It's already February! This may be a pattern, but the past few months have FLOWN by. And they're likely only going to start moving faster, because there are a LOT of amazing new comics starting this winter/spring, and I'm not planning on missing them! I've started compiling my list of upcoming reads, and it's a lot. Which is great! I love reading comics and I love sharing the world of all things comics, so all this does is give me more material to talk about! Speaking of talking about comics, this week I'm sticking with my "looser" format of posting--instead of the long-form, title/solicitation/response I have been doing for a while. I find it to be more conversational, and it's likely more interesting to read! Without further ado, continue reading to see whats in store this week! I admit it, there's only two indie books on my pull list this week. In my defense, there are six on my catch-up and coming-soon lists, so more will be added through the year.
This week's first indie book belongs to Red Sonja #13, from Dynamite. I have been having so much fun with this series, and now it's the turning point. With only a few issues left from this run, they're bound to wrap up the current comic with something impressive to hook you into the next: Killing Red Sonja starts in March. In this series, Sonja is triumphant, even though her triumph means chaos for the realms, at least briefly. As the new leader of the land, Sonja has to start doing actual governmental work--feeding the people, attending to their concerns, and various other matters of state. This may be my first Red Sonja solo series, but I have a feeling those "matters of state" will get old and dull to the She-Devil before long at all. The second indie title is another from Dynamite: the 25-year follow up to 1994's Vengeance of Vampirella, Vengeance of Vampirella. This week marks the fifth issue, and brags the final fight between Vampirella and one who had a hand in killing her originally, Hemorrhage. He's a big burly nasty type, and Vampi is still under a week post-resurrection, so she can't afford to hold back. I'm hoping this fight will be a blood bath in Vampirella's favor! Meanwhile, Mistress Nyx is getting herself hot and bothered about the idea of facing her nemesis again. Her evil overlords want her dead and gone ASAP, but Nyx is thinking of a plan that'll ensure more fun for her. DC has only slightly more books for me this week, with 3 on the table. Batman #88 continues the new James Tynion-run Batman series, where the Dark Knight is facing a broken down Gotham after City of Bane. He has Catwoman at his side these days, and old villains who haven't seen much light of late: the Riddler and the Penguin specifically seem to have nefarious plans for the bat and Gotham. Bruce Wayne is also at the forefront of the series, as his plans to "fix" Gotham City have their first few challengers--who no doubt have less shining intentions for the city. The third issue of DC Black Label's Criminal Sanity comes out Wednesday, and will hopefully set a tone for the rest fo the series. Or rather, will hopefully clear up my previous confusion on certain aspects of the book--time discrepancies, flashbacks, and the Joker himself all caught me off guard in the second issue. I am a big fan of Kami Garcia's writing, and have been since high school, so I'm really hoping this third issue offers the clarification I need to keep reading the series. I really enjoy the way it's set up, in a very Hannibal(TV Show)-like manner of cat and mouse, so it has good legs to stand on. I hope this week's book is better than the last. Last from DC is Justice League Odyssey #18. JLO is one that I picked up during my post-New Year down time, and it got it's claws in me immediately. Aside from constantly rotating interior artists, this book has been really consistent and quality. Starfire, Azrael, Jessica Cruz, and Cyborg have been following a path that lead them straight to their worst fears--becoming tools of Darkseid. Jessica got away, and is trying to get back to save her friends...from an unstoppable monster inside an impenetrable force-field. So, things aren't looking good. But Jessica has a few new allies, including a New God, so hope is still on the horizon! I'm really curious to see what will happen with Azrael, Starfire, and Cyborg once this is over. They've been used and tricked by Darkseid into bending to his will. As heroes, they won't be able to just let that go. Something's gotta give, and Jessica will be the one to get the ball rolling! One again, Marvel tops my pulls this week with quantity of books (and honestly, quality too). X-men/Fantastic Four is a crossover event I've been looking forward to for months! Written by one of Marvel's best young(er) writers Chip Zdarsky and drawn by Terry and Rachel Dodson, this book as a creative team to KILL IT. The plot is addicting to comics geeks like me. Last fall, Johnathom Hickman set to work righting the Mutants of Marvel by giving them, a brand new