The Longbox Short-List - