Weekly Treats! Silk Spectre, The Massive

“Oh sweetie, you’re too young to hate. Wait until you’re older and the world gives you a good reason. Trust me, it won’t let you down.”

Time marches on and with it another Before Watchmen series.  This week (Thursday remember) it's Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #1 (of 4) plotted by Darwyn Cooke but actually written as well as illustrated by Amanda Conner so if it goes well this could be a step up for her as a comics creator.  The comic sticks to the panel page layout of the original and appears to dip directly into the Watchmen narrative.  It also includes the second part of The Crimson Corsair by Len Wein and John Higgins.

There are a few new launches this week.  After DMZ came to close Brian Wood launches a new series entitled The Massive #1 (Dark Horse) illustrated by Kristian Donaldson. The solicitation reads: In a post-war, post-crash, post-disaster, post-everything world, the environmental-action trawler Kapital scours the earth’s oceans for its mysteriously missing sistership, The Massive. Captain Callum Israel, a man who has dedicated his life to the ocean, now must ask himself—as our planet dies—what it means to be an environmentalist after the world’s ended. Callum and his crew will come up against pirates, rebels, murderers, and thieves as they struggle to remain noble toward their cause. Can you save a planet that's already doomed?

For the first time Marvel bring their regular and their Ultimate universe together for a tale of two Spider-Men in - appropriately enough - Spider-Men #1, of 5, told by Brian Michael Bendis and the excellent Sara Pichelli.  And novelist Jason Starr writes a new 5 issue series Untold Tales of PunisherMax #1 illustrated by newcomer Roland Boschi. Both from Marvel of course.

Not a number 1 but still my eldest son's favourite, its AvX: Versus #3.  Terry Dodson illustrates the fight between Black Widow & Magik whilst muscle-bulk king Ed McGuinness pits Colossus against Thing.

For books the stand-out Daredevil by Mark Waid vol 2 (Marvel) and this week, the pick of DC 52 book releases is Batwoman vol. 1 Hydrology (DC) which gets a hardcover treatment.  Both books are deservedly winning plaudits for art from Paolo Rivera and JH Williams III respectively...

Full list can be found under the tab at the top...