Comic News And Reviews

Nov 10th 2010 By: Caleb Goellner

Back in June DC Comics took its first step toward a more digital future by releasing a signature digital comics sales app via comiXology on mobile devices like the iPad and iPhone. Today, as reported by DC's The Source, the publisher is taking its branding even further with a DC Comics online storefront powered by comiXology that further emphasizes DC's digital convergence at home and on the go. What's more, the new site is stocked with freshly digitized versions of classics like Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns along with free first issues of established series like The Authority to give new readers a convenient starting point.

While DC's new digital storefront itself doesn't seem to be a huge shift from its existing setup at Comics by comiXology, an emphasis on publisher-specific branding and a slate of high profile digital releases is a solid approach to getting new eyes into the DCU.

DC Co-Publisher Jim Lee sums up the benefits of the new system at The Source:

"We¹re thrilled today to announce the opening of our brand new DC Comics storefront. What does the latest development to our ongoing Digital Publishing Initiative mean for you, the ever-devout DC Comics fan? Well, for one--it¹s going to allow you all the ability to purchase and download comics from your desktop and laptop computers from our very own website. And because we want to make the purchasing, storage and management of your comics digital library as easy and convenient as possible, we¹ve made sure that our storefront is powered by comiXology which means if you buy a DC digital comic like the chartbusting Death of Superman on your Mac or PC at home, you can read the very same series on-the-go using your iPhone, iPad or laptop using our DC app without paying any a penny more or creating any new logins. Or vice versa."

Aside from The Dark Knight Returns and The Death of Superman story arcs, Lee also hails the digital release of Identity Crisis and Superman: For Tomorrow, plus titles such as Transmetropolitan, The Invisibles and 100 Bullets.

What's interesting about these selections is the fairly balanced number of releases from DC proper, Vertigo and the now shuttered Wildstorm. Of the eight items specifically mentioned in DC's announcement, four are from DC proper (three if you don't count TDKR, as it's an "Elseworlds" story) while three are from Vertigo and one is from Wildstorm. Despite whatever restructuring shakeups have occurred at the publisher in recent months, this balance sends a message about the kind of audience DC thinks or hopes will be attracted to spending money in the digital space at this point in time.

DC didn't list content pricing in its announcement, but it's likely that the $1.99 per issue precedent established on comiXology will stay in place in its new online storefront.

[Via The Source]

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J. Michael Straczynski has announced via DC's The Source that he will no longer script his monthly Superman and Wonder Woman titles, citing the need to fast-track sequels to the successful Superman: Earth One graphic novel. The departure will cut short Straczynski's work on the "Grounded" storyline halfway through its run, which is slated to continue for a year. Vertigo's iZombie and Cinderella writer Chris Roberson will take over Superman with issue #707, and The Darkness writer Phil Hester will script Wonder Woman from issue #605. Both writers will be working from Straczynski's story notes and outlines so that in-progress storylines will reach their pre-determined conclusions.

Stracyznski had previously cited health problems as the reason behind delays on his Superman run, including pneumonia and bronchitis. The writer also says he will take a one-to-five-year "sabbatical" from writing monthly comics to focus on work in the original graphic novel format.

"I took on the Superman and Wonder Woman monthlies on the theory that I'd have time to script the full 12 issues before bounding back onto Earth One. But when the huge numbers started coming in on Earth One, and the need to fastrack the next volumes became evident in order to keep the momentum going, I knew there was no way in god's green earth that I could write that and the monthlies simultaneously. Since DC has had my notes and outlines from day one on both titles, so they're still my stories, it makes sense to let Chris and Phil keep going from the story beats I've set up. I'll dive in on occasion as needed for important story points. It's still my story, I'm involved in both books, and they're going to continue in the direction we set up. I'm looking forward to seeing what Chris and Phil have in store."

"Meanwhile, I'm taking full advantage of the situation to take a one- to five-year sabbatical from writing monthlies in order to go exclusively into writing graphic novels like Superman Earth One and Samaritan X, along with the occasional high-visibility minseries. I think that's where the business is going, and creatively, limited series and graphic novels have always been my strong suit in that they let me tell cohesive stories with a beginning, middle and end. They can also be written and drawn before anything is ever announced or solicited, as was the case with Earth One, which has been one of the greatest and most creatively rewarding experience of my career. At some point I'm sure I'll come back to monthlies - it's just too darn much fun - but for the next one to five years, it's strictly GNs and miniseries, with Superman Earth One being the first priority, followed by Samaritan X."

With respect to the Earth One sequel, it's too early to announce any specifics, but DC Co-Publisher Dan DiDio expressed enthusiasm for the work of Straczynski and artist Shane Davis, and the importance on maintaining the creative team.

"We were so pleased with the response to SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE that it made sense to fast-track a sequel, and we definitely wanted to go back to the same amazing creative team. We knew we had to make some creative adjustments to the two ongoing books Joe was involved with to ensure his stories reached their natural conclusion and to also guarantee their arrival in stores in a timely manner. We firmly believe this plan is the strongest solution – it guarantees a fitting conclusion to two of the most historic and important storylines to ever involve Superman and Wonder Woman, while locking in another epic SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE adventure."

Superman: Earth One debuted at #1 on The New York Times' bestseller list for graphic novels.

