The Longbox Short-List - Week of July 29, 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

The fifth comic release week of any month is usually a pretty light week for me, and this month is no exception.

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS 50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL - I love the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents. Ever since my brother gave me the Nick Spencer T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents series that DC put out a few years ago, I can't get enough of them. T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents is a team of government agents with superpowers that are slowly killing them. The characters and stories are real compelling, and I am kind of bummed that no one has been able to make a successful modern version of the series. DC and IDW have both given it a real solid try, but the audience just isn't there. But I keep banging the drum hoping it brings in more new readers.

SABRINA #4 - Archie's demented re-imagining of SABRINA has been awful about getting out regularly, but I am always real happy to see it listed on the ship list. It is a great horror story, and I actually like this series even better than AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE, which is also excellent.

SONIC BOOM #10 - In last week's WORLD UNITE issue, characters from other Sega and Capcom series started to show up in large numbers. Unfortunately, there are only 3 issues left. I would have loved to have a little more time with all these characters, which was a big selling point of WORLDS UNITE for me. I've still enjoyed this series quite a bit, I just would have liked for the early part of the story to have been a little quicker to get to the massive team-ups sooner.

S.H.I.E.L.D. #8 - Mockingbird teams up with Agent May! I've been enjoying Waid's work on this series, which brings in a bunch of the characters from the AGENTS OF SHIELD TV series. Most of the stories are stand alone and show off some unique corners of the
Marvel universe. Definitely worth checking out.

POWERS #4 - I do think the current POWERS series has been a little slow, especially in terms of release dates, but I still do enjoy the series for the most part. I do think that it's a shame with the Playstation series that they isn't a POWERS series on the shelves regularly to capitalize, but I guess there are enough trades of the earlier series to sell.

SECRET WARS - Not a huge SECRET WARS week either. No new series and the only tie-ins I am really looking forward to is THORS and MODOK ASSASSIN.

GUARDIANS TEAM-UP #8 - GUARDIANS TEAM-UP has been a fun series. I am not sure that there is any real reason for this book to exist, but I still find it entertaining. This issue is supposed to be a silent one featuring Silver Surfer and Groot. Sounds a bit odd, but it's always nice to see something a little different.

STAR WARS #7 - This is a one-off issue featuring a flashback story starring Ben Kenobi. I've really enjoyed Marvel's Star Wars comics, and Obi-Wan is a character that really never got much time to tell his story. I am really looking forward to this one.

FLASH ANNUAL #4 and GOTHAM BY MIDNIGHT ANNUAL #1 - Annuals are always hit or miss, but these are two of my favorite DC series, so I will definitely pick them both up. No idea if they will be any good. Annuals typically are not. I actually look forward to the day when Marvel and DC stop doing them for good.

SUPERMAN #42 - I still think TRUTH is moving way too slowly, but at the same time, it is a very compelling Superman story, and I really want them to get to the meat of it. It has been a long time since I've cared this much about Superman comics.

TITHE #4 - Image puts out a lot of clever series, and TITHE has been one of my favorites. It's a story about a group of criminals who target Mega Churches. Part heist story, part detective story. Lots of unexpected twists and turns. This was supposed to be a four issue mini-series, but it looks like there is more to come with a second arc announced.

DAREDEVIL #17 - Only two more issues of Waid's DAREDEVIL to go. Last issue, Daredevil cut a deal with the Kingpin, and I'm really curious to see how this will all play out. DAREDEVIL has been fortunate over the years to have a lot of terrific writing, and Waid's run stands with the best of them.