It might be SDCC week, but it’s still Wednesday, and that means new comics! Check out what we’re looking forward to reading this week, and let us know what you’re picking up as well.
Our pulls of the week:
Storm #1
Story: Greg Pak
Art: Victor Ibanez
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Thief. Goddess. Headmistress. Queen. The X-Man called STORM has always defied a single title. And her desire to better the world has never been limited to only her own kind. On a mission to foster goodwill and safeguard the mutant race’s continued existence in her own way, Storm will travel the globe, confronting man and mutant, god and monster and everything in between. She will overthrow tyrants, quell tsunamis and strive to see her dream for the world realized. She is STORM, a hero like no other….and the skies will tremble at the sight of their namesake.
Afterlife with Archie #6
Story: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Art: Francesco Francavilla
Publisher: Archie Comics
“Witch in the Dream House”: The unthinkable has happened: Riverdale has become ground-zero for the zombie apocalypse, and the surviving members of our gang have been forced to flee their beloved home. However terrible things have been for Archie and friends, they’ve been MUCH worse for Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Banished to witches’ purgatory after using the dreaded Necronomicon, she’s now fighting for her immortal soul!
Wow, this is a tiny week for me, but with a big, big #1 that I’m excited for.
- Afterlife with Archie #6: It took me going to an Archie panel at SDCC last year with Leshia (all for the swag~) to realize awesome things were going to be happening in Archie comics, and I’m so glad this book exists. The story is fantastic, the art is superb, and it hasn’t made me as sick of zombies as other books have. Plus, Sabrina the Teenage Witch fighting monsters in purgatory? Please and thank you.
- Saga #21: For obvious reasons. While I’m an issue or two behind (I know, I know, how could I??), Saga continues to be one of the best comics on the market right now.
- Trees #3: To be honest, I haven’t even read the first issue yet, but I’m still pulling this because it’s Warren Ellis in what looks to be a bizarre, interesting story. I can’t wait to be able to sit down and read through the first few issues when I have the time.
- STORM #1: IT’S HERE IT’S HERE IT’S HEEEEERE. Let me tell you a little story: I used to watch the X-Men animated series when I was around ten or eleven, and Storm was my absolute favorite because she looked like me. I loved Rogue and Gambit and Jubilee and all the action and friendships, but I always had a soft spot in my heart for Storm because she was brown, and I was brown, and she was powerful. If there’s anyone who deserves the spotlight right now, it’s Ororo, and I’m glad she’s finally getting an ongoing. ALL HAIL THE QUEEN.
- Letter 44 #8: I’m really enjoying this sci-fi mystery adventure, though the events on Earth so far aren’t as interesting as the events in space.
- Saga #21: Always one of my first books to read, every time it comes out. Bring on the heartache. I’m still kind of reeling from the end of issue #19, to be honest.
- All-New Ultimates #5: There’s a lot that I’m still not sold on when it comes to this title. I love the characters a lot. I love that this is a team that’s mostly ladies, and last issue was a big step up when it comes to balancing the character development stuff and the fighty stuff. I’m hoping it’s the beginning for a turnaround in quality with this book.
- STORM #1: Finally! That it’s taken so long for Storm to get her own ongoing is a bit ridiculous. Marvel has been making excellent, visible strides to add more diversity to their lineups in the past year or so, and this one had to be a no-brainer for them. I’ll definitely be grabbing this one for the foreseeable future!
- Saga #21: A book that I love to read (and weep as it emotionally devastates me), this is one that I pick up instantly, even if it is just to savor it until I can marathon read a few issues in a row.
- Unwritten, Vol. 2 Apocalypse #7: I was sort of all over the place during the original volume of The Unwritten, never quite certain if I liked it or not. Now that things are starting to ramp up in volume 2, I’m definitely going along for the ride. There is just something about stories of worlds collapsing that I just enjoy.
- Wonder Woman #33: There is a large part of me that keeps this title on my pull list because I love Cliff Chiang’s art. The fact that it is Diana and I’d read about her reading her way through the dictionary is the other half.
- Kill Shakespeare Mask of Night #2: My love of Kill Shakespeare
seems to be growing with each arc. This issue places us midway through the Mask of Night arc and I’m on tenterhooks waiting to see where it goes. Come on, Shakespearean faves! - Storm #1: This solo series might turn out to be a dud, but I know I’m going to at least chance it.
- Amazing Spider-Man #4/Mighty Avengers #12: I love the writing of Mighty Avengers (even if I would totally leave Land’s art at the door if I could). As for Amazing Spider-Man I don’t know where I am on this particular Spider-title, but both have Original Sin tie-ins and when I read a crossover arc, I read everything.
- All New Doop #4: It’s just so bizarre that I can’t help but smile as I read it. I don’t want to know what was going through the editors’ heads when this mini was launched, but it tends to be a pop of brightness in a sometimes overly-dark Marvel world.
