New comics are released tomorrow in the States... and thank goodness for parity on at least one occasion when the people of the UK receive them on the same day as our transatlantic cousins!! Admittedly it's still a Thursday release but we have to cherish the little thinks like this when they happen. Anyway, here's a brief look at our expectations for the books we're picking up this week.
Stewart R: Can I please get a “Huzzah, finally!” from the Paradox Comic Group?! Yes indeedy, July 8th 2010 marks the day when Jim Cheung and Allan Heinberg come back together to bring us more Young Avengers antics in Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #1. I LOVED the work that these creators put into the first run of Young Avengers and have come to really like it when the characters turned up in the myriad of events we’ve had since. Jim Cheung sits up there as one of my favourite artists of all time and the man’s sense of scope and scale is phenomenal. The bi-monthly nature of this comic should also give him ample time to bring his very best work to the page and I’m sure Heinberg will make this as exhilarating a Marvel read as he can being a man with a great appreciation for the history of the Avengers and their characterisation.
Meanwhile... The Grim Hunt barrels on like an unstoppable predatory beast as Kraven returns from the grave to put even more hurt upon our beloved webslinger. Amazing Spider-Man #636 should be a terrific spider-slugfest as the Kraven family up the ante and target every Spider-related character that lives within the boroughs on New York (which seem to be an awful lot!). I have been enjoying this latest arc and am very interested to see just how Joe Kelly is planning on wrapping this story up in a couple of issues time. Certainly the tough few months that Peter’s been suffering through will leave permanent scars on our hero both physical and mental and I’m sure there’s to be more death on the cards before we read the final page.
There’s a couple of #1s out this week from Marvel’s stable and I’m far more keen on one than I am the other. Hit Monkey #1 (of 3) should be another great opportunity to see the Menacing Macaque continue on his life mission to rid the world of assassins. Where once I scoffed at the character I now cannot wait to see where Daniel Way takes the furry bundle of fury next. The 'Year of the Monkey' starts this very week folks! X-Men #1 on the other hand really worries me. Not only are we seeing the introduction of Vampires into the world of mutants - sorry, did I just hear everyone scream ‘BANDWAGON’?? - but we already have an 'X-Men' title in the form of X-Men Legacy. Mike Carey’s title was simply rebranded at the end of Messiah Complex and kept the numbering, so why are we starting again here? It’s a baffling and frustrating situation and I shall pick up the first issue to see if my fears of this being a waste of time are justified. Bah, vampires, bah!!
This could also be a pivotal week for my relationship with Gregg Hurwitz’s vision of Moon Knight as he’s forced to tackle Jake Lockley’s newly appointed membership of the Secret Avengers. Vengeance of the Moon Knight #10 dives straight into Moon Knight's first team involvement with Steve Rogers and Co and considering where Hurritz seemed to be leading us before the Heroic Age came into view I’m not sure that we’re going to be seeing the direction that he maybe wanted to take this book in any time soon. Mind you, Lockley losing the battle against Khonshu's bloodlust could be an interesting subplot for Hurritz and Brubaker to work on...
Is it me or has it been an absolute age since the last issue of Batman and Robin? I think I might be right in saying that we’ve had all three issues of Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne hit the shelves since THAT particular little twisted reveal of Morrison’s in #12. Well Batman and Robin #13 is out this week and I can’t wait to see how Dick Grayson deals with the situation that’s unfolding before his eyes. Morrison has certainly made this tile unmissable since his tenure on it began and I have very little doubt that he’ll make this plot twist work well.
To round things off nicely there are two Vertigo titles to add to the top of my pile; one of which is a constant presence in my pull-list while the other is making a fine argument to be there. The blurb on DC’s website for Sweet Tooth #11 says that this is going to be ‘the most intense issue yet’ and when I read statements like that about a book that has been pretty intense from the get-go I tend to get a little excited that we might be in for a defining comic moment. Lemire has been building Jeppard’s back-story over a period of 4-5 issues to this point and it’s this issue where it may well hit the crescendo. iZombie has shown some promise in its first couple of issues and with iZombie #3 I suspect that Gwen’s brain-chomping detective skills may just get her into a spot of bother that even her ghostly and were-terrier friends may not be able to help.
