The Pull List (2-10-10): What I'm not getting this week

Suddenly, it's late in the day and I've got to assume most people have either picked up their comics or have already decided what titles they'll be getting this week. So instead of telling you what I'm planning to get once I make it to my LCS, here's a few comics I WON'T be getting:

Green Arrow/Black Canary #29: I actually really want to get this, as much as I want to really enjoy a Green Arrow comic again. But I'm afraid neither one will be happening today, as tempted as I am by art that's been finished by Bill Sienkiewicz. The recent storyline — something about an obsessed Arrow fan who suddenly can hold her own in a superhero fight or something? — has left me cold, and a constantly brooding Ollie gets old really fast. And while this is the last issue in the current storyline, the promos for the upcoming one trumpeting "spinning out of Justice League: Cry for Justice" don't exactly fill me with hope.


Human Target #1: Look, I love the Human Target, both it's Silver Age version and the excellent reimagining by Peter Milligan. And I was initially excited to see one of Christopher Chance's creators, Len Wein, would be writing a six-issue mini-series starring the master-of-disguise, deep-undercover bodyguard. Except, that's not what Wein will be doing. Instead, the series will more closely follow the recently kicked-off TV series, which has done away completely with everything that made Human Target interesting — namely the disguise angle, and all the questions about identity and Chance's eroding sense of self that went with it. Why is this called Human Target, again?


Hit-Monkey #1: No. No, no, no, no, no. I refuse to slip into Marvel's latest meme-trap. I gave up on the zombies, and I managed to completely ignore the monkeys the first time, so I will not fall for an obviously silly story about an ape with a gun and ... and ...

... monnnkeeeeys ...



(Oh, OK — and here's what I will be getting this week:)

Anchor #5

Batman and Robin #8

Booster Gold #29

Daytripper #3

Muppet King Arthur #1

Muppet Show #2


Preview: Green Arrow/Black Canary #29
Preview: Human Target #1
Preview: Hit-Monkey #1

I got nothin'

So Random Spidey is go!





Yeah, I ... I don't know what's going in that last one.


BONUS!

Batman gives Alfred the day off!

Friday Night Fights: The final countdown!

It's the final round of Friday Night Fights: Feet of Fury, and like the West Coast Sharks I'm in it to win it!

With victory in sizzling in my brain, I've unleashed the most brutal, the most classic, the most iconic face-plant in history. Witness the Grimmest Son of Gotham putting the hurt on the Kryptonite Kid!


It's so packed with awesome, I'm surprised no one else has ... has ...

... aw, crap.



Panel from Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Frank Miller, writer and artist

Special thanks to Scott for asking me to play along!

Check out more Great Caesar's Post here — g'wan, make with the clicky-clicky.

Smell my feet

Hoo-boy.

Let me tell you, it ain't easy to get back into the semi-regular posting after a vacation filled with cloudy weather, chowdah and almost no Internet access. And have I mentioned that I visited H.P. Lovecraft's grave? IN THE RAIN?! 'Cause I did.

Aaaaaaanyway, I haven't even really had a chance to catch up on my comic book reading yet ...

(Longish aside: OK, I did read Justice League of America #38 since it was the "jumping on point" with James Robinson taking over the writing and also since I'm a JLA fan from way back, and I was ... unimpressed. I still don't understand DC's insistence on forcing Vixen down reader's throats, and you obviously need to have read other titles to know what the hell's going on. Not exactly reader-friendly. But! I really, really enjoy what Robinson and Greg Rucka have been doing with Superman: World of New Krypton, so I'm going to give it a chance to pull its meandering head out of its stilted ass. That is all.)

... wait. What was I saying? Oh, yeah — I'm still getting caught up on recent comics. I'm also struggling with full-on Halloween fever, so with that in mind here are some tricks 'n' treats for you. I love you, no matter what your mother says.

