Welcome back to Essential Comics! Each week, the staff of Comic Vine comes together to pick out what books are must buys for new comic Wednesday. This is a pretty full week of comics, and it's hard to choose what books are must buys, so check out our must buys for the week.
Tony's Picks
BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL #1
(DC)
Written by James Tynion IV, Scott Snyder
Art by Tony S. Daniel
Here’s some full disclosure. I’ve read BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL already. Like many of you, when I heard there was going to be another DC weekly title, I cringed a little inside. When we had three weekly titles from DC, it was brutal trying to keep up. Of the three, BATMAN ETERNAL is the one that held my interest the most. Still, another weekly title is tough to think about adding to your pull list.
Having read it, it’s a great start to this big story. We’ve seen the idea of Batman having a dark secret that he’s kept from the others. You have to assume he had a good reason. That’s just part of the story. We’ll also get to see the Robins (Dick, Jason, Tim, and eventually Damian I believe) work together since Bruce isn’t Batman these days. There’s also going to be Harper Row and Stephanie Brown getting in on the action and, what gets me most excited, the New 52 debut (in the current time period) of Cassandra Cain. You won’t want to miss this first issue and the great creative team involved.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #50
(IDW)
Written by Tom Waltz, Kevin Eastman
Art by Mateus Santolouco
There’s been a lot going on with the Turtles lately. We saw one of their own mortally wounded and transferred into a robotic version. Now the Turtles along with Master Splinter are involved in the Gauntlet against Shredder and his side. Things are building up as the end of the big confrontation nears its end. The fate of the Turtles and New York hangs in the balance. You can expect some epic fighting and some major repercussions.
Here’s some more disclosure. I had a chance to read this issue too. It’s worth of a fiftieth issue celebration. Things definitely won’t be the same after this. It’s not one of those big build ups where things return to the status quo. You can expect some big stuff to go down for sure.
SECRET WARS #6
(Marvel)
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Esad Ribic
Another issue of SECRET WARS is finally here! Yes, the downside is issue #5 came out on August 12 and we’re already seeing some of the All-New, All-Different Marvel titles out this week. There’s no denying how much we’ve been enjoying the epic build up throughout the story. Doom may have saved some from the Final Incursion and made himself a god but you can see how things are slowly ready to start falling apart for him. His actions and the lies he’s told may come out and be his undoing. We also have some other survivors that are going to cause problems for everyone. With the solicit info simply stating this is “The Final War,” chances are, something big is coming. Although we do still (now) have three more issues after this.
Jonathan Hickman has been working on this story for some time. Seeing the payoff has been enjoyable. Esad Ribic’s art has been fantastic. I especially enjoy when we get the same artist throughout a big event book to keep everything consistent. We may have some delays, which can be frustration, but I’m willing to wait to get a really good story and not have it come out rushed. Let’s just hope it doesn’t cause problems with the other Marvel books.
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #1
(Marvel)
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by David Marquez
Iron Man is back. SUPERIOR IRON MAN was fun and it’s not clear if there’ll be any explanation what caused the change back to a more traditional Tony Stark in this issue. That’s also assuming he’ll be the more traditional version we’re used to. I do enjoy a Brian Michael Bendis written story and he does seem to really excel on the single character driven series. He often comes into a title and shakes things up in big ways. It’ll be interesting to see what he has planned for Tony Stark. The inclusion of Mary Jane as part of the supporting cast is exciting and frightening at the same time. We can only hope Bendis will do her justice and it’s great to have a place for her since there isn’t much room for her to be fleshed out in a Spider-Man title.
Joining Bendis on art is David Marquez. Marquez always kills it on the art. His redesigns for different characters have been fun to see. Iron Man is clearly becoming a crucial character in the Marvel Universe so I can’t wait to see how Marvel continues to push him forward.
DOCTOR STRANGE #1
(Marvel)
Written by Jason Aaron
Art by Chris Bachalo
Doctor Strange is back. It seems Strange has always been a tough character to write. I’ve read assorted comics and series with him. They seem to struggle to catch on with readers. It’s hard to say if it’s the core of character and who he is or if it’s been the creative team and the vibe of the surrounding universe at the time. I’ve tried sticking with the character throughout his various appearances and still hold THE OATH as one of my favorite stories.
With his recent moments with the Avengers (in comics) and his upcoming movie, it is time for Doctor Strange to move forward into the spotlight once again. Jason Aaron has proven himself as a writer who is willing to delve into who a character is and what makes them tick. He’s also shown he has no problems taking big risks in order to deliver some fantastic stories. Chris Bachalo on the art side opens up the possibilities for plenty of big action and crazy scenes.
