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Posts Tagged ‘ Solicits ’

The DC solicits are up and again, I’m a bit later than usual but…

COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS #4-1 – The Great Disaster has arrived and it looks like Darkseid survived. No surprise there. Oddly, #0 doesn’t come out the week after #1…

TANGENT: SUPERMAN’S REIGN #2, DC/WILDSTORM: DREAMWAR #1 – I’m a little wary of universe crossovers these days so I’ll pass on these right now – although chances are I’ll pick up the Tangent one at some point simply because I really liked that world.

DEATH OF THE NEW GODS #8 – Finally! Love to see someone try and reconcile this with the timeline in Countdown, Superman and Action Comics…and I suspect someone will. Not me though. No, really. Maybe. God, I’m a geek.

TITANS #1 – Against my better judgment I will be picking this up. Dammit. Wait, no Tempest? Where’s the Aqualad love?

TEEN TITANS #58 – This weeks issue was a step in the right direction even if it did feel like characters were being moved around to get to where they needed to be regardless of motivation. Still, I still have hope this will improve.

BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #6 – For a book with very little to redeem it I’m still enjoying this way too much. I know its bad, but I get the feeling it does too.

BOOSTER GOLD #8 – Looks like a Max Lord-controlled Superman on the cover – see Booster? This is why you don’t screw with time travel!

SALVATION RUN #6 – Enjoying this but not sure it can be sustained for seven whole issues.

GOTHAM UNDERGROUND #7 – Another book that isn’t great but is strangely enjoyable.

SUPERMAN #675 – I’m sorry to see Kurt Busiek leave even if the current Insect Queen thing isn’t particularly enjoyable. Haven’t heard who’s taking over though?

NIGHTWING #143 – Tomasis first issue was pretty good so I may stick around a while. Maybe.

ROBIN #173 – Dixon’s first issue was a return to form for the title and it just felt…right. Hoping it keeps up.

CATWOMAN #78 – Sigh. I’m here till she gets off the Salvation Run planet…plus, that catfight cover is causing some talk…

ACTION COMICS #864 – Sounds like a downtime issue – which is great as I like the supporting cast more than the villains.

THE ALL NEW ATOM #22 – Can Rick Remender save this book from cancellation?

BLUE BEETLE #26 – All Spanish issue? Er, that may not be great for me….

BIRDS OF PREY #117 – I hope this improves, I really do. At least Manhunter’s getting some panel time. Hey, remember when she used to have her own book? And she didn’t get tied up and tortured and stuff?

THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #12 – As much as I like this book, I do feel it fails as often as it succeeds. Hope the kinks get ironed out moving forward.

THE FLASH #239 – I’m giving Tom Peyer a couple of issues but I think that the current dynamic sorely needs a shake-up.

GREEN LANTERN #30 – Great book.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #20 – I was wondering when Flash was going to show up in here…

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #23 – Fine, the last couple of issues have hooked me. I’m in for a while…

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #15 – Gog! Told you it was Gog!

WONDER WOMAN #19 – Improved exponentially since Gail Simone took over. Good stuff!

JUSTICE VOL. 1 TP – Bah, you couldn’t release it as one volume? Guess I’ll wait for the inevitable Absolute…

BATMAN: THE JOKER’S LAST LAUGH TP - Really? Can’t imagine that this was demanded by anyone but then again there is that movie coming out…

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Marvel April 2008 Solicits

January 24, 2008 by

A little late but perusing Marvel’s April 2008 solicits, here’s what looks interesting -

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #555-557 – Wells and Bachalo take on the book with their first arc. I’m looking forward to see Bachalo’s take on Spidey, actually.
SPIDER-MAN FAMILY #8 – Glad that this book is still surviving on the qt. Basically a team-up book this time round, it’s Iron Man’s turn to guest.
ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST #6 (of 6) – This has been okay but not as engaging as the first Annihilation. Ah well, I guess there won’t be a third…
AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #12 – Looks like War Machine’s taking Iron Man to task over something judging from that cover…ah, it ‘s like the 90s all over again.
CAPTAIN AMERICA #37 – Best book that I can never think of anything to say about.
CLANDESTINE #3 (of 5) – I’m still on the trades if at all for this – but that cover makes me all nostalgic…
FANTASTIC FOUR #556 – Millar and Hitch, million seller, blah blah blah, but will it be any good?
HULK #4 – Steadfastly not getting it, but I can’t believe they’re bringing regular green Hulk back so soon.
INCREDIBLE HERCULES #116 – This on the other hand is legen- wait for it-
HULK VS. HERCULES: WHEN TITANS CLASH - If its only 48 pages, how can they reprint Hulk: Hercules Unleashed?
IRON MAN: LEGACY OF DOOM #1 (of 4) – Ah, Marvel, they tempt you with David Micheline and Bob Layton’s return to Iron Man and Doom, then they slap your temptation away with Mephisto showing up, guaranteeing that the story will never have happened anyway…
SECRET INVASION #1 (of 8) – THE MARVEL UNIVERSE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!! Well I for one have never heard that before. Seriously, I am looking forward to this but not to the slew of Skrull variants that are headed this way…
MIGHTY AVENGERS #12 – Yay! Nick Fury!
NEW AVENGERS #40 – Outlining the Skrull plans and how long they’ve been doing this. Wonder if it will actually hold water…
MS. MARVEL #26 – I dropped this a while back, but I do miss it a bit so I may pick this up on the pretence of it tying into Secret Invasion.
NOVA #12 – Good book but I fear for its future if Nova ends up in the new Guardians of the Galaxy roster…
YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #4 (of 6) – Vision is the least interesting Young Avenger, lacking a personality as he is, so I don’t hold out a lot of hope for this.
X-MEN DIVIDED WE STAND BOOK 1 (of 2), UNCANNY X-MEN #497, X-MEN: LEGACY #210 – X-books I’m giving a chance to post-MC.
X-FACTOR #30, YOUNG X-MEN #1 , X-FORCE #3, CABLE #2 – X-books that are probably going to trade post-MC, if I’m getting them at all.
WOLVERINE #64 – May pick this up for Garney’s art.
DAREDEVIL: HELL TO PAY VOL. 2 TPB – Picking up from where I dropped the series.
PENANCE: RELENTLESS TPB – Heard surprisingly good things about this.
X-MEN: EMPEROR VULCAN TPB – Was it any good? Is it worth getting?
DEADPOOL CLASSIC VOL. 1 TPB – Heh. The title may be an oxymoron but I’m still tempted.

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Marvel March 2008 Solicits

December 20, 2007 by

Bleh. Despite the fact that there’s a lot going on in March in the books below, I have to say that I’m not…enthused about a lot of it.

In any case…

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #552 -554 – I don’t like where OMD is going – like most of the online community, obviously – but I am kind of looking forward to seeing a single Peter Parker again in spite of myself. The fact that I loved Bob Gale’s run on Daredevil a few years back doesn’t hurt either.
SPIDER-MAN: WITH GREAT POWER… #3 (of 5) – Not convinced we need to know about Spidey’s time as a wrestler but whatever…

ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST #5 (of 6) -Still going – although I don’t think Ultron has ever looked quite so bad ass. Must be the cape…
AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #11 – I’m still on the fence with this but having Gage come on board to help Slott is making me give at least this arc a chance. Plus, y’know, Eric O’Grady!

CAPTAIN AMERICA #36 – Okay, I do love this book and think its probably the best crafted book out there…BUT…it feels like its been treading water the past few issues a little – nothing has really moved forward. Maybe its just me.
CAPTAIN MARVEL #5 (of 5) – A book I want to like – but honestly, if this wasn’t tying into the Skrull thing after that crappy first issue I’d have dropped it like a stone.

FANTASTIC FOUR #555 – On the fence. Nothing I’ve seen is endearing me to this run. I want to like it because its the FF damn it, and if I could stay through the end of Steve Englehart’s editorially-screwed run, then I can stay through this. That’s the way I’m approaching this.
MARVEL ATLAS #2 (of 2) – Pure unadulterated awesome.

BLACK PANTHER #35 – I am not getting this issue and I am very, very happy! See ya!
HULK #3 – Maybe. But more than likely not. Loeb’s been off the boil for a while now on the comic front and I can’t remember the last time I really enjoyed his work – maybe the Marvel ‘color’ limited series (even though Hulk: Gray was kinda dull)?

INCREDIBLE HERCULES #115 – Liked the first issue a lot, even if Amadeus Cho needs a kick to the happy sack. Not overly keen on Herc speaking colloquially but he’d probably pick it up eventually.
WWH AFTERSMASH: WARBOUND #4 (of 5) – I didn’t pick up #1 so I probably won’t get this. Maybe in trade.

THE LAST DEFENDERS #1 (of 6) – Odd team, but I do like the idea of Colossus outside the X-Men so…maybe.
SECRET INVASION SAGA - Blatant cash in! They just plaster the ‘Secret Invasion’ name all over a book that’s probably a prolonged ad and expect you to buy it…what?…free? Okay then…
MIGHTY AVENGERS #10-11 – In which scheduling continues to get back on track and Sentry continues to be an annoying snotball waste of space of a character.

NEW AVENGERS #39 – I’m not a fan of David Mack so having him on an Echo issue is like a double blow to me. The downside is…I can’t believe that I’ll honestly sit there with a gap in my issues. It would kill me! So I’ll pick it up out of…fanboy completionism*.
MS. MARVEL #25 – I dropped this a while back as it was lacking something (mainly a central likeable, relatable character) but I do like this cover.
NOVA #11 – Still a solid book, but I feel like tying it back into Annihilation Conquest may be a mistake from a creative point of view. Sidebar: more of the Russian talking dog-cop, please!

THUNDERBOLTS #120 – Losing a hell of a lot of momentum from its stoppages. Someone give Ellis a kick in the nads!
YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #3 (of 6) – Every time I see Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s name on a book I’m filled with a curious dread these days. Will he start promisingly and trail in to the mediocre? Will he try to shoehorn this ‘mystical conspiracy’ thing he’s been adding in to every book he’s written in the past few years? With the emphasis on Scarlet Witch’s kiddies, I can’t help but feel the answer to the latter may be ‘yes’…

UNCANNY X-MEN #496 – In this issue, Cyclops and Emma head into the plot from Roger Stern’s All-New Atom fill-in from a few months back, while Colossus, Nightcrawler and Wolverine head to Russia because every time that happens, nothing bad happens at all. Didn’t we do this whole ‘divided we stand’ thing a few years back before the clusterfuck that was The Twelve?
X-MEN: LEGACY #209 – The only thing that sounds vaguely interesting about these vague solicits is that its written by Mike Carey – so thats enough to keep me here a little while.

CABLE #1 – So I guess Cable keeps the baby? Way to go, solicit-guy…
X-FORCE #2 – The cover is an improvement on the last but still doesn’t have Hepzibah on it. And after what happened to Caliban this week…

WOLVERINE: FIRST CLASS #1 – Probably won’t get this but I have to admit, Fred Van Lente on a book set in a period where the X-Men were a hell of a lot less convoluted does sound like fun.
DEAD OF NIGHT FEATURING MAN-THING #2 (of 4) -Crap, they’re using Digger and Jennifer Kale in this? Rassum-frassum…

WAR IS HELL: THE FIRST FLIGHT OF THE PHANTOM EAGLE #1 (of 5) – One for the trades, but one I’m looking forward to. Ennis does gritty like noone else.
X-FACTOR VOL. 4: HEART OF ICE TPB – picks up where I dropped the monthlies for the trades so probably on the list at some point.

X-MEN: DIE BY THE SWORD TPB – I know that almost nobody liked this – but I still kind of want to get it as I get both Exiles and Excalibur (and actually like both in spite of the flaws).
NEWUNIVERSAL: EVERYTHING WENT WHITE TPB - I need to take a look at this; I liked the original New Universe for what it was. Then again if the sequel will never come out…

PUNISHER MAX VOL. 9: LONG COLD DARK TPB - Only recently started to get into this book via the trades. Damn its good – I don’t think I’ve ever seen Frank Castle treated as an actual character and not a sketchy stereotype before. Violent, bloody, recommended.
X-MEN VS. APOCALYPSE VOL. 1: THE TWELVE TPB - For the love of god, people, do not pick this up. Ever. Your eyes will bleed and your brain will explode.

ESSENTIAL OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE – MASTER EDITION VOL. 1 TPB - I only have one of the preceding four Essential Handbook series…but damn if its not good.
*May not be a real word but probably should be.
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DC Comics March 2008 Solicits

December 19, 2007 by

Stupidly busy and falling behind…anyway, it’s a monster month in March from DC!

COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS #8-5 – I like it and I don’t care what you think!

COUNTDOWN TO ADVENTURE #8 – This has been a great series. Lets get a full time Adam Strange/Animal Man spin off!

COUNTDOWN PRESENTS: LORD HAVOK AND THE EXTREMISTS #6 – Damn if I’m not enjoying this in spite of myself.

DEATH OF THE NEW GODS #7 – This is fun if not spectacular.

TANGENT: SUPERMAN’S REIGN #1 – I’ll probably wait for the collection but this does sound good…

TEEN TITANS: YEAR ONE #3 – The cover is phenomenal, but this is another wait for the trade.

TEEN TITANS #57 – I’m glad to see that Ravager appears to be sticking with the team, but I guess this means it’s Miss Martian that leaves. Bummer.

SALVATION RUN #5 – Yes, it’s Secret Wars-meets-42, but it’s still fun even if Willingham can’t get anyone’s voice right.

GOTHAM UNDERGROUND #6 – Surprisingly fun so far, but Question blazing away with guns in #2 just seemed like an editorial cock-up.

DC SPECIAL: RAVEN #1 – Honestly, who was asking for this? One of the dullest characters DC has, and she gets a mini? Where’s that Palmiotti-Grey-Conner Terra mini, guys?

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER SPECIAL - The original New Frontier is probably one of my favorite minis of the past five years, so I’m looking forward to this!


BOOSTER GOLD #7 – See, Booster? This is what happens when you mess with the timeline and save Beetle! Why do I feel like Ted will make the sacrifice himself this time out?

BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #5 – So Green Arrow and Batman are going to be butting heads? Didn’t see that coming…

ROBIN #172 – I like the new Violet costume – very 90s. And in spite of myself I do wonder if my earlier thoughts about Steph could be right.

NIGHTWING #142 – I hope Tomasi gets Dick right. And that sounds way dirtier than I
thought it did before I typed it out.

CATWOMAN #77 – Yes, you probably have me as a sucker reader through Salvation Run, but that’s it, okay?

ACTION COMICS #863 – Feels like this Legion thing is going on a while. Man, I hate six parters.

SUPERMAN #674 – Renato Guedes steps up to the big time and I couldn’t be happier.
SUPERGIRL #27 – I want to like this book, I really do, but editorial keeps making cock up after cock up with it. At least Rick Leonardi is on hand to make it pretty this ish.

THE ALL-NEW ATOM #21 – The new team of Rick Remender and Pat Oliffe comes on board, but with sales as low as they are how long will they have to play in Ryan’s world?
BIRDS OF PREY #116 – Liking the fact that Zinda seems to be more of a full fledged bird than supporting character these days.

BLUE BEETLE #25 – I love that “the World’s Greatest Heroes have his back”, but it’s Guy Gardner, Fire, Ice and Booster Gold on the cover behind him. Sounds like Jamie’s getting more than a little lecagied-up these days.
THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #11 – Superman and Ultraman may be an interesting team-up but could take place in any Super-book. Feels like a cop-out to me.

THE FLASH #238 – “Flash is pulled into an intense moral dilemma about superpowers” – and if that doesn’t sound gripping, I don’t know what does. It surprises me that Waid seems to be gone so soon, but I like Peyer as a replacement. Even so, this feels like DC just don’t know what to do with Wally now they’ve brought him back.
GREEN LANTERN #29 – Wait, so the Alpha Lanterns are going to be the Lost Lanterns? Interesting…

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #22 – I’m sticking with this a while after the War, so it looks like it did its job. Dammit.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #19 – Sounds like the JLA are off to villain-world. I just hope its more interesting than the Injustice League…

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #14 – I still say that the Heartbreak Slayer is Gog!
THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #40 – Still looking forward to Shooter’s return but I’m now wondering if I might wait for trades or ebay or something. There’s just too much on the market right now…

WONDER WOMAN #18 – In two short issues, Gail Simone has turned this book and character round. Hope she can keep the momentum going!
JLA PRESENTS: AZTEK — THE ULTIMATE MAN TP - Loved this book when it came out and I highly recommend you pick it up. Come on, its by some guys called Millar and Morrison, how bad could it be?

JONAH HEX VOL. 4: ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG TP - Just picked up volume 3 last week (fantastic as ever), so this is very timely!
THE STARMAN OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC – Love the format, love the idea – but you can probably get the originals cheaper on ebay. I’d rather see it in Absolutes…speaking of which…

THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN: BLACK DOSSIER — THE ABSOLUTE EDITION – Because yes, what I want to do – six months after the regular edition comes out – is to buy a bigger format edition at over three times the price so I can get an LP that I can’t play because I don’t have a record player. Genius!
ABSOLUTE SANDMAN VOL. 3 - Well, at least it would be on the list if I had the first two volumes…
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I’m on a catch-up roll…


AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #549 -551 – No solicit details. No idea if they’ll be out on time. Still here.


SPIDER-MAN: WITH GREAT POWER… #2 (of 5) – Spidey mini, so it means I’m there. Sucker.


SPIDER-MAN FAMILY #7 – Sounds like it’ll be good – a tour of Ringo’s favorite Marvel places with Spidey and the FF? Still difficult to believe he died so young.


ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST #4 (of 6) – Still scratching my head over Ultron.


AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #10 – Better than it was. Looks like I’m on board through the end of the next arc at least.


BLACK PANTHER ANNUAL #1 – Won’t be getting this but the title, ‘Black to the Future’ made me chuckle. I quite like the Panther as a character but honestly I prefer him when, say, anyone at all is writing him than when Hudlin is.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #35 – Awesome in comic book form.


CAPTAIN MARVEL #4 (of 5) – First ish was kind of dull, but as this ties into Secret Invasion its kind of a no-brainer.


CLANDESTINE #1 (of 5) – Alan Davis: plus. Clandestine: minus. I’ll wait for trade or ebay thanks.


FANTASTIC FOUR #554 – Okay…this will sell ridiculous amounts of copies but that cover is just kinda…ugly.


FANTASTIC FOUR: THE LOST ADVENTURE - Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s unpublished final issue of their run? Hell yes!


INCREDIBLE HERCULES #114 – Aye, verily!


HULK #2 – Maybe. Let’s make it past #1 first…


WWH AFTERSMASH: DAMAGE CONTROL #2 (of 3) – But I don’t want a new Goliath! I was happy with the dead one!


WWH AFTERSMASH: WARBOUND #3 (of 5) – Getting it for Korg more than anything else.


MIGHTY AVENGERS #9 – I’m thinking this will be on time by this point – providing #6 has come out. And who doesn’t love DOOM?


NEW AVENGERS #38 – Wonderful. ‘The Break Up’. Sometimes this feels too soapy, and this from someone who enjoyed the Harras era Avengers. I’m just not that invested in Cage, I guess.


YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #2 (of 6) – Hulking and Captain Marvel meet up. Wonder how Marv’ll react to having two gay children and one dead one?


THUNDERBOLTS: INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT - Just give Christos Gage an ongoing Thunderbolts title, will you?


NOVA ANNUAL #1 – In lieu of a regular issue, but I don’t care. This book is a constant surprise.


GIANT-SIZE ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 – Oh, Kitty it doesn’t look good, does it?

UNCANNY X-MEN #495, X-MEN: LEGACY #208, X-FORCE #1, X-FACTOR #28, WOLVERINE #62 – I know that I said Messiah Complex felt like the end for me, but after 22-plus years, its a hard habit to break. I’ll at least give the new status quos one issue. I do wonder who the traitor that Wolverine will be hunting is, though…and no New X-Men? Looks like the kids might not make it out!


HOWARD THE DUCK OMNIBUS - I have zero interest in this but I do think its kind of awesome that they’re printing it!



ONSLAUGHT REBORN HC – So do we think that #5 will be published by then?


THE ORDER VOL.1: THE NEXT RIGHT THING TPB - I liked #1 enough to pick this up.


SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP:MODOK’S 11 TPB - Okay, I was kind of hoping this one would be a digest. But still…


EXILES VOL. 16: STARTING OVER TPB - I know a lot of people hate the book under Claremont but I still kind of enjoy it, even if its not what it was.


WOLVERINE: EVOLUTION TPB – But…but…it’s bollocks, innit? Please, please, please don’t buy this trade if you like coherent, well-scripted work. On the other hand, the art is spectacular.


MARVEL FANFARE VOL. 1 TPB - Seems like an odd title to collect in color reprints; why not bang the whole run in a couple of Essentials?

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And now it’s Marvel’s turn…in what’s a relatively light month by my standards.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #549-551 – The second arc of Brand New Day kicks in. Really I don’t have much to say till I see what the status quo is – although Jackpot’s costume is really ugly.

ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST #3 – Looking forward to this. Unless the prodigal exile thing is Adam Warlock, who is the most unforgivably dull character ever.

AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #9 – Grr. I don’t want to like this book…but then they put Eric O’Grady and Taskmaster in it. Damn you, Dan Slott!

CAPTAIN AMERICA #34 – In which nothing of consequence happens. Really.

CAPTAIN MARVEL #3 – I hadn’t been planning on picking this up, but Lee Weeks is a great artist and tying it in to the Skrull invasion is a good choice.

FANTASTIC FOUR #553 – McDuffie’s first arc fell flat at the end. Hope this fares better.

INCREDIBLE XXXX #113 (Note: Not Actual Title) – The Incredible Herc, I tell ya!

HULK #1 – I’ve become less a fan of McGuinness’ art in recent years, and Loeb really seems to have dropped the ball lately. I’ll take a look but no promises. And the red color…yeah.

WWH AFTERSMASH: WARBOUND #2 – I still quite like the idea of this.

WWH AFTERSMASH: DAMAGE CONTROL #1 – But crucially, will it be played for laughs?!?

MIGHTY AVENGERS #8 – Wherein the book gets back on schedule, hopefully.

NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL #2 – Wherein there is much talking.

YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #1 (of 6) – Not sold on all these creative teams, but Bru on Patriot is a given.

NOVA #10 – Great book and one of Marvel’s better titles currently.

THUNDERBOLTS #119 – Consistently great. Where’s the next issue?

UNCANNY X-MEN #494, X-FACTOR #27, NEW X-MEN #46, X-MEN #207 – Messiah Complex wraps up – and, possibly, my time with the X-Men.

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JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #17 – Good grief I hope this improves.
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #12 – At least there’s a reliable marquee team book out there!
JLA CLASSIFIED #50-51 – I don’t normally pick this up…but Roger Stern and John Byrne may just change my mind.
LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #38 – Still torn on trades or singles for the Legion – but I’m getting it somehow.
WONDER WOMAN #16- Another one I’m torn on – but chances are I’ll give Gail a shot. I mean, I lasted through Heinberg and Picoult, right?
WILDSTORM: REVELATIONS #1-2 & THE AUTHORITY: PRIME #4 – The only thing tempting me here is Christos Gage. I’ve been burned by Wildstorm too many times so even thats probably not going to make me pick this up.
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That ain’t no Spoiler!

October 15, 2007 by

Hmm.

Remember that cover I mentioned last week – the one with an apparent Spoiler front and centre?

Well now I read January’s Robin solicit -

After a life-changing battle with Ra’s al Ghul in Nanda Parbat, Robin comes home to Gotham to find there’s a new girl in town, wearing a color he can’t ignore. The new vigilante calls herself Violet, and she steals from the rich to keep for herself…and Robin’s going to find out that’s not all she’s playing for. Plus, the return of an old friend with something to hide!


I think that the person we’re seeing isn’t Spoiler but Violet – and maybe I wasn’t too far off on the ‘new Spoiler as villain’ theory.

I guess we’ll see…

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Let’s go…

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #546 – 548 – Brand New Day kicks off with a three-parter by Dan Slott and Steve McNiven. And I, no doubt, will be there despite my misgivings.

SPIDER-MAN FAMILY #6 – Like this book a lot. Frog-Thor! How can you not love Frog-Thor?!?

SPIDER-MAN/RED SONJA #5 (of 5) – Dumb but fun.

ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST #2 (of 6) – I’d like the villain to be the Magus from New Mutants way back when, but I suspect it’ll be Kang.

AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #8 – Just when I was ready to bail, they pull me back in with Eric O’Grady!

BLACK PANTHER #33 – Still the FF thing? Seriously, at some point this book needs to stand on its own.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #33 – Big surprise at the end? Doubt it’s Steve…

FANTASTIC FOUR: ¡ISLA DE LA MUERTE! ONE-SHOT – Not sure about this whole thing with replacing regular issues with one-shots instead of fill-ins.

GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS SPECIAL #1 – Speaking of which, no Mighty this month?

HULK VS. FIN FANG FOOM ONE-SHOT – Probably won’t get this since PAD’s last return to the character was so deeply underwhelming. Still, fun concept.

INCREDIBLE HULK #113 – You know my theory here…

WORLD WAR HULK: WARBOUND #1 (of 5) – A maybe for me. I like Korg but that’s about it. More likely an ebay purchase.

MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS #4 – Possibly, depending on how good the first issue is.

NEW AVENGERS #37 – Still not convinced that the Hood is the next big bad guy, and his debut is kind of overshadowed by the whole Skrull thing.

NOVA #9 – Looks like he’s back to normal then. Who’d a guessed that Nova would be one of the better monthly reads?

WHAT IF? CIVIL WAR & WHAT IF? X-MEN: THE RISE & FALL OF THE SHI’AR EMPIRE – First time that the revived What If?s sounded vaguely interesting.

ASTONISHING X-MEN #24 – Final pre-Giant Size issue! I wish I could say that I was looking forward to it but my enthusiasm is pretty much dead.

UNCANNY X-MEN #493, X-FACTOR #26, NEW X-MEN #45 & X-MEN #206 – Blah blah mutants blah blah crossover. Honestly, I haven’t been less interested in the X-Universe ever.

X-MEN: MESSIAH COMPLEX – MUTANT FILES - But that still won’t stop me picking up a handbook.

EXILES #100 – Last issue? And – shockingly- being replaced with a New Exiles?!? Whatever will they think of next?!?

X-MEN: DIE BY THE SWORD #4 & #5 (of 5) – Well, I’ll be picking it up in trade at least.

NEW X-MEN: CHILDHOOD’S END VOL. 5 TPB – I’ve managed to avoid all spoilers concerning Magik’s return here, but the fact that she isn’t back in the ‘real world’ following this story suggests I may not enjoy it too much…

NEW EXCALIBUR VOL. 3: BATTLE FOR ETERNITY TPB – I know that its had terrible reviews, but I’ll still pick this up.

ESSENTIAL POWER MAN AND IRON FIST VOL. 1 TPB – Cool! Pity that Marvel couldn’t sort out the licensing thing to reprint #73, a ROM crossover.

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DC Comics Solicits

September 18, 2007 by

I can’t believe the solicits are out again already – where’s my life going?!? December from DC and the Countdown is really on…

COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS #21-18 – sounds like things are really kicking off – and doesn’t sound so good for one of the Rogues…

COUNTDOWN: ARENA #1-4 – Yes, it’s a gimmick. Yes, you can vote on the winners. Yes, I am sure it will be instantly forgettable. But it sounds like fun…



WONDER WOMAN #15 – Still not sure if I’m getting this; the secret agent thing really, really annoys me.

STORMWATCH PHD: ARMAGEDDON #1, WILDCATS: ARMAGEDDON #1, THE AUTHORITY PRIME #3 – I will not get pulled back into Wildstorm just because Christos Gage is writing! I will NOT!

FREDDY VS. JASON VS. ASH #3 – It’s not just me, right? This still sounds cool, right?

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It’s Marvel’s turn (finally!)!

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #545 -Mentioned this once or twice before – but I’m against the marriage being nullified or MJ being killed, but I’m for a carefree Spidey. Damned if I do, damned if I don’t – I just want Pete and MJ to have a happy ending….

SPIDER-MAN/RED SONJA #4 (of 5)….or to fight a Hyborian Green Goblin on a flying dinosaur. That’ll work too!


ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST #1 (of 6) – The main event kicks off! Who wants to bet that the last page reveal is that Rom’s behind it all (well, he wasn’t Wraith…) No takers? How about the Magus then – makes sense if Quasar’s chosen one is Warlock, doesn’t it?

AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE ANNUAL #1 – Uncertain if I’ll get this, if only because I’m uncertain if I’ll be getting the main title at this point.

BLACK PANTHER #32 – Er, if Reed and Sue are back in the main book, how long can this missing adventure be dragged on for, exactly?

ward to it…


UNCANNY X-MEN #492, X-FACTOR #25, NEW X-MEN #44, X-MEN #205 – So it’s that whole Messiah Complex thing. Funny thing is I’m getting the feeling this may be my swansong on the X-Men after 20+ years. They’re just not doing it for me anymore.

X-MEN: DIE BY THE SWORD #3 (of 5) – I get Exclaibur and Exiles in trade so I’ll probably do the same for this – although I’m looking forward to it more than the Messiah Complex, oddly.

X-MEN: EMPEROR VULCAN #3 (of 5) – Ditto. Although I still wish they’d just called it Starjammers…

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Wow, there’s a lot going on that looks good – or if not good exactly, at least interesting – in DC’s November solicits. Lets get to it…

COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS #25-22 – The Countdown train runs on – but it seems to be picking up speed now. In retrospect, I’m not entirely sure that the whole ‘showrunner’ approach was the right one.

SUPERMAN #670, SUPERMAN ANNUAL #13 – The Third Kryptonian storyline ties up. Wonder who it is?

ACTION COMICS #859 – Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes? They should make a cartoon about that!

COUNTDOWN SPECIAL: JIMMY OLSEN 80-PAGE GIANT -Not getting this but I do find it interesting that it’s reprinting Jimmy’s dealings with the DNAlien and Cadmus – maybe that’s a hint as to Jimmy’s current troubles?

SUPERGIRL #23 – Another new creative team. I may check it out, I may not.

THE ALL-NEW ATOM #17 -Wonder Woman guest stars hot on the heels of Countdown tie-ins; not usually a good sign for a book!

BIRDS OF PREY #112 – Now I wasn’t going to stay on board but this sounds like it might be a Lady Blackhawk spotlight…

THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #8 – Flash and the Doom Patrol! Probably picking it up in trades, but then #6 was all kinds of fun…

THE FLASH #234 – I found #231 oddly flat and disappointing but I’ll give Waid and Acuna some more time.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #15 – This sounds so much better than Meltzer’s yawn-fest!

TEEN TITANS #53 – Looking forward to McKeever taking this book on – and kicking off with the Titans of the future is a good start!

SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #36 – I’m officially on trades now but I am so pleased that this solicit didn’t read ‘Final Issue’!

TEEN TITANS EAST SPECIAL #1 – Picking up the special; like I’ve said before, I doubt the team on the cover is the one that will make the final cut in the ongoing.

WONDER WOMAN #14 – To trade or not to trade? The past two or three years of WW have left a sour taste in my mouth. Gail gets one issue to convince me.

WONDER GIRL #3 – Eh, I like Cassie and I’m weak. So I’ll probably get it.

TALES OF THE MULTIVERSE: BATMAN — VAMPIRE TP – I’ve noticed a trend of DC to plumb their Elseworlds and alternate Earth stuff since Countdown kicked in and its a good idea; this collection of Batman/Dracula: Red Rain, Batman: Bloodstorm and Batman: Crimson Mist is a nice catch up if – like me – you missed these first time round.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: SAGA OF THE SUPER SONS TP – Again I say the plumbing of alternate world stories continues! This is actually pretty tempting…now can we have all the Wonder Woman/Hippolyta/Wonder Girl/Wonder Tot impossible stories please?

