Posts Tagged ‘ IDW ’

This is the last week of any DC Comics in the current iteration of the DC Universe. Unless it’s a Batman or Green Lantern or Legion book, in which case nothing really changes. Not messy at all.

Action Comics #904 – Why is this pick of the week when Paul Cornell’s run has generally underwhelmed me, and this Doomsday storyline is especially dire? Because it’s the final issue of this volume of Action Comics, the comic that started the whole superhero revolution way back in 1938. This is not a big deal in the Libya-heading-for-freedom-then-descending-into-an-inevitable-shitstorm kind of way, but it is a big deal in a comic history kind of way. I’m all for the reboot in general, although I wish that DC had just reset the whole damn universe to zero instead of continuing five years into everybody’s careers, and I do wish the last year and change worth of this series had been better. But we are where we are, and this door is closing.

Batman Under The Red Hood TP – I remember reading this run and enjoying it a lot, before Jason Todd got overused and when his return was a novelty. Of course, the final issue collected here, the Annual, which details how exactly Jason returned isn’t the kind of plot device that makes anyone happy, but the run up to that revelation made for some good comics. Recommended if you haven’t read it already.

DC Comics Presents JLA Heaven’s Ladder #1 – I have this in the big unwieldy album format it originally came out in, which displays Bryan Hitch’s widescreen take on the Mark Waid’s first JLA story in detail. The story itself is underwhelming, but the creators alone make this worth a look.

Flashpoint minis - Hal Jordan, Kid Flash Lost, Lois Lane And The Resistance, Project Superman – All #3 (Of 3) – The end is nigh. As more of these minis have finished, I’ve found myself becoming increasnigly unsatisfied with them. I don’t mind a ‘to be continued in Flashpoint #5′ tag if the minis themselves contain a full story and actually conclude that story but when they just leave you hanging with a character heading off to a fight, it’s just bad storytelling. That said – still enjoying a lot of them.

Teen Titans #100 – And so ends the pain.

Dungeons And Dragons The Legend Of Drizzt #1 – I know that Drizzt is big in Forgotten Realms books, but I’ve never read any of them (Dragonlance was always my milieu of choice), so I’m not actually that interested in this. May give it a quick glance.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 – I was never a big Turtles fan, but I suspect that many who are will be interested in this IDW series rebooting the Turtles with co-creator Kevin Eastman on board as co-writer and (apparently) providing layouts. I’ll take a look, if only for nostalgia.

FF #8 – Sure. After five issues of story development with very little action, have two issues which don’t feature any of the main characters of the book at all. Genius.

And the pick of the week…oh, you knew this was coming…

Dungeons And Dragons #10 – Awesome, awesome, awesome. Why aren’t you reading this?

I did manage to get a sneaky store visit last week but have barely had a chance to read anything I picked up (except Amazing Spider-Man #666 – a good prelude to Spider-Island). Never the less, tomorrow brings another shipment…

DC Comics Presents SHAZAM #2 – OK, I didn’t pick up last week’s DCP SHAZAM since I was getting a lot already, but these issues from the end of the Power of SHAZAM series wrapped the run up pretty well.

DC Retroactive The ’80s – Batman, The Flash and Wonder Woman All #1 – Like all the Retroactive books, I like the concept, I’d like to read them – but not at this price.

Firestorm The Nuclear Man TP – I’m a huge fan of Firestorm, and this never before collected mini series from the 1970s is a good read and intro to the character – although very much a product of its time.

Flashpoint #4 (Of 5) – I’m sure there will be some big game changing reveal at the end of the issue, like Parallax being behind it all or something. But my money is still on Barry being the cause of all these screw-up.

Flashpoint minis – Batman Knight Of Vengeance, Deathstroke And The Curse Of The Ravager, Secret Seven and The World Of Flashpoint All #3 (Of 3) – Like all the FP minis, these are worth reading in their own right (especially Batman) – but I’m still not sure Secret Seven makes the slightest bit of sense.

Superboy #10 – I felt bad leaving before Jeff Lemire got his story wrapped up, so I figured I’d run out the series.

Acts Of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus HC – At this price, not worth it unless you’re a completist or have money to burn, but there are a some great comics in here, like Simonson’s Fantastic Four issues, Claremont and Lee’s Uncanny X-Men issues with Wolverine and a reborn Psylocke, Byrne’s Wolverine, and McDuffie’s Damage Control. There’s also some dross.

Avengers Academy #17 – Okay, so last week I caved and picked up the last few issues of AA in spite of them tying into Fear Itself. What’s coming up has me interested and I just plain missed the book.

Mighty Avengers Dark Reign HC – Collecting the entirety of the Slott/Gage run on the book, this odd collection of characters actually felt like the Avengers of old to me. There are some ups and downs, certainly, but all over I’d say this is worth a look.

Punisher #1 – I have difficulty getting excited for a new #1 for ol’ Frank, especially as it’s his, what, eleventh non-MAX #1 not including one-shots?

Ultimate Comics Fallout #4 (Of 6) – So I hear there’s a half-black half-Latino Spider-Man? The Ultimate U is not my thing, but I’m sure this will sell big time.

X-Men Fallen Angels HC – Perhaps the oddest X-related mini ever, starring an on-the-lam Sunspot and Warlock, Vanisher, Siryn, Madrox, Boom-Boom, Devil Dinosaur, Moon Boy and two sentient lobsters and their pet human. I can only assume there was a lot of pot involved in creating this. It may be your thing, it may not. But it’s definitely weird.

And the pick of the week -

Dungeons And Dragons #9 – For crying out loud, just pick up this book already, okay?

Without further ado…

Lady Mechanika #2 – I enjoyed #0 and #1, but with what feels like at least a four or five month gap between #1 and #2, I think I’m past investing my time and money in this book on an issue by issue basis. A shame, too, as I seem to remember it being pretty good. Maybe in trade.

Batgirl #23 – Ah, Steph, we hardly knew ye. She might be getting kicked to the curb in a few issues time, but that’s no reason not to enjoy the hell out of this book while it’s still here.

Booster Gold #46, Flashpoint Citizen Cold, Flashpoint Deathstroke And The Curse Of The Ravager, Flashpoint Emperor Aquaman, Flashpoint Frankenstein And The Creatures Of The Unknown All #2 (Of 3) – Damn, but it’s a Flashpoint heavy week this week. Booster continues to try and fix whatever went wrong with the timeline, Len Snart is a cold bastard in any version of history, Deathstroke feels surprisingly ‘right’ as a pirate, more moping with FP Arthur (that’s what you get when you kill millions of people), and Frankenstein no doubt kicks some ass. All in all a pretty good batch here, although Citizen Cold and Deathstroke feel superfluous.

Red Robin #25 – Like Batgirl, one of the few books I’ll miss come the DCnU. But I’ll get it while it’s here.

