action Comics Annual #13 – Not sure how many times I need to say I’m not 100% sold on Cornell’s Luthor, but I’m not – and I’m not sure that showing me an early meeting of him and Darkseid is the way to go…

Gorilla Man TP – At some point, I’ll pick this up because, dammit, Gorilla Man.

Heroes For Hire #1 – I’m a big fan of Abnett and Lanning, so I’ll likely get this at some point too – but probably in trade.

Incredible Hercules New Prince Of Power TP – Again, at some point. After all, it’s a continuation of Incredible Hercules and leads into Chaos War so I may as well.

She-Hulks #2 – Retroactively changed from an ongoing to a mini – which is a damn shame, because the first issue of the book was good, solid fun – which naturally means it can’t survive in today’s market.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer #39 – our long national nightmare is almost over – because we’re only one issue away from the end!

I’ll just come right out and say it: thus far, ‘Season 8′ of Buffy‘s adventures has been a huge disappointment for me. From experimenting bisexual Buffy to unexplained character turns to spaceship-flying bugs to constantly transforming Dawn to sex-created alternate dimensions to giant Hindu gods and flying submarines, there have been so many things that didn’t work in it that at this point I’m hard-pressed to name anything that did work.

Well, except for one thing: Jo Chen‘s covers for the series have been consistently fantastic – and here almost all of them are, just missing out the final unreleased trade. (Note that Chen didn’t work on the covers for #12-15 or #29-30)

Click on any of the images launches them into a larger pop-up, while clicking on ‘slideshow’ launches…well, a slideshow.

It’s not even a pull list anymore, it’s a dribble of things I might buy but would recommend to someone else. Ah well. At least it gets me a post a week.

DC Comics Presents: Chase – Awesome, awesome series canceled before its time – but I’m puzzled by the decision to collect #1 and #6-8. Surely collecting in order, starting with Chase’s debut in Batman would have been better?

DC Comics Presents: The Flash/Green Lantern – Faster Friends – Reprinting the two part Prestige format series starring Wally and Kyle and Jay and Alan. I remember this being fun – and as an added bonus, the Spanish version was the comic Walt was reading (with the polar bear in it) on season one of Lost. There you go then.

Superboy #1 – Tempted, but given my policy of buying as little as possible I’ll probably pass.

Amazing Spider-Man #647 – The end of the Brand New Day three-times-a-month schedule. I should really reread that. Hope that not all of the supporting cast are jettisoned with Big Time. Personally I’d keep the Gonzales siblings around – although the Reilly clan from Boston were really under-utilized (not to mention written with a terrible ‘accent’) so I guess they can go.

Avengers/ X-Men Maximum Security TP – The least of the crossovers that have been collected recently, although still entertaining. It suffered from the state of the Marvel mutants being a bit…odd at the time; Professor X was off with a bunch of mutant Skrulls, Bishop was back from being stuck in a weird future (sound familiar at all?) and the main X-Men were all over the show. A pity this doesn’t include the Avengers Infinity mini that preceded it, though – not that a Cosmic Avengers team holds any relevance in the current Marvel plans, of course…

Generation Hope #1 – Y’know, if it had been called Generation X I may have picked it up for nostalgia’s sake.

Squadron Supreme By Mark Gruenwald Omnibus HC - If it wasn’t for the price I’d be all over this. The original Squadron series by Gru was groundbreaking and excellent.

Thor By J Michael Straczynski Omnibus HC – I preordered mine back when it was $26 on Amazon – but $65 seems incredibly steep compared to similar size collections such as the Invincible Iron Man one.

Young Allies #6 – It’s the last issue so I should pick it up, I guess; never did pick up #5, though.

Buffy #38 – The end is drawing near, thankfully. God, this is an unintelligible mess.

Last week’s three-week-worth picked up books are about half read and I’m making my way through the entertaining X-Men: Second Coming HC which turned up late last week too (did Amazon and book store releases sync up with the direct market instead of being a week behind while I wasn’t looking?).

Anyway, because of NYCC this week I may not go to the store at all but if I do…

DC Comics Presents: Green Lantern #1 – I like the idea of these mini-collections, but I’m not going to be picking up this week’s releases on account of having the original issues. This one collects Green Lantern #137-140 with Kyle Rayner bearing the ring, and he and Jade (currently up to her neck in Brightest Day and JLA) moving forward with their relationship. Strong superhero soap stuff, from writer Judd Winick with art by Darryl Banks and Dale Eaglesham.