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Nov 9th 2010 By: Caleb Goellner

With an equipment threshold consisting of just a pencil and paper, creating comics remains one of the world's most encouraging and accessible mediums for telling a story. At some point, though, those with the drive and the proper funds may want an equipment upgrade to take their sequential art hobby to the next level. With that in mind, ComicsAlliance reached out to Incredible Hulks writer Greg Pak and S.W.O.R.D. artist Steven Sanders to get their personal insights on the best software for writing and illustrating comics.
Final Draft - Version 8.0.1 for Mac Pak: I've been using Final Draft since I started film school almost eighteen years ago, so it's the warm, comfy sweater of writing programs for me. It's designed for screenwriting, but it's my favorite program for writing comic book scripts as well. I have more "cons" listed for this program than any other, but that's just because I know it very well and have had time to mull over its (relatively minimal) drawbacks.

PROS
• Automatic formatting with easy keystroke commands for switching from Character to Action to Location, etc.
• The program keeps track of character and location names and auto-fills when you start typing them. A definite time saver.
• A good tracking-changes feature that highlights changed text in whatever color you choose -- and can keep track of multiple versions of changes with multiple colors.
• Easy exporting to PDFs or RTFs, which is essential for me. I send PDFs to editors and RTFs to letterers.

CONS
• I've found an occasional bug wherein the program will start creating multiple page breaks in strange places when I just want a single page break.
• No iPad version -- although they're working on one.
• In terms of actual physical pages of finished script, the screenplay format I use in Final Draft makes things seem longer than the way I might lay out a script in Microsoft Word. A waste of paper if folks print out.
• I wish you could highlight a block of text and use a keystroke command to change its format. But if you try that, it'll delete the block of text. Instead, you have to highlight the text, then point and click through the menus to change its format. A time waster.
• When you export to RTF, the program does not preserve page breaks.
• When you export to PDF using the "Save as PDF" command in the "File" menu, the program does not include revisions in color -- it just stars revised lines in the right margin. Not great if you're doing dialogue tweaks and you want your collaborators to see exactly what words you're changing. To get revisions in color, you have to use the "Save as PDF" command from the "Print" window -- and you have to have "revisions in color" selected.

Microsoft Word 2008 for Mac - Version 12.2.7

Pak: When Fred Van Lente and I started co-writing Incredible Hercules, I switched to Word rather than making him buy Final Draft, because I'm an incredibly nice guy. (You reading this, Fred? You're welcome.) After my recent trials and travails, he's agreed to switch to Final Draft. (Thanks, buddy. I appreciate it.)

PROS
• Everybody has it, so if you're circulating a script that multiple writers are tweaking and you want everyone to be able to see those tweaks, it provides the fewest compatibility hassles.

CONS
• Recent updates of Word for Macintosh eliminated macros, apparently for security reasons. The problem is that the keystroke commands I'd created for quickly switching from Character to Action, etcetera, no longer work. So to switch format, I have to use the mouse to point and click through a menu. That's a huge annoyance and it slows me up more than I'd like when I'm on a roll. Ridiculously, I often find myself cutting and pasting a bit of dialogue from earlier in the script just to get the formatting into a new location.
• The other big problem with Word is that when tracking changes is on, I'll frequently NOT see bits of edited text -- or text will repeat bizarrely and then shift itself into different configurations when I scroll down. Bit hard to explain -- let's just say I can't reliably see what I've written. I haven't been able to figure out how or why it's happening. But to ensure I'm seeing everything I'm supposed to, I sometimes have to open the document in Pages, which is ridiculous.
• Word has also crashed on me multiple times. No other writing program I've used has done so nearly as often.
• For what it's worth, Fred hasn't seen any of the bug problems of which I complain, so it could just be my particular installation of Word.

Pages '09 - Version 4.04

PAK: I've only used Pages for scriptwriting as a default. Once when my laptop died just before I had to go out of town, I exported the script I was working on in Final Draft to an RTF file, then imported that into Pages and uploaded it to the iPad. More recently, Microsoft Word has been failing to properly display certain tracked changes on Chaos War scripts I'm co-writing with Fred. I end up having to finish writing the scripts in Pages, which showed all of the changes properly.

PROS
• Pages saves me when Microsoft Word goofs up tracked changes.
• No crashing.

CONS
• Just as with Microsoft Word, I haven't been able to figure out how to create keystroke commands to move to different styles. There probably is a work-around here, but I haven't been able to set aside a few hours to find it just yet.
• No one else uses Pages, so any scripts that need to be shared have to be exported to Word, RTF or PDF. Of course, that's what I'm doing with Final Draft, anyway. But Final Draft gives me the keystroke commands I need.
• Just yesterday, I had a crazy issue with Pages starting to autonumber dialogue I'd manually numbered. This might not have been a bad thing -- if it hadn't started assigning random huge numbers rather than actually keeping track. And I couldn't figure out how to turn off the autonumbering. I deactivated what seemed like the appropriate selection in "Preferences," which didn't seem to have an effect. I ended up deleting the entire blocks of text that were affected and retyping them. Fun!

Celtx - Version 2.7

Pak: I've only played a little bit with this free screenwriting program.

PROS
• It's free!
• In my limited amount of time playing with it, it hasn't crashed.
• Keystroke commands for moving to different styles appear to work.
• It has an iPad version.

CONS
• Just one major con as far as I can tell -- but unfortunately, it's a dealbreaker. You can't export to a Word file -- or even a RTF file. But I have to be able to create RTF files of comic book scripts to send to letterers.