HEROES HC - A no-brainer. I may have been disappointed by the ending of the season but this is a mighty tempting proposition. Not having a Tim Sale cover seems like a missed opportunity, though.

TRANQUILITY: ARMAGEDDON #1, WETWORKS: ARMAGEDDON #1, GEN13: ARMAGEDDON #1,THE AUTHORITY: PRIME #2 – Honestly, the whole clusterfuck of a Worldstorm relaunch soured me on Wildstorm – but handing the reigns over to Christos Gage is almost enough to get me interested again!

FREDDY VS. JASON VS. ASH #1 & 2 – Raise your hand if you’re a fanboy and this sounds simply awesome!

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It’s Marvel’s turn!

SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #- I’m pretty sure that I’m not going to like how this ends – that cover and tell me Nocturne doesn’t look like Skrullektra!

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THE FLASH #233 Wally’s back! That’s all I need to know right now!

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #14 -The League loses a member? And judging from the cover, looks like it might be Hal given that John Stewart’s back!

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #10 – Kingdom Come‘s Superman? Things are looking up! I just hope that Eaglesham’s art picks back up -#7 was awful.

SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #35 – Trades – but ERG shows up! What’s going to happen once Bedard finishes his run next issue?

JLA/HITMAN #2 – I only needed to see half that title to pick it up.

TEEN TITANS #52 – Not sure what’s going to happen to this book; I suspect that a new non-teen book of Titans is going to launch shortly; I just hope this one sticks around too.

WONDER WOMAN #13 – Yeah, yeah, it’s Gail Simone, but can she rescue the book from the total clusterfuck its been since it relaunched?

On the trade side, JONAH HEX: ORIGINS, SUPERGIRL: IDENTITY and BATMAN: DEATH IN THE CITY all might get a look in, not to mention SHOWCASE PRESENTS: SUICIDE SQUAD VOL. 1Suicide Squad #1-18, Doom Patrol and Suicide Squad Special #1, Secret Origins #14 and Justice League International #13 all in one cover! And maybe SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS VOL. 1 TP - looks like I may finally be falling into the Showcase trap!

From Wildstorm, only the licensed SUPERNATURAL: ORIGINS #6 grabs my attention. When’s the last issue of Planetary out again??
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Newsarama just previewed some solicits for October’s books, amongst them New Avengers #35:


The Hood makes his play for the big time by gathering the most ruthless
rogues gallery of evil the Marvel Universe has ever seen. What does a guy who
wants to be the “Kingpin of all super-villains” do to make his point? You have
to see it to believe it.Guest-Starring Tigra. Poor Tigra. Poor, poor
Tigra.

I’m sorry, but the company now seems to be going out of its way to upset the female readership; I didn’t think that with the MJ statue, or the Heroes for Hire cover or even the Daredevil solicit and preview for the issue where Milla was attacked.

But Tigra?

You’re threatening Tigra? This is a step too far – I mean, sure, she’s been misportrayed as a duplicitous wanton wench of a woman the past year or so – and that’s the most exposure that she’s had since the abortvie Deodato-illustrated mini series a few years back, but

Marvel have to know that these days everything they do that puts a female character in any kind of situation where they’re even thought to be in jeopardy will get flamed to some extent.

So they’re obviously just courting publicity at this point.

And I like Tigra, dammit!

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Infinite possibilities…

July 16, 2007 by
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Yesterday was DC, today is Marvel’s turn for the Skrulltempber solicits!

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #544, FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #24 – One More Day kicks off in style with two parts this month – and presumably the final issue of FNSM. I have to admit, I love these covers…and I can’t wait for it to be revealed that the real May died in ASM #400 – and ever since she’s been a Skrull!
X-FACTOR #23 – I’m not sure why but this is still hit and miss for me. And I sure don’t trust Quicksilver, sowing discontent…

X-MEN #203 – So now Mystique has jumped ship to the Marauders? Shape-changing Mystique? Who’s been locking lips with Iceman, of all people? Need I say more?

X-MEN: EMPEROR VULCAN #1 (of 5) – Glad to see this book following up on Havok et al’s war against Emperor Vulcan, although would it have been too much to ask for it to be called Starjammers? I have to say, I never really trusted Lilandra – she’s far too shifty in the way she…hey! Could it be?!?

Good grief, this whole Skrull thing got real old, real fast didn’t it?

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Lordy, but its a big month from DC in September - lots of one-shots and minis kicking off. Taking a regular look at the solicits and seeing what piques my interest -

COUNTDOWN 34-31 – I’ve said it before but this series isn’t doing it for me. That said, I’m enough of a fanboy to stick with it in the hope that it will get better.

COUNTDOWN TO MYSTERY #1 – I have zero interest in the Dr Fate feature (originally meant for its own ongoing) but I am slightly intrigued by the Jean Loring-Eclipso one, so its possible I’ll take a look….

