Brave New Worlds

Ya know this whole DCU New #1s thing that everyone and their moms are talking about like crazy online, in comic shops, street corners and mountain tops!? We’ve assembled a comprehensive list of those comics and their solicitation information for you right here on bravenewworldscomics.com. So hit the jump already…

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As you may have heard DC is doing something in September that is causing a little bit of a ruckus in the world of comics creators and fans alike.  They’ve made a video and we have it here!

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I for one can’t believe that it’s already time to celebrate the birth of the greatest nation on the planet once again!…BUT it is!!! So get ready because I’ve got some 4th of July themed links for ya!

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It’s been a hot minute (or maybe like a month or two) since my last attempt at a list of sweet sweet links for your Friday perusal…so sue me (seriously please don’t because I can’t afford a lawyer who doesn’t have an unhealthy love for Kid Flash). Anyways hit the jump and get to clickin’!

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FF#4

Jonathan Hickman (w) Barry Kitson (a)

There have only been a handful of books in my opinion (interestingly enough all by Marvel) that have been consistently strong each month and only get better with each outing. Thirty days can be a long time to go between the action and the narrative, but for a select few authors and artists that obstacle is a kin to playing baseball with a beach ball – it’s just easy. For me, reading Hickman’s continued excellence on the Fantastic Four/FF feels like he is playing with the world’s largest beach ball.

Issue four of the latest iteration of the FF continues to dig deeper into the conundrum that Hickman introduced back in the Dark Reign Fantastic Four mini-series. Clearly not learning the lesson that forced him to side against his family in the Civil War, an ended experiment has been brought back to life by none other than his daughter. Now Reed and Val have to hold a symposium with a who’s who of their rogue gallery to figure out how to defeat an unlimited amount of Reed Richards from countless different dimensions.

It’s sheer joy watching the fun of the round table going back and forth as Diablo, Doom and others wax on about how they admire these new Reeds and their ruthlessness, until of course they find out their alternate universe version fates.

Meanwhile, Sue is called away as part of her new official job in Atlantis and brings Spidey and Alex with as the War of the Four Cities begins. But you will never believe who instigated its commencement. And finally, it seems Ben is still having issues dealing with Johnny’s loss, but with so much going on since his demise the Thing appears to finally be hitting that emotional wall. What toll it will take no one but Hickman knows for sure.

I’d love to say that if you have not been reading FF that issue four is a great jumping on point, and in some ways it is as the beginning of an arc starts now. However, Hickman has put together so many layers of this onion that as you peel one back, countless new layers take its place. It’s a never ending “blooming” onion (mmmm, Outback’s blooming onion, now that is good stuff). But fret not, all four of his previous Fantastic Four collections plus the above-mentioned Dark Reign mini-series are in stock at Brave New Worlds and will of course count towards out Rewards Program.

I feel like a broken record, but in the weeks that Hickman’s Fantastic Four and FF have been released, it has been hands down my favorite.

Mighty Thor #2

Matt Fraction (a) Olivier Coipel (a)

Feels like a tease when I first open up an issue of Fraction and Coipel’s Mighty Thor. I really relate Coipel’s artwork on the God of Thunder to Michael Straczynski’s run from five years ago – simple, elegant, understated and a whole lot of awesome. So, when I opened up Thor for the second month in a row and began to read the words associated with Coipel’s art, it leaves me a little perplexed. Thank goodness it’s Fraction providing the tale.

Fraction earned his stripes on Thor in the Ages of Thunder one-shots that he penned along with the Secret Invasion Thor mini-series. Add in the final six issues of the title Straczynski and Coipel teamed up on starting in 2007 and Fraction is providing the chocolate to JMS’ coffee.

It can be hard getting caught up in expectations (superhero movie fans should know exactly what this means) when reading a book, and at first the Mighty Thor can be a letdown if you are hoping for that deliberate pace that JMS told his story with.

However, Fraction has his own unique style and when it is on, it is on. The action seems to come a lot quicker in Thor’s Asgard nowadays and that is not necessarily a bad thing. The Mighty Thor is a perfect jumping on point for casual fans and people who like the movie and want something more. Much like he did with Invincible Iron Man when the first film came out, there are a lot of relatable situations and characters in Mighty Thor #2 to not overwhelm or lose new readers out of the gate.  Sif, Heimdall, Odin and the Destroyer all make appearances.

