The Longbox Short-List - Week of August 12, 2015

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! 

Comics shipping this week

I have an obscenely long list of comics coming out next week. I really need to start trimming down my pull list some, but it is pretty much all stuff I enjoy reading...

INJECTION #4 - Ellis and Declan Shalvey are creating a very intricate and entertaining story here. What always impresses me about Ellis is how different all of his stories are. I love so much of his work...off the top of my head, TRANSMETROPOLITAN, PLANETARY, STORMWATCH/AUTHORITY, GLOBAL FREQUENCY, MOON KNIGHT, and there is so little overlap in any of them. INJECTION is another brilliant series and definitely deserves attention.

SECRET WARS - Issue 4 ended with Doom killing the only other man who knows what's going on with Battleworld. Issue 5 comes out this week. Hickman needs to move the story forward some. It's been real slow and exposition heavy...pretty much Hickman's specialty. This is another big week of SECRET WARS tie-ins. My picks are: MASTER OF KUNG FU, A-FORCE, STAR-LORD AND KITTY PRYDE, and MRS DEADPOOL AND THE HOWLING COMMANDOS.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #20.1 - This story is the perfect example of "you can't go home again." I really liked Gerry Conway's work on AMAZING SPIDER-MAN back in the day. He wrote some of the most important Spider-Man stories of all time, including DEATH OF GWEN STACY...and to a lesser extent "Aunt May inherits a nuclear plant!" But Spiral hasn't been particularly memorable. I do think Conway has done a nice job tying in more modern characters like Wraith and Mister Negative, but it's still not enough to get me all that excited about buying extra issues of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN with no ties to the main series.

STAR WARS LANDO #2 - Issue 1 was great. Lando is gathering a team together to pull one hell of a job....steal the Emperor's favorite shuttle! I can't say this enough. Marvel has done a terrific job with their STAR WARS comics. In just about a year, they have put out more great STAR WARS comics than Dark Horse did in the close to 25 years they had the license. I know that sounds mean, but I have tried to get into Dark Horse's STAR WARS comics many time, and often found them lacking, especially in the art department. Marvel has put out great STAR WARS stories with beautiful art month after month.

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #12 - To be honest, I don't think the "SECRET DEFENDERS" approach to Justice League is all that great an idea, but I have enjoyed this series so far. Hopefully it can find the right balance to make this series stand out. There are basically four JUSTICE LEAGUE books out right now, and JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED is probably the least important one.

BATMAN #43 - I have really enjoyed seeing Jim Gordan take over the Batman mantle. Last issue, it was clear that Bruce Wayne is still alive, but it's not clear if he even remembers that he was Batman. Hopefully, they will keep this change in the status quo for a few more issues at least. It's really helped get me back into BATMAN, which I haven't cared about in a real long time.

VAMPIRELLA/ARMY OF DARKNESS #2 - The first issue of this series was great. I've really become a VAMPIRELLA fan in recent years, and she definitely can hold her own against Ash, in fighting prowess and wit. I'm glad I picked this one up. Dynamite does a great job with licensed works, and this was no exception.

STAR TREK/GREEN LANTERN #2 - I did kind of think the first issue of this crossover had to strain credulity a little to work, especially in fitting a different lantern ring to a different Star Trek character....and just conveniently, all the "bad rings" ended up with "bad guys." But it was still a good issue, and I will definitely check out the rest of this one. IDW has done a real good job with these kinds of crossovers over the last few years, like STAR TREK/LEGION and STAR TREK/DOCTOR WHO.

VELVET #11 - This has been an excellent take on spy stories, but the constantly delayed releases means I forget what happens by the next issue comes back. That is difficult in a story like this with so many moving parts. I am almost ready to put this on the wait for trade list, and I really hate that because I enjoy VELVET so much.

HOWARD THE DUCK #5 - I never thought I would use this sentence: HOWARD THE DUCK is one of the best comics Marvel puts out. I actually find myself real invested in this ridiculous parody of THE INFINITY GAUNTLET. Each issue has basically been stand alone, but they seem to all have been building up towards something bigger. Waid's SHIELD is very similar, though the tone is very different. I am real glad that HOWARD THE DUCK will be continuing after SECRET WARS. Comic shelves would be a much less interesting place without this book.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #275 - I can't believe that WORLDS UNITE is almost over already. It feels like it was just getting started. Even sadder is that not long after this, MEGA MAN and SONIC BOOM will be coming to an end. SONIC BOOM is actually my kids' favorite comic. They are not happy that they lost the series for three months for this crossover, only to lose it for good.

SWORDS OF SORROW #4 - Still my favorite crossover of the summer! Very underrated. Simone has done a great job bringing together a wide variety of female heroes here! If you picked up SECRET WARS or CONVERGENCE without picking up SWORDS OF SORROW, you are doing yourself a huge disservice.

X-O MANOWAR #39 - One of the most consistent comics month after month. Valiant relaunched with X-O MANOWAR, and it is basically the only series in the relaunch that is still going without getting a drastic overhaul. I am glad that Valiant has kept on course with X-O MANOWAR...I really hope they can get back on track with HARBINGER. IMPERIUM has done nothing for me.