PAPER GIRLS #1
(Image)
Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Cliff Chiang
Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang. What more do you need to know? There hasn’t been a lot of information released for this. All we know is the story deals with four 12-year-old paper girls discovering something big or strange. That’s enough to arouse my curiosity. Some may not be completely crazy about another new series but I look forward to getting another GREAT new series.
Vaughan has proven time and time again how compelling and incredible his stories can be. I love seeing Cliff Chiang art any chance I can get. We may not know too much about the series but with the first issue being a double-sized issue for only $2.99, how can you not pick this up?
Honorable Mention: DETECTIVE COMICS #45
Mat's Picks
OMEGA MEN #5
(DC)
Written by Tom King
Art by Barnaby Bagenda
It's not cancelled! Praise the comic gods for laying their hand of righteousness on this series! Shortly after OMEGA MEN was announced to end with issue 6, the Internet got really mad, and I was one of those said angry people. Jim Lee and Dan Didio heard the fans pleas. Now, we're at least getting 12 issues from this series.
That's a good thing because this is easily one of, if not THE, best new series from DC. Tom King and Barnaby Bagenda have something very special with this series which is all about betrayal and it's presented in an amazingly cinematic way. While the story of what's going on with Kyle Rayner here and how the Omega Men are playing him is extremely interesting, it really is Bagenda's artwork that raises the bar for the book.
If you've been interested in the series, you have to check it out. Don't trade wait. Buy the single issues, you will not be disappointed.
STAR WARS: SHATTERED EMPIRE #2
(Marvel)
Written by Greg Rucka
Art by Marco Checchetto
How many people out there are just counting down the days until Star Wars: The Force Awakens comes out? I take it every single Star Wars fan just raised their hand. I, too, am counting down the days and while watching trailers and looking at way too many set photos helps a little bit, reading SHATTERED EMPIRE helps even more.
The first issue was pretty great and picked up right after the events of Return of the Jedi, which involved Ewoks eating Stormtroopers. No, seriously, look closely. It's totally there. Anyway, we get to meet a few Rebel pilots, who may or may not be the mother and father of one of the characters in the December film. It was an awesome issue, and now, we get even more of this world.
Greg Rucka and Marco Checchetto really capture the Star Wars universe exceptionally well and offer a bunch of room to grow, and better yet, we're getting stories where the reader has no clue where they could possibly go. I'm super looking forward to this issue.
GREEN LANTERN #45
(DC)
Written by Robert Venditti
Art by Billy Tan, Mark Irwin
Black Hand is the most dangerous he's ever been. Everything he turns into turns into the Source Wall. That's completely nutso and what's great about it is that it's been something that's been building and building during Robert Venditti's run. He's playing the long game with this character.
While this arc is all about Hal Jordan hunting down Black Hand, the two still haven't come face to face. According to the solicit for this month's issue, this issue is gonna have the first face off between the two. Is Krona's gauntlet stronger than Black Hand's source wall touching ability?
More importantly, this story is so much bigger than Hal and Black Hand. I'm wondering how soon before this battle heads to Earth, a place Black Hand loves to mess with/kill people/raise the dead. How is Hal going to get rid of Black Hand's ability? So many questions!
CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS #1
(Marvel)
Written by Al Ewing
Art by Paco Medina
Everyday, I load up ye olde iPad and play Contest of Champions. I beat up other heroes with my favorite character, Black Panther, and I open up a ton of crystals. It brings me to a happy place. Now there's a comic based off the game?
Normally, I'd be really against this idea of a mobile game being made into a full-on comic book, but I really enjoyed the preview pages and I like Al Ewing and Paco Medina. It has a solid creative team and a solid story.
The game and this book sounds very much like the original SECRET WARS, where a bunch of characters are brought together to fight each other. That sounds like a fun on-going series. Sure, there's probably a bigger story here, but we don't know too much about the series and how it differs from the game just yet.
AXCEND #1
(Image)
Written by Shane Davis
Art by Shane Davis, Michelle Delecki
Full disclosure time! I read the first issue of AXCEND a bit ago and loved it. I didn't know what to expect and the solicit didn't really do the issue justice. In a world where people lose themselves in technology to deal with social situations like bullying, the main character of AXCEND finds a new virtual reality game that he gets lost in.
That description doesn't do justice either. However, the book looks amazing. Artistically, it's a home run. The writing is pretty solid as well and it's nice to see an artist like Shane Davis venture out into writing. The story has legs and there's a lot he can do with this character and the world. If you're looking for something a bit more out there, check this one out, especially if you like video games.
Honorable Mention: BLOODSHOT REBORN #7
That's it for this week. Let us know what books you're looking forward to in the comment section below.
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