Plus, the story is fun and the consequences of the premiere issue are still being felt by our favorite golden-haired god. But wait there is more as Galactus is coming. His herald the Silver Surfer arrives with an ultimatum which receives the response any good Asgardian would give. That’s how fun this issue is!

Astonishing Spider-Man/Wolverine #6

Jason Aaron (w) Adam Kubert (a)

A year is a long time to tell a six-part story, especially one as convoluted as this tale. But it has been worth the ride, as Aaron and Kubert wrap up this story with what appears to be an ode to Back to the Future III, beginning the story in the Wild, Wild, West where Peter Parker has brought the invention of the bacon cheeseburger to the masses.

But seriously, it’s a tale of love and lost and of friendship gained. At the end, with all the time travel, Mojo-craziness and temporal flux, Astonishing Spider-Man/Wolverine was a very enjoyable tale that ended on a high note. Granted, you really need to pay attention from panel to panel, especially in this issue, but that is part of the joy. If you are looking for some mindless entertainment, might I suggest the multiplex. If however you like to be challenged, read this book, which I think will get stronger in story if you get to read all six issues at once.

Issue six had all the classic time elements included, especially the opportunity to peer into the window of how this entire adventure began in the first place. And I loved the way Aaron finished the story, bringing it back to its two main characters while also throwing in an enticing epilogue.

Do you have Twitter? Do you follow us on Twitter? Do your friends follow us on Twitter? What exactly is a Twitter???…

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So there’s this group of people telling us the world is going to be ending tomorrow Saturday May 21, 2011. It’s not. Brave New Worlds (both locations) will be up and running tomorrow morning ( i know cause i’m workin’!) and Sunday May 22, 2011. See ya there!

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Astonishing X-Men #38

Christos Gage (w) Juan Bobillo (a)

Blame Joss Whedon is how I would like to explain my perennially high expectations for each monthly edition of the Astonishing X-Men. And sadly, since Whedon’s awesome run which elevated the title to the stratosphere of the moon, the creative teams have not really got my mojo rising with their stories and artwork ever since.

That all changed two months ago when Daniel Way and Jason Pearson assumed the creative chores, launching their “Monstrous” storyline in issue #36. Granted, the jury is still out whether Way and Pearson have the same substance of Whedon and Cassaday (and maybe those comparisons are unfair), but I found myself enjoying Astonishing X-Men for the first time in a long time.

Then after two issues, smack dab in the middle of the “Monstrous” story, the Powers That Be at Marvel or editorial decided to slip in this new story, taking a break from the monsters. And if you know anything about monsters, that is never a good sign.

So, with as much reticence that John Adams had when he first arrived at our nation’s first continental congress hundreds of years ago (like how I am comparing reading the X-Men to the birth of our freedom, which in turn allows us to read the X-Men?) I opened this week’s offering of Astonishing X-Men.

My first thought was, “admiral, there be whales (whoops, wrong quote), monsters” in here.

That’s right, that sneaky Gage brought back the Brood. Now you are probably thinking to yourself so what, been there, got the t-shirt and larva to prove it. Granted, you would be correct in assuming that you have read all potential Brood tales in the past pages of the X-Men. But see, things are a little different now for the Brood, as they teeter on the brink of extinction thanks to the events in Annihilation. Additionally, our top-secret alien group known as S.W.O.R.D. has learned how to neuter the slime bags.

So that is where we are, on the precipice of being mighty (Serenity reference y’all). Two fun monsters stories in one book, at pretty much the same time. I know it will be difficult to juggle, but I have faith in all of your abilities to figure out what actually is happening from month to month.

I also forgot to mention that this week’s issue also contains a reunion that most of us have been waiting 13 issues for (in Astonishing X-Men time that’s like 18 years).

Honorable Mention shout-out goes to IDW’s Rocketeer Adventures #1 this week. This mini-series takes the classic Dave Stevens created character and gives some of the industry’s top and brightest talent a turn at the steering wheel, with each issue containing short vignettes of everyone’s favorite rocket man. Of the three tales that appeared in the debut issue, my favorite would have to be the first – written and drawn by John Cassaday. We jump right into the middle of all the action as Betty is being held against her will (of course) by Maroni and his men as Cliff attempts to once again, save the day. Cassaday’s page layouts are fun and the characters appear as if they were drawn by Stevens himself (the finest compliment I can pay). But wait, there is more, as Cassaday’s writing is also very good capturing the characters mannerisms and of course, fun. Mike Alldred supplies the second story (which was decent, just not an Alldred fan) and Kurt Busiek and Michael Kaluta bring it home with a tale of loyalty and war. Overall I would give this a thumbs up, especially for fans of Stevens’ Rocketeer and those nostalgic for his original run.

