A lot actually got rolling this week, from miniseries and tie-ins to new ongoings. And a lot of it is actually at least worth a glance at the FLCS.
Glory
Never read a “Glory” comic? Can’t blame you. One of the more forgettable characters out of…ugh…Extreme Studios in the ’90s, “Glory” was never interesting and always lame.
That’s changed.
Don’t be fooled by the numbering, this is a reboot. And it’s actually quite a good one: it covers a lot of ground to help you understand who Glory is and where she comes from, and it has a good start to the overall arc. This isn’t quite the gloriously weird yet somehow perfect “Prophet” reboot, but it takes a forgettable character and makes her suddenly a lot more interesting.
Batman Beyond
This has both the welcome return of Norm Breyfogle to a Batbook, and some really good writing: even if you’ve never seen an episode of the TV show, it sets up the world deftly and simply. Not earth-shaking, but a fun, well-written book with a little taste of nostalgia for the ’90s.
Road Rage
Stephen King and Joe Hill’s take on “Duel”, the suspense classic, comes to comics in a miniseries. Chris Ryall handles the adaptation duties, and honestly, it’s slow going as the book sets up the cast…but it pays off in the last few pages, and the miniseries itself promises to be interesting.
B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth: The Long Death
The less said, the better: if you love Hellboy, just pick up this book. It’s that simple.
Peter Panzerfaust
Peter Pan fighting in World War II is a pretty weird concept, although it works pretty well: Peter Pan isn’t the cuddly Disney character, but a savage, after all. But it’s well-executed, so far, and definitely worth a look at a second issue.
Mondo
Speaking of weird…
Ted McKeever has always been an unusual artist, and this comic is…off-kilter. It’s a book about a guy who basically becomes the Hulk, except yellow, and hallucinates gigantic chickens.
Like we said, weird. But interesting enough to stick with this three issue mini.
DC Universe Presents: Challengers Of the Unknown
You know what mixes together like toothpaste and motor oil? A super team based around a reality show and vaguely Eastern mysticism.
Nanda Parbat has always been hard for DC to incorporate post-Crisis, and this doesn’t do it any favors. The main problem with this book is that the new Challengers are either flat or obnoxious (or both). Apparently a lot of them are getting their tickets punched in this upcoming arc, but the reader shouldn’t be thinking “Good!” when hearing that. Considering this book just came off a really, really good arc starring “Deadman”, this is pretty disappointing, especially considering old DC hand Jerry Ordway is behind the art (which is solid) and the story.
Army of Darkness
We’re reserving judgement on this one. Dynamite’s “Evil Dead” comics have tended towards the middling: they’re not terrible, but they’re not the sheer Deadite smashing joy of the movies. But what is? The first issue doesn’t even feature much of Ash, mostly setting up a parallel worlds conceit, but it is at least occasionally funny.
image courtesy DC Comics