SOMETHING NEW

NEW GRAPHIC NOVELS

AND

COLLECTED EDITIONS

WEDNESDAY 9^TH OCTOBER

What a stellar week for new graphic novels - for superhero fans there are new Batman and Thor trades, as well as Warren Ellis' Storm mini-series and the lead up to Marvel's Infinity event, Thanos Rising. Horror enthusiasts are sure to enjoy Colder (just look at that cover! so creepy), and Stephen King's popular Dark Tower graphic novel adaptation.  Readers wanting to begin a new series are spoiled for choice this week - Eisner-award winning Lazarus is my first choice, and I'm intrigued by the rather ridiculous looking God Hates Astronauts. The first My Little Pony collection is also now in paperback, so fervent Bronies as well as new fans can read about the antics of their friends in Equestria. Manga fans have a beautiful new omnibus edition of the classic series Trigun and a previously unavailable series from Astroboy creator and manga innovator Osamu Tezuka.  

That's enough chatter, on to the comics!

 

BATMAN TP VOL 02 THE CITY OF OWLS

 In this new trade paperback collecting BATMAN #8-12 and ANNUAL #1, Bruce Wayne has learned that the Court of Owls is real-and a deadly threat to Gotham City! As Batman struggles to stop the Court of Owls before they claim the city for their own, he uncovers dark secrets about the Wayne family and the city he's sworn to protect! 

BTVS SEASON 9 TP VOL 04 WELCOME TO TEAM

 Buffy is unwillingly recruited by the demon Illyria and a mystical council to take down the Siphon-for good. He is on the loose again, and a danger to all remnants of magic! Meanwhile, back home the loss of magic has begun to affect those closest to Buffy . . . Collect issues #16-#20 of Season 9. 

CHRONICLES OF KING CONAN TP VOL 06 DEATH IN STYGIA 

COLDER TP 

 Declan Thomas is an ex-inmate of an insane asylum that was destroyed in a fire, he has the strange ability to step inside a person's madness-and sometimes cure it. He hopes to one day cure his own, but time is running out, as a demonic predator pursues him. 

Collects the five-issue miniseries. 

COLONIZED TP

 

A spaceship crashes into a separatist camp and manages to reanimate the dead! Now, cut off from any military aid, it's Aliens vs. Zombies vs. Militiamen in a carnage-filled tale from the writer/creator of Zombies vs Robots! 

COMPLETE PEANUTS HC VOL 20 1989-1990

COURTNEY CRUMRIN SPEC ED HC VOL 04

CREEPY ARCHIVES HC VOL 17 

DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER TP MAN IN BLACK

 Roland Deschain, the Last Gunslinger, closes at last on his elusive nemesis, the Man in Black. At Roland's side is his newest tet-mate, Jake Chambers - a boy from some strange other Earth of subways, turnpikes and fluorescent lights. But to reach the Man in Black - and save the Dark Tower - Roland is prepared to risk all. His life. His very soul. Even Jake. Follow this mismatched pair of travelers on the final leg of a treacherous journey, to the destiny Roland has pursued for twelve long years - and the fate young Jake is all too aware awaits him. Master author Stephen King's magnum opus hits the comic pages in an atmospheric vision of Mid-World that draws inspiration from the final two stories of King's The Gunslinger. Collecting DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER - THE MAN IN BLACK #1-5.

DC SUPER HEROES SUPERMAN YR TP BIZARRO IS BORN 

GFT VAMPIRES AND WEREWOLVES TP

GOD HATES ASTRONAUTS TP VOL 01 

 GOD HATES ASTRONAUTS follows the story of a group of incompetent, small-minded, super powered narcissists called "The Power Persons Five" who are hired by NASA to stop all farmers from launching themselves into space in homemade rocket ships. Unfortunately for NASA, this goal is scarcely even addressed and the book focuses more on extramarital affairs, bank-robbing owls, big gross swollen heads, ghost cow heads, olde tyme boxers, tigers eating cheeseburgers in the Crab Nebula, buffalo judges and tons of aggressive swearing. Not so much a superhero book as it is a parody of basically everything and a celebration of weird that is jam-packed with references to RoboCop and Die Hard.
"I don't want to oversell what Ryan has accomplished here, but I gave God Hates Astronauts to a blind man and he regained his sight." - Jonathan Hickman (EAST OF WEST, The Manhattan Projects, The Avengers)

