Waiting on Wednesday - 10/15/07

Bit of a new format than when I did this previously. Waiting on Wednesday is going to be short form with the Release Reviews being more in depth, which only makes sense. I have more to say after I have read it, of course. Also, not gonna be a lot of linkage to Marvel and DC like before, if you are buying comics and using the internet, I think you can figure it out for yourself and save myself a huge hassle. Hope you like it.

Marvel Comics

• Captain America #31 - Beginning of the second story arc in the Death of Captain America storyline. I figure this is where we will begin to learn who will take over.
• Wolverine: Origins #18 - I never realize how much I like this book until it is a week it's not coming out on. If you haven't picked this up yet, you should.
• Penance: Relentless #2 - Ugh. I invested all that time and money into Civil War and almost feel obligated to buy this. The first one sucked. What do you think the odds on the second one being better are?

Since I am not an Avengers fanboy (except for New Avengers for the Skrull angle), and the whole zombie thing is over my head, that's all for me and Marvel this week. Next week though looks much, much better.


DC Comics

• Checkmate #19 - Enjoying Suicide Squad, but not always sure what is going on? Checkmate has the rest of the story involving Amanda Waller, the benefactor of the SS, and all the other merry characters, powered and non-powered.
  
• Death of the New Gods #1 (of 8) - This limited series is going to continue the story started when Lightray fell to Earth waaaaay back in Countdown #50. Seems like forever, doesn't it?
• Countdown #28 - Speaking of Countdown, this series is picking up as we head towards the midpoint. In two more weeks, the title changes to Countdown to Final Crisis. There is too much to even begin to list everything that's going on, so just go get it if you aren't already. 52 the sequel this is not.
• Justice League of America #14 - Continuing the Injustice League storyline, Dwayne McDuffie is doing a great job of writing this title. I enjoyed Brad Meltzer on JLA, but it has actually picked up steam and gotten better than it already was in the first year.

Of course there is other stuff coming out this week, but honestly not much. With Octobr being a five-week month, it is spread kinda thin in the middle where we are now. So like Marvel, DC's lineup gets much better next week, too.

CG

Waiting on Wednesday - 7/10/07

This is my 100th post, and I could not have done it without the warm response I have gotten from all of you, even those who come here looking for Jessica Alba nude, for whatever reason. To be honest, after 100 posts, there is a bit of burnout, if any of you have noticed slightly fewer posts this past week or so. But have no fear, I have lots of good ideas coming up. I have a couple of articles to finish up, then we will get started with a lot more comic goodness. On to the comics!

As I said last week during the Release Reviews post, there are quite a few good comics being released this week. As a result, I will likely miss one or two that some of you think are worth reading or reviewing. So I encourage you, if I miss something here and you want to review it yourself, send me your review in an email at thecomicrack @ yahoo.com and I will post it Friday with the rest of my Release Reviews and give you full credit.


Marvel

• Deadpool/GLI: Summer Fun #1 - The all-important first spot (which really means nothing) goes to the one and only... Deadpool! Good ol' DP gets out of the shadow of his geriatric and boring partner Cable for a team-up special with none other than his old foes turned comrades the Great Lakes Avengers.
  
  The GLA has been appropriated in the Superhero Registration Act and has changed their name yet again to the Great Lakes Initiative and is solely responsible for all of greater Wisconsin! Expect lots of classic Deadpool goofiness, and Marvel is promising lots of ninjas. My only hope here is that Marvel will see the value of releasing Deadpool and his fans from the hell that his series with Cable has been.
  
  Deadpoolite, I am calling you out for an iin-character review of this issue. Either send it to me, or post it on your site, and I'll link it up.


• World War Hulk: Gamma Corps #1 - The entire premise of this mini-series seems a little dumb to me to be honest. General Ryker has taken the DNA of the Hulk, Abomination, the Leader and Doc Samson among others to create a team of gamma-powered killers who only job is to kill the Hulk. The characters to be featured are Grey (Hulk and the Leader), Griffin (based off the Betty Ross harpy mutation), Mess (a female red-headed Abomination), Mister Gabriel (black Doc Samson) and Prodigy (another Leader).
  
