COMICS GUIDE FOR DEC. 31, 2014
Titles listed in the Comics Guide come from the weekly list at the Diamond Comic Distributors Inc. website, and are subject to change. The information in the Comics Guide comes not only from Diamond but from solicitations, press releases and previews released by the publishers, except for random comments by Captain Comics (in blue).
BEST BETS
For more information on Best Bets and other titles,
consult the "This Week's Comics" section below.
With only 12 books released this week, everything's a Best Bet!
THIS WEEK'S COMICS
Titles are grouped alphabetically by publisher, in this order:
Archie Comics, Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, IDW Publishing, Image Comics, Marvel Comics, Valiant Comics and the catch-all Other Publishers.
DARK HORSE
THE MASSIVE VOL 4: SAHARA (TPB)
Writer: BRIAN WOOD
Art: GARRY BROWN, DANIEL ZEZELJ
Colors: JORDIE BELLAIRE
Cover: J.P. LEON
FC, 152 pages, $19.99
TPB, 7” x 10”
Callum Israel and the crew of the Kapital face Arkady, Israel’s former colleague bent on revenge. When the Kapital is bombed, Callum and Mag head into post-Crash Europe to confront Arkady. But what they ultimately discover may lead them to their long-lost ship, The Massive. Meanwhile, Mary appears in the Sahara Desert, guarding a convoy of fresh water, holding a secret that might unravel Callum for good. Collects issues #19-24.
“Much like DMZ, the glimpses of savagery in The Massive are unsettling because this world isn’t as divorced from ours as we’d like it to be.” -- IGNX VOL 4: BETTER OFF DEAD (TPB)
Writer: DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI
Art: ERIC NGUYEN
Pencils: ROBERT ATKINS
Inks: ANDY OWENS
Colors: MICHELLE MADSEN
Cover: ALEKSI BRICLOT
FC, 96 pages, $14.99
TP, 7” x 10”
Comics Master -- Hermann!
Tango’s gang was a handful, but the Archon and his army, the Chosen, are more powerful than any enemy X has ever faced! Betrayed or abandoned by his allies, X must face Arcadia’s newest threat the old-fashioned way: alone! Collects issues #13-16.
• X faces the greatest foe Arcadia has ever seen!
“X is, month in and month out, a brutally entertaining series.” -- Comic Book ResourcesDC COMICS
BATMAN ETERNAL #39
Written by SCOTT SNYDER, JAMES TYNION IV, RAY FAWKES, KYLE HIGGINS and TIM SEELEY
Art by RAMON PEREZ
Cover by TOMMY LEE EDWARDS
32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Someone has pieced together the mystery behind the plot to crush Gotham City ... but it’s not Batman! The Riddler knows all – and he’ll never tell!
EARTH 2: WORLD’S END #13
Written by DANIEL H. WILSON, MARGUERITE BENNETT and MIKE JOHNSON
Art by TYLER KIRKHAM, JACK HERBERT, JORGE
JIMENEZ, EDDY BARROWS and EDUARDO PANSICA
Cover by JAE LEE
32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Will Huntress become a casualty of war?
THE NEW 52: FUTURES END #35
Written by BRIAN AZZARELLO, JEFF LEMIRE, DAN JURGENS and KEITH GIFFEN
Art by JESUS MERINO and DAN GREEN
Cover by RYAN SOOK
32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
The power shifts of the last few issues place on one man’s shoulders the weight of protecting the world against the threat that destroyed Stormwatch! There’s no stopping from here to the end.
IDW PUBLICATIONS
STAR TREK/PLANET OF THE APES #1 (of 5)
Writers: SCOTT TIPTON, DAVID TIPTON
Art: RACHAEL STOTT
Cover: RACHAEL STOTT, JUAN ORITZ
Subscription Variant: GEORGE PEREZ
Variant Cover by TONE RODRIGUEZ
Blank Sketch Cover
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to “mind-meld” with a sentient ape? Or wanted to see a Klingon on horseback, brandishing a rifle? Readers will soon have a chance to peek into just such an alternate future, as IDW Publishing partners with BOOM! Studios for the crossover event of the year: Star Trek/Planet of the Apes.
