In this Wednesday’s Astonishing X-Men #50 you can expect… something major! If you’ve been following the story you probably already know what the surprise is — and if you happen to tune in to ABC’s The View you’ll also be made privy to the details — but if not I won’t ruin it for you. Suffice it to say, it’s pretty big!
ASTONISHING X-MEN #50
Written by Marjorie M. Liu
Art by Mike Perkins
Karma is losing control of her mind, and taking control of the other X-Men! When Kyle is put in danger, will Northstar choose him or his team? Don’t miss the end of this issue – it’ll be the most talked about moment of the year!
Marvel Comics’ Astonishing X-Men #50 comes out this Wednesday!
What more can we say about Chew? It’s won the Best Book of the Month numerous times (including the most recent month) and it is basically the King-in-Perpetuity of Best Ongoing Series. This week we’re set to get Chew #26, which kicks off a brand new story arc called "Space Cakes." No idea what it’s about, but I can assure you it will be great. Why? Because Chew hasn’t missed yet.
Additionally, we’re also very curious to see how this issue reads because, in a bizarre and typically funny move, Image Comics actually released Chew #27 last year! So I guess we’ll see how it stands up.
CHEW #26
IMAGE COMICS
Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory
"Space Cakes," Part One. "Open the door, sir. I’m Toni Chu, Agent of NASA. I’m here to lick your paintings."
We’ll start the Everything Else category off with a little something different this week: The Guild! It’s a property that got a lot of love on Free Comic Book Day and has one of the most devoted followings anywhere. This week we’re getting a brand new one-shot from creator Felicia Day and Fawkes himself, Wil Wheaton!
GUILD FAWKES #1
DARK HORSE COMICS
Written by Felicia Day, Wil Wheaton
Art by Jamie McKelvie
Felicia Day and The Guild are back, along with costar Wil Wheaton, for a brand-new story spotlighting Fawkes, the dashing, debonair, and dou*hey leader of the evil guild Axis of Anarchy! His relationship with Codex threatened to tear the Knights of Good apart until he was thrown off a balcony for his treatment of her. Set after season 4 of the show, this issue reveals how Fawkes deals with his split from Codex and navigates the aggressive personalities of the Axis, and follows his journey to his surprising state when he returns in season 5!
From IDW, look for HERO Comics 2012! A comic to benefit the Hero Initiative, we’ve definitely enjoyed these in the past and this one features all-new stories by creators like Matt Fraction and Ashley Wood. There’s an original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles short story, a Zombies vs. Robots extravaganza, a new Rex Mantooth Kung-Fu Gorilla story and more!
A few weeks ago Rusty gave a shout to Resident Alien #0, which introduced a new series from Dark Horse. This week we’re set to get Resident Alien #1! Here’s what he said: "An alien has been living on Earth for some time, minding his own business, living in a small town. The town doctor gets murdered. There is no other doctor in town and since the alien has been posing as a retired doctor they ask him to get involved. He does not want to get involved. And yet he does. It was very straightforward, easy to read, had some twists and turns, and was very interesting. Check it out!"
Finally, there’s Cobra Ongoing #13. If you’ve read this website even just once in the past two years you’ve probably caught us saying how much we enjoy Mike Costa’s Cobra series. A GI Joe series, no doubt, but definitely not your standard GI Joe. It reads more like James Bond! And we love it. A major story arc just ended last issue, which means that this issue marks a great spot to get on board!
COBRA ONGOING #13
IDW PUBLISHING
Written by Mike Costa
Art by Antonio Fuso
A NEW ERA BEGINS HERE! Thecritically-acclaimed COBRA series enters a new era! With the JOEs fragmented, somebody’s got to handle the dirty work. Who will it be? Find out here! When G.I. JOE goes underground, the world will never be the same!
Click here for a complete list of titles coming out this week!
The four-issue mini-series The Cape had a fantastic premise: if you suddenly discovered that you have superpowers, what if you DIDN’T use them for good? Critically acclaimed and nominated for an Eisner-Award, it was written by Jason Ciaramella, based on the short story by New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill, with art by Zach Howard and Nelson Daniel. The Cape will linger with you long after you turn the last page, and force you to ask yourself the question: "What if?"
THE CAPE HC
$24.99
Every little boy dreams about putting on a cape and soaring up, up, and away… but what if one day that dream were to come true?