Teen Titans #97 – Like some horrible car crash on the opposite lane that you can’t help slowing down to look at, Teen Titans continues its slow descent into being potentially the worst currently published series. And yet I cannot look away. I think (hope) this concludes the now-moot introduction of Solstice, the bright (ho ho) new star (ho ho) of the book, who will promptly vanish as of the DCnU and never be seen again.

Amazing Spider-Man #665 – The issue before Spider-Island begins, this is one that Dan Slott has been talking up, saying it plays off from something that happens way back in Amazing Fantasy #15. So it’s probably something like how did poor Peter Parker pay for the raw materials to make his web shooters. Or maybe not. Either way, I’ll be picking it up – this is the best Spider-Man has been in a long, long time.

Captain America #1 – A new #1? Steve back in the union suit? Is there a movie coming out?

Dr Strange Into The Dark Dimension HC – Roger Stern’s run on Doctor Strange is one that I’d missed when I started collecting, and one that I never went back to pick up as I’ve never had that much affection for the character – but I’m tempted by this one if only because I always feel I should like the character. Oh, and because Roger Stern remains one of my favorite comic book writers.

FF #6 – You know the drill. Irked on a number of levels but – like with Teen Titans – unable to look away. Annoying me this issue: the Inhumans returning to Earth with Black Bolt. That they’re back at all and that he’s back from the dead in particular both annoy me since they have evolved so much over the course of War of Kings and Realm of Kings.

Ghost Rider #1 – A new Ghost Rider. And this time he’s a she. Is this the 90s again?

Spider-Man The Death Of Jean Dewolff HC – An absolute classic storyline, as Spider-Man’s ally falls to the Sin Eater. Highly recommended if you haven’t read it previously.

X-Men Schism #1 – Apparently this will change everything about the X-Men. You know what? I may pick this up in spite of abandoning the book for trades a while ago (and having finally read Five Lights last week, man that was dull).

And my pick of the week…

Dungeons And Dragons #1 (Legacy Edition) – I know, I don’t tell you that this series is awesome enough. This reprint includes a couple of variant covers, John Roger’s script, and a D&D module. If you haven’t tried the book before, this is the one to pick up. It’s probably a bad sign when the comic I’m looking forward to most is a reprint of one I already have, isn’t it?

According to the guy at Midtown Comics, comics will be in store tomorrow even though yesterday was a holiday. I don’t know if they’ll be available in the morning, but I guess I’ll find out when I turn up at 8.30…

Flashpoint #3 (Of 5) – As much as I’m enjoying this (and I am, quite a lot), the plot needs to move on a bit. Also, a lot of the ‘background’ stuff like the Atlantis/Amazon war in Europe feels disconnected. If it’s to connect to the main Flash/Batman plot it needs to do so in this issue. If it’s just to give the world color I’m okay with that, but we don’t need to flash over to see Arthur or Diana if they don’t influence the core story.

Flashpoint Abin Sur The Green Lantern, Flashpoint Batman Knight Of Vengeance, Flashpoint Secret Seven, Flashpoint The World Of Flashpoint -all #2 (Of 3) – A mixed bag of tie-ins; I feel that the Abin Sur/Hal Jordan minis are amongst the weakest tie-ins (and they tie together) and there’s a feeling of inevitability to them. On the other hand, Batman is the strongest of the bunch, Secret Seven is good looking if a bit baffling, and I enjoyed World last time round. Getting ‘em all.

Gotham Central Volume 2 Jokers And Madmen TP – Collecting #11-22 of the incredibly popular series, this is damn good read. However for me at least the impact of the stories of regular Detectives Montoya and Allen is lessened in retrospect since they became the Question and the Spectre respectively. It takes away from the street level view a bit.

Green Arrow Volume 1 Into The Woods HC – The first six issues of Ollie Queen’s third new ongoing in the past, what, ten years (and don’t forget he’s got a fourth coming up) tie in to Brightest Day, and have the exiled emerald archer hanging out in the new forest at the center of Star City like some kind of Robin Hood…oh, I see what they did there…

Infinity Inc Volume 1 The Generations Saga HC – I’ve always been a fan of Infinity Inc (even with Nuklon’s hair), the team made up largely of offspring of Golden Age characters, but this collection – including Infinity Inc #1-4 and All-Star Squadron #25-26 and Annual #2 – feels overpriced. Then again, 1980s Roy Thomas…it’s tempting.

Saga Of The Swamp Thing Volume 5 HC – I probably need to catch up on this. Read the first volume of Alan Moore’s well-regarded work and was impressed, but apparently not impressed enough to pick up the second. Is it really as good as everyone says?

X-Files 30 Days Of Night TP- I know; licensed comics can be the bane of your life. They almost always suck all the joy out of the original source material. That said, this particular combination seems to be pretty on the money. I’m curious if anyone out there has read it, though…

Doctor Who II Volume 1 The Ripper TP – I feel obliged to point this out since, you know, Doctor Who, but I confess the only recent Who comic I’ve read was The Forgotten. Which was pretty damn good, now I think about it. Tempting…

Dungeons And Dragons Volume 1 Shadowplague HC – Originally scheduled for last week, here’s what I had to say:

Collecting the first arc of the new series, this is another book I can’t recommend highly enough. John Rogers has crafted a fast-moving, funny, and exciting story here with plenty of nods to the classic game to keep fans happy, whilst also being accessible to newbies. Andrea DiVito’s art is pretty damn good too. Seriously, if you like fun comics, this is for you. If you don’t – well then, I don’t even want to know you.

Locke And Key Volume 3 Crown Of Shadows TP and Locke And Key Volume 4 Keys To The Kingdom HC – I enjoyed the hell out of the first volume of Locke And Key, an resolved to pick up the trades going forward, then promptly forgot about it. Is it worth catching up on?

Blue Estate #4 – I’m really not sure why I’m still picking this up. I suppose the plot strands are finally being drawn together a bit, but it’s still full of what appear to pointless diversions (like the guys who get beat up outside the strip club). That said, the covers are amazing.

Heroes For Hire Control TP – I’ll pick up pretty much anything that Abnett and Lanning have a hand in these days, and I like most of the characters here. I don’t see it having a long run, but I want to pick it up anyway.

Red Skull #1 (Of 5) – Beautiful covers, and having a Nazi monster like Skull as your main character takes some balls. Pity those balls weren’t on display when Waid’s Cap issue starring the Skull was rewritten all those years ago – although I hear it may be showing up unedited in a trade somewhere.

Spider-Girl #8 – Final issue. I enjoyed this book, but the tone was all over the place. Killing off Spider-Woman’s father so early on was unnecessary. As I said months ago, not every character needs a tragic back story – especially when they’re already committed to superheroing. The inclusion of Red Hulk was an odd choice too. The story will continue in the Spider-Island tie in mini, but I’ll be surprised if Anya gets another shot at a solo book any time soon.

