The Longbox Short-List - Week of December 27, 2017

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Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 12/26/2017 - 09:58

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s long-running 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

BATMAN BEYOND #15 - I absolutely loved the end of the last issue. It was completely unexpected to see Batman take such a serious beatdown...from the Royal Flush Gang! Is Terry McGinnis crippled? Don't know, but it was one hell of a cliffhanger!

HAWKMAN FOUND #1 - Never been a huge fan of Hawkman, but they did a great job building him up as a threat in the last issue of METAL. Hopefully he will be able to get some redemption here. This story has been way too Batman heavy, so it is great to see someone else getting the spotlight...even if it is Hawkman...

KAMANDI CHALLENGE #12 - While the quality of this series was often hit or miss, I did love the unique "pass the baton" format, and I am glad they managed to get through all 12 issues. Just a real fun book, and I hope that DC does more like this. If nothing else, they made me care about Kamandi, which is a hell of a feat in itself.

PHOENIX RESURRECTION - THE RETURN OF JEAN GREY #1 - Personally, I have always been on team "leave dead characters dead" but Jean Grey has come back so many times that it just feels inevitable. I have really enjoyed the X-Men books the last few months, so I do find myself looking forward to this. Would have liked to see Dennis Hopeless writing it though, he did a great job with the ongoing Jean Grey series.

SPIDER-MEN II #5 - I am glad this is finally over. It hasn't even been a bad series, just I don't see the point of it. I do find the story of the "real" Marvel's Mile Morales to be interesting...a friend of Kingpin's who decided to get out of the crime business for love... but making it Miles has just seemed pointless. If you are going to team up Peter and Miles, do it for a story that has some actual weight to it and not just filler.

SAVAGE DRAGON #230 - So, two issues in a row we have gotten pretty much the same exact pornographic scene. I am not sure what Eric Larsen is going for here, but he's making SAVAGE DRAGON close to unreadable. And it's not like it's increased sales or buzz around the book, so it all feels just pointless.

WONDER WOMAN #37 - I am surprised by some of the fan backlash on Robinson's WONDER WOMAN run. I have really been enjoying it. Maybe a little slow-paced at time, but it's still felt like each issue has been building strongly on the ones before. I loved the reveal at the end of the last issue.