The Longbox Short-List - Week of August 5, 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

DREAM POLICE #7 – DREAM POLICE was a one-shot that came out from Marvel like ten years ago. I thought it had a lot of potential, but it seemed like JMS had no plans to do anything more with it. I was pretty shocked when I saw Image had decided to bring it back. This has been an excellent series, with some creative looks at what goes inside our heads when we dream. The rumor is that they are also going to bring back JMS’s BOOK OF LOST SOULS, which is another series I loved.

SECRET WARS - Lots of good SECRET WARS books this week. FUTURE IMPERFECT is my favorite of the batch, but I also like AGE OF APOCALYPSE, CIVIL WAR, GIANT-SIZE LITTLE MARVEL, RED SKULL, and SPIDER-ISLAND.

MS MARVEL #17 - We also got a Last Days issue for MS MARVEL. I love Kamala Khan, though the Last Days issues for the most part haven’t appealed to me all that much. It’s hard to care about “what these characters were doing when reality ended” because we know they failed to stop the final incursion AND at the same time, we know most of them will be back post-SECRET WARS.

GUARDIANS TEAM-UP #9 – GUARDIANS TEAM-UP varies in quality from issue to issue. Issue 8 only came out last week and it was a silent issue featuring Silver Surfer and Groot. It wasn’t bad, but it takes a real skill to write a good silent issue, and this one was just okay. Issue 9 features Star-Lord and Spider-Man teaming up. This should be a pretty natural fit. Looking forward to this one!

FOX #5 – If you get a chance to check out Waid’s FOX series from last year, it’s definitely worth a look. So far, the new series hasn’t quite been as good, but I still enjoy it. I think the current series has spent a little too much time trying to expand the FOX’s family, when FOX himself is a much more interesting character than his wife and son. I feel bad even saying this, but reading this issue, I keep hoping something tragic happens to them just to keep them from constantly taking over the series.

UFOLOGY #4 – I have to admit, this series loses me at times. There is so much going on in so many different directions that I sometimes have problems remember who is who and why they are important. That said, I still enjoy what I am reading, and I suspect that when I go back and read them all together it will make a lot more sense. I hate to recommend “wait for a trade, ” but that might be your best bet here.

WILL EISNER’S THE SPIRIT #2 – I hadn’t really read much with The Spirit before issue 1 of this series. Honestly, the only reason I had even given it a look was because I like what Dynamite has done with books like MASKS, PROJECT SUPERPOWERS, and SWORDS OF SORROW. And I had a reviewer’s copy of issue 1. I liked the first issue a lot. If nothing else, I was real amused that they managed to make a joke about Strunk and White. I love random and obscure little references like that. Definitely worth checking out.

WE STAND ON GUARD #2 – I was a little harsh about the first issue, but I like Brian K Vaughan and I am willing to give it a few more issues to win me over. That said, I read a lot of comics each week, and it’s hard for me to carry books that don’t immediately win me over. This book is only on my hold list because of BKV’s past work at the moment.

STAR TREK #48 – IDW’s comic set in the rebooted STAR TREK universe has provided us with some unique twists on some classic characters, themes, and stories. We’re building up towards a huge 50th issue with the Enterprise still lost far from Federation space. The next two issues are all about the Enterprise dealing with a race of beings who consider themselves to be gods. Kirk’s already had to deal with Q, so these guys should be pushovers.