First, the treat:


Katie Cook is a master of the phenomenally cute illustration, as well as incredibly inventive papercraft. A case in point is this awesome Batman mask (Adam West style, yo) that you can print out and make for yourself! It's pretty great, and you can download the full version — complete with instructions — at her Web site.

And the trick:

I'm not saying it's right, but let's acknowledge for a minute that, once you reach a certain age and temperament, a person might not worry so much about candy as much as wrecking someone else's shit in the name of All Hallow's Eve. I'm not condoning it — VANDALISM IS WRONG — but I won't say I never threw an egg or roll of toilet paper in my day. I may have even spray-painted something on a wall here or there, and I know if the conditions were right I might even be tempted to use this:


Behold the affirmation of all things Fury. Beautiful in its simplicity of image and message, the complete version of this stencil by Joe D! can be found and downloaded in all its flag-wavin', black-ops glory at his site.

Y'know, just in case you run out of candy or something.

And now, a random image of Godzilla with a parasol.

The Pull List (10-7-09): The house of Strange ideas

Here's the definition of "good times:" My telenovela ended with a wicked-crazy self-immolation, I recently acquired a collection of all four Christopher Reeve Superman movies, today is my 14th wedding anniversary AND it's new comics day!

If someone dressed as Princess Leia brings me pie, I'm gonna keel over with a big, stupid smile on my face.

But before that happens, let's talk comics!


Strange Tales #2 (of 3): I've been pretty picky lately where Marvel comics are concerned, mostly because the all-more-common price bump to $3.99 forces me to be choosier and because I'm not that big a fan of X-titles and crossover events written by Brian Michael Bendis. But while the cover price for Strange Tales is a full buck more, it is worth every penny (and not just because it's thankfully Bendis-free).

Pulling together some of the best writers and artists from indie comics, the Strange Tales anthology series is proving to be a wonderfully self-deprecating and lovingly delivered ode to the Mighty Marvel Manner. Most of the stories poke fun at the inherent silliness of superhero comics, but at the same time hit all the right notes to remind readers that these are the reasons we love the characters in the first place. This title is just fun, and it's nice to see the publisher apparently giving the creators the freedom to pull it off so well.

If you can take your superheroes with a grain of salt, and want to see some great work by writers and artists who aren't usually found in these spandexed circles, check this one out. You can also see a preview of Strange Tales #2 here.



What else is on the list

Batman and Robin #5: Philip Tan's artwork, while fine in other instances, just doesn't seem to fit on this title. It's not enough to take a lot away from Grant Morrison's note-perfect story about the adventures of the new Dynamic Duo, but it's enough to be distracting. I'm looking forward to past Morrison collaborator Cameron Stewart taking over on art with issue #7. Download the preview for issue #5 and see what you think.

Superman: World of New Krypton #8: I like Superman, OK?! And it doesn't hurt that writers James Robinson and Greg Rucka are putting together something that shines a new-but-familiar light on the qualities that make Superman interesting. Every issue advances the plot, gives the reader insight into the characters and ramps up the consequences for Clark by putting him into a steadily more complicated situation, all of which makes me happy. Punching an asteroid is easy, but what do you do when you're put in charge of a super-powered army? Check out a preview here.

Sweet Tooth #2: Weird, slightly menacing and undeniably melancholy, Jeff Lemire's Sweet Tooth is only two issues in and promises to be essential reading, so get to it.

X-Men vs Agents of Atlas: OK, remember what I said earlier about not being into X-Men books? Well, this is an exception. No doubt trying to get readers for the always excellent — but criminally ignored — Agents of Atlas, the regular series is being suspended for this mash-up with the ever-popular band of mutants. In a strange twist, this spray-cheeze and cracker combo is having the opposite affect (in my mind, at least) and making me buy an X-Men book because my beloved Agents are in it and because Jeff Parker's writing it. You win this round, mutants! You can also read a preview and root for the Agents here.


And maybe ...

