PREPARE YOUR WALLETS! NEW COMIC BOOK DAY IS COMING! This is looking like it'll be yet another Wednesday that'll tempt us with piles upon piles of glorious new issues for us to dive into. We here at Comic Vine have looked through this week's new releases and managed to narrow it down to a select few we're each very, very interested in. Once you're done seeing what we can't wait to get our hands on, don't forget to comment with your own list of essential comics that are coming out this week.
Tony 'G-Man' Guerrero's picks
FOREVER EVIL #1
This ought to be huge. DC is proclaiming this their first "universe-wide event." Do we really want another full-blown comic book event? Maybe not. Can we resist this one? Absolutely not. From the teasers we've seen, big things are coming and based on how things amped up during Trinity War with the Justice League and the Justice League of America, it's clear Geoff Johns is willing to turn the entire DCU on its side.
The big question is, why does the world believe the Justice League is dead? But that's not the only question. Is Lex Luthor the DCU's only hope? What the heck is Batman doing with a bunch of villains? Is that even the Batman we know?
We seen many many "big events" lately but this looks like something we won't want to miss.
SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #17
Remember when we were all wondering who the SUPERIOR Spider-Man would be? Dan Slott pranked us by making us believe that somehow it was Spider-Man 2099. We soon found out that this was a simple joke. We wouldn't be seeing the return Miguel O'Hara. Or at least not until this week.
Somehow Dan Slott is actually bringing Spider-Man 2099 into the current 616 Universe. That's sure how it looks. It's possible this could be another trick, especially with another recent let down we saw in a certain other Spider-related book. Either way, Slott and Ryan Stegman are sure to deliver another spectacular issue.
X-MEN BATTLE OF THE ATOM #1
Hang onto your hats, it's another COMIC BOOK EVENT! It's understandable that people are so reluctant over them since we've had so many and they don't always give us a satisfactory ending.
Brian Michael Bendis has taken a comic book cliché (time travel) and made it work wonderfully. As a long time X-Men fan, seeing the original team brought to the present has been a fascinating read. Now it's all coming to a head as the consequences are about to smack the X-Men in their faces. The X-Men from the future are about to journey to present to try to set them straight.
This is also one of those rare occasions when we can firmly recommend this issue since we've already read it. You can check out the review HERE.
It may be another crossover but if you're already reading these X-Men titles, this is going to bring things up a notch. Who doesn't want that?
THE BLACK BAT #5
How many times have you looked at a comic series with interest only to be turned off by the mounds of back issues and continuity to try sort through before jumping in? With THE BLACK BAT, this is our chance to get something new from the ground floor.
Brian Buccellato has taken a character from the 1930s and completely revamped him. The way he writes this series, it's like we're getting a more realistic take on the concept of superheroes. It's a series where the idea of a guy dressing up to 'fight crime' isn't part of this world. Buccellato's dialogue is not afraid to call Black Bat on this.
As the hunt to stop the big "bad guy" continues, last issue we saw a pretty crazy twist. We thought we knew everything that was going on but perhaps we don't. This is a series you should check out (from the beginning) to get something different (and you should get it now so we can keep getting new issues).
Honorable Mentions: THE STAR WARS #1 LUCAS DRAFT (based on his 1974 screenplay), DC VS MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE #1
Gregg 'k4tz' Katzman's picks
VENOM #40
THE END IS NIGH! Sadly, lackluster sales means Venom's longest running solo series will conclude with issue #42. This is truly depressing news, but on the plus side, writer Cullen Bunn has promised an emotional and action-packed set of final issues. Additionally, he's recently stated "characters and situations will spill over into other titles." Could this mean we'll see more of Mania or -- dare I say it -- Toxin down the road? I'm quite interested in seeing more of Mania and it looks like this issue will definitely deliver on that. Plus, it'll build the momentum for the finale which is unfortunately right around the corner.
The upcoming events in SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN have me questioning whether Flash will remain as Venom when all the dust has settled, but let's go ahead and enjoy the ride while it lasts.
GREEN ARROW #23.1 COUNT VERTIGO
If you haven't been reading GREEN ARROW, then you've been missing out on some exceptionally stunning pages which are sometimes literally mind-blowing. The duo of Andrea Sorrentino and Marcelo Maiolo continue to work wonders with writer Jeff Lemire's script.
Now that the villains are taking over, Count Vertigo has an entire issue to be fleshed out and considering his unique ability grants Sorrentino the opportunity to create some staggeringly impressive work, it seems safe to bet there's going to be some jaw-dropping visuals in store for us yet again. Add Lemire's superb writing into the mix and this is sure to be another must read chapter of the series. Seriously, you should be reading this book.
