Every month we spend an evening scouring the pages of the latest issue of Previews and pick the ten titles we are looking forward to the most. This month it's the April issue of Previews which includes comics scheduled to ship in June 2008.
TRINITY #1
Writers: Kurt Busiek & Fabian Nicieza
Art: Mark Bagley & Various
DC $2.99
Matt T: The three heroes who form the backbone of the DC Universe come under the spotlight in this new weekly series which takes the place of Countdown. Hopefully the talent and ideas involved spell better quality for Trinity as I’m certainly more inclined to drop anything that doesn’t grab me from the start after the debacle of Countdown. The story will apparently jump back and forth in time as well as switching focus onto villains, which has the potential to ruin pacing – colour me cautious, then.
Matt C: I do feel a bit of a mug for sticking with Countdown until the bitter end, so while I am hugely reluctant to get involved in a similar venture, the pedigree of those involved is enough for me to give it a look, but only something monumentally stupendous will keep me there on a weekly basis. Chances of that happening are slim, but you never know.
ULTIMATE ORIGINS #1
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: Butch Guice
Marvel $2.99
James R: Waaaay back when, the Ultimate universe was a new and exciting place (anyone remember them touting it as a possible replacement for the 616 Universe?). Bendis wrote a scene early on between Bruce Banner and Peter Parker, something along the lines of “It’s all connected…. You, me, all of this!” and I remember thinking “Ooooh!”. I’m a sucker for conspiracy theories – like a geek Mohamed Al Fayed! – but despite convention panels swearing that, yes, one day the whole universe would be tied together, it’s all been quiet and the wheels have slowly come off the Ultimate bandwagon. Now Bendis is bringing out this mini-series which claims to reveal answers to a lot of our questions – is it going to be a phoenix-like triumph, or the final nail in the Ultimate coffin?
MADAME XANADU #1
Write: Matt Wagner
Art: Amy Reeder Hadley
DC/Vertigo $2.99
Andy H: Okay, I’ll admit it was the art that caught my eye first: very clean and striking. Best to check the blurb…… well, Matt Wagner is writing it and just lately he’s been churning out some great stuff , so take a solid writer and artist, throw in a fortune teller and some “foul sorcery” and this has got to be checked out. I think Vertigo need a major new ongoing series, and this one could fit the bill.
CONAN THE CIMMERIAN #0
Writer: Timothy Truman
Art: Tomas Giorello
Dark Horse $0.99
Matt C: I’ve covered my conversion to the ways of the Barbarian before so I won’t go over it again here. Suffice to say it was Conan #0 - the first issue of the previous volume - that triggered my interest in Robert E Howard’s most famous creation. So, while there’s been a lot of water under the bridge, this new, cheap taster for the second volume may serve as a good way in for those who might have felt they missed the boat the first time around. Truman has proven himself a worthy successor to Kurt Busiek and Giorello is definitely a talent to watch.
YOUNG AVENGERS/RUNAWAYS #1
Writer: Chis Yost
Art: Takeshi Miyazana
Marvel $2.99
Matt T: Skrulls, Skrulls and more bloody Skrulls! Hopefully, the tomfoolery of Secret Invasion won’t detract from this sequel-of-sorts to the most enjoyable Civil War crossover. A Young Avengers ongoing on the horizon should make any shake-ups here significant to the team’s future, and with both groups of heroes featuring a shape-shifting alien, there's bound to be some tense set-pieces in the offing.
WOLVERINE #66
Writer: Mark Millar
Art: Steve McNiven
Marvel $2.99
Andy H: Wolverine the farmer?! Surely the world’s gone mad! Nope, for 50 years there has been no Wolverine, only Old Man Logan. But you know that’s not going to last, or why else would we be reading this? What has Millar got up his sleeve for this 8-parter, and what will tear Logan from his from his family life and possibly back to his old ways? Farmers Weekly this is not!
