"Thor: The Mighty Avenger" and The Crying Shame

This week, issue #6 of "Thor: The Mighty Avenger" came out and I've already read it. If you've read any of my older blog posts about this comic, then you should already know that I love this title. If you haven't, then I'll tell you now: I love this comic and this issue is no different than the five preceding it. With each and every issue of this book, Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee retell the origin of Thor in a way that is fresh, accessible, and (most of all) a pure joy to read. This is a comic that can read and find something they enjoy in it. Hell, it's pretty close to being my pick for "comic of the year". And yet it's a comic that isn't going to be around much longer.

Yes, unless you live under the internet's most impressive rock, you should know that "Thor: The Might Avenger" is ending as of issue #8. There's a multitude of reasons as to why this is sad, perhaps saddest of which is that Langridge has mentioned that the first full story arc of this comic would run until issue #12. That's right, not only is this comic dying, but it's dying before it can get it's first full story told.

Well I think it's a damn shame. It sucks that this comic is dying like this while lesser books continue to sell like hot cakes. Go into your local comic shop this week and count how many Deadpool books are on the shelves. Last time I checked, it was about 5. Now, I'm going to spoil something about each and every one of these books: they're all terrible. Not a single one is worth actually paying money for. And yet it continues to go on and "Thor: the Might Avenger" is cancelled. Do you want to know why? It's because these Deapool books sell. "Thor: the Mighty Avenger" on the other hand, isn't selling all that well. It's a sad truth about this industry, but it's a truth and it can't be ignored.

So what can we do? Honestly, going out and buying every copy from your local comic shop isn't going to help; they've already ordered and payed for those books. I'm not saying you shouldn't buy the issues of this series: it's a great book and your local comic shop could certainly use the business. But saving the series is going to take a bit more than buying the issues already out. No, what we have to do is buy the issues that haven't come out yet and the trade that's coming out in a few weeks. And not just buying them, but preordering them. Got to your local comic shop and let them know just how much you want this and do so in large numbers. The trade you can either get there, or you can save a few bucks and preorder it from Amazon.com, because they track the number of preorders they receive instantly.

Now, I'm not saying we're definitely saving this title: it's going to take effort from everyone and then some, but if we all go in and Marvel sees our money and hears our voices, than there's a good chance we could just save the day. We have the power, we just have to use it. We can save "Thor: The Mighty Avenger", but we have to do it now or all hope is lost. So when it comes down to it are we just going to watch this wonderful story slip away into the world of obscurity or will we raise our own hammers and utter those famous words "I Say Thee, Nay"?

The (Very Late) Weekly Round-Up: 11/10/10

Hey there loyal readers! I had a wedding to help prepare for and then go to last week, so I wasn't going to do last week's Weekly Round-Up. Then I got my comics for this week and holy crap was there some awesome stuff. Not talking about everything this week, but I will cover the 4-way tie for my issue of the week. Each one is a great book and each one is worth the cover price on the front.

If I had to pick one book of the four, I think Amazing Spider-Man #648 would take the spot for various reasons. For one thing, It's a huge comic: the main story is 39 pages with an 8 page back-up to go along with it. For $4 there aren't many other comics that pack that much of a value. And it's not just a great value, it's easily the best one-shot Spider-Man story of the year. And that's counting those Rhino issues ( #617 and #626 if I remember correctly) which were both amazing issues.

The main story is actually two stories in one, but each one centers around the idea of Peter Parker (in both personas) going "Big Time". The first half centers around Spider-Man and the his teammates from the Avengers working together to face off against Doctor Octopus' army of "Macro-Octobots" from destroying New York City. The next part focuses on Pete's non-heroing life, with his roomate Michele moving back to Chicago and Pete looking to get his living arrangements figure out. While the second half isn't nearly as action packed as the first, it does a great job of introducing us to the supporting cast of the book.

For people staying on the book it's nothing major, but for people just hopping on, there's a lot that's changed since Brand New Day began and there are a few more changes that happen by the end of the story. One big change is Pete's new job as a scientist at Horizon Labs, which is described as both an Apple Store and Willy Wonka's Factory mixed togther and "Pixar meets The Baxter Building". The overall story also does a great job of building on upcoming plotlines, such as the reformed Sinister Six (Doc Ock, Rhino, Mysterio, Electro, Chameleon, and Sandman) putting a huge plan together and the Kingpin hiring the Hobgoblin to steal an experimental replacement for Vibranium being made by Horizon Labs. Combine all of this with the delicious art stylings of Humberto Ramos and you've got one hell of an issue, with a nice back-up featuring Spider-Girl, who's about to get an ongoing of her own. This is a hell of an issue and easily a must read for fans of Spidey.