GRIMM FAIRY TALES TP VOL 14

I VAMPIRE TP VOL 03 WAVE OF MUTILATION

INTENSELY DUMB MAD TP

INTENSELY DUMB MAD-one of the most honest book titles ever! This edition includes our versions of Star Wars' Revenge of the Sith and The Lord of the Rings' The Return of the King! Plus, find out if you're addicted to video games, yecchy places to avoid during winter break vacation, an edition of The Comic Club, Spy vs. Spy, and more features picked especially for fans of the MAD Cartoon Network series!

KILL SHAKESPEARE TP VOL 03 TIDE OF BLOOD

LAZARUS TP VOL 01 

 

 Collecting the first four issues of the Eisner-winning team of RUCKA and LARK's critically acclaimed new series about Forever Carlyle, the Lazarus of the Carlyle Family. Included are the first four issues of story, as well as the previously released introductory four-page short "Family: Prelude."

LUCIFER TP VOL 02 

 In this second new LUCIFER title collecting issues #14-28 and LUCIFER: NIRVANA, the Lightbringer is hard at work on a New Creation complete with a pair of inhabitants for his new Garden of Eden. But as he tries his hand at universe building, back on Earth (and in Hell) schemes and betrayals continue.

MIND MGMT HC VOL 02 FUTURIST 

MY LITTLE PONY TP VOL 01 THE MAGIC BEGINS

 The celebrated animated series comes to book shelves! Revisit the habitants of Equestria and learn about the magic that friendship brings in this adaptation of the television series.  

OVERSTREET GUIDE TO COLLECTING VOL 02 COMIC & ANIM

THANOS RISING TP

 Thanos left audiences abuzz after MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS, but who is this disturbing villain? Discover the hidden truth in this gripping tale of tragedy, deceit and destiny. Where did this demi-god of destruction come from, and what does he want from the universe? Death has been shadowing Thanos for his entire life, watching his inner darkness grow - but why? And when the Mad Titan flees his home in search of true love, how many lives will he take to find it? The answers come from the incredible creative team of Jason Aaron (WOLVERINE) and Simone Bianchi (ASTONISHING X-MEN)! Prepare for a journey that will change one boy's life - and will soon change the very nature of the Marvel Universe. And when Thanos' rise is complete, the stage is set for INFINITY! 

Collecting THANOS RISING #1-5. 

THOR GOD OF THUNDER PREM HC VOL 02 GODBOMB

TRIGUN OMNIBUS TP 

Meet Vash the Stampede, the galaxy's deadliest and most wanted man. Every bounty hunter aims to claim Vash dead or alive-preferably dead!-and though Vash is a pacifist, he won't go down without a fight. Collecting both Trigun volumes, Trigun Omnibus features nearly 700 pages of Yasuhiro Nightow's signature creation!  

 

TRITON OF THE SEA GN VOL 01 

The ocean holds many tales. Tales of mermaids, of underwater kingdoms, and of fantastical beasts lurking in the deep. Spurred by these tales, Kazuya sets out to find the truth, but what he finds is a baby?! Not just any baby, the baby Kazuya finds is Triton! The last of a once mighty and proud race of people from the sea. Triton seems human, but unusual and terrible events begin to happen with all those around him. Who is Triton, and why does he bring misfortune to everyone around him? Finally in print, Osamu Tezuka's masterful tale of the sea! 

