The Longbox Short-List - Week of November 30, 2016

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, 11/29/2016 - 11:36

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 weeks are always pretty light, and I am running real late this week, so just time for a few quick comments…

IvX #0 – After the awfulness that was Death of X (if anyone can explain to me Scott’s great crime that caused everyone to hate him, and yet Black Bolt gets away with cold blooded murder, I would appreciate it), I have literally no faith on this one. I do like a lot of what’s been announced for ResurrXion…but if we have to wade through crappy event after crappy event to get there, I just can’t bring myself to care.

SAVAGE #1 – While Valiant has been great since the relaunch, it has been without some of the staple characters of the earlier Valiant universes like Turok, Magnus Robot Fighter, and Solar. SAVAGE seems like a bit of an attempt to reclaim some of Turok in the Valiant Universe. Personally, I am not sure it’s necessary, but SAVAGE does sound like a very good book on its own merits. David Beckham meets Ka-Zar… “Fifteen years ago, the world's most famous soccer star and his former supermodel wife – pregnant with their unborn child – disappeared without a trace. The world believes they are dead… But, in reality, their private jet crash-landed on a mysterious, unknown island ruled by prehistoric creatures from another time…”

JUGHEAD #11 – The comeback story of the year award goes to Jughead. I thought the series had a hard time finding it’s legs, but since the new creative team took over with issue 9, this has quickly become my favorite book of Archie’s relaunch (and that is saying quite a bit as I enjoy all of them). It really manages to capture the energy of a classic Archie story with some modern twists and turns. Definitely worth checking out.

MS MARVEL #13 – Kamala has found herself a bit alienated from her friends after CIVIL WAR II, and I am curious to see where they will be going moving forward. Last issue took Kamala back to her family’s home in Pakistan, giving her some new perspective on the world. Loved the issue, and this continues to be one of my favorite comics every month.