Little bit of news FPNYC Faithful, I’m going to Europe from 9/10-9/20. Meaning I’m not going to be talking comics with y’all for 10 days. Which means you’ll have to go to one of those other hundred websites that talk about Marvel comics, I KNOW, I’N SCARED FOR YOU TOO, BUT SOMETIMES LIFE IS HARD YOU GUYS.
It was a big week for the X-books as the first 2 chapters of “Battle of the Atom” dropped. Originally I was going to sit this one out and wait for the trade, but I’m an addict of sorts, so I figure I might as well pick up the first 2 issues to hold me over to December/January. And I’m glad I did, because they’re really solid. Chapter 1, the Battle of the Atom (Marvel, $3.99, 32 pages) one-shot is written be Brian Michael Bendis and joined by Frank Cho and Stuart Immonen, and Benis and Immonen handled chapter 2 as well over in All New X-men (Marvel, $3.99, 20 pages) . Props to Stuart Immonen who managed to bang out 24 pages between 2 books, as Cho couldn’t finish the BotA one-shot by himself. Regardless of art assists, the books look fantastic, as Cho doesn’t go too cheesecake (something he’s famous for) with part 1, and Stuart remains one of Marvel’s best artists, drawing dynamic page after dynamic page. Bendis isn’t a slouch either, his scripts are action packed, but don’t skimp out on the humor or drama either. BMB juggles the 4 teams quite well, and despite 50 years of X-comics, these books are super accessible. Both these books are worth the $4, so if you’re not a X-men fan but want to check em out, I wholly encourage you to do so. And yes, unless you’re anti-Bendis or some nonsense, there’s plenty to enjoy if you’re a veteran X-fan too.
In non-X-Men Marvel news, the 3rd issue of the Superior Foes of Spider-Man (Marvel, 20 pages, $2.99) has been released and we’re all better for it. Hawkeye did not drop in August, and chances are we’ll be Hawkguy impaired in September as well, which sucks. SFoSM however has done a great job of filling the Hawkeye-sized hole in my heart, as the 3rd issue of this fantastic issue is comedic delight. Boomerang, our lead for this series, manages to fill us in on the life of a low-tier Spider-Man villain, gets thrown out of his crew, hits up a meeting for Super Villains anonymous and gets a little revenge on his old “friends” all within 20 pages. Nick Spencer KILLS it with this book, as the humor is fantastic, and he gives Steve Lieber plenty of quality stuff to work with. And Lieber delivers too, as his expert pencils give us excellent visual gags that only enhance Spencer’s jokes. I know there’s no shortage of fantastic books at Marve these days, but Superior Foes is quickly making a name for itself amongst it’s peers, and is one of the most funs books Marvel’s been putting out as of late.
Oh hai Mark, it’s been awhile.
Released a week about, the latest Invincible collection dropped, collecting the landmark 100th issue of Robert Kirkman/Ryan Ottley‘s fantastic series. I use to buy this title monthly, but decided to go back to trade-waiting when I felt the book was getting a little stale. And I’m glad I do so, because coming back to it after a brief break only made me love this title again. Ryan Ottley is probably my favorite monthly artist on the stands these days, and watching him grow on his book over the year (artistically) has been a treat, as his action bits (and violence) are second to none. And Kirkman is great as well, reminding us all that the joys of a creator owned book mean the status quo can change on the dime. If you’re a fan of super hero books, there’s no excuse not to buy Invincible (unless you don’t like excessive violence, then yeah, I can understand why you may not be reading it). Even with it be being 100 issues deep, there are a ton of collection/omnibus’ in existence that can help you get caught up ASAP. I advice you do so.