DC Comics Presents: Jack Cross #1 – One of Warren Ellis few mainstream DC works (here partnered with Gary Erskine), this starred the eponymous Cross, a classic Ellis character from the mold of Pete Wisdom and Jack Hawksmoor. This version of Ellis’ hard-bitten bastardTM was a freelance anti-terrorist expert who killed on a whim then flagellated himself for it afterward, Mr Zsasz-style. It was a little dark for mainstream DC, never really took off and vanished after four issues – but all four are collected here.

Secret Six: Danse Macabre – I think I’ve got this on preorder….

Starman Omnibus HC Vol 5 – …and while I don’t have this on preorder, I will be picking it up just as soon as I pick up and read Vol 4.

Cable Vol 4 Homecoming TP – I’m probably going to pick this up at some point; I dropped Cable after the Messiah War as part of my big purge in spite of liking the book and as I mentioned above, I’m enjoying the hell out of Second Coming so…maybe. I should probably get volume 3 first though.

Chaos War #1 – I dropped Hercules when it was relaunched as Cho’s Prince of Power mini so I’m not picking this up in singles but I will probably get the inevitable collection – which is already solicited. We’ll see.

Ghost Rider By Jason Aaron Omnibus HC – You know, I am actually tempted by this on the strength of Aaron’s amazing Scalped – but is it any good? This contains Ghost Rider #20-35 and Heavens on Fire #1-6. Anyone got any opinions?

Uncanny X-Force #1 – I may pick this up in trade on the strength of Remender’s writing, but I wanted to point out that the ridiculous title of the book always puts me in mind of this book – which was an intentional self-parody. Or I hope it was, anyway.

Young Allies #5 – I’ve been really disappointed in this series. It ain’t New Warriors, that’s for sure, and I’m probably off at the end of this Bastards of Evil storyline.

Buffy #37 – It’s almost over, thank God.

When all’s said and done looking at the list above the only actual comics I’m picking up are Buffy and Young Allies – both of which I’m getting out of a sense of completion rather than enjoyment. I think that pretty much says it all, sadly.

There are no big weeks anymore.

Supergirl #55 – Still a bright spot in DC’s line-up,but I’m going to miss Jamal Igle when he goes.

Amazing Spider-Man #640 – Second part of One Moment In Time was stronger than the first, with some surprisingly sharp writing. Maybe there’s hope for this arc yet.

Web Of Spider-Man #11 – Ah, Web, you red-headed Spider-Step-Child you. You never really stood a chance when Amazing was touted as the stories that count, did you?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Riley – AKA The Story Nobody Asked For. As one of the few people who actually liked Riley, I’ll be picking this up even as the regular series underwhelms. But still – there can’t have been a huge demand for this can there?

On the trades front this week…

Siege Thor HC - This should be arriving next week. Ridiculous pricing on Marvel trades these days, but it just about makes sense with the Amazon discount.

X-Factor Second Coming HC – At some point I’ll pick this up but I’m so far behind on X-Factor trades that it’s not even funny. The last issues I read were during Secret Invasion, before that Messiah Complex and before that I dropped to switch to trades around #18 or so. I should probably actually pick up a trade or two at some point.

Here we go…

Red Robin #12 – The end of the first year, and the last issue before Fabian Nicieza takes over the book. Still a great read, and Tim Drake remains one of the best characters in the DCU.

War of the Supermen #1 – I was looking forward to this but after the lackluster Last Stand of New Krypton I have my reservations. At least its going to be over pretty quickly.

Amazing Spider-Man #630 – The much-hyped return of the Lizard begins.

Deadpool Team-Up #893 – Captain Britain and Deadpool? Oh yes!

Spectacular Spider-Girl #1 – I was going to pass over this, but as its now been reduced to a mini to gauge sales I’m going to pick it up. It’s a good book, always has been, and the way that it gets bounced around makes me feel bad for all its fans.

The Many Loves of the Amazing Spider-Man #1 – I’ll be picking this up. Look, its Spidey.

Buffy #35 – Last issue was terrible, but there’s not too many left so I’m sticking with it. Also, great cover.

Well, this is interesting. One of those weeks with lots of #1s…and very little I’m definitely picking up…

Avengers: The Origin #1 – You know, I love the original Avengers. I enjoyed the hell out of Joe Casey’s Earth Mightiest Heroes books. I even have the Avengers #1/2 issue that came out from Wizard a few years back. So I’m left asking myself: what else about the origin of the Avengers could we possibly be told? Maybe in trades, maybe in back issues – but I’ll pass.

Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of our Fathers #1 – Not picking this up, but just bemoaning the use of ‘Flags of our Fathers’ – I had a story idea involving Joey Chapman’s and Brian Braddock’s fathers (Union Jack and Captain Britain) and the Liverpool chapter of the Hellfire Club back in the 70s. Social unrest, class distinction, that kind of thing. Not that it would ever see light. Ah well.

Deadpool & Cable #25 – Maybe. But probably not. I like the idea of the old partnership being renewed one last time in Cable‘s final issue, and I always thought that the story of how Cable got Hope out of the big massacre at the start of Messiah Complex was worth telling. Still, I may just pick up the trade.

Deadpool Corps #1 – Trades!

New Avengers: Luke Cage #1 – I like Luke. I like Eric Canete’s art. Oddly, though, I can’t think of a worse combination.

S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 – I’ve pissed and moaned about Hickman’s Secret Warriors and his Fantastic Four, so no, I’m not picking this up. He has great ideas but the execution never pulls it off for me. Additionally, I have no need to see the Marvel Universe’s version of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen pulling together SHIELD.

Spider-Man:Fever #1 – This looks awesome, but in line with my policy of trying not to pick up minis…I’m trying not to pick up minis. As a result, I’m passing for now.

The Flash: Secret Files and Origins 2010 #1 – Maybe. I love these books so I may pick it up…but as I’m not planning to pick up the Flash book itself, should I bother? We’ll see.

Red Robin #11 – Finally, something I’m definitely getting! I still think Tim Drake’s one of the better characters in the DCU (and probably in my top three favorites there), so this is staying on the pull list.

Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton #2 – This isn’t a bad crossover, but I could do with less splash pages of the Legion shouting that they’re getting back in the fight and flying off heroically.

Buffy #34 – Lord I wish I’d quit this book years ago and started picking it up in trades, but I suppose it’s too late for that now.

Another week, another pull list…

Green Lantern #52 – In which something tangentially related to Blackest Night occurs which won’t be referred to in the main series.

Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal #1 – I enjoyed last week’s Green Arrow (even if I wasn’t a huge fan of the art) and I always liked Roy even if he is a complete dick a lot of the time – or maybe because he’s a complete dick a lot of the time – so chances are good I’ll pick this up. I would wait for the trade but DC’s atrocious trade program means I may not.

Superman #698 – The Last Stand of New Krypton continues.

Amazing Spider-Man #626 – After last issue’s heartbreaking Rhino story (well, okay, ‘heartbreaking’ might be a bit strong), the Scorpion checks into the Gauntlet. That’s the new, female Scorpion introduced a few years ago who may or may not be the daughter of Bruce Banner. She’s a good character and I’ve always enjoyed her appearances. She’s been pretty much AWOL since World War Hulk, so good to see her back.

Avengers: The Initiative #34 – I’m not sure how exactly Christos Gage made me root for Taskmaster so much, but he did. I doubt he’ll make it onto the faculty of Avengers Academy, but I hope he doesn’t get killed off as this series and Siege wind down.

Captain America #604 – Still a solid, solid book but this arc isn’t quite working for me. For some reason it reminds me of one of the early John Walker Cap/BuckyBattlestar arcs (or it may just have been an issue) from about 20 years ago. On the other hand, it was about 20 years ago so nobody but me may remember it.

Deadpool #21 – The Deadpool/Spidey/Hit-Monkey arc continues. I know.

Mighty Avengers #35 – The team’s pretty much disbanded in disgust at Pym offering Loki membership, I suspect that events may have caught up with the Hercules book, and Ultron’s back. This has been a truly offbeat book this past year and although I’ve had my ups and downs with it, I will miss it when its gone.

New Avengers #63 – This book, however, has been needing a kick in the ass for a while. Basically, it seems that the comic and team have been floating from event to event, and fighting the Hood and his men again and again in between. Hopefully the next, Thing-laden incarnation of the book will be a little more enjoyable.

Peter Parker #1 – Under normal circumstances I’d be picking this up as, you know, Spider-Man. In this case, though, I’ll be passing as it’s already on Marvel’s Digital Comics which I subscribe to. I can’t recommend it either as the comic’s pretty pedestrian and throwaway.

