Incoming... 25/08/2010

New comics are released Wednesday (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: Wow, what a stroke of luck! After weeks and weeks of hefty comic orders I’ve finally managed to find a Thursday where I’ll only be picking up 5 new issues which shall be something of a small relief as I’m due to move this very weekend. Despite all the upheaval and hours of packing I’m still looking forward to those odd moments when I’ll be able to sit down and relax with 22 pages of lettered and coloured awesomeness.

One title sticks out from the crowd this week and has me a little torn, the stupidly long title certainly not helping matters! X-Men: Curse of the Mutants - Storm and Gambit #1 ties into the storyline running in the recently launched X-Men title which focuses...*insert groans aplenty here*...on the mutants coming under attack from the various vampire hordes of the world and as a result having to attempt to resurrect the biggest and baddest blood-sucker of them all. In this one shot written by Chuck Kim the X-Men’s two best thieves are charged with infiltrating the enemies stronghold in order to get their hands on the one thing that could possibly end the conflict.

Of course those that read this blog often will probably know that I have a major soft spot for the pencil and ink work of two artistic collaborators and this title has them doing their thing for Marvel once more. Yes, that’s right ladies and gentlemen, Chris Bachalo and Tim Townsend have worked their collective magic again and I simply cannot wait to see what they turn out. I think some of Bachalo’s best work was seen in his brief stints on the old X-Men (now X-Men Legacy) title - Supernovas and Red Data being two arcs well worth checking out - and I suspect that my eyeballs are in for a pleasure-fest.

The rest of my stash is somewhat Marvel heavy with Captain America #609 probably being the next comic of note. Ed Brubaker finally seems to be steering the ship back towards the golden waters that previously saw the Paradox Comic Group consistently putting the title in their top ten lists and with Bucky remaining as Cap the potential for more Winter Soldier-related misery and tension could make this an unmissable story over the coming months.

While on the subject of ‘unmissable’ I think it’s fair to say that with Brubaker’s Secret Avengers title throwing up plenty of Nick Fury queries and questions, Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Warriors #19 has possibly stepped across into ‘must have’ territory as we edge ever nearer to the events that set Fury on his current course. Hickman has been building and building this storyline over the past two years and I am really excited to see just how everything is going to tie together. There is certainly a chance that it could all fall flat at the last moment but SW has been consistently entertaining and I’d be surprised to see any drop in quality here.

To round off the Marvel side of things I’ll also be picking up Spider-Man Presents: American Son #4 but mostly to complete the set rather than any huge feeling of overwhelming anticipation. Unfortunately, like many other Spider-Man tie ins, I already have the feeling that this will all be for nothing and that no permanent changes will befall Peter Parker’s life as a result of this American Son scenario. A shame really as there was promise for a title such as this.

Finally, I’ll be picking up Action Comics #892 written by Paul Cornell. I really did enjoy #890 as it showed Lex Luthor really being in his calculating and dominating element and though the following issue wasn’t quite as accomplished it’s quite clear that Mr Cornell is a writer who grasps just how intelligent and how determined Lex is in his motives and pursuits. I’m hoping that this latest issue may give the bald brain box some real competition to go up against but I guess that, as always, we shall just have to wait and see!