Stewart R: Can I please get a “Huzzah, finally!” from the Paradox Comic Group?! Yes indeedy, July 8th 2010 marks the day when Jim Cheung and Allan Heinberg come back together to bring us more Young Avengers antics in Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #1. I LOVED the work that these creators put into the first run of Young Avengers and have come to really like it when the characters turned up in the myriad of events we’ve had since. Jim Cheung sits up there as one of my favourite artists of all time and the man’s sense of scope and scale is phenomenal. The bi-monthly nature of this comic should also give him ample time to bring his very best work to the page and I’m sure Heinberg will make this as exhilarating a Marvel read as he can being a man with a great appreciation for the history of the Avengers and their characterisation.Meanwhile... The Grim Hunt barrels on like an unstoppable predatory beast as Kraven returns from the grave to put even more hurt upon our beloved webslinger. Amazing Spider-Man #636 should be a terrific spider-slugfest as the Kraven family up the ante and target every Spider-related character that lives within the boroughs on New York (which seem to be an awful lot!). I have been enjoying this latest arc and am very interested to see just how Joe Kelly is planning on wrapping this story up in a couple of issues time. Certainly the tough few months that Peter’s been suffering through will leave permanent scars on our hero both physical and mental and I’m sure there’s to be more death on the cards before we read the final page.
There’s a couple of #1s out this week from Marvel’s stable and I’m far more keen on one than I am the other. Hit Monkey #1 (of 3) should be another great opportunity to see the Menacing Macaque continue on his life mission to rid the world of assassins. Where once I scoffed at the character I now cannot wait to see where Daniel Way takes the furry bundle of fury next. The 'Year of the Monkey' starts this very week folks! X-Men #1 on the other hand really worries me. Not only are we seeing the introduction of Vampires into the world of mutants - sorry, did I just hear everyone scream ‘BANDWAGON’?? - but we already have an 'X-Men' title in the form of X-Men Legacy. Mike Carey’s title was simply rebranded at the end of Messiah Complex and kept the numbering, so why are we starting again here? It’s a baffling and frustrating situation and I shall pick up the first issue to see if my fears of this being a waste of time are justified. Bah, vampires, bah!!This could also be a pivotal week for my relationship with Gregg Hurwitz’s vision of Moon Knight as he’s forced to tackle Jake Lockley’s newly appointed membership of the Secret Avengers. Vengeance of the Moon Knight #10 dives straight into Moon Knight's first team involvement with Steve Rogers and Co and considering where Hurritz seemed to be leading us before the Heroic Age came into view I’m not sure that we’re going to be seeing the direction that he maybe wanted to take this book in any time soon. Mind you, Lockley losing the battle against Khonshu's bloodlust could be an interesting subplot for Hurritz and Brubaker to work on...
Is it me or has it been an absolute age since the last issue of Batman and Robin? I think I might be right in saying that we’ve had all three issues of Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne hit the shelves since THAT particular little twisted reveal of Morrison’s in #12. Well Batman and Robin #13 is out this week and I can’t wait to see how Dick Grayson deals with the situation that’s unfolding before his eyes. Morrison has certainly made this tile unmissable since his tenure on it began and I have very little doubt that he’ll make this plot twist work well.
To round things off nicely there are two Vertigo titles to add to the top of my pile; one of which is a constant presence in my pull-list while the other is making a fine argument to be there. The blurb on DC’s website for Sweet Tooth #11 says that this is going to be ‘the most intense issue yet’ and when I read statements like that about a book that has been pretty intense from the get-go I tend to get a little excited that we might be in for a defining comic moment. Lemire has been building Jeppard’s back-story over a period of 4-5 issues to this point and it’s this issue where it may well hit the crescendo. iZombie has shown some promise in its first couple of issues and with iZombie #3 I suspect that Gwen’s brain-chomping detective skills may just get her into a spot of bother that even her ghostly and were-terrier friends may not be able to help. 
2 comments:
Huzzah, finally
There you go Stewart!
Ian, I thank you with the power of one million, exploding suns!
Picked up all my comics today and strangely opted to see how the cliffhanger in Batman & Robin turned out rather than The Children's Crusade first.
Post a Comment