The Guild #1 – I’m a latecomer to the wonder that is Felicia Day’s The Guild, but I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t seen it. Even so, I won’t be picking this up either since it’s a three issue mini and will inevitably be collected. Nice cover by Cary Nord though:

A pretty small week for me this week, thankfully -

Adventure Comics #8 – The seeds for the whole ‘Legion in the 21st Century’ thing have been sown for a while and seems to be coming together with the Last Stand of New Krypton but I wonder if this was this the original intent – or whether it’s a patchwork make-fit to tidy up Geoff Johns’ loose ends now he’s moved up the ladder?

Justice League: Cry for Justice #7 – Okay, I thought this was out last week but my point still stands: I’ll be picking it up just so I can make fun of it!

Amazing Spider-Man #623 – Not really that sure I want to see more of the new Vulture, not when the old one has the potential to be such an unexpected bad-ass; his story in the recent Web of Spider-Man was a highlight of that series.

Deadpool Team-Up #895 – We’ve talked about this. Don’t judge me.

Girl Comics #1 – I know I made some noise about this and Marvel Her-Oes before but there’s enough good talent on display here to make me want to check it out. But at $5 a pop? That’s pushing it…

Mighty Avengers #34 – For a book I was considering dropping I’ve enjoyed the last few issues quite a bit – so I’m here to the end of the road for the title. Or another two issues after this.

Prelude To Deadpool Corps #1 – Even for me, this is overkill. So, trades…probably.

Buffy #34 Yes, despite not being overly impressed with this book, I’m still picking it up. This issue, the big Twilight reveal – which I’m sure would be a big reveal if it wasn’t spoiled two months in advance. For now, I call time-travel, alternate-future shenanigans.

Well, I haven’t got to the store for last week on account of being in the UK (and yes, I know there are comic stores here too – I was in a couple in Manchester on Saturday, Forbidden Planet and Traveling Man, but I don’t see the point in spending more money to buy comics and fly them back over to where I could get them cheaper) – but here’s the pull list for the week!

Red Robin #9 – Continues to be one of the two Batman family books that I still get. Good solid fun – but I suspect it may end up as a trade pick pretty soon.

Superman: World of New Krypton #12 – This has been a pretty good series, especially in conjunction with the other Superbooks. Not too sure about the upcoming War of the Supermen, though…

Deadpool Team-Up #896 – I don’t want to talk about it.

Marvel Heartbreakers – This sounds like it could be fun but it depends on the creative talent. Even so, I’ll give it a look.

Nova #34 – I don’t know how many times I need to say it: great superhero book.

Siege #2 – The first issue of this felt like almost pure set-up. Bendis really needs to deliver quickly.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer #32 – I wonder who Twilight i – what? Stupid internet…

I’m even stupider than I thought. I accidentally added this to be posted in the PM instead of the AM, which means that my last post makes little sense. Maybe now it will.

After what has been a heavy few weeks, this one is finally a little smaller.

Batman & Robin #5 – I was pretty impressed with Tan’s work last issue after my doubts; that’ll learn me.

Batman Annual #27 – Probably not. I have little interest in the new Azrael in spite of Fabian Nicieza’s involvement.

Justice League: Cry for Justice #4 – This has become a must-read for all the wrong reasons.

REBELS Annual: Starro the Conqueror – Again, probably not. The title’s hanging by a thread with me and I don’t really need the origin of a villain I’m not interested in.

Superman: World of New Krypton #8 – Kal’s in charge of the Kryptonian army and the Thanagrians are invading. Where’s Hawkman when you need him, eh? Oh, dead…

Amazing Spider-Man #608 – ‘Who was Ben Reilly’ kicks off – and I think that mean that Kaine’s on his way back. Color me excited! That was ’90s slang for you. I’m so hip.

Astonishing X-Men #31 – Still being published? Ellis is joined by Phil Jiminez; expect big ideas, detailed artwork and big delays.

Dark Reign The List Secret Warriors – As I’ve said before, I’m sticking with Secret Warriors till Dark Reign’s done, but then I’m out unless there’s a major change in focus and direction.

Doctor Voodoo Avenger Of The Supernatural #1 – Probably not picking this up, but…but…I’m interested.

X-Babies #1 – Once again, probably won’t pick this up (even though I liked the X-Babies back in the day), but that’s a nice cover.

X-Men vs Agents Of Atlas #1 – The title that won’t die comes back with an X-Men mini to boost interest. I’ll be there.

Proof #24 – These stand alone issues are often better than the arcs. This one focuses on one of the fairies, which sounds bad but probably won’t be.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #29 – Things finally seem to be picking up momentum. One that probably reads better in trades, but I’ve been saying that for a while now.

