Tuesday 13 July 2010

Must Be Thursday 15/7/10

It's the weekly post formerly known as The List! Yes, we have a brand spanking new title for these weekly rambles through the new comics I'll be buying, or might be buying, or might even not be buying at all. Why 'Must Be Thursday'? Because the new comics come out on a Thursday here in the UK, that's why – hence the date following the title. Got it? Good. And there'll be a special no-prize to anyone who spots the pop culture reference in that title.

So, to the comics! And it's another bulging week of potential buys, most of which are from DC Comics for a change. Let's have a look at those first:

























What we got 'ere then? Well, we got Astro City: Silver Agent #1, which is the first of Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson's two-issue miniseries exploration of the origin of the Silver Agent, a character who has been referenced throughout Astro City and to whom something terrible happened at some point. Actually I thought that terrible something had already been revealed, but I can't remember what it is if it has, so maybe it hasn't. Anyway, I dropped out of Astro City for the duration of the Dark Age storyline, which I lost interest in pretty sharpish. But this looks like it might be good, and I used to love this series before that slightly interminable Dark Age story, so I'll give it go I think.

We also got Batman #701, which apparently fills in the gaps between the end of Batman R.I.P. and Batman's reappearance in Final Crisis. Were there gaps? I thought Bruce basically escaped capture by the Apokolops meanies and then got shot by Darkseid, all of which we witnessed. Evidently I am wrong, however, as Grant Morrison and Tony Daniel will explain.

And we got Superman #701, wherein Superman embarks on his trek across America to find himself. Or something. Writer J. Michael Straczyknsi has stated that readers can write to him explaining why Superman should visit their particular hometown, and whichever letter offers the best reason, JMS will divert Supes to that town. I have already written to JMS explaining why Superman should visit Penge.

And also from DC, or rather Vertigo, we got Unwritten #15, in which... some stuff... happens. I can't remember what the hell's going on in this series now. I think the big storyline at the moment is about a book launch, which doesn't, on the face of it, sound like the most exciting event to build a storyline around. Still, it's Mike Carey and Peter Gross, and as I've mentioned more than once, their Lucifer is one of my favourite comics of all time, so I'll keep reading. For now.

That's yer lot for new comics from DC, but I am also mildly interested in this from Vertigo:













A graphic novel called Revolver, by Matt Kindt, who's best known for his Superspy stuff. I think I read Superspy, but didn't really like it. This, however, looks interesting: it's about a guy who cycles between two different realities, one where he's stuck in a mundane life, the other where the world is collapsing as a result of avian flu and dirty bombs. Intriguing, n'est ce pas? Unfortunately, it'll set me back twenty quid, so it's unlikely I'll get it. But maybe someone else will and tell me what it's like in the comments.

On to Marvel, and there's really only one definite for me, plus something I'll take a gander at:













The definite is Invincible Iron Man #28, although I'm starting to suspect I'm buying it out of habit rather than a firm desire to read it. I mean, I like it and all... but I don't really look forward to it. It just turns up once a month and I pick it up. I'm not sure I even remember what the current storyline's about. Something about a rival firm to Tony Stark's muscling in on his former military contracts. Hmm. This habit might need correcting quite soon.

And then there's Uncanny X-Men: The Heroic Age #1, which is by the same writer as Iron Man, Matt Fraction, with various artists. I stepped away from the X-titles for the duration of Second Coming, but now I'm kind of wishing I hadn't. I might even have to get the collection of Second Coming whenever it comes out. I know it's wrong of me, but I do like a good X-Men epic (I really liked Messiah Complex, f'rinstance). This particular comic sets up the X-Men's place in Marvel's shiny new Heroic Age order. I'm not sure I care about their place in that order, but I'll have a look at it.

And finally, there's this from Image Comics:













Bulletproof Coffin #2. The first issue of this David Hine/Shaky Kane miniseries was well weird, about a guy who cleans out dead people's houses and discovers a collection of '60s comic books that shouldn't exist. It's interspersed with samples of those comics, which were created by... David Hine and Shaky Kane. So it's a bit meta. Helpfully, you can read the entire first issue for free here. Which is kind of annoying for those of us who actually bought the first issue, and slightly puts me off buying the second issue. Churlish of me, I know, but that's me all over. Pah.

No comments:

Post a Comment