Daredevil #501: Ed Brubaker's out, but Andy Diggle is in, making it hard to wait for the trade.

A Distant Neighborhood Vol. 1 and The Summit of the Gods Vol. 1: Both of these are by Jiro Taniguchi, and they both look beautiful. The plot of A Distant Neighborhood, while a familiar time-travel trope, still sounds interesting. Check out both at the link.

Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural #1: I'm not gonna lie — this looks kinda awesome. That, or it's going to be terrible. It could really go either way.

Haunt #1: OK, not really — I just wanted an excuse to post McFarlane's Spider-Spawn cover.


Woof!


Waiting for the trade

Criminal: The Sinners #1

Doom Patrol #3

Greek Street #4

Irredeemable #7

Jersey Gods #8

King City #2

The Muppets: Robin Hood (trade paperback)


Waiting for the library

Peter and Max: A Fables Novel (hard cover)

What are you getting this week? And where's my pie?!

Items! Of! Interest!

You know who can't be stopped? Well, yeah, Godzilla, but y'know who else? Kevin Church, the Internet's cheeriest comics and pop culture blogger who also happens to be a damn fine comic creator in his own right.

If you follow GCP regularly (or semi-regularly, as the case may be, and if so, why is that the case, jerk?!), you already know I'm a fan of The Rack and its limited series spin-off Lydia. This time Church is doing something a bit different with She Died in Terrebone, a crime/mystery strip he's writing, with art by T.J. Kirsch. There are four prelude strips that do a nice job of setting the story's tone and introducing the main characters, as well as giving readers a feel for Kirsch's appropriately rangy artwork, and the first story arc is already two strips in — get in on the story before all the other kids laugh at you.

As if that wasn't enough, Church is also partnering with artist Ming Doyle on another new humor strip called The Loneliest Astronauts, launching tomorrow! The premise sounds great, well-suited to Church's shank-to-the-kidney style of humor, and I can't wait to see Doyle's sketchy take on the trappings of life in outer space.

...

Behold! The Batman sketches of Eliza Gauger!


Are you man enough to handle the most disturbing Underoos ever?!?

...

Finally, I'm not doing this comic justice with a blurb but I wanted to make sure I mentioned Underground — by writer Jeff Parker and artist Steve Lieber — and how you should be reading the hell out of it.

Underground is a crime story involving dirty land developers, Native American concerns, park rangers with hearts of gold and, of course, a cave that serves as a character in its own right. Parker is writing a script that smolders with the kind of menace only greedy, amoral and all-t00-human characters can bring, and Lieber delivers the knowing touch for depicting nature and realistic facial expressions that helped make Whiteout famous.

My only gripe would be the coloring by Ron Chan, which seemed rushed or blocky in places throughout the first issue. This could just be a matter of bad registration off the press, and it certainly isn't enough to take away from what is shaping up to be a winning comic.

If you haven't read it yet there are previews of issues #1 and #2 at the Web site, and you can also download a black-and-white version of the full first issue there — so get to it!

Adventures in Sound — Part 9

Click for full (sound) effect!

Panel from Batman and Robin #3
Artist: Frank Quitely

Behold ...!

THE BAT KNUCKLES

This alternate cover art by Philip Tan for Batman and Robin #5 was actually released a few weeks ago, but it was just when it was re-released today as part of the San Diego Comic-Con announcements that I noticed Batman's knuckle-dusters! Aaah ... it really is the little things that can make your day, ain't it?

Oh, and just in case you're inspired by Batman's example ... well, there are always these.

A recent acquisition

Of course, I blame Sims.

The Pull List (7-1-09): The rise of Steve Rogers

Yes, I realize this is the latest step in some big marketing plan over at Marvel, and yes, I'm tired of the Big Two cynically killing off popular characters only with the plan to even more cynically bring them back to life eventually and, assumedly, with a bump in profits.

But.

