Music - 13 hours 7 min ago
The Longbox Short-List - Week of October 14, 2015
FTC Statement: Reviewers are frequently provided by the publisher/production company with a copy of the material being reviewed.The opinions published are solely those of the respective reviewers and may not reflect the opinions of CriticalBlast.com or its management.
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. (This is a legal requirement, as apparently some sites advertise for Amazon for free. Yes, that's sarcasm.)
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 10/13/2015 - 07:20
Welcome back to Critical Blast’s weekly look at what new comics you should check out each week. Just a warning, I make these picks pretty much a week BEFORE I actually get to read any of these comics, so if something is a stinker, I take no blame on that. Let's get to it!
SUPERMAN: LOIS AND CLARK #1 – I was a huge fan of Jurgens’ Superman work in the 90’s, and CONVERGENCE: SUPERMAN was kind of bittersweet for me. I enjoyed the comic, but it just bummed me out that it was memories of a reality that we just can’t see any more. Kind of like AMAZING SPIDER-MAN RENEW YOUR VOWS. So I was thrilled when they announced we would get a comic series telling us what happens to this version of Superman, Lois, and their newborn son. I am really looking forward to this.
BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL #2 – For anyone aspiring to be a comic writer, I have a word of advice. Instead of creating new characters and stories, the secret to success is “come up with a dark secret from an already existing character and you’re golden.” I enjoyed the first issue of BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL, but I am just tired of these stories that ret-con the characters pasts instead of telling us a new story.
G.I. JOE A REAL AMERICAN HERO – COBRA WORLD ORDER PRELUDE – GI JOE has dragged a little the last few months since the “Death of Snake Eyes.” It’s really felt like it was just biding time for the next big arc. Well, the next big arc is here FINALLY, so hopefully that will help get things rolling again. I have been a fan of GI Joes for a while now, and no one does them better than Larry Hama at the top of his game.
I HATE FAIRYLAND #1 – I love Skottie Young! This new series from Image just looks hilarious and disturbing. Definitely on my must read list!
SECRET WARS – Only a very small handful of SECRET WARS titles this week, but it’s all books I am looking forward to. A-FORCE, CIVIL WAR, MS MARVEL, and MARVEL ZOMBIES.
JOURNEY TO STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS SHATTERED EMPIRE #3 – Issue 2 just came out last week. I actually hadn’t even had a chance to read it yet before I am typing up next week’s picks. I kind of hate when comics come out in back to back weeks, it puts a real burden on the wallet. But for the most part, I have been enjoying Journey to Force Awakens, so I will definitely be picking this one up.
CHEWBACCA #1 – I am still a little weirded out that Chewbacca is getting his own mini-series. Was there a big demand for this? But as I have said quite a few times now, Marvel has been doing a great job with their Star Wars comics, so I am curious what they can do with the walking throw rug.
CAPTAIN AMERICA SAM WILSON #1 – Not trying to knock Rick Remender, but he just never seemed to get rolling on ALL-NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA. He seemed more interested in writing about Nomad than Sam Wilson. But, with Nick Spencer taking over this book, I am hoping we will finally get to see some great stories with Sam as Cap. And I always like Daniel Acuna’s art. He is one of the most underused artists in comics.
SPIDER-MAN 2099 #1 – I have been a Peter David fan as long as I can remember. I started reading superhero comics around the time he started writing X-FACTOR, way back in the early 90’s. And SPIDER-MAN 2099 is one of my all-time favorite series. I have said this before, I don’t quite love the new costume, but I am still looking forward to this series.
UNCANNY AVENGERS #1 – Oh man, it’s going to sound like I am hating on Remender again. UNCANNY AVENGERS is another idea that looked great on paper, but the execution just felt off to me. It seemed like the stories were just a little too big and out of control, which made it hard for me to enjoy the character interactions that should be the heart of this book. I don’t know if this series will be any better, but I still think it has a ton of potential, so I will give it a fair shot to win me over.
SWORDS OF SORROW #6 – My favorite summer crossover comes to an end. Gail Simone and company have done a great job bringing together a lot of cool female characters and making them all work into one solid story. I did think it was odd when they started adding a few too many fairy tale twists (Snow White and Prince Charming seem like strange fits), but that hasn’t taken away from my enjoyment of SWORDS OF SORROW.
STARFIRE #5 – This book has kind of flown under the radar, but it has been one of my favorite DC books. I have no idea if this book is sustainable, but I definitely hope it gets more attention!
NEW AVENGERS #1 – I am having problems telling all the new Avengers books straight. I had almost skipped this one, but then I remembered this is the book starring Sunspot. I am a huge fan of the original New Mutants. Seeing Sunspot leading a team of Avengers definitely has me hyped up. And I don’t just get hyped. I STAY HYPED!
WHAT IF INFINITY X-MEN #1 – The two What If books that came out last week were pretty good. I didn’t like INFINITY all that much, but the What If’s were entertaining, especially the one about Thanos weaseling his way into becoming an Avenger. Thanos using Captain America’s shield after being reasonable for his death was just disturbing on so many levels.
