With the new year past, we say goodbye to a wonderful year of comic books, comic book movies and other comic book related things. But rest assured, 2016 is already off to a great start.
In the television realm, we've got Daredevil season two premiering March 18, just one week ahead of the theatrical release of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Sure, these two properties won't really be going head to head, but it's a great thing for us fans. Arrow and The Flash continue to do great and Legends of Tomorrow will add another level to that fun when it premieres later this month.
NBC just picked up Powerless, a workplace comedy set in the DC Universe. Which DC Universe, we have no idea, but the idea of The Office meets Smallville sounds pretty awesome. In sadder news, TNT passed on Titans, a live-action take on the Teen Titans. But hey, maybe someone will pick it up.
And in movies, we're looking at the most packed year on record for superhero flicks. Deadpool, Batman v. Superman, Captain America: Civil War and X-Men Apocalypse are just a few of what's coming. Will quantity reign over quality? Probably not, but we'll see.
No matter which side you're on, let's take a look at this week's offerings:
Marvel Comics
Spider-Man / Deadpool #1
Comic book fans have long known about Spider-Man's distaste for the merc with a mouth, Deadpool. Parker finds him reckless, annoying, frustratingly self-aware and well, a murdering psychopath. But Deadpool sees things a little differently, and looks to be seeking Parker's approval. Since he's an official Avenger now, he wants to learn how to be a better hero from the webslinger.
So, what's the best way to do this? Well, trick Spidey into thinking he's fighting the demon Dormammu to save the world. While not the brightest of Deadpool's plans, Parker falls for it, and this issue has him wondering whether he should finally give Deadpool the time of day. After all, he is an Avenger.
A-Force #1
A-Force was one of the brainchildren of Battleworld, the long gone/still technically running patchwork world from Secret Wars. In one domain, Arcadia, an all-female team of Avengers defended the land. She-Hulk, Medusa, Captain Marvel and more fended off evil and saved the day.
But with Singularity, the celestial-powered young girl from Arcadia, seemingly misplaced in the real Marvel universe, it's up to her to recruit the A-Force members that have no idea what A-Force actually us. She comes in contact with Captain Marvel and She-Hulk, who are both extremely confused as to how she knows them, but they work together to fight some sort of space/light monster. Well, until Medusa shows up. We'll see how this goes.
Spider Gwen #4
In this weird, alternate reality, Gwen Stacy is Spider-Woman and decides to fight crime following the death of her best friend, Peter Parker. In this issue, young Harry Osborn returns from S.H.I.E.L.D. training seeking revenge on Spider-Woman for the death of Parker, who was also his friend. They even played Dungeons & Dragons together. Thing is, Harry doesn't know that Spider-Woman is Gwen.
So Harry dons the persona of the Green Goblin, the name given to him by Peter when he was their dungeon master (I know, it's great) and tries to kill Gwen, until he realizes who she is. We're left in a cold close with a silhouette of Harry screaming "Nooooooo!" in classic Darth Vader fashion. But the story in this book continues to improve and the art is a great compliment, sometimes overshadowing the story itself. If they keep this up and start bringing in new and interesting heroes, Marvel may have a neat new universe on its hands.
Other releases to look out for: Darth Vader #15, Star Wars #14, Doctor Strange #4
DC Comics
Swamp Thing #1
Well, that was gross. Swamp Thing, who hasn't been in a starring series since early on in the New 52 imprint, is back in this new mini series, and he's in top form. We get a short glimpse into his origin, where a chemical plant explosion combined with the fluids of a swamp left him as a living, breathing, well, swamp thing.
But in this first issue he's tasked with finding the son of a couple he helps out after the husband is stuck in quicksand. Turns out their son is none other than Zombie, who is essentially a super strong, intelligent zombie. And what does Zombie do? Well, he rips Swamp Thing in half. Being a living plant and all, here's hoping our buddy Swamp Thing can bounce back from this.
Action Comics #48
In an unexpected turn of events, it looks like Vandal Savage is behind the draining of Superman's powers. That jerk. In this issue, Savage goes mad with power and tries to capture the entirety of the Justice League to drain their powers as well, but doesn't count on the resolve of a powerless Superman and his friends.
This was the start to a bigger battle of course, but with most of the Justice League captured and Superman and Wonder Woman seemingly unconscious in a crater somewhere, things are looking grim. But we all know things can only get better from here, right? Right? Either way, this is a stellar issue with awesome pacing and great art.
Midnighter #8
With the first main arc of Midnighter now behind us, it's time to get back to work. In this issue, Midnighter helps a super-powered being with the ability to combine animal DNA to create chimeras. You know, tigers mixed with elephants, dogs mixed with cats. That sort of thing.
But with all weird power, comes a weird group trying to make money off of abusing that power. In this case, that means big game hunters forcing the man to create animals for them to kill and stuff. This issue is a nice one-off and a great introduction to the next arc. Midnighter is helping, that's great, but now he's going to be helping Spyral. Yes, the same Spyral that employs Dick Grayson. The target? The Suicide Squad.
Other releases to look out for: Batman Beyond #8, Detective Comics #48, Green Arrow #48
Winner - DC Comics
And DC takes back the crown for this week, with a great showings from Superman, Midnighter and the re-introduction of Swamp Thing. The writing this week was fierce and succinct. Each story was clear and easy to follow, even with the stakes relatively high. And the art and design? Superb. Midnighter always stuns in this regard, but with Swamp Thing as a new, grotesque series and a cool new suit for Superman, good first impressions were made.
But who knows about next week. Secret Wars' final issue drops, which could make or break Marvel for the week as we draw ever closer to February.
Indie Spotlight
Unfollow #3
With the first two issues seemingly introducing us to our main characters, this issue brings about the main conflict. I knew something was fishy. With billionaire Larry Ferrell dying, his last wish is to leave his entire fortune to 140 people, split evenly among them. If one of them dies, everyone's fortune goes up. He says all this in his opening keynote after inviting all 140 randomly selected individuals to his island.
But while the story for this book is awfully farfetched, it's clear that there is some basis in reality. Ferrell is the owner of Headspace a social network that's sort of like an amalgamation of Facebook and Twitter. The 140 people selected represent the 140 character limit of Twitter (for now.) So, in short, it looks like all of these people are going to try and kill each other. Great. Just great.
Other releases to look out for: Paper Girls #4, Bitch Planet #6, Fade Out #12
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/D4FJ726DTR6SREKVO4SCKYKNEE.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/VVGIMAHWGFF2BPST7A36S4AYJY.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/OM2IDS6SQBE33ADVQBOHVMSWBE.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/YH4SVORUYHKSJ64K6VBOV7FDIU.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/5AJVFJU2ORBDTFBQSTEZQXAH4E.jpg)