Weekly Previews for August 10, 2011

This is a sad week for the Previews. It marks the end of both the Snyder-Jock-Francavilla run on Detective Comics and the ever-excellent Red Robin. Take a moment of silence and then read on for this week's Previews….

Weekly Previews for July 27, 2011

It's Previews time! Spider-Island starts this week. Is that enough to get me to finally break down and pick up Amazing Spider-Man? Keep reading to find out. (Maybe.)

Weekly Previews for July 13, 2011

After such a quiet past few weeks, things are starting to ramp up again. This week's big with over half a dozen shoe-ins and a few more comics to look out for. If this keeps up all month I won't be able to pick up everything the next time I go into the shop. Let's see what all the fuss is about….

Weekly Previews for June 29, 2011

It's another compact week for the Previews. We've only got a few books to look at, but they're some of my favorite books of late. Plus, we've got a milestone of sorts for a long-running all-ages book.

DC's relaunched Batman comics

I don't normally make news posts as this blog is about how comics affect me personally, but sometimes those two coincide. As you probably know by now, DC announced on Tuesday that they will renumber and revamp their superhero comics this September. They've trickled news about what the 52 #1s will be, starting with the announcements on Thursday of the (more or less) Justice League-related books and on Friday of the Green Lantern books. Little of this deeply affects me.

Today's announcements (of Batman #1, Detective Comics #1, Batman and Robin #1 and Batman: The Dark Knight #1), however, do affect me. I'm a big fan of Batman and his “family”, so I've been eager to see their plans.

Weekly Previews for May 25, 2011

Short list of Previews this week. They're all good ones, though. Read on to see.

Weekly Previews for April 27, 2011

This is a pretty big week for me, and everything is pretty much a shoe-in for purchase. Interestingly, there are no books out of the first quarter or so of the alphabet. Make of that what you will, everyone else will be reading on to see what's caught my eye this week.

Weekly Previews for March 30, 2011

New comics, new Previews. Only a few this week, but they include Detective Comics and an FF tie-in from Amazing Spider-Man.

Weekly Previews for February 23, 2011

Short week for the Previews. Most notable is the epilogue to “Three” — the last issue of Fantastic Four under that name (until we hit the equivalent of issue #600 where it'll of course go back to the original title and numbering). Read on to see about that and more.

Weekly Previews for January 26, 2011

Another major week in the Previews, this time with the conclusion of “Three” in Fantastic Four. In other endings: the first arc of Scott Snyder's Detective Comics run ends this week; and the end of and end comes with the final issue of Chaos War, ending not only that title but Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente's über-story about Hercules and Amadeus Cho as well. That's going to be a hard spot to fill for me — I'm not sure what comics are out there with such humor and emotion all together. And the sound effects will be sorely missed.

Weekly Previews for December 29, 2010

December has been a crazy month for me, but things should be getting back on track now. That means I'll actually be posting some reviews and maybe some features, too. And most importantly (at least right now): this should be the last Previews to come after-the-fact (unless you're in a country where comic book day is not Wednesday).

With that out of the way, let's see what's up for this week! We've got a couple of great books by Jonathan Hickman, the last of the new Bat-books, another Chaos War tie-in, and a few others that've piqued my interest. Read on to see 'em all.

Weekly Previews for December 8, 2010

Because of a conflicting event, I didn't get to the comic shop last week for my monthly outing, so this week's Previews includes a few books of which I haven't even had the chance to buy, let alone read, the previous issue. I'll be going Wednesday, though, and I'll have to see what makes the cut this month. Hopefully there'll be room for some of the books that looks really interesting but aren't part of my regular pull list — like the first issue of 27, a four-part mini about the “27 Club” — the list of great and famous rock musicians who died at the age of 27. Keep reading to see my thoughts on that and more.