WAR HEROES #1
Writer: Mark Millar
Art: Tony Harris
Marvel $2.99
James R: I ‘m going to guess that, like me, you’ve been left speechless by the 100-car pile-up that is Ultimates 3, truly the worst comic since…… well, fill in your own ‘blank’ there! But, in true comics stylee, in July we can say ‘What If?’: “What if Mark Millar stayed on Ultimates and developed his ideas about superheroes as super-weapons for the military?” We’ll find our answers in War Heroes, as the writer’s new mini-series joins the increasingly impressive Image Comics’ roster. Millar has been a little hit-and-miss of late, but this has got to be better than Ultimates 3, right?
KILL ALL PARENTS #1
Writer: Mark Andrew Smith
Art: Marlelo Dichiara
Image $3.99
Matt T: Just in case the title alone doesn’t grab you, the storyline should do the trick. The premise involves a shadowy government agency murdering the parents of potential super-people in order to force them onto the side of the angels. As barmy as it sounds, this idea’s got legs, and the Previews pages look killer. A few sly nods to some well-established heroes and this could end up on plenty of pull-lists, including mine.
BLUESMAN HC
Writer: Rob Vollmar
Art: Pablo Callejo
NBM $24.95
Matt C: Perhaps not something I would normally highlight, but its appearance in Previews coupled with various mentions on the web over the last few weeks has me intrigued enough to single this out for a definite purchase. I’m very much a fan of the era of early, pre-electric blues in which this story is set and sampling the wholly enthusiastic reviews of the book in its single volume editions has me quite excited at the prospect of reading this collection.
ETERNALS #1
Writers: Charles Knauf & Daniel Knauf
Art: Daniel Acuña
Marvel $2.99
James R: I loved Neil Gaiman’s Eternals - it was a huge improvement on his 1602 and contained enough highbrow moments to keep me interested. That would have been plenty, but now Marvel have decided keep the characters in circulation hiring the Knauf’s – who are responsible for the awesome Iron Man: Direct Of SHIELD (my current favourite) – to write the book. That, dammit, is reason enough to part with my $3.99 (or whatever the UK equivalent may be)!
TRINITY #1Writers: Kurt Busiek & Fabian Nicieza
Art: Mark Bagley & Various
DC $2.99
Matt T: The three heroes who form the backbone of the DC Universe come under the spotlight in this new weekly series which takes the place of Countdown. Hopefully the talent and ideas involved spell better quality for Trinity as I’m certainly more inclined to drop anything that doesn’t grab me from the start after the debacle of Countdown. The story will apparently jump back and forth in time as well as switching focus onto villains, which has the potential to ruin pacing – colour me cautious, then.
Matt C: I do feel a bit of a mug for sticking with Countdown until the bitter end, so while I am hugely reluctant to get involved in a similar venture, the pedigree of those involved is enough for me to give it a look, but only something monumentally stupendous will keep me there on a weekly basis. Chances of that happening are slim, but you never know.
ULTIMATE ORIGINS #1
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: Butch Guice
Marvel $2.99
James R: Waaaay back when, the Ultimate universe was a new and exciting place (anyone remember them touting it as a possible replacement for the 616 Universe?). Bendis wrote a scene early on between Bruce Banner and Peter Parker, something along the lines of “It’s all connected…. You, me, all of this!” and I remember thinking “Ooooh!”. I’m a sucker for conspiracy theories – like a geek Mohamed Al Fayed! – but despite convention panels swearing that, yes, one day the whole universe would be tied together, it’s all been quiet and the wheels have slowly come off the Ultimate bandwagon. Now Bendis is bringing out this mini-series which claims to reveal answers to a lot of our questions – is it going to be a phoenix-like triumph, or the final nail in the Ultimate coffin?
MADAME XANADU #1Write: Matt Wagner
Art: Amy Reeder Hadley
DC/Vertigo $2.99
Andy H: Okay, I’ll admit it was the art that caught my eye first: very clean and striking. Best to check the blurb…… well, Matt Wagner is writing it and just lately he’s been churning out some great stuff , so take a solid writer and artist, throw in a fortune teller and some “foul sorcery” and this has got to be checked out. I think Vertigo need a major new ongoing series, and this one could fit the bill.