And finally, pick of the week…

Shinku #2 – I know, vampires feel very overused and omnipresent these days, but Ron Marz and Lee Moder’s take on them (with samurai!) is satisfyingly bloody and just a little bit sexy. This may not be everyone’s thing, but it’s off to a strong start. Frankly, after Marz’s incredible run on Witchblade I’ll check out anything he does, and I miss seeing Moder’s art monthly, so I’d recommend picking it up. There’s a preview of the first issue here – check it out.

It’s been a while since I’ve done this – but there sure seem to be a lot of trades around. And Flashpoint books, of course…

Batman: Knight And Squire TP – I admit, I didn’t quite warm to writer Paul Cornell’s run on Action Comics (which everyone else seemed to love), or to this when I saw the previews. That said, there’s been plenty of good word of mouth on this mini, and who am I to pass up the British versions of Batman and Robin? I’ll be picking this up at some point.

Flashpoint Green Arrow Industries #1 (One Shot), Flashpoint Hal Jordan #1 (Of 3), Flashpoint Project Superman #1 (Of 3), Flashpoint The Canterbury Cricket #1 (One Shot) – By and large I’ve been incredibly impressed with the Flashpoint tie-ins. None of them seem to be necessary to understanding the main story, but they’re certainly well-thought out and contribute to a greater view of the Flashpoint world. Against all odds, this is shaping up to be an excellent crossover.

Red Robin Hit List TP – I can’t recommend this title enough; along with Batgirl, it’s been a ray of light amongst DC’s last few years worth of books. Great characterization, great writing and art, and a great development of Tim into his own man. If there’s any two characters I’m going to miss when the DCnU rolls around, it’s him and Steph. I know that Tim’s still going to be Red Robin, but it seems he’s not going to be my Red Robin.

Dungeons And Dragons Volume 1 Shadowplague HC – Collecting the first arc of the new series, this is another book I can’t recommend highly enough. John Rogers has crafted a fast-moving, funny, and exciting story here with plenty of nods to the classic game to keep fans happy, whilst also being accessible to newbies. Andrea DiVito’s art is pretty damn good too. Seriously, if you like fun comics, this is for you. If you don’t – well then, I don’t even want to know you.

Drums #2 (Of 4) – The series started strongly, with what looks like a mass suicide, a zombie witness that only the lead FBI agent saw, and a whole heap of voodoo. Dark and ever so slightly horror-tinged, this is yet another strong mini from Image.

Marineman #6 – Speaking of strong minis from Image, I think a lot of people overlooked Ian Churchill’s labor of love due to his new almost animated-like art style, and due to the fact that the hero looks like an Aquaman rip-off. They’ve missed a fun romp. I’ve had huge issues with the pacing, but all in all this has been very enjoyable. Wouldn’t mind seeing a second series (assuming this is the last issue of this one, which I think it is…).

Skullkickers #8 – Like D&D, this series has been a surprise. Another great fun book, if slightly more slapstick and less polished than Rogers’ entry into the genre. Even so, I’d recommend this too.

Witch Doctor #1 (Of 4) – Worth a look if only because the tag line of ‘House meets Fringe‘ has me intrigued. It’s also the first non-Kirkman book from Robert Kirkman’s Skybound imprint. There’s a preview here.

Amazing Spider-Man #664 – It’s be easy to tread water as Spider-Island is coming up, but Dan Slott’s not content to do that – instead he’s throwing us what would seem to be a capper on the long-gestating Mr Negative/Anti-Venom storyline. Negative’s one of the better characters introduced during BND, so I hope he makes it out of this intact.

Daredevil Reborn HC and Daredevil Yellow TP – Two DD books hit, and although I’ve heard almost nothing positive about Reborn, I highly recommend Yellow. It was the first of the Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale ‘color’ collaborations when they moved to Marvel, and is a nostalgic look back at the man without fear’s early days. Sale’s art is beautiful, and there’s something about it that reigns Loeb’s more bombastic side in. It’s a touching book, and one of only a few that I own in both original issues and trades. Take a look if you’ve never read it.

FF #5 – Still treading water; Hickman’s admittedly intricate plotting is no excuse for the slow as molasses pace that this book has been in since way before the relaunch. Plodding and ponderous, this is a poor excuse for a book that should be about high adventure meeting SCIENCE! in the most exciting way possible. And yet I’m still buying it. Shut up.

Incredible Hulk And The Human Torch From The Marvel Vault #1 (One Shot) – I haven’t been picking these Vault books up but will probably get it once the trade hits. This one has Steve Ditko art, though, so I may make the exception

Incredible Hulks Annual #1 – The third part of a crossover between Spider-Man, Deadpool and Hulk, where the three have been thrown to an alternate world and forced to confront their dopplegangers. In Spider-Man, the alt-Peter was the world’s primary super-hero who needed to feed off the powers of alternate Peters, for Deadpool his alternate was basically Dr Doom (much to his disgust), and for Hulk – well, we’ll see. This has been really enjoyable; a nice surprise.

And the pick of the week….

She-Hulks Hunt For The Intelligencia TP – Collecting the She-Hulks mini (that was curtailed down from an ongoing, which was a travesty) – Harrison Wilcox and Ryan Stegman brought their A-game here. The book is funny and sweet, yet manages to be what a book involving Hulks should be (ie, there’s a lot of hitting). As much as I like Jen Walters, I’ve grown quite attached to the so-called ‘Savage’ She-Hulk, Lyra – and having them play off one another is a treat. Another one that I’d recommend wholeheartedly.

IDW’s new Godzilla comic launches today – but it’s by no means the first foray the King of Monsters has had into the US comic market. Yes, he had some Dark Horse series in the 80s and 90s, but – more memorably he also had a 24 issue run from 1977 to 1979 as a fully integrated part of the Marvel Universe.

And that Godzilla series will forever beat all challengers for these simple reasons…

1. Eating the Seattle Space Needle!

Well, I’m assuming he’s eating it, as opposed to going in for some lovin’. It’s been a while since I read the series.

2. Fighting the Champions! (of Los Angeles!)

That’s right, Godzilla threw down with the short-lived 70′s hero team that inexplicably hung out together for no real reason. Hercules! Black Widow! Angel! Ice Man! I guess it was Ghost Rider’s day off. And this was back when Hercules was really incredible. Like, towing-the-island-of-Manhattan-incredible.

3. Hunted by S.H.I.E.L.D.!

Godzilla’s not much of a conversationalist so the primary human content of the comic came from S.H.I.E.L.D.’s mainly inept attempts to capture him. Lead by Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones and Jimmy Woo – yes, that Jimmy Woo – the organization kept trying and, largely, failing to capture (or even keep track of) the green behemoth. Will the same be said of IDW’s Godzilla? Clearly not.

