AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #631 – The Lizard is back. Wells and Bachalo delivered a real gem last week in the first part of this story arc (Amazing Spider-Man #630, review). The path from Gauntlet to Grim Hunt presses onward!
ASTONISHING X-MEN XENOGENESIS #1 (of 5) – The legendary Warren Ellis & Kaare Andrews (Spider-Man Reign) launch the X-men into the Heroic Age with this five-issue mini-series.
IRON MAN NOIR #2 (OF 4) – The first issue of Iron Man Noir (review) was extraordinary. A complex, quick-moving story that introduced many familiar faces into the Noir-era of the 1940s. The serial continues as billionaire (millionaire?) adventurer Tony Stark leads his team on a search for… Atlantis!
GREEN HORNET STRIKES #1 – Dynamite! continues its launch of the Green Hornet franchise. We’ve seen the origin of the Green Hornet mythos set in the 1930s, are watching as the Hornet’s son takes on the mantle in present day, and now with Green Hornet Strikes, Dynamite looks to the future. Could this be “The Dark Knight Returns” for the Green Hornet?!? Probably not, but Brett Matthews (Lone Ranger) has the pedigree to warrant giving this issue a shot.
NEW MUTANTS #13 – Second Coming: Chapter Seven. If you have ever been a fan of the “New X-Men” (circa 1975) and maybe somewhere along the way you lost track of them, Second Coming is the perfect “jumping on point”. You don’t even have to know what’s been going on with the X-men lately, just start with Second Coming. You could probably even start here in the middle, with New Mutants #13. Second printings of beginning of the series are coming out. This series is great, if you miss it – you’ll be sad.
PUNISHERMAX #7 – Jason Aaron & Steve Dillons’s Punisher series escalates as Frank has to deal with a re-imagined Bullseye. Following fast on the heels of the re-imagining of the Kingpin, this new Bullseye is crazier and deadlier (?) the assassin we all know and love. The Punisher is injured and desperate as Bullseye closes in. This PunisherMax series has been one ultra-violent turn after another.
Siege Titles
Aside from Chapter Seven of X-Men: Second Coming, the most intriguing books next week are the six Avenger/Siege tie-ins that will wrap up Siege and launch the Marvel Universe head-long into the Heroic Age.
Honorable Mentions
You might also want to check these out this week.
JUSTICE LEAGUE GENERATION LOST #1 (BRIGHTEST DAY) - Keith Giffen (along with Judd Winick) returns to the characters and series that put his stamp on the DCU forever. In the late 1980s, Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis took the JLA in a whole different (and brilliant) direction. Since then, they’ve given a couple runs at returning to this well, with mixed results. This series is DC’s next weekly offering. We’d ought to know by the end of the month whether it will be worth keeping on the pull list.
FLASH #2 (BRIGHTEST DAY) - The first issue didn’t suck. For all intents and purposes, it probably should have (Flash: Rebirth did). But Flash #1 was better than expected, raising the bar and hopes for Flash #2.
BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #1 (OF 6) - Like Flash #1, there is absolutely no reason to expect that this mini-series is going to be any good. The premise of Bruce Wayne bopping through time as strange “Bat” characters is… unimaginable beyond words. That any remnants of this little jaunt survived through all the chaos that has surrounded the property of Wayne Manor over the years… and hadn’t been seen before… is, well… there’s suspension of disbelief and then there is the abyss. But there’s always a chance Morrison has a rabbit in his hat. And you never know if you don’t stay for the show.
DAREDEVIL CAGE MATCH #1 - Shadowlands is coming to Daredevil. The prelude to Shadowland is this one-shot, which explores some history between DD and Luke Cage.
How did it go?
ReplyDeleteAMAZING SPIDERMAN #631 ★★★★☆
ASTONISHING X-MEN: XENOGENESIS #1 ★★★★☆
GREEN HORNET STRIKES #1 ☢
IRON MAN: NOIR #2 ★★★★★
PUNISHER: MAX #7 ★★★★☆
NEW MUTANTS #13 ★★★★☆
Only one book didn't live up to expectations and it bombed hard!