Another New Comic Book Day is upon us! It’s time to plan a trip to your local comic shop and take a look at this week’s new comics! Hit the jump to check out reviews of my favorite comics coming out this week.
Disclaimer: I received advance copies of all comics featured this week courtesy of their individual publishers.
Opinions are my own.
Marvel Action: Avengers #4 (IDW Publishing)
Matthew K. Manning, Jon Sommariva, Protobunker
The second arc of IDW’s all-ages comic starring Earth’s mightiest and most popular heroes continues from where the last one left off. This was a fresh surprise as I figured arcs in an all-ages series, especially ones that only last 3 issues, would be self-contained.
But Manning’s stories have completely subverted what it means to be an “all-ages” comic. Just as the with the last arc, no one is talking down to kids or treating older fans like this isn’t for them. All-ages means everyone.
Another thing I love about this series is how it uses obscure and lesser known bad guys. Maybe they’re not allowed to use A-List villains, maybe they’re introducing characters soon to hit the big screen, or maybe the creators are just telling the story they want.
After escaping at the end of the last arc, Madame Masque gives the mysterious ruby to her father - Count Nefarious. And he’s already used it to send Thor and Captain Marvel - the strongest Avengers - away to a mysterious dimension that drives them to want nothing more than to fight.
The best aspect of Manning’s storytelling as we jump from one arc to next comes from the way this story seems to begin a whole adventure after the last. The last page of the last arc sees Masque handing the ruby to the Count, but here Thor and Carol are already in the mysterious dimension while Captain America and the others are already on his trail.
We’re cutting down the exposition and talking bits to get straight to the action. After all, this is the Marvel Action series. It reminds me a lot of the Justice League Action animated series where each eleven-minute episode is one minute of plot and then ten minutes of action. There’s still a story here but it’s not overly complicated and doesn’t get in the way of the action.
The new arc of Marvel Action: Avengers hits your local comic shop this Wednesday, but you can click here to order a copy of the complete first arc to get in on one of the best Avengers books I’ve read years. You can also click here to pre-order the second volume.
Wasted Space #9 (Vault Comics)
Michael Moreci, Hayden Sherman, Jason Wordie, Jim Campbell
The second arc of this space opera reaches its penultimate moment as Billy and the other Space WastersTM set up their stolen nuke on a moon just outside of Cotter’s planet with a very basic plan. “Give us what we want or we’ll blow you up.”
What could go wrong?
The Space WastersTM themselves take a bit of a back seat this issue. In an extended flashback sequence, we get some backstory for Cotter and his grandfather as we explore a key theme in the series. Those who have nothing and are given something will do whatever it takes to hold onto it. This really represents the arcs of almost every character in the series in some way.
The flashback also has a giant robot battle. Can we get a spin-off about that?
We begin with cute furry creatures having their own microscopic adventure and we come to an end with an Ozymandius twist that has me completely unsure of what will happen next.
Click here to get caught up with the first volume and pre-order the second one here. You don’t want to waste your chance to get wasted.
Self/Made #6 (Image Comics)
Mat Groome, Eduardo Ferigato, Kyle Higgins
This is the kind of series where the very premise is a spoiler for the big twist at the end of the first issue, and now that we’re at the end I almost don’t know what I can say without completely ruining the journey that I highly recommend you embark on.
The year’s breakout hit from first-time creators is brilliantly written and fantastically drawn. Each issue is a completely different genre that brings new ideas to the narrative.
Despite the sixth issue ending the mini-series, the door is blown wide open for an entire expanded universe of stories with the promise that Self/Made would return one day. Until then, click here to pre-order one of the best comics of the year.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Vol. 8 (BOOM! Studios)
The biggest Power Rangers story of all time comes to an end as Rangers from across time and space team up to take on Lord Drakkon in the second half of Shattered Grid. Click here to order your copy today.
What comics are you picking up this week? Let me know down in the comments below!