Eric was like every other eight-year-old boy, until a tragic accident changed his life forever. The Cape explores the dark side of power, as the adult Eric – a confused and broken man – takes to the skies… and sets out to exact a terrible vengeance on everyone who ever disappointed him.
This week we’re rolling out the massive MINI-SERIES WHIZ BANG! That’s right, for this week only — lasting through next Tuesday, May 22 — all collected mini-series back issues will be JUST $2.00!
You’ve probably noticed the mini-series boxes on the floor near the back of the store. There’s an incredible variety of limited series in there — Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image, GI Joe, Transformers and a ton of independents, too — and they’re all complete!
Prices are already pretty low on these mini-series sets – generally between $6.00 and $10.00 – so this sale gives you the chance to pick up a complete, multi-issue story for just $2.00!
UPDATE! You guys are enjoying this Mini-Series Whiz Bang so much that we’ve lost two of the boxes! So, in their place, we’ve added a long box of trade paperbacks for just $2.00!!
The big release next week is undoubtedly Batman Incorporated #1! Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham debut their excellent and very popular title in the New 52! It’s easily the biggest of the second wave of New 52 titles. Other big DC books coming out include Aquaman #9, Flash #9, I Vampire #9, Superman #9 and a couple Night of the Owls tie-in’s with All Star Western #9 and Batman The Dark Knight #9.
On the Marvel side of the aisle it looks we’re in for a little smaller of a week, but nevertheless look out for Astonishing X-Men #50! As the Muppets sang in Muppets Take Manhattan: "Somebody’s getting married!" Also check out Amazing Spider-Man #686, Captain America #12, Journey into Mystery #638, Mighty Thor #14, Secret Avengers #27 (an Avengers vs. X-Men tie-in), and Ultimate Comics X-Men #12.
As for the other publishers, of course we have to mention Chew #26! It’s a new story arc and a great place to get on board. Plus there’s Cobra Ongoing #13, Godzilla Ongoing #1 and True Blood Ongoing #1 and Joe Hill’s The Cape HC from IDW! Plus much more!
As it was coming out in single-issues, Comic Book Comics was one of our favorite reads. It presented the history of comics in comic book form, and did it in a totally compelling and often hilarious way. The history of the American comic book is as bizarre as you can imagine!
COMIC BOOK HISTORY OF COMICS GN
$21.99
For the first time ever, the inspiring, infuriating, and utterly insane story of comics, graphic novels, and manga is presented in comic book form! The award-winning Action Philosophers team of Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey turn their irreverent-but-accurate eye to the stories of Jack Kirby, R. Crumb, Harvey Kurtzman, Alan Moore, Stan Lee, Will Eisner, Fredric Wertham, Roy Lichtenstein, Art Spiegelman, Hergé, Osamu Tezuka — and more! Collects Comic Book Comics #1-6.
We’ve seen what Marvel has to offer, we’ve seen what DC has to offer. Can Image, Dark Horse, IDW and the other comic book publishers possibly stand up to the Big Two?? Based on the offerings this month, the answer is a resounding YES!! We’ll start with Image Comics and a certain title that hits the century mark…
WALKING DEAD #100
IMAGE COMICS
Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn
"Something to Fear" continues! This extra-sized chapter contains one of the darkest moments in Rick Grimes’ life, and one of the most violent and brutal things to happen within the pages of this series. 100 issues later, this series remains just as relentless as the debut issue. Do not miss the monumental 100th issue of The Walking Dead!
So great to see Walking Dead hit such an important milestone. Powered by the popularity of the TV show no doubt, on top of its own excellence as a comic, Robert Kirkman’s zombie epic continues to be a massive hit. According to Kirkman, issue #100 falls right in the "dead center" of what he calls the "craziest" story arc so far in the comic series, a bloody affair that finds Rick and his group of survivors thriving in a (seemingly) safe community, much like they did at the prison…
Conan artist Ernie Chan passed away this past week. In the 1970s Chan worked on Conan and DC’s Batman. He was 71. RIP and thanks for the comics!
Neal Adams is writing and illustrating a new limited series at Marvel called The First X-Men. Writer Christos Gage will script the series. It takes place in the days before the original X-Men and has Magneto, Sabretooth, and Wolverine in it.
