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Welcome to another edition of Shawn’s Showcase. I am your host, Shawn. Right this way, if you please…
DC has a strong showing with Animal Man #6 and Swamp Thing #6. I put these two books together because the leads in both books are fighting the same supernatural menace, The Rot. Also, in the last issue of Animal Man, Buddy Baker was told that only the Swamp Thing could help him now. These books are two of my favorites both in and out of the DC Universe. I think both of their opening arcs get conclusions this week and I am excited to see how they play out.
If awesome superhero fiction with tights is your thing than you do not have to look any further than Invincible #88. This book consistently reinvents itself and takes the vast array of characters in new and interesting directions. Invincible finds himself facing off against a friend, and fighting alongside a former foe. This also puts him at odds with his brother. Robert Kirkman gets tons of praise for the Walking Dead, and rightfully so, but Invincible is every bit as good and in many respects even more fun.
The biggest Marvel release in my mind has to be Winter Soldier #1. Bucky has been an amazing character since Ed Brubaker resurrected him as the Winter Soldier. He was a great Cap as well. Given that the main Captain America book has become more superhero-y and lost much of the cool espionage/thriller feel Brubaker was infusing it with for over half a decade, I think Winter Soldier will be a return to the types of stories I prefer. I am looking forward to it.
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As the banner at the top of the cover states, "2 Months until Avengers vs. X-Men!" When this series came out it promised the return of Cable and some big old fights with the Avengers. Well, that promise has definitely been kept, as we saw Cable take on Captain America in the first issue and then Iron Man in the second. This time around? RED HULK.
This week, the first week of February, marks the beginning of the sixth month in DC Comics’ New 52 initiative! Fifty-two brand new #1 issues were at the start and several of the titles that were our early favorites back then come out this week! There’s Grant Morrison’s Action Comics, the last issue of which featured a very cool retelling of the hero’s origin; then there’s Jeff Lemire’s Animal Man, with this issue featuring art by John Paul Leon; and there’s Swamp Thing, Scott Snyder’s outstanding series of the Green, the Red and the Black, each of which represents some side in the fight. Plus, Red Lanterns, Detective Comics, and Stormwatch!
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