  I may be wrong about this like I was about Frontline, but it just doesn't stir any excitement in me. It may be because I have never been crazy about books centered around villains (you'll likely never see Thunderbolts on here as something I would read), or it may be because that lineup sounds like a poorly thought out idea. They took each of the gamma powered beings and slightly bastardized the ideas that made them great for all these years. If it would be that easy to take down the Hulk, don't you think the military would have come up with it a long time ago? And why no She-Hulk clone?


• New Avengers #32 - Last month in New Avengers they revealed that Elektra has been a Skrull for who knows how long, and it has sent the entire Marvel Universe into a tailspin wondering who they can trust and who they can't. But despite it being such a huge revelation, you have heard absolutely nothing about it in any other books.
  
  So here we are at the next issue hoping Brian Michael Bendis throws us a bone, and I have to be honest, I don't think he will. I can see him dragging this out throughout his run before they involve the rest of the universe in it. But being such a compelling story means that I will definitely be reading this and hoping to find out who is also a Skrull and what the hell that creepy looking baby was looking at at the end of the last issue.


• X-Factor #21 - What Marvel has to say about this issue:

  In a castle of ice in a far off land, a fearsome being called the Isolationist sits and waits and plans...except he need wait no longer. He is coming to Mutant Town, and is seeking out Jamie Madrox. But whether he and X-Factor will be enemies or allies pales in comparison to the shocking developments involving Guido's new job offer, Rictor's unexpected call to action, Siryn and Monet's new case, and--most stunning of all--Layla's disturbing discovery of something even she didn't know.

  Here's what I have to say about it:

  Who cares about all that, it has an 8-page Endangered Species story at the end of it, and that is the only reason I am going to buy this.

  Seriously, I have not paid any attention at all to this comic despite reasons I should love it. First off, it is part of the X-universe which I love, and secondly, it is written by Peter David, one of my all-time favorite writers. But I still don't care.

DC Comics

• Green Arrow: Year One #1 (of 6) - After last weeks Black Canary #1, this is the next "filler" series to span from GA #75 until their wedding and beyond. It has been said they will restart the Green Arrow series after al this is done, so take this series as an opportunity to either catch up on your GA history or to get acquainted with Oliver Queen for the first time.
  
  The creative team of Andy Diggle and Jock aim (get it, aim? hahaha)to tell the definitive origin story of the Emerald Archer. And judging by DC's sneak peek of the issue, it looks pretty good. I have never heard of Jock before this, he was previously the artist on The Losers which I am not familiar with, but his style of art looks like it will fit perfectly with Green Arrow.
  
  What makes me the most excited for this series above everything else, though, is that we get to return to the original Oliver Queen. We get to see the smart aleck, philandering playboy we grew to love before he got castrated in the One Year Later story where he became the Mayor of Star City and suddenly seemed excessively responsible.


• Green Lantern #21 - DC kicks off the Sinestro Corps War here as we see Hal Jordan and the other GL's of planet Earth go on a rescue mission. What the hell that means? I have no clue. There is an absolute lack of information about this issue, so I assuming that there is another big surprise in store for us.
  
  DC promises hundreds of villains, and the promotional poster they released (pictured, right) shows the Sinestro Corps and the Manhunters. Those, along with the Anti-Monitor, Superboy Prime and Parallax (Kyle Rayner) look to be the single most formidable force to ever face the Green Lantern Corps. I have said it before, I just don't see how the GLCorps can survive this. There will have to be enormous losses of life because that group just isn't going down easily, if at all. This soon after a reboot and introduction of so many characters seems to point towards a destruction and rebuilding of the Corps.


• Justice Society of America #7 - The first issue of JSA after the huge Lightning Saga crossover, and we get introduced to a new member. Well that is if you consider a third generation superhero "new". Citizen Steel joins the team that his grandfather (Commander Steel) and cousin (also Commander Steel) were both a part of, however, Geoff Johns promises that this is a brand new character, not just another rehash of an old concept. Because DC never rehashes old concepts...
  
  Citizen Steel was introduced in JSA #2 as Nathan Heywood, wo was attacked by a bunch of nazis under the control of Vandal Savage. He had some liquid metal spilled on him which eventually bonded with his skin and gave him a metal skeleton and superhuman strength. Also mentioned is that the JSA will begin to feel the effects of 52 on their little corner of the Multiverse.


• Countdown #42 - Looks like Countdown is finally going to kick into high gear... yeah, right. We have been hearing that for 10 weeks now. But this time it looks like it could possibly be true. This week we see the Suicide Squad, who made a small appearance last week in subduing Piper and Trickster, and also finally Ray Palmer, the Atom.
  
