May 24

Happy Memorial Day to everyone. Take the time to remember those who you have lost and those who have meant something to you.

There was a rush of great new #1 issues this week across all of the companies. They were all cool stories and original concepts.

Comic of the Week

Absolute Green Arrow #1

I admit that this may not have been my favorite new book of the week, but I do think taking into consideration that this is the hottest book out there right now should be part of the decision. And this is the hottest book out this week, by far.

Of course, it is also an excellent new addition to the Absolute line of books in DC Comics. The re-imagining of Green Arrow is creative and original, showing a great deal of imagination. This is currently a six issue mini series, but I could see it expanding, especially if it remains as successful as it has been.

Books this week:

Of The Earth #1. “Road/Kill” Written by Chris Condon & Andrew Ehrich with art and cover art by Charlie Adlard. Tabitha ‘Tabby’ Black returned to her quiet hometown of Solitude, Texas and the comfort of her gramma’s home. There is something going on with the oil fields, something horrifying. This was probably my personal favorite book for the week. It is another winner from Image Comics.

Zorro #1. “Dark Age Part One” Written by Howard Chaykin with art and cover art by Jorge Fornes. I also picked up the variant cover C by Juan Ferreyra. The legendary warrior Zorro returns to the action, taking on the forces of Napoleon. Published by Alien Books, the new Zorro book is off to a great start.

Seven Wives #1. Written by Zoe Tunnell with art by V Gagnon. Cover art was done by Mirka Andolfo. The new IDW Crime mini series arrived this week with a murder mystery of a cult leader, with his seven wives as the main suspects. This was a cool first issue and I am excited to see where it goes.

Odin #1. Written by Marguerite Bennett & James Tynion IV with art by Letizia Cadonici. Cover art was done by Alex Eckman-Lawn. Any time you see the name James Tynion IV attached to a project, the chances of it being awesome would be high. Odin certain falls into that category. It is a creepy horror story with some truly disturbing moments. This one looks great.

Babylon Cove #1. Written by Rafer Roberts and art and cover A art by Joe Eisma. Another horror based book, this time from Mad Cave. Heather has to return to her home town to attend the funeral of her father, but, as so many small towns are, this one is filled with shocks and supernatural problems.

Reborn Ultimate Impact #1. Written by Chris Condon with art by Stefano Caselli. Cover art was done by Ben Harvey. Miles Morales returned from the Ultimates universe with a bunch of “origin boxes.” These are boxes that can give someone super powers. Unfortunately, the Spot has other ideas for these boxes. The boxes are released and the superpowers find a series of new people.

Kill Switch #1. Written by Sophia Banks & Don Handfield with illustrations by Gabo Ibarra. Cover art was done by Erwin Arroza & Gabo Ibarra. It is Los Angeles 2067 and someone is jumping into the bodies of a series of individuals, finding code words, and then jumping out. The problem is the only way to jump out of the body is to do it at the moment of death. This is a great sci-fi start to an intriguing concept that I want to see play out. This is from Thunder Comics which is published by Amp.

Narco #3. Written by Doug Wagner and art by Daniel Hillyard. Cover art was done by Daniel Hillyard & Dave Stewart. I also picked up cover B by Daniel Hillyard & Dave Stewart (Gold Medalist). Marcus continues to be in trouble as he tries to figure out what happened to his girlfriend Jess. He decided to prove that he did not murder her, but things just do not want to go his way. This book has been one of my favorites of the month so far.

Amazing Spider-Man #29. Written by Joe Kelly with art by guest artist Pete Woods. Cover art was done by Mark Bagley & Marte Gracia. Peter is out on an apology tour, as well as trying to find the proof that he actually does have a mystery cousin. Meanwhile a new danger starts to spread across the city. This featured the birth of Spore.

Jessica Jones: Alias-Red Band #3. Written by Sam Humphries with art by Geraldo Borges. Cover art was done by David Mack. Jessica Jones and Typhoid Mary continue their on-again-off-again partnership, but you should probably wonder if teaming up with someone named Typhoid Mary is a wise choice. This was the weakest of this series so far, so I hope the rest picks it back up.

X-Men: United #3. “The Loneliest Ghost” Written by Eve L. Ewing with art by Tiago Palma. Cover art was done by Stefano Caselli & Federico Blee. The X-Men and Captain America are in search for Maurice Canfield, a previous super soldier test subject, but they found someone else instead.

