The Longbox Short-List - Week of March 14, 2018

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Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 03/13/2018 - 14:19

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

VAMPIRONICA #1 - Eh. Why not? I enjoy Archie’s horror books, even if they tend to have ridiculous waits between issues. A book with Veronica as a vampire, I will give it a shot. For the most part, I have really enjoyed a lot of the odder releases we’ve gotten from Archie in recent years.

NEW SUPER-MAN AND THE JUSTICE LEAGUE OF CHINA #21 - I have liked this series from day one, but because of it’s consistency, I just don’t highlight it enough. I love the new take on the JUSTICE LEAGUE, and I am glad to see this book has lasted as long as it has!

NEW MUTANTS: DEAD SOULS #1 - I am probably the biggest NEW MUTANTS fan you will ever know. I have been running a RPG based on the NEW MUTANTS for the past 11 years, and the screen name I use most often online is SkitchNM...NM for New Mutants of course. DEAD SOULS seems to be a new spin on NEW MUTANTS combining classic NEW MUTANTS characters with STRONG GUY, and giving the whole thing a supernatural slant. It’s a shame the movie got bumped back, but I am definitely looking forward to this.

PETER PARKER: THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #301 - Issue 300 was just bizarre. It seemed like the arc was coming to an end...and then suddenly we get a horrible situation that can only be resolved with time travel. I had actually dropped this book...but picked it back up again when I heard about the JJJ/Spider-Man issue. To be honest, that was the only great issue of this run, but I do love Spider-Man, so I am giving it another shot...but at this point, I just feel like I am running out the clock on Spider-Man until Nick Spencer takes over AMAZING SPIDER-MAN in a few months.

NINJAK VS THE VALIANT UNIVERSE #3 - I am really enjoying this back to basics approach to the Valiant universe. Valiant often feels a little overwhelming, especially to newer readers, but this book really makes things simple and easy to follow. This book has been a real nice surprise...now if they can only get the internet series out!!

BETROTHED #1 - Another unique new release from Aftershock comics: “Welcome to the World of Betrothed! Kieron and Tamara are both seniors at the same high school. They've never paid much attention to each other, even though they are the only kids at school who are orphans. On the eve of their eighteenth birthdays, they discover a lifelong secret: in a dimension far away, they are each the leader of an army that is at war with one another...and what’s more, when they turn eighteen, they’re to be Betrothed or Fight to the Death!” Sounds pretty epic. Definitely on my radar.

ACTION COMICS #999 - One more issue until #1000. That is crazy! I actually will be talking all about my lifelong love of Superman in my bi-weekly podcast segment “Ace’s Comic Con” next week as part of my friend Gino’s “A DRINK WITH GINO” podcast.

ASTONISHING X-MEN #9 - Something about this book, even going back to when Joss Whedon did it, has always felt like “over the top X-Men to me.” I always enjoy it, but it just doesn’t quite feel like X-MEN stories I know and love. This new version of ASTONISHING X-MEN is in a similar vein. I typically enjoy this book, but I really hated the Proteus ret-con last issue, and this cryptic new version of Professor X just feels like lazy writing.

ALL-NEW WOLVERINE #32 - Last issue was one of my favorite single issues of any comic. We saw Gabby team-up with Deadpool to take on zombie animals...including a sloth in a brilliant sequence. So far, Marvel hasn’t really told us the status of WOLVERINE in Fresh Start. I am really hoping that Laura stays in a major role. I would much rather have her in the role than Logan...