  While I look forward to more action, and I am not crazy about some of the characters already in the series and welcome new blood, I see adding more characters making the time we spend with every segment even smaller. I am also wondering why Mary Marvel and The Riddler are mud wrestling on the cover, and don't you wish they would go back to the stark single character covers they started the series with? Like the Joker cover or the more recent Mary Marvel cover?


• Also check out the Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters TPB coming out this week. I doubt I will get it myself, because of budget more than anything, but if you are looking forward to the upcoming Uncle Sam series this would make for some good reading to refresh you.

That's about all for this week. I haven't taken the time to look at what's coming out next week, so you'll just have to wait and see. I won't likely be posting tomorrow, unless something important happens, so I will see you all back here on Thursday for the next installment of Hulk vs. Bizarro and hopefully more information on the other stuff I have been up to lately causing some of this to be a little late.

CG

Waiting on Thursday - 7/5/07

I hope everyone had a fun and safe holiday. I don't know about anyone else, but here in Colorado, the weather was absolutely perfect. And to make things even better, we have a pretty good group of comics coming to your store tomorrow.


Marvel

• The only World War Hulk tie in this week looks to be a fun one in Irredeemable Ant-Man #10. I have never read this title before, so I don't really know what to say about it. The only thing that really comes to mind is that the Hulk had better be in this one, not like Ghost Rider or Heroes for Hire with their tie-ins. If they pull the same crap they did with those two, I will personally write Joe Quesada letters until he responds with a suitable answer as to why he makes me buy crap that is misrepresented on the cover.


• Lots of Captain America this week as the Captain America #25 Director's Cut is released for anyone who hasn't gotten enough of the media coverage of his death yet. It is a 64 pg. issue with the complete Ed Brubaker script, plus lots of extras concerning the reaction to it. Personally, this seems a little excessive and a bit like a money grab, but it still interests me as to what else they are going to add that we haven't seen already.
  
  
  
  
  
  Also this week, Fallen Son: Iron Man comes out as the final issue in the five-part series dealing with the different stages of grief over the death of Captain America. This issue involves the funeral for Cap, and as expected, he will get a proper soldier's burial in Arlington National Cemetery. This has been touted as a spoiler, but anything less would have been outrageous, so to me it is a logical conclusion instead of a spoiler.


• Thor #1, the relaunch by J. Michael Straczynski, hits the stores and according to Marvel, this is the real deal. No robots, no clones, just the God of Thunder himself. Don't forget that a Thor robot, or some weird shit like that, was responsible for the death of Goliath in Civil War, and to date we haven't really seen that dealt with. So depending on where he fits in the current timeline, Thor may just have some backlash coming his way for that. I am not sure I am actually buying this one, but it was important enough for me to mention it, so if someone does buy it and wants to email me a review, I'll post it on Friday or Saturday and give you credit.


• And almost always last because the alphabet is a bitch to them, Uncanny X-Men #488 brings us not only more Morlock love, but also Chapter 2 in the Endangered Species storyline. Queen Ororo of Wakanda, better known as Storm, teams up with her old X-mates to enter the Morlock tunnels once again in search of answers. A bit of a yawn this month, but the issue is worth it for the ES story in the back.
  
  In the ES story, we should get to see which of the bad guys at the end of the first chapter takes Hank McCoy up on his offer to help the mutants out in finding a way to reverse the reality altering effect of the Scarlet Witch. My best guess: Mr. Sinister. He's an asshole and a megalomaniac, but he's also one of the greatest geneticists in the Marvel Universe, and would love nothing more than to have that to hang over the X-Men's heads forever.

DC Comics

There are lots of titles releasing this week for DC, however, they just aren't ones I normally buy. So instead of highlighting ones I am not really familiar with for no reason other than to fill space, I am just going to list links to them here really quick.

• The All-New Atom #13
• Hawkgirl #66
  
• Jonah Hex #21 I have heard a lot of good things about this recently, a few more bucks in my budget and I buy it.
  
• Supergirl #19 I get enough of her in the Legion, but if that doesn't get better I may drop it for this, since I like her character but the rest of the Legion is going downhill quick for me.
• Detective #834 and Action #851 If you read these, you don't need me to tell you about them.

And now for the rest of them, that I will be likely buying.