But in the case of Captain America: Reborn #1 it all comes down to one simple thing: Ed Brubaker. Brubaker is a capital-W writer, and he's been laying the groundwork for this story — which should already be considered a milestone in the character's history — for years. YEARS. And, with very few bumpy issues here and there, it has been exceptionally solid. Wait, rewind, let's edit that: It's been exceptional. Period.

With Captain America, Brubaker brings his noir sensibility to what could easily be tossed off as just another superhero comic. But in a way he's brought Captain America back to its espionage roots, rounding up and tightening a supporting cast that spans decades and myriad storylines and making it mean something. It's a complex (but not complicated) plot, and no easy feat, but Brubaker makes it seem like a slice of warm pie.

How good has Brubaker's run been with Captain America? Good enough that the Captain America character has been "dead" for more than two years and the series is as strong as ever. I'm sure there has been plenty of direction from the Marvel editorial honchos, but I'm pretty confident that the story is Brubaker's. It makes a difference.

So yes, I'm looking forward to seeing the return of Steve Rogers, because I'm looking forward to seeing where the story itself goes next. Want to get a jump on it yourself? Here's a handy prelude!


What else is on the list

Agents of Atlas #7

Batman and Robin #2

Greek Street #1

Muppet Robin Hood #2

The Muppet Show #4


And maybe ...

Justice League: Cry for Justice #1

Star Wars: Invasion #1


Waiting for the trade

El Diablo: The Haunted Horseman (trade paperback)

Secret Six #11


Waiting for the library

Chew #2

Daredevil: Noir #4


Recommended

Tales Designed to Thrizzle Vol. 1 (hardcover)

The Pull List (6-3-09): To the Batmobile!

I know it probably seems as if I just squee and drop my pants in excitement every time Grant Morrison has a new book coming out, but I can't help but be really excited about Batman and Robin #1.

Pairing up again with artist Frank Quitely, the team is hopefully going to do for the Dynamic Duo what they did for the Man of Steel with All Star Superman — which was SUPERB. Morrison and Quitely's AS Superman was some of the best recent work from two talented creators, and I don't see any reason they wouldn't be able to carry that same momentum over into this new title.

On top of that (correct me if I'm wrong, Internets!), I think this is the first full appearance of Dick Grayson in the cowl with Damian as the Boy Wonder. Normally this transition would have me hoping for the best while expecting the worst, but I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing how Morrison handles it. And I know I say it whenever it comes up, but Quitely's art just gets better and better, and what I've seen of this title looks fantastic (you can see some preview pages right here).

I haven't bought a Batman title regularly in years; Batman and Robin #1 is changing that.


What else is on the list

Agents of Atlas #6

Atomic Robo and the Shadow From Beyond Time #2

Captain Britain and MI-13 Annual #1

The Muppet Show #3

Seaguy: The Slaves of Mickey Eye #3

Superman: World of New Krypton #4


And maybe ...

Captain Blood: Odyssey #1: Damn my weakness for pirate stories! Actually, I'm tempted by the idea that it's supposedly faithful to the original novel, and the interior art looks appropriately lush (though, what's up with that cover? Blech.).

Final Crisis Aftermath: Run #2: This might have to wait until trade, but I like that it's unapologetically meant to be a mini-series "full of trashy humor and unneccessary violence." A preview is available from the DC site, in case you're still trying to make up your mind, too.

Timestorm 2009-2099: Spider-Man: Ha ha ha!! Just kidding — I couldn't resist pointing out that incredibly lame-o name. Timestorm ... hee!


Waiting for the trade

Secret Six #10

Jersey Gods #5


Waiting for the library

Mighty #5

Chew #1


Recommended

Daredevil Omnibus Vol. 1 (Brubaker and Lark): I normally try to avoid recommending hard covers or collections that are just, y'know, FREAKIN' EXPENSIVE. But if you're a fan of well-written noir that just happens to be about a blind superhero — and you've got an extra $74.99 laying around — this collection by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark is well worth it (it's also available from Amazon for a very reasonable $47). The creative team just consistently put Daredevil through the wringer, and makes you care about Matt Murdock and the people around him every inch of the way. It's great storytelling, and will likely go down as a definitive time in the character's development. If you can, you should pick it up.

