New Comic Books For June 17, 2009

DC COMICS

ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #12
FINAL CRISIS AFTERMATH DANCE #2
OUTSIDERS #19

IMAGE COMICS

INVINCIBLE #63

MARVEL COMICS

CAPTAIN AMERICA #600
DESTROYER #3
FANTASTIC FORCE #3
INCOGNITO #4
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #14
MIGHTY AVENGERS #26
ULTIMATUM SPIDER-MAN REQUIEM #1
X-MEN LEGACY #225

All right, let’s talk comic books. This is a somewhat small week for The Revolution. We are getting 12 titles headed to the Bunker today. This week is incredibly light for DC comic books. This selection of titles from DC is incredibly underwhelming.

 

Which DC comic book am I most looking forward to reading? That would be Outsiders #19. And that is because there is little competition. At any rate, Tomasi has done a solid job on Outsiders and I expect for that to continue with this issue. And we should get some quality action as this issue guest-stars Deathstroke the Terminator. Since Deathstroke is my favorite DCU villain, there is little to no chance that I am not going to enjoy this issue.

Which DC comic book am I least looking forward to reading? I do not have high hopes for Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance #2. Joe Casey delivered an unimpressive debut issue on this title. The last issue was incredibly slow and felt unfocused. It seemed that Casey was unsure what approach to take with the characters of Super Young Team. 

I know that I am in the minority, but I loved these characters in Final Crisis. I am a big Tokusatsu fan so the characters in Super Young Team immediately appealed to me. Unfortunately, it appears that only Morrison really understands these characters and has the proper vision concerning what to do with these characters. Hopefully, Casey can surprise me and rebound with a much stronger effort with Final Crisis: Dance #2.

However, the DC comics book that I am least looking forward to reading is Action Comics Annual #12. The current direction for this title has been generic at best. This annual is going to spend time focusing on the origins of Nightwing and Flamebird. Since I find neither character even remotely interesting, I cannot say that I am all that interested in learning more about their origins. I keep waiting for the moment when this title turns the corner and becomes an exciting read.

Which Marvel comic book am I looking forward to reading? I am looking forward to reading Fantastic Force #3. This title has been a solid, not spectacular, read. Joe Ahearne has done a serviceable job with the story. It is a nice standard issue super hero tale with some neat sci-fi elements thrown into the mix. What I have enjoyed the most about Fantastic Force is Steve Kurth’s beautiful artwork.

There is no doubt in my mind that I am going to enjoy Incognito #4. Brubaker is doing a fine job on this crime noir/super hero hybrid. We are going to see Zack knock heads with Zoey Zeppelin in this issue. Zoey looks like she stepped straight out of Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! I am interested to learn more about her character. Incognito is slowly paced, but Brubaker has succeeded in fully captivating my attention with this well crafted story.

Mighty Avengers #26 should be a fun read. Slott just keeps getting better and better on this title. Yeah, the brawl between the Mighty Avengers and the Fantastic Force is incredibly forced and a bit silly. But, I understand Slott’s purpose with this move. One of Slott’s primary tasks with Mighty Avengers is to completely rehabilitate and rebuild Hank Pym. Pym’s character has been mangled terribly by other writers who view him as nothing more than a piñata that should be beaten around as often as possible.

What better way for Slott to rebuild Pym’s character by jobbing the biggest brains of the 616 universe to Pym. In the first story arc, Slott jobbed Tony Stark to Pym as Slott proved that Pym possessed a mind even more brilliant than that of the famed Tony Stark. The next big brain to get jobbed to Pym appears to be Reed Richards. By putting Pym over Reed, Slott will be able to even further elevate Pym’s standing in the big brain community of the 616 universe.

I hope that Ultimatum: Spider-Man Requiem #1 is better than the final issue of Ultimate Spider-Man. It is sad to see Jeph Loeb’s amateurish Ultimatum running rampant on one of Marvel’s best titles in Ultimate Spider-Man. Hopefully, Bendis can salvage the pieces left behind from the steaming refuse known as Ultimatum and cobble together a good story for the reader.

X-Men Legacy #225 will conclude Professor X’s journey. I am interested to see how Carey ends this tale. After this issue, Rogue will become the central character on this title. And with that move I will be dropping X-Men Legacy. I just have never found Rogue to be that interesting of a character.

In the end, Destroyer #3 is the Marvel comic book that I am most excited about reading. Destroyer has been an absolute blast to read. Robert Kirkman is delivering a read that has a fine balance of character work and action. I fully expect Destroyer #3 to deliver tons of bad-ass action as Destroyer sets out to rescue his daughter.

Which Marvel comic book am I least looking forward to reading? I have to admit that I am not all that excited to read Captain America #600. The main reason is that I was set to read it Monday and the fact that it was impossible to find anywhere really robbed me of much of my excitement over this issue.

Then this issue was spoiled all over the internet. I have avoided reading spoilers, but we all know that Steve Rogers is returning. My excitement over Captain America #600 is muted because we all knew the minute that Steve was “killed” that he would eventually return. I just hope that Brubaker manages to bring Steve Rogers back in a manner that does not feel cheap and contrived.

I know that I am in the extreme minority with this view, but I really see no need to bring Steve Rogers back already. It would have been nice if Marvel had left Steve dead for around five years. Brubaker is doing a phenomenal job on Captain America and has made Bucky quite an interesting character. There is still so much story left to tell with Bucky as Captain America. Brubaker’s Captain America was fantastic while Steve Rogers was alive. But, I think Brubaker has gotten even better on this title since Steve died.

I know this is sacrilege and that most people will hate me for saying this, but I have always found Steve Rogers to be an incredibly boring character. He is so clean cut and perfect. And Steve is way too touchy-feely for how I like my super soldiers. Now, if Brubaker wrote the 616 Steve Rogers like Millar’s Ultimate Steve Rogers then I would definitely like Steve’s character more.

Bucky, on the other hand, is not perfect. He is broken. He does not always win. He does not always have the perfect plan in mind. Bucky struggles in fights. Bucky has confidence issues at times. Bucky is unsure of himself and his place in the world. I feel that Bucky as Captain America gives Brubaker more to work with than Steve as Captain America. At any rate, Brubaker has completely earned my trust with his incredible work on Captain America. So, I am sure that in the end the result will be a great story.

The Marvel comic book that I am least looking forward to reading is Invincible Iron Man #14. Matt Fraction has managed to do absolutely nothing on this title at all to capture my interest. As a long-time and devoutly loyal Iron Man fan, it pains me to see how shallow and unoriginal the story on this title has become. It seems that Invincible Iron Man is targeting the 13-17 year old male demographic. All Fraction has managed to do is steal from older story arcs on this title and cobble them together with an “edgy” and “hip” modern spin that is in the same vein as the Iron Man movie. The writing has not sunk to the level of plagiarism, but it surely is nothing that I would consider original or creative.