• I don't usually talk about trade paperbacks here, but I have to mention The Amazing Transformations of Jimmy frickin Olsen. For anyone who is reading Countdown and unfamiliar with what the hell is going on with Jimmy Olsen, this is the TPB for you. Another money grab, I know, but a fairly relevant one that will help a lot of younger/newer readers catch up on stories that have been out of print for a long time. Not sure if am going to plunk down 15 bucks for this, but it is 192 pgs and in color, and from what I remember of reading many of these stories when I was a kid, I always enjoyed them. So we'll have to see, if I do, expect a full story just on Jimmy frickin Olsen soon, including a review.


• Countdown #43 drops tomorrow and to be honest, I don't evn know what to say about it. This series has been frustrating as I have said before, but with the teaser images they have released, I will be buying it every week regardless. That's the sickness that is fanboydom speaking by the way. Couple that with the Jimmy Olsen TPB, the cover tie in to the death of Bart Allen and my desire to see DC pull this one off, I am actually looking forward to this for once. Yes, I know I will just be disappointed in the lack of depth because of the limitations of telling 6 or 7 stories at once, but I guess I will just suck it up.


• DC is going to milk the proposal of Green Arrow to Black Canary and it begins with a 4-part miniseries starring the reason for my fetish with fishnets. Dinah has a run-in with the League of Assassins concerning a young girl called Sin. She is in Dinah's care, but the League believes she is the next great assassin, so they come calling. As a backstory, they will go into the relationship between her and Ollie Queen, and by the final issue the decision should be made.
  

That's all for this weeks releases, I am going to be working on my Release Reviews as soon as possible since the wekend is creeping up quicker than normal. If anyone is interested in sending me a review of a comic you have read, I will post it with full credit to you and a link to your own blog if you have one. Send it to thecomicrack @ yahoo.com by tomorrow evening sometime for it to appear on Saturday morning.

CG

Waiting on Wednesday - 6/26/07

As I mentioned last week, lots of big issues hitting the stores this week. Both the Marvel and DC Universes will look considerably different after tomorrow. Let's get this party started.

• X-Men #200 is finally here and big, big things are in store. Rogue, the current leader of the X-Men, has absorbed millions of souls when she used her mutant powers to defeat the Hecatomb. She is going to have to deal with the consequences of that, as her team begins to have serious problems. Marvel promises "a plethora of mutant guest stars, the return of several fan-favorites, and a devastating face-off against the deadliest villain team in the X-Men's forty-four year history!" Man, a lot of things can be read into that, and so far they have been fairly tight lipped about it.
  
  This is a double sized issue featuring writing by Mike Carey, art by Humberto Ramos and Chris Bachalo and three different covers. From left to right, the covers are by David Finch, a wraparound by Ramos and a wraparound by Bachalo. There also has the first 8 page Endangered Species story in the back of this issue (on that note, X-Factor #20, also releasing this week does not have an ES story in it).
  

• World War Hulk: X-Men #1 sees the Hulk coming to the X-mansion to exact his revenge on Xavier for his part in shooting him into space. The only problem is that it is only the Prof., Beast and the New X-Men in Westchester, and things don't look good for them after the Hulk had his way with Iron Man.
  
  As the world's foremost telepath, the Professor is one of the few people who have ever exerted control over the Hulk, but the odds are against him being able to do it again since the Green Goliath is stronger than ever before.



• World War Hulk: Frontline #1... what can I say? These sucked horribly during Civil War, and they look exactly the same during WWH. I could see this as a backup storyline that ran throughout all the other books, essentially tying them altogether, but it's own series every time something happens in the Marvel Universe? Ben Urich just isn't interesting enough and whatever the girl's name is, she just doesn't have large enough breasts. I'm kidding, but where is the value in this title?
  
  I hate just bitching about something, it makes me seem whiny, so I usually like to offer a solution. Here's mine, and you can even keep the title Frontline:
  
  At the end of Incredible Hulk #107 last week, there were 2 or 3 dozen normal people standing there willing to help out the Hulk. Who are these people? What is their motivation? Why would they be willing to help someone who doesn't like "puny humans", has said he is going to rampage through their city and is responsible for many, many deaths? Now that would make a good series.


• X-Men: First Class Vol. 2 #1 guest stars Sue Richards as a mentor for a young Jean Grey as she learns her new powers. If you are not familiar with the first First Class series, it is an in-continuity look at the very earliest days of the X-men long before there were hundreds of one-time members. So the boys are full of hormones, and the wonderfully funny writing of Jeff Parker should make this the beginning of a great series.
  
