Tag Archives: JLI

Weekly Anticipation: Red, Red In My Head

by windiebird

(Cover by Travel Foreman, DC Comics)

Animal Man 3 is going to  rock every single casbah in the universe! Travel Foreman and Jeff Lemire are doing spooky, creepy, wonderful things and this is one book you will want to say you were reading from the beginning. Our intrepid duo are making their way into the Red and something wicked is preparing to lay some serious pain on the Bakers. Such a great comic here!

(Cover by Yanick Paquette, DC Comics)

Swamp Thing 3; replace Yanick Paquette and Scott Snyder, respectively, in my Animal Man entry and you have my opinion of Swamp Thing! This is terrifying, beautiful comics at their best. Sethe is revealed as the face of the third life force (Red & Green being the other two) and he’s got a mad on that only Swamp Thing (and Buddy Baker in AM) can defend against! A must-read.

(Cover by Dale Keown, Marvel Comics)

Uncanny X-Men 1 continues my “Try All the Regenesis Things!” campaign and I’m always excited to be reading a Kieron Gillen comic. Mister Sinister is doing his thing against Scott’s newly re-shuffled deck and I can’t wait to see the outcome! I love that Emma Frost and Magik feature so prominently on the Keown cover, I hope that means a focus on those two in the issues to come. Hooray for the X-Men!

(Action Comics 3, American Vampire 20, Avengers Academy 21, Detective Comics 3, Fear Itself 7.1, Green Arrow 3, JLI 3, New Mutants 33, O.M.A.C. 3, Stormwatch 3, Sweet Tooth 27 and X-Men 20 are my other titles this week)

Weekly Anticipation: Round Two!

by windiebird

Ack! I’m late for a very important date! These are this week’s comics and I can’t wait to read them!

(Cover by Travel Foreman, DC Comics)

If Animal Man 2 is more of the great, grotesque story that we had the first go ’round then I will be one super-happy animal! Buddy (plus one creepy-ass offspring) are dealing with a surge of something strange and deadly in The Red. As personal a problem as that sounds, I can’t wait to see for myself!

(Cover by Adam Kubert, Marvel Comics)

X-Men: Schism 5 is the end of the road for the dystopian Utopian society! No more mutant-islands, etc.! I’m very curious to see how this ends up for the two men schism-ing all over each other but even more so am I excited to see the Regenesis to follow. Jean Grey Institute, here I come!

(Cover by Guillem March, DC Comics)

Huntress 1 features Helena (Bertinelli, one may presume) kicking all kinds of criminal ass in Italy, art by Marcus To (and John Dell) AND it’s written by Paul Levitz, the original Helena Wayne creator himself. This is exactly the kind of book everyone should be reading! Check it out however you’re able!

(My remaining reads this week are Action Comics 2, Detective Comics 2, Green Arrow 2, iZombie 18, JLI 2, O.M.A.C. 2, Penguin: Pain & Prejudice 1, Stormwatch 2, Swamp Thing 2 and The Walking Dead 89)

-windiebird

Winner/Anticipation: Faingel & The Manimal

by windiebird

Phew, I’m way off schedule here and I apologize! Labor Day has clearly made me a lazy American. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still full steam ahead on my excitement for the DCnU. However…

(Cover by Jo Chen, Dark Horse Comics)

Angel & Faith was my clear winner last week, it seems Christos Gage can do no wrong in my book! Leading from the traumatic events of season 8, we get this strong first opening for what’s to come. A must read for Buffy and Angel (and Faith) fans! Trust me, after last season’s major death and the emotional aftermath that must follow that for Faith, you will be totally hooked.

(Cover by Travel Foreman, DC Comics)

Animal Man 1 has art that I can’t friggin’ get enough of! I love creepy and I love weird. Travel Foreman has both in spades and Jeff Lemire is a savant when it comes to such things. This is apparently as much about Buddy’s daughter Maxine as it is him which is a mystery that makes this priority number one in reading this week.

