Summer is upon us…if you’re in the northern hemisphere it is. Anyway that usually means big summer comic book events and movies. Marvel has Avengers vs. X-Men which better have tons of awesome fights and good drama. DC has been rather quiet as far was summer events. Batman has Night of Owls of course. They did tease something with that Pandora character a few weeks ago though.

-Marvel-

Avengers vs. X-Men Let the beat downs commence! Anyone have any guesses on potential deaths? Or rebirths?

Wolverine And X-Men Wolverine’s legs got all mangled and I thought it was hilarious. It was a nice cliffhanger and I can’t wait to see how the X-Men fix this.

-DC-

Swamp Thing now features the big green monster in earnest. Except he looks different from past versions. Apparently he has wings now and looks much more fearsome. This book is a lot of fun.

Justice League International I’m still unhappy about what happened to the original roster, especially Vixen. I may drop this book depending what happens with the team. To have half the team killed or crippled so soon is lame, especially if it is to make room for new faces.

Batwing is in Gotham to face off with Massacre. This has been a long story and I’m glad it’s getting a conclusion. It was a dynamite start for Batwing, but I’m ready to read more stories. Specifically stories taking place in Africa.

-Vertigo-

Fairest number 1 looked amazing. The story was a bit confusing to be a first issue. But first issue usually are scant on details. I’m sticking with the book though. Ever since 1,001 Nights I’ve been diving deeper and deeper into the Fables universe. It has been lots of fun.

American Vampire is one of the best Vertigo comics available and one of the best comic books available. I think this book will be a classic people talk about years from now.

comments?

The problem is it lists the team as BOOSTER GOLD, AUGUST GENERAL IN IRON, GODIVA, GUY GARDNER, BATWING, O.M.A.C. and FIREHAWK. What happened to Vixen? She was a big part of me reading this book. Vixen along with Fire and Ice were both seriously injured in last week’s issue. Rocket Red was outright killed. So I’m hoping Vixen is off the board while she heals from her injuries. However, it was mentioned in the issue that she may never walk again >:-[

Of course it’s important to remember in comics never to take things as face value. Often what things seem to be in the end turns out to not be the case. It’s just an assumption but I wonder if Vixen and the others were taken out to make room for these new team members. While I do think it’s cool having Batwing on the book I think it would be even better if Vixen was still on it.

Honestly I liked the original team quite a bit. The team had a lot of character and a good mix of humor and dysfunctional aspects. So I’m going to take a wait and see what happens with this book. The last issue was troubling and this solicitation doesn’t help.

Fingers crossed it’s a rotating cast deal or that Vixen, Fire, and Ice will be returning to the line up.

-MARVEL-

X-Men Vampires+Mutants+a bunch of bounty hunters= one hell of a fight. I’m really enjoying this book. It’s not your usual X-Men adventures but that is what’s fun about it.

Avengers: Children’s Crusade For the longest time I wanted Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung back on a Young Avengers title. This series answered my prayers and at was great. This is the final issue to this story and I hope another ongoing is in the works.

Uncanny X-Men Some crazy sci-fi action in this one. This story has been pretty good. Not my favorite X-book at the moment though. Then there’s Greg Land…

Wolverine From the preview Jason Aaron may have pulled a major fast one on readers. If it turns out to be true it could be pretty awesome. Ya see Wolverine recently escaped from Hell and this issue starts with him back there and possibly never left. Wild!

-DC-

Huntress Helena Bertinelli is now Helena Wayne. This was a great mini, but I’m still not sure about this whole Earth-2 stuff. The concept sketches and the Power Girl/Huntress comic look cool and all, but I’m still iffy.

Action Comics More adventures of Young Superman. The last issue was quite weird in that classic Morrison style. Hopefully this issue will be a bit easier to follow and enjoy.

Batwing Batwing in Gotham! This ought to be a fun issue. Looking forward to another showdown between David and Massacre and more back story on the Kingdom.

Justice League International I really like this title for it’s unique cast. The team dynamic really makes this book fun. They have been written well and it makes for entertaining stories. Vixen being on the team is a big draw for me too. Hoping she gets more of the spotlight.