UXB HC 

X-MEN STORM BY WARREN ELLIS AND TERRY DODSON TP

 Long ago, Storm won leadership of the underground mutant community known as the Morlocks. But her reign was a distant one, and Storm's neglected subjects grew increasingly embittered. Ultimately, the mad Mikhail Rasputin swept the Morlocks away into another dimension - a harsh realm where time ran much faster than normal. There, the next generation of Morlock children came of age, hard and cold and bitter. They returned as a terrorist unit called Gene Nation, and Storm nearly had to slay their leader Storm seeks a new balance in her life. But when she is abducted to Mikhail's brutal dimension, can Storm prevail against the living reminders of her failure? Or will the sins of her past drag her down? Collecting STORM (1996) #1-4.

SOMETHING NEW

NEW COMICS

WEDNESDAY 9^TH OCTOBER

So many new series arriving this week, where to begin! How about with a truly unexpected Halloween treat, Afterlife with Archie - the buzz surrounding this series has been amazing, who would have thought Archie could lend itself  to horror? It's a match made in Hell, apparently.  ;-) Speaking of horror, new Vertigo series Coffin Hill looks like it could be another winner for the revitalized DC imprint, and of course the big news of the week belongs to zombilicious The Walking Dead - the 10th anniversary special edition of issue #1 you've all been anxiously waiting for is finally here, along with plenty of variant covers for #115, and a spotlight issue for prominent tv character Tyreese! 

I've been eagerly anticipating the release of Kieron Gillen's new Ancient Greek epic Three, told from a very different perspective of the Spartans than Frank Miller's 300, and Rocket Girl, which looks to be a beautifully illustrated and fun science fiction mystery series. There's also a double sized issue of Batman and new Forever Evil, lots of action over at Marvel with the Infinity event and its many crossovers, the finale of America's Got Powers, and the next issue of all-ages favourite Hero Bear and the Kid.  What are you excited to read this week? Talk to us on Twitter @DavesComics!

ARCHIE

AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE #1

NEW ONGOING SERIES! "Escape From Riverdale" -- This is how the end of the world begins... Harvey Award-winning writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Carrie, Archie meets Glee) and Eisner-winning artist Francesco Francavilla (Batman, Black Beetle) take Archie and the gang where they've never been before-to the grave and back! A horrific accident sets off a series of grim events and Sabrina the Teenage Witch must try to repair the unspeakable evil her spell has unleashed. Gasp in horror as Riverdale faces an impending zombie Arch-pocalypse in this brand-new, spine-tingling ongoing series -- but be warned, kiddies, this one's not for the faint of heart! For TEEN+ readers.

AVATAR

CROSSED BADLANDS #38 (MR)

GEORGE RR MARTIN SKIN TRADE #3

BONGO

SPONGEBOB COMICS #25

BOOM

ADVENTURE TIME CANDY CAPERS #4

DEATHMATCH #10

DARKHORSE

ABE SAPIEN #6

CREEPY COMICS #14

DEATH SENTENCE #1 (OF 6)

HALO INITIATION #3 (OF 3) MAIN CVR

RESIDENT ALIEN SUICIDE BLONDE #2 (OF 3)

SHAOLIN COWBOY #1

 The Shaolin Cowboy returns, but nowhere in sight is there a dead Robin, any infinity gauntlets, or a single conquering Ultron-just flat-out action, intrigue, and plenty of roadkill. Geof Darrow's slow-talkin', kung-fu-gripping hero proves once again, in this brand-new new series, that the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a chainsaw!

STAR WARS #10 2013 ONGOING

X #6

DC/VERTIGO

ASTRO CITY #5

BATGIRL #24

BATMAN #24 

 Zero Year Part Four! In this amazing, double-sized issue, Batman is on the trail of the Red Hood Gang and their mysterious leader, secret origins are revealed, and a major surprise will change the course of Zero Year and Batman's life!