Comics in the Wild: Justice comes cheap

Bruce didn't know which was more humiliating — the fact he had been deeply discounted, or the Bunny's clean getaway.


Found in the Target clearance aisle
Austin, TX

Morrison and Quitely? To the Batcave, chum!

Most people probably know about this already, but I'm pretty excited about the news that Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely will be the creative team for the new Batman & Robin series. Slated to launch in June, the title will be coming on the heels of the pairs' excellent All Star Superman, which combined Morrison's sky-high concepts with Quitely's best art to date.

These two work extremely well together, and seem to have that rare alchemy that brings out the best in each other. And no offense to All Star Batman & Robin's #1 fan, but I think this will be the series ASBAR should have been.

CAN'T. WAIT.

via Robot 6

In case you missed the debate ...

Friday Night Fights: Batgirl takes your breath away

Since I'm starting a long weekend out of time today, I was worried I might miss this week's round of Bahlactus-fueled beat-downs. But then I remembered — Batgirl's always got my back.

Oh, yeah ... things are in good hands.

Following a link? Check out more Great Caesar's Post here! (And hey, why don't you subscribe to the feed while you're at it?)

Panels from Detective Comics #526
Gerry Conway, writer; Don Newton and Alfredo Alcala, artists

Someone will die!

I've been slacking a little with the updates, but when I see a beloved hero on the verge of being wiped out because of some arbitrary editorial edict — well, there's no time to waste. Consider this a call to action! A call to arms! We cannot, we will not, stand for this!

Oh. Well. At least we know this won't end up with some lame resurrection story or something.

The Pull List (8-13-08): Letter from the underground

Do you have any idea how hard it is to post a blog update when your boss has been in and out of your work area all day?

Not that I blog from work. Because that would be wrong.

Um ... to the list!

(No time for commentary this time around, but feel free to discuss any of this week's comics in the comments.)


Getting ...


Atomic Robo: Dogs of War #1

Batman #679

Booster Gold #11

Cthulhu Tales #4

Fall of Cthulhu: Godwar #1

Hellboy: The Crooked Man #2

Wonder Woman #23


Maybe ...


Blade of the Warrior Kshatriya #1

Golly #1

Welcome to Hoxford #1


Trading up ...
(Titles I either am, or will be, picking up in trade)

BPRD: The Warning #2

Firebreather #2

Green Lantern Corps #27

The Middleman: The Collected Series Indispensability (trade paperback)


Recommended ...


The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard (trade paperback)

Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt (trade paperback): Yes, really.

Contest: That other Batman movie

So, as I've been hinting at here and there, the blog will be going quiet for a few days as I visit family in Veracruz this week (according to my niece, the forecast calls for mostly humid with a 99 percent chance of mosquitos). I'm hoping to get my hands on plenty of classic Spanish-language comics while I'm there, but getting to a computer for any real amount of time before next week looks doubtful.

So how about a contest?

There's been a lot of talk about that guy-who-dresses-like-a-giant-bat movie that came out a couple of weeks ago, but true connoisseurs know the really tasty cheese can be found in 1966's Batman: The Movie.

Yup, we're talking Adam West as the Caped Crusader, Burt Ward as the Boy Wonder and a cast of really very good actors as the bad guys who terrorize Gotham by chewing all the scenery. I've seen more than one review of The Dark Knight that compares Heath Ledger's Joker to Cesar Romero's as a definitive interpretation of the Clown Prince of Crime, and there's a good reason why — Cesar Romero. Is. Awesome.