4. Red Ronin!

Red Ronin, people. Red Ronin is certainly not a Shogun Warrior, just in case you were wondering. Designed by S.H.I.E.L.D-advising Japanese scientists Tamara Hashioka and Yuriko Takiguchi in conjunction with Stark International to battle Godzilla, Red Ronin was usually piloted by cheeky 12 year old Rob Takiguchi because, let’s face it, the person you want controlling a 100ft tall robot warrior is definitely a 12 year old boy with raging hormones.

5. Being kidnapped by aliens to fight other monsters as Earth’s champion!

Is it just me or did that seem to happen a lot to Marvel characters in the 60s and 70s?

6. Cattle rustling!

Will IDW’s Godzilla be falsely accused of cattle rustling and chased by a bunch of angry cowboy types? I don’t think so.

7. The Incredible Shrinking Godzilla!

Obviously having a 100ft tall lizardKing of Monsters traipsing around the US pretty much unhindered (not to mention cattle rustling) would be a bit of an embarrassment for S.H.I.E.L.D., so Godzilla was miniaturized using the ever-popular Pym Particles (Hank Pym, is there anything you can’t do?!?) which led to a whole other set of adventures as he slowly started to grow back to normal…

- he got molested by Dum Dum Dugan! (Oh, come on, you were never really going to trust a man with a hat and mustache like that, were you?)

- he fought rats!

- he wrestled on the docks!

Bet IDW’s Godzilla doesn’t throw down with rats under 8th Avenue.

8. The Fantastic Four!

Eventually, if you’re in the Marvel Universe and you’re a big-ass monster chances are good that you’re going to throw down with the Fantastic Four, if only so the Thing can lament about how he’s just a monster too. And let’s face it, he did that a lot back in the 70s.

9. Devil Dinosaur! (And Moon Boy too, but nobody likes him)

There’s certain super-hero tropes that you can’t get away from, like fighting another hero over some silly misunderstanding then teaming up against a greater threat. Thing is, when you’re Godzilla, fighting another hero should really only last as long as it takes for you to stand on them – unless you’re Devil Dinosaur. Moon Boy, though? He should probably have just been trod on.

10. A real ending!

It takes low sales (or the lapsing of the license, whichever came first) to finally put Marvel’s Godzilla book to rest, but Big Green went out fighting the Avengers, the Fantastic Four and S.H.I.E.L.D. before finally heading off out into the Atlantic to hibernate.

What that means is that – licensing aside – Godzilla is still out there. Sleeping. Waiting. Dream on that, Merry Marvelites!

What’s that you say?

That’s only 10 reasons why Marvel’s Godzilla rules, but the title said 11?

11. J. Jonah Jameson vs Godzilla.

Nuff said.

I’m a day late with the pull list this week on account of not being around on the internet yesterday. Once I put away the snark, there’s actually only one regular comic that I’m interested in this week, so chances are I’ll skip the store visit this week. In fact, the vast majority of things I’m actually interested in this week are trades and not comics. How depressing.

Hexed TP – Probably not related to the BBC series Hex, which is a shame because the lead from the first season was quite attractive. She was also fake royalty in Human Target, but I don’t hold that against her. Wait, I completely lost my train of thought there, didn’t I?

Batman Time And The Batman HC – If you ask me, $20 is a bit steep for a collection of Batman #700-703, but the issues were actually pretty good and Amazon has a discount as usual – so if you’re a fan of Grant Morrison’s Batman, this is pretty good. Even so, the ‘untold tale’ between R.I.P. and Final Crisis would have made more sense if it had appeared then…

Billy Batson And The Magic Of SHAZAM Mr Mind Over Matter TP – One of DC’s more fun kids books, this is definitely worth picking up if you have young children you’re trying to get into comics. Recommended!

Giant-Size Atom #1 – I wasn’t picking up Adventure Comics when it was running the Atom back-up, so I probably won’t pick this conclusion up (it doesn’t collect the ones already printed, right?). What I will say, though, is this: great title for a book. Heh.

Hellblazer Volume 1 Original Sins TP – Okay, I need someone to tell me if this is a good first read for Hellblazer. I mean, I know its being used as the start of a new print run of collections, but is it any good? Anyone?

Wildcats Version 3.0 Year Two TP – Collecting the second (duh) and final year of Joe Casey’s much respected run on the once-flagship Wildstorm book. I actually think the entire run passed me by; I have all of the first run but bailed about halfway through the second. Maybe it’s time to pick this up…

Angel After The Fall Volume 1 HC (Premiere Edition) – I’m speechless. $100 retail for the complete 17 issues of the ‘After the Fall’ storyline? Let me save you a bunch of money: it’s terrible. Messy art, boringly plotted, and suffering from the same ‘hey we don’t have a budget, let’s throw everything we can in there’ attitude that derailed the Buffy series. Depressingly, after an Amazon discount, it’s less than I paid for the issues as they came out. Don’t make my mistake. Run, run!

Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms Volume 1 TP – Collecting the first 8 issues of DC’s old series from 1989. If I remember rightly, this was a pretty fun comic but nothing special. It does have early Rag Morales art, though – but you can probably find these in the back issue bins for cheaper than this.

Star Trek Captain’s Log Volume 1 TP – Captains Pike, Sulu, Harriman and Jellico? Wow. They really broke out the A-list characters for this one (no offense, Sulu fans).

5 Ronin #1 (Of 5) – I’ll be honest, I don’t get it. Is this some kind of alternate universe thing with a bunch of Marvel heroes re-imagined in feudal Japan? What’s the point?

Annihilators #1 (Of 4) – I won’t be picking this up since I’m waiting on the trade, but it seems like this is Abnett and Lanning’s swansong on the cosmic side of the MU for now; and possibly the swansong of the cosmic side itself. It’s been a fun few years since Annihilation kicked off, guys. See you in the funny pages.

Avengers Academy #10 – Glad I jumped back on the singles for this; really entertaining comic.

Captain America And Falcon #1 – First in a series of one-shots spotlighting Cap and his allies. Seems there’s a big push to get Captain America trades on the shelves for the summer. You’d think there was a movie coming out or something.

And the pick of the week – a trade this time out…

Thanos Imperative HC – This will be arriving this week for me – been looking forward to the culmination of the last year or so of Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy. I’m kind of irked that I spoiled the ending for myself, but this is definitely my pick of the week!

Trying something new today. Last night I actually read all the comics I picked up yesterday – something that never happens – and figured I’d do a review post. And then I thought why not do some review tweets as well?

So each review appears on twitter (I had to cheat with the comic titles in a few cases to get it under 140 characters), with a tiny bit more detail here. So off we go…

Action Comics #898 Incomprehensible Maguffin makes this a mess; @Paul_Cornell‘s story is a big disappointment. At least its over soon. #OTR

A bit more – I really like most of Paul Cornell’s work, but his Action leaves me cold. I just don’t buy Lex acting the way he does. He’s back running LexCorp, yet still flies around in that godawful armor and kills people in public with no come back – and that’s not even getting into the Lois robot again. Additionally, this whole black orb power quest thing makes little sense the more you read it; too much of the dialogue about them is close to nonsensical. I’m sorry, but I really think this has been a failure.

Teen Titans #92 A Robin switcheroo makes the last few issues pointless. Jeanty’s art doesn’t suit unless you like Buffy as Wonder Girl. #OTR

A bit more – Speaking of failures, I understand that Tim might want to hang out with his friends a bit more now he’s not all moody loner guy, but losing Damian after only a few issues feels like a mistake; now we’re back to Ravager being the only internal source of tension on the team. Again. And can we give the Calculator a rest, please? I’m almost as sick of him as I am of Raven.

Am.Spider-Man #655 Touching and beautiful; @DanSlott and M.Martin knock this out of the park marred only by 2 unnecessary final pages. #OTR

A bit more – I always get a little bit of a smile when Dan Slott shows off his knowledge of Spidey continuity, but the two page spread of people who have died was fantastic. Sally Avril? Ben Reilly? The Spider-Mobile? Awesome – and Slott’s the only writer I can remember bringing up the fact that Spider-Man killed someone in the Spider-Man vs Wolverine one-shot back in, what, 1987? And Marcos Martin – his layouts and work here are simply amazing. Restrained and simple in the silent funeral scene, but taking on almost Steve Ditko-esque levels of trippiness in the dream sequence. Like I said, though, I didn’t really need the 2 page lead in to next issue. As a stand alone, this would have been perfect.

FF #588 Less an ending and more a tease for FF#1. Hickman’s best written issue. Especially touching: the Thing/Thor/Hulk and ‘Uncles’. #OTR

A bit more -I’ve been pretty vocal about not loving Jonathan Hickman’s run on the book, but this was really good, even without dialog for the main story. Even so, there were some bits I didn’t need as they clearly just set things up for FF #1; Kristoff taking over Latveria (When was the last time we saw him? Where did that awful armor come from? Does Stature still have a crush on him? Why is Doom stepping down?), Reed deciding to reassemble the council, and the return of Nathaniel Richards (again) especially left me cold. That said, Ben’s venting in the desert with Thor and the Hulk – presumably at Johnny’s request was perfect, as was his almost hateful look at Namor during the wake. I also enjoyed the fact that Doom showed for Johnny’s funeral, even if only for a panel, and that Reed was apparently ready to fly solo in the Negative Zone with the Ultimate Nullifier to try to get Johnny back -only to receive his shredded costume from l’il Annihilus (so still no body…). Nick Dragotta gave a suitable Kirbyesque feel to the art, especially where the mourning Sue was concerned, and all in all did a fine job. And as I said, the ‘Uncles’ back-up with Franklin and Spider-Man was nice and sweet. I may just stick around for FF after all.

D&D #4 Continues to be a pleasure; one of the better recent launches. Captures the fun D&D spirit but great for non-players too. #OTR

A bit more -Phew, not the end of the series after all! I still can’t recommend this enough to fantasy fans. Simply a very well crafted and fun comic, and John Rogers is writing the hell out of it. Highly recommended.

SkullKickers #6 Some hits and misses in this anthology issue but maintains the fun of the series. Forgettable and skippable though. #OTR

A bit more – The first two tales are pretty good fun, the second two less so. This isn’t the best introduction to the comic by any means, but it’s a decent enough placeholder for regular readers. It seems as if the second arc won’t kick-off until May, but it should be worth the wait.

Turf #4 Labyrinth plot draws tighter together and parties come together; continues to be incredibly impressive comics debut for @wossy. #OTR

A bit more – Jonathon Ross and Tommy Lee Edwards are really knocking this out of the park, despite the lateness. Gangsters vs Vampires vs Aliens may sound like a recipe for disaster, but it’s really not; there are so many great characters at play here that even the quiet scenes like the face-off between the Dragonmir brothers, or the looting of a diamond store really hold your attention. That’s the other thing; I haven’t read a comic that takes this long to read in a long time. The art is beautiful and the dialog is so dense that you really need to go back and read the whole comic again when you’ve finished. As a penultimate issue this obviously isn’t a jumping on point, but when the trade comes out I recommend you pick it up.

And that’s your lot!

Another big week if I had all the money in the world, and once again Marvel seem intent on saturating the shelves with trades and hardcovers…and from here on out, I’m going to have my pick of the week separated out at the bottom of the post. Why?

So you have to read the whole damn thing, of course!

Flash Gordon Invasion Of The Red Sword #1 – In spite of some confusing art (as in I had no idea what was going on), I really enjoyed the last Flash Gordon mini that was collected as The Mercy Wars, and the Secret History of Mongo HC, because it really captured the devil may care I think Flash should have, and the alien-ness of Mongo. Even so I don’t think I’d seen new Flash Gordon stuff for at least eighteen months so I’d assumed it was dead. Apparently not.

Fringe Tales From The Fringe TP – Call me sucker, but I really enjoy a lot of WildstormDC’s TV tie-ins, so chances are good I’ll pick this up at some point.

Supergirl #61 – In spite of my better judgment I picked up the first issue with the new creative team and enjoyed it a lot. Bernard Chang is a perfect fit on the art front – but I’m curious as to what will happen now Nick Spencer is no longer writing. After all, the set-up last issue stemmed from a very Nick Spencer-like idea so I’ll be interested to see where it goes from here.

Dungeons And Dragons #4 (Of 4) – Wait a minute! I could have sworn this was solicited as an ongoing! It certainly deserves to be one, and if it’s been retro’d into a mini due to low sales – well, that’s a damn shame, because this was one hell of a fun comic.

Marineman #3 – And speaking of fun, I bet not many people are picking up Ian Churchill’s Marineman. The first issue was guilty of (a) too much set up, (b) not enough action, (c) no clarity as to the main character’s powers or lack thereof, and (d) a page full of fart jokes – but even so, I’m pretty impressed by this. Churchill’s new cartoony art style has a hint of Ed McGuinness and is perfectly suited for this kind of book. Surprisingly engaging.

Morning Glories Volume 1 For A Better Future TP – I picked up the 17th printing of #1, missed #2, and saw the 3rd printing of #3 on the rack – and then decided just to go for the trade. From the first issue, there didn’t seem to be anything especially groundbreaking or new about the set-up, but Nick Spencer, Joe Eisma and Rodin Esqueljo work well together and tell an engaging story – so I’ll pick this up if only to try to overcome my cynical ‘nothing new here’ mindset. Plus, it’s $10 so you can’t go wrong, right?

