Welcome to Monday, Viners. Yeah, it stinks the weekend is over, but on the plus side, it means you're one day closer to new comics. So, let's keep positive and focus on that, shall we? We here at Comic Vine have scanned the list of issues coming out this Wednesday and, as always, there's plenty each of us are really excited about. Have fun judging us over our picks and then be sure to post your own in the comments below so we can judge you as well!
Tony 'G-Man' Guerrero's picks
AVENGERS A.I. #2
The first issue of this completely caught me by surprise. I thought the idea of robot Avengers or a team of them all with artificial intelligence was just stretching the Avengers franchise too far. It was only because Sam Humphries was involved I decided to give it a shot. I completely fell in love with the idea during that first issue.
AGE OF ULTRON was a little all over the place but there are some big repercussions as a result. One of them is the fact that Hank Pym was forced to and given the opportunity to change things in order to stop the death and destruction Ultron would bestow upon the Marvel Universe. Hank has always been given a bum rap and the fact that he was responsible for Ultron never helped. Now we're seeing him in a slightly different light. Leading a new team in order to fight a new threat that arouse from defeating Ultron is fascinating.
Plus he is forcing a Doombot to be part of his team. That in itself if both brilliant and hilarious.
HUNGER #2
It's kind of funny that this series also is a result of AGE OF ULTRON. Another repercussion from that series was the result of the fractured time stream. We've seen Angela from the SPAWN universe find herself in the 616 universe and in HUNGER #1, we witnessed the extremely impressive entrance of Galactus in the Ultimate Universe.
Joshua Hale Fialkov laid down the groundwork and there's really no telling what might be a result of Galactus setting his sights on this universe. He's always been stopped by the Fantastic Four and other heroes but the Ultimate Universe is a different place. We're seeing Reed Richards as more of the evil genius in the pages of ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES (also written by Fialkov).
Rick Jones may be the protector of the universe here but will he be ready to take on Galactus? Is there anyone capable of helping him in this fight?
You should also check out Fialkov's creator owned comic, THE BUNKER, that debuted this week at www.thebunkercomic.com. It's $1.99 and is pretty amazing.
QUANTUM & WOODY #2
Valiant puts out some really great comics. QUANTUM & WOODY is another example.
Featuring the "world's worst superhero team," this title shows us that sueprhero stories aren't always cut and dry. Things don't always go according to plan. This is the perfect portrayal of all those "buddy" films where the two heroes don't necessarily get along. Having two characters that are completely different adds to the bickering. The fact that the two are arguing with each other completely naked with several police officers pointing guns at them adds to the fun.
Quantum & Woody are not your typical heroes. Too often in comics we see characters gain powers and suddenly know and do the right thing. James Asmus is showing us that superhero comics can be both fun and entertaining. Sure we're only on the second issue but this is already shaping up to be one of my favorites each month. Tom Fowler's art fits the book nicely.
There's no telling what might come next. That's what makes it so much fun.
BONUS: It was released digitally Saturday but you should totally check out BATMAN BEYOND 2.0 #1 by Kyle Higgins. Read the review HERE. It's taking the characters a year from where the issue/current series was. There's also an insane and incredibly cool twist at the end you should read before it gets spoiled.
Mat 'Inferiorego' Elfring's picks
PHANTOM STRANGER #11
My trend of "hey! You should pick up the Trinity War tie-ins" continues. I've made it no secret that PHANTOM STRANGER is one of my favorite month-to-month DC books. It's a great look at a character looking for redemption but never really getting it. It's not a super-hero book by any means. Stranger just got finished with a pretty emotionally straining issue and it's time to see how he will play into Trinity War, which has been really awesome so far. If you've been enjoying the darker side of DC, you really need to pick this book up.
TEN GRAND #4
If you've been reading TEN GRAND, then you know the main character can't die. He gets to spend 5 minutes in the afterlife, where he reconnects with his wife. However, the solicits for this month state he'll be going to hell, in this issue, to go after her. This has been a great series, thus far, and as I've stated before, it really fills the void that HELLBLAZER left when it ended. On top of that, BEN TEMPLESMITH's art is eerie and incredibly fitting for this series. This is another fantastic series from Image you need to add to your collection.
Gregg 'k4tz' Katzman's picks
GREEN ARROW #23
I'm not saying you're a bad person if you're not reading Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino and Marcelo Maiolo's GREEN ARROW, but odds are we wouldn't be friends. Lemrie has been doing a stellar job expanding Oliver's universe and adding so many more layers to it. This issue will dive into Count Vertigo once again and follow-up on a rather big twist with Shado.
More Count Vertigo can only mean one thing: the chance for some more amazingly awesome pages from Sorrentino and Maiolo. Seriously, did you see some of those panels in the last issue? If not, do yourself a favor and go buy it. The glorious artwork alone is enough of a reason to jump onboard. The solid narrative is just icing on this impressively detailed and beautiful cake. Month after month, GREEN ARROW proves to be one of my favorite reads from DC.