(Cover by Yanick Paquette, DC Comics)

Swamp Thing 1 sees Alec Holland returned completely to the Swamp Thing elemental complex in mind, soul and body. While not a concept that would regularly assure me of the quality of a title, Scott Snyder writing (and writing one of his favorite characters to boot) with Yanick Paquette’s breathtaking naturescapes makes this a must-read for anyone. Seriously, take a moment to breathe in that cover.

(Cover by Adam Hughes, DC Comics)

Batgirl 1 has proven itself worthy of a buy to me from the preview pages posted to the web as well as Gail Simone’s tireless campaigning for the book. I’m letting myself be optimistic that Ms. Simone won’t let the editorial change of Oracle to Batgirl be an ableist misstep and that an entertaining comic is in that premise just waiting to be found and developed. Here’s hoping for a great DCnU!

(Action Comics 1, Batwing 1, Detective Comics 1, Green Arrow 1, Hawk & Dove 1, JLI 1, O.M.A.C. 1, Static Shock 1, Stormwatch 1 and X-Factor 224.1 are my remaining books this week.)

-windiebird

While My Wallet Gently Weeps

by windiebird

(Cover by David Finch, DC Comics)

Action Comics 900 has a huge order to fill, wrapping up Reign of Doomsday & the Luthor storyline in one 96-page mega-issue while paying homage to the Man of Steel and the villain…people-named-Lex.

(Cover by Simone Bianchi, Marvel Comics)

Age of X: Universe 2 is almost a What If? with the reveal from the previous chapters of Age of X but that doesn’t mean the story here can’t wrap up to be an interesting (if super-gritty) tale of a world gone mad!

(Cover by Rafael Albuquerque, Vertigo Comics)

American Vampire 14 continues the WWII-era arc from the chilling close of Skinner’s appearance last issue. Henry’s in trouble over there and Pearl’s got her hands full on the home front, a pretty excellent beginning so far to another year of American Vampire!

(Cover by David Finch, DC Comics)

Brightest Day 24 is Swamp Thing/one-pissed-off-planet vs. humanity/Alec Holland (or his body at least?)! Is it bad that I’m kind of rooting for Swamp Thing?

(Cover by Francis Manapul, DC Comics)

The Flash 11 has one fiiiine cover there! Flashpoint is coming and it’s bringing red spandex! Looks like all the speedsters are getting involved in the mixup and I’m hoping Liberty Belle (Jesse Quick, geez, let’s just ignore all that beautiful JSA characterization you wrote yourself, Geoff Johns!) shows up in this second-to-last issue.

(Cover by Tyler Kirkham & BATT, DC Comics)

Green Arrow 11 takes place before the finale in BD 24 so it looks like Oliver, Galahad and the forest are bringing this party to a fiery end! Final answers about the forest’s place in the White Lantern’s plan are promised and hopefully there’s some closure to this interesting and sometimes bumpy reboot to Green Arrow. Onwards and upwards to the next story arc!

(Cover by Felipe Massafera, DC Comics)

Issue 8 left us with Mogo blasting the newly-minted earth-born Lanterns haaaaaaard and Emerald Warriors 9 continues right where we left off! Is the yellow weakness restored with the impurity in the Green Lantern Battery? Hopefully so, since the learning curve on the new rings has been steep.

(Cover by Dustin Nguyen, DC Comics)

Generation Lost 24 – JLI vs. Maxwell Lord IV! The end is here and the OMACs are angry. I hope the ending is epic and the momentum continues into a new series for these one-of-a-kind heroes!

(Cover by Felipe Massafera, DC Comics)

JSA 50 is another anniversary issue this week and it’s going to be full even for an extra-sized issue! The Society joins with the Challengers of the Unknown to uncover the dark mysteries below Monument Point and more of Senator Eagin’s past is explored as well. Felipe Massaferra’s cover is (as always) worth the price alone.