Proof Endangered #3 – Part three of the five part mini has Proof (our resident long-lived, suit-wearing bigfoot) trying to track down other bigfoots (bigfeet?) while his many enemies get closer and closer, and seem intent on taking out his loved ones. This feels like the end of the road for the book – but whatever happened to the mooted TV show?

Amazing Spider-Man #654.1 – The point one issue focusing on the new Venom, Flash Thompson. I’m pretty ambivalent on that development, actually, so I have nothing else really to say about this issue.

Avengers Academy #9 – Last time a bunch of students decided to beat the crap out of the Hood and release the video on the internet to get revenge on behalf of teacher Tigra. Her response? Kick them out of the Academy. I’m not surprised, but I am consistently amazed at just how good this book is. Highly recommended.

Captain America By Jack Kirby Omnibus HC – At $75 ($41 on Amazon) this isn’t cheap by any means, but it sounds a little better when you factor in that it has over 20 issues and kicks off with the classic Madbomb storyline.

Captain America Scourge Of The Underworld TP – I mentioned this back in my post on Mark Gruenwald’s Cap trades – and I have to admit, I’m still looking forward to it. I’ve always liked Scourge as a concept, and collecting all his appearances, plus the follow-up USAgent mini sounds good to me.

Captain America Sentinel Of Liberty HC - Back at the height of Mark Waid’s run on Cap, the powers that be decided to give Cap (and Waid) a second book which, for lack of a better analogy, is Cap’s version of Legends of the Dark Knight. It lasted twelve issues, and this HC collects them all, kicking off with a future-set Cap and following with a three-part Invaders story. Definitely a mixed bag, but worth a look for the talent involved.

Hawkeye Blindspot #1 (Of 4) – Man, Hawkeye has no luck. Already deaf (although now I’m wondering if that got fixed one of the times he came back from the dead), now he’s going blind too? Jeez… I should probably get caught up on the Hawkeye/Mockingbird series first, I guess.

Marvel Girl #1 – I have no idea what the premise behind doing a Jean Grey one-shot is. She’s still dead, right? And she’s not in the upcoming movie? I can’t work out how this fits into Marvel’s usual publishing plan. Ah well…

Silver Surfer #1 (Of 5) – Greg Pak is possibly one of the few writers who could interest me in the Surfer these days; I loved the way he handled him in Planet Hulk, so I may give this a look – although I’ll probably wait until I’ve read The Thanos Imperative…

Spider-Girl #4 – Right out of the gate, this has impressed the hell out of me. Granted, I’m not completely buying the Red Hulk’s involvement in the series, but everything else has been surprisingly good. I’m on this for the long haul – now if only She-Hulks had had the same opportunity to impress…

Spider-Woman Agent Of S.W.O.R.D. TP – I was interested when this first came out but the first issue bored the pants off me. Tell me, internets, did it get any better?

Venom Deadpool #1 – From what I can gather, this is basically “What if Deadpool was possessed by Venom?”. I strongly suspect the answer to that would be “Nothing good would happen.”

X-Men Curse Of The Mutants HC – All right, I’ve been looking forward to this. I’m a fan of both Gischler and Medina, and enjoyed the hell out of the Death of Dracula one-shot. I know this hasn’t set the world on fire, but on the bright side it has to be more fun that Fraction’s X-Men, right?

And the very first pick of the week…

Human Target Second Chances TP

Don’t confuse this with the fun Human Target TV show that just wrapped its second season; the only thing it has in common is the name Christopher Chance. No, this collects the first ten issues of the Peter Milligan-penned Vertigo series, and includes art by Cliff Chiang and Javier Pulido – and I cannot recommend it strongly enough. Chance is a deeply damaged character, losing himself in other people’s lives on assignment and this book is as much a study of him as it is a series of missions. Simply one of the best ongoing series published in the past ten years – pick this up.

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…

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

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.

Well, another week and another crap load of comics that I want to read and will be excited if I ever get through them all! If you’re following me over at Twitter (and shame on you if you’re not) I posted a series of posts and replies to my need to cut back on reading Marvel and DC comics in order to spend more time on all the other books out there that I’d like to try out. While I still enjoy Marvel and DC, I need a break from them and explore what else is out there. So, my hope is that this list will be much smaller, but you never know until you start looking. So, let’s get to it:

Amber Atoms #4 - I’ve got this one on my list, but I’m behind on my reading. I’ve got the issues, but #1 is the only one I’ve read. It was a good issue which is why I keep buying it. I’ll get to reading them soon.

Body Bags Vol 1 Fathers Day TP - I’m a big fan of Jason Pearson, and BODY BAGS has always been a good read. I pick up every one-shot and miniseries that comes out, but I’ve got to support Pearson and buy the trade.

Bomb Queen Presents All Girl Comics One Shot - Call this one a guilty pleasure. This series of miniseries are SO wrong, but funny. Kristen Simon is writing this one, but I’ve got all the faith in the world that she’ll bring it!

Boys Herogasm #2 - I read the first issue of this book and really didn’t know what to think of it. Its REALLY over the top, even for Ennis.

Captain America #600 - I’m buying it because I’m a huge fan of this series and the creators involved. I can’t say if I like what’s happening with the word that Steve’s coming back, but I’ll hold ‘judgement’ until I read it all. Brubaker hasn’t steered us wrong yet with this book. I trust that it will be entertaining.

Executive Assistant Iris #1 – Say what you will about the name of this Aspen book, the zero issue was good! I’m really looking forward to this new series.

G.I. Joe: Cobra #4 - This issue concludes the current story and miniseries. Chuckles has my vote for character of the year!

Invincible #63 - I’m trying to find that point where I stop reading the monthly issues and switch to trades, but I can’t. Each issue is SO good!

Invincible Iron Man #14 - I hate I love this book so much! Fraction has made me love reading Iron Man again. Thank you!

Man With No Name The Good The Bad And The Uglier #11 - I enjoy this book, but its not a stand out book. Its good, but almost worth waiting until its collected to read.

Masquerade #4 - I’ve finally gotten all my PROJECT SUPERPOWER comics out and ready to read. Funny. I’ve only read the first two or three issues of the initial series and I’m buying up all these spin-offs. Yes. I have a problem!

Power Girl #2 - I’m a fan of Amanda Conner. Anything she draws I pick up. No question. I even bought a copy of MAD Magazine because she did a story in it. I’m devoted. Ha!
Project Superpowers Chapter 2 #0 – Its a freakin’ dollar, folks! Check it out!

Well, this is still a long list of books. Ugh. One of these days I’ll cut it back. I promise!
For those of you heading out to Heroes Con this weekend, I’ll be there on Friday. Drop me a line at chris@thecomicaddiction.com or www.twitter.com/chrispartin and let me know if you’ll be around!

