Comic Book Resources

Punisher MAX #50 is by far my most anticipated book of the month, so I’m going to have to voice my support for it here. It’s a double sized issue of one of the most consistently well-written series running today, with Howard Chaykin doing fill-in art and the return of Barracuda, who is probably Ennis’s greatest villain since The Russian.

I’m not crazy about Chaykin’s interpretation of Barracuda based off the previews, but Goran Parlov is gonna be back on board after this issue anyway.

Jonah Hex! Done in one, right?

If you’re not going to get FF/PP, then there are worse things than you can do than giving New Warriors a shot. I think things will finally be picking up a bit with issue 3.

Past that, there’s the Zemo trade and the Wisdom trade, both of which were really pretty good and will likely read even better in one sitting.

Is Marvel: Tarot sort of a Handbook thinger? They usually get pretty creative if they’re trying to do the handbooks in a certain style, like the completely awesome Bloodstone files for Marvel Monsters.

Oh wait, Defillips and Weir are doing the Nightwing/Boomerang Outsiders thing. That’s probably my pick then. They don’t get nearly enough mainstream comic work anymore.

this week, I’m getting: Action Comics, Atom, American Virgin, Black Canary, Countdown, Detective Comics, Jonah Hex, JSA, Metal Men, Welcome to Tranquility, and Uncanny X-men.

Get Jonah Hex

I’d suggest Inanna’s Tears, because the preview looks interesting, but I see you’ve already got one of Archaia’s new titles on the list.

How about Spider-Man/Red Sonja #1? It has the potential of being … well, something worth remarking on, anyways. I’m kind of dubious, but it’s such a silly idea that I’ll have to try the first issue at least.

I heard from somebody who oughta know these things that ‘Thor’ #2 is actually good; he said that #1 sucked, and that turned out to be the common consensus (it seems), so he might be right on this one too.

Ya forgot: Conan and the Midnight Gods # 5 (final issue)
Dark Tower: Gunslinger Born # 7 (final issue)
Supernatural: Origins # 4 (not the final issue)
Spawn: Godslayer # 3 (never the final issue)

Cuz’ I’m such a guy!

The only one I’m getting from this week’s haul is The All-New Atom. You should get that.

The Black Canary mini is really good. And comics should be good.

I’m also checking out the return of the Frightful Four in FF. Last issue was set-up, so if you’re looking for some good action, this is presumably the place. Sue, all alone, has to fight them all — she’s stranded on Titan, I think? One of Saturn’s moons, or maybe Jupiter’s — while Reed and the current team all watch helplessly from Earth.

I’ll second the Zemo trade, but only if you’re a fan of the Busiek/Nicenza Thunderbolts and the character work they did transforming him from a villain to a good guy.

Also, Metal Men looks fantastic. I’m really looking forward to this. I sense it’s going to be really fun, with quirky ideas and great artwork.

I’ll second the recommendation for Thor #2. But I actually thought that issue #1 did NOT suck.
Huh. Go figure.

Otherwise, Spider-Man/Fantastic Four #4 of 4. Comics goodness. Comics the way comics SHOULD be. Unfortunately out of continuity. For now…

Sure, I’m getting several other books this week, but there’s nothing else that I’d really say that you MUST get.

Where were you last week?

I think you should go for Champions. I mean, why not check out the book that brought Mighty Marvel to its knees?

Oops - I missed that Spidey/FF #4 is coming out. Yes, I will be buying that, because it’s good.

I was here last week, but because I had parents coming in on Thursday and then I went to San Diego on Friday, so I was busy. I barely had coherent thoughts about the comics I bought (of course, most people think I never have coherent thoughts about the comics I buy), much less comics you guys wanted me to buy. So I took the week off.

The new issue of Supergirl is the first by Tony Bedard and Renato Guedes, whose advance interviews and sketches suggested they’d be undoing the worst of the previous ghastly run.

On the other hand, DC has decided to hobble them by making their first issue an editorially mandated Amazons Attack tie-in, so my hopes aren’t too high.

I second SM/FF #4 as well as JSA this week, which I think is begining a new story.

I too thought about the Bedard Supergirl but the Amazons Attack stuff is enough to drive anyone away.

You should get the new Supergirl and tell me whether or not it’s any good.

Eh, I don’t see anything interesting…

Did you read Wisdom? If not– the trade will be good.

Does Midnighter #10 begin Giffen’s tenure, or is it yet another fill-in?

If the former, it might be worth a look. If the latter, well, hell, I’ll buy it anyway.

Did you read Wisdom? If not– the trade will be good.

Who wrote that one?

And what’s with Marvel’s British characters getting good mini’s all of a sudden?

I was surprised by how enjoyable it was.
It’s just a shame it didn’t tie into civil war or world war hulk or messiah complex or anything else.
What’s with that?
It’s like the book was just an enjoyable read on it’s own and just didn’t count!

Illuminati #4 will be worth checking out to see what’s done with Noh-Varr. Although, after his appearance in that Runaways/Young Avengers Civil War mini, I’m not expecting anything good.

what about Red Star #2 - If that is from the series done a few years ago, it might be worth checking out

I’d recommend Red Star Sword of Lies #2. It’s certainly not a jumping on point, but it’s been so long since the last issue, we’re all jumping on. The art is worth it alone.

Good stuff actually abounds.
Ant-Man, American Virgin, Scalped, Elephantmen Vol 1, Dark Tower Born, New Warriors (come on! Jubilee! Night Thrasher! pissing off Tony Stark!), PUNISHER (best comic out there IMHO), Wisdom…wow. I’m kind of a Marvel fanboy. Whatever; DC makes no sense to me without extensive Wikipedia lookups.

Punisher #50 should be awesome.

And Funky, Paul Cornell wrote the Wisdom series.

New Warriors (come on! Jubilee! Night Thrasher! pissing off Tony Stark!)

You need to work on your pitch.

Paul Cornell wrote Wisdom. I got an email from his editor, Nick Lowe, a while back. Apparently, Cornell is slated to be taking the reins on Excalibur when Claremont leaves. The sooner the better. Great book. Definitely worth reading. Buy a copy for a friend, too!

I didn’t mention THe All New Atom #14 only because it’s a Countdown tie-in, and that title has become a four-letter word. But holy crap, Gail Simone did some great work with the issue. You have got to get it.

I wrote Killing Pickman so I’ll tell you what… buy the first two issues and if you hate em’ bring them to me at a con and I’ll buy them back from you.