Buy These Flippin’ Comics!!! (1.29.14) – Let’s Open Up the Mailbag!
Wednesday has arrived, and you guys all know what that means, right? Of course you do, or you wouldn’t be here. It’s comic book day, and man are there a ton of titles dropping right on our faces this week! And I’m here to tell you about ‘em. Meanwhile, CaffPow says I gotta do some housecleaning and start answering all the mail I’ve got piled up in the OL offices. To be honest I am more than worried that the mail might contain death threats, anthrax, or comped copies of Superior Spider-Man (you can’t make me read that shit! – I won’t!), but I’m going to suffer through it for you, my beloved fans. All six of you (hi Grandma!).
So let’s get to the comics and the fanmail and the lying cats and the space cowboys, mmkay?
A full list of this weeks comics can be found HERE.
Hotsauce,
I miss thin, sexy Nathan Fillion. He seems to have gotten a little doughy, and even hammier in his role on Castle. Can you recommend a book that will remind me of his hotter days?
Love, Grandma
First off, thank you for the fanmail, Grandma. Second off, gross. Third, I do indeed have that reminder you require, as this week the BEST DAMN FIREFLY CREW comes back in the form of SERENITY: LEAVES ON THE WIND #1, the first of six issues dedicated to what happens to our crew AFTER the events of the Serenity movie. This will be our first substantial look at the crew post-Wash, and promises to bring the humor, action, and intrigue you’ve come to expect from Joss Whedon’s intrepid space travellers. In fact, Joss’ little brother Zack is helming the project, which might seem a little like Frank Stallone taking over the role of Rocky, but I think we’re in good hands. Longtime Buffy artist Georges Jeanty tackles the series’ art, so the book really is a concerted effort to bring Joss’ vision to life the way HE would want it.
Yo’ Hotsawce,
Have you heard the news that Snowpiercer keeps getting pushed back because the Weinsteins are fucks? I need to see that goddamned film ASAP, man!! I need to see bearded Chris Evans like to-goddamned-day!! You wanna help me infiltrate the studio and steal a copy of the film? Please check below yes or no. Thanks!
Ian in Boston
As I am currently orbiting the Earth miles above your head on Spaceship OL right now, Ian, I will have to decline. But we are BOTH in luck, as I think we can both get our Snowpiercer fix this week via the funnybooks! Did you know that Snowpiercer was initially a French comic that started in the 90’s?! Yep! Sure was, and this week Random House brings the first volume Snowpiercer Vol. 01 HC: The Escape to comic shops and Barnes & Noble’s across the country. So you might just want to hold off on storming the Weinstein Compound, because you can get your fix of Social Commentary Sci-Fi right at your LCS! I can’t promise it will have bearded Chris Evans, tho.
This whole Ultimate Cataclysm thing seems like morbid disaster-porn of the highest order. I mean, like, Man of Steel level awful. Am I wrong in thinking that this is just sensationalist garbage that brings out the worst in comics?
Jake from Gallifrey
Normally, Jake, I would agree with you. The frequency in which “earth-shattering events” rock our favorite comic book universes is just silly. Suicide and mass hysteria have got to be common illnesses in these worlds in which every four or five years Galactus comes by and eats a city or two, or Magneto flips the magnetic poles of the Earth and wipes out the Eastern seaboard, or Hal Jordan goes crazy, or the Phoenix Force comes back, etc., etc. It’s gotta be pretty daunting just to be alive in the midst of all these god-beings using your friends and family like matchsticks.
That being said, I’ve seen what the new world order for the Ultimate Universe is going to be, and I love it! So long, white male patriarchy – hello diversity!! This week’s issue of Cataclysm: Ultimates Last Stand (#4) sees the first of presumably many UMU characters meet their end. I say kill ‘em all, let Stan Lee sort ‘em out!!
Hotsauce,
Loved the first issue of Black Science, but HAAAAAATED the second issue. Is there any hope for this series, or did Rick Remender shit my bed?
Johnny from Indianapolis
Hey, Johnny, thanks for reading the col! Yeah, I have faith in this series, though I agree on all points. Issue one was a fantastic set-up for a sci-fi series that was equal parts “Lost in Space” and “Sliders,” with a big cast of characters to play off one another. Issue two then decided to make all of the supporting cast paper thin parodies of genre staples. It was dismal. But Rick Remender is normally a solid writer, and the art by Matteo Scalera has been nothing short of revelatory. He brings an inky, pulpy feel necessary for the 60’s sci-fi/horror vibe Remender is playing on with the book. Have faith, reader, and check out Black Science #3, which drops today!
Is there any chance Marvel will listen to our plaintive cries about not having the kind of cashflow situations to buy two of every one of their fucking books every month?
Pissed-off In Portland
Judging by Miracleman #2 arriving today after issue one came our way just two short weeks ago, Pissed-off, I’d say “No.” They care not for your “cashflow situations” and would advise you to stop sitting around on your lazy, welfare-spending ass and get a second job to pay for comics. It’s the American Way.
Dear Mr. “Hotsauce,”
I was cleaning my 14-year-old son’s room the other day and came across one of the Saga comics. I looked inside to find cursing, homosexuality, murder, nudity, and SEX! For heaven’s sake there was a monster with a giant scrotum! After confronting my son he said it was this very website that recommended the book! You folks on your “Spaceship” should be ashamed of yourselves. I am alerting the proper authorities, and my church group is protesting the local comic book store. So, if anything, thank you for alerting us to this awful, awful garbage.
Concerned Mother in Topeka
When you looked inside, did you read the book? Did you see just how fantastic the interpersonal relationships are portrayed? Did you, with your tiny-ape brain perceive how well the themes of family, war, and love come across to readers? Did you even ask your son WHY he read the book? I can assure you it wasn’t because of the sex, which is minimal. It’s because it is simply one of the most entertaining books on the stands. If you don’t believe me, the newest issue, SAGA #18, comes out today, and will surely convince you of its merit. The last issue of this chapter, it again shows readers how lives are torn apart by random acts of violence, and that even (and especially) the innocent aren’t safe in life during wartime. From all of us on Spaceship Omega, we are happy your son found this awesome book, and you can kiss our giant, Cyclopean nutsacks for thinking otherwise! I say GOOD DAY!!
WHAT ELSE DROPS THIS WEEK???
East of West #9 – The Ranger vs. Death. Gonna be a showdown.
Thor God of Thunder #18 – Thor vs. a Dragon. Dollars to doughnuts it’s gonna be better than that Hobbit movie. Even without the voice of Benny Cumberbatch.
Garth Ennis Presents Battle Classics HC – Garth Ennis knows his war comics, which is why he curated this “Best of” hardcover of some of the finest stories from the 70’s classic British series “Battle.” Not only do you get some great war stories, but Ennis also does running commentary on the issues. A must-have for fans of Ennis.
That’s gonna do it for me this week! There actually WAS a white powder in one of those envelopes, and I’m getting very sleepy. Leave your pull lists in the comments below. Tell us what else was tickling your eyeballs this week!
Until next time!