Mutant island to call their own country--Krakoa. Under new mutant laws, all earthly mutants are citizens of Krakoa upon their birth, and welcome to join their mutant kin. The Fantastic Four consist of Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm. Reed and Sue have two children, a boy and a girl. Their son Franklin is a Mutant. Not only that, their son is an Omega-level mutants, and likely one of the most powerful life forms in the universe. so, when the X-Men set up Krakoa for "all mutants", they ask the Storm-Richards family if Franklin will be joining them on the island. As parents and protectors of their very special child, reed and Sue decline, but not before the offer is extended to whenever Franklin can make the chouce himself. Which brings us the this series! Franklin is caught between two worlds. One with his family, and one that his family could never possibly understand. This series will have tons of classic characters interacting, and will probably bring up a lot of question about Krakoa and the mutants who choose to stay behind. Doctor Doom #5 will carry on with the story of Silver Sable helping Victor to find who set him up, and who destroyed the moon-base. I've been super into this book, which shows a new side of Doom--a side that has hope for the future of mankind, and wants to do good by them. But even then, you have to remember, Doom was killed and subsequently released from Hell under orders from Mistress Death herself. Her reasoning, is once he goes back, Doom will become her greatest follower. She means, Victor is supposed to send more people to Death than any other. When he hears this, it goes against his plan. Victor has been having visions of himself saving the world, and gaining the respect he deserves from it. So to be told he will be the right hand of Death is shocking, even for Von Doom. Before he deals with the chilling statement, he has to find out who set him up for destroying the scientific base on the moon--which is now starting to deteriorate into a black hole. Hoping this week he gets some answers! Easily one of my favorite new series', Strikeforce comes out with issue 6 this week. The team has been brilliant, and writer Tini Howard cearly has a firm grasp of each character. This issue is a little bit of filler, if I'm not mistaken, before going off on the quest for the Vridai again. I'm honestly not sure how much the events of this issue will tie into or effect the others, but it's still bound to be an excellent issue. The last issue of Marauders left the reader on the edge of their chair! Kate Pride, captain of the Marauder and Red Queen of Krakoa, has been murdered by the Black King. Well, it was probably just attempted murder, but we won't know for a while, I think, as it doesn't look like Kate makes a return in this issue. Her loss is notices, however, by Emma Frost and Storm, who will no doubt spend too much time arguing over who is at fault to see the real killer standing in front of them I don't know about you, but those are two powerful women I would NOT want to be caught in a fight with. And last but certainly not least, is Daredevil #17. This series is one of two Chip Zdarsky comics that I blew through last week in my down time, and I am so crazy about it! From the art to the plot to the characterization, everything about this non-Daredevil Daredevil series is shiny and glorious. Don't get me wrong, it's a mildly depressing tale of pain, woe, tragedy, sacrifice, and soul-searching, but still. Shiny and glorious. I wasn't a big Daredevil fan before the Netflix TV show some years back, but got on to reading it to prepare myself to binging. Brian Michael Bendis was writing it at the time and did a great job, but I have to admit Zdarsky blows him (haha, he's appreciate that) out of the water. If I could pick one thing in particular to go on about, it's the portrayal of Spider-Man. When he first appears, he's describes as THE best, THE strongest, and THE most amazing of the heroes--before you even see it's him. Before long, he's back being seen by others who describe him in equally awed terms. The relationships, the banter, the cleverness of finding ways out of trouble, the constant Catholic guilt tied with an inability to NOT do anything. This book gets Matt Murdock in a way that makes me beam from ear to ear. if you aren't a Daredevil fan, it's okay. This book has a draw for you, you just have to pick it up and read to see it. That's it for comics! there's a few other things I'll read this week, such as Spider-Verse #5, Captain America: The End, Dark Agnes, and DC Crimes of Passion, but those are definitely more side-read books for me. Ant-Man is also getting a new series Wednesday by Zeb Wells, which I might try out, but it's not a given so it isn't included above either. No matte what you read this week, make it something you can fall away into for a while. Get lost in comics, I say. That's the best escape. Stay Sweaty.
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