Swamp Thing Crazy. Creepy. Gross. Weird. Fantastic. All words I would use to describe this book. Snyder is a great writer and 2012 is gonna be a huge year for him.

Fairest I’ve been waiting for this book for some time now. I’ve read a few books from the Fables universe (1,001 Nights and the Cinderella minis). I’m hoping this will be great as well.

iZombie My favorite supernatural sci-fi book that is just a joy to read. The story has taken so many twists and turns since this book started. I hope this book never ends, although I’m kinda nervous because the current storyline seems like it’s building to something big.

-IMAGE-

Fatale I’ll be honest. I don’t know what the hell is going on in this book. I have to read the other 2 issues over again. I do know some crazy stuff is going on. I’m going to stick with this and see if I can get into it.

I had to mention black history month some where in this post. I recall my grade school days of learning about various historically significant figures and events throughout history. In celebration of the month I think I’ll plan a post about my favorite characters of color. That sounds like it could be fun.

-DC Comics-

Action Comics Andy Kubert is drawing this issue and Grant Morrison continues to write it. Hopefully it will be as good as I’m hoping. It’s been a fun comic so far. I don’t see why it won’t continue this month.

Batwing Woo hoo! More Batwing just in time for week 1 of Black History Month. Nice timing DC! Seriously though this book has been really strong. I can’t stress enough how much I want this book to succeed. It means a lot and the fact that it has been very good makes me want it to do well even more.

Justice League International One of the best things about team books is the dynamic and interactions you get from the variety of members. JLI has a great dynamic with a diverse roster. Its a melting pot of fun.

Swamp Thing in Scott Snyder I trust. That is all.

iZombie An absolutely blast of a book that has just about everything you’d look for in a sci-fi/fantasy book. And some how Chris Roberson has managed to hold it all together and keep it fun and clever.

-Marvel-

The Punisher Rucka has written such a great story and Checchetto has been such a great artist that I expect this book to be excellent every month. If Rucka stays hot like this his time on Punisher could be very tough to follow. Must read.

Uncanny X-Force Speaking of tough runs to follow Remender has been kicking ass since day 1 on this book. An X-Men classic in the making involving what I like to call “the team you never want to be on, but love to read about.”

Uncanny X-Men I like this story a lot better than the first post relaunch arc. A lot of it has to do with the fallout of events in Uncanny X-Force being dealt with here. Also I’m really excited about Psylocke and how she’ll handle working two or three teams. I think she’ll have a big year.

A lot of books being picked up this week. High expectations for Punisher, X-23, Rachel Rising, iZombie, and Swamp Thing.

-Marvel-

The Punisher ended on a great teaser page last month and I’m excited to see how the rest of this story continues. So many potential ideas and directions this book can go now. Rucka has been phenomenal. 

Uncanny X-Men is going to be a one shot. So soon? Anyway the initial story arc did not thrill me. Sinister is back is up to sinister things (couldn’t help myself haha). I really want to know how they plan on fixing Emma’s arm.

X-23 continues towards the big finale. :( Humbug! I’m eager to see which side X-23 lands on. Probably her own considering she hasn’t been mentioned in West Coast X-Men or East Coast X-Men. Still not reading Avengers Academy by the way.

X-Men I only started picking this up because it has Storm, Psylocke, Warpath, and Domino in it. It’s been good so far. I guess this will replace X-23 on my pull list.

-DC-

Action Comics Superman begins! Okay not really but this has been a cool look back at a young Superman in the new DC Universe. If Grant continues to write this count me in.

Batwing Last issue we got back story on David and what a violent past it was. This is turning out to be a really good book with an awesome story. Still very excited about a person of color wearing the Bat symbol.

Huntress Not that I’m complaining but I wonder why this was chosen as the first mini to get released after the big change. Perhaps it says something about the popularity of the character or DC’s plans for characters like her. Of course it seems this was written before the New 52 though. Chances for a Huntress ongoing? That would be neat.

iZombie Zombies, monsters, vampires, ghosts, ghouls, were people, a talking monkey, monster hunters, and whole lot of awesome craziness in this book. A damn fun comic worth the asking price.

JLI Has had a solid although somewhat stereotypical team comic book start. I’ve enjoyed it though. I’m really eager to see where this book goes from her. I like the team a lot, but a really dynamite story could cement keeping this title.