Astonishing X-Men #37

Daniel Way (w) Jason Pearson, Sara Pichelli, Karl Story (a)

It’s been awhile since I raved about an issue of Astonishing X-Men. In fact, it was way, way back when a certain scribe of the slayer of vampires and horrible doctor’s was penning each issue. Thankfully there are some new reasons to be excited by a title with both the X-Men and Astonishing in it.

The reasons are three-fold; new creative team of Way and Pearson (with a little help by Pichelli), Monster Island and family. The last part choked me up just a little (just a little).

Anyway the X-Team returns to Tokyo escorting Armor home to take care of some sad family business. Unbeknownst to them someone is messing with the folks who live on Monster Island – yep, you guessed it right, those folks be monsters – one of which is now living large in downtown Tokyo.

So we got Cyke, Emma and a certain raging Canuck trying to tame a dragon while Armor is MIA. Really, this does not do the story justice. It’s just a good old fashion monster story. Way writes some awesome action scenes which the art team brings to life. But for my money in this issue, it’s the plight of Armor that really got me. Yes, monster fighting is always fun (never really gets old does it?), but the heart of the issue is Armor. Check out the close-up panels of her with her Dad – they are awesome.

Anyway, that’s where I am at. Astonishing X-Men #37 is actually part two of the story titled, you guessed it, “Monstrous!”

Flashpoint

Geoff Johns (w) Andy Kubert (a)

While Marvel Comics Summer event, Fear Itself, is already two months old, DC Comics addition to the spectacle seems to have more promise, focus and excitement surrounding it as Flashpoint #1 release this week.

With any summer comic event there will always be a lot of pre-hype, speculation, comparison and ultimately griping. The negatives will be we have been there before, seen that and have the t-shirt. There is a lot of talk how Flashpoint is just a big Elseworlds stories. Granted, even if that were true, I’d still be interested in reading it. However, that is not the case as Flashpoint does for the DC Universe what House of M did for Marvel  (there goes those comparisons again).

Mirroring Marvel’s Fear Itself, DC’s Flashpoint will launch what seems like a thousand different three-issue mini-series. I like this concept that began during the Civil War and has seen both companies successfully adopt its strategy for each event. Read the main story and decide which side tales interest you, and then follow them. If you just have to know everything, well then you know what you have to do.

Now to the story, which surrounds Barry Allen, aka as The Flash. Issue one begins with a narrator explaining that they are not the hero which probably leads us to believe that they are not Allen. Something happened, although we are not quite sure what, that changes everything, and we do mean everything.

In the first couple of pages we see Allen at his normal job working on a case. His regular co-workers and boss are there. But that is where the similarities end. This is an entire new world and it is fun to watch Allen attempt to figure it out, from his trying to go all “flash” when an emergency erupts to the several revelations he discovers by issue’s end. Wait until you see the big reveal at the end.

I like how Johns lays the story out, following the mystery from a few different viewpoints. Obviously Allen’s is one of the most important as he is the character we most relate.  But there are other familiar yet different people.

I don’t like to give spoilers, but the following is already out there with the release of all the mini-series titles coming very soon. Aquaman is Emperor of Atlantis and Wonder Woman is Queen of the Amazons and they are both looking to sit atop the throne of the world, the one they rule. And the possibilities only get better.

Many of the upcoming mini-series are teased in the issue, including Lois Lane and the Resistance, which I for one am eagerly waiting.

Kubert’s layouts are his usual best and the colors used for the issue really bring some of the dialogue alive in a book which turns out to be more talk than anything else. And that’s the thing, there are lots of revelations and seeds planted for this five-issue mini-series, but you never feel bored or wait for the moment when the fists fly. It’s that good.

I highly recommend Flashpoint for any fan of the cape books and those who like alternate reality takes on their favorite characters. Brave New Worlds has plenty in stock at both locations. Also watch out for the mini-series coming in the next few weeks which will also feature a specific button to go along each first issue.

And if you did not read House of M, check out Brave New Worlds must-read sections as it will be residing right there waiting for you to pick it up. Trust me, you will not be sorry.

Even though today is First Friday and tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day (Old City’s craziest back to back 2 Day Event) Rob and I, who should be resting up, went and saw Thor at midnight last night. It was

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