IDW will publish the crossover, which will mark the first time BOOM! Studios has partnered with another publisher on a series. Together they will bring Star Trek, licensed by CBS Consumer Products, and 20th Century Fox’s Planet of the Apes together in a way that is sure to delight existing fans and make new ones. The series will pair the original U.S.S. Enterprise crew with Taylor, Nova and the cast from the original Planet of the Apes film.
“Planet of the Apes and Star Trek are groundbreaking science-fiction properties and both deal with many of the same social issues and themes,” says Greg Goldstein IDW President & Chief Operating Officer. “A crossover between the two is a natural and long overdue.”
“Before I could read comic books as a child, I could watch science fiction on my television. My dad used to wake me up way past my bedtime to watch Star Trek in syndication—it came on after the nightly news—and I took a Planet of the Apes lunchbox with me to kindergarten every day,” says BOOM! Studios Founder and CEO Ross Richie. “Suffice to say, teaming up these two titans of science fiction on the page in a way that they probably will never meet each other on the silver screen is a huge moment for me personally and emotionally.”
The creative team will be a mix of proven experience and new blood with scripts by beloved Star Trek scribes Scott and David Tipton (Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation 2) and interior art and covers by the British newcomer Rachael Stott.
“With the Klingons secretly backing a renegade gorilla general in a coup for control of Ape City, Captain Kirk finds himself in the uncomfortable position of having to help out Dr. Zaius’ orangutans,” explains David Tipton. “Taylor won’t be happy with that!”
“What an epic pairing! I’m so excited to see Taylor, Kirk…and those damned dirty apes…in our upcoming comic,” says IDW editor Sarah Gaydos, “We’re eager to team up these exciting creative forces to bring this to life.”
™ & ©2014 CBS Studios Inc. STAR TREK and related marks and logos are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.
From the writers of STAR TREK/ DOCTOR WHO: ASSIMILATION SQUARED and DOCTOR WHO: PRISONERS OF TIME Scott and David Tipton, and featuring the amazing art of talented newcomer Rachael Stott!
IMAGE COMICS
EAST OF WEST #16
Story: JONATHAN HICKMAN
Art: NICK DRAGOTTA
Cover A: NICK DRAGOTTA
Cover B (The PRA): NICK DRAGOTTA
Cover C (Texas): NICK DRAGOTTA
Cover D (Endless): NICK DRAGOTTA
Cover E (Kingdom): NICK DRAGOTTA
Cover F (Confederacy): NICK DRAGOTTA
Cover G: (Union): NICK DRAGOTTA
Cover H (Armistice): NICK DRAGOTTA
Variant: JAMIE MCKELVIE & MATTHEW WILSON
40 PAGES / FC / T+ / $3.50
“THE APOCALYPSE: YEAR TWO” begins in the over-sized EAST OF WEST #16!
Following the dramatic conclusion of YEAR ONE, the Great Beast now roams the fractured United States of America.
Deep into an all-consuming war between the splintered nations, the Four Horsemen move to further their individual agendas while resisting the inevitability of The Message.
IMAGE FIRSTS: WYTCHES #1
Publisher: IMAGE COMICS
Writer: SCOTT SNYDER
Art/Cover: CORY WALKER
Mature/$1.00
MARVEL COMICS
ALL-NEW MIRACLEMAN ANNUAL #1
Written by GRANT MORRISON & PETER MILLIGAN
Art by JOE QUESADA & MIKE ALLRED
Cover by GABRIELE DELL’OTTO
Variant Cover: JOE QUESADA
Sketch Variant: JOE QUESADA
Variant: JEFF SMITH
40 PGS. / Parental Advisory / $4.99
It was the series that changed comics forever, injecting new sophistication into the medium and becoming one of the most significant works in comic history. Marvel is proud to present your new look inside December’s ALL-NEW MIRACLEMAN ANNUAL #1, bringing you new stories from legendary talents! Celebrated comic creators Grant Morrison, Joe Quesada, Peter Milligan and Mike Allred unite for a star-studded, can’t-miss comic event that will have the whole industry talking!
