Most comics come out on Wednesdays, from what we hear, so we figure we can start your new comics lust on Mondays. We’ll point you in the direction of books WE are interested in, and YOU can, in the comments below, let us know what YOU are interested in, k? This week, we’ve got plenty to get excited about.
Rob’s Picks
Fell: Feral City, Volume 1
Yeah, I already have this, but you need to get it right now. It’s Ben Templesmith AND fooking Warren Ellis, so you know it’s good. It’s better than good. It’s freaking must-own classic comic book goodness. The melancholy of the colors and Templesmith’s crazy artistic sensibility mesh ever so perfectly with Warren Ellis’ traditional poignant insanity. If you don’t own this, grab it NOW before it goes out of print AGAIN.
Demo #2
I’m so enamored by the concept of this book – Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan get to revisit their zine-like black and white roots and have complete creative control over this book, including not allowing ads in it. The story in #1 was well told, paced well, and felt like a slice of life gone mysteriously supernatural. You’re doing yourself a disservice by not picking this one up on Wednesday.
Mike’s Picks
Invincible Iron Man #24
Matt Fraction is definitely one of the most talented writers working today, and he deserved the Eisner nod he got on his IIM relaunch (the 3rd in 15 years). This is the last book before the new era of Tony Stark begins. Fraction created a clever and entertaining ‘end of life’ storyline that comes to a close here, before we get the new suit, back to basics, no more ‘Extremis’, ‘Age of Heroes’ shellhead. The question is, will he have redeemed himself after Civil War and World War Hulk?
The Boys #40
I’ve been reading this since it started, and after Garth Ennis got done ‘taking the piss’ on all the main DC and Marvel characters, and even a certain famous creator, he started to turn the book into a narrative about the internal struggle of shadow governments and how they utilize powered up d-bags. While the quality of his satire has been hit and miss, lately the book has been pretty on target, especially coming off the ‘started strong and fizzled at the end’ spin-off “Herogasm”. Finishing up the origins (if they are to be believed) of the Boys (and one Girl), a new arc has begun, this time looking to poke some fun at the Legion of Super Heroes.
Tyler’s Picks
Green Hornet #1
So a million years ago, our favorite fatty Southwest flier was hired to develop the Green Hornet screenplay for Hollywood. Cut to this week: Dynamite Entertainment has blown the dust off this puppy and is prepping 2 other A-list titles (Matt Wagner’s Year One and Brett Matthew’s The Green Hornet Strikes!) for release this spring. Smith’s script has been speculated on for years so hopefully the wait for a female Kato and revamped origin is worth the wait. Here’s to hoping Smith’s writing is as taut as the the days on Daredevil and Green Arrow and not as indulgent as the recent run on Batman. With Seth Rogen’s GH movie approaching fast, we’ll soon know who deserved the paycheck.
Mass Effect Redemption #3
Okay, I admit. I have played waaaay too much of this game trying to get all the possible dialogue trees out of the deep soil of this Game of the Year contender. Mac Walters did a fine job on the RPG crafting characters that rival Farscape in breadth and this filler story is no exception. I would talk about it more, but I actually have to pick up the 3rd printing of Issue 1 and 2nd printing of #2 because its been frakking sold out since the dawn of the Reapers. Word is Liara collects Shepard’s remains, which turns me on because my Lesbo Cmmdr. Shepard and Liara got it on hardcore in the firs t game. Space sex FTW!
First Wave #1
The DC pulp universe is finally unveiled. Seems 2010 is the Year of Noir, with Marvel schucking a few similar titles (Spidey, etc.) but its the Doc Savage and Batman books that are looking gritty and nifty. With an alternate DCU sans supermen, mere mortals Doc Savage, Batman and the Spirit fight for the city’s allegiances and likely suffer much angony at the expense of Brian Azarello’s brilliant writing. It doesn’t hurt that Rags Morales is doing the scribbles for this one either. Here’s to hoping DC can launch a new A-list book that doesn’t end up lining the bird cages (Ahem…”Trinity?”)
Although this territory has been tread a bit by Mark Waid in Irredeemable, Mark Millar gives us his take on the inverse scenario: the most powerful person in the world is pure evil. Given the level of violence seen in his latest run on the Ultimate Avengers, and that this is an Icon book, the splatter level should be on 11. Making this book a must have is the fact that Steve McNiven in on pencils, which after their team up on Civil War and Old Man Logan, bodes very well for the look of the book.
years, this issue begins a new arc that delves into the character of ‘Shunka’, Red Crow’s right hand. Red Crow gets into it and Shunka is sent in to clean it up. I can’t heap enough praise on the execution of this title, from the writing to the art to the characterization, this is a book where the creators are at the peak of their craft.