Justice League International will be canceled with issue #12, just before DC does zero issues in September. No word on whether or not the book will be relaunched or just replaced.
It was revealed in an interview recently that before he went to DC to illustrate the Batman relaunch, that Greg Capullo was offered Avengers VS X-Men. The artist claimed the lifelong love of Batman dictated his choice. I, for one, am glad that is where he went considering of the two books, Batman is the only one I really like.
Barnabas Collins from Dark Shadows is crossing over with Vampirella in August. The series will be by writer Marc Andreyko and artist Patrick Berkenkotter. I bet it will be lots of fun!
Last week I read Kingdom: Call of the Wild, which was an entertaining science fiction adventure story which was fun and fluffy in the best of ways. This week I decided to try something from Image Comics because they have been on a roll releasing one great new series after another. This week I read THE STRANGE TALENT OF LUTHER STRODE, collecting the first six issues of the new series written by Justin Jordan, illustrated by Tradd Moore, published by Image.
Luther Strode, our hero, is your typical 98-lb weakling. He is smart, but not too smart, has an equally geeky friend, is afraid of girls, and his own personal bully. When things start getting out of hand with the bully, Luther orders an exercise course from the back of a comic book. In short time, far too short a time for a normal person, Luther has gone from a 98 lb weakling to massive, muscle bound man. While Luther loves this at first, he isn’t as happy with his new dark fantasies about ripping his friends to pieces. Can Luther control his new strength, and who is the man that claims to have given him his new abilities?
Luther Strode is a fine addition to the genre in which there is one, maybe two superheroes in the world.
SAGA #3
Image Comics
Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Illustrated by Fiona Staples
This new space epic by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples is one of the most exciting and fresh comics on the stands. It channels race relations, wars, politics, and the human spirit into odd and sometimes inhuman creatures. The result is an engaging story that makes even these very alien characters relatable.
Marko is wounded and dying, and Alana is relying on the ghost of a hipster daughter of freedom fighters named Izabel to save his life. Meanwhile there is an intense interrogation scene, and we see relationships between bounty hunters are just as crazy as normal human relationships, even if one of them is a sexy, female, spider lady. The price Izabel wants for helping Alana might be a bit too high, but ultimately Alana pays it. And in the final moments of the issue Marko has a less than lucid moment that will definitely come back to bite him in the butt, I am sure of it.
The story is wonderful, fascinating, and has done more in three issues than most space comics do in whole runs. Everything is grounded in real emotions and the characters are well defined. The stakes always seem high and the imaginative nature of the story never fails to be enjoyable. Leaders with TVs for heads, ghosts in space, arachnid bounty hunters, and more are all on display here.
The art is gorgeous. I love the design work Staples put into the characters, and in the world building. I love the expressive nature of each character and how it adds to the overall affect of the story. Even the cover of this issue is utterly perfect.
FINAL WORD: Has become one of my favorite new series, and this issue is the perfect balance of plot, characterization, and new reveals.
Last week’s poll ended in a tie! It’s been a while since that’s happened; most week’s there is a clear winner. But I guess two books earned an equal amount of your enthusiasm: Batman #9 and Walking Dead #97! So, both books maintain their nearly spotless reputations as being dominant in the poll .
This week we’ve got a whole slew of books for you to choose from. In fact, I was able to put together 25 choices! So I know there’s something in there for you. Heck, I even put in Rusty’s pick for best book of the week, the possibly non-existent Capshazbit #1!
Mucho comics this week. I read a ton. I liked a ton. Nominees!
AVX VS #2 (OF 6) – I continue to enjoy the vast majority of Avengers vs X-Men. Five books this week. AVENGERS VS X-MEN #4 was good. Polar Bear Wolverine was funny and a little different. Gave us a nice overall view of events. And put all the pieces in place for the arrival of the Phoenix! UNCANNY X-MEN #12 was good. Matched the plot in Avengers vs X-Men nicely. Showed how the X-Men got to where they were supposed to be. Went back to Tabula Rasa, which I actually enjoyed. That alien cracks me up. And Namor? Wow. The jokes and innuendos are just flying. Too much? Too much. AVENGERS #26 featured Thor fighting the Phoenix. Not sure if he won or lost, but he’s looking pretty rough. AVENGERS ACADEMY #30. I did not read. Sorry. Hope you enjoyed. AVX VS #2 gets the nomination. The Gambit/Captain America fight by Steve McNiven was awesome! Spider-Man vs. Colossus wasn’t bad either. Fight!
