The Top Five
Elvira Meets Vincent Price #1
Dynamite | 32 pages | Teen+ | $3.99
Writer: David Avallone | Art: Juan Samu | Cover A: Dave Acosta | Cover B: Juan Samu | Cover C: John Royle | Cover D: Photo | Cover E: Blank Authentix
The two titans of horror and comedy untie in comics for the very first time! Dynamite Entertainment Proudly Presents ... Elvira Meets Vincent Price!
Elvira is back, with her most historic AND greatest costar ever! The ghost of Vincent Price is a spirit with a mission, and only the Mistress of the Dark can help! The Apocalypse is coming, and it's going to be live-streamed for binge-watching, but a long-lost movie can save the world ... if only the movie star specter and the horror hostess with the mostest can find it in time! Thrills, chills, and all sorts of terrible puns!
Captain Comics sez: Elvira can be a delightful character, if written well. That's the case here, as the writer even has Elvira judge one her own jokes (pretty accurately, I'd say), and the saucy puns seem to work better in print than on screen, without the over-the-top vamping. Overall, this first issue is charming, with the Mistress of the Dark teaming with the ghost of Vincent Price (written Vincent Price-y enough that you can almost hear his famous baritone) to track down a film only rumored to exist. Somehow this will stop the apocalypse, but Price won't say how, because "the audience can only take so much exposition at one time."
I don't care what planet you're from, that there is funny.
The Golem Walks Among Us #1 (of 2)
Dark Horse | 480 pages | $3.99
Writers: Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden | Art/Cover: Peter Bergting
The Golem has a long memory ...
After being awakened from his long sleep in a shrine in Eastern Europe, Josef the Golem aids in the fight against the witches that once again terrorize humanity. Deployed to a small village where a cult has taken root, Josef encounters not only witches but an old enemy who remembers him well ... and is out for vengeance!
CC sez: Any first issue in Mike Mignola's "Otherverse" vaults into my Top 5, because I fully expect this is where Mignola and creative partner Christopher Golden will expend all their energies in the future, now that Hellboy is irrevocably dead.
As are most of the other interesting characters in the Hellboy universe. About all we have left is Abe Sapien, who is about as interesting as, oh, let's say Aquaman. DH thought their unterseemann was strong enough to headline a title, but he did about as well as DC's water guy, who also can't headline a title for long. Or Marvel's water guy, come to think of it.
As a longtime Aquaman (and Sub-Mariner) reader, I'd have told them not to bother with an Abe Sapien book. But oddly, they didn't ask me.
Speaking of titles, I'm glad DH opted not to use "amongst" in this book's title. "Amongst," like "whilst," just strikes me as pretentious. And I'm a pedant!
I'm OK with "heretofore," though, so I was on Dr. Strange's side when Tony Stark made fun of him in Avengers: Infinity War. "Heretofore" is a delightfully archaic word that has a very specific and useful meaning, whose loss would be felt. As compared to "amongst," which is interchangeable with "among," the latter being more conversational and authentic to my ear. So "among" should be used and "amongst" should be banished to word limbo. In my humble opinion. (Told you I was a pedant!)
The Me You Love in the Dark #1 (of 5)
Image | $3.99
Writer: Skottie Young | Art/Cover: Jorge Corona
In this chilling new series an artist named Ro retreats from the grind of the city to an isolated old house to find solace and inspiration — but the muse within is not quite what she expected.
CC sez: Not much happens in this first issue, so I have no idea where it's going. We do meet Ro Meadows, a painter with writer's block (or whatever it's called for an artist), who rents a house rumored to be haunted to find her inspiration. Naturally, there is a ghost, and a friendly one at that. As far as we know.
That's not much to go on. I wish the story wasn't so decompressed, so I'd have a better idea if I want to keep reading. Given Image's awesome track record on creator-owned books, though, I'm more than willing to give it another issue.
As for the art, it's loose and cartoony, which I usually don't like. But in this case I do, as it serves the story well.
Suicide Squad: Get Joker #1 (of 3)
DC Comics | 48 pages | Black Label | 17+ | $6.99
Writer: Brian Azzarello | Art: Alex Maleev, Matt Hollingsworth | Cover: Alex Maleev | Variant: Jorge Fornes
DC Announces ‘Suicide Squad: Get Joker!’
by Brian Azzarello and Alex Maleev!