  The panel on the right is a sample of what you can expect. Jean is upset because she is having trouble flying and good ol' Chuck, despite being the foremost telepath in the world, didn't realize until now what the trouble was. Enjoy!


• Wolverine: Origins #15 wraps up a remarkable storyline involving Logan, his son Daken and Cyber in an adamantium-laced showdown (I know Daken doesn't have adamantium, but it sounded good.) Anyhow, Cyber's heart is bad, Logan wants his help, and Daken wants to kill them both.
  
  As the fifth and final part of this storyarc, we can expect all the fighting we have seen so far to finally come to a head. Can Logan come to terms with his son? Is Cyber going to live, or will his story go to the grave with him? Dunno, but I bet the answer involves lots of blood and claws.

Of course this is not all the Marvel books coming out this week, but it is all of them I am talking about. A few of the others you can look forward to are: Fantastic Four #547, Black Panther #28, Daredevil #98, Immortal Iron Fist #6 and Spider-Man: Fairy Tales #2.

I don't know what is going on with DC right now, but every week when I look at their lineup, it just rarely excites me. This is disappointing as I enjoy their characters much more, but lately, there is just a lack of depth. One or two good titles each week and Countdown (which is wearing on my nerves) and that is it. DC's only saving grace this week is the Amazonians attack on America. There are three titles intersecting with the attack this week.

• Amazons Attack #3 (of 6) hits the stands this week, and continues the main storyline with thousands of beautiful women attacking America and taking over Washington D.C. Wonder Girl and Supergirl decide to take matters into their hands, but will it help or hurt the effort to stop this invasion?
  
  I can't say I am blown away by Pete Woods artwork here so far. While acceptable, there are times when the characters look out of proportion. Other times though, I really like what he does. I don't know where to stand on him yet. Will Pfeifer however, I think has done a great job, especially since he is having to handle all the different personalities, not only of the JLA, but also the lesser known Amazons, and is doing it well.


• Teen Titans #48 continues the story involved with Cassie and Kara going wild in D.C. doing their own thing, and also deals with the Titans intervening in the attack on the Air Force base in Southern California. There is already enough distrust on this team, and the actions that the girls take will not help matters at all. With issue #50 right around the corner, do not be surprised if changes are made sooner rather than later.
  


• Wonder Woman #10 ties in with Amazons Attack as someone goes after Paradise Island while the girlies are away. Diana's imprisonment for the death of Maxwell Lord may have set this all off in the first place, and now DC is hinting that she may have to kill again. One would have to imagine that an eventual showdown with Hippolyta is in the cards for Wonder Woman, and if she thinks she is a doppelganger, she may not hesitate to take her down to stop the attack on her adopted home.


• For whatever reason, I cannot find the cover of Countdown #44 anywhere on the Internet. In fact, it seems the plot synopsis is also being closely guarded. But is that going to stop me from bringing you a preview of this issue? Well, to be honest, it usually would, but I did find one frame that can only be from an issue of Countdown we haven't seen yet. So, I am warning you, this may be from further into the series, but it would seem to fit right now.
  
  
  
  
  
  Mary Marvel and Billy Batson finally reunite, and we can probably assume that he is not going to be too happy about her possessing his nemesis' powers... and possibly more. In interviews with the writers of Countdown, they have never denied that Mary may be affected in more sinister ways than we have seen yet. It's the whole "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" thing, but judging by that frame, maybe it is Billy who is feeling his oats right now instead.
  
  He is now the Wizard, and appropriately wearing the all white Marvel Family uniform, and the Seven Deadly Sins are now the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man. Maybe Countdown is finally going to pick up and get interesting now. I know, I say that every week, but I really had high hopes, and so far they have not been fulfilled.

I tend to leave some really good stuff for the end of these articles, and I think that the next title will be the best of this week.

• Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special promises big changes for keepers of the green flame. The double-sized issue from Geoff Johns, Ethan van Sciver and Dave Gibbons brings us the story of Sinestro and his band of merry men. Merry Men?? No, these are going to be some of the most hardcore killers known to the universe. Sinestro had the weaponers of Qward assemble a yellow power battery and has equipped his Corps with power rings to fight the Green Lanterns with.
  