Text Edit - Version 1.6

Pak: Text Edit is the bare bones word processor included with every Macintosh computer. I'm writing this in Text Edit even as we chat. I love this program for opening instantly and letting me hammer out big chunks of text without any distraction or worries. I don't write scripts in Text Edit, but I'll often bang out first drafts of outlines or pitches or just take notes about characters or stories.

PROS
• Opens instantly. Never crashes.

CONS
• No tracking changes.
• Not really good for scripting -- doesn't allow for fast transitions to different formats for Character, Dialogue, etcetera.
• Prints strangely -- by default, if you increase the size of your window, the page width of the printed page increases. So I've been befuddled by seeing incredibly long lines and miniscule font when printing.

Google SketchUp - Version 8 Sanders: SketchUp is a simple, easy to use 3D program that seems to get a lot of use with comic artists I know. The learning curve is very shallow compared to a program like 3D Studio Max or Maya, and the cost is a fraction of those programs as well. SketchUp has rendering presets that make it handy for exporting comic book style line art (vs a more realistically shaded style) to your 2D program of choice. Google's 3D Warehouse makes for a pretty fantastic reference source for all kinds of objects, and can save you a lot of time in drawing objects over and over again.

PROS
• There's a free version for beginners.
• Easier to learn than many other 3D rendering software programs.
• Reference material is plentiful.

CONS
• Like all programs, it takes some time to master.

Corel Painter 11
Sanders: Painter is an excellent tool for aping natural media, it was sophisticated brush tools that other programs like Photoshop are just starting to catch up with. If you are used to Photoshop, the difference between the two interfaces can be somewhat jarring, however.

PROS
• Comes loaded with the most sophisticated brush tools of arguably any program.
• Captures the look and feeling of painting.

CONS
• Adobe art and design users may not find the interface intuitive at first.
• Not necessarily a workhorse program for other image editing.

Manga Studio
Sanders: Manga Studio is a pretty great program for making black and white comics, from start to finish. It has the best inking tools out of any of the programs I've used, and is built from the ground up for making sequential art. It's also super handy when it comes to patterned tonal shading and things like speed lines.

PROS
• Smooth drawing tools.
• Excellent digital inking resource.
• Designed specifically to create comics.
• Loaded with often-used textures.
• Affordable

CONS
• Designed primarily with black and white comics in mind.

Adobe Photoshop CS5

Sanders: Photoshop tends to be the Swiss army knife of digital 2D illustration programs. Most everything you can do in Painter, Manga Studio, etc, you can do in Photoshop, it just might take several more steps than it would in the more specialized programs.

PROS
• An industry standard.
• A true workhorse capable of virtually any illustration task.

CONS
• Functions do not cater specifically to comics.
• Initial investment in the software can be pricey.

Mixing Media

Sanders: Photoshop and SketchUp are the two programs I use the most often. I've started using a digital/natural media hybrid ink/pencil style in Deadpool Team-Up #15, which I did with Jeff Parker, and the backup in Wolverine #2 with Jason Aaron. I used Photoshop to process my thumbnails and photo and 3D references into a blue-line that I printed directly onto Bristol paper. I then penciled over that, inked the blacks and outlines, scanned it back into Photoshop, and used its levels settings and the dodge and burn tools to push and pull the black levels on art to where I wanted it.

Compared to old methods of having to blow up thumbnails optically via a projector and trace them, or redraw them by hand, digital methods are a massive time saver. Throw in the digital modeling and even more time is saved. Less setup time means more time you can spend polishing the work, or goofing off on the internet, or staring blankly into space while contemplating the meaningless horror of modern existence.

PROS
• Pretty much everything

CONS
• More time to contemplate the horror of modern existence.

Greg Pak is a filmmaker and comic book writer best known for the feature film "Robot Stories" and comics such as "Planet Hulk," "Magneto Testament," "Incredible Hercules" (with Fred Van Lente), and "Vision Machine." For more about Pak's work, visit gregpak.com and twitter.com/gregpak.

Steven Sanders is a professional comic book artist who has illustrated "Five Fists of Science," along with Marvel Comics series "S.W.O.R.D." and issues of "Deadpool Team-Up" and "Wolverine" back-up stories. To view more of Sanders' portfolio, see Studiosputnik.com.

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Nov 4th 2010 By: David Brothers

Contrary to popular belief, you should judge books by their covers. These days, covers are a marketing tool meant to sell you a comic. Since companies want you to buy their books, their job is to come up with the most appropriate, or attractive, cover to get the job done. Companies want you to judge books by their covers. The problem is that covers for comics, and particularly superhero comics, tend to be a little lackluster. You get an action pose, a logo, and that's about it.

So what makes a comic book cover good or bad, and what makes the best ones great? After the jump, we're taking a look at three series that got it right: Invincible Iron Man, 7 Billion Needles, and Sin City.

A "good" cover can come in a wide variety of styles, designs, and types. If a cover makes you interested enough in a book to want to buy it for non-ironic reasons, that's probably a good cover. If the art is ugly, for whatever value of "ugly" you subscribe to, then it's probably a bad cover. If a cover fills you with questions unrelated to the content of the book ("How does her back bend like that?"), then it's also probably a bad cover. There are precious few hard and fast rules for covers, and a few of the greatest covers of all time have undoubtedly broken all of those rules.