BATMAN ARKHAM UNHINGED #19

BATMAN LIL GOTHAM #7

COFFIN HILL #1 

 COFFIN HILL stars Eve Coffin, a rebellious, teenage lowlife from a high-society family with a curse that goes back to the Salem Witch trials. Following a night of sex, drugs and witchcraft in the woods, Eve wakes up naked, covered in blood and unable to remember how she got there. One friend is missing, one is in a mental ward-and one knows that Eve is responsible.  After a stint as a Boston cop that ends in a bullet wound and unintended celebrity, Eve returns to Coffin Hill, only to discover the darkness that she unleashed ten years ago in the woods was never contained. It continues to seep through the town, cursing the soul of this sleepy Massachusetts hollow, spilling secrets and enacting its revenge.
Set against the haunted backdrop of New England, COFFIN HILL explores what people will do for power and retribution. Noted novelist Caitlin Kittredge, author of the Black London series, brings a smart, mesmerizing style to comics. Artist Inaki Miranda (FABLES) brings his dynamic storytelling to COFFIN HILL, following an acclaimed run on FAIREST.

CONSTANTINE #7

FBP FEDERAL BUREAU OF PHYSICS #4 (MR)

FOREVER EVIL ARKHAM WAR #1 (OF 6)

As FOREVER EVIL hits the world, no corner of the DC Universe is in worse shape than Gotham City! Madness and mayhem hit the streets as both Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Prison unleash their prisoners upon the helpless citizens of Gotham. And with no Dark Knight to protect the city, what horrors will follow?

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #24

KATANA #8

NIGHTWING #24

SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 #18

SUICIDE SQUAD #24 (EVIL)

SUPERBOY #24

SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #1

WORLDS FINEST #16

DYNAMITE

RED SONJA #4

IDW

GHOSTBUSTERS #8

GI JOE COBRA FILES #7

GI JOE SPECIAL MISSIONS #8

IT CAME #3 (OF 4)

JUDGE DREDD #11

MAGIC THE GATHERING THEROS #1

MEMORY COLLECTORS #1 (OF 3)

Three jaded fetish models are unexpectedly thrown into a violent world and made to confront a horrible and unperceived truth: Hidden among us are entities that feed on the very thing we hold most sacred, our memories. No longer content with their lives as hunted cattle, they become the hunters. 

POPEYE CLASSICS ONGOING #15

SONS OF ANARCHY #2 (OF 6) (MR)

THREE #1

 When a member of the Spartan ruling class visits an isolated homestead of Helot workers, a brutal massacre is only the beginning. KIERON GILLEN (PHONOGRAM, Über, Iron Man), RYAN KELLY (Saucer County, Local) and JORDIE BELLAIRE (THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS, NOWHERE MEN) unite to tell the heroic story of three slaves and their desperate attempt to escape 300 of the finest warriors who've ever lived.

TRANSFORMERS ROBOTS IN DISGUISE #21

TRIPLE HELIX #1 (OF 4)

 Where TRIO stopped, HELIX starts! There's a MONSTER on the loose in the City... but will the mysterious CHANGELINGS of TRIPLE HELIX destroy it before they realize it's really an old FRIEND?

IMAGE

AMERICAS GOT POWERS #7 (OF 7)

BUSHIDO #2 (OF 5)

CHEW #37 (MR)

GHOSTED #4 (MR)

MANHATTAN PROJECTS #15

MULTIPLE WARHEADS DOWN FALL ONE SHOT (MR)

 The organ smuggler Sexica and her werewolf boyfriend Nikoli try to get by in a harsh Soviet fantasy world with dream monsters, radiation slugs, and starships falling from Wolf War 3.
Reprints 2007's "The Fall," the original 2003 adult Warheads story, and the 2004 short "Elevator."

ROCKET GIRL #1

A teenage cop from a high-tech future is sent back in time to 1986 New York City.  Dayoung Johansson is investigating the Quintum Mechanics megacorporation for crimes against time.  As she pieces together the clues, she discovers the "future" she calls home - an alternate reality version of 2013 - shouldn't exist at all!
Blast off with the new ongoing series by BRANDON MONTCLARE (Halloween Eve) and Eisner Award nominee AMY REEDER (Batwoman, Madame Xanadu).

