Spinner Picks for 01/07/2015
Happy New Year to all our CTG readers and contributors! Welcome to the first Spinner Picks of 2015!Weekly Spinner Picks is all about the hot comics of the week and getting to know the tastes of the writers at Comics: The Gathering. Each week the CTG contributors spotlight which comics they are most looking forward to on Wednesday and how those picks got to the top of their to-read piles. Let us know if you agree or not with our picks and most importantly don’t forget to add your list!
Ant-Man #1: With an Ant-Man movie scheduled for release this upcoming summer it was only a matter of time before a new series popped up. I’m actually kind of surprised it didn’t start last year to help build up the hype. Marvel has assembled Nick Spencer to pen the latest Ant-Man edition with Ramon Rosanas to handle the artwork. This series appears to have the same kind of ambience as Superior Foes of Spider-Man and Hawkeye but with a heftier price tag of $4.99. I’ll definitely check out the first issue but if it doesn’t live up to the previous mentioned favorites it’ll suffer a pull list cut rather quickly.
Avengers No More Bullying #1: The Avengers have always stood for those who cannot stand for themselves, but this time in they’re in for a bombastic adventure. This one shot features a great line-up of talented writers and artists. It’s a 40 page comic for $1.99 to help raise awareness for a super cause. I’m not saying it’ll end bullying but just maybe it’ll help somebody somewhere. I’m in for 2 copies!
Unbeatable Squirrel-Girl #1: Another debut series this week from Marvel Comics. This one is brought to us by writer Ryan North and drawn by Erica Henderson. I don’t know much about Squirrel-Girl’s history but it looks like a pretty upbeat and fun series. My only concern is that these lighthearted stories seem to be popping up weekly and I really hope that we don’t get over-saturated with them causing them to lose their charm.
Hellboy and BPRD 1952 #2: Absolutely love the first issue by the writing team of Mike Mignola and John Arcudi with the art duties handled by Alex Maleev. Hellboy and the gang are still in Brazil investigating gruesome and bizarre murders. I’m on board for this entire series so expect it in my Spinner Picks every month!
WOLVERINES #1 : there have been a lot of 'Wolverine' titles ever since his death oddly enough, but I think this is the one to look at. Charles Soule and Nick Bradshaw are great names to catch my interest when it comes to portraying not only Logan but his peers and legacy as well.
Also maybe ODY-C #2, just to see where it's going.
The Fade Out #4: Oh how I've missed this beautiful comic. I have no doubt that this issue will be another 10/10. I'm always amazed at the consistency of this comic and also the general loveliness of its dialogue and tone. Can't wait!
Escape from New York #2: Another one of my faves. Snake Plisken was just about to get his death warrant by a couple little snot-nosed brats. I can't wait to see how he deals with another predicament that could mean his early end. I'm sure he'll be fine.
John Carter: Warlord of Mars #3: A great series so far that has surprised me with its imagery and storytelling, but not so much its suspense. My only gripe with this bad boy is that there needs to be a HOOK, but everything else is pretty stellar considering. Should be a good one.
That's it from me! Until we meet again!
Ant-Man #1:
This is one that I’ve been eagerly awaiting since its announcement. It’s always been set-up for success with Nick Spencer recreating the vibe and tone of Superior Foes of Spider-Man with an awesome artist like Ramon Rosanas. I read the preview last week and Spencer had me laughing out loud while falling in love with the main protagonist. This one is definitely going to be a winner!
Legendary Star-Lord #7
This is the overlooked gem at Marvel. It holds an incredible sense of amusement and humour while showing an incredible portrayal of Peter Quill. I’m always excited for this series because it always provides a great time.
Green Lantern #38
It’ll be very hard to follow up the epic Godhead story but I won’t doubt Robert Venditti, he always finds a way of raising the stakes. His run on Green Lantern has finally hit its stride and gotten the attention it deserves with God Head and I’m hoping that Venditti will convince readers to stick around in this upcoming issue.
Hellboy & the BPRD 2: Issue one was a good mix between fan service for people who want HB back with the BPRD as well as an interesting quasi-introduction to the entire Hellboy mythology for fans old and new alike. I'm looking forward to seeing how this thing turns out!
Ghost Fleet #3: If you had pitched this comic to me without the first issue readily available, I would've told you it sounded stupid. I would be wrong. This is an amazingly tense, complex and fun book that I think has the power to go a long, long ways. Somewhere between X-Files and The Fast and The Furious sits this little gem. You guys should check it out while there's still time to hop on.
Action Comics #38 - I've been enjoying Pak and Kuder's run quite a bit. The stories are fun and wild with just enough introspection to keep Superman interesting. This arc has been easily the worst so far, but it's still been fun.
The Amazing Spider-Man #12 - I have been LOVING Spider-Verse so far. Full steam ahead!
Ant-Man #1 - Superior Foes of Spider-Man was probably my favorite comic of last year so I'm pretty excited to pick up Nick Spencer's new comic. I really enjoyed Scott Lang as a character in Fraction's FF run, so I hope some of those threads continue in Spencer's run.
Spider-Man 2099 #7 - Spider-Verse tie-in.
Swamp Thing #38 - Soule's run is coming to an end, which means the end of Swamp Thing. I really enjoyed this run from start to finish so I'm hoping Soule really knocks it out of the park with these last three issues.
Wolverines #1: Even though our favorite furball is dead, his legacy has spawned a lot of different books. I'm hoping this somehow ties into Sharp and finally settles who he really is.
Marvel Comics is dusting off some of their ununsed toys for two new series. I'm mostly excited about Ryan North and Erica Henderson's Unbeatable Squirrel Girl but Ramon Rasanos' and Nick Spencer's new Ant-Man series shows promise as well. Neither of them are a death-of-Wolverine spinoff, so that's also a plus.
I wrote off Deadly Class when it debuted last year because the "school for assassins" schtick seemed so not-up-my-alley it hurt. I'd sooner read a Peter Panzerfaust meets Uncle Grandpa crossover. However, when I finally sat down and convinced myself to read the collected edition, I fell in love. It wasn't like Harry Potter. It wasn't like Morning Glories. It wasn't like anything I thought it was going to be like. It's about a bunch of rotten, and I mean rotten, kids doing too many drugs and acting like maniacs. It became my favorite new series of the year. I'm waiting for that second book, but for those of you who were hip to this series from the start, don't miss out on issue #10. Deadly Class is shipping twice in the month of January, with another trade coming out in February. I love this comic. It's got a perfect bad attitude rarely seen outside of Judge Dredd.
Also, there's a new Hellboy comic. Hellboy and the BPRD #2 continues young Hellboy's earliest field mission in a spooky castle in tropical Brazil. Issue #1 was a solid start, and if the past 25 years of Hellboy comics have been any indication, Issue #2 shall be a good one.