The Longbox Short-List - Week of March 28, 2018

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Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 03/27/2018 - 07:00

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

Lot of big anniversary issues this week, and the return of my favorite Valiant series!

SHADOWMAN #1 – It’s about time we get SHADOWMAN back! This has pretty much always been my favorite Valiant book (and that is going back to original, old school Valiant). Last time we saw SHADOWMAN he had been pretty engulfed by his dark side. Curious what comes next for him!

DAREDEVIL #600 – Charles Soule is just the latest in a long line of writers who did amazing work on DAREDEVIL. I don’t know any other character who brings out the best in writers like DAREDEVIL always seems to. The Kingpin is the Mayor of New York…what can Matt Murdock do about it?

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #25 – I honestly had no idea this series would be this successful. Issue 25 and in the same year as the POWER RANGERS franchise is celebrating it’s 25th anniversary. This issue kicks off the massive Shattered Grid storyline.

GI JOE A REAL AMERICAN HERO #250 – While there was a pretty substantial break in this series between Marvel ending it and IDW reviving it, it is amazing to see this series hit 250. That means we have gotten 95 issues since the relaunch, which is no small feat in itself. Larry Hama continues to create magic with GI JOE even after 35 years.

SAGA #50 – I had no idea what to expect when I read the first issue of SAGA…it basically started by talking about poop and giving birth. It’s been a crazy ride, but SAGA is still one of my favorite books, and may go down as BKV’s masterpiece (and considering his career has included Y:THE LAST MAN, RUNAWAYS, and EX MACHINA that is saying a lot).

JESSICA JONES #18 – This is the last issue of JESSICA JONES by Bendis and Gaydos who created her. The character will still be around, but I still feel a certain amount of sadness to see Bendis and Gaydos go. Hopefully we get a fond farewell for them.

DARK NIGHTS METAL #6 – FINALLY OVER! I actually mostly enjoyed DARK NIGHTS METAL, but it’s been dragging on so long, and it feels like pretty much every DC series moved past it. It just feels like nothing big can possibly happen in this issue since we’ve already seen the aftermath, and it’s basically business as usual. I just hate events like that.

STAR WARS DOCTOR APHRA #18 – Hera!!! My favorite member of the STAR WARS REBELS cast is featured in the current arc of DOCTOR APHRA. Hmmm…based on the time line here, this means that Hera’s son would have already been born during this appearance. Wonder if we will be seeing him in this arc.

SILENCER #3 – So far this has been my favorite of DC’s new hero books. Love the character, love the world they are building around her. TERRIFICS #2 also comes out this week. I did enjoy the first issue, but SILENCER has been much better.