Fear Itself, Flashpoint, Avengers VS X-Men, all of them are summer comic events and those have their place, but what about other events? What about the events that only happen in a few issues of a few different comic series? What about the simple crossover event? I only ask because although the "Rise of the Third Army" event started last week in Green Lantern #13, no one seemed to talk about it much over the conclusion of the Avengers VS X-Men event that happened at the same time. It makes sense that the conclusion of a big Marvel event that is going to "change everything" would get more coverage than a little crossover event, but I didn't think it would get all of it. Maybe I haven't been looking in the right places, but no one really seems to be talking about this event finally getting going. Hell, I see more coverage for the "Death of the Family" Batman event that starts this week more than the Lantern one. I'm excited for that, but what gives? This is just something I noticed and makes me wonder why things are this way. That said, let's get to the real reason I'm writing this.

There are two awesome DC events starting this month! TWO! First up, as I mentioned last paragraph, Rise of the Third Army. I'll admit that I've only read Green Lantern since the New 52 started, but I instantly fell in love with everything about that universe. This being the first crossover event for Green Lantern since the New 52 started, I was instantly intrigued. Then I found out that it was going to take place in all 4 Lantern books? Excitement through the roof. Green Lantern: New Guardians has easily become my favorite of the Lantern books. I love my Hal and Sinestro bro-time in the main book just fine, but Kyle has become my favorite Lantern and him teamed up with Lanterns from the other Corps is just fun to read. Green Lantern Corps is fun too, but Guy is hit-or-miss for me and I still feel like John is going to die in this event. Which brings me down to Red Lanterns which, although it gets some harsh criticism, I find actually enjoyable. Maybe I'm weird, I don't know, but Bleez makes that book interesting to me. She's one of my favorites in New Guardians too.

This week, I get a second crossover event in my favorite character's main book, Batman! The Joker is coming back and bringing death with him. Who's going to die? We'll have to wait and see, but my money is on no one dying. I think the "Death of the Family" means the concept of the Bat-family is at stake here. Joker may pry them apart and cause trust issues to form, is my thinking. But it begins Wednesday in Batman #13 and continues through the Bat-books for the next few months, so I can't wait to find out!

Color me excited for the month of October! On top of those 2 events kicking off here, we got New York Comic Con starting up this week and I can't wait to hear all about DC's announcements and the cancellations. Also, on a personal note, my birthday is on the 16th and I turn the big 21. I will be able to drink legally while enjoying my Detroit Lions taking on the Chicago Bears in Monday Night Football shortly after the big day. All sorts of excitement for me this month and I hope for you as well!

Now for a question, should I pick up Uncanny Avengers this week? I'm kind of dropping Marvel from my reading list, but this issue seems important and may help me decide where to go with this Marvel "Not the New 52" thing. Thoughts? Suggestions? Other comics I should pick up? Let me know in the comments!

Comics I'm Getting This Week:

-Avenging Spider-Man #13

-Batgirl #13

-Batman #13

-Batman and Robin #13

-Green Lantern Corps #13

-Suicide Squad #13

-The Phantom Stranger #1

-The Ravagers #5

-Team 7 #1

-Wolverine & the X-Men #18

-Uncanny Avengers #1????

GamerGeek360

@Xandurson

We've all heard this question as comic readers, "Marvel or DC?" I'm not here to throw more fuel on this never-ending fire but, much like Coke is better than Pepsi, I believe DC is the better of the "Big 2." This is definitely my opinion and I'm not here to tell you that if you like Marvel you are wrong, I'm only here to show why I enjoy DC and why they will be getting more of my very limited money. This shouldn't come as a surprise for anyone who knows me, but I am a big Batman fan. Huge, actually. Every single Bat-title, with the exception of Nightwing, is on my pull list. Even that Detective one that has been pretty bad and that Dark Knight one that has only recently gotten better. I am also a pretty big Green Lantern fan as I currently have all four Lantern books on my pull list. There are a few other DC titles on there too, such as Justice League, Earth 2, Phantom Stranger, etc.