If you've never seen it, B:TM also stars everyone from the television series, including Romero, Frank Gorshin as The Riddler, Lee Meriwether as Catwoman, and Burgess Meredith as The Penguin (though I keep expecting him to tell Gorshin that he's going to "eat lightnin' and crap thunder.") More specifically, it's the one with the notorious "Bat-shark repellent" scene and a master plan that hinges on a dehydration weapon (hmmm ... sounds familiar ...).

Thanks to the folks over at Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (geez, that's a mouthful), I've got a copy of the recently released special edition, Blu-Ray disc Batman: The Movie, and I want you to have it. The rules are simple: Comment on this post, and in a week I'll take the names of everyone listed and pick one at random, and we'll have our winner. Anonymous posters won't be counted, but everyone else will have a chance.


And just so you know what's so special about the special edition, here are some of the disc's bonus features:

• Commentary by actors Adam West and Burt Ward
• Commentary by screenwriter Lorenzo Semple, Jr.
• All-new high-definition featurettes:
Batman: A Dynamic Legacy
Caped Crusaders: A Heroes Tribute
Gotham City’s Most Wanted
• 2001 35th Anniversary Piece Featuring Interviews with Adam West and Burt Ward
• The Batmobile Revealed with George Barris
• Pop-Up trivia track
• Original Teaser and Theatrical Trailers
• Galleries

So get crackin', and I'll see you next week!

Hey, check out my briefs

Between trips out of town and the resulting backlog at work, posting here at GCP has been even spottier than usual — but that doesn't mean I haven't been around! Here are some of the things that have been in the back of my mind recently:

No, I haven't seen it yet. I know, I know — but it hasn't been because of a lack of desire, that's for sure (especially after I saw Church's and Sims' spoiler-free reviews). I tried to see it yesterday, but tickets had already sold out for the next two showings so I'm planning to try again this afternoon. But you know what's the worst part, worse than the anticipation or trying to avoid the inevitable spoilers? Here it is: My mom has already seen The Dark Knight.

My mom.

---

Speaking of lame, what's up with Christian Bale? It's never right to assault anybody, but your mother and sister?! I'm hoping — probably foolishly — that the allegations somehow turn out to be false, but we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, my selfish fanboy soul hopes this doesn't end up reflecting badly on the movie. Stupid Christian Bale.

Edit to Add: Thankfully, the whole thing doesn't seem to be as bad as the media reports first made it sound. Bale denies the allegations, the cops don't seem too stressed about it, and even his mother and sister seem to be downplaying the so-called incident. It's also important to note the definition of "assault" is different in England and in this case basically seems to mean he angrily hollered at people. Under that definition, I'd be considered a repeat offender. All in all, it seems to be no big deal — just the sort of thing that happens within families every Thanksgiving. It actually bothers me more that Fox seems to be the only ones following up on this story.

---

Speaking of movies, after seeing the trailer for the Watchmen movie, I'm getting more and more (cautiously) optimistic about the final product. I'm still a little worried about what's going to go into the movie and what's going to have to come out, but as long as the core concepts are included I think it'll turn out alright. So far it looks pretty good, and while Nite Owl is a little more buff than I expected, Dr. Manhattan is damn near perfect.

Also, this picture of the original Minutemen is pretty fantastic:

That's kind of what you would expect costumes in the 40s to look like, right? Sorta homemade and goofy looking. I appreciate that someone is paying attention to little details like that, instead of just going for wall-to-wall "WaTChmEn RUleZ!!"

---

So, I haven't read any Spider-Man books regularly for a while now (the clones did it to me), but I might have to pick this one up when it comes out in August just for the Adi Granov cover alone:

Positive reviews keep floating around, so this may be what gets me to finally give the post-Brand New Day Spidey a chance. Or not. We'll have to wait to see if Amazing Spider-Man Family #1 is any good or just a bunch of crap wrapped in a really beautiful cover.