  Cyborg Superman is joining with these heathens along with an alien named Arkillo who is responsible for keeping everyone in line, much like Kilowog. There have been a few more members introduced to us, and many more are sure to join, whether they like it or not! By the end of this storyline, which will run through GL and GLC through the fall, many Green lanterns will be dead (they tend to be so expendable), and many more will question their place in the universe. Get ready for what is said to be the next essential Green Lantern story.

The rest of books from DC this week worthy of a mention: Blue Beetle #16, Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes #31 (I meant to feature this one, but didn't get a chance, if it is good, I'll do a little review) and Superman/Batman #37.

Also of note this week, from Vertigo, is a 232 pg. hardcover edition of Neil Gaiman's "Stardust" series. Though $39.99, if you are a fan of Gaiman, or see the movie August 10th and want the story in paper form, this is for you. Other releases from Vertigo that probably deserve more space, but just aren't geting it, are Jack of Fables #12 and Deadman #11.

CG



This is being written Monday evening because I may not have time to post on Tuesday, so if anything changes, tough shit. Have a good day!

Waiting on Wednesday - 6/19/07

There is so much good stuff coming out on Wednesday, we are going to just jump right in, and what better place than smack dab in the middle of New York City, World War Hulk style. If you are going to follow this storyline and buy every book, you will be considerably poorer tomorrow.

• Iron Man #19 - This issue is basically World War Hulk #1, just from the perspective of El Douche'. In other words, how does Tony Stark feel while getting his ass handed to him? If I didn't want the whole story, I would definitely skip this one, just like every other Iron Man issue. And even though I know he doesn't really knock the head of Iron Man, I can't wait to see how Tony feels when he wakes from alcohol induced stupor to realize that he just caused millions of dollars of damage just to be left in a bloody pile.
  


• Ghost Rider #12 - Another issue I am not crazy about, as I have never really collected Ghost Rider. However, after seeing the movie and enjoying it, this may be a good jumping off point for me. Johnny Blaze sticks his nose where it don't belong and there is a good chance the Hulk is gonna take it off.


• Heroes for Hire #11 - The Heroes for Hire group has the unenviable task of taking on the Warbound while the Hulk whoops on the rest of the heroes in NYC. I really look forward to this because during Planet Hulk I liked how they gave each character in the Warbound a purpose, and I was not ready for them to go away just yet.


• Incredible Hulk #107 - And finally, this is where it gets really interesting. Amadeus Cho is assembling heroes to help the Hulk and we will see which side they land on in this issue. The ass kickings continue after it is all sorted out with Hulk vs. Hercules.

Of course, you would think with the Green Goliath running through the Marvel Universe that not much would be going on, right? Not just one, but two other major events are going on right now, with one wrapping up and the other just launching.

• Fallen Son: Death of Captain America - Spider-Man #1 and Amazing Spider-Man #541 - Both titles will be dealing with the funeral of Captain America and especially the effect it has on our favorite wall crawler. Expect Fallen Son to be star studded as heroes on both sides of the Civil War will no doubt show up to pay their respects. And ASM #541 will be pure revenge as Spidey hunts down the sniper and the man who ordered the hit on Cap. Marvel is being very tight lipped, so we may actually be surprised tomorrow if their writers can handle their end. With Straczynski and Jeph Loeb handling the books, I doubt we will be disappointed.



• X-Men: Endangered Species #1 - The X-Universes summer crossover starts here with a 48 page special to kick it off. Endangered Species will run as backup stories in pretty much every X-title throughout the summer leading up the Messiah Complex this fall. I am assuming that they are going to settle the whole "198 mutants" things through these crossovers. And with a name like "Messiah Complex" they are going to set someone up to lea the X-Men for a long time to come, whether they deserve it or not.
  

DC is going to have a hard time matching everything that Marvel is doing this week, but there are some noteworthy issues coming out.

• Justice League of America #10 - The end of the Lightning Saga is here and we will finally find out why the Legionnaires are in the 21st century, which Legion this may or may not be and more. What more could you want, you say? Well it was revealed at Wizard World Philadelphia that JLA #10 would be directly involved in the future of Bart Allen as the Flash. If you have followed this Flash, he is originally from the same century as the Legion of Superheroes is. So don't be surprised to see Bart go back to the future with the Legion when they leave.
  