I would consider myself heavily invested in the DC Universe and maybe that is why I don't view the Marvel books to be of equal quality. The DC books have felt more, for lack of a better term, mature than the Marvel books. The Marvel books I read are fun and enjoyable in their own way, but when I want a story that I feel is more down to Earth I lean back to DC. I know it may sound crazy that the same universe that has invincible-to-everything-but-green-rock heroes and ring-wielding emotional galaxy police in it is also the one I view as "down to Earth," but it's true. Marvel always seems like they want to do something that is crazy and out-there just for the sake of comics and epicness. I don't really feel that with DC. Now, I'm sure many of you will argue this with me in the comments, and I welcome that, but this is how I feel.

The New 52 may not be the best idea to some of you longtime fans, but it's clearly working for DC and it's working so well Marvel is now copying it. In fact, because of Marvel's relaunch, I am interested in a few titles from them that probably wouldn't have existed otherwise (Avengers Arena and All New X-Men.) I'm not anti-Marvel by any means. I love Marvel for a lot of things. I have a copy of the Avengers on blu-ray sitting right next to me and I've been tempted to watch it yet again all night. Their movies are undeniably better than DC's (with the exception of Nolan's Batman) and they clearly have a great plan laid out for that. The comics just feel to be a better read at DC than at Marvel. I would love to hear some of your opinions on this matter. This topic has been thrown out there too many times to count, but if we could get some interesting debate here and not just the typical "Batman is better than Iron Man" debate (I love both) than I would be willing to contribute to it.

This whole thing came back into my head because I am looking at titles I want to drop from my pull-list to save some much-needed money right now and I instantly looked at Marvel books without thinking. My mind immediately viewed Marvel books as expendable and the DC books as a necessity. Even Detective Comics! I think the biggest thing is I am more interested in the greater scheme of things at DC. Marvel will always be my "pick up every once in a while" company and maybe that's okay. Maybe that's how things should be for me. Let me know which team you guys play for and why, I truly am interested.

-GamerGeek360

@Xandurson

This Week's Comics:

-Adventure Time #8

-All-Star Western #0

-Amazing Spider-Man #694

-Batman, Incorporated #0

-Batman: The Dark Knight #0

-Red Lanterns #0

-Talon #0

-Wolverine & the X-Men #17

For those of you who don't know me, and that is all of you, I am currently in college chasing the dream of becoming a comic book editor. Yes, that same job that got Rob Liefeld all up in a huff earlier this year. I have always found that I have a passion for writing although I never really saw myself as a writer or author. Coming up with ideas for long stories isn't really my thing. I'm more interested in possibly short stories or talking about my thoughts on subjects ranging from how awesome Batwoman #0 was to why the Detroit Lions may or may not have a good season based on their first 3 games. Comics are something I naturally got hooked on. Although the stories can drag out, most are fairly short. Story arcs rarely last longer than 4-6 issues and some even wrap up in 2. This intrigued me because I found that maybe somewhere down the line I could actually cut it in that crazy comic book writing gig.

The editing portion came up when I realized that grammar and spelling errors tear me apart when reading comics. I usually notice 2-3 a week in both DC and Marvel. DC, my personal favorite, is less likely to commit these horrible eyesores than Marvel but does it really matter? (A little.) Not only are these errors annoying, sometimes even reading the comic is hard due to the way things are laid out. After doing a bit of research, I realized that the person responsible for that is the editors. The editors are also in charge of continuity. Meaning if someone came along and told me that Batman would kill the Joker I could punch them in the gut and steal their lunch money. I'm about 80% sure that is what they are required to do in that position.

