What I’m Getting Thursday July 8

This week sees the super hero material dominate my list. Since I have been slowly growing bored and losing interest in that side of the comic world I’m surprised how many books on my list still have me jazzed for the week. I think my love of that material waxes and wanes with the quality of the material.

Still let’s start with Vertigo and other category.

Scalped #39 is the beginning of a new arc called “Unwanted”. While the pregnancy of Dash’s girl friend is obviously a main element of the arc I’m sure that unwanted will apply in more than one place. I love this series.

Demo Volume 2 #6 (of 6) is coming out. This series has gotten stronger as it has gone on, I just hope the sales were strong enough to get us to a volume #3.

Sweet Tooth #11. The series by Jeff Lemire continues to intrigue. I feel sorry for our antlered headed star of the book as he appears to be an innocent and yet somehow a central element in the apocalypse that occurred.

Walking Dead #74. Kirkman and Adlard just continue to amaze with this series. Rick and company are still in the compound that gave them sanctuary and I have a feeling will be there for awhile.

Kill Shakespeare #3. This series has been a surprise sort of book in that even a non-Shakespeare person like myself continues to be drawn in and Gwen who is well versed in Shakespeare enjoys it. She probably gets more out of it because she knows who are the players are.

IZombie #3 hits the stands. This book reminds people of Buffy and since I was not a huge fan of that show I will take their world. For me it has been a great beginning and has built up a solid foundation for the series.

Hellboy the Storm #1 (of 3). This is billed as the final arc of the long running Hellboy story line that has been going on for a few years. I have heard that it will clear the decks for some new Hellboy adventures that might have Mignola back as artist as well as writer.

Wolfskin Hundredth Dream #2 (of 6). I’m not 100% sure why I continued with this series, but Ellis’ over the top Barbarian continues to entertain me.

The rest of the books I’m getting are the cape and cowl material.

Blackest Night HC. I’m now getting this with mixed emotions as Thomm said the book does not work that well as a standalone series. I’m not getting the GL and GL Corps HC as well, so we will see someday down the road how it holds up on its own in my view.

Batman Odyssey #1 (of 6). Neal Adams comes back to a Batman series as writer and artist. The preview of his pencils shows he is still a force in this business; hopefully he can pull off being a writer as well. Of course I’m not that worried as Neal plotted and was not credited for many ideas he had when he was first entered the field. Neal is possible the most influential artist ever in super hero comics. His merger of the dynamic presentation of heroes’ ala Jack Kirby with a more photo realistic look forever changed comics. Plus he was very influential in tearing up the old panel layouts and design and bringing in innovative page designs and storytelling techniques.

Scarlett #1. Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev have a new creator owned series under the Icon banner. Marvel has smartly allowed certain creators to have their books published by them to help generate sales as they get a higher profile being in the Marvel section of the ordering catalogs. This series has potential as Bendis is best with solo characters and a dark noir feel to Maleev’s heavily photo referenced computerized artwork should work well with a girl who goes rogue and decides to pay people back who wronged her.

X-Women (One Shot). Milo Manara is the artist and a well known erotica artist. Who cares what Claremont writes this book will border on soft porn masquerading as a “woman’s comic” from Marvel. This is a very bizarre way to celebrate “Women of Marvel”. I have to see this.

X-Force #28 is the second to last chapter of Second Coming. I’m barely looking forward to this as the story has dragged on way too long. It reminds me of the movie “Face Off” that seemed cool and then it had ending after ending after ending and ultimately was an overacted farce of a movie that has aged poorly.

Doom Patrol #12 – I dropped this series and picked it back up right away as it has gone into some very wild tangents. I love that it is playing with some of the old elements from the Grant Morrison run; maybe it will switch over to being a Vertigo series.

Thor The Mighty Avenger #1. This looks great. It is a new series with a re-imagined Thor. It looks like it will be a lighter book and I think this could be a sleeper hit. Plus it stands alone, so it is not mired in 50 years of Marvel history.

Brightest Day The Atom Special #1 – Jeff (Sweet Tooth) Lemire comes into the super hero side of things. I now want DC to offer Scott Snyder some work in the DCU as fresh blood is needed and Scott is a great writer.

Batman Confidential #46 – Like Legends before it I find that I grow weary of endless and meaningless Batman stories. I think the editors need to solicit Batman stories from everyone and then choose only the absolute best. The monthly publishing schedule seems to produce some arcs that while entertaining are not compelling. Of course this arc has Tom Mandrake as the artist which I always enjoy.

Great Ten #9 (of 9) - A shame they cut an issue off of this mini-series. This is probably the best under the radar series being produced by the big two.

Batman and Robin #13 – I’m really concerned the return of Bruce Wayne may ruin this series and I’m also worried that many Batman fans may not appreciate Frazer Irving’s unique art style. All in all I’m still enjoying Batman under Grant Morrison, like his X-Men run it remains one of the most dynamic runs on the book in years.

Brightest Day #5 –For the record it appears that the five week months are building in a little cushion as the bi-weekly series are really twice a month books. I like this series, I just want it to focus more on one or two of the stories each issue and move them forward more.

Shadowland #1 (of 5) – I ranted against this, but I like DD too much to pass on whatever they are going to do to him. I will not pick up the various ancillary titles that purport to be tie-in to this story. Also if between this and DD it doesn’t make sense I can drop it midstream.

JSA All Stars #8 – I like Matt Sturges writing and I like Freddie Williams art, but the combination is not working for me on this series. Add to that the backup story is generic, way too long and making me pay $4 for a book that should be $3. DC is making me consider cancelling a JSA book and I love the JSA.

Jonah Hex #57 – Easiest book for me to get as almost every issue is one and done. If you did not like this issue the next you should like, I have enjoyed almost every issue of this run.

Hawkeye & Mockingbird #2 – I like the characters, they have a good creative team and the book is only $3. Hopefully it will remain within its own continuity and not worry about all the Avengers stuff.

Red Hood Lost Days #2 (of 6) – A surprise to me that I find I’m more interested in what happened to Jason then I thought I was. As a villain Jason Todd has more going on then he ever did as a hero.

Steve Rogers Super-Soldier #1 (of 4) – I’m checking out issue #1 because of the creative team, we will see how long I want to go on with this story. It is an incredibly stupid name for Steve Rogers, just call him Steve Rogers. It wasn’t Nick Fury Immortal Warrior.

Red Robin #14 – Even with the change in creative team this book continues to shine. DC did a great job in making this series work and keeping Tim as an integral part of the Bat family.

Secret Six #23 – A great series, that has only gotten stronger as each issue goes by. Can’t wait to see where Gail takes us next of course John Ostrander is filling in this issue which is perfect as John and Gail both shine on this type of book. Also I’m sure John worked closely with Gail on this issue.

Irredeemable #15 – What was once a beloved series for me has found itself mired in storylines that are dragging on forever. I had doubts about an unlimited storyline and those doubts are coming true. The story needs to have a beginning, middle and an end to work. It can be a 36 or 48 issue long story it just needs to have an endpoint.

It is a big week with a lot of what look to be terrific books coming out. This week could end my feeling of general malaise I have had with the spandex bunch.