Recommended Picks for May 26, 2010

Hot Pick!
Secret Avengers #1
Marvel Comics
(W) Ed Brubaker
(A) Mike Deodato
Wraparound & Variant Cover by Marko Djurdjevic
Variant Cover by Mike Deodato
Heroic Age Variant by David Yardin

The Heroic Age Is Here!

Who are the Secret Avengers? Are they a covert team of heroes working the darkest corners of the globe to stop disaster? Are they part-spy, part-superhero? Are they XXXXXXX’s newest idea to save the world…or all they all of the above? A new era begins as Marvel’s hottest team takes a 21st century twist!

FC $3.99

Recommended Pick!
WEDNESDAY COMICS
Various Writers and Artists

This is it! The oversized, hardcover collection of DC’s 2009 weekly comics sensation that USA Today called “cool, classic-looking.” Featuring composite cover art, the WEDNESDAY COMICS HC includes:

• ADAM STRANGE written and illustrated by Paul Pope
• BATMAN written by Brian Azzarello with art by Eduardo Risso including additional panel art on each page!
• METAMORPHO written by Neil Gaiman with art by Michael Allred
• DEADMAN written by Dave Bullock and Vinton Heuck with art by Dave Bullock
• THE DEMON AND CATWOMAN written by Walter Simonson with art by Brian Stelfreeze
• THE FLASH written by Karl Kerschl and Brenden Fletcher with art by Karl Kerschl
• GREEN LANTERN written by Kurt Busiek with art by Joe Quinones
• HAWKMAN written and illustrated by Kyle Baker
• KAMANDI written by Dave Gibbons with art by Ryan Sook
• THE METAL MEN written by Dan DiDio with art by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Kevin Nowlan
• SGT. ROCK written by Adam Kubert with art by Joe Kubert
• SUPERGIRL written by Jimmy Palmiotti with art by Amanda Conner
• SUPERMAN written by John Arcudi with art by Lee Bermejo
• TEEN TITANS written by Eddie Berganza with art by Sean Galloway
• WONDER WOMAN written and illustrated by Ben Caldwell

FC 200pg. Hardcover
$49.99 US

Comics shipping May 26, 2010

PREVIEWSworld.com New Releases

Shipping This Week: 5/26/2010

Every Monday, PREVIEWSworld.com provides a list of comics, graphic novels and other pop-culture merchandise arriving this week to your local comic shop.

Please check with your retailer for availability, as not all new releases may be on sale in all areas at the same time.

PREVIEWS PUBLICATIONS

APR100001 PREVIEWS #261 JUNE 2010 PI

DARK HORSE COMICS

MAR100017 GUILD #3 (OF 3) FERREYRA CVR $3.50
MAR100016 GUILD #3 (OF 3) RUGG CVR $3.50
MAR100079 STAR WARS INVASION RESCUES #1 (OF 6) $2.99
MAR100076 STAR WARS LEGACY #48 $2.99
MAR100024 TERMINATOR #3 (OF 3) $3.50

DC COMICS

MAR100255 ACTION COMICS #858 NEW PTG $1.00
FEB100248 AIR TP VOL 03 PURELAND (MR) $14.99
MAR100258 AUTHORITY #1 NEW PTG $1.00
JAN100293 BATMAN LONG SHADOWS HC $19.99
MAR100181 BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #2 OF (6) $3.99

Avengers #1

The Avengers #1
Marvel Comics
(w) Brian Michael Bendis
(a) John Romita Jr. & Klaus Janson
FC 32 pgs w/ ads $3.99 US / Higher in Canada

And so Marvel moves the Marvel U. from Dark Reign to the Heroic Age. But what does that really mean? A lighter, brighter day? Or just more super-heroics? Well, it seems to mean that there’s a whole bunch of new number one’s from the look at it. And here’s the first – Brian Michael Bendis’ re-launched Avengers title. After a little over 5 years and 64 issues, I guess the New Avengers stopped being new (although there is a new New Avengers title on it’s way). Steve Rogers is now in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. / H.A.M.M.E.R. or whatever they are calling it these days and he’s put together a new team of Avengers. The team is pretty much the old New Avengers with Thor and Iron Man added to the line up.

Most of this issue is just Steve Rogers establishing the team. and then they face their first threat which seems to be Kang the Conqueror returning from the future and demanding that something must be done about the Avengers’ kids. Bendis’ fills the issue with his usual witty dialogue “Please don’t say West Coast. Please don’t say West Coast. Please don’t say West Coast.” Romita’s art – well, I’ve never been a fan of his style. Everybody looks like an aging boxer that has gone one too many rounds in the ring. That said, this was a fun read and it should be interesting to see where the Secret Avengers and the new New Avengers fit in to the new status quo. (Shane Hnetka)

Recommended Picks for May 18, 2010

Hot Pick!
Avengers #1
Marvel Comics
(W) Brian Michael Bendis
(A/Cover) John Romita Jr.