---

As I mentioned at the beginning of this ramble, I've been out of town a lot lately and I'll be traveling again late next week (helloooo, Veracruz! Home of some of the best coffee ever as well as soul-crushing humidity).

Of course, that's also the same time the mighty Bahlactus will be hosting the first round of his latest Friday Night Fights bout, so I'm either going to be really, really early with my entry or I'm going to be experimenting with the scheduling function on Blogger. Either way, prepare for potential weirdness! I've been a longtime FNF participant and I've always appreciated how much work Bahlactus obviously puts into it, so I'm not about to miss one now — especially since the Big B hints that this might be the final fight.

If that's the case, I hope you'll join me in a proper salute.

The Pull List (5-29-08): That's a whole lotta Morrison

Holy crap! Three different books by Grant Morrison coming out in the same week, along with some of my favorite ongoing titles?! Let's just say that if my weekly comic budget was a diet, I'd be stuffing my face with cupcakes and spare ribs ... delicious, delicious spare ribs.

Who else is hungry? To the list!

It's no secret Grant Morrison is one of my favorite writers, so when he's the source of three fairly significant titles coming out at the same time, it's kind of a big deal. Big enough that the only way I can wrap my mind around it is to squeeze All Star Superman #11, Batman #677 and Final Crisis #1 into one big lump of weirdo goodness.

All Star Superman has been a consistently strong title, re-energizing Superman with plenty of Morrison's hyper-modern, out-there concepts while fondly touching on iconic characters, locations and scenarios. There is nothing about AS Superman that doesn't feel as if it's solidly two minutes in the future, but at the same time it is nicely familiar and exceptionally inviting. A lot of the credit for that goes to the characterization of Superman himself, who is portrayed as the ideal hero who, essentially, is just trying to be the best person he can be. I have no idea if Morrison will revisit his version of Superman once this storyline ends with the next issue, but if not, at least I'll be able to reread and enjoy what will be considered a landmark Superman story.

As if that weren't enough, Morrison is also the writer for Batman #677 (part of the Batman R.I.P. story) and Final Crisis #1. Morrison writes an interesting Batman, and more importantly an interesting Bruce Wayne, so I'm curious to see where he takes things. Final Crisis is supposed to be the definitive wrap-up to the whole Infinite Crisis-52-Countdown thing, but really sounds more like it ties into his excellent (and mind-bending) Seven Soldiers "mega-series." Personally, that sounds A-OK to me and makes me care more about a story I might have chosen to ignore instead.


The rest ...

Giant-size Astonishing X-Men #1: The finale to Joss Whedon's big ol' X-Men in Space story.

Blue Beetle #27: Another issue written by pinch-hitters while the title transitions to a new, permanent creative team in July. Also — more Traci Thirteen.

Daredevil #107: Great crime-noir driven stuff every month about Marvel's mopiest superhero. It's the start of a new storyline, so try jumping on if you haven't already.

Immortal Iron Fist #15: Not only has the regular storyline been a fantastic blend of mystic kung-fu, superhero scenery chewing and sinister political machinations (not to mention a super-sumo named Fat Cobra), but the occasional looks at the Iron Fists of the past have been a highlight of this series. It's a clever way at deepening the legend of the Iron Fist and helps give Danny Rand an honest-to-God legacy; it also gives us titles like, "The Story of the Iron Fist Bei Bang-Wen — The Perfect Strategy Mind and his Miraculous Travels to the Dark Continent, and What Mysteries of the World and of the Self that He Learned There (1827-1860)."


Trading up ...
(Titles I either am, or will be, picking up in trade)

Fables #73

Green Lantern #31

Thor #9


Maybe ...

Firebreather #1

Zombie Tales #1

Beyond #1


Recommended ...

Immortal Iron Fist Vol. 2: The Seven Capital Cities of Heaven (hardcover)

Jack Kirby's OMAC: One Man Army Corps (hardcover)

The Nearly Complete Essential Hembeck Archives Omnibus (trade paperback)