These three series experimented with the format and expectations of their stories and genres and managed to come up with something that is striking, interesting, and notable on the shelves. They showed a foresight and willingness to take chances that can depressingly rare at times.

(Row 1: Sin City: The Hard Goodbye, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, and Sin City: The Big Fat Kill. Row 2: Sin City: That Yellow Bastard, Sin City: Family Values, and Sin City: Booze, Broads, and Bullets. Row 3: Sin City: Hell and Back.)
Generally, when comics covers are released online, you get the raw image before the company's production team has a chance to add a logo, issue number, and UPC over the art. When these redesigned covers for Sin City were solicited, my first thought was, "Wow, what a weird choice. I don't know if I like these at all." They look almost unfinished, somehow. The last wave of Sin City trades were perhaps over-designed, but these seem like a step too far in the other direction.

Viewed in print and in their proper context, though, these covers are striking. There is no logo, no issue number, and no title on the cover, just a splash of Miller's art on a perfectly white canvas. The name and volume number have been left on the spine, of course, but the plain cover is stark and captivating. The lack of trade dress actually works in the favor of these covers, as they are forced to live and die by their art alone.

The contents of the books aren't immediately obvious, but not in a way that makes you not want to look inside. The cover to A Dame to Kill For, featuring a bruised and bloody Ava, is haunting and interesting, with the barest of lines suggesting the outline of her body. The cover to Booze, Broads, and Bullets breaks with the stiff black and white of the other covers to add an eye-catching splash of red in the shape of Plastic Man's tunic.

These covers work by going against conventional wisdom. Rather than dedicating an entire cover to high-octane figure work, a fancy design, or even just the name of the book, the covers are selling Miller's art. The interiors are just as black and white as the exterior, and the depictions of the characters is more or less how they are treated in the books.

Superhero comics are a tough area to experiment in. The fans have certain expectations when it comes to long-running series, and the publishers are primarily interested in profits first. Cape comics are not really where you go to do the comic book equivalent of a thirty minute improvisational jazz solo.

Despite this, an arc of Invincible Iron Man centered around the rebirth of a more classic version of the character featured covers that went against tradition. While there were other covers that followed tradition (featuring scenes such as "Hero Laying On A Bed," "Hero Flying Through the Sky," "Villain Posing," and "Heroes Teaming Up To Do Something"), the great covers were the ones that didn't.

These covers jettisoned the Iron Man logo, which was about to be plastered in front of several million eyes thanks to Iron Man 2, and anything even resembling bootjets. Instead, they went for something a little more abstract. The covers relate to the story inside the comic, but generally in a figurative way. The unified trade dress, bold use of a single color, and grouped concentric circles gave the story arc a fascinating look and elevated these covers beyond the run-of-the-mill "Iron Man Shooting Lasers" type of cover. While it was made specifically for this story arc, rather than being a full replacement, it was beautiful while it lasted.

7 BILLION NEEDLES: Peter Mendelsund

Salvador Larocca and Rian Hughes, designers of the Invincible Iron Man covers, focused on a design that didn't look like anything else on the shelves. For 7 Billion Needles, Vertical Inc. went in a different direction. Science fiction has a rich history, and 7 Billion Needles is an adaptation of a classic story. Rather than working up a cover with a cool pose or an explanatory image, designer Peter Mendelsund embraced an aesthetic that once represented the finest of paperback fiction.

Around eighty years ago, Penguin Books was making a huge name for itself with its cheaply priced paperback novels. They used a distinctive design to build their brand. They used one color (decided by the genre or type of book), bold text, and a unified design across the line. You can view several Penguin Group covers over the years on this informative history of the franchise.

For 7 Billion Needles, Vertical contracted a cover that was reminiscent of those classic novel covers. It's an homage that is designed to tickle the part of your brain that may be familiar with Penguin's books and attract the part of your brain that isn't familiar. Even without knowledge of the history of book publishing, the covers look good. By emulating a strong design, but adding their own twist with the cover images, Vertical created a fresh cover.

The back cover, not pictured, is similarly striking. Rather than being crammed with quotes from critics or a detailed plot summary, the back cover features six sentences in large text. One sentence is a catchphrase ("The hunt is on!"). Three sentences are plot summary. Another sentence explains the history of the book, and the final sentence gives you the high concept of the series: "7 Billion Needles is emotionally intelligent science fiction in a compact four volumes." The same economy of space that informs the design of the cover also informs the back of the book, which is spartan almost to a fault.

All of these covers look good, and are testaments to originality and experimentation in the modern comics industry. They work with nontraditional themes, explore new ways to use cover space, or make references to the past to create a connection that otherwise may not have been made. Rather than being judged as good covers or bad covers, it is perhaps more effective to term these effective covers. They get the job done, and admirably so.

What comics in your collection had cover art that made you feel like you had to look inside?

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Oct 26th 2010 By: David Uzumeri

Today, Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods -- the feature-length documentary by Respect! Films, directed by Patrick Meaney -- was supposed to drop but seems to not be available until December 15, at least. It's a very well-crafted piece of work, a clear labor of love and result of the fairly extensive access Morrison and his friends and family gave the filmmakers. While it's an interesting documentary on its own, it's of special interest to anyone who's ever read a Grant Morrison comic and asked themselves: "Where the hell is this guy coming from?" Talking With Gods has your answer, and it's one that I couldn't take my eyes away from, interesting and entertaining for experienced Morrison scholars and casual readers alike.