When Task Force X’s Amanda Waller sets her sights on Batman’s greatest foe, she enlists the Dark Knight’s former partner Jason Todd to track down the Clown Prince of Crime and put an end to his mad reign of terror!
CC sez: Aaaaand, here's Joker. Again. Sigh.
Yes, I'm tired of The Joker. (And I bet I'm not alone.) I do like the book's concept, though. We've all wondered why DC's law enforcement and institutions don't do more to permanently curtail an ongoing catastrophe like The Joker. This book addresses that question directly, with a black-book federal agency trying to do just that. And, while I won't spoil what Bleeding Cool spoiled for me, we're going to see just why The Joker is so hard to neutralize.
That might get me over my Joker Fatigue enough to enjoy what looks like a wild ride.
Spirits of Vengeance: Spirit Rider #1
Marvel | Teen+ | $4.99
Writer: B. Earl | Art: Paul Davidson, Jeffrey Veregge | Cover: Takashi Okazaki | Variant: Javier Rodriguez
Blaze has been through a lot lately, from ascending the throne of Hell to nearly murdering his former allies on the Avengers. But his nightmare is far from over. Something — or someone — is haunting him, and only a Ghost Rider with the powers of a Sorcerer Supreme can find out why. The dynamic writing duo of Taboo (of the Black Eyed Peas) and B. Earl expand the Rider mythos with an action-packed special that will kick off a brand-new era of vengeance! Kushala's about to be the hottest thing in hell.
CC sez: You know, when someone has a title, like "Sorcerer Supreme," you kind of expect to hear about previous ones or even meet them. That hasn't been the case with Dr. Strange, has it? A couple here and there, I think, like the 31st century Sorcerer Supreme in the '90s Guardians of the Galaxy series. And we've only seen a few other Ghost Riders, although theoretically they've existed since 1,000,000 BCE, so there should be thousands, if not millions. So a previous Sorcerer Supreme combined with a previous Ghost Rider sounds really interesting, although I hope they explain why we haven't heard about her before. Whenever she existed, she would have made enough noise to make the history books, don't you think?
Also, if this series can unsnarl where all the various Ghost Riders are right now, I'd be grateful. I haven't followed every recent book they've been in, and I don't know the status quo of each. I mean, is Johnny Blaze still king of Hell, or what? Where are Danny Ketch and Robbie Reyes? Is Alejandra Jones still a thing? Vengeance? Inquiring minds want to know!
Other Items of Interest
Amazing Spider-Man by Michelinie McFarlane Omnibus HC
Marvel Comics | Teen | $100.00
Writers: David Michelinie, Glenn Herdling, more | Art/Cover: Todd McFarlane, more
Whether clad in classic blue-and-red or thrilling black, whether possessing spider-powers or cosmic might, Spider-Man stands ready to face any threat! And as David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane take the creative reins, the threats to Spidey have never been greater! From the introduction of the lethal Venom to the return of old enemies like Mysterio, the Scorpion and more to facing newcomers to his friendly neighborhood like Sabretooth, the Taskmaster, Magneto and the Sentinels, Spidey sure has his plate full! Good thing he has Mary Jane, Captain America, the Black Cat and the Hulk around to lend a hand! Featuring the pulse-pounding prose of longtime IRON MAN scribe David Michelinie and the groundbreaking artistry of the legendary Todd McFarlane! Collecting AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1963) #296-329 and material from SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #10.
CC sez: It took a lot to kill my love for Spider-Man. Venom. "Sins Past." "One More Day."
But this is probably where the long road to the Spidey off-ramp started. I really, really don't care for Todd McFarlane's work, for too many reasons to list here. But there he was in 1998 drawing, and soon writing, my favorite character, while employing his patented image-over-substance style. I trudged through these issues with something akin to disgust, out of a sense of obligation. I don't think I ever thought about Spider-Man the same way again.
Amber Blake: Operation Dragonfly one-shot
Heavy Metal | $7.99
Writer: Jade Lagardere | Art/Cover: Butch Guice
Abandoned by her mother at the age of 5, Amber Blake was only a child when she was recruited to the Cleverland Institute, a school for gifted children, where she was promised a bright future. But predators hide in the school's administration and, on the verge of exposing them, Amber finds herself fleeing for her life from the very man who took her in. Now a top recruit of a covert agency dead-set on ending human slavery in all its forms, she's going to destroy everone who's ever hurt the people she loves.
