Long Live the… uh… TBA?
KC Carlson is not wearing a hat
A KC COLUMN by KC Carlson
The New Diamond Previews hits the shops today (Wednesday August 28) so here’s what I’m excited to pre-order this month!
DC COMICS
Legion of Super-Heroes #1
Legion of Super-Heroes #1 — Written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Ryan Sook. I’ve been waiting a long time for this!!! As many Westfielders might know, a seeming millennium ago, I was the Editor of the Legion of Super-Heroes comics (amongst other things) for DC, and it was literally a dream job to have! (Even though the day-to-day experience of this assignment was not always filled with awesomeness, it was still mostly a blast!) What I’ve seen of Sook’s artwork so far has blown me away (and I’m pretty picky about LSH artists!). Bendis as LSH writer is a little more mysterious for me, but knowing that he created and developed the Miles Morales Spider-Man character (with artist Sarah Pichelli) shows me that he’s great with complex teenagers. So Bendis gets my vote for current Legion Leader!
Bendis teases us big-time in quotes from the solicitation copy: “This is a brand-new Legion of Super-Heroes. This deeply harkens back to the original ideals and concepts of the Legion, but the Legion has not existed in the continuity of the DC Universe as it stands today (emphasis mine). So this is as fresh a take on a classic DC franchise as there has ever been. You don’t need to have read anything. Superman and his family are meeting them for the first time along with us.”
Legion of Super-Heroes #1 Ryan Sook Variant cover
And, more Bendis… “Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium tells the story of a mystery woman living in the DC Universe today who discovers that she is not aging. We follow her as she walks us through all of DC’s futures, the good the bad and the ugly, right up to the Legion of Super-Heroes’ front door in the 31st century.” (They have a front door?) Millennium is the two-issue miniseries which resets the LSH stage beginning on Wednesday, September 4 — just one week from now — and prior to Legion of Super-Heroes #1 in November.
Legion of Super-Heroes #1 appears in comic shops November 6. Can I actually re-read all the previous LSH series before this new one debuts on Wednesday, November 6? It’s an admirable goal! Wish those LSH Flight Rings were more magic!
DC has rebranded their Graphic Novels for Kids, eliminating the (confusing) Zoom and Ink imprints to include these kid-friendly titles in the main line. There are three full-color paperbacks available in January 2020.
Diana, Princess of the Amazons
Diana, Princess of the Amazons
written by New York Times bestselling authors Shannon Hale and Dean Hale
art and cover by Victoria Ying
softcover, 5.5” x 8”, 144 pages
Eleven-year-old Diana leads an idyllic life on the island of Themyscira, although she’s starting to feel a bit alone. Despite having a loving mother, and many “aunties”, she is an only child — actually, she’s the only child on the entire island! She seems to get into trouble for not living up to Amazonian standards, and she frequently feels gangly and clumsy and not always good at anything. So she decides to look for a friend, someone her own age… but instead encounters the unexpected! This is a great book for kids about making mistakes, learning the hard way, and growing up to be a hero!
Green Lantern: Legacy
written by award winning author Minh Le (Drawn Together)
art and cover by Andie Tong
softcover, 5.5” x 8”, 144 pages
Thirteen year-old Tai Pham lives in an apartment (with his sketchpads and comic books) above his grandmother’s store. One day, after he inherits his grandmother’s jade ring, he’s suddenly being inducted into the legendary group of “space cops” called the Green Lantern Corps! This aids him in his struggles with neighborhood racist bullies, but he still has doubts about his own creativity — can he be strong (and creative) enough to soar above his insecurities? Don’t miss this tale of a brand-new Green Lantern!
Wonder Woman: Warbringer
based on the novel by Leigh Bardugo
adaptation by Louise Simonson
art and cover by Kit Seaton
softcover, 6” x 9”, 208 pages
Young Diana longs to prove herself to her warrior sisters, but when the opportunity finally arises, she throws away her chance and breaks Amazon law – risking exile – to save a mere mortal named Alia Keralis. Alia turns out to be no ordinary girl. She’s a Warbringer, and a direct descendant of Helen of Troy, and Diana may have doomed the world with her brave act! The two must team-up to either destroy or possess the Warbringer in Diana’s first adventure beyond the hidden island of Themyscira!
John Constantine: Hellblazer #1
For the opposite of kid-friendly, there’s John Constantine: Hellblazer #1, relaunching the grumpy Brit trenchcoated magician. He’s back in London (and also now on TV!) and back to his old tricks… and just in time, as it turns out, as things have turned dark in his old stomping grounds. It should be a run-of-the-mill exorcism, but, of course, nothing goes right! The original Constantine is back in this new series, written by Si Spurrier (The Dreaming), art by Aaron Campbell (Infidel), and covers by John Paul Leon and Charlie Adlard. Hellblazer #1 is on sale November 27 from DC’s Black Label imprint.