Later!

Hey, everyone! Its been a while since I’ve posted my pull list. I didn’t want all of you to think I had given up. Rich’s been so great to let me post here from time to time, but when you’re running your own review site, producing seven episodes of our podcasts a month, not to mention family and school stuff – I get busy. LOL. But we’r ehere to talk comics! What am I grabbing this week? Let’s see…

Absolution #0 – I don’t normally pick up Avatar titles mainly because I just don’t have any connection to the creative teams. This series is being written by Christos Gage and I’m a fan of his. I’ll check out this issue and see if it grabs me. If not, this may be the only issue I get.

Action Comics #878 – I’m having a lot of fun with this book. Its strange to be reading this book without Superman, but the further we get from the Superman issues the more this series feels like its suppose to be.

Amazing Spider-Man #597 – The “American Son” arc has been pretty good. I’m always a sucker for a Harry Osborn story. I’m really interested to see what happens to Peter when the Dark Avengers discover him – because you know they will!

Batman #687 – I am so excited to get back to Batman. Last week’s BATMAN AND ROBIN #1 was fun, but I want to see what Winick is going to do with this series. I really enjoyed his first run on the series, but can lightning strike twice?

Booster Gold #21 – I haven’t been picking up this series for a while. The only thing I want to point out is the Blue Beetle back up in this issue. Not sure if that’s enough for me to pick it up.

Buck Rogers #1 – Dynamite Entertainment has been grabbing up so many properties this last year or so. BUCK ROGERS seems to be an odd choice, but after the zero issue I’m on board. This is definitely not the hokie book I thought it was going to be. Straight up sci-fi action!

GI Joe Origins #4 – Every month IDW puts out three great G.I. JOE titles that are so different from one another. I’m curious to see how they all come together in the next month or so.

Green Lantern Corps #37 – Come on – its a riot on Oa! What more do you want in a GL book?

Proof #20 – I’m behind on my reading with this book only because I love reading several issues at a time. I like that ‘trade’ feel without waiting for the trade.

Red Robin #1 – So… who is Red Robin? I think we all have a good idea who it is, but I’ll play along as I pick up this issue.

Savage Dragon #149 – One more issue before #150 and this book continues to pick up steam. This is probably my favorite book I’m reading right now.

Sherlock Holmes #2 – Here’s another one of those properties that Dynamite picked up that I just wasn’t sure what would become of them. The first issue was so good! I’m standing in line for this one, folks!

Soulfire New World Order #2 – SOULFIRE is one of those titles that I just got hooked into from the very first issue I read. The recent miniseries that Aspen have been releasing have been pretty good stories with amazing art and well worth while of checking out.

Unknown #2 – Remember that week where there were three “un” titles? Well, we’re back for Round 2 and the first is UNKNOWN from Boom! Studios. I really liked this first issue so I knew I had to check out the second. The story is a detective mystery with a bit of the science fiction/mystical/fantasy. Its a good mix.

Unthinkable #2 – This is Boom’s other “un” book and is probably the one based in reality the most. Last issue we got to see our lead character be a part of a government think tank which eventually closed shop. Now some of those scenarios they thought up are happening. What to do? What to do?

War Of Kings Savage World Of Skaar – I’m reading WAR OF KINGS, but is this necessary? Just curious.

X-Men Forever #1 – If you’ve been over to my site (www.thecomicaddiction.com) then you know we’ve been on a kick with this series. We had a podcast interview with Chris Claremont. Marvel gave us an advance look at this particular issue (which I REALLY enjoyed). We started up a Annotations and Insights series to help people figure out what’s happening in the series. I was skeptical of this series at first, but I’m on board now. Good fun comics.

Wow! Another HUGE week for me. I’m not sure I’ll grab them all, but you never know until you’re standing in the comic shop staring at all those new books… very tempting!

Last week I didn’t have a chance to put together a pull list. I would have forgotten again if I hadn’t come by the blog earlier to see what Rich had posted over the weekend and saw his pull list. Last week’s list was a fairly small one with some decent books. I’m excited about this week. Let’s dive in shall we?

Amazing Spider-Man #592 - I’m still picking up random issues of this series, but I may have to pick them up more regularly because this is the Spider-Man I remember reading back in the 80s that got me hooked. The big reveal last issue was AWESOME! Makes me glad I’m reading comics.

American McGees Grimm #1 - I’ve heard a little buzz about this book which I’m glad I did because I didn’t know anything about it. I like Dwight MacPherson’s writing and Grant Bond’s art. I’m at least picking up this first issue and giving it a try.

Avengers (Initiative/Mighty/New) - Really?! Did we need three of the four Avenger books to come out on the same day?! Sheesh!!

Battlestar Galactica Final Five #1 - While I haven’t watched all the BSG series I have been reading all of the comics. This one comes straight from the writers of the series and give us more on the Final Five. Looks good.

Buck Rogers #0 - Shut up! This one looks pretty cool and its only 25-cents!

Detective Comics #853 - Hey! I remember this series. I wonder if the second part of this story is going to be as good considering the looooong delay?

Dynamo 5 #21 - Between this and Invincible, one of them is the best super-hero series being told right now. If you’ve not checked out this series, there was a zero issue a couple months back that was a dollar. Go get that and then pick up the first trade (it was only $9.99 for seven issues). When you do that, get back to me and tell me how much you love this series.

G.I. Joe Cobra #2 – This is on the list, but I could have sworn it came out two weeks ago, didn’t it?

Invincible #61 - Hey, look! Last issue was insane and this issue the clean up and rebuilding beings. This book is still in my ‘top of the pile’ list every month. Great comic!

Red Sonja #43 - This ones a weakness of mine. I’m a few issues behind on my reading, but I grab it every month. This is also my one series I pick up all the variants as I’m able to. This one has at least 3 covers! Whew.

Resistance GN - Did you read this short lived series from Wildstorm 5-6 years ago? It was awesome! Written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray it told a great futuristic story. Now, don’t know if this GN is a collected edition of that series or if this is a new story. If its a collection – get it! If its a new story – get it! If you like comics – get it! So, go get it!

Savage Dragon #147 - Just too much goodness this week – its going to kill me!! Overlord’s coming back, and if you know who that is then you know you’re in for a crazy ride!

Supergirl #40 - While still not in my top ten, this series has been consistently good since Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle have come on board.

Viking #1 - Call this pick the “Love of Northlanders” pick. I really like Northlanders a lot and I want to read more Viking stories. Wait! Are Vikings the new Zombies? Don’t tell Marvel!

This week is INSANE!!!! That’s all I’ve got to say.

Rich has given his pull list and now its time to see how we compare. Here’s my whopper of a list:

Astonishing Tales #3 - I want more of these anthologies from Marvel and DC! These books are great, and I think this particular one is getting it right. Yes, its $3.99 but you get a ton of story. Its worth it.