Wrapped up in the layers of mystique and mythology, it's easy to forget that Grant Morrison is a real person, a guy who listens to music and loves his wife and misses his dad.

The Grant Morrison Legend is certainly self-perpetuated, and unquestionably interesting, but Talking With Gods allowed me to really peer through to Grant Morrison, The Dude for maybe the first time. What makes Meaney's film so effective is that he doesn't canonize his subject - while there's a great deal of hero worship going on in the interviews with critics and other creators, it feels like Meaney's reporting on an existing bias rather than manufacturing one in editing. As a result, it gives us an honest look not only at how he's influenced an entire generation of creators, but also connects the themes and concepts of Morrison's work to his childhood and everyday life.

As someone who studies Morrison out of a deep passion for his work, there was still a great deal of new material for me in here, and the stuff I already knew was presented in new contexts and from new perspectives. Take, for instance, the thematic link between Final Crisis: Superman Beyond and Morrison's childhood. His parents were both huge anti-bomb activists, and his entire childhood was spent mentally and emotionally dealing with the spectre of nuclear holocaust. Discovering superhero comics was, for him, a revelation, since they presented a depiction of reality that implied that existence wasn't hopeless and death wasn't right over the horizon - replacing the apocalyptic narrative with the heroic. This personal experience mirrors almost exactly the events of Superman Beyond, where Superman travels to the world of the Monitors and replaces their apocalyptic prophecy of which they all live in fear with the story of an infant boy rocketed from a dying planet.

The movie also offers a great deal of insight into his creative process; interviews with numerous artists touch on his scripting style, the way he collaborates and the intersections between magic, drugs and writing. Cameron Stewart, Frazer Irving, Chris Weston, Steve Yeowell and Jill Thompson all have wildly different interpretations on the collaborative creative process with him, and watching them talk about it is a joy. Additionally, co-writers like Mark Waid and Geoff Johns make appearances, although drama addicts everywhere will probably bemoan the lack of a segment on the falling out with Mark Millar.

These are the kinds of insights I was able to gain from TWG, and I'm sure I've only scratched the surface. More than just a documentary of his personal or artistic lives, it looks at the intersection between the two, and asks the viewer to make up his or her own mind. Did Grant Morrison really trap a scorpion loa in the base of his spine with a tattoo? Did he really win his wife over with a ritualistic prayer to Aphrodite? I have no idea. Do I believe that Grant Morrison believes? Absolutely. In short, if you have any interest whatsoever in the man's work and where it comes from, this is pretty much must-viewing, with the fact that you get to see pages of Invisibles get Ken Burns Effected as a bonus.

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Nov 2nd 2010 By: Brian Warmoth

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

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Nov 4th 2010 By: David Brothers

Thor has a movie coming out next year, and Marvel's begun the onslaught of Thor comics now to get ready to sell trade paperbacks down the line. It's a wise choice on their part, but a little confusing for consumers who just want a little Asgardian action on their pull list. Where do you start? What's going on in all of the series? And more importantly, are any of them any good?

You're in luck, hypothetical reader. After the jump, we run down the creative team, details, and quality of the six (six!) series Thor is currently starring in. Don't know where to start with Asgard's favorite son? We've got your back.

1. THOR (Ongoing)
Matt Fraction, Pasqual Ferry, Matt Hollingsworth

Matt Fraction and Pasqual Ferry are heading up Marvel's flagship Thor comic, the simply named Thor, and it may be the best-looking Thor comic on the stands. In their first issue, they set up an interesting plot. Asgard has been located on Earth, or Midgard, for some time now, but Asgard isn't just a city. It's one of the nine realms of the cosmos. Since Asgard has vacated its position in the cosmos, what's going to fill that spot? How will its absence affect the rest of the cosmos?

Complicating matters is the arrival of an alien menace that is laying waste to more of the realms. These red-skinned beings talk strange (in black word balloons that contain star systems or spirals) and aren't afraid to simply murder anyone who stands in their way. They're working their way around the cosmos, and a conflict between Thor and these new beings is inevitable. This book is working with that funky mix of sci-fi and altered mythology that makes Thor such an interesting franchise, and it's going all-in on both halves.

The only problem so far is the pace. The first issue was a good start, and Ferry's art was beautiful. The second issue... was essentially a recap of the first issue, with only the last couple of pages having real forward motion. It was a disappointing follow-up to a strong start, but is something that may read better once the Fraction/Ferry run is collected.

2. ULTIMATE THOR (4 Issues)
Jonathan Hickman, Carlos Pacheco, Dexter Vines, Edgar Delgado

Hickman and Pacheco's Ultimate Thor is perhaps most notable because it is Marvel's first series to go day and date with digital comics releases. One-shots have previously appeared in print and online simultaneously, but a series is a big deal.

Content-wise, thus far, Ultimate Thor is... okay. It's flip-flopping between the modern day and World War II as the story builds. Ragnarok is lurking in the background, the Norn stones figure majorly in the story, we see Ultimate Asgard, and meet the Ultimate Warriors Three: Thor, Loki, and Balder the Brave. There are even Nazi Frost Giants, which is just one of those ideas that makes comics fun. The series has had a slow start, but Hickman's intricate plotting tends to pay off in the long run, and it seems like this is a good book for Pacheco to really cut loose on.

