Here are some of the books that I’ll be picking up this week. Blackest Night is over and Brightest Day is finally upon us. Bullseye gets some screen time with Punisher. Second Coming is already up to Chapter Three. Cover your eyes from The Light and Billy Shakespeare has got his own problems to deal with. Should be a good week. Rolling the dice on a few of these but that’s why we get up on Wednesday mornings, right?
New Mutants #12
I didn’t realize it when I picked up X-Men Second Coming two weeks ago but this giant crossover story is going to be 14 chapters plus another 7 tie-in books. I’m two chapters pot-committed. Is it too late for me? New Mutants #12 is Chapter Three. I think I may be genuinely interested in this X story. It would be first time since Astonishing. I don’t care a drop what happens to Hope and Cable but I don’t want to miss another mutiny under the command of Cyclops.
Punishermax #6
In the last arc Frank Castle barely survived an encounter with an Amish assassin. I cannot wait to see him take on Bullseye. This little Punishermax universe is brutal and wonderful and the creative team has set a high bar after their portrayal of the Kingpin. I have every faith that they can make Bullseye every bit as volatile and lethal as he should be. Anyone remember when he murdered a baby with a toothpick?
Flash #1 Brightest Day
The preview pages of this book have been pimped in the back of DC’s other books for weeks, and for good reason. The art of Francis Manapul is detailed and kinetic and perfect for The Flash. So for that reason I’ll pick this up. I don’t have much faith in Brightest Day as a concept and I’ve never much liked the Flash as a character, regardless of who wears the red tights. He strikes me as just another DC character that is overpowered to the point of being nearly impossible to write a story arc around. Maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised.
The Light #1
The premise of this book is that a virus will cause a person to explode if they look at an electric light. I hope that this does not use the usual tropes of end-of-civilization stories. Namely, the bands of roving cannibals/thieves/militia that are more dangerous than anything else. In other words, I’m really hoping for some clever writing here. As with so many other books out there, this is a great premise let’s see how well it’s executed.
Kill Shakespeare #1
I’m not sure what is more difficult to believe. Is it the fact that the character Hamlet (THE Hamlet) has to find and kill the wizard Shakespeare? Or is the fact that this series is planned to be twelve issues? There can be no questioning the novelty of the premise here. The greatest heroes of William Shakespeare’s works square off against his greatest villains. I am pulling for this book if for no other reason than it might make it into a classroom one day. The art of Andy Belanger also looks good for the period so I’m going to make this the “Issue Number One” for the week.