So that's what I want to do. I want to punch dumb writers in their dumb guts for being dumb. I also have grown to really appreciate everything about the comic book industry over the past 2 years I've been reading them. I know, that doesn't seem very long but I dove in and I don't see myself coming up for air. Now, if that comic book editor position doesn't work out, I would like to write for sites such as Comic Vine about my passion for buying a pile of awesome reading material every Wednesday. This is where you come in, I want to start keeping a weekly blog on here. I want to write about my thoughts each week about various topics. I will whether people comment on this or not, but I would love to hear some people's thoughts on this and whether or not you would be willing to read ramblings from a 20 year-old comic nerd. Mainly, I want to see if I'm any good at this writing thing. Any input in any aspect would be very helpful.

Thanks, and you can now get back to reading the "who would win?" posts in the forums.

-GamerGeek360

@Xandurson

Sorry for being late guys, it's finals time for me and I've been super distracted. I haven't picked up my new comics yet so here we go!

Comics Round-Up:

ADVENTURE TIME #3 - 5/5 - I love this series so much! I'm really happy they are treating the story just like a comic should, with continuing parts and not just one-shot issues like episodes usually are. Can't wait for the upcoming mini-series either!

AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #6 - 4/5 - I'm really excited about this story arc! I usually don't pick up Punisher or Daredevil, but I will be here just for this story. I'm not really following what Reed Richards is up to, but I can tell that whatever is going on, it's pretty important that he doesn't let go.

BATGIRL #8 - 3/5 - The story didn't make a ton of sense here. I didn't really get why she let the dude that was there when she got shot go at the beginning. It was interesting what he said to her later on, but the story was just kinda boring. Hopefully next issue will pick up the pace.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #8 - 5/5 - This issue was just amazing. After the epic conclusion that happened in the last issue, this one picked up right where that left off and Bruce had to deal with what Damian had just done. He was a lot more calm than I thought he would be. Bonus points for some Alfred love and Titus attention.

BATWOMAN #8 - 3/5 - The art in this series continues to be amazing, but the story got a bit confusing and jumbled here I thought. I had a hard time understanding what was happening. I think I may re-read this series tonight to get a better idea but next issue better not have so much confusion.

GREEN LANTERN #8 - 4/5 - Really good issue but I guess I was just hoping for more. Scott Snyder said issue 9 will be quite the issue though so I'm pretty excited. I think Hal may be heading towards taking over in this Sinestro-Jordan relationship.

SUICIDE SQUAD #8 - 3/5 - Not much progress here other than Waller doing the rounds on her team. The Lazarus reference was pretty awesome though.

THIEF OF THIEVES #3 - 4/5 - Funny that after only 3 issues AMC is going to make a show on this. I'm kinda excited for that. This story is just getting rolling though and I think next issue is where things will really start to heat up.

UNCANNY X-MEN #10 - 4/5 - Unit is very interesting to me. This was a really fun story to read seeing as AvX started already. It's like seeing them together while they're fighting at the same time. Can't wait to see how this ties into AvX.

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Comic of the Week:

BATMAN: ARKHAM UNHINGED #1 - 5/5 - I loved Arkham City and reading this issue just enhances my love for that game. It looks like it will fill in any questions I had with that game. Really excited for this series.

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Cover of the Week:

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Next Week's Comics:

-Amazing Spider-Man #684

-Avengers VS X-Men #2

-Batman #8

-Batman Beyond Unlimited #3

-Catwoman #8

-DC Universe Presents #8

-Green Lantern Corps #8

-Justice League #8

-Nightwing #8

-Punisher #10

-Red Hood and the Outlaws #8

-Wolverine & the X-Men #9

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-GamerGeek360

@Xandurson

http://xandur.tumblr.com

Back for another try on this. I need to start posting these earlier than the day the new comics come out.

Comics Round-Up:

AVENGERS ACADEMY #28 - 4/5 - The conclusion of the Runaways story arc! This left off just in the way I wanted, it promised more Runaways appearances! And, for all the Karolina fans, you'll be excited with what turns up between her meeting Julie again.