27 #1

• Written by Charles Soule
• Art by Renzo Podesta
• Cover by W. Scott Forbes

Hendrix, Cobain, Joplin, Morrison. All belong to the “27 Club,” which admits only the most brilliant musicians and artists…and kills them dead in their 27th year. Will Garland is a famous rock guitarist, secretly unable to play for months due to a neurological disorder afflicting his left hand. He’s also 27! With mad scientists, long dead rock legends and cosmic entities in his way, can he make it to 28?

A NEW SERIES IN THE POPULAR GOLDEN AGE FORMAT!

This is a brilliant concept that, if done well (and I know nothing of the writer), could be a masterpiece. Taking the strange coincidence of many great rock musicians dying at 27 and making it be the work of mystical forces is great, but add in the discussions about creativity and life & death (talked about in detail in the interview with writer Charles Soule at CBR) and this could really be worth it. It's golden-age size and only four issues and I'm suddenly leaning towards getting this.

Detective Comics Annual #12

• Written by David Hine
• Art by Agustin Padilla
• Cover by Stanley "Artgerm" Lau

What starts as a Batman, Inc. recruitment trip soon turns into an international incident as The Dark Knight encounters a string of bizarre murders in Paris, France. Featuring both Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson as Batman, this extra-sized spectacular guest-stars The Question and spotlights the debut of a new Bat-ally!

In part 1, Bruce, Dick and Renee Montoya are presented with a series of cryptic clues, which lead them to the underground catacombs of Paris — and the most unexpected of assassins! Continued in this month's BATMAN ANNUAL #28!

I wasn't too impressed with David Hine's run on Detective Comics. He had some good ideas but not always the best execution. A couple of issues had both, so will this be one of those? Enticing me is my love for The Question, but buying this basically means I'll be committing to another $4.99 book in a couple of weeks, so I'll have to consider this carefully.

Fables #100

• Written by Bill Willingham & Mark Buckingham
• Art by Mark Buckingham, Bill Willingham, Chrissie Zullo, Joao Ruas & Steve Leialoha
• Cover by Joao Ruas

In this fantastic 100-page issue, it's time to put an end to Mister Dark once and for all, and time for the Fables to return home to Fabletown. For that to happen, one of the Fables agrees to take on the Dark Man in single combat! It's big, it's epic, and if you live in New York City, you may want to take a quick vacation when this issue comes out, because things are going to get wrecked!

In addition to the larger-than-life main story, we have a FABLES prose story written by Mark Buckingham and illustrated by Bill Willingham! We have an All-Star Burning Questions section that will knock your socks off (seriously, innocent people are going to lose some socks here). We have a puppet theatre created by the unstoppably creative Mark Buckingham, a FABLES board game, sequential stories painted by Chrissie Zullo and Joao Ruas, and even more surprises in this square-bound behemoth celebrating this award-winning Vertigo series!

I get Fables in trades — I started reading it when there were already about eight or nine trades out, and it didn't make sense to do it any other way. Which means I'm behind by a fair amount. I haven't read the Cinderella mini (even though it looked awesome) for fear of finding out something I didn't know yet. So, I mention this mostly because I love Fables and it's quite an achievement, getting to the 100^th issue. And isn't that cover just pretty? Also, I'm not sure if all of the extras will be included in the trade, so that may be a reason to break my pattern with this title.

Incredible Hulks #618

• Written by Greg Pak
• Penciled by Paul Pelletier
• Cover by Carlo Pagulayan

A CHAOS WAR TIE-IN!

Bring out your dead -- and the Hulks will smash them! When the King of Chaos and Darkness unleashes his horrors upon Planet Earth, Doctor Strange calls on the strongest team there is to save life itself. A Chaos War tie-in featuring the return of the most horrifying Hulk villain in Hades -- and fan-favorite "Fall of the Hulks" and "World War Hulks" penciller Paul Pelletier! Plus an all-new backup showcasing one Hulk's Allies!