CC sez: Is it me, or does this have a real 1970s Modesty Blaise vibe? The art seems like a cross between '70s advertising style and Jim Holdaway, with a little Dick Giordano tossed in.
Battle Angel Alita Vol 1 GN
Kodansha | $12.99
Writer/Art: Yukito Kishiro
In a dump in the lawless settlement of Scrapyard, far beneath the mysterious space city of Zalem, disgraced cyber-doctor Daisuke Ido makes a strange discovery: the detached head of a cyborg woman who has lost all her memories. He names her Alita and equips her with a powerful new body, the Berserker. While Alita remembers no details of her former life, a moment of desperation reawakens in her nerves the legendary school of martial arts known as Panzer Kunst. In a place where there is no justice but what people make for themselves, Alita decides to become a hunter-killer, tracking down and taking out those who prey on the weak. But can she hold onto her humanity? This new paperback edition features an updated translation in six affordable, 300-page volumes.
CC sez: I know the movie didn't do very well, but I read the first three hardback collections in preparation, and rather enjoyed them. On paper, those gigantic eyes don't look "uncanny valley" at all!
Anyway, if you're Alita-curious, here's an inexpensive way to jump on board from the beginning.
Count Draco: Knuckleduster #1
Scout Comics |
Writers: Peter Goral, Joseph Schmalke | Joseph Schmalke | Colors: Peter Goral | Letterer: DC Hopkins
A sinister celestial sorcerer who will stop at nothing to break an ancient curse and gain immortality, must use magic and necromancy to track down a rogue assassin and a gifted young stowaway across an alien world.
CC sez: As soon as I saw this title, I immediately thought of this guy:
Separated at birth?
Deadpool: Black White & Blood #1 (of 5)
Marvel | $4.99
Writers: Tom Taylor, More | Art: James Stokoe, More | Cover: Adam Kubert| Variant: Kyle Hotz | Variant: James Stokoe | Variant: Declan Shalvey
Deadpool will be starring in a brand-new series just in time for his 30th anniversary celebration. DEADPOOL: BLACK, WHITE, AND BLOOD will be packed with Deadpool’s wildest stories to date, all depicted in a prestige black and white format — with a heavy splattering of blood all over! Each action-packed issue will have an all-star lineup of creators teaming up to honor the character’s incredible legacy with the kind of chaos and violence that Wade Wilson loves!
CC sez: Looks like everyone gets a black, white & red book! YOU get a black, white & red book! And YOU get a black, white & red book! And YOU get a black, white & red book!
I admit the concept does fit the character well, probably better than it does Harley Quinn, who is less lethal these days. If you enjoy Deadpool — and I do, in small doses, or at the movies — you will probably enjoy this.
Fire Power by Kirkman & Samnee #14
Image | $3.99
Writer: Robert Kirkman | Art/Cover: Chris Samnee, Matthew Wilson
The jaw-dropping Year Two of Fire Power continues as Owen has quickly realizes that he and his family may never be able to return to a normal life. After all, The Serpent’s Omen is called that for a reason...and they’re not the only ones from Owen’s past ready to show their faces once again.
CC sez: This is the second issue of Fire Power in a row where Skybound sent out a press release and preview for no really strong reason. Like I've said before, you can like Robert Kirkman's writing or not, but you can't fault his instinct for marketing.
First Degree Crime Anthology HC
Humanoids Inc | $27.99
Writers: David Walker, Sydney Duncan | Art: Michael Lark, J.P. Mayinga | Cover: David Aja
A woman lures her husband and his secret lover to an abandoned house. Something sinister is happening inside the convent. A chef commits the perfect murder.
Over the past 25 years, the POLAR Festival of Cognac, France has established itself as one of the most esteemed crime fiction conventions in the world. FIRST DEGREE: A CRIME ANTHOLOGY is a commemorative celebration of the festival's silver anniversary, containing over a dozen tales by the writers and artists it has recognized.
This was really enjoyable. Not only were there lots of different stories (meaning a look at lots of different plots, styles and creators) but the noir slant tended to hammer out Euro-eccentricities. It's one hard-hitting story after another about crime, love and murder, often all at once, without European-style surrealism or navel-gazing. Recommended especially for Ed Brubaker fans.