"Miracleman is a legend that resonates deeply in the world of comics,” says Marvel Editor in Chief Axel Alonso. “Without its trailblazing stories, who knows what the landscape of comics would look like today? If you want to live up to that pedigree, you don’t pull any punches. That's why we tapped two incredible creative teams — Grant Morrison and Joe Quesada; Peter Milligan and Mike Allred — for this historic annual. All-New Miracleman Annual #1 is a must-read for any fan of the character, or the medium in general.”
Comic book icons Grant Morrison and Joe Quesada team for the first time to bring you a story over 20 years in the making. Famously written over 20 years ago, Grant Morrison’s long-lost Miracleman tale will finally see print in this epic, oversized annual! Brought beautifully to life by legendary artist & Marvel Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada, this notably unpublished story and much talked about piece of Miracleman history will finally be available for the first time ever! Experience a foreboding tale of the once Kid Miracleman prior to the cataclysmic Battle of London.
Then, comic superstars Peter Milligan and Mike Allred take you back to the glory days of Miracleman’s past for an all-new look at the classic Mick Anglo era as Miracleman, Kid Miracleman and Young Miracleman do battle against a fearsome and terrifying foe! But amid the Miracleman Family’s awe-inspiring clash, there is a sense of unease. Something is not right. Something in Miracleman’s own mind! Is this all a dream? What is Project Zarathustra?
Plus, ALL-NEW MIRACLEMAN ANNUAL #1 comes jam-packed with bonus extras that should not be missed -- including Grant Morrison’s original script, sketches, original art and more!
Debuting on New Year’s Eve, ALL-NEW MIRACLEMAN ANNUAL #1 stands as one of only two Marvel Comics hitting shelves on the final day of the calendar year. Launching alongside S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, Marvel Comics is ready to close out 2014 with a colossal bang! Be there when Grant Morrison, Joe Quesada, Peter Milligan and Mike Allred take the Miracleman mythos to new heights for the blockbuster ALL-NEW MIRACLEMAN ANNUAL #1 -- hitting comic shops and digital devices on 12/31!
• Joe Quesada illustrates Grant Morrison’s lost Miracleman story, a disturbing confrontation prior to the Battle of London
• Peter Milligan and Mike Allred reunite for a new Miracleman classic!
• Plus bonus material!
S.H.I.E.L.D. #1
Writer: MARK WAID
Art: CARLOS PACHECO
Cover by JULIAN TOTINO TEDESCO
Variant by MIKE DEODATO
Variant by SKOTTIE YOUNG
Deadpool Party Variant by TBA
Deadpool Party Variant Sketch by TBA
Set of 6 Young Guns Variants by MAHMUD ASRAR, NICK BRADSHAW, DAVE MARQUEZ,
SARA PICHELLI, VALERIO SCHITI & RYAN STEGMAN
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Variant also available
Blank Variant also available
40 PGS. / Rated T+ / $4.99
High-tech weaponry. High-stakes missions. High-octane adventure! This is S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 – the all-new in-continuity Marvel series inspired by the hit ABC television show! Eisner Award-winning writer Mark Waid (Daredevil) brings you a new series that explodes off the page with done-in-one missions each drawn by some of the top artists in the industry including Carlos Pacheco, Alan Davis, Chris Sprouse and more!