The Heroic Age Is Here! There came a day! A day unlike any other…where two of Marvel’s top creators teamed up for the very first time to create a bombastic new monthly Marvel comic that not only ushers in the Heroic Age of Marvel Comics but unleashes onto the world the most blockbuster Avengers team ever! Who will answer the call? And will they assemble just in time…because Kang the Conqueror is here from the future. And wait till you find out why…! Bonus back up feature: the oral history of the Avengers, part one. A brand new illustrated look at the Avengers in a way you have never seen before by series writer Brian Michael Bendis.

FC $3.99

Recommended Pick!
Legion Of Super Heroes #1
DC Comics
(W) Paul Levitz
(A/Cover) Yildiray Cinar & Wayne Faucher

Fan-favorite Legion writer Paul Levitz returns to the 31st century super team he made supreme with an all-new intergalactic era! This exciting series picks up on threads from Geoff Johns’s “Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes” storyline and creates its own all-new ones, including a Green Lantern Corps tie-in and the destruction of a major planet! Rocket on board here as Levitz and rising star artist Yildiray Cinar (Teen Titans) revitalize one of DC’s most beloved franchises starting with an oversized first issue with a variant cover by superstar artist Jim Lee!

FC $3.99

Comics shipping May 19, 2010

PREVIEWSworld.com New Releases

Shipping This Week: 5/19/2010

Every Monday, PREVIEWSworld.com provides a list of comics, graphic novels and other pop-culture merchandise arriving this week to your local comic shop.

Please check with your retailer for availability, as not all new releases may be on sale in all areas at the same time.

PREVIEWS PUBLICATIONS
FEB108013 DIAMOND BOOKSHELF #5 PI

DARK HORSE COMICS

FEB100012 ALIEN LEGION OMNIBUS TP VOL 02 $24.99
FEB100064 ART OF BLADE THE IMMORTAL HC $29.99
FEB100039 AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER ART ANIMATED SERIES HC $34.99
MAR100023 AVP THREE WORLD WAR #4 (OF 6) $3.50
JAN100183 CREEPY COMICS #3 $4.99
MAR100027 DEVIL #4 (OF 4) $3.50
SEP090023 EMILY THE STRANGE 13TH HOUR #3 (OF 4) $3.99
FEB100018 END LEAGUE TP VOL 02 WEATHERED STATUES $16.99
NOV090064 GANTZ TP VOL 10 $12.99
DEC090056 HELLSING TP VOL 10 (OF 10) $13.99
DEC090058 OH MY GODDESS RTL TP VOL 35 $10.99

I, Zombie #1

I, Zombie #1
Vertigo / DC Comics
(w) Chris Roberson
(a) Michael Allred
FC 32 pgs w/ ads $1.00 US / Higher in Canada

The latest ongoing title from Vertigo is this zombie series from writer Chris Roberson (Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love) and artist Michael Allred (Madman). The story follows a young woman called Gwen who is a zombie. But she’s not your standard everyday zombie. She has to eat one brain a month in order to maintain her somewhat normal life. Although for a normal life she’s a grave-digger by day, her best friend is a ghost and the local werewolf has a crush on her. The problem with eating brains is she absorbs the dead person’s memories. Her latest meal was murdered and so now she has to catch the killer.

This series has an intriguing idea – it’s a little off the usually beaten zombie path. I enjoyed Roberson’s Cinderella mini-series and I always enjoy Allred’s art. This series has promise, I just hope that it doesn’t end up with the same short-lived fate that the majority of Vertigo titles seem to suffer. (Shane Hnetka)

Recommended Picks for May 12, 2010

Hot Pick!
Batman: The Return Of Bruce Wayne #1
DC Comics
(W) Grant Morrison
(A) Chris Sprouse
Covers by Andy Kubert

The most anticipated series of 2010 is here! Superstar writer Grant Morrison tackles his most ambitious project to date with The Return Of Bruce Wayne, a special six-part series that chronicles the return of the original man behind Batman’s cape and cowl! Each issue spans a different era of time and features the dynamic artwork of one of today’s artistic juggernauts, starting with Chris Sprouse (Tom Strong) on the extra-sized issue #1 and Frazer Irving (Seven Soldiers: Klarion) on the 40-page issue #2!