(Cover by Mico Suayan, Marvel Comics)

New Mutants 24 is the end of the line for Age of X! All secrets revealed, all Moira entities defeated and all realities restored (we hope)!

(Cover by Terry Dodson, Marvel Comics)

Uncanny X-Men 536 begins the real story line about the asylum-seeking Breakworlders and it’s going to put Colossus through the wringer! Are they as innocuous as they appeared last issue or hiding more complex motivations? We’ll see starting today and what a curveball to start off with!

(Cover by Tony Moore, Marvel Comics)

Venom 2 is Flash Thompson’s second issue as Venom and I’m seriously digging the vibe so far. Military order and dedication meets the chaos of the symbiotes, now that’s a recipe for drama and action! Kraven fights Flash in the Savage Lands over some weaponized vibranium WMDs, hoo ah!

(Cover by Don Kramer & Jay Leisten, DC Comics)

Wonder Woman 610 couldn’t possibly give me any more (awesome) chills than last issue but if anyone could make it happen, Phil Hester could. You’re making a real Wondy fan out of me, P.H., and I couldn’t be happier about it!

(Cover by Terry Dodson, Marvel Comics)

X-Men 10 concludes “To Serve and Protect” with Emma Frost and Peter Parker the last hope of the X-Men as they fight the Lizardfolk of the NY sewage system! I’m back on board Marvel, so there!

(Cover by Frazer Irving, DC Comics)

Xombi 2 is sure to continue the sheer joy and insanity of the first issue of this re-boot. Nuns with guns, immortal caucAsians & psychic school girls; I’m so happy to be on this crazy train!

-windiebird

Birds of International Flash Menace

by windiebird

(Cover by Stanley "Artgerm" Lau, DC Comics)

Birds of Prey 11 is all about Huntress’ and Catman’s first (and last, obviously) foray into the dating world. I mean, these two are going to cause explosions, there’s just no other way it would play out. I can’t wait to read this one!

(Cover by Francis Manapul, DC Comics)

The Flash 10 begins our wind down of this series and the prelude to Flashpoint! Hot Pursuit is Barry Allen (from another mother) and he comes with a dire warning for this timeline’s Flash. It’s a big question mark done by Francis Manapul so it’s already a surely beautiful read.

(Cover by Dustin Nguyen, DC Comics)

Generation Lost 23 is the second-to-last issue of this consistently gratifying series and it would be a crying shame if we didn’t see the JLI in one form or another after this! Wonder Woman is back in New York (uh…way to spoil your own series there, DC?), the OMACs are attacking once again and it’s up to the team to bring the final fight to Max Lord!

(Cover by Eddy Barros & J.P. Mayer, DC Comics)

Superboy 6 pits the Boy of Steel vs. the orbiting Kryptonian death satellite (see the previous chapter of Reign of Doomsday) and I still have no clue why this story thread is happening. Love this book though and Doomsday could bring some new tension to the Superboy series!

(Cover by John Cassaday, DC Comics)

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents 6 ends Nick Spencer’s first arc of this excellent new thriller but I’ve heard rumors they’ll be reevaluating the creative future of the book now that he’s gone Marvel exclusive? In any case, this final battle between T.H.U.N.D.E.R. and Spider is sure to make for at least one more exceptional bit of entertainment.

(Cover by Fabrizio Fiorentino, DC Comics)

In Titans 34 we have the gang on Drago dealing with the de-eyeballing from last issue and Osiris dealing with a newly resurrected Isis…who just might be possessed by Blaze? Craziness, too much violence and juuuuust enough Roy and Shazam-family progression to keep me around, I guess.

(Cover by Terry Dodson, Marvel Comics)

Looks like the Whedon/Cassaday run from Astonishing is being re-visited again in Uncanny X-Men 535! The Breakworld wasn’t exactly left a magical, tidy Disneyworld by the X-Men and now that the Breaks (Breakers? Breakites?) have re-built…they’re coming after Colossus! Kitty Pryde also gets a mention in the solicit this week so I’m pretty excited to see how this four-parter works out!