Batman #690 – This has been pretty entertaining under Winick, and I’m very much on board with Dick as Batman.

Posted via web from Comic By Comic’s Wonderous Posterous!

A day late due to a great few days in Key Largo, but here’s this week’s list – and it’s decent sized…

Doom Patrol #1 – I’m intrigued. Not a huge fan of the characters, but I generally like Giffen’s work so I may – may - take a look.

Justice League : Cry for Justice #2 – First issue was hilariously bad and over the top as everyone went looking for “…JUSTICE!” but I’ll probably pick it up.

Superman : World of New Krypton #6 – Consistently good, surprisingly enough.

The Red Circle : The Hangman #1 – Another I may take a look at. I’m one of the few that liked the last iteration of the Archie heroes.

Agents Of Atlas #9 – A book that I’m not particularly enamored with that I just can’t seem to quit. All the pieces should work together here, but I’m not sure they do.

Amazing Spider-Man #601 – Last issue was great – and this time, MJ’s back. Good stuff.

Captain America Reborn #2 – Not 100% on Steve Quantum Leap-ing through time, but I trust in Bru.

Invincible Iron Man #16 – Fraction is really rocking this book. Pity he’s driving X-Men into the ground.

Spider-Man And The Human Torch HC – I have the mini already but I cannot recommend this highly enough. Five stories of Spidey & Johnny through their careers with great art from Ty Templeton and spot-on characterization from Dan Slott. Great, funny stuff.

War Of Kings #6 – This has been an excellent mini-series – an event done the way events should be; with high stakes, tight plotting and (hopefully) lasting repercussions. Excellent. Although…I fear for Crystal. She and Ronan have been the heart of this series and I can’t help thinking she may pay a price for that.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer #27 – Good grief, this is boring. Focus, people, please.

It looks like this is going to be a small week despite all of those Marvel books I would like to check out, but I’m holding back:

Amazing Spider-Man #598 – So. This was the plan for Harry’s return? Interesting.

Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia #1 – Call me curious. I’ve heard good things about this crossover so I’m going to check it out. Plus, it’s Matt Fraction. How could you go wrong?

Dynamo 5 #22 – I’m so behind on this series. I need to get back to reading it. The comics are sitting here; I just keep pushing them off to the side. I’m so mean.

G.I. Joe #6 – This series continues to be my guilty pleasure because it just makes me happy to be reading comics. Plus, that Robert Atkins is a really good artist!

Gotham Sirens #1 – While I’m not super excited about this book, I’m curious.

Fusion #2 – I liked the first issue of this Top Cow/Marvel crossover. It doesn’t hurt that Abnet and Lanning are writing it.

Ms. Marvel #40 – This is just one of those Marvel books that are so good and very few people are talking about it. We’re just over the three year mark and it’s just getting better. Brian Reed is awesome!

Predator #1 – I’m a fan of the Predator movies (yes, even the second one) and I’ve enjoyed a number of the comic books that have come out. I really enjoyed the new ALIENS series that’s out by Dark Horse and I’m hoping this is more of the same. It’s written by John Arcudi and drawn by Javier Saltares. What could go wrong?

Proof #21 – This book is Rich and Chris Approved! Go buy it!

Red Sonja #45 – Here’s another one of those Brian Reed series that has a great female lead that doesn’t take crap from anyone. Good stuff.

For some reason, having Oz on the cover of Buffy #26 makes me very happy indeed – although the series itself has been in a slump for months now.

Oz FTW!

A pretty decent week this week -

Adventure Comics #0 – Mainly a reprint but some extra stuff as well, like the Origins and Omens thing.

Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #3 – This is better than the main series…which isn’t saying much, but still…

Agents Of Atlas #1 – Yes!

Amazing Spider-Man #585 – Character Assassination continues – this book’s on a roll right now.

Astonishing Tales #1 – Picking this up out of principle – and because I like anthologies.

Black Panther #1 – Picking this up for the variant cover, and because I’m vaguely interested, admittedly.

Cable #11 – Still enjoying this more than I’d like to admit.

Invincible Iron Man #10 – Fraction’s really making this his own.

Punisher #2 – Sticking through the first arc; the first issue was a pleasant surprise.

Secret Warriors #1 – Giving it a try.

War Of Kings Darkhawk #1 – Ohhhh yes…

X-Men vs Hulk #1 – Wolverine, Colossus and the Hulk in a Claremont book? I’ll at least give it a look.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #22 – Steven DeKnight comes on board for an arc (or an issue, not sure which).