It’s a big week: the first issue of Marvel’s big new event hits the stands, one of the most hyped new books of the year is finally seeing its launch date, and the flagship X-book is taking a new creative direction. On top of that, there are a lot of other great titles that are hitting the shelves this week. What makes the cut? What doesn’t? Who had to commit to even less this week due to an unexpected financial turn? I can tell you now that the answer to the last one is me, but you’ll have to follow the cut to find out the answers for the other two!
Memoir #3 ($3.50) – Creator-owned! Image! Mystery! Well done use of black & white art! Those four traits are typically enough to get me interested in a series, and Ben McCool has kept that interest with an intense and unsettling thriller that has kept me on the edge of my seat since cracking open that first issue. Even the most mediocre creator-owned books deserve your money more than your average cape comic, and this mini has been quite a few steps above mediocre. See if you can find the first issue, then slap yourself a bit for missing out on a great mini.
Nonplayer #1 ($2.99) – While CSBC is usually a matter of “I think this will be worth spending money on,” I have read an advance copy of this and can definitely say that it is worth a buy. I’m not quite as crazy about it as, say, Matt is, but this first issue is a great read and promises a fascinating and incredibly original series. If nothing else, this comic is so goddamn beautiful it almost hurts, and you really couldn’t be faulted for buying it for that alone. I need to repeat, though, that the premise is definitely interesting enough to support the book even if the art wasn’t amazing. Buy this. You’ll be pleased.
Who Is Jake Ellis? #3 ($2.99) – I love espionage stories. I love them even more when they’re great reads. Nathan Edmondson and Tonci Zonjic’s Who Is Jake Ellis? is one of the best spy/espionage books I’ve read in a long time, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves both comics of the genre and comics in general. But after the announcement that the title has been changed from a mini to an ongoing, you’ve probably already checked the book out… right? Oh, you haven’t? Tsk tsk. That’s alright, we’re only three issues in, and the previous issues have both been reprinted. Yes, I know buying reprints is a sin to some people, but that’s what you get when you forget to buy good comics.
Fear Itself #1 ($3.99) – I am very, very tentative regarding this event. On the one hand, Matt Fraction and Stuart Immonen are two of my favorite creators in the industry. On the other, Fraction has let me down plenty of times, for someone I consider a great writer, and I am tired of events. Still, the concept sounds interesting enough, and even if this is “Sisterhood”-level quality (in terms of writing), it would still be worth reading and taking in Immonen’s amazing artwork – though maybe only once. Hopefully, though, it will be more on par with “World’s Most Wanted” or – though this may be setting the bar too high – Casanova. Only time will tell, though.
Uncanny X-Men #534.1 ($2.99) – I’m about to lay something heavy on you: this will be the first single issue of Uncanny that I will have purchased since… well, ever. I have more than a handful of trades collecting issues from the premier X-title, but this is the first time I will be following the series on a monthly basis – besides, of course, borrowing friends’ copies. And what a time to jump on. Kieron Gillen is now the only writer, and this first issue of his solo campaign is a bit of a character piece (I’m assuming, considering the solicit). I love character pieces! Considering what I know about Gillen, the plans he has announced for the book, and the direction the franchise is supposedly going, I think – and hope – that this will be a good life choice.
Continued belowTotal: $16.46
Matt’s Picks:
Nonplayer #1 ($2.99) – DO NOT ASK QUESTIONS. JUST BUY IT.
Fear Itself #1 ($3.99) – Some people have “event-fatigue.” To that I say bah! I say to you, Matt Fraction and Stuart Immonen? There is no way you’re going wrong with this. All the pre-release buzz and positive early reviews should hint at that. And hey, even if you don’t like Fraction’s story, Immonen’s art is delicious like pie.
Chew #18 ($2.99) – We gave you a preview review of this last week, effectively calling it one of the best issues of the series. To cut a long story short, if you’re reading Chew in singles then this is a fitting reward for your fan dedication. And if you aren’t? Then you should be.
Herc #1 ($3.99) – I have immensely enjoyed Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente’s epic Hercules tale in the Marvel Universe. Why on Earth would I stop reading along now?
Sweet Tooth #20 ($2.99) – Sweet Tooth does not make my Comics Should Be Cheap list enough, and that is no one’s fault but my own. So I seek to rectify this, putting issue #20 on my list as a new arc begins. This is one of my favorite comics currently being published, so you will buy it now.
Uncanny X-Men #534.1 ($2.99) – Matt Fraction is too busy to play with the X-Men anymore, so everyone say hello to the new full time authority on all that is Uncanny – Kieron Gillen! His first issue? Magneto meets the press! Sign me up.
Total: $19.94