(Cover by Mico Suayan, Marvel Comics)

X-Men Legacy 247 is chapter 5 of Age of X and cuss just got real! Xavier’s awake and the fortress is tearing itself apart with mistrust and infighting. My interest is still entirely there to see how this mystery plays out and just what it means to the regular 616.

-windiebird

Eclipse Day Sublime Lost X

by windiebird

(Cover by J.H. Williams III, DC Comics)

Batman Incorporated 4 or Batwoman 0.5 as I like to think of it, has the Dark CEO setting up Kate Kane’s own franchise of the Inc. name! I’m honestly just here for the Batwoman-ness of it, moving on.

(Cover by Brett Booth, DC Comics)

JLA 55 is going to be one BUSY comics, y’all. We have Eclipso eating his way through the darkness-based folks of the DCU and soon the JLA itself with Saint walker (yaaay!) slated as their Only Hope while Doomsday is working his own way through the JLA and a few Lanterns looking for Cyborg Superman. I’m excited for Eclipso and kind of just riding the Doomsday wave but together they could make for a truly wild ride.

(Cover by Dustin Nguyen, DC Comics)

Power Girl, Batman and an unnamed 3rd ex-JLI member join the fracas in Generation Lost 22 and the end is in sight! The long-awaited showdown with Max Lord is on the horizon and I would gladly support any kind of JLI spinoff that follows this.

(Cover by Leinil Yu, Marvel Comics)

See?! I read Marvel! New Mutants 23 continues Rogue’s runaway tale as her knowledge of the mutant gulag under the Fortress could mean the end of the status quo in the Age of X. A mysterious man is close on her heels but is he friend or foe (gotta love the magic 8 ball text in solicits sometimes)?

(Cover by Greg Land, Marvel Comics)

Uncanny X-Men 534 is the end of the Quarantine arc and BOY am I over-joyed to have gotten in on it! Greg Land’s women are a little…similar…but for the most part it’s been beautiful art, deep and engaging characters, thought-provoking themes and one badass X-Men team!

-windiebird

Age of Lost Arrows

by windiebird

(Cover by Rafael Albuquerque, Vertigo Comics)

American Vampire 12 has Rafael Albuquerque taking a break on art duties for a one-shot detailing Skinner Sweet’s head on collision with the 20th century. Old enemies and faces are solicited to appear when Skinner finds himself at an Old West show…

(Cover by Rodolfo Migliari, DC Comics)

More forest, more Demon and more of the best archer of all time in Green Arrow 9 as friend and foe assault the Star City Forest. This series is a little too Brightest-Day-centric for some GA fans but there’s enough arrow-y goodness for my tastes. J.T. Krul is still bringing green pastures as far as I’m concerned.

(Cover by Dustin Nguyen, DC Comics)

Generation Lost 20 promises to be the big reveal issue we’ve all been waiting for! Max’s pieces are all in position for his endgame to begin and we’ll be learning just what does make Maxwell Lord tick and why he’s so into domination/submission. This is the book of the event, easily.

(Cover by Felipe Massafera, DC Comics)

JLA/The 99 5 is sure to bring more of the same over-the-top superheroics that have made this miniseries such a joy to read so far! The City of Tomorrow has gotten legs and Starro is doing hir conquering thing! Not necessarily a deep comic but pure fun the whole way through and a much needed spotlight on The 99!

(Cover by Scott Kolins, DC Comics)

JSA 48 reveals more of Scythe’s cohorts as Monument Point can’t seem to catch a break. Terrorism, heroes at the end of their ropes and a mystical journey with Doctor Fate should make this another interesting issue in Marc Guggenheim’s JSA re-tooling.