CONAN THE BARBARIAN #4 – No superheroes here. Nary a fight for that matter. Conan and Belit put their master plan into motion. Let’s get Conan thrown in jail! Don’t worry, Conan, after we get done robbing the place we’ll set you free! Yes, that was the plan. And we will find out if it’s successful or not next issue. I must say, Brian Wood is doing an excellent job with Conan. The dialogue and narration are outstanding. Another great issue. And I highly recommend checking it out.
DAREDEVIL #13 – Feel like I’ve been talking an awful lot about Daredevil lately. Another good issue. Really liked the switcheroo. Something just didn’t feel right about the issue until that happened. And the end was great. Where am I? Let me out of heeeeere!
DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #9 – New storyline! Gonna have to pay attention to DC Universe Presents. Rotating creative teams and characters each arc makes it a little tricky sometimes. Deadman was first. It was good. Challengers of the Unknown came next. I was unable to read it. Sorry. Now comes Vandal Savage. Totally went Silence of the Lambs. Serial killer. FBI agent. Jail cell confrontation. Was excellent. Liked how they portrayed Vandal Savage, and the daughter angle worked well. Well worth giving a shot.
FURY MAX #2 – Do you keep forgetting it’s Nick Fury and think it’s the Punisher or is that just me? Great title for the story in this issue. Always good to be number one.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #9 – John Stewart gets arrested by the Alpha Lanterns for murder! Sometimes the Corps gets a little too green and a little too busy. This was an excellent issue. Story flowed great. John Stewart showed himself proud. And I really liked it.
INCREDIBLE HULK #7.1 – For two reasons! 1) The double-page eight-panel spread of Hulk on vacation. Campfiring a Shark and a Moose. Taking a hot tub in a volcano. Battling a giant Octopus. And riding a Triceratops across the desert! 2) The love of a good woman. Hey. They were/are married! And BTW, that was a reverse Angel (Buffy’s Angel) move.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #9 – Hope you enjoyed the first half of the book. The Shazam story is awesome. The characters are developing. We’re getting to know the “family.” Gave us a potential antagonist with the rich guy and his snotty kids. Really like where it’s going. And the Black Adam/Dr. Sivana ending was great.
NIGHTWING #9 – Will be my nomination for the Night of the Owls books this week. Just another solid issue. My favorite page of the night was when the Talon landed on the car, and then started walking towards Nightwing as his bones popped back into place. Do we like the Court of Owls? Do we like the Talons? I do. I guess. Been awhile since we’ve added to Batman’s Rogues Gallery. I believe Hush was the last one? Do think the Court of Owls and the Talons are here to stay. Unless, of course, Batman wipes them all out in Issue #10! As to the other Owl tie-ins. RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #9 I totally enjoyed and thought Mr. Freeze was great. Liked CATWOMAN #9 more than BIRDS OF PREY #9, but both were pretty good.
SAGA #3 – Lots of new Image books I have interest in came out this week. I liked MANHATTAN PROJECTS #3, HELL YEAH #3 and THIEF OF THIEVES #4 all once again. Manhattan Projects is just a trip. If you want it weird… but Saga #3 was the best — is the best — but you know that ’cause you read it!
SCALPED #58 – ‘Cause it’s Scalped! You know it’s one of my all-time favorites. And we only have two more issues to go!
SECRET SERVICE #2 (OF 7) – ‘Cause I like it! Haven’t decided if it’s any good or not yet. But I like it!
Best Book of the Week? Well, I got out my staple remover, scissors, and glue. Took the Captain America/Gambit fight from AVX Vs. #2 and attached it to the Shazam story in Justice League of America #9 and the Best Book of the Week is… Voila! CAPSHAZBIT #1.
I know I’m about a week late to the party on this one, and I already mentioned it in a tweet on Monday, but I have to say I LOVED the Avengers movie. I was into it from start to finish, with my favorite being basically any scene with the Hulk. In fact, I was so juiced up on it this week that I only wanted to pick covers featuring the big stars from that movie… though sadly there wasn’t a single cover this week that featured either Agent Colson or Scarlett Johansson’s behind. (Zing!) So… I went with the bunny.