3. IRON MAN/THOR (4 Issues)
Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, Scot Eaton, Jaime Mendoza, Veronica Gandini

DnA are the team who have shepherded Marvel's cosmic line over the past few years, and they did an admirable job doing it. Iron Man/Thor is their go at two of Marvel's heavy hitters, and it looks like they're bringing some of the magic they demonstrated in space to Earth. DnA are skilled at including obscure concepts without getting bogged down in exposition or continuity, in addition to strong characterization, a good sense of humor, and a willingness to really cut loose with the violence.

Judging by their first issue, which was ably drawn by Scot Eaton, they're bringing the whole toolbox to bear on Iron Man/Thor. There's good comedy, this time featuring Volstagg. The relationship between Iron Man and Thor, and later, Iron Man and Steve Rogers, is instantly crystal clear. People get beaten up, Moses Magnum has a cameo, and at the end of it all, you're left wanting more.

This book is good stuff, which is completely unsurprising, given its pedigree. It clearly takes place post-Siege and during the Heroic Age, but none of that really matters. You can pick it up and tell exactly what's going on, and any other knowledge you have is just icing on the cake.

4. THOR: FOR ASGARD (6 Issues)
Robert Rodi, Simone Bianchi, Simone Peruzzi

Robert Rodi wrote one of the best Thor stories in years with 2004's Loki, and Marvel brought him back specifically to bring some of that magic back to the franchise.

Judging by the first few issues of For Asgard, that was a wise choice. Rodi's script isn't exactly action-packed, instead focusing on relationships, mood, and mysteries, but it has that same cerebral feel as Loki. While Thor doesn't do a lot of smashing with Mjolnir (or any! There is a mystery afoot...), it's still a good read.

Simone Bianchi's art is fairly appropriate for the series. His take on Asgard is a sublime mix of sci-fi style and heavy metal album covers, so you get body piercings, breastplates with glowing contours, and giant battle axes pitted against space-age laser guns. There's a little bit of a disconnect between the writing and the art, but Bianchi can draw moody people like nobody's business, which fits well with Rodi's script.

5. THOR: FIRST THUNDER (5 Issues)
Bryan JL Glass, Tan Eng Huat, Jose Villarubia

Glass and Huat are telling the story of Thor's introduction to the Marvel Universe. The series has so far retold and expanded upon Thor's first appearance, Ultimate Marvel-style. We get a crash course in the relationship between Donald Blake and Thor, learn that Thor has been banished from Asgard. This will be nothing new to longtime Marvel fans, but serves as a solid primer for newbies.

This is the weakest of the current slate of Thor books. The stories aren't particularly compelling and feel more like continuity clean-up rather than something fresh and new. Huat's art is usually lively and expressive, but just feels out of place and awkward here. While it's a worthy try, it may not be your best choice for a quick hit of Thor.

6. THOR: THE MIGHTY AVENGER (Ongoing)
Roger Langridge, Chris Samnee, Matthew Wilson

Holy crap, where did this book come from?

Roger Langridge has been doing fantastic work over on Boom! Studios's The Muppet Show, but his work on this book has been revelatory. This series fills a similar function as Thor: First Thunder, but does it in a very fresh and exciting way. Langridge takes Thor's early days on Earth and readjusts them for the modern day. Jane Foster works at a museum, Thor isn't quite sure why he's on Earth, and the Marvel Universe is in its infancy. We get to see Thor interacting with some classic, and occasionally seldom seen, Marvel characters, learning his way around our world, and working out his feelings for Jane Foster.

Chris Samnee's art is similarly revelatory. He was good, but now he's great. You can take a look at the many faces of Thor above, courtesy of blogger taterpie, to see a large part of the appeal of the series. Samnee is an extraordinarily talented artist and Wilson's colors perfectly complement his work. Together, they're a powerhouse artistic team doing Olympic-class work.

For my money, this is the Thor book to get. It's light, well written, well drawn, and exciting. It's pretty much exactly what a Thor comic should be, and nonetheless manages to do it in a fresh way.

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Oct 21st 2010 By: David Brothers

It's time again to take apart the newest comic book solicitations and find the best and most interesting Marvel Comics slated to come out in January 2011. We're looking at an in-between month for Marvel in January, with several major stories wrapping up or going into aftermath mode, while others are heading into their home stretch. There's no real killer announcement in this group of solicitations, but there are a few good books and a couple of off the wall one-shots or series coming out. After the jump, we've got the ten best, including some vampire cows, Howard Chaykin doing something that looks very not-Chaykin, and the requisite smashing of Hulks. Written by DAVE LAPHAM
Pencils & Cover by KYLE BAKER
"NO CABLE NO FUTURE"
For years, when Uncle Sam needed to erase untouchable global madmen, it called on the legendary super-agent known as Cable. That is, until two years ago, Cable disappeared for parts unknown... and a certain Merc with a Mouth took up the slack. But now Cable has reemerged from where he claims is the far-flung future to take back his old job. How will that sit with Deadpool? Like Tacos before bedtime. It's super-agent vs super-agent in a fight to the finish.
32 PGS./Explicit Content ...$3.99

The first issue of Deadpool MAX was as good as its creative team suggested it would be. Lapham provided a demented script, and Baker returned to his traditional art style for a tale of abuse, trauma, violence, and most crucially, comedy. Baker and Lapham are both legitimately great, and while Baker is an experienced humorist, seeing Lapham exercise his funny bone is a treat for longtime fans. They're creating an all-new Deadpool by mining the past and recasting characters at will. It's an interesting approach, sort of like DC's late Elseworlds books, and provides a neat lens to view Deadpool through. The introduction of Cable, butt of a million jokes about '90s comics, is going to be a trip, I bet, and even more reason to pick up the series.