(Cover by Mico Suayan, Marte Gracia, Clay Mann, Jay Leisten , Brian Reber, Marvel Comics)

New Mutants 22 is part two of the Age of X and, boy, do I love getting two chapters of this at once! With the mutants of the world huddled together in the violent dark, could there be a conspiracy from within their ranks to betray them? Slick designs, survivalist themes and superpowers are the flavors here and they’re cooked perfectly.

(Cover by Georges Jeanty & Rob Hunter, DC Comics)

Teen Titans 92 continues the crossover from Red Robin with the Teen Titans back together and a plethora of Calculator-bots ready to blow! One Robin remains after the dust settles but the TT creative team can do no wrong, as far as I’m concerned.

(Cover by Greg Land, Marvel Comics)

Uncanny X-Men 533 is part 4 of 5 in the Sublime Corporation storyline and the chemical that turns regular folks into mutants is hitting the public markets! Most of the mutant population is sick on Utopia but the totally excellent beta team on the mainland is kicking it into high gear to save the day!

(Cover by Leinil Yu, Marvel Comics)

X-Men Legacy 245 officially kicks off the Age of X with the Alpha issue being a prelude to the main event presented here. It’s another gritty elseworld where the mutants of the world are violently targeted and forced to band together before they find themselves snuffed out completely. The grimdark modern sensibility of many violent comics can be too much for me but there was a tremendous amount of depth to the Alpha stories. I’m in for the whole event and it’s a decision I’m totally sure about already.

-windiebird

Arrows for the Wonder Teens!

by windiebird

(Cover by Mauro Cascioli, DC Comics)

One-ish sentence preview excitement, goooooo! Green Arrow 8 gives us my favorite of the simple DC covers, the Demon, a new villain named Black Arrow (Merlyn doesn’t count, I guess) and some well-fletched fun!

(Cover by Felipe Massafera, DC Comics)

JLA/The 99 4 means more of my favorite team-up title in recent memory, microscopic Starro karate-chop action and the JLA and The 99 collectively kicking ass and taking those names!

(Cover by Aaron Lopresti, DC Comics)

Generation Lost 18 is part two of Power Girl’s beat down on the JLI, Max Lord waterboarding Beetle, Batman taking a hint and butterfly kisses for Rocket Red?

(Cover by Shane Davis & Sandra Hope, DC Comics)

In JSA 47, Dr. Chaos comes to Monument Point with a score to settle against the JSA while more and more heroes continue to join the Society’s society (Manhunter and Blue Devil this issue!).

(Cover by Cliff Chiang, DC Comics)

The Shazam! one-shot is sure to be my favorite part of Titans and has Blaze offering the Batsons power once again; somehow Freddy and Osiris play into the deal as well and you know I’m always up for a Shazam family read!

(Cover by Nicola Scott & Doug Hazlewood, DC Comics)

Teen Titans 91 is full on friendship once again as Robin and Ravager take on the Feral Boys alone while Raven gets in Headcase’s…head. Rrrrrrrrrrr.

(Cover by Don Kramer & Jay Leisten, DC Comics)

Wonder Woman 606 has our Princess tracking down the Morrigan and running into a murderous Huntsman god! Phillipus is the badass protector of Diana in this time warp but might be seeing the end of her line if Ms. Prince can’t step up and save her from the centaur deity…

(Cover by Stephane Roux, DC Comics)

Zatanna 9 unlocks a repressed memory from our heroine’s childhood and puts her in the precarious position of placing her would-be killer free from his puppet-y curse! Gold stars all the way through for this series.

(Cover by Rafael Albuquerque, Vertigo Comics)

It’s booze, bootleggers and Skinner Sweet for Pearl and Henry in American Vampire 11 and this two-parter is sure to be another pleasing arc in the series!

