The Longbox Short-List - Week of September 30, 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

Fifth Wednesday of the month, so another light week for me. Kind of glad. Two light weeks in a row have really allowed me to catch up financially.

VAMPIRELLA ANNUAL 2015 – When you get five weeks of comics in a month, you tend to get a lot of annuals. Personally, I am not a fan of annuals. They are usually overpriced, padded with unnecessary backup stories, and often have no impact on the main series. In fact, pretty much the only reason I am excited for this book is that it is one of Nancy Collins’s last stories for Vampirella. She has done a terrific job on her run. This is basically her last Vampirella story, though she will also contribute a short story for the upcoming Vampirella: 1969 special. She was the first women to write Vampirella, and she will be sorely missed.

SECRET WARS – Secret Wars continues to wind down. Only a handful of books this week. But I have to admit, they are basically all series I really like. E IS FOR EXTINCTION, GHOST RACERS, HAIL HYDRA, INFERNO, and MODOK ASSASSIN.

CAPTAIN AMERICA WHITE #2 – I know this comic was long delayed, but I really enjoyed the first issue which came out earlier this month. With all the events in recent years, Cap has lost a bit of his iconic status. Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale seem determined to restore that here, and I think they did an excellent job. Really looking forward to the rest of this series.

SAVAGE DRAGON #207 and SPAWN #256 – Two very long lasting books, both in very different places. 

SAVAGE DRAGON - Eric Larson still writes and draws every issue of Savage Dragon. The book continues to basically unfold in close to real time, having huge shifts to the status quo at all times. The current story arc with Malcolm (the original Dragon’s son) trying to find his way, and ending up impregnating several women at once, has been a little after-school special at times, but still a very fresh direction for the book.

SPAWN - Spawn has gone through several writers and artists over the years. From 185 to 250, the original Spawn had basically been “dead” and a new Spawn had taken his place. For me, that had produced some of the best issues of the series. In 250, Al Simmons came back as Spawn, and since then, I’ve found the series to be spinning it’s wheels some. Granted, after 250 issues, it’s hard for any series to feel fresh, but this stuff with Al Simmons trying to help save Wanda from hell has just been among the weakest of the series for me.

ARCHIE #3 – The Archie relaunch continues. Loved the first 2 issues, and looking forward to seeing the new Jughead series, especially with Chip Zdarsky at the helm. I can’t believe I am this excited to read Archie without any crossovers or horror gimmick added to the mix. Huge success for Archie comics!