AVENGERS VS X-MEN #1 - 4/5 - The thrilling start to the series! There was a lot I liked about this issue, but I am still weary about the entire idea of this event. The whole thing seems so much easier to control if the Avengers and X-Men just talked to each other. Oh well, I'll take my Cyclops beatings any way I can get 'em!

BATWING #8 - 5/5 - DUSTIN NGUYEN! I just love his art so much! It's very sad to see him end his short run on this already beautifully drawn series. The art sucked me in and this issue took me longer to read than everything else due to me spending so much time taking the art in. The story is amazing, as well. We get to see who Massacre is! This story should definitely get interesting from here on out.

DETECTIVE COMICS #8 - 3/5 - I love Scarecrow and I'm excited to see more with him in any series I can get, but this issue was just okay at best. This series needs major improvement especially since it's one of the Bat titles that should be pretty major.

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #8 - 4/5 - Batwing joins Justice League International? I didn't really see that here but I guess it will be happening. Booster really needs to fix the mess that was the JLI. I'm assuming Batwing will replace Batman in that group, which only makes sense. Batman can't be in the JLA and JLI. He needs to have some free time for brooding!

RED LANTERNS #8 - 4/5 - This story is gonna head somewhere awesome I think. Jack is going to make things interesting in Atrocitus' fight to reclaim and rebuild his Red Lantern Corps. Can't wait for more!

WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN: ALPHA & OMEGA #4 - 4/5 - Things have gotten really bad for Quentin! Wolverine's rage is going after him and Rachel Grey has to clean up his mess, all while he's in his construct trying to save Logan and Armor. Things will be interesting come next issue when they wrap up this awesome mini-series.

WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN #8 - 4/5 - Logan may be trying too hard to be like Professor X with the wheelchair. Hopefully he can ditch it soon, but Beast needs to make sure Abigail is safe first. Meanwhile, the kids are heading to the casino to mess with those adamantium-leg-breaking aliens. Pretty fun and interesting issue, even if there was a severe lack of Iceman in this issue. (you can never have too much Iceman!)

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Comic of the Week:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #683 - 5/5 - Spidey punched Al Gore! How can this not be my comic of the week? Jokes aside, (wasn't a joke) this issue was tons of fun and this story may excite me more than AvX this summer, to be honest. I'm still calling Doc Ock's death in this series, remember that.

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Cover of the Week:

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Next Week's Comics:

-Adventure Time #3

-Avenging Spider-Man #6

-Batgirl #8

-Batman and Robin #8

-Batman: Arkham Unhinged #1

-Batwoman #8

-Green Lantern #8 (most anticipated)

-Suicide Squad #8

-Thief of Thieves #3

-Uncanny X-Men #10

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-GamerGeek360

@Xandurson

xandur.tumblr.com

I figured to avoid confusion I would start labeling these as the day the comics come out and not the day I post these. That said, comic time!

Comics Round-Up:

AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #0 - 3/5 - I'm assuming this event will be interesting, but this "prologue" was nothing special. The Scarlet Witch part was interesting but I didn't really see how it played into any of the AvX storyline. As for the Hope part, I felt like I had read half of it already due to the previews in the back of the past couple months' comics. Either way, I'm excited to pick up the first issue.

AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #5 - 4/5 - I really liked how this issue felt very Spidey-ish but was also a great tribute to Joe Simon and Cap. I'm fine with them taking one issue of this amazing series to dedicate to a comic icon.

ASTONISHING X-MEN #48 - 4/5 - I started picking up this series because of Marjorie Liu and after the first issue, I'm hooked. I can't wait to read more about all of these characters. Especially Iceman.

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #7 - 3/5 - This series should start improving pretty soon. New writers coming in soon so this could be the turnaround this series needs. Yet another meh issue.

UNCANNY X-MEN #9 - 4/5 - This could be the last team-up between Avengers and X-Men for a while and so far, I'm enjoying it!

