By Joe C.
Brace yourself, everyone—it’s another one of those big weeks! It’s hard to complain about too many good books coming out, but you might need to do some creative budgeting (selling plasma and prostitution are viable options…no one’s judging).
Hopefully you got the zero issue that dropped a few weeks back, but if not, now’s the time to jump on board Black Beetle No. 1, out this week from Dark Horse. Black Beetle is the pulp lovechild of art phenom Francesco Francavilla, and if my local shop is any indication, this book will be a hit. I called the other day to get put on the list for a copy and was told they’re already four times over their original order. And with good reason! Francavilla’s work on the last issue was stunning. His mix of pop-art noir was made for this genre. This one is an absolute must!
DC takes us out to the far reaches of the universe this week with Threshold No. 1, giving their space heroes a home in the New 52. The book is made up of two parts, a main story featuring several cosmic heroes (along with a new Green Lantern) and a backup featuring the Orange Lantern Larfleeze. As much as there is here for Lantern fans to love, the big draw is Captain K’Rot. If that sounds familiar, it’s the New 52 version of Captain Carrot, reimagined as a drunken, whore-mongering space rabbit. As a huge fan of the original Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew back in the day, I’ve got mixed emotions over this one. There are also plenty of people pointing out the obvious similarities to Rocket Raccoon, who just happens to be starring in Marvel’s upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Either way, it’s worth a chance for curiosity’s sake if nothing else. Who knows? This book could surprise us. Stranger things have happened.
Image gives space fans an extra reason to be happy this week with Saga No. 7 (second printing) AND No. 9. Just about everyone voted this book “Best New Series of 2012,” and the second arc kicks off with issue No. 7. You can still most likely find copies of issue No. 8, so you could be all caught up by the end of the day. It goes without saying, but if you haven’t bought the trade for the first arc you really, really need to do so.
It’s a busy week over at Marvel, with the Superior Spider-Man and Wolverine appearing all over the place, while things at X-Factor go right to Hell. Kicking things off, Avenging Spider-Man No. 16 has the first team up between the new Superior Spider-Man and the X-Men. One of the most interesting aspects of the new Spidey is his interaction with the rest of the Marvel Universe, and there’s no better place to explore those relationships than in a team-up book. Preview pages already show Potto landing a mean punch on Wolverine, which
I’m sure won’t go over well. Continuing this trend, Daredevil No. 22 has the “Man Without Fear” being hunted by the wall-crawler, and rumor has it Stilt Man is involved. (Fun fact: I’ll buy anything with Stilt Man in it. Anything.) I’m curious as to whether or not Daredevil’s heightened senses will pick up the subtle differences in Potto, but I guess we’ll find out. For the non-Spider fans, Marvel releases The Savage Wolverine No. 1, putting everyone’s favorite clawed Canadian in the Savage Land along with Shanna the She-Devil. Cheesecake fans take note—hot jungle girls abound in this one. On the other end of the mutant spectrum, X-Factor No. 250 kicks off the “Hell on Earth War” storyline, which has been building for some time now. For those unaware, series writer Peter David had a stroke recently. According to David’s blog, he’s on the mend, but you should definitely click HERE to find out how you can help. If you’re unfamiliar with his work, now’s your chance to find out what you’ve been missing AND help out one of the best writers in the industry at the same time. All of us here at GeekingAlly wish him the speediest of recoveries!