COUNTDOWN TO ADVENTURE #2 – Animal Man and Adam Strange are the draws here for me (I never liked Starfire despite her…er…attributes), but I’m also intrigued by Forerunner. And I can’t believe that I didn’t see a connection between her and Harbinger till last week. D’oh!
COUNTDOWN PRESENTS THE SEARCH FOR RAY PALMER: WILDSTORM #1 – Milking the cow much? I was under the impression that the search for Ray Palmer would be taking place in Countdown and the Atom – but here we are with Donna Troy, Kyle Rayner (more on him later) and Jason Todd travelling the multiverse as the Challengers of the Beyond…although I do like the idea of an Exiles-type group tripping through the 52 worlds – and looks like Wildstorm is first on the list!
THE ALL-NEW ATOM #15 – Confession time – I didn’t like the look of this in last year’s Brave New World one-shot, but I picked up #1-11 on ebay cheap and loved them. Loved them. It’s on the list till further notice – but why oh why isn’t Ryan searching for Ray with the team above?!?
SUPERGIRL #21 – Grr. I’m feeling the pull of Supergirl again…I’ll see what happens in Amazons Attack! that leaves her with such guilt (my guess: not saving a plane full of passengers) – although I’m not sure why it’s necessary to pile more angst onto the character; she works better as a carefree kid.
BOOSTER GOLD #2 – So looking forward to this book!
BLACK ADAM: THE DARK AGE #2 – I’m torn on this; I like ol’ Adam but now that I know (a) he gets his powers back and then gives them away again, and (b) his word is ‘Sorry’, I’m not sure what the point of this mini is.
THE BLACK CANARY WEDDING PLANNER, JLA WEDDING SPECIAL #1, THE GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY WEDDING SPECIAL #1 – So, uh is the wedding on? And are we sure we’re making a big enough deal of it?

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #13 – I’m glad that Dwayne McDuffie is taking over and really pleased that it looks like the League will be facing a serious threat – but this doesn’t mean that he’s leaving Fantastic Four does it?

WONDER WOMAN ANNUAL #1 – Wow. And only, what, a year since the first part of this storyline debuted? No regular issue this month either…but Gail Simone next month!!

WONDER GIRL #1 – I like Cassie so I’ll take a look at this, but I was hoping that any Amazons Attack! fall-out would be taking place in Teen Titans.

INFINITY INC. #1 – I like the original team, but I honestly cannot think of a less-deserving cast of characters getting their own book than the team introduced in 52. My dislike of John Henry Irons doesn’t exactly help sell me on this either…

SUICIDE SQUAD: RAISE THE FLAG #1 – The good: John Ostrander on Suicide Squad. The bad: No, nothing here. Sold!

GREEN LANTERN #23, GREEN LANTERN CORPS #16 – the Sinestro Corps storyline thunders on – but we all know there are other Corps out there…

TALES OF THE SINESTRO CORPS PRESENTS PARALLAX #1 -“the writer who introduced Kyle, Ron Marz, dissects what led Kyle to his downfall” - well that doesn’t sound good! Together with the blocked out cover and hints at Heroes Con, its obvious DC wants us to think that Kyle takes on the mantle of Parallax. Of course, the fact that Kyle is apparently so prominent in Countdown and the Search for Ray Palmer suggests otherwise. I have heard a rumor that it might be a different character as Parallax…a, er, super character that was reintroduced to DC in recent years…
TEEN TITANS #51 – Titans of Tomorrow return to take on the JLA. But…Kon-El is still on the team? Bart is now Zoom? And there’s a Flash on the JLA? (Coughcough…Lightning Saga…coughcough)

SUPERNATURAL: ORIGINS #5 – Good little book and the only Wildstorm one I’ll be getting in September.
Like I said, it’s a really busy month – and that’s not even taking into account trades and the like.
I think DC might be overloading it this time round – I know for certain that I’m not picking up everything I’m interested in so I suspect a lot of people won’t be. That said, I will be picking up the Flash! Mark Waid, people!!
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I’m just waiting for his hand to ‘slip’…

Cover for Superman/Batman #40 from Newsarama

…and for Orion to give him a good pasting.
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Marvel Comics solicits for August 2007 came out yesterday- here’s what looks good…

SPIDER-MAN: ONE MORE DAY SKETCHBOOK – I may not be happy about where this is supposed to be going – but that’s not to say that I won’t give it a chance and Joe Q’s preview art for this looks pretty good…

FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #23 – Dammit, PAD and
THUNDERBOLTS #116 – Loving this book and judging from the cover, Venom’s still, er, Venom.

UNCANNY X-MEN #489 – The close to the Shiar epic was surprisingly open-ended (and could have benefitted from a few more pages) but Brubaker’s been pretty good on this so far. I’m also looking forward to the Endangered Species thing. I’m a crossover junkie, aren’t I?

X-MEN #202 – I’ve said before that Carey has been the surprise of the X-shake-up a year ago, and I stand by it. Great stuff but not your standard superhero fare.

ASTONISHING X-MEN #23 – Good god, isn’t it time this just finished?

WOLVERINE #56 – For some reason the stand-alones by guest teams have really hit the spot with me – much more than the main book ever does. Plus: Chaykin on Wolverine!

That’s some list…then there’s the trades.

AMAZING FANTASY OMNIBUS HC – I never get these but this one might be an exception – a bunch of early 1960s monster stories sounds pretty attractive…
X-23: TARGET X TPB – I’ve been waiting for this one to show up. I enjoyed the first mini but have resolved to be more trade oriented from now on.

CABLE & DEADPOOL VOL. 7: SEPARATION ANXIETY TPB – This ties in to about the time I jumped ship. I tell you, trades are the way forward!

ESSENTIAL DAREDEVIL VOL. 4 TPB – Great! More DD goodness – although at this point he was pretty much a poor man’s Spider-Man.

ESSENTIAL DAZZLER VOL. 1 TPB – You know, I have actually been waiting for this! Saves me from hunting down the back issues…

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