Incoming... 21/07/2010

New comics are released tomorrow (in the States at least; we have to wait until Thursday in the UK!). Here's a brief look at our expectations for the books we're picking up this week.


Stewart R: I think everyone probably looked at their pile of comics awaiting them at their local comic book shop last Wednesday and Thursday, felt the weight and then got on the phone to three strong and able-bodied friends to help them carry it all home. It wasn’t approaching ‘chore’ status to read through the ridiculous wedge of material because I didn’t read anything terrible thankfully, but I am certainly glad that this week is looking a touch on the skinny side in terms of bulk.

I’ll start with DC as I’m only picking up one, yes ONE thing from DC or sister house Vertigo this week and no I am not starting to pick up Brightest Day again! The one title that gets my full attention this week is Batman Beyond #2 which I have pretty high hopes for based on the strong first outing. The debut issue really captured the feel of the animated series and I really enjoyed revisiting a world that I felt should have received a longer exposure time from the Warner Bros studio. Adam Beechen’s story is also showing some real promise and I’m certainly intrigued to see if he involves any other villains from Terry’s rogues gallery as well as Bruce Wayne’s former foes.

The one other non-Marvel title I’ll be grabbing hold of this week comes surprisingly out of IDW’s doors as Larry Hama returns to the title that he worked tirelessly on for many a year as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #156 gets a release over a decade on from where the story was left. Hama is turning things on its head for this arc with Cobra being hired by a desperate US Government to protect it from a spate of terrorist attacks and naturally Cobra Commander puts out warrants on all of the Joes’ heads. Apparently Snake Eyes doesn’t take too kindly to that type of behaviour so we may well have some pissed off ninja action from artist Augustin Padilla betwixt the pages. The big question is whether Hama can keep both a sense of nostalgia and a feeling of freshness in his writing and I’ve got my fingers crossed hoping that he can.


And so we saunter into Marvel territory once again... where we find that actually there isn’t a huge amount coming out of their doors this week either. I’m taking a guess that the time of the month and impending arrival of the hallowed San Diego Comic Convention may possibly have had an effect on the print schedule for most of the publishers. There are still however some titles that will garner my interest. The Grim Hunt ended in something of a toothless fashion and with some shake-ups in the works in how the premier Spider-Man title is going to be written and released there may be troubled times ahead. Amazing Spider-Man #638 is the beginning of One Moment In Time, an arc that will take us back to that pivotal moment at Peter and Mary Jane’s wedding where love did not conquer all and brought us down the divergent path of the Brand New Day.

I’ve read a few articles and news pieces here and there which have pretty much confirmed that Marvel aren’t going to backtrack on the separation scenario with Peter and MJ as it’s too hard and restrictive to write for Spider-Man when he’s married. It looks like the fans will just have to take their lumps and ride with whatever Quesada and Co come up for us in this flashback and go from there. The $3.99 price tag is still an annoyance on a book that comes out thrice monthly but if they capture the correct tone with this alternate take on comic history then it should take the sting out of the tail.

The recent announcement about the premature end of Jeff Parker and Gabriel Hardman’s Atlas series is something of a blow considering the wonderful work the pair of them had put into building up the mystery and magic of the World of Atlas over the past few years, producing some enthralling stories involving Jimmy Woo, Namora and The Uranian. Atlas #3 continues the story involving the 3D Man and his ability to see what is usually masked from everyone else and I really hope that these creators, who have really worked hard to give this team the great stories that they deserve, manage to wrap things up the way they want to with the last three instalments.

But of course where Mr Parker is writing endings to one series he’s just getting warmed up in another and I’m positive that Thunderbolts #146 is going to be yet another spellbinding read as the team of villains and misfits continue to learn to work together. The art from Kev Walker has been crisp and fresh and there’s now a real sense in this series that Parker has been able to build the team that he wants rather than being left to deal with the remnants of another writer’s efforts. The last issue ended on something of a cliffhanger and the blurb on the Marvel website about this issue seems to jump away from where we left off so we might be going into this week’s offering in something of a blind fashion. Exciting isn’t it?!