Mondays can be a bit of a downer, but here at our corner of the internet, it's a day worth celebrating. Why? Because it can only mean one thing: preparing for glorious new comics! Every week, we here at Comic Vine will gaze upon the mighty list of new releases and we'll each pick the ones that we're really, really, reaaaaaally excited to check out.
As always, there's more than a handful of promising titles coming out, so once you're done seeing what we've selected, be sure to chime in with your own list of "essential comics."
*Some of the previews are in reverse order.
Tony 'G-Man' Guerrero's picks
BATMAN/SUPERMAN #5
Greg Pak and Jae Lee delivered an impressive first arc in this series. Taking place in the early days of the New 52, we were treated to quite an adventure which also gave us a glimpse at the EARTH 2 versions of Superman and Batman (and others).
In this arc, Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund join Pak with a story focusing on a new Toymaster. Greg Pak talked briefly about this in our NYCC interview and we are definitely intrigued to see what they'll come up with. With a more current version of the heroes plus a deadly video game that's threatening Batman's life, how could anyone not want to check this out?
According to the solicit, this issue will also be presented in a "horizontal storytelling format." It's always cool when we get the occasional change of format to give us something a little different.
SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #4
We were left with a bit of a cliffhanger in the last issue. Lex Luthor vs Jimmy Olsen. Obviously it wouldn't go well for Jimmy. With Lex now out of prison, Jimmy's going to find himself in a bad situation since Lex targeted him. So much for being pals with Superman. We also left off with Lois in a precarious situation herself.
Where is Superman during all of this? He's pretty busy with the various attacks by a new threat plus discovering the powerful Wrath, who is his temporary ally.
Scott Snyder and Jim Lee are cooking up a big story. With Villains Month out of the way, let's get to it. It's time for more action and answers. Plus we should expect another back up with Dustin Nguyen's art. It should all be worth the wait we've been through.
Visit The Hollywood Reporter for the last preview page.
AMAZING X-MEN #1
You all know what the big deal about this issue is, right? It might be another X-title (I've stopped counting how many there are) but this issue marks the return of NIGHTCRAWLER!
If you've been reading Jason Aaron'sWOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN, you've already seen a glimpse at him. Where has he been? How will he come back? We're talking comic books. While a good explanation is important, what grabs my attention most is that NIGHTCRAWLER'S FINALLY COMING BACK.
If Nightcrawler coming back wasn't enough of a reason, check out the preview pages to see the Ed McGuinness art and Marte Gracia colors. My goodness, those are some great looking pages.
P.S. Nightcrawler's back.
Honorable Mentions: FOREVER EVIL #3, QUANTUM AND WOODY #5
Mat 'Inferiorego' Elfring's picks
GREEN LANTERN #25
Lights Out had a pretty fantastic ending last week with GREEN LANTERN ANNUAL #2. This last arc was a pretty big game changer in the world of Green Lantern. They learned that the rings each corps uses, which tap into the emotional spectrum, also drains the universe of its energy. For a series that's seen a lot of thrilling and amazing changes since Geoff Johns started his run, it's nice to see that current writer, Robert Venditti, can provide a story that still has Green Lantern fans gasping for breath. As we saw with the conclusion, there may be some lanterns that don't want to use their rings in fear of depleting the universe's energy, but the solicit for this week states that there's still more changes going on! What's going to happen, and even more importantly, are the entities REALLY dead? Lights Out got me interested in GREEN LANTERN again. I'm very excited for the future of this book.
Newsarama's viewer has an exclusive preview for your eyes.
GHOSTED #5
Although Halloween is over, I'm still in the mood for something spooky or something with ghosts in it. Luckily, GHOSTED exists. I've been giving this book high praise because it quickly because one of my favorite monthly reads, on par and sometimes surpassing SAGA. A book that started out with a heavy Ocean's Eleven feel has slowly moved over to straight up horror. The main character, Jackson Winters, has escaped from prison, only to find himself trapped in the Trask Mansion with the spirits of the dead. In the last issue, we learned how dangerous the Trask Mansion can be. This issue marks the last issue in this arc and it begs the question "Is this team going to continue on within the series or is this book really about the Trask Mansion and the horrors that have been committed there?" In all honestly, I'm hoping for the latter.
CATACLYSM: ULTIMATES LAST STAND #1
Ultimate fans, this is what you've been waiting for. It's the start to an event that may change the Ultimate universe forever. The build up has been a lot of fun, and I have been super stoked to see how the heroes of the Ultimate universe deal with one of the biggest baddies of the 616. The Ult heroes aren't as powerful as their 616 counterparts, so this task at hand seems almost impossible. This is going to be one heck of a battle.What's really cool about this issue and this mini-series is that it's the return of Brian Bendis and Mark Bagley working on a book together. As you may know, Bagley worked on over 100 issues of the first volume of ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN with Bendis. It'll be really cool to see these two working together again. They defined and started the Ultimate universe and it's only fair to see them reunite for a story that could possibly be the end of the Ultimate universe.