Fantastic Four #11. “Future’s Foundation” Written by Ryan North with pencils by Pat Boutin. Cover art was done by Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado. Ben Grimm has been feeling dumb, especially in comparison to the others in the FF. Ben’s troubles leads to him coming up with the concept for the new Future Foundation. I enjoyed this Thing-centric issue as we get another side besides the “It’s Clobberin’ Time” side to Ben Grimm.

Nectar #3. Written by Jeremy Robinson with art by Annapaola Martello & Francesco Francini. Cover art was done by Chris Shehan. The plague continues to spread and Amos and Lillian are trying to prevent it from spreading off the island. Unfortunately, Pastor Grant has a more religious manner of looking at it… send the infected to God… with a shotgun to the head. Nectar picked up the pace even more this issue.

Nightwing #138. “The Forest” Written by Dan Watters with pencils by Denys Cowan. Cover art was done by Jorge Fornes. Nightwing is having a crisis of faith after the highway crash and the witch of Bludhaven escaped him. With Barbara Gordon in prison, he called Starfire for support.

Venom #238. Written by Al Ewing with art by Carlos Gomez. Cover art was done by Carlos Gomez & Frank Martin. Peter and Mary Jane start to clear the air after Paul’s funeral. It apparently is what MJ needed as she and the symbiote bonded in a new way. Now Venom has long red hair. I am not sure how I feel about this either. I was never a fan of Jackpot, but this is taking it another step. I probably am done picking up Venom, which I only started buying because of the Death Spiral storyline.

Rocketfellers #0. Written by Peter J. Tomasi with art and cover art by Francis Manapul. This #0 issue for Rocketfellers is part of the prelude for the crossover story “The Unbelievables” that is coming up from Ghost Machine. It will be including Halo and Hornsby as well as some new characters. This takes us back when the family first arrived in the past.

Imperial Guardians #3. Written by Dan Abnett with pencils by Marcelo Ferreira. Cover art was done by Sean Izaakse & Nolan Woodard. The Imperial Guardians are trying to “rescue” a scientist/inventor who came up with an algorithm that is in real demand. They have to face off with the Shi’ar for him. I have to say that I really have enjoyed this comic so far. Some of the characters have not been my favorites over the years, but they all seem to work well together.

Neighborhood Watch #2. Written by Sarah Gailey and illustrated and cover art by Haining. Is she Jill? Is she Cassie? Why is this woman living a dual life? This mystery continues to be fire as Bianca and Val try to deduce the reasoning behind their friend’s big lie… and who tried to kill her.

Absolute Flash #15. “…Of Things to Come” Written by Jeff Lemire with art and cover art by Nick Robles. Future Wally comes back in using the speed force (or something like it) to warn himself as a young hero that he must give up the search for his father… or a terrible future is bound to happen. Young Wally does not listen. The Absolute Flash has been a consistently good read, mainly because the writing from Jeff Lemire has been spot on.

Rafael Garcia: Henchman #3. Written by Peter Murrieta & D.E. Schrader with art by Ben Herrera. Cover art was done by Gustaffo Vargas. This has been a hoot of a series so far, and this issue included a centerfold of Rafael in speedos. Rafael’s crew had to run into the super heroes of the time, the Justice Battalion. Very funny.

Other Books this Week: Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon #4, Inglorious X-Force #5, American Caper #7 (Bronze Medalist), Sai Dimensional Rivals #5, Moonstar #3, Deadly Hands of K’un-Lun #4, and Escape from Skull Island #4.

Quick Hits: Everyone Loves a Jewel Thief #2 came out this week with a cover B that earned a silver medal. Rogue #5 came to an end, though I am not sure it was a satisfying ending for a series that I had been enjoying. Wanda, Wiccan and Somnus have to battle Nightmare inside Billy’s head in Sorcerer Supreme #6. How do they beat him? How about waking everybody up at once? Novel idea. I wonder if they are ever changing the name to Sorceress Supreme? The Punisher #4 is showing Frank Castle as a serious psycho in my opinion. He has very little empathy for anyone right now. Course, when going after Jigsaw, maybe empathy gets in the way. G.I. Joe #22 introduces a man named Crystal Ball, who has his own plans for Energon. Dead Teenagers #3 sees some more death and our crew hoping to avoid it this time. Murder Podcast #7 from Ignition Press keeps building the suspense for the finale next issue. Smile: For the Camera #3 was very solid this week as we focus in on these sad models and their horrible boss. Meanwhile, they keep dying from the smile curse. I am really rooting for Ivy. End of Life #4 from the Vertigo imprint has a hero that I think is anything but. Barbarians Behind Bars #4 sees our main barbarian finally able to communicate with his lawyer. And then, Racer X #7 sees Racer X win a race. I know, shocking right?