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Comic of the Week:

GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS #7 - 5/5 - The Lantern series are getting pretty amazing! Between this fun ride with all the Lanterns and the Hal/Sinestro Green Lantern series, I'm loving me some Lanterns! Can't wait to see these different Corps start growing on each other as they already started in this issue.

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Cover of the Week:

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Next Week's Comics:

-Amazing Spider-Man #683

-Avengers Academy #28

-Avengers VS. X-Men #1

-Batwing #8

-Detective Comics #8

-Justice League International #8

-Red Lanterns #8

-Thief of Thieves #3

-Wolverine & the X-Men #8

-Wolverine & the X-Men: Alpha & Omega #4

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GamerGeek360

@Xandurson

xandur.tumblr.com

COMICS!!!

Comics Round-Up:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #682 - 4/5 - Really great issue that leads into the Ends of the Earth story arc. I'm pretty excited for this arc even though I don't care for Doc Ock much. Ten bucks says he'll die by the end of this arc. I'm calling it.

BATMAN #7 - 4/5 - Nice set up for Night of Owls arc but I just want that now. GIVE IT TO ME! (also, check out Cover of the Week)

BATMAN BEYOND UNLIMITED #2 - 4/5 - Okay, okay, I like Batman Beyond. I thought I wouldn't, but I do. So yeah, check this series out! It also helps that Dustin Nguyen's art is on the cover and in Justice League Beyond.

CATWOMAN #7 - 3/5 - Selina, I love you, but if this is going to be that new love interest Judd teased a couple months ago, I'm gonna be pissed. What about Bruce? He should be the ONLY love interest. Sorry, my fanboyism got away from me, I'm happy for you, Selina.

DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #7 - 3/5 - I like the premise of this series, but it feels kind of confusing. I'll keep reading, but it needs to make sense soon....

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #7 - 3/5 - I'm interested in where this series is going, this just wasn't anything exciting really.

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #7 - 4/5 - I like Essence and everything, but this issue had moments of boredom. Still, the trio's banter is funny and refreshing.

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Comic of the Week:

JUSTICE LEAGUE #7 - 5/5 - This issue was a ton of fun! I loved Bats arguing with everyone and Wonder Woman trying to talk to Steve but not really being able to. I miss Jim Lee's art, but I think I'll manage. If you aren't reading Justice League, you should be!

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Cover of the Week:

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Tomorrow's Comics:

-Astonishing X-Men #48

-Avengers VS X-Men #0

-Avenging Spider-Man #5

-Batman: The Dark Knight #7

-Green Lantern: New Guardians #7

-Uncanny X-Men #9 (forgot to pick it up last week)

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-GamerGeek360

@Xandurson

http://xandur.tumblr.com

I planned on getting this up early this week, then homework happened.

Comics Round-Up:

ADVENTURE TIME #2 - 5/5 - This is such a fun series! I may not be able to watch the show as much I want, but this keeps me in a good Adventure Time mood at least once a month.

BATGIRL #7 - 4/5 - We get to see some Babs origin here that looks like it will be playing out in the coming issues. Can't wait!

BATMAN AND ROBIN #7 - 5/5 - THE ENDING! This series is amazing. That is all.

BATWOMAN #7 - 4/5 - The art in this series is phenomenal still. I just love this series in every way!

GREEN LANTERN #7 - 5/5 - Still my favorite series in The New 52. So much awesomeness and now we are learning about the Indigo Tribe and their obsessiveness with Sinestro.

THIEF OF THIEVES #2 - 4/5 - I'm starting to see where this series is going and I like it. More please!

WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN #7 - 5/5 - More Iceman/Kitty please!

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Comic of the Week:

SUICIDE SQUAD #7 - 5/5 - Judge me all you want, but you give me some good Harley Quinn story, and I'll give you praise! I loved this issue, and this issue before, because it focused on Harley's origin. She's such a cool character to me, that I can't help but love this issue. Although, ending worries me slightly, just saying.