  One curious thing I have not been able to find is a release date for Flash #13. DC lists it on their website as June 6th, which is obviously incorrect. So it may come out this week to coincide with JLA. Since they are canceling this particular series they can pretty much do whatever they please though.


• Countdown #45 - Supposedly we are going to find out what the hell is going on with Jimmy Olsen. This series is in it's second month now, and DC has been promising big things. Hopefully we get to see them soon or this is going to be a loooong year with Marvel kicking DC's ass. Again.
  

Since you have been good and read this far and to get you by until Wednesday, here is more Megan:









CG

Waiting on Wednesday - 6/12/07

For the first time in about 3 weeks, I am excited about the comics coming out tomorrow. There are a number of good ongoing series that come out, and a few miniseries starting tomorrow. The main focus of everyone is going to be World War Hulk, of course, and it will be my main focus too. However, I am going to skip that in favor of looking at what else will be available, there will be plenty of WWH news in the coming months.


Marvel

• Sub-Mariner #1 - Namor returns to his own title with a 6 issue mini called "Revolution". S.H.I.E.L.D. goes after Namor when they think he is responsible for a terrorist attack on the U.S. But there may be forces in Atlantis who want to see Namor dethroned. As the head of S.H.I.E.L.D., Iron Man is after the King of the Seas as he tries to find out who is behind the attacks on the surface world.
  
  I have never really been the biggest fan of Namor, but I recently saw the episode "Imperius Rex" on the Fantastic Four cartoon, which was very well written and made me appreciate the Sub-Mariner more than I did previously. I am going to pick this miniseries up, and if it is good enough, hope for an ongoing.
• Avengers Classic #1 - This is the kind of thing Marvel (and DC) need to do more often. They need to reprint the classics, so that the younger generation of comic book lovers can experience what made these characters so great in the first place.
  
  Much like X-Men Classic, they are reprinting the original stories and artwork of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and also adding a couple of new short stories, which I would assume are set in the early days of the Avengers. I dont read the Avengers for the simple reason that I never had a connection to them in the beginning. There were tons of X-men and Legion comics, along with Superman, Batman and all the others in my Grandma's basement, but never the Avengers. I hope this will give me that connection and I can begin to enjoy them like so many others do.
• After those two and WWH #1, there are 3 or 4 other titles worth picking up this week if they interest you, but I don't have enough time or room to go into detail on them all. Among them: Franklin Richards: World Be (one-shot), Punisher War Journal #8, Cable & Deadpool #41 (aftermath of attack on Providence from the X-Men series), Hulk: Planet Hulk TPB (read up on what pissed off the Hulk so bad), and last but not least, Marvel Illustrated: Treasure Island #1 (comic style interpretation of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson story).

DC

• By far the one issue you should not miss is Green Arrow #75. Ollie Queen finally sucks it up and asks Black Canary to marry him. This will be the final issue in the ongoing series, and will lead into at least 2 miniseries that have already been planned that will deal with Dinah's answer to Ollie's proposal. This is a 40 pg issue for only $3.50, so send GA off in style with big sales this week.
• Green Lantern Corps #13 - The Corps must battle the ghosts of their past on Mogo, the sentient planet, in this issue beautifully drawn by Patrick Gleason. Visit his website for some great sketch work of the GL Corps, including everyone's favorite poozer, Kilowog.
• Superman/Batman #36 - The final issue of the Metal Men storyline, where Brainiac has assumed control of them and is using them against the World's Finest. You just know Batman is going to have a solution to this problem since he spends all his time in his cave wargaming every possible confrontation... ever.
• And of course: Countdown continues with issue #46. They are promising a revelation about Jimmy Olsen and what the hell is going on with him. Last week, this comic finally got good, let's hope they keep up the good work and make this title worth buying the rest of the year.
• And much like Marvel, there are many other good titles this week: JLA CLassified #39, Trials of Shazam #7 (of 12), Batman Confidential #6. And if you have a spare 50 bucks laying around, DC is releasing the Jack Kirby Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1, 396 color pages putting The New Gods, The Forever People, Mister Miracle and Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen in order.

Not even gonna bother with Independents this week, if you like them, you know when they are coming out. None of them float my boat this week, so I am not going to feign interest. Gonna be a busy day tomorrow reading everything, so unless I post something else tonight, see you all on Thursday.