Check out The Hollywood Reporter for the last page of preview goodness.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #7.1 DEADSHOT
Someone pinch me because surely I'm dreaming. Deadshot has an issue all to himself? And it's by the writer who did a killer job on BLOODSHOT #0? Yeah, I'd say I'm pretty damn stoked for this one.
Floyd Lawton has already proven he can hold his own limited-series just fine (twice, mind you), so I'm thrilled to see him finally have a chance to get some more depth in The New 52. Hopefully, this will show new readers he's not merely a guy with good accuracy and a love for firearms. There's more than meets the eyepiece display when it comes to Deadshot. Moreover, it'll be a nice example of how writer Matt Kindt will handle the character over in SUICIDE SQUAD, and that's something I'm very excited to see.
Honorable Mentions: JUSTICE LEAGUE #23.1 DARKSEID, QUANTUM & WOODY #3
Jen 'MissJ' Aprahamian's picks
TRILLIUM #2
In TRILLIUM's debut, we were introduced to two worlds at completely disparate points in humanity's existence, and also to two protagonists, equally opposite in their life experiences. The distant past and the far future are about to converge in more ways than one -- not only will these two characters find themselves out of place and time, but we'll see how a man haunted by his past and a woman aggressively driving towards an unknown future will entangle themselves in "the last love story ever told." Jeff Lemire is bringing us juxtaposition at its finest, and catapulting us into an adventure that transcends space and time.
Visit PopMatters for more preview pages!
SATELLITE SAM #3
SATELLITE SAM is sharp, snappy, and sensational -- all of the juicy drama of television, washed with a mid-century sensibility that makes wrong seem even more wrong. Equally sexy are Howard Chaykin's ladies and the yet-unsolved mystery surrounding Carlyle White's murder -- both are more complicated than they appear. In the third installment, the spotlight is on the seemingly-virtuous Kara Kelly, who has a lot more to hide than a dirty picture in Carlyle's collection.
SHELTERED #3
Doomsday prepping meets Lord of the Flies. SHELTERED, a "pre-Apocalyptic tale," has been introducing us to a tense, unfamiliar world -- one in which the impending (but not yet certain) end of humanity as we know it causes dramatic fears and drastic actions. Paranoia is a dangerous drug, and it's even more threatening in an enclosed space with players who aren't afraid to kill. I'm expecting SHELTERED to get scarier -- and deadlier -- as each issue passes and as resources get more scarce.
CBR has the final preview pages.
Corey 'Undeadpool' Schroeder's picks
INVINCIBLE #105
Last issue gave us a look at so many converging plot-threads, while still leaving so many tantalizingly open (or, as it's come to be known, the Kirkman Special), but it's done so much more than that giving us a look at an Angstrom Levy we did not expect to see, we saw some fairly horrific imagery, and we saw the return of my favorite running joke character (Science Dog's creator), which is why I can't wait for the next issue. Kirkman and Ottley have outdone themselves at every turn over every arc, delivering a book that has only gotten better as its gone on and shows absolutely no signs of getting stale or wearing itself out.
DEADPOOL KILLS DEADPOOL #3
The book that began as a one-off, then a joke, and has now become one of the most fascinating on the shelf, asking questions about the nature of fictional reality and Deadpool's 4th wall-breaking characteristics. Essentially from the first volume, it's taken everything funny about Deadpool and treated them as deadly serious. This has become one of the more tragic mainstream books as well, freed from the moors of continuity (though 616 Deadpool IS in effect) and Cullen Bunn seems to be steering the ship toward a very satisfying destination. Salva Espin's pencils have been doing plenty of heavy lifting as well and his sharp, angular, semi-chaotic lines fit perfectly with the kinetic, vicious action. I literally have no idea what's going to happen next, particularly after last issue's jaw-dropping/laugh-inducing cliffhanger.
X-FACTOR #262
Truly, truly the end of an era. Peter David's final issue of X-Factor that will focus on Jamie Madrox (and hopefully Layla Miller) as the series comes to a close. This has been one of my favorite series over the last decade. I got into it fairly early after reading the Madrox limited series that had the AMAZING idea of him splitting his dupes up by the hundreds and sending them all off to learn so that when he reabsorbed them, he'd gain the knowledge and skill. Someone who would look at a power like that and come up with SUCH a unique way to use it was surely worth following. While the series may have started off as a sort of detective/noir tale, it did grow as time went on, occasionally getting too big for its own good, but it was always consistent, fun and very, very emotionally resonant. With Neil Edward and Jay Leisten penciling and inking and Matt Milla on colors, there's no reason to think this'll be anything but a worthy sendoff.
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