Welcome to the bad old days.

The world is a pit of despair, Ultron is in charge, and there’s no hope for survival…except for a rag-tag bunch of heroes with a plan.  Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Emma Frost, Wolverine, Invisible Woman, Taskmaster, Beast, She-Hulk, and Moon Knight are the last ditch effort for the Marvel Universe to continue existing, but something tell’s me they may have a chance.  This dystopian future tale is THE EVENT for the Marvel Universe this year, with three issues coming out a month for the next three months.  And don’t worry about crossovers with other series, because they’ve been kept to a minimum and left as non-essential; read’em if you want, don’t if not.  With the mad puppeteer of Marvel, Brian Michael Bendis (All-New X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, Scarlet), having worked on establishing the implications of this tale over the last four years, Age of Ultron is going to leave its mark.  And for a series that epic in scope you need an artist that can match the tone.  Luckily, Bryan Hitch (The Ultimates, America’s Got Powers) was able to lend his deft talent at cinematic realism to the book!  Don’t get left behind like so many did with Avengers vs. X-Men, pick up issue one of Age of Ultron, or one of its many variants, this Wednesday!

Cullen Bunn has managed to blend sci-fi, horror, and western genres in the long lived Sixth Gun series with ease.  Now Bunn is applying the same strategy to a tale of viking carnage!  Helheim begins with a brutal siege on a tiny, seaside village by forces of evil.  But standing between them and the meaty townsfolk is Rikard and his horde of viking warriors.  Though you might think you know where this story goes from there, you’d be surprised.  This is only the beginning.  Bunn just rocked Marvel NOW! with his first issue of Fearless Defenders (you know we’ve been talking it up at the store!), an issue which also featured some viking fisticuffs, and aims to do the same to Oni Press with the start of this new ongoing series.  When you blend gothic horror, witchcraft, and zombies, you get Helheim!

Searching for images of Joe Casey’s Sex #1 resulted in some awkward moments at the store.  Yeah….

One of this month’s Image Comics releases, advertises itself as “a good reason to come into the comic store – to buy SEX!” Though it may be crass, it’s true.  Joe Casey has written everyone from Wolverine to Batman to The Avengers to Spider-Man, but he’s never written anything as chock full of debauchery.  A former superhero is forced to give up his vigilante lifestyle only to take to the streets for some much needed R&R.  However in a town like Saturn City, R&R can get rather S&M.  Follow Simon Cooke on his dark, dirty journey through the recesses of a town gone wrong in a post-modern superhero tale unlike any other in comics today.

And finally tonight, another twist on a classic tale.

No Place Like Home was one of my favorite miniseries from Image Comics last year thanks to its intelligent, inventive reworking of the classic L. Frank Baum fable, The Wizard of Oz.  Dee is a rocker from the city, but a rural kid at heart who must return home to Kansas after the grisly murder of her parents during a tornado.  After getting home and rekindling friendships with old acquaintances, Dee stumbles into a decades old mystery that ties together her parents, the two sheriff, a local drunk, and…a flying monkey?  Comic newcomers Angelo Tirotto and Richard Jordan dropkick Judy Garland and replace her with a twisted slasher film sprinkle with famous imagery and characters from the classic tale.  Oh, Tirotto claims this is only the beginning of an epic arc that’ll take Dee all the way over the rainbow.

 

Before the whole brain-swapping shenanigans of Amazing Spider-Man #698-700, there was a character named Alpha.  A young, pompous teen granted exceptional powers (ringing any bells) decides to use his powers not to help people, but to gain stardom.  Peter Parker (RIP) eventually managed to reverse the accident that gave Alpha his abilities, leaving him disgraced and embarrassed.  Alpha Big Time picks up where that storyline left off, with Alpha attending high school far from New York.  Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov (Doctor Who), this series deals with what happens when your fifteen minutes of fame are up and all you’re left with is a gasping desire to reclaim it.

Don’t you hate it when, after a hard night of drinking, you wake up in the savage land only to be attacked by a velociraptor?

Wolverine does.

Frank Cho’s Savage Wolverine #1 launches this week and features his talents on both writing and art duties.  As alluded to, the first story arc is going to revolve around Logan finding himself in the Savage Land, surrounded at every turn by enemies, and with no clue how he got there or why everyone is so angry.  Luckily, he has Shanna the She-Devil (come on, did you think Cho wasn’t going to stick a bikini-clad hottie into the book?) on his side for support.  Or, in simpler terms, it’s Wolverine versus dinosaurs.  The word you’re looking for is SNIKT!

Once more into the breach, dear friends.

