The Longbox Short-List - Week of February 10, 2016

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

SHAFT IMITATION OF LIFE #1 – David F. Walker is one of my favorite comic writers and Shaft was one of my favorite books that came out last year. This is definitely the book I am most looking for to this week. 

BATMAN/TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #3 – This book has lived up to my expectations, which is really all I can ask for. A very fun story which gives both sides a real opportunity to show what makes them so unique. Will the Turtles get home before they turn back into normal turtles?

BATMAN/SUPERMAN #29 – I like the change in direction for this series, which now serves to tell stories from Batman and Superman’s shared past. I would like it better if they used it to fill in some of the gaps in New-52 continuity, but I still think the last few issues have told a pretty good story. Worth checking out. 

JUGHEAD #4 – 4 issues in, and I still have no idea what I think about this series. Sometimes it’s brilliant, some times it drags on (especially with the fantasy sequences). It’s nowhere near as good as the main relaunched Archie series, but I still enjoy JUGHEAD the most part. Though it is not Chip Zdarsky’s best work. Though to be honest, Howard the Duck has kind of been slipping lately too. Maybe he’s just spread too thin. 

OLD MAN LOGAN #2 – The first issue was a pretty powerful comic. Old Man Logan finds himself back in what he believes to be his first. So what’s he do? Decides to go in a killing spree to ensure that his future never happens. This issue he is looking for Bruce Banner, but instead, he finds himself confronting the Totally Awesome Hulk, Amadeus Cho. At this point, I am not sure Old Man Logan is sane enough to recognize the difference…

ULTIMATES #4 – Ultimates is telling some really big stories with a terrific team of characters that need more exposure. My only real problem is that so far, the Ultimates haven’t really had any major challenges. They set out with a goal, and achieve that goal. I want to see them hitting up against (and prevailing over) some real adversity. We got hints of that last issue when Gladiator threw a temper tantrum that Earthlings defeated Galactus once and for all, but I want to see that have a little more impact on the characters. 

LETTER 44 #23 – This series is awesome, but doesn’t get much press attention. It is about the United States finding out that an alien invasion is impending and the actions they would take to try and protect themselves. Each issue has a lot of twists and turns, and Charles Soule seems to have a strong idea where this story is going. One of my favorite comics every month.

ILLUMINATI #4 – This series has some really cool ideas, with The Hood manipulating a group of villains for his own purposes. I enjoy every issue when I read it, but unfortunately, as soon as I finish reading it, I basically forget about this series until the next issue comes out. I don’t know what it is about this series, it just doesn’t stick with me at all. 

G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO #225 – Hard to believe that we’ve gotten 70 “extra” issues picking up where Larry Hama left off when the Marvel GI JOE series ended way back in 1994. I am a huge fan of GI Joe comics, and while this series sometimes drags on, I think more often than not Hama is recapturing that magic he had back in the day. 

ALL-NEW ALL-DIFFERENT AVENGERS #5 – Speaking of slow burn series. ALL-NEW ALL-DIFFERENT AVENGERS was the book I was most excited about from All-New All-Different Marvel. I don’t want to call this book disappointing, but it still hasn’t quite lived up to my expectations. Marvel is putting out a lot of real good books, and this book, which should be their flagship title, just seems to be lagging far behind.

AUTUMNLANDS #9 –Autumnlands (which started life as Tooth and Claw) is another great series by Kurt Busiek. The story is about a world of magic where anthromorphic animals rule the world. A human “savior” has returned to them and is trying to help restore the world’s slowly fading magic. But this savior is not at all what they expect. It’s a good story, and I love the gorgeous art on this series.