SAUCER COUNTRY #3
Cover by Ryan Kelly
Politics! Aliens! Immigration issues in modern day southwest America! That’s what Saucer Country is about, in case you didn’t know. It’s got a strong following, too. And in this issue it looks like they’re upping the ante by delving into one of the most controversial issues we face today: giant bunnies that appear in the sky over our heads.
I have to say, this cover has made me realize how phony baloney rabbits are. Here’s what I mean: we think of bunnies as being in the top tier of cute animals, right up there with kittens and baby owls. But look at the mug on this guy! Rabbits aren’t cute at all! I too would be terrified if one of these things appeared above me!
It’s a big week for Marvel’s Avengers vs. X-Men event this week, with four AVX tie-in books! Including the main series itself with Avengers vs. X-Men #4 (of 12). Lots going on in this series so far, with battles raging all over the place in the name of the Phoenix… and events going down in space to stop the Phoenix from ever reaching Earth at all! Can’t wait to see where it goes from here. And if you’re digging all those battles be sure to check out AVX Vs. #2 (of 6), featuring extended showdowns between Spider-Man and Colossus in the first half, and Captain America and Gambit in the second half!
AVENGERS VS X-MEN #4 (OF 12)
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by John Romita Jr.
All across the globe-in the Savage Land, in Wakanda, in Tabula Rasa and more-Avenger battles X-Man for the fate of the world! Hope has a suicide mission to propose to Wolverine! While in space, the Avengers’ away team meets the Phoenix head on!
Marvel Comics’ Avengers vs. X-Men #4 (of 12) comes out on Wednesday!
We’ll talk about Avengers vs. X-Men and all the related titles soon enough (and by soon enough I mean in an hour or so), but for right now let’s give some love to the other exciting Marvel Comics releases set for this week! For starters, Marvel has a couple different Point One issues with Fantastic Four #605.1 and Incredible Hulk #7.1 (which I have to say features a very nice painted cover). As you know, Point One issues are designed to be good places to get on board… so get on board!
INCREDIBLE HULK #7.1
Written by Jason Aaron
Art by Jefte Palo
Whatever happened to Bruce Banner…? RED SHE-HULK knows, and is NONE TOO PLEASED.
It’s also not a bad time to pick up on a little Hornhead action with Daredevil #13! While the last issue featured DD on a date, this issue looks to pick up on story elements that wound their way through the Omega Effect. Look for Megacrime to make its play!
Meanwhile, the first arc of Ed Brubaker and Butch Guice’s excellent series starring Bucky Barnes comes to a close in Winter Soldier #5! This series — featuring more action than you can shake a stick at… and also Dr. Doom — has been excellent and we couldn’t recommend it more!
Lastly, there’s Secret Service #2, from Mark Millar, Dave Gibbons and Marvel’s Icon imprint. As you might recall, the first half of the first issue featured one of the most unbelievably great things we’ve ever read. If you haven’t seen it yet, I won’t ruin it for you… except to say that it involves Star Wars. And faulty parachutes.
SECRET SERVICE #2 (OF 7)
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Dave Gibbons
The world’s greatest secret agent is on the most exciting case of his career. But will the end of the world as we know it take a back seat to training his street-punk nephew to be the next James Bond? The young man’s preparation now begins in earnest, saving him from a life of desperation. Meanwhile, what’s the secret link between a series of kidnapped science fiction stars and the murder of an entire town in Middle America?
Click here for a complete list of titles coming out this week!
Night of the Owls hits hard this week in the DC Comics titles, as we’re set to get no less than four tie-in issues, including, Birds of Prey #9, Catwoman #9,Red Hood and the Outlaws #9 and Nightwing #9! When last we saw him, Dick was at the mercy of a Talon with a longstanding blood feud…
NIGHTWING #9
Written by Kyle Higgins
Art by Eddy Barrows, Ruy Jose
"NIGHT OF THE OWLS" continues here! NIGHTWING faces another villain claiming to be THE TALON at City Hall as the Court of Owls’ plans go into action – but will he be able to figure out what’s going on before it’s too late?
It also happens to be Justice League week, which means we’re getting Justice League #9! It’s a great place to get on board as a new story arc — "The Villain’s Journey" — begins, and introduces a major nemesis of the team.