SIDEKICK #3 (MR)

THINK TANK #10

WALKING DEAD #1 10TH ANNIVERSARY ED (MR)

The historic first issue of THE WALKING DEAD presented for the first time in FULL COLOR by colorist extraordinaire DAVE STEWART!  Along with the original covers and variants done for this issue throughout the years and tons of other bonus material. 

WALKING DEAD #115 CVR A (MR)

WALKING DEAD #115 CVR B (MR)

WALKING DEAD #115 CVR C (MR)

WALKING DEAD #115 CVR D (MR)

WALKING DEAD #115 CVR E (MR)

WALKING DEAD #115 CVR F (MR)

WALKING DEAD #115 CVR G (MR)

WALKING DEAD #115 CVR H (MR)

WALKING DEAD #115 CVR I (MR)

WALKING DEAD #115 CVR J (MR)

WALKING DEAD #115 CVR K (MR)

WALKING DEAD TYREESE SPECIAL (MR)

Just in time for the premiere of Season Four of the TV show!  Tyreese, a character prominently featured in the season, gets a spotlight here.  The special issue reprints his first appearance from THE WALKING DEAD #7 as well as a new origin story, first printed in THE WALKING DEAD: FREE COMIC BOOK DAY SPECIAL. 

OTHER PUBLISHERS

BUCK ROGERS IN 25TH CENTURY #2 (OF 4) CHAYKIN CVR

ELFQUEST SPECIAL FINAL QUEST ONE SHOT

For generations, the elves sought a safe haven against all who would do them harm. But the dream that Chief Cutter and his Wolfriders fought and died for may be the very thing destroying them. The skills that helped them survive the harsh world are fading, and the growing threat of a tyrant obsessed with exterminating all elves makes for a disastrous brew that must surely boil over.

GFT OZ #3 (OF 6) A CVR LASHLEY

HEROBEAR & THE KID INHERITANCE #3 (OF 5)

RACHEL RISING #20

MARVEL

 ASTONISHING X-MEN #68

AVENGERS AI #4

AVENGERS ARENA #16

CAPTAIN AMERICA #12

DEADPOOL #18

DEXTER #4 (OF 5)

FEARLESS DEFENDERS #10 INF

INFINITY #4 (OF 6)

MARVEL UNIVERSE HULK AGENTS OF SMASH #1 (OF 4)

Join the INCREDIBLE HULK, and his larger-than-life teammates as they tackle threats that are too  enormous for other heroes to handle in this all-new series!
  Based on the upcoming animated series on DISNEY XD by the Emmy Award-winning Paul Dini ("Batman: The Animated Series") and Henry Gilroy ("Star Wars: The Clone Wars")

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TEAM UP #4 INF

THOR GOD OF THUNDER #14

ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN #32

UNCANNY X-FORCE #12

WOLVERINE #10

X-MEN #6

                                                                              TITAN

A1 #5

CHRONOS COMMANDOS DAWN PATROL #4 (OF 5)

CRYPTOZOIC MAN #1 (OF 4)

You watched Stan "The Man" Lee pitch it on Season II of AMC TV's "Comic Book Men"; Now, from CBM cast members Walt Flanagan & Bryan Johnson comes "Cryptozoic Man". Alan Ostman, a middle-aged husband/father, sees his life quickly unravel when his daughter goes missing on a camping trip in the Pacific Northwest...Bigfoot country. After Gray aliens abduct him from a roadside bar, he learns that the fate of the world is dependent on trapping the world's most legendary cryptids...not to mention defeating a psychopath in a pig-shaped leather bondage mask, Alan knows he has his work cut out for him. The storyline revolving around this four issue series will be revisited in Comic Book Men Season III. 