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Cover of the Week:

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Tomorrow's Comics:

-Amazing Spider-Man #682

-Avenging Spider-Man #5

-Batman #7 (Dustin Nguyen Variant, yay!)

-Batman Beyond Unlimited #2

-Catwoman #7

-DC Universe Presents #7

-Green Lantern Corps #7

-Justice League #7

-Red Hood and the Outlaws #7

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-GamerGeek360

@Xandurson

This is late, I know. I blame Mass Effect 3, to be entirely honest.

Comics Round-Up:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #681 - 4/5 - More space Spidey! Great issue and I'm getting pretty excited for The Ends of the Earth arc. Love me some Spider-Man!

BATWING #7 - 4/5 - Dustin Nguyen on Batwing?! My life just got even better! The only sad thing is that it's only for a couple issues. But, Nguyen being my favorite artist, I am liking it so far. I was worried too about Ben Oliver leaving. Oh, and the story was good.

DETECTIVE COMICS #7 - 3/5 - This series is trying to get better. I enjoyed this issue but the series still needs to get a bit better. World's Greatest Detective needs to start living up to his name.

HUNTRESS #6 - 4/5 - I wish World's Finest would just show up already! This series ended in a weird way, but I'm still excited for the new series! I'm falling in love with Huntress!

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #7 - 3/5 - This series is dipping a bit, but I feel it will be coming back pretty soon!

RED LANTERNS #7 - 4/5 - I love Bleez, which is why I'm excited for where this series is headed! Oh, and human Red Lantern.

UNCANNY X-MEN #8 - 4/5 - Next arc coming in! This one finished up nicely and I'm ready for the next one. Still loving Magneto and Psylocke in this series. Don't really care for anyone else. Maybe Rachel.

VENOM #14 - 5/5 - I really liked this arc! I need more X-23!!!

WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN: ALPHA & OMEGA #3 - 4/5 - This is a very interesting series. Funny how it's making me hate Quentin yet loving him slightly too. Interested in seeing how this goes.

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Comic of the Week:

AVENGERS ACADEMY #27 - 5/5 - The Runaways are here! They may only have a 2-issue arc, but I have a feeling some (if not all) will be sticking around at the academy. I may be wrong though. I hope they do!

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Cover of the Week:

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Next Week's Comics:

-Adventure Time #2

-Batgirl #7

-Batman and Robin #7

-Batwoman #7

-Green Lantern #7

-Suicide Squad #7

-Thief of Thieves #2

-Wolverine & the X-Men #7

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-GamerGeek360

@Xandurson

I really need to do these earlier...

Comics Round-Up:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #680 - 4/5 - Spidey in space sounds like a great idea. Let's just see how the next issue goes... This one was enjoyable but didn't show enough of the space stuff. Need. More. Space.

BATMAN BEYOND UNLIMITED #1 - 3/5 - I'm gonna say this up front, I'm not a huge Batman Beyond fan. The whole idea is slightly odd to me. Now that I said that, I wanted to check out the new one just to give it a chance. I was going to decide based solely on this issue whether I would read this again. I've decided to give the series another chance. Let's hope issue 2 is good... This one was just okay.

VENOM #13.1, 13.2, 13.3, 13.4 - 4/5 - All of these issues get that rating. I'm really enjoying this arc. I caught up on the issues last week, hence the massive amount of issues, and I'm loving it. I came for X-23, but all of them are super interesting. Still, X-23 is the best.

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Comic of the Week:

JUSTICE LEAGUE #6 - 5/5 - They're finally a team! The Super Seven is here! The first arc is over and now the team is formed. Can't wait to move to present day JL shenanigans! Also, Pandora back-up was something I've been waiting for for a while. I need to know more, though!

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Cover of the Week:

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Tomorrow's Comics:

-Amazing Spider-Man #681

-Avengers Academy #27

-Batwing #7

-Detective Comics #7

-Huntress #6

-Justice League International #7

-Red Lanterns #7

-Venom #14

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-GamerGeek360

@Xandurson