MARVEL COMICS
New Mutants #1
MORE MUTANTS, MORE MUTANTS…:Namely, New Mutants #1 & #2, X-Force #1 & #2, Fallen Angels #1 & #2, plus, don’t forget to order the second issues of X-Men, Excalibur, and Marauders (and maybe even Deadpool #1… mostly for the nifty variant cover featuring a gun-toting Mary Jane Watson!).
Meanwhile, the Fantastic Four has been expanding their little corner of the Marvel Universe. Check these out…
Fantastic Four #16
Fantastic Four #16 by Dan Slott and Sean Izaakse, with a cover by Nick Bradshaw. “Point of Origin” Part 3. Who is the winged warrior named Skye? Heck if I know, since this doesn’t ship until November!
Fantastic Four: Negative Zone
Fantastic Four: Negative Zone one-shot written by Mike Carey and Ryan North, with art by Stefano Caselli and Steve Uy. Cover by Kim Jacinto and variant by Mico Suayan. Yet another Reed Richards experiment goes awry in this flashback one-shot about the FF’s first adventure together!
Future Foundation #4
Future Foundation #4 written by Jeremy Whitley, art by Will Robson, and cover by Carlos Pacheco. The Future Foundation’s fight to save the Molecule Man comes to a head! Worse, someone dies!
Invisible Woman #5
Invisible Woman #5 written by Mark Waid, with art by Mattia De Iulis, and a cover by Adam Hughes. Sue Richards does something that may cross the line with her family! How will this change the Invisible Woman in the final issue of this miniseries?
Doctor Doom #2
Doctor Doom #2 written by Christopher Cantwell, with art by Salvador Larroca, and covers by ACO and a 2099 variant by TBA. Now vulnerable and without his usual strength, Doctor Doom must keep a low profile on the streets of New York. In that armor?!?
Fantastic Four: Grand Design #2
Fantastic Four: Grand Design #2 (of 2) written and drawn by Tom Scioli, variant cover by Jim Rugg. Concluding the tour of the FF’s history in titanic fashion! (Does that mean it’s sinking?) Writer/artist/colorist/letterer Tom Scioli channels the magic of Stan and Jack in this 48-page conclusion! Guest-starring Galactus and the Silver Surfer!
Elsewhere in the Marvel Universe:
Annihilation: Scourge Alpha
Annihilation: Scourge Alpha #1 — Who names these things? This sounds like a team-up of older Marvel villains. What’s next: Whiskey Tango Delta?
Savage Sword of Conan #11
Savage Sword of Conan #11 — More Alan Davis art! Keep it comin’!!! (Plot and words by Roy Thomas!)
And finally… I don’t know who this hot new artist who calls him/herself TBA, but s/he’s really all over the place at Marvel these days doing what seems like a billion variant covers!
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #50
BTW, don’t miss the Unbeatable last issue of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl! Issue #50 by Ryan North (writer), Derek Charm (artist), and Erica Henderson (cover artist), with a variant by Rahzzah, concludes the amazing, hilarious, heart-warming series. (Shhh!… Don’t tell anybody, but this is actually the 58th issue of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl! Math is hard!) Super-people cameos on the cover (by Henderson) include Loki, a Sentinel, the Rhino, Kraven the Hunter, the Mole Man, and many members of the supporting cast. Plus, like all great last issues, there are also friendships and explosions! (Hopefully not at the same time!)
OTHER STUFF
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #100
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #100 (IDW) — Has it been a hundred issues already? Seems like there should be more… It’s also the epic conclusion to the City at War storyline! Plus, check out IDW’s Oversized Deluxe TMNT Hardcovers — all of them are 300-400 pages each. It’s the most Cowabunga way to read the series!
Usagi Yojimbo #6
Also, huge congrats to Stan Sakai’s 35th Anniversary of Usagi Yojimbo. It seems like only yesterday! Here’s to 35 more!
Pogo Vol. 6
Don’t forget to check out new collections of Prince Valiant, Pogo, and Wally Wood at the Fantagraphics page!
Overstreet Price Guide to Batman
And for everybody who ever wanted an Overstreet Price Guide devoted solely to Batman, there’s a 416-page Overstreet Price Guide to Batman from Gemstone Publishing!
Cosmo the Mighty Martian
And this month’s most unexpected revival: Cosmo the Mighty Martian (who?) returns in a new #1 issue from Archie Comics in November (but order it now!). Francesco Francavilla offers up a variant cover worth checking out!
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KC CARLSON: Me, I can’t wait for the Cosmo the Mighty Martian Overstreet Price Guide! Waitaminute… maybe I can…
WESTFIELD COMICS is not responsible for the stupid things that KC says. Especially that thing that really irritated you. Writing this at 5 in the morning is irritating me…
POP! Iggy Pop
THING THAT MAKES THE UNIVERSE TOLERABLE TODAY: Knowing that there’s an Iggy Pop POP! vinyl figure! (See Page 59 in the Toys and Statues section of Diamond Previews.) There’s a certain synchronicity to that, especially since I just watched Mr. Pop in a cool documentary called Punk yesterday.