New Comic Books For March 25, 2009

DC COMICS

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #31
SUPERMAN #686
TRINITY #43

IMAGE COMICS

ELEPHANTMEN #17

MARVEL COMICS

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #589
CAPTAIN AMERICA #48
DAREDEVIL #117
FANTASTIC FOUR #565
GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #12
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #24
INCREDIBLE HERCULES #127
MIGHTY AVENGERS #23
NEW AVENGERS #51
NOVA #23
THUNDERBOLTS #130
WOLVERINE FIRST CLASS #13

All right, before we dive into this week’s comic books, I have to apologize for such a slack week here at The Revolution. The past ten days have been brutal for me. I have this monster trial that has been demanding my full attention. Every single moment that I spend awake I have been working on this trial.

Luckily, the end is near and I should be able to resume my normal amount of reviews for this week’s shipment of comic books. Don’t you hate it when your job actually gets in the way of your blogging? What is up with that?

I finished Invincible Ultimate Collection Volumes 1 and 2. I went and purchase Volume 3 from my local comic book shop. However, I decided to take a break from Invincible and read the Tom Strong hardback graphic novels. Even though Volume 1 is out of print, my local comic book shop managed to snag me a copy of it in absolute mint condition in a very short amount of time. (You rock, Greg!! Yeah, I am blessed with the coolest comic book shop ever.)

Even though I love Alan Moore, I missed out on Tom Strong. I have no excuses. Tom Strong came out in 1999 and at that time I was busy with college and then law school after that. And during those years I did not read as many comics as I did after I graduated in 2003. So, I decided it was time to pick up the hardback volumes of Tom Strong and see what I missed out on.

First, I have to compliment these hardback volumes. They are quite nice. Now, they are not oversized like an Absolute Edition graphic novel. But, they are still quite nice. We get some extras tucked into each volume. And each volume has its own attached satin bookmark. That is a classy touch.

I started reading Tom Strong Volume 1 yesterday and I have to admit that I was extremely impressed. What I loved so much about the first issue of Tom Strong was how incredibly condensed it was. It was so unlike just about every other title that we get nowadays. The first issue of Tom Strong was a contained one-and-done issue.

The story moved with a purpose and a clear direction. Moore managed to condense Tom Strong’s entire origin into an economy of scenes that effectively introduced the reader to Tom Strong, his parents, his wife and child and the world of Millennium City. This was quite possibly the most enjoyable and effective debut issue that I have ever read.

I also love how Moore managed to mix his incredibly intelligent and mature writing style with the awe, wonder and innocence of a Silver Age story. Little Timmy Turbo who so excitedly reads his special origin issue of Tom Strong upon becoming a member of the Tom Strong fan club gave this issue that nice old school feel to it. It was neat to see the man who “killed” the Silver Age styled stories with the Watchmen deliver an issue that had such a positive and Silver Age vibe to it. I have only read the first two issues, but I have already fallen in love with Alan Moore’s Tom Strong.

All right, let’s take a look at the new comic books for this week. We are getting a large sized week with 16 comic books. For the second straight week, the selection of comic books headed to the Bunker is decidedly heavy with Marvel titles.

Which DC comic book am I most looking forward to reading? Eh, there is not much to choose from in the selection of comics headed our way from DC. I guess I will go with Superman #686. I am not expecting this issue to be anything incredible. It simply is not as bad as the other two DC titles that I am getting this week.

Which DC comic book am I least looking forward to reading? Normally, Trinity gets this honor. However, this week the DC comic book that I am least looking forward to reading is Justice League of America #31. It is so sad to see DC’s flagship title reduced to nothing more than a shell of its former self. The JLA has seen much better days and I do not see much improvement on the horizon for this title.

Which Marvel comic book am I most looking forward to reading? Wow, that is a tough choice. While DC offers up a small and unimpressive selection of reads this week, Marvel is boasting numerous excellent reads. First off, we have plenty of DnA goodness heading our way in Guardians of the Galaxy #12 and Nova #23. The last issue of Guardians of the Galaxy was a real disappointment so I hope that DnA can rebound with issue #12. And Nova is always a fantastic read and I am expecting another exciting read as we now know that Worldmind is not exactly a good guy.

I am sure that Fantastic Four #565 is going to be another quality read. Millar continues to do an excellent job with this title. And then there is Incredible Hercules #127 which should be another fun read. This title is one of The Revolution’s darlings and I always am excited to read the latest issue of Incredible Herc.

And then we have the two Brubaker issues in Captain America #48 and Daredevil #117. Both are excellent titles. However, the Marvel comic book that I am most looking forward to reading is Daredevil #117. I thought the last issue of Daredevil was simply beautiful. And I am incredibly excited to see the Kingpin’s return to New York. This should be one hell of a read.

Which Marvel comic book am I least looking forward to reading? That would be New Avengers #51. And I think we all know the reasons why by now.