KICK-ASS 3 #2
Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. are back! I didn't dig Dave Lizewski being totally insensitive about his father's death in the first issue (especially since it was so traumatizing in the last volume), but overall it was a more than solid return for the franchise. This issue promises to have a huge change: Hit-Girl will apparently rule the gangs while she spends her time in prison. Yeah, I definitely didn't see that one coming and Mindy attempting to overthrow these criminals and take charge is sure to be hugely entertaining. Also, it'll introduce an all-new "big bad" for the heroes. Color me intrigued. Assuming this rocks, it'll definitely help boost my excitement for the upcoming film.
THE LEGEND OF LUTHER STRODE #6
Luther Strode's second miniseries ends here! The math is simple, folks. Justin Jordan + Tradd Moore = another dose of gorgeous brutality. This definitely isn't a book for the faint of heart, especially with Jack the Ripper now on the loose. Expect another delightfully animated chapter filled with crazy action and most definitely a moment or two that'll make my jaw smack the ground. To top it off, Jordan has said there are plans for a third volume, so I imagine this will have one heck of a cliffhanger. And yes, I'll be heartbroken if Petra doesn't make it out of this one.
Go to CBR for the rest of the graphic preview.
Jen 'MissJ' Aprahamian's picks
TRILLIUM #1
Love stories? I'm interested.
End-of-the-world stories? Go on.
THE LAST LOVE STORY EVER TOLD? Sold.
Jeff Lemire is about to drop some science -- and some emotions -- on us, in the form of an eight-issue Vertigo series called TRILLIUM. Two lost souls swimming in a fishbowl (if space-time is a fishbowl, that is) and Lemire's signature quirky watercolors sound like a recipe for something brilliant.
MANHATTAN PROJECTS #13
"Piece by Piece" is an uncannily appropriate title for an issue that we've been waiting a little bit longer for -- but, who are we kidding? This book is worth waiting for. Issue #13 promises some fractures within the team (in addition to the already-existing fractures within Oppenheimer's brain), and if there's one thing more enjoyable than reading about some seriously mad scientists, it's reading about some seriously mad scientists with personal drama.
SATELLITE SAM #2
Hey, sexy lady. (Check out that Chaykin cover!) And hey, sexy mystery -- what could possibly count as "shocking" amidst a pile of dirty pictures? I'll be tuning in for more serial TV drama, more sharp banter, and more of the comic that's like a sexy, deadly love child between Mad Men and daytime TV.
Corey 'Undeadpool' Schroeder's picks
EARTH 2 #15
Last issue kicked off what the series has been building to for the last two years: an assault by the World Army and the Wonders against the interdimensional invaders of Apokolips, and while the dust has barely settled on their first encounter, it now seems as though both armies have come to an accord on how to proceed. James Robinson has led these characters through thick and through thin and, with basically no other books taking place in the Earth 2 universe, built a shockingly robust and well-defined world full of characters that are similar enough to be recognizable, but different enough to be refreshing. With series co-creator Nicola Scott bringing her trademark visual flare and attention to detail as well as action, there's nothing about this title that doesn't sound like it's building to one helluva send-off.
Visit CBR for two more preview pages.
DEADPOOL KILLS DEADPOOL #2
Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe easily could have been a one-time what-if that struck a darker tone than most, but either because this was always the plan, or the title did amazingly well, we were treated to the surprisingly thoughtful (but still plenty vicious) Deadpool Killustrated and now, the comedically macabre trilogy comes to a close as Deadpool (from the 616-universe! NO LIE!) hunts down his dimension destroying doppelgangers with a little help from his friends in the (ever shrinking) Deadpool Corps. Series mastermind Cullen Bunn brought the deadpan dismemberment last issue as series newcomer Salva Espin illustrated it in all its messy glory and if their first outing was any indication, there's plenty more to say and plenty more to kill in the coming months.
SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #15
By all accounts, Doc Ock has earned his moniker as Superior, sending villains packing and showing up even the brainiest heroes while even founding his own, private island headquarters. But if you thought Dan Slott was ready to call it a day and declare Otto the better man, you clearly haven't been reading closely enough as he has yet to even encounter Spidey's most tenacious, horrifying, deadly foe. In fact, if the last few issues are any indication, he's playing directly into the plans of the true mastermind behind so much of the wall-crawler's misfortune. But before his world comes tumbling down, the (not at all) friendly-neighborhood wall-crawler has at least one loose end to tie up in the Phil Urich Hobgoblin. With Humberto Ramos bringing Slott's words to live, you can bet the action will be non-stop and even the slow, methodical conversations will have me racing through the pages.
Once again, CBR has the remainder of the preview.
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