Weekly Treats! AvX, Daredevil, Everything Together

And so it ends. Or begins if you're looking at it from the Marvel NOW! perspective. He's had the Phoenix data since about issue three and been locked away in his make-shift workshop for a couple of issues so let's see what Tony Stark's got up his sleeve in Avengers vs. X-Men #12 (Marvel), the final issue by Jason Aaron (who I think has written the strongest issues in the series) and Adam Kubert. Closely following is the final issue of AvX: Versus #6 (Marvel) which features Scarlet Witch versus Hope as the main event but also includes a few mini-battles by big names.

How's this for a creative line-up for Daredevil: End of Days #1 (Marvel) of 8? Brian Michael Bendis & David Mack co-write and Klaus Janson & Bill Sienkiewicz illustrate and Alex Maleev provides the cover. All names from golden periods in Daredevil history, End of Days looks ahead to Matt Murdoch's final adventure as Daredevil - the sort of story I never really want to read but absolutely can't not. Expect grit and darkness...

There's a clever little cover for Before Watchmen: Rorschach #2 (DC) of 4 by Lee Bermejo - "Look over your shoulder. Someone is following." Originally only available digitally Legends of the Dark Knight #1 (DC) features short stories involving Batman with a host of creators - this issue includes work by Jeff Lemire, JG Jones, Damon Lindelof and more. Minimum Carnage: Alpha #1 (Marvel) kicks off another series featuring the Venom and Carnage double-act.

Editor of the indie anthology Kramer's Ergot, Sammy Harkham has recently published his work in Crickets but in Everything Together (PictureBox) he collects his short stories including the excellent and bleak Poor Sailor. Sometimes simply capturing a moment and sometimes something amusingly disturbing there's a rich sense of life in Harkham's work.

It's a good week for all ages adaptations of classic novels: The Wrinkle In Time (FSG) is Hope Larson's adaptation of Madeleine L'Engle's sci-fi novel of the same name written in 1963. Originally written as the first part of a four volume series it tells the story of three children who are whisked away across space and time to rescue a kidnapped relative. 

The second adaptation out this week is The City of Ember: The Graphic Novel (Jonathan Cape) adapted by Dallas Middaugh and Niklas Asker employing dialogue from the original novel written by Jeanne DuPrau. Only published in 2003 and also made into a movie, it tells the story of a doomed city in the darkness and the two children who attempt to escape.

And finally there's lovely hardcover collection of Neil Gaiman's Death stories in Death: The Deluxe Edition (DC) including The High Cost of Living, two issues of Sandman (The Sound Of Her Wings and Facade), a chapter from Endless Nights (Death And Venice) and three short stories, plus a gallery and introduction by Tori Amos.