Such is DC‘s thinking with their newest space anthology series, Threshold #1, launching this Wednesday.  Starring mostly Green Lantern universe characters, the series will span the galaxy of the DC universe, telling rip-roaring sci-fi pulp adventures with some of your favorite cosmic characters.  Each issue will also feature a backup story with everyone’s favorite greedy lantern, Larfleeze, who must find a way to reclaim all of his beloved stuff after it has been stolen from him.  A new addition to the Green Lantern CORPS is also introduced in the series, one who’s been disgracefully stripped of his ring and sent to compete in a game show where you have to run for your life.  And if that isn’t enough, Threshold will be the venue in which the former Captain Karrot is reborn as a gritty space pirating bunny called Captain K’Rot.

And finally, your moment of Deadpool statue for the night.

Enjoy.

 

Star Wars is receiving some what of a resurgence lately, what with the stream of Fantasy Flight card, miniature, and role playing games featuring the characters of a galaxy far, far away.  Now, Dark Horse is getting in on the action with a fresh original universe Star Wars book title…wait for it…STAR WARS!!!!  Set during the first trilogy of films, this series will focus on individual stories featuring leading characters like Han, Leia, Luke, and Vader.  If you’re tired of the extended universe stories set 1000 years before A New Hope or a million years after, then this is the series for you.  Written by Brian Wood (Massive, Mara, Local, Ultimate Comics X-Men) and featuring covers by the incomparable Alex Ross, Star Wars #1 is a new hope for fans of the original universe.

No turtles, no turtles, no!  Foot, foot, foot, FOOT!

That remastered version of the infamous Vanilla Ice “hit” “Go, Turtles” was brought to you by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Secret History of the Foot Clan.  Yes, Turtles fans, it’s all Foot, all the time in this new miniseries, which spins out of the highly successful IDW TMNT relaunch of the last year.  And, as you might be able to tell from the title, the story focuses on revealing the untold origin of Turtles arch-rival.  Find out how Shredder joined the Foot Clan.  Find out who originally started the Foot Clan.  Find out secrets that will affect the ongoing story of the main TMNT series.  And see all of those secrets illustrated in beautiful, watercolored artwork by Mateus Santoluco.

The sad story of comics nowadays is that they are not written for kids anymore.  So, when a parent comes in asking for a Batman series that they’re son or daughter can read, there are not tons of options.  Luckily, this Wednesday we’re getting a Bat-boat load of young reader Batman comics.  Each of these digest volumes features Batman facing off against one of his classic foes, such as Clayface, Joker, Scarecrow, or Poison Ivy, in the style of the famous nineties Batman the Animated series (the best cartoon ever made!!!).  If dark, broody Batman isn’t your flavor, don’t worry, because there will be plenty of equally kid-friendly Superman volumes shipping as well.  If you’re wanting to get your kid started in comics, these are one of the best, cheapest ways to do it.

The Octopus is out of the bag, Peter Parker is dead.  Long live the Octopus.

If you read Amazing Spider-Man #700, you know that Peter left Doc Ock with some serious baggage to deal with, making Doc vow to become a Superior Spider-Man.  This Wednesday is your chance to see how that goes, as Superior Spider-Man #1 by Dan Slott and Ryan Stegman ships.  If you’ve seen any of the sample pages from the Marvel NOW! preview books, you’ll know that Doc Ock has a little trouble at first.  Oh, and with Peter Parker’s face, you know Doc’s going to make a house call to Mary Jane Watson.  Yeah, this isn’t going to be your daddy’s Spider-Man.

And be sure to get to the store early so that you can nab any and all of the rare variant covers for the book, as this one’s going to be worth some money down the line.

 

Anything Finn can do, Fionna can do better.  And in knee socks.

The highly successful Adventure Time comic series gains another tie-in miniseries this Wednesday!  Written by co-creator and storyboard artist from the television show, Natasha Allegri, Adventure Time with Fionna and Cake brings the girl power!  Spinning out of a stand-alone episode where the regular protagonists, Finn and Jake, where gender bent into women, this miniseries gives them the spotlight for six whole issues!  As the previous Adventure Time series have sold out as fast as the Ice Queen sliding down a snowy slope, if you want a copy be sure to put your name on the pull before Wednesday or be at the store early!

Vampires have been the new hotness for quite some time now, but they’ve never been Marvel NOW!  Uh, until now.

With this week’s Morbius, the Living Vampire #1, another of Spidey‘s villains gets an empathetic make over.  After breaking out of The Raft prison in Spider-Man #699.1, Michael Morbius is attempting to find his inner good guy and satisfy his natural hunger.  Written by Joe Keatinge, up-and-coming author of Hell Yeah and Glory for Image Comic, the first issue showcases his unique blend of stylistic indy paneling and catchy, quick dialog as well as moody horror.  As is often the case, C-list characters commonly make for the best reads at the big two comic companies (for evidence, see Swamp Thing and Hawkeye), given that the writers have a leeway to put the characters through their paces in ways that the A-list characters can’t be.  Trust me, it won’t suck.  Except, you know, in the ways that a vampire book should.