VALIANT

ARCHER & ARMSTRONG #14

ETERNAL WARRIOR #2

2000 AD PROG #1853

SOMETHING NEW

IN STOCK TODAY

 JOE SACCO

THE GREAT WAR

July 1, 1916: The First Day of the Battle of the Somme

AN ILLUSTRATED PANORAMA 

WITH AN ESSAY BY ADAM HOCHSCHILD

‘Sacco’s work [is] the best argument around for comics as a journalistic medium.’ – GQ

Launched on July 1, 1916, the Battle of the Somme has come to epitomize the madness of the First World War. Almost 20,000 British soldiers were killed and another 40,000 were wounded that first day, and there were more than one million casualties by the time the offensive halted a few months later. In The Great War, acclaimed cartoonist Joe Sacco depicts the events of that day in an extraordinary, 24-foot-long wordless panorama: from the riding exercises of General Douglas Haig to the massive artillery positions and marshalling areas behind the trench lines, to the legions of British soldiers going ‘over the top’ and being cut down in No-Man’s-Land, to the tens of thousands of wounded soldiers retreating and the dead being buried en masse. Printed on fine accordion-fold paper and packaged in a deluxe hardcover slipcase with a 16-page accompanying booklet, The Great War is a landmark work in Sacco’s illustrious career, and makes visceral one of the bloodiest days in history.

 REVIEW

DAILY GRAPHITE

GENE COLAN

 - Howard the Duck #7 pg 29

NIGHTLY NIB

ROY WILSON

RADIO FUN ANNUAL 1944

DAILY GRAPHITE

CHARLES ADDAMS

ELEVATOR BUTTON MAN

1977

NIGHTLY NIB

STEVE BISSETTE & JOHN TOTLEBEN -

 Swamp Thing #46 

SOMETHING NEW

Professor Astro Cat’s 

Frontiers of Space

Illustrated by Ben Newman

From Flying Eye books – 

Nobrow’s children’s imprint

                      Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers of Space will tell you everything you need to know about our planet, our solar system, our galaxy and the universe that there could be to know. Our clever little cat has made sure of that, he’s a fastidious little feline!

Dr. Astro explores topics such as gravity, extra terrestrial life and time with fun facts and fascinating insights that will take you and your children on a journey to the very frontiers of Space!

Dr. Dominic Walliman is a scientist who lives and works in Vancouver where he works on Quantum computers. He studied Quantum Device Physics at Birmingham University where he also taught Physics. He also holds a BSc and MSc in Computer Science.

Ben Newman is an award-winning illustrator and the author of two books, The Bento Bestiary and Ouroboros under Nobrow.

SOMETHING NEW

Crossover Time:

Adventures through Time and Space 
with the Marvel Universe

The Marvel Universe can be a perplexing and intimating place for any comic fan, whether a long time reader or shy beginner, and a plethora of  mini-series 'event' comics only complicates an already complex world. When an event occurs it usually signifies great upheaval to the current status quo, with changes for all the characters and their ongoing storylines.  If an event comic crosses over with other ongoing titles, it can be a challenge to understand which one to read, in which order, and how imperative it is to the story to read 

every issue. We here at Dave's Comics are here to help you navigate through these tricky comic shores, so with that in mind here is a quick overview of the crossovers happening right now in the Marvel Universe.

BATTLE FOR THE ATOM is the main event for the X-Men series of comics, covering X-Men,  All New X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, and Wolverine and the X-Men. The impetus for this event comes directly from the time-travelling shenanigans in All New X-Men, but I'm happy to say no prior knowledge of that comic is required for this crossover. I wasn't expecting to enjoy this series, as I'm not fond of one of the main characters (sorry Cyclops, you're just so tedious) but was pleasantly surprised by how immediately engaged I was, and would definitely recommend reading if you're an X-Fan. It helps that so far every issue has been a visual treat, with some of my favourite artists contributing to its pages. With this crossover event it's imperative to read each crossover title, as they're sequentially numbered and refer explicitly back to the previous issue.