CG

Waiting on Wednesday - 6/5/07

**Waiting on Wednesday will be the working title of my comic previews I am doing each week. May change, may become permanent, but either way, I needed something. Have a better idea? Email me at thecomicrack@yahoo.com with your ideas.**

Comics come out tomorrow, and I can't say I have a lot to be excited about. But there are some issues that I will be looking forward to.

Gonna be a rough week for me and Marvel, to be honest:

• Punisher #48 - I have never read Punisher on a regular basis, in fact, I have so little interest in hm that I have yet to see the movie (though I heard I am not missing much). However, I have been told quite a few times how good the books are, so I decided I am going to pick up a few issues and give it a try.
  
• Omega Flight #3 - I always enjoyed Alpha Flight, and was a huge fan of the interaction between Puck and Wolverine whenever Logan dropped in on his fellow Canucks. That being said, I am not a huge fan of Omega Flight. I know they are completely different teams and all, but I held out hope. I am giving it through issue #5, then that's it if it doesn't do more for me. Like entertaining me would be nice.
• Yep, that's it for me and Marvel. Some miniseries are finishing up, including Hulk/Power Pack and some are starting like Daredevil: Battling Jack Murdock, but nothing that I will be probably be buying. Also you might like New Warriors #1, but that one I am going to wait see.

DC has a bit more to offer this week, and we'll start it off with Flash #13, the highly anticipated issue with the cover depicting a dead Flash:

• Flash #13 - Things look bleak for Bart Allen when his Rogues catch up to him, and DC is playing it close to the vest concerning the now infamous cover with the Flash sprawled out and his rogues standing over him, looking appropriately evil. Among other things I hope they clear up other than his impending doom, is why his girlfriend whispered the formula Johnny Quick used to say to activate his speed powers? No one is talking about this. If this isn't just a lame teaser, I'll try to do a little feature on it tomorrow in an On the Rack post.
• Detective Comics #833 - If you like Zatanna, like me, a 2-part arc starts here. Zatanna's assistant is murdered and she needs Batman's "help". Yeah right, she needs Batman's magic wand!
• Nightwing #133 - The description of this issue sounds like a Year One type story, telling what happened to Dick Grayson in the year after he dropped out of college and before he joined the Titans. I hadn't heard much about this, but I'll pick it up and see if it is worth my time. Though I like the Nightwing character, I haven't been crazy about the comic for a while. Maybe this new arc can change that.
• Justice League Unlimited #34 - I loooove Justice League Unlimited... sometimes. But when I love it, it is unconditional. And this is one of those issues that I am going to love unconditionally. Superman... Phantom Zone... ZOD!!! The thing about JLU is that they don't necessarily have to tiptoe around continuity (truth is with 52 earths, not many do anymore), so they just tell awesome stories with near-reckless abandon. Not only that, but my 5 year old daughter loves the animated series and gets a kick out of me reading these to her.
• And finally Countdown #47 - Lightray is dead, Jimmy Olsen is freaking out and exhibiting new powers all the time, and people are just starting to figure out who Duela Dent was killed by (it was the guy with the pornstar haircut!). I hate to admit it, but I am looking forward to this almost as much as anything. I wanted so badly to dislike this title, but it just isn't going to happen. I like it, and I have a feeling that very soon I will absolutely love it. God, I can be such a fanboy...

Kinda DC, kinda not, but Jack of Fables #11 comes out this week. The girl at my comic shop suggested this, and I haven't gotten too into it yet, but I can see potential. Also, I have only gotten a couple emails and responses to this blog so far, and one of them was to "diversify and try some other publishers than DC and Marvel, like the rest of us comic lovers." So this is my attempt at that. Did you know they make comics where they don't wear spandex!!!

I am also going to grab Invincible #42 from Image Comics on the strong recommendation of more than a few people. Not only that, but it is a $1.99 this week and I guess the start of a big story arc.

That's it this week. It's not a light week, but it's also not so heavy I have to make any hard choices about what I can afford to buy.

CG



Update: I searched for the phrase "Waiting on Wednesday" because I wanted to be kind of original, and found out it was the title of a Lisa Loeb song. I had a huge crush on Lisa Loeb many years ago, with those big wide rimmed glasses. Then she had a reality TV show where she was dating people, and it was kinda dumb, but it fuelled my fantasy more. So to make a long story short, I think "waiting on Wednesday will become official,, unless some crazed fanboy emails me and tells me that it is already taken by someone with more clout than me (that would be just about anyone).