Horizon Zero Dawn: Liberation #1
Titan Comics | All Ages | 32 pages | $3.99
Writers: Ben McCaw, Anne Toole | Art: Elmer Damaso | Cover A: Peach Momoko | Cover B: Game Art | Cover C: Harvey Tolibao | Cover D: Ann Maulina | Cover E: Adrian Wilkins | Cover F: Blank Sketch
Critically acclaimed original creative team return for a new chapter in the story of Aloy and Erend! Fending off deadly machines, the pair hunt down the killer of a member of the Oseram tribe!
CC sez: I didn't read the first series, and I don't play the video game. That might not matter for some titles, but it does for this one. I grew puzzled enough after four or five pages in that I gave up. Nice art, though.
Immortal Hulk #49
Marvel | $3.99
Writer: Al Ewing | Art: Joe Bennett | Cover: Alex Ross | Variant: Joe Bennett | Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage variant: Inhyuk Lee
This year will see the climactic end to one of the most critically acclaimed runs in recent history: Al Ewing and Joe Bennett’s IMMORTAL HULK. Closing out this thought-provoking, character redefining epic with IMMORTAL HULK #50, Ewing and Bennett will bid farewell to Bruce Banner, the Green Door, and all the unforgettable elements they’ve cemented into the Hulk mythos. But there are plenty of surprises still in store and fans will want to pick up IMMORTAL HULK #49 where the build-up to the explosive final issue begins with a bang!
CC sez: I've been Omnibus-waiting this series, and that cover just makes me wish the darn book would get here sooner.
The Joker Presents: A Puzzlebox #1 (of 7)
DC Comics | 40 pages | $4.99
Writer: Matthew Rosenberg | Art: Jesus Merino, Joshua Hixon | Cover: Chip Zdarsky | Card Stock variant ($5.99): Riccardo Federici | Card Stock variant ($5.99): Christopher Mooneyham
The G.C.P.D. discover a mysterious corpse, a magical box, and a murderer’s row of the city’s most dangerous villains sitting in a jail cell. Now all they need to figure out is what exactly happened! Fortunately, one suspect is willing to talk.
Unfortunately, it’s The Joker. And he’s holding all the cards.
As an early bonus for DC UNIVERSE INFINITE subscribers, beginning on June 7 digital chapters of The Joker Presents: A Puzzlebox will begin releasing with additional clues and insights (called a DIRECTOR’S CUT BONUS BOX) to help readers stay two steps ahead of The Joker!
CC sez: I've discussed my Joker Fatigue elsewhere, but this book is brightened by the fact that each of the seven issues will star a different member of Batman's rogues gallery. I think. If I'm reading the tea leaves right, the seven stories will seem unrelated (and will be drawn by different creative teams), and the puzzle is figuring out how they relate and what that reveals.
I'm wary (too much Joker!) but intrigued.
Lost on Planet Earth Vol 1 TPB
Dark Horse | 136 pages | $19.99
Writer: Magdalene Visaggio | Art/Cover: Claudia Aguirre
Basil Miranda thought she knew where her life was going. Like her family before her, she will join the Interplanetary Union Fleet. Basil pursues her goal with a singular vision, and follows a regimented, relentless training routine. Her whole life is dedicated to this mission. It is everything to her. And then, while sitting in her fleet examination, she is asked a question she can’t answer. What makes her happy? She panics and flees. And that’s when Basil begins a conflicted relationship with a Xanthippian named Velda who introduces her to a new world.
Lost on Planet Earth Volume One, collects issues #1-5.
CC sez: Here's a book that started out as a critique of Starfleet in Star Trek, but turned into ... a lesbian coming of age story.
That's not my opinion. The foreword said as much. The author was stuck trying to write his screed until they lighted upon the idea of using the characters to tell the story. My God! Why has no one else thought of this?
The author's premise is that Starfleet is actually an evil organization, whose hidden agenda is to assimilate all other cultures into being like Earth. And that Manifest Destiny was the only thing that could unify Earth to begin with. So that's what the Union Fleet, the faux Starfleet in the story, is doing.
I'm sure that sounded clever when the story was being pitched. But the only way that you can make that charge stick against Starfleet is if you actively ignore 55 years of stories to the contrary. Ever hear of the Prime Directive? If anything, Starfleet's pattycake approach to interstellar relations is its greatest weakness.
But a necessary one. Star Trek was created by Gene Roddenberry to embody embody the values of inclusiveness, progressivism and self-determination. You can't achieve those things at the point of a phaser. For conquest, colonization and assimilation, see: Romulans, Klingons, Borg. They're the bad guys.