Disney Pixars World Of Cars The Rookie #1 - Here’s another Boom! Studios book for kids. Last week was the Incredibles and Muppet Show’s turns – this week its Cars. My kids love the movie and I’ll be grabbing a copy of this for them to try out.

Flash Rebirth #1 - Oh, no! Is it that time of the year when Barry Allen gets a proper resurrection?! Part of me wants to read this and the other part doesn’t. We’ll see which one wins out this week won’t we?

Franklin Richards April Fools - I just have to say I love these books. My kids love them, too, and that’s what its all about.

G.I. Joe #4 - I’m a big fan of IDW’s relaunch of the G.I. Joe franchise. I was worried, but now we’re into things I’m excited and very entertained.

Invincible Iron Man #12 - Matt Fraction has made me love reading Iron Man again. Its as simple as that. He put Pepper in a freakin’ armored suit! That’s awesome.

Irredeemable #1 - Mark Waid’s new superhero book from Boom! Studios that looks awesome. I’ve had a chance to read an advance copy of it and really liked it. Its basically a super hero who crosses the line and becomes the villain. That’s a pretty simpliztic breakdown of the book, but its MArk Waid so you know its good.

Jersey Gods #3 - This is a new series from Image Comics and I’m really enjoying it! There’s that odd feel of Kirby in it from the story to the art and its all good!

Jonah Hex #42 - While I switched to trades a while back on this series, I do want to point out that we’re getting a look back at Jonah’s childhood and you know that’s going to be one messed up story!

Jonah Hex Vol. 6: Bullets Dont Lie TP - Oh, look! There’s that Jonah Hex trade I wanted to read. In all honesty, I’m a trade behind, so maybe I’ll grab that one and this one.

Noble Causes #40 - I’m very sad to see this issue come because it’s the last issue of this series. I’ve been reading Noble Causes since the very first miniseries (or was it a one-shot and then a miniseries?) and it has been a great ride. This is one I’ll miss.

Savage Dragon #146 - Erik Larsen got things off to a shocking start in the last issue (which was a great jumping on point for new readers or readers who haven’t been reading in a long while) and I’m really excited to see where things go from here. I’ve complained about not being excited about comics lately on Twitter and I must correct myself – Savage Dragon excites me!

Secret Warriors #3 - I don’t know why I enjoy this book, but I do. I don’t know these characters other than Nick Fury, but Hickman keeps me entertained and that’s all I can ask for in a writer.

Super Human Resources #3 - Here’s the third issue of a great new series from Ape Entertainment. Its a great book. Its funny, and you know you love funny. Go to the shop and try it out!

Teen Titans #69 - This is a prelude to “Deathtrap” that will crossover with Titans. I have not been reading either of these series for a while, but tried out the last issue of Titans and enjoyed it. McKeeve wrote it so I have hopes for this crossover. We’ll see.

Teen Titans Annual 2009 #1 - Another “Deathtrap” prelude. Once again I’m giving it a try. We’ll see.

I felt I needed to keep up with Rich and put my own pull list for this week up. I’m a little insane when it comes to pull lists, so bare with me!

Amber Atoms #2 - I picked up the first issue of this new Image series at Megacon this year from the creator of the series, and really enjoyed it. It made me curious enough about it to want to see more, so here it is.

Batman Battle For The Cowl Commissioner Gordon #1 – I’m not one for big events, but these mini events seem to go pretty good – most of the time. I’m enjoying Battle for the Cowl, so let’s see if the entertainment continues.

Caped #1 - One of a few new Boom! Studios books I’ll be checking out this week.

Daredevi l#117 - I really like the relationship that Daredevil has with Wilson Fisk, aka the Kingpin. Last issue saw the return of Fisk to the series after a long hiatus and it was GOOD. I’m really curious to see what happens when these two characters meet again.

Darkness #76 - I’ve been there since the beginning, and Darkness has never been better. Phil Hester is really making Darkness one of those must read books for me.

Garth Ennis Battlefields Dear Billy #3 (of 3) - I thought the first two issues of this miniseries were really good despite the very serious tone it has. I’ve finally joined the group of fans that want Garth Ennis to write nothing but war stories.

G.I. Joe: Origins #2 - The first issue of this origins series was great! IDW has really done a really good job with launching the Joe franchise and I’m on board. Oh, and this one is written by Larry Hama so its a no-brainer for G.I. Joe fans.

the Incredibles #1 - Yep, its the comic book of the movie. Boom! Studios brings another kids book and this one is written by Mark Waid! How can you go wrong?

the Muppet Show #1 - This is a new Boom! Studios book for kids and because its something my kids will like I’ll be grabbing a copy of it.

New Avengers #51/Mighty Avengers #23 - I put these two together because I buy all three ‘core’ Avengers series. I really like what’s happening in New Avengers, but I’m loosing interest in Mighty Avengers, but I want to hold out because its Dan Slott. I’m close to dropping it in about 1-2 issues.

Oracle #1 (of 3) - I’m a sucker for anything with Barbra Gordon in it, so I’m getting this.

Planetary #1 Special Edition - I’m not picking this one up because I bought it when it first came out and I have it in hardcover, but I did want to point it out to those of you who have never read this series. DC’s publishing a lot of “Special Edition” books and for only $1 its well worth the price to try it out.

Proof #18 - If you know me you know I love Proof. There was a time Rich and I interviewed Alex Grecian, but it got lost last year. So sad.

Spawn #190 - I’ll be honest, I was excited to see “Endgame” start, but didn’t think I’d enjoy it nearly as much as I am now. I cannot wait to see how things end!

Super Human Resources #2 - This new miniseries is from Ape Entertainment, and I try my best to read most of what Ape puts out. I really enjoyed the first issue (you can read my review here) so of course I’m on for the next issue.

Superman #686 - I’ve been quiet suprised that I’ve been reading this series for the last three years (or so) because I’m not a big Superman fan. Now that Superman isn’t in this series, I wonder if Mon-El and the Guardian are going to be able to carry this series? I’m willing to try it out and see.

X-Force/Cable: Messiah War #1 - I’ll be honest with you on this one, I’ve already read this issue. The shocker ending wasn’t all that suprising, but I won’t say why. This is a really good start to this new mini-event within X-Force and Cable and I’m on board to see it through.

Whew! Done. This should be a pretty insane week of books, and you can come by my site http://www.thecomicaddiction.com/ and check out reviews of a lot of them later in the week.

Pretty big week thanks to Marvel’s wonderful Avengers-scheduling snafu again…

Green Lantern #38 – Hal Jordan, Red Lantern. He’s going to end up getting one of every ring but black and becoming a White Lantern, isn’t he?

Although personally I would have stuck with ‘lend me your ears’…