We all love comics and what’s great is new ones come out every week, on a Wednesday, here are some of the ones out today:
The usual rules apply, talk as much as you like about all the new comics but please hide away any major plot points behind spoiler tags as not everyone reads their comics at the same time.
Today’s Elephantmen #64 has art by long-time MWer Carlos Pedro: http://www.comicbookresources.com/comic-previews/elephantmen-64-image-comics-2015
And today’s Arcadia #1, from Boom, is written by Alex Paknadel, who I think posted here for a while too: http://www.comicbookresources.com/comic-previews/arcadia-1-boom-studios-2015
As an occasional feature I steal the write-up from the Big Bang comic shop on the new first issues and specials out today:
ALL-NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA SPECIAL - THE FINALE TO THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN/INHUMAN/ALL NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA CROSSOVER! Red Raven has Spider-Man and the Inhumans right where he wants them - IN CAPTAIN AMERICA’S COMIC BOOK OF COURSE!
So… Red Raven is fighting Captain America who used to be Falcon… yet no love for the Owl. DAMMIT MARVEL!
ARCADIA - So I’ve been waiting for this one for a few months now, so y’all better buy it! 99% of the world’s population has been wiped out, the remaining 1% has been digitized into ARCADIA, a supposed utopia. But, when Arcadia starts to deplete the resources on which the world-bound survivors, how long will it be before the 1% face a revolution? Featuring covers by Matt Taylor (artist supreme behind our store exclusive Southern Cross Variant)
AVENGERS VS - Never let it be said that Marvel don’t know how to cross promote the heck out of something! The first issue features four stories featuring Red Skull, Attuma (Was in Avengers Assemble recently enough so that’s probably why… I mean it’s goddamn Attuma), Loki and Modok
BALTIMORE THE CULT OF THE RED KING - C’mon, it’s the Mignolaverse… OF COURSE YOU WANT IT!
DEAD DROP - BRAND NEW VALIANT COMIC! Four issues, four stories! Fancy a superhuman conspiracy thriller? THEN THIS IS YOUR BOOK (as long as you buy it, like). X-O Manowar, Archer (no not that one), Neville Alcott, Detective Cejudo and Betamax save the world!
ROCHE LIMIT CLANDESTINY - Volume 2 of Roche Limit starts off now! (Well 75 years after the events of Volume 1)
SECRET WARS - THE BIG ONE! The event that will rock the face of the MU forever! You got the FCBD issue, you’ve read the solicitations, you’ve still no goddamn clue what’s going on but you know you want to read the bejeezus out of it! Jonathon “I’ll keep you guessing until the very end” Hickman, Esad “My art belongs in a fine art museum” Ribic and Ive " I make the best look even better" Svorcina team up to bring you a multiversal blockbuster the likes of which has never been seen (except by the Watchers like)! Welcome to Secret Wars (except everyone is involved so who the flip are they keeping it a secret from?)
SWORDS OF SORROW - The fiercest females in all of Dynamite’s universe come together (under the creative minds of Gail Simone and Sergio Davila) for a pulp adventure that’s taking the interwebs by storm! GRAB IT WHILE IT’S HOT*!
*Despite what Snoop Dogg/Snoop Lion says
SWORDS OF SORROW CHAOS SPECIAL - *Is actually a prequel to the above, so you should buy this and read this first
VALIANT UNIVERSE HANDBOOK 2015 EDITION - You know when Marvel used to do those Guides to the Marvel Universe with a different character each time? Well it’s like that but instead of Daredevil you get X-O Manowar
WONDER WOMAN '77 SPECIAL - Did you know that this show gets repeated on Sky channels? BECAUSE I DID!
♫ WONDER WOMAN!!! ♫
I was torn just before leaving work between my dual identities of “consummate professional, dedicated to their career” and “guy who wants to pick up their comics”. Which side will win in this epic internal struggle…
Luckily, my shop is right on the way home. I will have to found out a way to reroute sometime next month as that direction will be undergoing road construction.
I opened up Convergence Superman #2, Realised Lee Weeks wasn’t doing the art, and lost interest very quickly.
Secret War first impressions?
I thought it was pretty strong although a fair bit of it was characters bothering about with the logistics of the plot (par for the course with Hickman). Quite a nice beginning and end to the issue, incredible art, and overall I liked it, although the idea of buying 7 more at $5 a pop doesn’t fill me with peak excitement.
The first one was oversized, if padded with a preview to Inhumans that I didn’t read, and printed on nice paper.
I guess that’s the problem with comics priced at $4…when they have to go up for a special event suddenly it crosses that $5 line. The pub I sometimes go to after work sells pints of good beer for $3.50!
I also bought the new issue of Optic Nerve, which was $7, so I basically paid $12 for two floppies yesterday. What a world. (Optic Nerve gets a pass since there is only like one issue every 3 years)
Jupiter’s Children #2 - Another great issue. I love that Mark is not just delving into normal prequel territory and giving origins of characters and powers. This book as the story between the story where the fight sequences are what happen between the main push of the story instead of the opposite. Wilfredo’s art continues to impress and add to the retro feel of this story. I will be interested to see where this story goes next.
Any more thoughts on Secret Wars?
Keen to know whether to pick up digitally or if I pass FP tomorrow as I have not ordered it in my monthly previews order.
RE: Secret Wars
I am doing my usual trick of waiting until the denouement of the story to decide on whether or not to get involved. There have been far too many lacklustre crossovers in the last couple of years. I did like Jonathan Hickman’s last go at doing one (Infinity), and I’m sure it will been reasonably decently structured.
Save the money you would put towards the books during that time and put it toward a Marvel Unlimited subscription. Then, you can read it and (almost) Marvel’s entire back catalog. 
Y’know what, I think I might.
I have never used it before, it is basically Netflix for comics, right?
So, the latest issue of Amazing Spider-man was alright but I can’t help but feel the whole Parker Industries set up has been wasted. I’d have quite liked to see some OTT, weird ass science adventures rather than Parker screwing up the running of a business.
I am not totally sure I would call this a crossover so much as an event book. There are a million other titles but I don’t think they tie in to the main book; they take place on Marvels version of elseworlds.
I can tell you that I haven’t liked event books since the early 90s, and I enjoyed this first issue enough to buy more. It’s basically Hickman doing his riff on the 1980s miniseries, with awesome art and different universes such as Ultimate joining in the melee.
I also have Marvel Unlimited but I didn’t want to wait on this title. I will use the app to read the million tie-in books sometime this fall.