Written by HOWARD CHAYKIN
Penciled by TBD
Cover by ROGER CRUZ
Before the Brotherhood, before his greatest battles with the X-Men, there was a man named Erik Magnus, gathering mutants to join his cause. Does the young Magneto have what it takes to build an army? And what does all of this have to do with The Absorbing Man?
32 PGS./One-Shot/Rated A ...$2.99

Howard Chaykin is known for stories about violence, sex, cursing, political intrigue, sex, what it means to be Jewish, violence, more sex, fashion, and still more sex. Things Howard Chaykin is not known for: filling continuity holes in X-Men comics. The A rating and the fact that the cover image says X-Men First Class: Magneto makes this book completely and utterly bizarre, like if Quentin Tarantino directing an episode of Hamtaro. I'm not sure where Chaykin is going to fit sexy conference call shenanigans or pointed observations about race in a story about a young Magneto and the Absorbing Man, but I'm interested in finding out. Of course, what's more likely is that this will be a just okay story about Magneto before he turns terrorist. I've got my fingers crossed, though.

Written by JEPH LOEB
Penciled by ED MCGUINNESS, IAN CHURCHILL & WHILCE PORTACIO
Cover by ALEX ROSS
Red Hulk's rampage rolls on through the Marvel Universe, and NO ONE, not even the Amazing Spider-Man, Silver Surfer, the Sub-Mariner, Doctor Strange, Doc Samson, Norman Osborn, or She-Hulk can stop him! Then, It's CODE RED VS. X-FORCE. Who is Code Red? How about Red Hulk, Deadpool, The Punisher, Elektra. Thundra and The Crimson Dynamo. What terrible secret could bring this group together -- only to run headlong into the deadliest team of X-Men? All this -- and wait until you see RED HULK VS. WOLVERINE! Superstar scribe Jeph Loeb is joined by art team Ian Churchill and Mark Farmer as the epic saga of the Red Hulk continues! Collecting HULK (2008) #10-18 and INCREDIBLE HULK #600.
336 PGS./ Rated A ...$29.99 Trim size: oversized

No joke: This is one of the best Hulk stories in years. While it's full of authorial fiat and out of nowhere plot twists, this run gets at least one thing right about the Hulk: He has to smash, and he has to look good doing it. Ed McGuinness and Ian Churchill up their art games to an absurd extent.

Churchill's art went from the scratchy, strangely proportioned style that he's been sporting over the past few years, perhaps most notably on Supergirl, to something that's a weird mix of Dan DeCarlo and Humberto Ramos. McGuinness, already a fantastic artist, moved away from his lightly detailed cartoony style into a super detailed cartoony style, complete with bulging veins, bigger muscles, and an absolutely tremendous use of scale to emphasize power. These are some of the best-looking Marvel comics from the past couple years or so, and the story exists simply to allow the artists to draw the biggest and best fights the Hulk's ever been in.

4. ULTIMATE COMICS CAPTAIN AMERICA #1 (of 4) Written by JASON AARON
Pencils & Cover by RON GARNEY
Villian Variant Cover by ED McGUINNESS
Captain America meets his ultimate nemesis-the Captain America of the Vietnam War! As new enemies face off, old secrets from the super soldier project are revealed. From the superstar Wolverine: Weapon X creative team of Jason Aaron and Ron Garney, get ready for a hard hitting story of one man's quest to serve his country...and the sacrifices he must make.
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

Ultimate Cap could kind of use a helping hand. Millar's take on the character is fairly... off-putting, changing an icon of freedom and tolerance into an anachronistic blowhard, and that's about where his characterization has stopped. Jason Aaron has proved to be fairly adept at mixing action and characterization in pleasing proportions, and he might add some much-needed depth of the Ultimate Sentinel of Liberty. Ron Garney's art shouldn't be ignored, either. His style has evolved into something pretty interesting in recent years, looking a bit rougher and more loose than it used to look. Aaron and Garney did a solid job on Wolverine: Weapon X and their prior Get Mystique story, so getting a violent Captain America tale from them should be pretty cool.

5. THE THANOS IMPERATIVE: DEVASTATION #1 Written by DAN ABNETT & ANDY LANNING
Penciled by MIGUEL SEPULVEDA
Cover by ALEX GARNER
THE THANOS IMPERATIVE is over... but who and what has survived? What happened to Thanos? What about Lord Mar-Vell and the Cancerverse? Who rules the Kree and the Shi'Ar? Is anyone left to guard the galaxy? And who will hold the shattered civilizations of the Marvel Universe together in this bleak new age? Find out from the creative team that delivered the cosmic event that IGN.com hailed as "Unbelievably incredible & unimaginably entertaining."
32 PGS./ONE-SHOT/Rated T+ ...$3.99

DnA are done shepherding the Cosmic side of the Marvel universe, and this one-shot is the nail in the coffin. The Thanos Imperative is over, the bodies are growing cold, and now it's time to see what's next. While not getting any more cosmic tales from these two sucks, they've done such a great job over the past three or four years that I can't even really complain. Nothing lasts forever, and maintainubg the level of quality they kept up across several books is impressive. I hope that this one-shot keeps things just as good as they have been, and leaves us satisfied, rather than disappointed.