It’s also a solid week in the Vertigo camp as we’re getting Scalped #58 and Saucer Country #3. And while I’m talking about books that start with the letter S, can’t forget to mention Shade #8 (of 12)! All three books have earned praises from fans and critics alike.
Finally, DC Universe Presents kicks off a new arc and a new creative team and features the one and only Vandal Savage! Following the conclusion of the science-fiction based Challengers of the Unknown, the new story arc begins when the nation’s best FBI profiler, Kass Sage, must reach out to her father for help in solving a desperate case. The twist? Her father is Vandal Savage. Also known as the young Alan Moore.
DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #9
Written by James Robinson
Art by Bernard Chang
As this new tale begins, the country’s best FBI profiler, Kass Sage, must seek help on a desperate case from her father…imprisoned serial killer VANDAL SAVAGE! Chapter one of a three-part story by JAMES ROBINSON and BERNARD CHANG.
Click here for a complete list of titles coming out this week!
It’s been one of the hottest new series of the year.. if not THE hottest new series of the year! Yes, it’s Saga from writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Fiona Staples. The first issue was my pick for best book of the month in the March Top Twenty… and then when I DIDN’T pick the second issue as the best book of the month for the April Top Twenty, the panel on the Cosmic Comix Conversation took me to task for it! All I’m saying is, it’s darn good.
SAGA #3
IMAGE COMICS
Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Fiona Staples
BKV’s and FIONA STAPLES’ controversial epic continues! Stranded on a mystical alien world, new parents Marko and Alana encounter their greatest fear.
This week features numerous solid releases in the Everything Else department! Image and Dark Horse both come up pretty strong, but we have to lead with Dynamite Entertainment and The Shadow #2 from writer Garth Ennis! The first issue was a great set-up and we’re anxious to see where the classic hero goes from here!
SHADOW #2
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Aaron Campbell
Lamont Cranston and Margo Lane fly west on Pan Am’s fabulous China Clipper- but the golden age of air travel might just mean fiery death above the clouds for our heroes. In Shanghai, Major Tateo Kondo of Japanese military intelligence puts his own plans in motion, while his American counterparts struggle to catch up. The Shadow battles aerial assassins and worse, in part two of the six-part The Fire Of Creation.
Image Comics has several titles worth mentioning this week, all of which are in their relative infancy, not the least of which is Saga #3… which we’ll talk about a little later on today!
There’s Manhattan Projects #3, which features some vintage Jonathan Hickman mind-bending sci-fi. There’s Thief of Thieves #4 from Robert Kirkman and Nick Spencer, which has so far been great. And there’s Hell Yeah #3! The first issue was highly impressive, while the second issue was a little less so. At any rate, it’s off to a very promising start.
Our last Everything Else highlight of the day has to be Conan the Barbarian #3 from Dark Horse Comics. Writer Brian Wood has really put his own spin on the Cimmerian and if you’ve never read Conan before this is a great time to give it a shot. Rusty summed up the last issue perfectly: "The narration is simply as good as it gets. And it’s not a character monologue. It’s a narrator narrating. And it is awesome. They did call this the end of the first story arc. I would agree. Really solidified Conan’s relationship with Belit, the crew, and his overall situation. Things are only gonna heat up from here."
CONAN THE BARBARIAN #4
DARK HORSE COMICS
Written by Brian Wood
Art by Becky Cloonan
Conan’s adventures in Messantia ended with the Cimmerian nearly losing his head, but now that he has an entire pirate crew backing him up, returning to take a city’s worth of gold is just too tempting-and pirate queen Bêlit has a plan!
Click here for a complete list of titles coming out this week!
Over the past few months many DC Comics titles have shipped with very cool black-and-white wraparound variant covers. Some you might have seen on the rack, some not. Well this week we’ve compiled a couple dozen of those variants — all of which shipped in a 1:25 ratio, which would normally mean they’d cost $25.00 — and we’re making them available for JUST $5.00 EACH! Here’s the deal:
Starting this Wednesday, May 16, and going through Tuesday, May 22, all DC Comics black-and-white wraparound variants will be $5.00 each! As usual, they’ll all be on the front table when you walk in!
Looking through the pile we’ve got variants for Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Swamp Thing, Stormwatch and several others! Can’t show you exactly what we have just yet (that would be spoiling the fun) but rest assured this is gonna be a fantastic Whiz Bang! (Edit: okay, I’ll spoil one of them… Here’s a SNEAK PEEK!) (Edit #2: Picture DE-classified!)