I don't think I'm interested enough in the Hulks to get this Chaos War tie-in, especially with everything else that looks so good this month. But, I'll take a look anyway.

Knight and Squire #3

• Written by Paul Cornell
• Art by Jimmy Broxton
• Cover by Yanick Paquette & Michael Lacombe

Cyril and Beryl have the fight of their lives on their hands when Shakespeare's most evil monarch, Richard III, returns! And he's brought with him a cloned army of all the worst Kings of England, intent on taking back the country through the use of social networking! Yes, that's the plot!

Going to the shop a week late means these last few comics on the list are the second issue since I've been there last. So, I haven't read #2, but with a solicit like that, it's got to be fun.

Red Robin #18

• Written by Fabian Nicieza
• Art & Cover by Marcus To & Ray McCarthy

To infiltrate the computer systems of a Russian industrialist tied to the mysterious Unternet, Red Robin must stop a vengeance-driven vigilante named Promise from killing the oligarch while making sure his former ally Red Star doesn't stop him!

Again, I haven't seen #17 yet, but I haven't been disappointed by Red Robin yet.

Tiny Titans/Little Archie #3

• Written by Art Baltazar & Franco
• Art and Cover by Art Baltazar

The crossover event of the millennium takes a turn for the magical as Sabrina the Witch and Raven take center stage, causing everything in the world of the Tiny Titans and Little Archie to get mixed up more than ever! And Veronica finally brings the other little kid with an "R" on his shirt home to meet her father. Can Robin's utility belt help him in this kind of situation? And who is responsible for that mess in the Batcave? Archie can't blame the penguins this time!

Join us for the Earth-shaking conclusion to this climactic event! Aw yeah, epic!

This is the final issue of this crossover which, if issue #1 is any indication (I haven't seen #2 because I'm making my monthly trip late, blah blah blah), will be chock full of cute & funny.

Reviews: Detective Comics #870 and X-Factor #210

Here's a couple more reviews. First up: the last issue of David Hine's “Imposter Wars” arc in Detective Comics (and his last issue on that book, except for next month's annual). Then, even though the newest issue came out last week, a review of last month's X-Factor.

This'll be it until next week, so if you're American, happy Thanksgiving, and if you're not, have a great, non-American-holiday-filled rest-of-the-week-and-weekend. See you Tuesday!

Weekly Previews for November 24, 2010

Computer problems bring this week's Previews to you a little late, but there's some really good books here, including the #0 issue of the new Batwoman series and the start of Scott Snyder's run on Detective Comics. Read on for that and more.

Post-shop Thoughts, November 2010

The beginning of the month means a trip to the comics shop! This month features a bunch of Return of Bruce Wayne-related books, but which ones made the cut? And, with all those Bat-books, what else did I have room to get? Read on to find out the whats and wherefores.

Weekly Previews for October 27, 2010

The last of the “Road Home” books are out this week, along with the newest Time Masters: Vanishing Point. But Bruce Wayne isn't the real highlight this week. The second part of “Three” from Fantastic Four comes out this week, and I'm very excited. That's not all, though. Read on to see those and the rest of what I'll be looking at from this week's releases.

Single-Issue Reviews, October 2010, Part One

Short-but-sweet reviews! On tap: some Bat-related books, the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Unwritten, and X-Factor in Vegas. Read on to see what's what.

Weekly Previews for September 29, 2010

If Wednesday = new comics, then Tuesday = Previews. Read on to see what I'll be looking at from this week's new releases.

Single-Issue Reviews, September 2010, Part Two

We've got three books with uncertain futures in this edition of Single-Issue Reviews. Am I ready to drop the latest arc in Detective Comics? Does Time Masters: Vanishing Point continue to be a surprisingly good read? And can Magdalena live up to its premise? Keep reading to find out.

Weekly Previews for August 25, 2010

This week's Previews is almost all pull-list books. And some of my favorites, at that. Read on to see what's in store for this week.