- Doctor Who The Eleventh Doctor #1: It’s a tie-in comic! I’ve read Doctor Who comics on and off since I was a kid, but it’s been a while since I’ve read an extended arc without another franchise mixed in. I’ve decided that now is time to give it another shot.
- Afterlife With Archie #6: This is just my single favourite thing on the stands right now. Full stop. I am in super non-platonic love with everything about this comic, from the cover on down to the old school horror reprint backups they include, and if it came out more oft
en, I would probably lose my damn mind. This month, it’s Sabrina the Teenage Witch getting into all kinds of Lovecraftian hoobajoob. Are you reading this comic? You should be reading this comic. - Life with Archie #37: It was tough to give my top spot to Afterlife over LWA’s final issue, but at the end of the day, it’s just the better comic. I am going to miss this series like a limb, however.
- Groo vs. Conan #1: Tell me this doesn’t look ridiculously fun. No wait, don’t, because you’d be wrong.
- Trees #3: This is such a strange little comic, and I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it yet, but I’m definitely along for the ride.
- All-New Doop #4: I’m never certain how I feel about this mini from one day to the next, but last month’s surprise cameo gave me a genuine shot of joy in the midst of a bottomless sea of quirkiness, so we’ll see what this offering brings.
- Storm #1: X-Men solo titles have typically not done well (not counting you-know-Who), but the fact that one of the company’s biggest female A-listers has never even gotten that shot before is insane. Seriously, why isn’t this the big buzz book getting promoted on daytime talk shows? Knock it out of the park, Pak.
- Afterlife With Archie #6: As much as I like the general everything of this book, the part of the first issue I liked most was ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch reads from the freakin’ Necronomicon,’ to the point where I was disappointed that her announced horror solo wasn’t going to specifically be a follow-up to that; naturally, then, I’m hella jazzed for this issue which is catching up with whatever horrors are following her now she unleashed the goddamned zombie apocalypse.
Saga #21: Tells a great story in every issue and then almost without fail manages to throw a sucker punch in there. But I’m ready for you, Saga! I’m ready for you this time! (I am not ready.)- All-New Ultimates #5: I will get this as long as it’s coming out because it has Ultimate Jessica Drew in it, because apparently I’m that person; like Angel, I found the last issue far stronger when it took a moment to focus on character beats and not just endlessly reiterate not especially inspired action beats. Hopefully coming up it finds more of a middle ground between punching and special episode of teen soap, because I do love the team make-up a great deal.
- Mighty Avengers #12: Gosh, I like how this is written. As for Land’s art… I like how this is written!
- Original Sins #4: Is this every two weeks? I feel like I just talked about this. Everything I said last time, again – a fun series of shorter stories, especially noteworthy for bringing Ryan North of Dinosaur Comics’ comic (haha get it) sensibilities to the Marvel table.
- Storm #1: I literally had no idea this was coming out until I saw it in everyone else’s picks. What the fuck, Marvel.
Once again, I’m barely caught up on last week’s comics, but once I whittle down my pile, I’ve got my eyes set on these books:
- BATMAN AND ROBIN #33: I’ve tried and dropped a number of Nu52 titles since
the initiative first launched, and Tomasi’s Batman and Robin remains the lone survivor of my constant culling. I was crushed when Morrison killed off Damian, regardless of the fact that that had been his intent from the character’s inception, but Tomasi has handled Bruce’s mourning for his son with a deft hand, producing some of my favourite comics from the last couple of years. With Damian’s possible return, I’m keeping an especially watchful eye on this series. - Velvet #6: This book is what I wish the current Black Widow run looked like. I love Noto’s covers, but I find his sequential art overly simplistic for a tale of international espionage; the setting should be a character in itself, and under Epting’s moody pen, Velvet delivers in spades.
- Daredevil #6: The untold story of Matt Murdock’s mother has captured my imagination ever since I read Miller’s Daredevil run years ago, so I’m dying to know what Waid has in store for Sister Maggie.
- Mighty Avengers #12: Seconding what Scott said above: Al Ewing is a GREAT writer.
- Storm #1: Hey, you know what SHOULD have gotten the media blitz that’s apparently reserved for temporary changes to established characters that’ll be nothing but a footnote in Marvel history five years from now? An ongoing Storm book. Here’s one of Marvel’s most popular characters, finally getting her due in her first ongoing book ever, with one of my favourite writers. If Storm ends up being even half as good as Pak’s Incredible Hulk/Hercules run, I’ll be around every month.
- Afterlife with Archie #6: Not my first foray into Archie comics, but certainly the only one that’s ever stuck. I’ve been absolutely loving this book, and it’s always one of my favourite picks when it comes out.
Girls Read Comics Too 