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In this Wednesday’s Astonishing X-Men #50 you can expect… something major! If you’ve been following the story you probably already know what the surprise is — and if you happen to tune in to ABC’s The View you’ll also be made privy to the details — but if not I won’t ruin it for you. Suffice it to say, it’s pretty big!
What more can we say about 
We’ll start the Everything Else category off with a little something different this week: The Guild! It’s a property that got a lot of love on Free Comic Book Day and has one of the most devoted followings anywhere. This week we’re getting a brand new one-shot from creator Felicia Day and Fawkes himself, Wil Wheaton!
Finally, there’s Cobra Ongoing #13. If you’ve read this website even just once in the past two years you’ve probably caught us saying how much we enjoy 
This week we’re rolling out the massive MINI-SERIES WHIZ BANG! That’s right, for this week only — lasting through next Tuesday, May 22 — all collected mini-series back issues will be JUST $2.00!
The big release next week is undoubtedly Batman Incorporated #1! Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham debut their excellent and very popular title in the New 52! It’s easily the biggest of the second wave of New 52 titles. Other big DC books coming out include Aquaman #9, Flash #9, I Vampire #9, Superman #9 and a couple Night of the Owls tie-in’s with All Star Western #9 and Batman The Dark Knight #9.
We’ve seen what 
Conan artist Ernie Chan passed away this past week. In the 1970s Chan worked on Conan and DC’s Batman. He was 71. RIP and thanks for the comics!
Last week I read 
SAGA #3
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Mucho comics this week. I read a ton. I liked a ton. Nominees! 
JUSTICE LEAGUE #9
It’s a big week for Marvel’s Avengers vs. X-Men event this week, with four AVX tie-in books! Including the main series itself with Avengers vs. X-Men #4 (of 12). Lots going on in this series so far, with battles raging all over the place in the name of the Phoenix… and events going down in space to stop the Phoenix from ever reaching Earth at all! Can’t wait to see where it goes from here. And if you’re digging all those battles be sure to check out AVX Vs. #2 (of 6), featuring extended showdowns between Spider-Man and Colossus in the first half, and Captain America and Gambit in the second half!
We’ll talk about Avengers vs. X-Men and all the related titles soon enough (and by soon enough I mean in an hour or so), but for right now let’s give some love to the other exciting Marvel Comics releases set for this week! For starters, Marvel has a couple different Point One issues with Fantastic Four #605.1 and Incredible Hulk #7.1 (which I have to say features a very nice painted cover). As you know, Point One issues are designed to be good places to get on board… so get on board!
Lastly, there’s Secret Service #2, from Mark Millar, Dave Gibbons and Marvel’s Icon imprint. As you might recall, the first half of the first issue featured one of the most unbelievably great things we’ve ever read. If you haven’t seen it yet, I won’t ruin it for you… except to say that it involves Star Wars. And faulty parachutes.
Night of the Owls hits hard this week in the DC Comics titles, as we’re set to get no less than four tie-in issues, including, Birds of Prey #9, Catwoman #9,
Finally, DC Universe Presents kicks off a new arc and a new creative team and features the one and only Vandal Savage! Following the conclusion of the science-fiction based Challengers of the Unknown, the new story arc begins when the nation’s best FBI profiler, Kass Sage, must reach out to her father for help in solving a desperate case. The twist? Her father is Vandal Savage. Also known as the young Alan Moore..jpg)
This week features numerous solid releases in the Everything Else department! Image and Dark Horse both come up pretty strong, but we have to lead with Dynamite Entertainment and The Shadow #2 from writer Garth Ennis! The first issue was a great set-up and we’re anxious to see where the classic hero goes from here!
Our last Everything Else highlight of the day has to be Conan the Barbarian #3 from Dark Horse Comics. Writer Brian Wood has really put his own spin on the Cimmerian and if you’ve never read Conan before this is a great time to give it a shot. Rusty summed up the last issue perfectly: "The narration is simply as good as it gets. And it’s not a character monologue. It’s a narrator narrating. And it is awesome. They did call this the end of the first story arc. I would agree. Really solidified Conan’s relationship with Belit, the crew, and his overall situation. Things are only gonna heat up from here."