Red Lanterns The big red book. It’s been interesting. Atrocitus does a lot of inward thinking, he talks to a corpse, and worries a lot about just what the hell he’s going to do.

Swamp Thing One of the creepiest books I’ve ever read. Snyder has thought up some wild stuff here. It’s a really unique look at dead things and living things. I predict this book will make someone lose their lunch one day. Great sci-fi, paranormal, gory stuff.

-Indy and Etc-

Rachel Rising I reblogged some covers from this book and this is another creepy book I love. Terry Moore has proven to me that horror comics can make me uneasy. This might be the first book that gets read and then read again.

G.I. Joe has been at risk of getting dropped. The Cobra Civil War event just finished and it seemed to be overshadowed by other books. The idea behind the event was kind of cool. Maybe I’ll see where stories go from here.

I was really impressed by X-23, Swamp Thing, Batwing, Justice League International, and American Vampire yesterday. I think all those are worth checking out. I’m going to do a longer post on X-23 because the character has come a long way and I think Marvel and the writers have developed her perfectly.

I’m also debating dropping some titles. So far I’m thinking about is G.I. Joe and Thor. Out of the new 52 books I think I will drop Demon Knights for financial reasons though. That book is actually pretty good. I did not continue reading issues of Red Hood and the Outlaws, Men of War, and Nightwing.

This book was not originally on my pull list, but it ended up being an in store decision. I was very lucky too because I got the last copy. I’m pleased to say I think I will be sticking with this book for at least the first story arc.

Well JLI’s title accurately reflects its title. The team which has been put together under some sketchy circumstances is very diverse. Led by Booster Gold, Ice (Norwegian), Vixen (African), Fire (Hispanic), Rocket Red (Russian), August General In Iron (Chinese), Batman, Godiva (British), and a unwilling Guy Gardner (Green Lantern).

The U.N decides to put together a group that can help the world and is not as selective and independent as the Justice League. They are also looking for a group of super heroes that can be controlled and I assume used to do some dirty work. Of course the JLI is not aware of the shady practices of U.N. head of intelligence Andre Briggs. Not surprisingly Batman has suspicions about the U.N. and of course he would he’s Batman after all.

This is another book that starts off fast paced. Not much time is wasted getting the team together and they’re off on their first mission just as quickly. The first big mission is searching for some missing U.N. research teams in Peru. The big mystery who or what is responsible for the craziness. As different as this team is they seem to fit well together. If this is the main cast I’ll be satisfied.

I was happy to discover that this book had a few laughs. The conversation among the heroes was entertaining and didn’t get dry. I’m not a familiar with a few of those characters and I thought they would bore, but this book was a lot of fun. JLI felt like a classic superhero team comic book. A good amount of action, drama, and humor, I think this book will do alright.

Aaron Lopresti is still on his game here. The opening page is pretty dynamite as we get a glimpse of possible JLI candidates. He has a style that suits this book well. He handles a team book very well. The panels never seem overcrowded or jammed on the page. Overall a very solid and fun start for JLI, I wasn’t expecting this book to win me over but it has. That’s 3 good new titles so far.

BTW: I could totally see Power Girl in this book…just sayin’ :) 

I feel my blog has been DC biased as most of my posts have been about their new comics. It’s hard not to post about DC though, they are generating a lot of news since they announced the big changes. This is week 2 of the new comics and I thought I’d list them and what books I’m getting. I will be doing reviews of them later in the week as well. As this is the first week with multiple books let’s see what DC is offering. The links below also conveniently go to the DC comics website solicitation for each book!

• ACTION COMICS #1
• ANIMAL MAN #1
• BATGIRL #1
• BATWING #1
• DETECTIVE COMICS #1
• GREEN ARROW #1
• HAWK AND DOVE #1
• JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #1
• MEN OF WAR #1
• O.M.A.C. #1
• STATIC SHOCK #1
• STORMWATCH #1
• SWAMP THING #1

Action Comics seems like a great one to launch early. A lot of people probably will be looking to get into the Superman books. Grant Morrison and Rags Morales should be providing a really strong book that readers ought to enjoy. I’ve never been a huge Superman fan and never read Action Comics, but I am a fan of Morrision. After Grant’s All-Star Superman story I have to see what he does with the book. The preview pages that were released seemed pretty good.