Written by Rick Spears
Art by Philip Bond
Cover by Humberto Ramos

Watch out Marvel U, the Bovine Blood Beast is back! The Merc with a Mouth meets the The Cow with a Cape. Gaze in horror, dear reader, upon the fiendish experiments inflicted upon Deadpool and Bessie the Vampire Cow by the malevolent Dr. Kilgore in the name of mad science and bear witness to their terrible revenge! Nothing on earth can prepare you for the horror that lurks within these pages.
32 PGS./Parental Advisory ...$2.99

This is Bessie, perhaps better known as Hellcow:

She was bitten by Dracula 300 years ago. There's no reason not to buy this issue, especially since Philip Bond is drawing it. 7. WOLVERINE AND JUBILEE #1 (of 4) Written by Kathryn Immonen
Art by PHIL NOTO
Cover by NIMIT MALAVIA
Variant Cover by NIMIT MALAVIA
STRAIGHT OUT OF THE PAGES OF X-MEN AND RIGHT INTO THE JUGULAR! Jubilee is about as far away from the ideal X-Man as it is possible for a 17-year-old minty fresh vampire to be. While the X-Men try to find a way to give her as normal a life as is inhumanly feasible, her decidedly abnormal vampire cravings will not be denied. Between that and her newfound powers, she's winning the fights but not the popularity contests among most of the other X-Kids. Most...but not all. And just when Jubilee starts to think that there is no place for her anywhere, a group of vampire women make her an offer she can't refuse. It seems like the perfect solution...unless Wolverine has anything to say about it!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99
NOT ACTUAL COVER

Jubilee is only seventeen?! But she had her own place in LA for a while! And worked at a non-profit! Age issues aside (and they are extremely minor, believe me), this series is like a gift and a curse. The X-Men vs. A Bunch of Vampires story isn't working for me, which means I don't even really care about the fallout. Or at least I wouldn't, if Kathryn Immonen wasn't writing the story of the fallout and Phil Noto wasn't drawing a Wolverine and Jubilee buddy comic. I have a soft spot for Jubilee, having come into the X-Men franchise back when she was playing the Wolverine's Jailbait Sidekick role, and this'll be the first high profile project featuring the character since she lost her powers in House of M. I can't think of anyone at Marvel better at writing teenagers, and Noto's art is always great.

Written by ZEB WELLS
Penciled by LEONARD KIRK
Cover by DAVE WILKINS
"The Rise of the New Mutants"
The stunning conclusion of Zeb Wells' run on New Mutants is here. Everything set in motion from #1 comes around here as the full force of the X-Men is brought down on Project Purgatory. But will it be in time? The full power of the Elder Gods is in the hands of General Ulysses. Will the power of Legion be enough to turn the tide? Part 2 (of 2).
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99

Zeb Wells took a series that should have been just another trip down memory lane featuring some characters from the '80s and instead told a pretty awesome tale of the third generation of X-Men. The title is a nod to their past, but the cast is made up of everything but "new mutants." The New Mutants are all grown up and more than hold their own. I'll be said to see Wells go, particularly since Leonard Kirk has been a great addition to the creative team, but it looks like he's going out not just on a high note, but right where his story was going to naturally wrap-up, anyway. Hopefully the next creative team is as solid as this one.

Written by MARJORIE LIU
Penciled by WILL CONRAD
Cover by KALMAN ANDRASOFSZKY
X-23's search for her soul continues! What does Mr. Sinister have to do with Laura's past... and how is MISS SINISTER trying to influence her future? Caught between a dead man and a dangerous woman, Laura must decide what she's willing to sacrifice for answers. GUEST-STARRING GAMBIT!
32 PGS./Parental Advisory ...$2.99

The first issue of X-23 was a little rocky. It felt like a Wolverine story, in fact, complete with sleeping in the woods, moping about how nobody understands pain, and being born only to kill and kill and kill, only the part of Wolverine was played by a sixteen-year-old girl. Liu is good at doing both character stuff and mean action, and this issue sounds like a solid return to form. The addition of Gambit as a mentor figure is an interesting choice, and is hopefully going to move X-23 out of Teenagegirlverine territory and into being a character with her own issues, thoughts, and stories. The addition of Miss Sinister, a super sexy version of a classic X-Men villain, is a little weird, but you know what? She's fighting a sexy teenage girl version of Wolverine. Let's roll with it.

Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Penciled by STEVE EPTING
Cover by ALAN DAVIS
Spoiler Variant Cover by TBD

A blank cover that's reminiscent of the death of Superman, no real solicit, and the promise of a major character dying... ehhh. This is exactly the kind of thing that sells comics based on stunts, rather than storytelling. Hickman's run on Fantastic Four has been pretty good thus far, though, and definitely building up to something big. Marvel is clearly trying to drum up some support for it by playing "I know something you don't know," but I can't help but think that letting the story sell itself would be healthier. Regardless: Hickman. Epting. Somebody dies. There may be charts and graphs in the back of the issue. Get it if that's your thing.

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