“[S.H.I.E.L.D.] has the best toys,” says series writer Mark Waid, in an interview with Marvel.com. “And the best allies – anyone and everyone in the Marvel Universe is a potential guest-star in this book, from Dr. Strange to the Thing to Spider-Man to Cloak and Dagger to Groot – if they’ve got the skills needed for the task at hand, they’re on the front lines (like it or not).”
Leading the charge is special Agent Phil Coulson, as he brings together the best and brightest, the gifted and the elite – normal people and superhumans alike from all corners of the Marvel Universe! If you’ve got the skills, S.H.I.E.L.D. has a mission for you! Phil Coulson, Maria Hill, Skye, Melinda May, Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons and more team up with the Marvel Universe’s most iconic characters each and every issue to confront, combat and curtail cataclysmic threats and world threatening dangers beyond the scope of any conventional peace-keeping force!
“We’ve got what amounts to an unlimited budget and the ability to bring in any character at any time,” says Executive Editor Tom Brevoort. “So that’s an advantage that we’re going to press, with the most spectacular set-pieces we can dream up, and involvement from characters from every corner of the Marvel Universe.”
Each and every issue: One mission. Twenty pages. Non-stop action. Guest stars from across the Marvel Universe. And a helper monkey. Hold on to your hats Agent, as S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 brings thrilling espionage and high-octane superhero action to comic shops and digital devices this December!
VALIANT COMICS
X-O MANOWAR #31
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by DIEGO BERNARD
Interlocking A & B Covers by RAUL ALLEN
Variant Cover by EMANUELA LUPACCHINO
$3.99 | 32 pages. | T+
"ENTER: ARMORINES" – PART 2
ARMORINES … ATTACK!
Aric of Dacia has laid waste to entire planets and defeated the universe’s most skilled hunters, but how can he kill what he can’t see? A strange new foe with a fiendishly familiar leader has unleashed a relentless offensive on Aric of Dacia, and he doesn’t even know it yet! Be here for the deadliest foe X-O Manowar has battled yet, as the ARMORINES continue their march towards Aric’s destruction!
OTHER PUBLISHERS
ABIGAIL AND THE SNOWMAN #1
Publisher: BOOM! STUDIOS
Writer/Art/Cover: ROGER LANDRIDGE
$3.99
WHY WE LOVE IT: From his acclaimed run on THE MUPPET SHOW COMIC BOOK to his beloved THOR: THE MIGHTY AVENGER, Roger Langridge has earned a reputation for telling classic allstories filled with heart and humor. After working with Roger on JIM HENSON'S THE MUSICAL MONSTERS OF TURKEY HOLLOW, we couldn't wait to set him loose on his first creatorseries since the Eisner AwardSNARKED. The fact that there are Yetis in this only made us even more confident Roger's latest is going to be something special.
WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT: The story of an imaginative young girl who befriends a sophisticated Yeti is perfect for fans of allclassics like MONSTERS, INC. and LILO AND STITCH, while Roger's fun, often hilarious art will be admired by fans who grew up on CALVIN AND HOBBES.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Abigail is a ninegirl with a huge imagination who moves to a small town where she's the new kid at school, struggling to make friends. All that changes when she meets a Yeti named Claude who has escaped a topgovernment facility. Abigail and Claude become the best of friends, but to make sure he can truly be free from the "Shadow Men" chasing him, they must go on an adventure to find Claude's real home!
Replies
I wonder why two high profile books (SHIELD and Star Trek/POTA) are coming out on what is practically a skip week?
The Star Trek/Apes story is off to a good start.
My shop must have gotten theirs early because I bought East of West, SHIELD and X-O Manowar last week. I noticed Abigail and the Snowman on the shelf and almost picked it up for one of my daughters.
Philip Portelli said:
Because having the week mostly to themselves is a great time to launch a high-profile book?
I agree. So far, it's playing out exactly as I hoped/expected. Now that the preliminaries are over and the players are in place, it's time for the action to begin!
Abigail is a ninegirl with a huge imagination
What's a ninegirl?