Animal Man I’m not very familiar with, but I think a lot of Animal Man fans and old readers will be giving this book a shot. Not familiar with Animal Man’s writer, but Travel Foreman did a great job on Immortal Iron Fist for Marvel. The book should look great.

Batgirl seems like a no brainer for a hit comic. Gail Simone is a very popular writer and has recently tweeted positive reactions for Batigrl orders. This is a book that I will be picking up. I’m happy it’s here, but also sad only because Bryan Q. Miller did a great job with Stephanie. Still this should be a fun one.

Batwing is probably one of the books I’m most looking forward too. I’ve blogged earlier about my excitement. Judd Winick is writing and he won me over as a fan with his Power Girl stories. The preview art has looked phenomenal. African Batman? Hell yes.

Detective Comics is another book that is perfect to start with. Batman fans old and new alike should be checking this book out. Tony Daniel has been working in the Bat universe for quite some time and he should provide an excellent book.

Green Arrow is another character I don’t follow closely. Again J.T. Krul is familiar with the character and I think the old Arrow fans will . Although it may be hard for new fans to get into Green Arrow, but I could be wrong.

Hawk and Dove is one book I could see struggling. I do think Sterling Gates is a great writer, but Rob Liefeld’s art is not really my cup of tea. These are 2 relatively obscure characters that I think will be hard to reach new audiences. Maybe some new fans will find something interesting here. I don’t want to predict a flop because that’s not fair, but I think this book will pull low numbers.

Justice League International could be a winner. It’s got a cast filled with a lot of fan favorites. I was debating getting this book because of Batman, Vixen, Fire, Ice, and Guy Gardner. I didn’t reserve a copy so I guess I will make a decision at the comic shop. Hopefully there are copies still available, otherwise I’m SOL. Not familiar with the writer, but I do enjoy Aaron Lopresti’s artwork.

Men of War I expect to do well. Sgt. Rock and Easy Company are quite popular. This book seems like it would also be easy to bring in new readers. There’s no real convoluted history that has been associated with the super hero books. I’m not familiar with the creative team but this is one title that should be very accessible to new comers and war comic fans alike.

OMAC I’m not sure about. Old DC readers are very familiar with OMAC, but I’m not sure how new readers will approach this book. Not many new fans will recognize this character. Dan Didio and Keith Giffen will write and Keith Giffen and Scott Koblish will handle art duties. Keith is a great writer and I’m not sure I feel about Dan’s writing. Dan hasn’t done anything recently to wow me, but working with Keith is a good thing. 

Static Shock will probably be familiar to some new fans from his cartoon show a few years back. That might attract new readers. I don’t follow Static Shock closely but haven seen efforts by DC to bring him into the mix. Maybe teenagers and hardcore Static fans will be picking this up. The solicitation on the DC website sounds like it could be a good book though. Hopefully it does well. I’d like to see more prominent characters of color.

Stormwatch is a bit of a mystery to me except for the Martian Manhunter. The other characters I’m not too familiar with. Stormwatch was originally in the Wildstorm Universe, which was under Image Comics. Before this explanation gets anymore confusing just know Wildstorm was an indy company established by Jim Lee. DC has been integrating these characters into their main universe. The solicitation sounds like it could be an action packed and lots of sci fi. This should be successful among Wildstorm fans and DC fans alike. I could also see this bringing in new readers as well. It seems like something they could jump into easily.

Swamp Thing should do great under Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette, 2 very talented creators at DC. Swamp Thing is incredibly popular and I bet he brings in more old fans than new. New readers may think of the old movie and TV show and the sheer weirdness and coolness of such a title might draw in a lot. This is another title I was on the fence about. I’m a fan of both Scott and Yanick, but not very familiar with Swamp Thing. His appearance in Brightest Day was cool. This will be another in store decision. Again I hope I’m not SOL with this and JLI.

That’s it for week two! I usually get to my comic shop in the afternoon so it will be interesting to see how many copies of the titles have or haven’t been taken. I’ll try to make good mental notes and share my experience.