The other Marvel NOW! release for this next week is Johnathon Hickman’s Avengers companion book, New Avengers #1. Like FF to Fantastic Four, this series will share characters with the main title, as well as some plot elements, making them a shared story, of sorts.  And if you’ve read Hickman’s first issue of Avengers or any of his Manhattan Projects series, you know he’s capable of giant sci-fi craziness and incredible plot twists, both qualities which he will bring to characters of New Avengers.  Starring The Illuminati, the secretive, behind-the-scenes puppet masters of the Marvel Universe, the series will feature Black Panther, Iron Man, Reed Richards, Namor, Doctor Strange, Black Bolt, and Beast desperately struggling to halt the collision of two universes.  And fans of the New Universe concept of yesteryear should take note, as it’s rumored to return in this book.

Thanks to a little timey-wimey, wibbly-wobbly stuff, the third series of Doctor Who Character Builder Miniatures materializes in the store this Wednesday!  Yes, we know series two hasn’t arrived yet, but, you know, time travel.  Anyway, it really doesn’t matter as each set features different characters or key characters in unique costumes.  Set three includes the Doctor in his fancy green longcoat (circa season five), Amy with Silence marks on her face, an alternate universe Rory, River Song, an Ood, and many more (check them all out to the right).  Each figure is compatible with Lego’s, if you wish to build your own Doctor Who adventure set, or feel free to pick up one of Doctor Who Character Builder playsets currently at the store.

 

Tonight’s topics of discussion where easy to choose, because I’m, literally, going to mention every book that comes out next week.  Thank the holidays, folks.

First up, the most prominent of all the releases is the 700th issue of Amazing Spider-Man.  It is also the last.

As some of you might know (by either reading the book or a comics news site in the last three months) Peter Parker has been having a rather bad time lately.  Doc Ock has swapped brains with Peter, only moments before the his own death, leaving Peter with minimal options of escape.  Having managed to survive, Peter as Ock, calls on the Sinister Six to aid him in returning his brain to his body.  #700 picks up from there, answering the dire question of whether Peter can return his consciousness to his body before the one he’s in gives out.  Trust us, True Believers, if you thought the twist ending of AMS #698 was a doozy, your brain with self-destruct over this one.  Truly an event that will change the course of the Spider-Man universe for the foreseeable future.  And, if you’re the collector type, the issue ships with multiple variant covers by Humberto Ramos, Marcos Martin, and more, each celebrating the many decades of web-slinging that has lead to issue #700.

Avenging Spider-Man 15.1 is the only other book that comes out from Marvel this holiday week, adding an important epilogue to the landmark issue.

On the DC front, the first massive crossover between the Justice League and Aquaman series begins, with Justice League #15 and Aquaman #15.  Both issues also come with their own variant covers (like the one pictured on the right).  And what has drawn these two flagship DC titles together, besides the mutual presence of the King of the Seas?  As Aquaman has been away from Atlantis since he was a young boy, his half-brother, the Ocean Master, has ruled in his stead.  But now Arthur wants his throne back.  This Grecian-esque power struggle will rage across land and sea, drawing in the other heroes and villains of the universe, including the newly created creatures known only as The Trench.  As Geoff Johns writes both series, expect a tightly controlled, character-driven event kept lively by sprawling battles.

DC also finishes up another of the terrific Before Watchmen series this week, with Nite Owl #4.

With the big two out of the way, let’s focus on the artistic world of creator-owned independent comics.

And by that I mean a balls-to-the-wall smash’em up extravaganza known as Deathmatch!  Written by Paul Jenkins (Sentry, Hellblazer, Thunderbolts), Deathmatch may remind you of the Hunger Games, Battle Royale, Running Man, Civil War, and, oh, possibly that recent Dennis Hopeless title Avengers Arena.  Basically, a bunch of superheroes are trapped by a villain of unknown origin and told to murder one another to get free.  Not a new concept, but one that will be taken to its most violent conclusion by this series; if Avengers Arena is the character-driven version of this premise, Deathmatch is the gorey, all-fights-all-the-time version.  And issue #1 is only a $1.00!!!!

Brian Wood, author of such politically-motivated, socially conscious series as DMZ, Local, and The Massive (Plus the upcoming Star Wars series from Dark Horse), tackles the topic of celebrity worship with his new Image miniseries, Mara. Starring a young woman, who’s already world-famous from her exceptional physical prowess as an athlete, spontaneously manifests superhuman abilities on live television.  As the only superpowered individual in the world, Mara immediately becomes the center of global attention.  Things don’t play out so well from there.

And that’s the entirety of next week’s comics, folks!  Happy holidays!

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