The Longbox Short-List - Week of February 18, 2015

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

MPH #5 (Of 5) – I have to admit, I actually had forgotten that this series hadn’t finished yet. When you’re doing a short mini-series, why don’t you just finish the series before you release them? MPH has been an excellent series from Millar about super speed pills falling in the hands of some small time criminals. Starlight and MPH were two of my favorite series last year, so I am really looking forward to Chrononauts in the coming weeks.

Silk #1 – I have no idea if this series needs to exist. Silk seems like a character that should be awful in concept (the spider that bit Peter Parker also bit someone else, who has been in hiding for the past several years). But, the execution has been very good. I just hope they keep some distance between her and Peter Parker.

Autumnlands: Tooth and Claw #4 - This series has had a bit of a slow burn, but it's damn good.  Busiek has a lot of characters here, and it's sometimes hard to juggle them all as a reader, but the story is intense, and I am definitely curious about where they are going with this.  Image puts out a lot of unique books, and Autumnlands has quickly become a favorite for me.  

Multiversity: Mastermen #1 - Earth X was one of the most intiguing concepts DC came up with in the new Multiverse. What happens if the Nazis won World War II? How would that have impacted the DC heroes? Who would still be on the side of the angels and who would have become Nazis? Multiversity has continued to present some terrific stories, and it might just be the masterpiece in Grant Morrison's already impressive career. 

Avengers World #17 - I actually don't know if I will buy this. I've been enjoying this series, but now Nick Spencer is off the book. And it's going to be tied into Time Runs Out, which I've found incredibly boring. I hate being negative, but I think it was a huge mistake to shoehorn this book into Time Runs Out, no matter how important that story is to Secret Wars.

Rocket Raccoon #8 - The last issue ended on a real powerful cliffhanger with Groot's life on the line. It's been good to see a little more depth to Rocket's character, and I'm definitely invested in this storyline. Rocket Racoon has been one of Marvel's most entertaining series.

Legendary Star-Lord #9 - I have said a few times that I am not sure this series is quite as good as it can be, but Black Vortex has been a very good story so far, so I'm hoping that will give Legendary Star-Lord the kick in the ass it's long needed.

Deathlok #5 - I thought the preview for this in Original Sins was so good.  The series itself has not quite hit that level again, but it's still decent.  I do like that Domino has had a major role in the series.  Domino was a great character in the early issues of X-Force (yeah, yeah, I know, it wasn't actually Domino), so I've liked her for about as long as I've read comics.

She-Hulk #12 - Sad to see another last issue of She-Hulk.  I'm glad that we got 12 issues, but I still get bumped out everytime I have to say goodbye to She-Hulk.  It's been way too many times over the years. Soule did a great job here, and I hope he gets to write She-Hulk again in the near future.

Letter 44 #14 - In a lot of ways, this book reminds me of Grant Morrison's JLA.  Every issue is so much bigger than the issue before it you can't imagine the writer can keep topping himself.  But, Letter 44 is a great series.  In short, the idea here is our last President knew about an impending alien invasion.  Many of his decisions were put in place to protect us (and also to move forward his own mysterious agendas). How would this impact American society, and the next President who has to live with the consequences of these decisions.  Again, this is Charles Soule, who is creating some of the most unique and amazing comics out there.  

Teen Titans #7 - The award for most improved player in comics has to go to Teen Titans.  I was real disappointed by how Teen Titans started strong, but quickly became a mess.  But after a much needed relaunch, it's become a great book.  I especially love that they managed to fit Manchester Black and Josiah Power into the mix.  These are both characters that I really like, and I'm glad to see them not forgotten.

Ms Marvel #12 - I had a lot of comics to cover this week, but I can't let this column go by without dropping some love for Ms Marvel.  As I have said many times before, we share a home town and a high school, so I would be predisposed towards being a fan anyway...but on top of that, you can add that it's a damn good book that adds some much needed diversity to Marvel's line.