5 Comics To Watch

 

Indestructible Hulk #9 (Marvel) – While I’ve been impressed with Indestructible Hulk so far, I haven’t fully jumped on the bandwagon. However, if we keep getting awesome 3-4 issue stories like this Waid/Simonson Hulk/Thor team up, I’m in for the long term. Seriously, if you can, grab issues #7, 8 & 9 and relive the good old days of superhero comics…only it looks 10 times better than it did back then. Hulk Smash indeed!

 

Justice League of America #4 (D.C.) – For some reason, when I think of the new JSA book, I think of X-Men. I know its D.C. and these aren’t ‘mutants’, but this team books has a freshness and energy about it, not unlike that of Earth 2, but an energy in a team book that feels very much what I expect to get out of an X-Men book. Maybe Justice League is D.C.’s Avengers and JLA is the X-Men? Mutant or no, this series has been great right out of the gates, and looks to build on an already solid Geoff-Johns-laid foundation.

 

New Avengers #6 (Marvel) – Speaking of foundation builders, the wunderkid himself Jonathan Hickman has been building his Avengers brand slowly but surely, and we’re about to get to some of the really juicy parts of his story with the build-up to Infinity this Summer. I’m very much looking forward to seeing how Cap finally puts the pieces together, and how far down this unknown road the Illuminati will travel before they mess things up in a big way. You can just sense it coming. You had plenty of warning with this book…so if you find yourself on the outside looking in this Summer, complaining that you don’t ‘get’ the latest Marvel Event that is happening…you only really have yourself to blame.

 

The Wake #1 (Vertigo) – As a Batman fan, Scott Snyder has already punched his ticket to comic book immortality with his run on Batman (and pre-New 52 Detective Comics). He’s also responsible for the fantastic Vertigo series American Vampire, as well as the great Swamp Thing NEW 52 series, the Image horror series Severed, and the upcoming Superman Unchained book with artist Jim Lee. Yes. He’s on fire! So the fact that he’s got another creator inspired series on Vertigo called The Wake coming out this week, you better believe people are talking about it. This deep sea/horror/historical fiction book looks like it could be a real sleeper hit, not to mention the cool Sean Murphy art. I highly recommend checking this series out and picking up the #1!

 

X-Men #1 (Marvel) – Another book getting its start is the all-female led X-Men book. I for one am a huge fan of female-centric books, be they solo or team books. Uncanny X-Force, to Batwoman and Batgirl, to X-23, I just enjoy strong female characters and the dynamic they bring a superhero story . So it’s kind of surprising its taken this long for Marvel to find a reason to have a team book with only female X-Men, as there are a number of strong, interesting and diverse female characters who have been on the team at one point or another. And with Hope being a central figure in most of Marvel’s recent history, it only makes sense that more of the female heroes ‘stepping up’ to fill the leadership void now that Professor X is out of the picture. So why not an all-girl X-Men team? Maybe they can do it better? Uncanny X-Force NOW! got the ball rolling, but now it’s the big team’s turn. I think this could be an awesome series if done right.

 

 

Hidden Gems

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #22 (IDW) – I was a pretty big TMNT fan back in the day, so to see IDW do such a great job with this series since issue #1 (along with the sweet Micro Series and History of the Foot Clan Mini’s) has been nice to see. The turtles feel both retro and modern at the same time, and the combination of the slow build approach and the focus on characters has really helped push this series to where it is today. And that would be at the beginning of a pretty big ‘event’ in TMNT called ‘City Fall’. I think it was the teaser shot of Leonardo in Foot Clan gear that did it for me.

 

Also Out This Week

 

D.C. has Adventures of Superman #1, Batman Dark Knight Annual #1, Catwoman Annual #1, Earth 2 Annual #1 and Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual #1.

 

Marvel also has Avenging Spider-Man #21, Captain America #7 NOW!, Fury MAX #12, Gambit #13, Iron Man #258.4, Uncanny X-Force #5 NOW!, Savage Wolverine #5 NOW!, Wolverine and the X-Men #30 and Venom #35.

 

There’s also B.P.R.D. Vampire #3, My Little Pony Micro Series #4, Star Trek #21, GI Joe #4, Chew #34, Five Weapons #4 and Thief of Thieves #14.

 

Trade Watch

 

There are some popular series coming to trade this week. Fan favourite Deadpool NOW! Vol 1 TP, personal favourite Thor: God of Thunder NOW! Vol 1 HC, the hit series Superior Spider-Man NOW! Vol 1 TP and All-New X-Men NOW! Vol 2 HC, as well as the underrated Superboy Vol 2 TP.

– S-1