The star of the crossover events is the much publicized INFINITY arc, which features most of the Avengers and major players of the MU, with crossover titles Avengers, New Avengers, Captain Marvel, Avengers Assemble, Fearless Defenders, Nova, Guardians of the Galaxy,  the two event-only mini series Infinity: The Hunt and Infinity: The Heist, Secret Avengers and Thunderbolts. (Marvel isn't messing around when they call it the Event of the Year.) The core storyline however is located in it's namesake title, which can be read as a stand alone series. Infinity also introduces the brand new Mighty Avengers team, which should encourage readers to embrace this new title.  Unlike Battle of the Atom, you don't need to read every crossover issue to follow the story, but of course it's useful if you want to understand how the plot develops in reaction to events in each individual issue. Several of the tie-in issues retell the main storyline from a different perspective, such as Spider-Woman's in Avengers Assemble and Captain Marvel in her own title. As always to understand the entire arc it's best to read every issue, but if you have to chose I would definitely pick up Avengers and New Avengers as well as Infinity, which should give you the most well rounded overview of the action in as few issues as possible. 

 And we mustn't forget the recently completed Age of Ultron event, the after effects of which are currently being dealt with in a crossover for the Ultimates titles in Hunger, and the new all-robots, all the time series Avengers A.I. These are not technically event titles in their own right, but Hunger is setting up for some cataclysmic action we expect to see later on in the MU and Avengers A.I certainly feels like an event, with it's epic storyline featuring a battle for supremacy between humans and artificial life forms.

WHEW that's rather a lot to take in, isn't it? It's a little overwhelming to be so inudated with 'must-read events' that will impact the future of the Marvel Universe, but thankfully every storyline is engaging and worth reading.  And of course there's INHUMANITY to look forward to once this season of crossovers ends, and Marvel recently began releasing teaser posters for another new event coming soon, with taglines like SINNERS and WRATH. I guess in the Marvel Universe the action never ends!

SOMETHING NEW

AVENGERS: ENDLESS WARTIME

A new graphic novel by Warren Ellis and Mike McKone

With all the excitement surrounding the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. you'd think there'd be more tie-ins for fans of the visual medium to welcome them easily to their comic counterparts, yet so far very little has been actively done to encourage movie fans to pick up a comic while they wait for the next film to arrive. There have been several stand alone, movieverse tie-ins of course, such as Captain America: First Vengence and Iron Man 3: Prelude.  However most MCU fans might not know the Tony Stark they recognize has more in common with his Ultimates Comics version than the one in the main Marvel continuity, or that film favourite Agent Coulson has joined the comicverse in the ongoing title Secret Avengers.  

Thankfully we now have Avengers: Endless Wartime to potentially bridge that gap. Written by the ever popular Warren Ellis (Iron Man: Extremis, Nextwave) and illustrated by Mike McKone (Fantastic Four) this book is part of Marvel's Original Graphic Novel (OGN) line and can be read as a standalone story, so no previous knowledge of comic continuity is required. The plot revolves around many of the ideas found in the Avengers film, such as the struggle to reconcile the existence of magic in a science-based world, and the ethical dilemmas of doing unpleasant thing with the best intentions.  Featuring a giant mythical creature from Asgard, Whedonesque snarky banter and plenty of dramatic action this story feels like it could easily be a film in it's own right.

A: EW then has arrived at the perfect time - not only because of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s debut on television, but to serve as a counterpoint to the possibly overwhelming chaos of the INFINITY event currently raging across the Avengers titles, and is a far more suitable initiation to the 616verse to interested newcomers. The familiar gang is represented here - Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow etc, and even Wolverine, so it should be easy to begin without having to be invested in other characters or ongoing plots. Plus it serves as an introduction for those new to comics to one of my favourite characters, superpowered, thrill seeking Air Force pilot Captain Marvel, someone who definitely belongs in the MCU (and if rumours circulating the internet at the moment are true, hopefully very soon will be).

 

Marvel's track record with their OGN line over the years has been haphazard at best, but with Warren Ellis headlining to draw in established fans and word of mouth to let MCU fans know this could be their gateway to comics,  Avengers: Endless Wartime should be a success.