FC $3.99

Recommended Pick!
SIEGE #4
Marvel Comics
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Pencils & Cover by OLIVIER COIPEL

THE MARVEL BLOCKBUSTER OF THE YEAR!! This double-sized finale brings the Dark Reign to a shattering conclusion and brings with it the bombastic new HEROIC AGE. Every single page of this book is a shocker: Lives are changed. Heroes fall. Deaths. Revenge. Villain comeuppance. And when the dust settles, who will be in charge of the Marvel Universe?? You will find out here and only here. This is the one they will be talking about.

FC $3.99

Comics shipping May 12, 2010

PREVIEWSworld.com New Releases

Shipping This Week: 5/12/2010

Every Monday, PREVIEWSworld.com provides a list of comics, graphic novels and other pop-culture merchandise arriving this week to your local comic shop.

Please check with your retailer for availability, as not all new releases may be on sale in all areas at the same time.

DARK HORSE COMICS

MAR100044 BPRD KING OF FEAR #5 (OF 5) $2.99
MAR100028 HELLCYON #2 (OF 4) $3.50
JAN100209 JOURNAL BETTIE PAGE HORIZON $9.99
JAN100136 LITTLE LULU TP VOL 23 BOGEY SNOWMAN $14.99

DC COMICS

MAR100195 ADVENTURE COMICS #11 $3.99
SEP090258 AME COMI WONDER GIRL VINYL FIGURE $60.00
SEP090259 AME COMI WONDER WOMAN V 2 VINYL FIGURE $60.00
FEB108511 AMERICAN VAMPIRE #1 2ND PRINTING (MR) $3.99
MAR100190 BATGIRL #10 $2.99
MAR100185 BATMAN #699 $2.99
MAR100178 BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #1 (OF 6) $3.99

The Spirit #1

The Spirit #1
DC Comics
(w) Mark Schultz & Dennis O’Neil
(a) Moritat & Bill Sienkiewicz
FC 40 pgs w/ ads $3.99 US / Higher in Canada

After Frank Miller wrecked the character with his crappy movie, DC has decided to try and relaunch Will Eisner’s Spirit back into his own ongoing series again.

This version of the character is part of Brian Azzarello’s First Wave comic series. The setting is once again more modern but there’s more of a gritty crime noir feel to the comic. The Spirit is still just a vigilante working outside of the law but the Spirit’s love interest Ellen Dolan is more of a do-gooder here while her father, police Commissioner Dolan is more of a corrupt cop on the take.

This issue has the Spirit trying to take down the Octopus and an international crime syndicate. The syndicate have sent an assassin to deal with the Spirit. This isn’t a bad first issue. I like the network of informants that are at the Spirit’s disposal and Moritat’s art is amazing and surprisingly well suited for the Spirit. There’s a black and white back-up story by Dennis O’Neil and Bill Sienkiewicz that was short and effective. It’s not Will Eisner’s Spirit but it’s a thousand times better than Frank Miller’s Spirit. (Shane Hnetka)

Recommended Picks for May 5, 2010

Hot Pick!
Brightest Day #1
DC Comics
(W) Geoff Johns & Peter J. Tomasi
(A) Ivan Reis, Fernando Pasarin, Ardian Syaf, Scott Clark & Joe Prado
Cover by David Finch

Brightest Day continues, but in ways you can’t possibly expect! What does Brightest Day mean to the DC Universe? Is everything from here on out going to be bright and shiny? No, Brightest Day means something else entirely, something we can’t tell you…yet. But we can tell you our heroes will need to rise up more than ever to combat the forces of evil, and a select few will uncover a secret that binds them ALL. It all begins in the specially priced issue #1!

FC $2.99

Recommended Pick!
IZOMBIE #1
Vertigo / DC Comics
Written by CHRIS ROBERSON
Art and cover by MICHAEL ALLRED

Gwen Dylan is a gravedigger in an eco-friendly cemetery…and a zombie detective. Once a month, she has to eat a human brain – both to keep from going all “Night of the Living Dead,” and to keep her own memories intact. As a result, Gwen’s mind is crowded with the dead person’s thoughts. And lately, she feels compelled to fulfill their final requests. Torn between a mysterious mummy and a dashing young monster-hunter, Gwen is set for adventures beyond imagination! A were-terrier, a swinging ’60s ghost and a pack of paintball blasting vampires complete the cast of I, ZOMBIE.

Written by World Fantasy Award finalist Chris Roberson (CINDERELLA: FROM FABLETOWN WITH LOVE) with art by Eisner Award-winning superstar artist Michael Allred (X-Statix, Madman), I, ZOMBIE is a monster of a tale with razor-sharp prose and powerful pop artistry.

Don’t miss this special debut issue launching Vertigo’s next monster hit, priced at just $1.00!

FC $1.00 US
Mature Readers