Atomic Robo is also out this week, with the first issue of the 5th volume of the series "Atomic Robo and the Dangerous Art of Science". This issue takes us back to the 1930's, where Robo is still living with Tesla. What's awesome about this issue is we get to see a very different Robo than the one we're used to: in the first four volumes, we've gotten to know the Robo who was an "Action Scientist" who takes on Nazis, Lovecraftian monsters, and talking genius Raptors. Here, we get to see a younger Robo who's not nearly as focused. His fanboyish naivety over getting to see a masked man taking on mobsters is comedy gold. We're also going to see a bit more of the feud between Robo and his greatest enemy, Thomas Edison, which will be so awesome. It's a bit of a surprise to have it back so soon, I'm used to having almost a year between volumes, but it's good to have it back on my stack and I'm looking forward to seeing what Clevinger and Wegener have in store for us in the next few issues. And as usual, there's a few of those delicious Robo pin-ups from other artists that usually populate the back of the issue, though I'm sad to see the lack of a cool back-up story. Those are usually really fun to have.

Knight and Squire #2 is also out this week and it's a great read. If I had to describe this title, I think the best way is like this: Knight and Squire is what you'd get if the BBC had mad the old Adam West Batman show from the 60's. This issue we has the Dynamic Duo of the UK facing off against The Morris Men, a group of men looking to make England a place for the wealthy, straight, white man. The issue is a blast, with a mix of British charm and campy goodness that mix together just right. Now, I do have to warn you: if you aren't very familiar with British people talking, you're not going to understand a third of the dialog in this book. Cornell does a good job of explaining a good bit of it all with a short entry in the back explaining most of it for those who aren't familiar with Morris Men and even point out a few of the inspirations for some of the things going on in the issue itself. And for what you miss in dialog, the book makes up for in humor. One moment in particular, where Knight and Squire steal some disguises off of a pair of guards had me laughing out loud until my ribs hurt. If you're even remotely a fan of Batman and the idea of the Club of Heroes, then definitely pick this issue up.

And lastly, the 4th book tying for my "issue of the week" is Justice League: Generation Lost. This issue was the first thing I read this week and it's still the one that hit me the hardest. This issue has Magog facing off against Captain Atom in one huge smack down. It's one hell of a showdown with an ending that made me say "Oh $#!%" before putting down the book to take in what just happened. Before this series I was skeptical of Winick. After this issue I can now say that I take back anything I may have said about the man's writing. This is a fantastic read and a chilling issue. Max Lord is back and Judd Winick is showing us just how much of a crazy, evil, magnificent bastard he is. If you're looking for a Justice League book to read, this is the one you should be reading. This is the best new series from DC this year and if you haven't begun reading it yet, then go pick up the back issues or preorder the trades, because no one should be missing this.

And that's it for this week. 4 books that you should be reading, each one earning my choice as "issue of the week". Come back tomorrow or Thursday for this week's books, because Batman Incorporated is starting up and it's gonna be awesome!

The Weekly Round-Up: 11/3/10

Howdy-ho, girls and boys, it's The Weekly Round-Up! I took last week off for Halloween or in other words, I decided to be lazy last week and couldn't be bothered to write one paragraph of review for the comics I bought last week. But hey, this week I decided to grace all ten of you readers with my presence! Now then, onto the reviews, because this week has some awesome choices.

If I had to pick a winner for "Best Cover of the Week" It'd hands down go to this book right here, Superboy #1. That's right, the composite clone of Superman and Lex Luthor is getting a series of his own (because Adventure Comics couldn't have been that at all, right DC?) and Jeff Lemire and Pier Gallo are ready to take him to new heights. Lemire, for those of you unfamiliar, is the writer behind the fantastic Vertigo book "Sweet Tooth" which is simply amazing. I'd talk about it more often, but I'm only buying it in trade these days and I'm a good deal behind on those. But enough about Lemire's other works, let's talk Superboy!

This issue is a first issue, which means it's introduction time. For an introduction to Superboy, this does it's job pretty damn well. Lemire also does a good job of picking up some of the cool elements of the Johns run from Adventure Comics run by introducing us to the two friends Connor made in that; Lori Luthor Lex's niece and Simon Valentine, boy scientist. It's nice to see that Lemire is not forgetting those two characters, because I liked them both in the 5 issues we got to meet them in and I'm really looking forward to what Lemire has in store for them. There's also a cool little fight between Superboy and Parasite that rounds out the issue and we end with a teaser at what's to come from this book in the future. Lemire is off to an interesting start here.