Gregg 'k4tz' Katzman's picks
GREEN ARROW #25
You know what could make Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino'sGREEN ARROW even more special? Batman. And guess what? This month it's a 'Zero Year' tie-in, so you can bet the Dark Knight will grace this book. Now, some may find the cash cow's inclusion off-putting, but if it gets more people to check out this masterpiece of a book, then I'd say that's absolutely something worth celebrating. And besides: it's Batman.
Lemire's been doing stellar work expanding the GA mythos and you can bet a look into his past is sure to be equally fascinating. Throw in the New 52 debut of Killer Moth, a bigger role for Diggle and Sorrentino/Marcelo Maiolo's ridiculously good artwork, and you can bet this is the first thing I'm going to read come Wednesday. And you know what? You should give it a chance, too.
In the event you need another reason: BEARDED OLIVER!
Read the last page from our exclusive preview here.
IRON MAN #18
Now that Arno no longer needs to hide, it's time to see what the Stark brothers can accomplish when they combine their minds and aim to change the world for the better. As you can see by the preview below, the two geniuses can essentially turn Earth into Coruscant. The opportunity to shine a spotlight on Tony's raw intellect while introducing a more humanizing element with his brother is definitely going to be a great opportunity to show a whole new side of Tony. We've seen him blast in various armors, we've seen him soar the cosmos... now it's time to see the kind of man he truly wants to be.
DETECTIVE COMICS #25
An issue diving into James Gordon's past as he takes on the dirty officers in the G.C.P.D. and encounters Batman? Yes, please! Gordon's always been an awesome character and observing him when he tried to clean up a dirty city is certain to be gripping. If all else fails, at least Jason Fabok is illustrating this one. Everyone is on this planet for a reason, and Jason Fabok's reason is obviously to bring Gotham City and its key characters to life. Simply put, the dude's style is a fantastic fit for Batman's world.
13th Dimension has provided a 2 page preview.
Jen 'MissJ' Aprahamian's picks
CAPTAIN MARVEL #17
Carol Corps, this is YOUR issue. #17 is oversized, and packed with everything fans love most about the series. Already wearing your dogtags? This issue is probably everything you've ever wanted in a CAPTAIN MARVEL comic since Kelly Sue DeConnick took the helm. Not yet sure what the Carol Corps is about? WELCOME. Grab this issue and learn why there's such a passionate fan base (plus, catch up on the aftermath of the ENEMY WITHIN arc!).
And, there's also our Preview Theatre version featuring Kelly Sue as Carol!
EAST OF WEST #7
If you've been reading this column with any regularity, you know that EAST OF WEST is consistently an Essential pick from me. Rest assured that there's good reason for the consistent endorsement -- this is a hell of a series. After some truly extensive worldbuilding and the setup of an epic tale, we were introduced to the Ranger, and the clock started ticking on the longevity of The Chosen. This month promises to drive further into the Ranger's pursuit of his targets, giving us more action in this fascinating subplot.
FATALE #18
FATALE has been stunning since the start, and we've been enthralled witnessing Jo's effects on men, time after time and era after era. But each time, it was focused, limited to just one or two captive hearts at a time. What happens when Jo's talent gets a wider distribution?
The Seattle arc arrives at the center it's been building to, and places our femme fatale in what might be the most dangerous situation possible for men at large -- a music video. And since we know that Jo's influence doesn't work on women, the conflict brewing within the group over the events of last issue is bound to turn volatile.
Corey 'Undeadpool' Schroeder's picks
EARTH 2 #17
I might not like the change of guard, writer-wise, on this title, but if it had to be somebody, it might as well be Injustice'sTom Taylor taking over this title. Especially after last issue's absolutely jaw-dropping reveal. Injustice has been one of the best alternate universe surprises since...well since Earth 2, so I'm interested in seeing where Taylor takes the title. Nicola Scott still drawing is a big plus as well, she's been as much a part of establishing this universe as Robinson was, so at least the tone should be nice and consistent. At the very least, it won't be boring.
TEN GRAND #5
J. Michael Straczynski's dark tale of supernatural noir feels like it's been off the shelves forever, but that's just a testament to what a great series it's been. After last issue's shocking cliffhanger, I've been anticipating this issue with great fervor, but quality is worth waiting for. Ben Templesmith's eye-popping art definitely qualifies as such a worthwhile wait. His blending of the supernatural and the mundane has always been great for books that cross genres and tones and his use of negative space has always been one of the best tricks in his bag.
CAPTAIN AMERICA #13
I was very up-and-down on Captain America's last storyline in Dimension Z, but everything that's happened afterward has been excellent and profoundly worthwhile. I admire the way that the Z storyline actually seems to be having an impact on Cap and it's not just being swept into the background and immediately forgotten in favor of the newest, hottest storyline. I'm not terribly familiar with new artist Nic Klein, but new talent is always worth giving a day in court and can sometimes be a refreshing change of pace, so I'm expecting great things!
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