It's Tuesday — Previews time! Quite a batch of books this week: the penultimate issue of Angel, the second issue of Batman Incorporated this month, and the première issue of FF. Read on and enjoy.
Angel #43
- Written by David Tischman & Mariah Huehner
- Art by Elena Casagrande
- Cover by Jenny Frison
THE PENULTIMATE ISSUE OF IDW’S ANGEL SERIES! Time is quite literally running out for Angel. He must stop the ultimate Big Bad, Wolfram & Hart, and somehow get back to Connor before L.A. becomes a permanent demon farm. Can Illyria help, or is the sacrifice too great?
Two issues left of Angel. I hope it finishes out well. The story's been pretty good lately. The art's not my favorite, but it's been much worse in this series. The covers, on the other hand have been great. Not perfect, but up there. This one's a design that's been used a lot lately — and perhaps better — but I still think it's a great design.
Status: Buying It.
Batman Incorporated #4
- Written by Grant Morrison
- Art by Yanick Paquette
- Cover by J.H. Williams III
Superstar writer Grant Morrison and artist Yanick Paquette have sent The Dark Knight on a trip to Japan and Argentina, but now Batman's taking a brief breather back in his home base of Gotham City for a team-up with Batwoman! And don't miss the first issue of BATWOMAN's new monthly series, on sale this month!
Because of my comics-getting-schedule, it's been 2½ months since I've seen an issue of Batman Incorporated and man, am I jonesin' for it! Also, because of … something … I haven't gotten any Batwoman fix in over 3½ months! To say I'm excited for this issue is a vast understatement.
Status: Buying It.
Captain America and Batroc #1
- Written by Kieron Gillen
- Pencils by Renato Arlem
- Cover by Greg Tocchini
The phone rings. The voice speaks. They want you to fight Captain America. Again. The man who beat you before. The man who you know will beat you again. What can you say? You say “Yes”. Batroc: Traceur shows why and takes you every step of the road he walks. It's time to meet the man behind the greatest moustache in the Marvel Universe. Yeah, Stark. You heard.
I'm actually pretty sick of the insane oversaturation of Captain America books (movie?? what??), and it's pretty unlikely I'll pick this up (or even remember to look it over) even though everyone needs a little Batroc in their lives. But. This is a great solicit. It makes me want to want this comic. And like it — nay, love it. I think the ending is what seals it for me.
Status: Of Interest.
FF #1
- Written by Jonathan Hickman
- Pencils by Steve Epting
- Cover by Daniel Acuña
- Variant Cover by Steve Epting
It's the FANTASTIC first issue of FF! A bold new direction for Marvel's First Family featuring new members, old friends, older enemies and uneasy alliances that will send shockwaves through the Marvel Universe. With stunning art work by Steve Epting and Paul Mounts, please join writer, Jonathan Hickman, on the second massive arc in the bold new direction for the 'World's Greatest Comic.”
Still loving this. I'm really excited for what comes next even though I love Johnny Storm and hate to see him go. I think the new costume looks best on Spider-Man, funnily enough. Not that the others are bad (except for the one shot I saw of Ben Grimm with a weight-lifter's-outfit version… yuck). I'm just more used to seeing Spider-Man in other costumes, I think.
(Note: The cover I've shown here it the Epting variant. I don't really like the main cover. I get the idea, but it looks way too cheesy for my tastes.)
Status: Buying It.
Owly & Wormy: Friends All Aflutter (HC)
- Writing & Art by Andy Runton
Owly and Wormy want some butterflies! But when they come home from the nursery with a plant that will attract some fluttering friends, all that show up are fat, green bug things. Bug things are NOT butterflies! But, they are nice and fun and good at sleep outs under the stars and always up for a game of checkers. Fat, green bug might even be better than butterflies! Let's be friends forever! But, the bug things can't stay. When the bugs build their cocoons, Owly and Wormy think they have no friends left at all. They wait. And wait. And wait. And one day…their dreams have come true…and all a flutter! Owly's friends are back….AND they've turned into butterflies.