(Cover by Greg Land, Marvel Comics)

Uncanny X-Men 532 reveals the price of a cure for the Utopia mutants, just what an enraged and uncaged Sebastian Shaw will do and hopefully much, much more of this new X-Team formed in San Francisco during this time of crisis. *cough cough*

-windiebird

High-Flying Covers!

by windiebird

(Cover by Stanley "Artgerm" Lau, DC Comics)

Birds of Prey 8 brings us more of Barbara Gordon’s plans to kill Oracle (maybe?)! Mortis has Hawk and Dove in her sights in this, another Batman, Inc. tie-in issue. Love love love!

(Cover by Rodolfo Migliari, DC Comics)

The Dex-Starr’s out of the bag in Emerald Warriors 6 and it could mean trouble for Guy’s plans to spew blood-vomit everywhere save the universe! Zardor’s burning through minds and Sodam Yat is getting downright creepy in his messianic fervor. I don’t know, this series has grown on me, I like what could happen here.

(Cover by Aaron Lopresti, DC Comics)

Generation Lost 17 sees the loss of Checkmate’s UN charter, the super-hero-subpoena-serving of Captain Atom and Power Girl against the JLI since she can’t seem to pull it together long enough to remember her old friends!

(Cover by Chris Sprouse, DC Comics)

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents 3 continues the Tarantino-esque thrill of the first two, revealing more about the shadowy Spider group. I try to reserve judgment for three or four issues but so far the powerful characters have kept me happily engaged while the plot swirls around. Very interesting series, more than worth your time this far in.

(Cover by Fabrizio Fiorentino, DC Comics)

Titans 31 gives the gift of Osiris deciding how he’ll bring his sister back…and promptly running into Shazam, Ray Palmer figuring out more of the details on Ryan Choi’s murder (cross your fingers for clone!) and the Tattooed Man face to face with his son’s killer.

(Cover by Nicola Scott & Doug Hazlewood, DC Comics)

The Wonder Girl one-shot ties into the current Teen Titans book and focuses on Cassie’s life outside the group. Mad-cap adventures follow her everywhere, naturally, and we’ll even get to see more of the future Titan Solstice! Exciting stuff, Mr. Krul.

-windiebird

I’ll Have an Orange Christmas Without You

by windiebird

(Cover by Gene Ha, DC Comics)

One sentence speculations GOOOOOOO! The Larfleeze Christmas Special is somehow a Brightest Day tie-in featuring Larfleeze attempting to “obtain” Santa Claus!(???)

(Cover by Greg Land, Marvel Comics)

Uncanny X-Men 531 features Storm leading an X-team featuring Northstar and Dazzler…other, less important stuff happens too.

(Cover by Rafael Albuquerque, Vertigo Comics)

American Vampire 10 means Pearl and her man laying the hurt on some unruly vamps; these Scoobies have bite!

(Cover by Dan Jurgens & Jerry Ordway, DC Comics)

DCU Legacies 8 gives the gift of the Reign of the Supermen, Hal Jordan with sexy gray streaks and the Fourth World!

(Cover by Tyler Kirkham & BATT, DC Comics)

In Green Lantern Corps 55 it’s Green Lanterns vs. the Weaponers and Guy’s Red Ring prophecies reach the other Lanterns from Earth!

(Cover by Mark Bagley & Rob Hunter, DC Comics)

Justice League of America 52 deserves a buy because this is a fresh, interesting team that could bring new life to the JLA, regardless of how unsurprising I find the basic plot so far.

(Cover by Dustin Nguyen & Kevin Maguire, DC Comics)

Generation Lost 16 pits the Creature Commandos against the JLI as Fire lies be-shot while Power Girl is looking for some vengeance of her own.

(Various Artists, DC Comics)

Wonder Woman 605: exeunt JMS, Phil Hester throws his hat into the ring and Diana is up against the Morrigan!

(Cover by Stephane Roux, DC Comics)

Zatanna 8 means Cliff Chiang and Paul Dini doing the puppet episode of Zatanna, it’s gonna be pure gold!

-windiebird