Saturday 19 August 2006

Dave's Dozen: Mainstream Comics

Each month (usually...) I go through Previews to highlight twelve items worthy of attention in three categories: Mainstream Comics, Indy Comics, and Collections/GNs.

First up for the August Previews (comics supposedly available in October) are the following dozen mainstream comics picks:


Seven Soldiers #1
(DC, $3.99, p. 87)
Finally Grant Morrison & J. H. Williams III bring the Seven Soldiers event to a close. Will it be worth the wait--I sure hope so. I just hope I can remember what happened in the previous 29 issues...



Tales of the Unexpected #1
(DC, $3.99, p. 89)
I really liked seeing Cliff Chiang's art on the recent Spectre mini. But he's drawing the Dr. Thirteen back-up feature here, not the main Spectre story. Still, anything that give Chiang work is good in my book.



The Authority #1
(DC/WildStorm, $2.99, p. 104)
Grant Morrison & Gene Ha on The Authority? Yes! Maybe finally DC can undo the damage they caused this once-top-selling title.



Gen13 #1
(DC/WildStorm, $2.99, p. 106)
Can a team with a character named 'Grunge' still seem fresh in the mid-aughts? Maybe, with writer Gail Simone at the helm.



Astro City: The Dark Age book 2 #1
(DC/WildStorm, $2.99, p. 109)
Another look at Astro City's dark 70s past from Kurt Busiek & Brent Anderson.



Desolation Jones #7
(DC/WildStorm, $2.99, p. 112)
Warren Ellis is back with more Desolation Jones, and this time he's brough artist Danijel Zezelj along for the ride. Zezelj is an inspired choice; most American's are unfamiliar with his work, and hopefully this gig will expose him to more fans.



The Other Side #1
(DC/Vertigo, $2.99, p. 123)
I'm unfamiliar with writer Jason Aaron, but with Cameron Stewart drawing this war story is sure to at least look really good.



Gødland #13
(Image $2.99, p. 140)
The Kirby-Cosmic is back, as Joe Casey & Tom Scioli send Commander Adam Archer into The Negative Zone Dimension Z.



Ultimate Power #1
(Marvel, $2.99, p. M8)
Huh, whadoyaknow--The Supreme Power universe is actually the Utlimate version of the Squadron Supreme. Greg Land photo-references his way through a story by Bendis, Straczynski & Loeb that will probably be good reading when the trade comes out after this nine-issue series concludes.



The Irredeemable Ant-Man #1
(Marvel, $2.99, p. M23)
Will Ant-Man finally be the Marvel series by Robert Kirkman that fans actually want to buy? After the sleeper hit Marvel Zombies, maybe...



Dr. Strange: The Oath #1
(Marvel, $2.99, p. M35)
I have no real affinity to Dr. Strange as a character. But with Brian K. Vaughn & Marcos Martin on this mini and I'm there in a heartbeat!



Criminal #1
(Marvel/Icon, $2.99, p. M80)
Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips get to do hard-boiled crime stories, sans and super-heroes or other such nonsense. This makes me happy.



Angel: Masks
(IDW, $7.49, p. 304)
Angel Puppet returns in one of four Halloween-themed stories in this anthology.



Look for the other two parts, Indy Comics & Collections/GNs, sometime next week.