I love Owly. This is a bit different than normal — it's usually in digest-sized graphic novel format, but this is basically a picture book. Which means the pages are a bit bigger and it's in color! Get this for you, your kids, or someone else's kids. Seriously.
Status: Of Interest.
Silver Surfer #2
- Written by Greg Pak
- Pencils by Stephen Segovia & Harvey Tolibao
- Cover by Carlo Pagulayan
Surfer no more!
Masterless. Powerless. Mortal.
Humbled by the High Evolutionary, the Silver Surfer is now at the mercy of the masses he once flew far above. Can he escape persecution by human authorities in time to stop the Evolutionary from turning the legacy of Galactus to his own ends? And after all this time, does Norrin Rand still have what it takes to prove that one common man can save the world? The new gold standard for the Silver Surfer continues!
So this looks like it's turning out to be a good Silver Surfer story. The best ones, I think, deal with his humanity (and the humanity — as opposed to cruelty and hate — in others), not his power. One of the best Silver Surfer stories was where a regular man sacrificed himself to save the rest of humanity (some ultimate bomb or something — it would've wiped out all human life, if I remember correctly). The Silver Surfer regained hope that humans can overcome their pettiness, selfishness, and fears (one of the major themes in Silver Surfer books is man's fear of the unknown — namely, the Silver Surfer) to do good, unselfish acts. Here we have the Silver Surfer as a human (Zenn-Lanian?) again — Norrin Radd once more — and he'll have to see if what he always wanted for humans to do is as easy as he thought.
My only problem is: do I get this in singles with several double issues and crossovers this month and next; or do I wait for the trade?
Status: In Consideration.
To Teach: The Journey, In Comics (GN)
- Written by William Ayers
- Art by Ryan Alexander-Tanner
To Teach is a vivid, honest portrayal of the everyday magic of teaching, and what it means to be a “good” teacher—debunking myths perpetuated on film and other starry-eyed hero/teacher fictions. Illuminated by the evocative and wry drawings of Ryan Alexander-Tanner, this graphic version of To Teach will engage while it instructs. It is a much-needed reminder of how curiosity, a sense of adventure, and a healthy dose of reflection can guide us all to learn the most from this world as we educate the next generation. Teacher educators and professional developers will want to use this dynamic graphic novel alongside the traditional text for a unique teaching and learning experience.
I read the excerpts of this Amazon has up, and it looks very interesting. My wife and I homeschool our kids and much of what seems to be brought up here are things that I think are important and am trying to do in my teaching. It's part of why I didn't want my kids in public school — there's too much regurgitation of information (subsequently lost) and not enough exploration, discovery and learning. Should I just read the original book (that this graphic novel has been adapted from) or read this or both? I tend to go for originals over copies, but this isn't really a copy. It's a reimagining. I appreciate when, say, movie adaptations are made into actual movies in their own right, not just visual representations of the same thing. Different media can do different things and it's important to utilize the strengths of each one. The creators seem to think so, too, saying as much in the introduction. So, I think this would be good to read in both formats because I think I'd get different things from each. Not sure if I'll buy it, but I'll definitely see if I can get it from my library.
Status: Of Interest.
Uncanny X-Force #6
- Written by Rick Remender
- Art & Cover by Esad Ribic
Buried deep, sequestered under a million years of unnatural evolution, Father, architect of The World, has a solution to the relentless and fruitless super human conflict that has left the Earth teetering on the brink of destruction. The Deathlok virus will spread, acclimate and control them all. In order to protect Earth’s heroes from the Deathlok virus, X-Force must kill The World’s Father, and his perfect future with him. But should they? How many people would a hero allow to die to ensure worldwide utopia?
I've been hearing good things about this series. It's interesting to note that both the first arc and this second one deal with whether or not it's right to kill an innocent to save others. Also, this is the second part of this story and the previous issue (#5.1) was the supposed jumping-on point. If you go by Marvel's recommendation, you'd read a one-shot and then the second part of an arc, leaving you scrambling to find the first part or left wondering what exactly is going on. Just an observation.
Status: Of Interest.
That's it for this week. What'd I miss?
0 comments:
Post a Comment