Happy New Year and welcome to our first 2016 installment of What Looks Good!
DC
Midnighter #8, $2.99
I’m so glad Spyral is playing a big part in the DCU these days. Grant Morrison introduced his fair share of spy agencies (S.H.A.D.E. and Spyral, off the top of my head) during his time writing Batman, which was a little strange in that DC already had plenty of said agencies (Checkmate, Argus, more that are escaping me right now). I’d love to see someone do something with them, although I suppose they don’t all exist the way I remember. Anyway, this is all to say that this looks like it will be another bad ass issue of Midnighter, following up on one of the best opening arcs we’ve seen from a superhero book in quite some time.
Sheriff Of Babylon #2 (Of 8), $3.99
I hope you’re reading this. Listen, I love superheroes as much as the next guy, but I also really love reading about real life worlds that I know nothing about. Sheriff of Babylon scream authenticity at every point and I’d say that even if I didn’t know that writer Tim King experienced a lot of this first hand. This is a complicated, political story ala Omega Men, but true to life. I have a feeling that by the end I won’t just say this book is great, I’ll say it’s important.
Swamp Thing #1 (Of 6)(Kelley Jones Regular Cover), $2.99
Kelly Jones drawing Swamp Thing is reason enough to check this out, but I’m also really interested to see what Swampy co-creator Len Wein is going to do with the script, given how long it’s been since he’s written multiple issues of the character. A lot has happened since he and Bernie Wrightson introduced our clumpy friend here and, since this is the New 52, there isn’t a TON of baggage (although I recall Scott Snyder writing the series as if everything that came before had still happened).
Marvel
A-Force #1 (Jorge Molina Regular Cover), $3.99
Does Marvel do focus groups? Were there people in a room somewhere who said “Oh, hell, yeah, the name ‘A-Force’ is awesome!” Because I’d like to meet those people. I look forward to the A-Force/Spider-Gwen crossover that will make my head explode. And people don’t read the Legion of Superheroes because they have characters called Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl? Please.
Um, anyway, I’m actually really looking forward to this horribly named comic. I like the cast, although I think Medusa is an odd fit. I’m hoping we’ll see a cathartic story arc that results in Dazzler ditching her ridiculous look for a more classic one. I’ve always loved Nico, but I’m not sure why no one is calling her Sister Grimm anymore. That was the perfect name for her. I was lukewarm on the limited series, but that was in big part due to the crossover, so I hope a crossover free series will give us a better book.
Totally Awesome Hulk #2 (Frank Cho Regular Cover), $3.99
Fun! The first issue of this series was a blast. I’m sure we’ll see a tragic flaw coming up, but I love the fact that we’re reading about a superhero who just flat out loves his powers. The dynamic between Cho and his sister is great and the mystery of what has become of Bruce Banner is enticing without being annoying. This is one of the better revamps to come out of Secret Wars (which is still going).
Uncanny X-Men #1 (Greg Land Regular Cover), $3.99
Okay, I have a serious question for you, our lovely readers: Are the X-books a complete clusterfuck right now? Is that just me? Because they seem like it. The teams are all over the place, the quality ranges from okay to “what the huh?” and there doesn’t appear to be any coherent idea of what they are. Plus, there seems to be an awful lot of change for the sake of “change, but really just the appearance” going on. I don’t know. This book doesn’t look like it’s going to help things much. We’re getting another “bad” team full of anti-heroes and pin-up art. It also feels like Marvel couldn’t care less about this line right now.
Vision #3 (Mike Del Mundo Regular Cover), $3.99
The Vision could very well have been the best new series of 2015 had more than one issue been released. That said, it now has the potential to be the best series of 2016 because it is just that good. More so, it’s completely new, a fresh take on an old character that is written in a style all its own. I had no expectations for this series when it was announced, as it was clearly a money grab coming off of the Vision’s appearance in the Avengers sequel. But this is an excellent book that you need to try.
Weirdworld #2 (Mike Del Mundo Regular Cover), $3.99
This had a solid first issue with a wonderful, emotional hook and, of course, it looks amazing. While I didn’t enjoy the Black Knight book, I like that we’re getting multiple threads connecting to Weirdworld; I hope it sticks around as the repository for all the bat shit insane stories and characters we’ve seen from Marvel over the years. They could just call this 70s world.