To further underscore the author's poor understanding of Star Trek, his characters have to have hide their homosexuality for fear of being bounced out of the Union Fleet. Um, dude, that's not even true of our current military, much less the military/science/exploration services of 200 years from now.
As to the characters who act out this premise, I mentioned last week that lesbian coming-of-age stories are so common now as to threaten displacing male power fantasies as the mainstream. Since there's nothing particularly interesting about this particular coming of age, I found it all kinda boring.
Lucky Devil #1 (of 4)
Dark Horse | 32 pages | $3.99
Writer: Cullen Bunn | Art: Fran Galan | Colorist: El Torres | Cover Artist: Fran Galan
A down-on-his-luck schlub is possessed by a malevolent demon. Just when he thinks things can't get worse, the exorcism goes wrong ... and he finds that somehow he's retained all of the entity's supernatural gifts. After a path of revenge on all the people that have wronged him, he begins to gather worshipers and form a cult.
CC sez: This first issue doesn't set the table completely. The above happens, but the other shoe waiting to drop is that Hell's other demons don't take kindly to a mortal having their power, and, of course, they want it for themselves. So there are the antagonists in the series (aside from morality and good taste), which we're evidently going to meet in issue #2.
I enjoyed the black humor of Lucky Devil, but I can't enjoy evil indefinitely; at some point even my inner 10-year-old doesn't want to see any more grossness, and my grown-up self wants to see some karmic justice. So I'm glad it's a miniseries.
Not All Robots #1
Artists Writers & Artisans Inc | $3.99
Writer: Mark Russell | Art: Mike Deodato | Cover: Rahzzah
In the year 2056, robots have replaced human beings in the workforce. An uneasy co-existence develops between the newly intelligent robots and the ten billion humans living on Earth. Every human family is assigned a robot upon whom they are completely reliant. What could possibly go wrong? Meet the Walters, a human family whose robot, Razorball, ominously spends his free time in the garage working on machines which they're pretty sure are designed to kill them in this sci-fi satire from Mark Russell (The Flintstones, Second Coming) and Mike Deodato Jr. (The Amazing Spider-Man,The Resistance).
CC sez: I don't know if this will be good, but I suspect it will be, if for no other reason than the presence of Mike Deodata. And I sure like that cover, a clever take on Norman Rockwell's "Freedom from Want" painting.
Operation Dragon HC
Dark Horse | 192 pages | $24.99
Writers: Bill Groshelle, Brendan Cahill | Art: German Peralta | Colors: Kristian Rossi | Cover: Randy Gaul
WWII. The Pacific. A mythic adventure unfolds as three American soldiers — a disgraced ex-cop, a mobster trying to escape his past, and an intelligence officer with mysterious motives — investigate a top-secret Japanese superweapon: a deadly force of trained dinosaurs!
CC sez: DH doesn't send out review copies of its graphic novels, so I can't tell you if this is any good. I will note that WWII soldiers vs. dinosaurs is a time-honored comic book trope that is usually a lot of fun, and move on.
Queen of the Ring: Wrestling Drawings by Jaime Hernandez 1980-2020 HC
Fantagraphics | $24.99
Writer/Art/Cover: Jaime Hernandez
For the past 40 years, acclaimed cartoonist Jaime Hernandez has been creating a Love and Rockets-adjacent world — set in the heyday of 1960s and ’70s women’s wrestling and lucha libre! This best-of book spotlights the women who are often ignored in pro wrestling in 125 full color illustrations: pin-ups, action shots, mock wrestling magazine covers, all presented in a large paperback format that echoes the classic lucha libre magazines of the 1960s.
CC sez: I'm no wrestling fan, and the Hernandez Brothers' clear enthusiasm for 1950s-'60s female wrestling has always made me mutter "Que carajo." But Jaime's artwork has always been my favorite of the three, with its obvious Dan DeCarlo influence, mastery of the basics and clean finish. Enough so that I've requested a review copy (which hasn't yet arrived).
Stillwater by Zdarsky & Pérez #9
Image | $3.99
Writer: Chip Zdarsky | Art: Mike Spicer | Art/Cover: Ramon K. Perez
The new world order of Stillwater aims to cement their rule for life — and that means Ted is welcoming new visitors to the town. Unfortunately, that’s bad news for Faith. … Can Ted keep his hold on Stillwater or will a new force topple his reign?
CC sez: I'm not reading this book, although I'll start if any Legionnaire cares to recommend it. (I don't want to commit to eight issues blind, when my to-read pile is already out of control.) Here's the preview they sent for this issue.