Art duties are handeled buy Pier Gallo and he does a great job with that. Smallville looks like a small farm town and Superboy and the other inhabitants are all drawn very well. And it's not all just pretty stuff, Parasite looks as gross and monstrous as he should. Still, the real star on art duties is the cover by one of my current favorites in the world of comic art, Rafael Albuquerque. Albuquerque's art combined with those amazing colors just make it stick right out on the shelf and makes me want to pick it up and own it.

So go buy Superboy today, because it's an awesome start to a promising book. But that's not the only thing I bought today!

Best value of the week goes to Amazing Spider-Man #647, which is the final curtain call for Brand New Day's revolving door of writers. Everyone contributes to this one and for 5 dollars you get a whole buttload of comic. So what's the good stuff here? Well first off is "Another Door" by Fred Van Lente with Max Fiumara on art. This is pretty much the primary wrap up story of BND. We've got Vin returning from his prison time, Harry starting his new life as a dad, and Carlie and Pete finally becoming a couple. It's a pretty good story and wraps everything up pretty well while also giving a decent amount of Spidey action, but it's far from the best story here.

The best story in this collection has to be "Norah's Last Night in NYC" written by Joe Kelly with J.M.Ken Nimura on art duties. these two also provided a fun little back up story at the beginning of The Gauntlet, and they're best known collaboration is the fantastic Image comic "I Kill Giants". Well here they come back together to weave yet another fantastically heartwarming tale about Pete's good friend Norah, who is apparently leaving New York to go back "home". when she doesn't give Pete the real reason he decides that maybe it's time for Spider-Man to show up and give a hand. Hilarity and heartwarming goodness ensues. While I'm looking forward to the Dan Slott "Big Time" era, it's stories like this that is really going to make me miss the wonderful adventure that was "Brand New Day". Hopefully this isn't the last time we're gonna be seeing Kelly handle Spider-Man because he's been one of my favorite writers on the book in the last year. And then there's Mr. Nimura who has only gotten to do 2 small stories for this book, which makes me sad because his stuff is outstanding. I really look forward to seeing what this team puts out next.

The only grip I have with this issue is that they do one of those cover galleries where all the covers are tiny to the point where you wonder what the point is. I don't want to look at tiny little thumbnails of these covers, I want these things big and beautiful as they should be! Overall, though, this is a great way to send off the "Brand New Day" team and while it's no ASM #600 it's still a great issue.

Speaking of the end of one story before a the beginning of something bigger, Batman and Robin #16 comes out this week and Grant Morrison ends his run on the book with a bang. Bruce Wayne is back and he's ready to lay the hurt onto Dr. Hurt. What's really cool here is that we're getting to see the first interactions between the Dick/Damian Batman and Robin team and Bruce. It doesn't last long because Bruce has to face off with Hurt while Dick and Damian head off to stop Professor Pyg. The two fights are great, with the duties being split between Cameron Stewart and Frazier Irving. While the two styles are definitely very different, both work equally as well as the other. This is a great way to send off this run. Batman Incorporated is just around the corner, which is the next chapter of Morrison's insanely awesome Batman run and we've got Paul Cornell stepping in for three issues on this book before Tomasi and Gleason step in to take over on this book. So I think it goes without saying that big things are coming on this title and that you better get ready for it.

Before we continue with this week, let's travel back in time to the land of last week. Halloween hadn't yet happened, the Giants weren't World Champs yet, and Hellboy and the Beasts of Burden teamed up for what was definitely the best comic of last week. That's right, Mike Mignola, Evan Dorkin, and Jill Thompson have teamed up to bring Dark Horse's best paranormal investigators together and the two go together better than chocolate and peanut butter! This book is scary, funny, creepy, adorable, and ass-kickingly awesome. Hellboy gets lost after helping some Amish people out and ends up in the BoB's world, where the two end up working together to put a stop to an evil soul and the crazy bag lady who is dedicated to bringing him back to life. Oh, and it's all rendered beautifully thanks to Jill Thompson's amazing art. So go out and pick this issue up, because it's great. And when you're done with it, go pick up the Beasts of Burden Hardcover!

Back in the present, Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente continue on their awesome Hercules run with Chaos War #3. Herc has his team of heroes assembled and he's ready to take on the Chaos King and his army of dead gods and heroes. This issue has some really great stuff going on, from Herc getting to share a touching moment with his dad, to the Chaos King getting ever closer to completing his goal of total annihilation of everything. With one issue left to go I can't help but wonder what this story has left in store for us and if this is it for the Pak/Van Lente Hercules extravaganza. It'd be a great way for this run to end no doubt, but these two are tearing it up so well that I'll be sad to see it go.

And that's it for what I have to talk about this week. Still not enough for ya? Well then do yourself a favor and pick up Iron Man/Thor by Abnett and Lanning, Secret Six by Gail Simone, and Strange Tales. As for me, I'm out. See you next week!