Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Weekly Previews for August 31, 2011

Previews! New beginnings for Angel and the Secret Avengers! More! No exclamation points after this one!

Angel and Faith #1

  • Written by Christos Gage
  • Art by Rebekah Isaacs
  • Colors by Dan Jackson
  • Cover by Steve Morris
  • Variant Cover by Jo Chen

Left in a near-catatonic state following the events in Buffy Season 8, Angel will need a seriously rude awakening if he's to make amends for his ill-conceived deeds. Enter rebel Slayer with a cause-Faith Lehane. Together they'll have full access to the Watcher files and opportunities to make amends for all they've done . . . and will do.

I am really excited about this one. Yes, I'm a big Buffy and Angel fan (not necessarily together), but it's not just their return to comics after the summer off. I loved the relationship Faith and Angel built over the course of both the Buffy and Angel TV series, and I'm eager to see the next incarnation of that relationship, especially with Angel having killed Giles.

Status: Buying It.

Herc #6.1

  • Written by Fred Van Lente & Greg Pak
  • Pencils by Mike Grell
  • Cover by Carlo Pagulayan

START READING with this Point One Issue!

Herc’s had a busy time recently. He saved all of reality, got depowered in the process, moved out to Brooklyn and became a local hero. Although he’s no longer a god and shows no interest in reclaiming his place in Olympia, that doesn’t mean that Olympia’s forgotten about him. A figure from Herc’s past has come to hunt him down, and his intentions for what to do once he finds him remain unclear. Does Olympia have it out for its former son? Written by Marvel Masters Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente and drawn by artist extraordinaire Mike Grell, HERC 6.1 offers an awesome jumping-on point for anyone curious about Marvel’s beloved bruiser, Herc!

This has been a pretty good book so far, but I'd like to see how it is standing on its own feet and out from the shadow of Fear Itself. It never got the chance to establish itself properly, as it more-or-less started as a tie-in.

Status: Buying It.

Secret Avengers #16

  • Written by Warren Ellis
  • Pencils by Jamie McKelvie
  • Cover by John Cassaday
  • Variant Cover by Jamie McKelvie

RUN THE MISSION! DON'T GET SEEN! SAVE THE WORLD!

A secret city buried one mile under American soil is discovered through the leakage of Von Doom radiation – a type of energy emitted only by time-travel devices. So the Secret Avengers head underground to a weird metropolis forgotten about for decades, because a time machine in the wrong hands is the worst kind of WMD imaginable. Master storyteller Warren Ellis begins his tenure on Earth's Mightiest Clandestine Super-Team, illustrated by Eagle Award-winning Jamie McKelvie.

I stopped getting Secret Avengers after the opening arc for two reasons. The writing wasn't up to par, first of all. It started out very well and quickly became a four-(I think?)-issue arc that should've been maybe two-and-a-half, while going from an ensemble book to a Steve Rogers-plus-a-few-asides book. Secondly, I pretty much couldn't stand the art. It was partly the lack of any motion or fluidity in almost every panel and partly the teeth (oh god, the teeth). Seriously, everyone had a mouth-and-a-half of teeth in every shot. It was really distracting. But this is a new writer and new artist, and it's a new direction (looks much more like a series of one-shots) that feels much more right for the book. I'll definitely give this one a look; it seems like what I originally thought the title would be.

Status: In Consideration.

Spider-Girl: Family Values (TPB)

  • Written by Paul Tobin
  • Pencils by Clayton Henry, Dean Haspiel, Sergio Cariello, Tim Seeley, Paul Azaceta & Matt Southworth
  • Cover by Jelena Kevic-Djurdjevic

An all-new hero for an all-new era! Not every fight can be resolved by punching someone in the face — but Spider-Girl’s gonna punch somebody anyway, just to make sure. Follow the swinging adventures of Anya Corazon, the Splendiferous Spider-Girl, as she balances the daily grind of teenage life with the bumps and bruises brought by banging ’bows with bad guys! Guest-starring the Fantastic Four — and a villain our hero could never, ever defeat. Plus: Ana Kravinoff explodes onto the scene to prove to her father, Kraven the Hunter, she’s worthy of the family name by taking down one of the Spider family — and Spider-Girl is her chosen prey! The next generation of one of comics’ great rivalries takes center stage — and in the wings, a Goblin lurks! Collecting SPIDER-GIRL (2011) #1-8 and material from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1963) #648.

Not much to say here. This is a book I would've gotten if I felt I could fit it in (along with several books that came before it in my wish list). So, hey, it got canceled apparently way too early, but here it is in all its glory in one volume. So, yeah, I'll get this. Eventually.

Status: Buying It (When I Free Up Trade-Buying Room).

Ultimate Comics Hawkeye #1

  • Written by Jonathan Hickman
  • Art by Rafa Sandoval
  • Cover by Kaare Andrews
  • Variant Cover by Adam Kubert
  • Variant Cover by Neal Adams

Hawkeye’s back in a bad way. Armed and dangerous, Clint Barton is tasked with his most perilous mission yet. And what he discovers will reverberate in the entire Ultimate Universe.

Like The Ultimates, I'm thinking about this almost entirely because it's written by Jonathan Hickman. Strikes against include only a passing (but growing, truthfully) interest in the Ultimate universe; and way too many books I want in the coming months. So, we'll see.

Status: In Consideration.

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