Supergirl: Adventures of the Girl of Steel TPB
DC Comics | $9.99
Writers/Art: Various | Cover: Bruce Timm
Supergirl takes the spotlight in this collection of adventures that prove she is much more than a sidekick! Discover the events that prepare Supergirl to face her past fears and embrace her future. Throughout this collection, witness Supergirl team up with Superman and the Justice League to confront treacherous encounters with some of DC’s most notorious villains, like General Zod, Lex Luthor, and Darkseid. Join the adventure as Kara gets accustomed to life on Earth and fulfills her desire to help the world. Collects Superman Adventures #21, #39 and #52, and Justice League Unlimited #7.
CC sez: Awww, this cover immediately made me nostalgic for the Bruce Timm-verse era of animated shows. And a Supergirl I actually liked! Good times.
Transformers: King Grimlock #1 (of 5)
IDW | $4.99
Writer: Steve Orlando | Art/Cover B: Agustin Padilla | Cover A: Cary Nord
In a savage world where the strong rule with sword and iron, the Dinobot Grimlock finds a new opportunity to prove he’s the strongest there is ... but as Grimlock and the human barbarian Arko will learn, sometimes brute strength isn’t enough.
CC sez: This entire issue reads like a 1970s Incredible Hulk, with Grimlock in the role of the Emerald Behemoth. He talks like '70s Hulk (even says "Grimlock strongest there is" at one point) and acts like '70s Hulk (when asked to fight someone and play savior, he petulantly declines, and wanders off).
That's not necessarily a complaint. If you enjoyed the childlike Hulk, you might enjoy this for the same reasons.
Trover Saves the Universe #1 (of 5)
Image | $3.99
Writer/Art/Cover: Tess Stone | Variant: Justin Roiland
Welcome to the ICJ — Important Cosmic Jobs — where employees are ranked by their boss, and at the end of each month, the worst employee literally gets the ax. It’s…not a great gig. But when ICJ’s top eyehole monster winds up dead, the company’s most inept (and rival) employees, Klover and Bo, are falsely accused of his murder and hunted by the Space Cops!
Now they must clear their names and unravel a conspiracy that reaches the very top … that is, if they don’t kill each other first!
CC sez: Wow, this is really not aimed at me. Evidently it's based on a video game, so maybe gamers will go for it in droves. Y'all have at it!
We Don't Kill Spiders #1 (of 3)
Scout Comics | $3.99
Writers: Joseph Schmalke, Peter Goral | Art/Cover: Joseph Schmalke
From the Black Caravan imprint: In the early Viking age, a faithless Norseman detective is summoned to a Scandinavian hamlet where a series of murders have occurred. Discovering the dark and bloody history of the village he investigates the local outcast, a necromantic witch who brings his atheistic values into question. Determined to prevent further homicides the two band together to discover the identity of a serial killer.
CC sez: I've been a Viking enthusiast since discovering Snorri Sturluson in my junior high library in the early '70s. The rest of the world is now catching on to how cool and colorful the Viking era was, and writing tons of stories set then, when life was short, brutal and bigger, and almost everyone believed in magic.
I'm happier than a Dane gone a-viking.
EVENTS/CROSSOVERS
ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE VARIANTS
EXTREME CARNAGE
Extreme Carnage: Lasher #1
Marvel | Teen+ | $3.99
Writer: Clay McLeod Chapman | Art: Chris Mooneyham | Cover: Skan | Variant: Jeff Johnson | Variant: Skottie Young
WITNESS THE BIRTH OF A NEW SYMBIOTE!
Four issues into the Carnage event of the summer and the bodies just keep piling up — including some of the Venomaniacs the Mighty Marveldom know and love! But now is not a time to mourn for fallen heroes (or their symbiotes). CARNAGE is on the loose, and he's building an army ...
CC sez: We're only halfway through this symbiote event, which immediately followed on the heels of the last symbiote event, which lasted half a year. In the words of Mr. Furious, "Rage ... taking over ... I am a ticking time bomb of fury!" I'll try to maintain control for four more weeks.
INFINITE DESTINIES
Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #1
Marvel | Teen+ | $4.99
Writers: Al Ewing, Jed MacKay | Art: Flaviano, Juan Ferreyra | Cover: Mike McKone | Interconnecting variant: Ron Lim
Hercules has always been known as the Prince of Power ... that is until a younger prince showed up to out-muscle him! With the aid of an all-powerful Infinity Stone, even a complete idiot can develop the quads, delts and abs of a Prince of Power ... but why was it THIS idiot? Focus on your core, True Believers — the answers will shock you to it!