CONAN THE CIMMERIAN #0
Writer: Timothy Truman
Art: Tomas Giorello
Dark Horse $0.99
Matt C: I’ve covered my conversion to the ways of the Barbarian before so I won’t go over it again here. Suffice to say it was Conan #0 - the first issue of the previous volume - that triggered my interest in Robert E Howard’s most famous creation. So, while there’s been a lot of water under the bridge, this new, cheap taster for the second volume may serve as a good way in for those who might have felt they missed the boat the first time around. Truman has proven himself a worthy successor to Kurt Busiek and Giorello is definitely a talent to watch.
YOUNG AVENGERS/RUNAWAYS #1Writer: Chis Yost
Art: Takeshi Miyazana
Marvel $2.99
Matt T: Skrulls, Skrulls and more bloody Skrulls! Hopefully, the tomfoolery of Secret Invasion won’t detract from this sequel-of-sorts to the most enjoyable Civil War crossover. A Young Avengers ongoing on the horizon should make any shake-ups here significant to the team’s future, and with both groups of heroes featuring a shape-shifting alien, there's bound to be some tense set-pieces in the offing.
WOLVERINE #66
Writer: Mark Millar
Art: Steve McNiven
Marvel $2.99
Andy H: Wolverine the farmer?! Surely the world’s gone mad! Nope, for 50 years there has been no Wolverine, only Old Man Logan. But you know that’s not going to last, or why else would we be reading this? What has Millar got up his sleeve for this 8-parter, and what will tear Logan from his from his family life and possibly back to his old ways? Farmers Weekly this is not!
WAR HEROES #1Writer: Mark Millar
Art: Tony Harris
Marvel $2.99
James R: I ‘m going to guess that, like me, you’ve been left speechless by the 100-car pile-up that is Ultimates 3, truly the worst comic since…… well, fill in your own ‘blank’ there! But, in true comics stylee, in July we can say ‘What If?’: “What if Mark Millar stayed on Ultimates and developed his ideas about superheroes as super-weapons for the military?” We’ll find our answers in War Heroes, as the writer’s new mini-series joins the increasingly impressive Image Comics’ roster. Millar has been a little hit-and-miss of late, but this has got to be better than Ultimates 3, right?
KILL ALL PARENTS #1
Writer: Mark Andrew Smith
Art: Marlelo Dichiara
Image $3.99
Matt T: Just in case the title alone doesn’t grab you, the storyline should do the trick. The premise involves a shadowy government agency murdering the parents of potential super-people in order to force them onto the side of the angels. As barmy as it sounds, this idea’s got legs, and the Previews pages look killer. A few sly nods to some well-established heroes and this could end up on plenty of pull-lists, including mine.
BLUESMAN HCWriter: Rob Vollmar
Art: Pablo Callejo
NBM $24.95
Matt C: Perhaps not something I would normally highlight, but its appearance in Previews coupled with various mentions on the web over the last few weeks has me intrigued enough to single this out for a definite purchase. I’m very much a fan of the era of early, pre-electric blues in which this story is set and sampling the wholly enthusiastic reviews of the book in its single volume editions has me quite excited at the prospect of reading this collection.
ETERNALS #1
Writers: Charles Knauf & Daniel Knauf
Art: Daniel Acuña
Marvel $2.99
James R: I loved Neil Gaiman’s Eternals - it was a huge improvement on his 1602 and contained enough highbrow moments to keep me interested. That would have been plenty, but now Marvel have decided keep the characters in circulation hiring the Knauf’s – who are responsible for the awesome Iron Man: Direct Of SHIELD (my current favourite) – to write the book. That, dammit, is reason enough to part with my $3.99 (or whatever the UK equivalent may be)!
2 comments:
Interesting selection of titles this month. Madame Xanadu and War Heroes both sound like my sort of thing, and of course I'm a big REH fan so the Conan relaunch is an automatic given for me. Bluesman sounds cool, but the price tag is a bit steep for an impulse purchase. But like Matt I gave up completely on the Ultimate universe some time ago (Ultimates volume 3 being the inal straw as far as I was concerned), so wild horses won't convince me to go back for Ultimate Origins. Too little, too late as far as I'm concerned.
- Rob
There's a few big events that could go South in the Previews this month, not to mention DC's Trinity. I'm looking forward to the smaller books more, but I might steal a brief flick through Origins when it hits. Countdown has made me so damn cynical, but I still loves me comics!
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