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: Part 7 (of 8) of "Infinite Fury"!
CC sez: Say, is this cover an homage to Thor #126* (below)? Or some other Kirby cover?
*This is the first issue of Thor's book since he debuted in issue #83 without "Journey into Mystery" on the cover. I don't know if it became official in the indicia at that point, but issue #125 is where I usually say Journey into Mystery ends, and issue #126 is where I usually say Thor begins. Mycomicshop.com and some other places don't make any distinction, listing Thor from issue #83 on, but I'm an anal-retentive comics fan and can't help myself.
By the same token, the first book starring Marvel's mutants was officially named The X-Men until issue #142, when it was officially re-named Uncanny X-Men. Everybody else refers to Uncanny X-Men going back to at least 1975, but I do not. See? I just can't let these things go.
SKYBOUND 10TH ANNIVERSARY
Image | 44 pages | Mature | $4.99
Writers: Robert Kirkman, Kyle Starks, Sean Mackiewicz | Art: Ryan Ottley, Jason Howard, Chris Schweizer, Niko Walter | Cover A by David Finch | Cover B by Chris Schweizer | Cover C by Jason Howard | Cover D 1:10 Incentive Cover by Chris Schweizer | Cover E 1:10 Incentive Cover by Jason Howard | Cover F 1:25 Incentive Cover by David Finch
C.O.D.E. tells the story of humanity in the far future surviving a technological hellscape through the assistance of a device known as Combat Orb Defense Engines. Seven orb wielders who hail from six different warring factions have set aside their differences to band together and carry out a mission that may be humanity’s last hope to thwart a technological menace that has nearly completely overtaken earth.
This extra-length issue also features the final chapter of “Rick Grimes 2000,” along with new stories from the worlds of The Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton from Kyle Starks & Chris Schweizer and Gasolina from Sean Mackiewicz and Niko Walter!
CC sez: Well, that's the end.
Just kidding! All these new characters are scheduled to return, usually as headliners in their own books. And those that didn't buy this miniseries will have missed their first appearance! You play dirty, Skybound.
SINISTER WAR
Sinister War #2 (of 4)
Marvel | Teen+ | $4.99
Writer: Nick Spencer | Art: Mark Bagley | Cover: Bryan Hitch | Interconneting variant: Mark Bagley | Variant: Marcelo Ferreira | Handbook variant: Mark Bagley | Variant: Jeffrey Veregge
Spidey's classic problem has been multiplied by two and you don't even know the HALF of it. Twelve of Spidey's greatest villains are out for blood: Spider-Man's and each other's! Ock and Vulture make their big plays this issue that are going to shake up NYC in ways you didn't think were possible!
CC sez: I'm enjoying this. The stakes are high, and Dr. Strange specifically addresses the utter wrongness of "One More Day." I may not love Spider-Man as blindly as I used to, but I can still enjoy a good Spider-story, and this looks like one.
WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS
Marvel | Teen | $3.99
Writer: Ethan Sacks | Art: Paolo Villanelli | Cover: Giuseppe Camuncoli | LucasFilm 50th Anniversary variant: Chris Sprouse | Wanted Poster variant: David Nakayama
Valance and Dengar travel to Canto Bight as a relentless assassin stalks them! T'onga starts to recruit a bounty hunter crew with some familiar — and fearsome — faces! Plus Tasu Leech returns! But whose side is he on?
CC sez: If my name was Tasu Leech, I would change it.
War of the Bounty Hunters: 4-Lom & Zuckuss #1
Marvel | Teen | $4.99
Writer: Daniel Jose Older | Art: Kei Zama | Cover: Mahmud Asrar | Variant: Kei Zama | Wanted Poster variant: David Nakayama
Together, lethal droid 4-LOM and Gand Findsman Zuckuss make an unparalleled bounty hunting team. Yet a brutal battle with Boba Fett has divided them. Lost and alone on the crime-infested streets of Nar Shaddaa, Zuckuss faces down an utterly transformed 4-LOM ... but why is his old friend out for blood? The answer may lie in the past, from an early mission that helped forge their formidable partnership.
CC sez: Wait, who? Am I supposed to know these guys? By name?
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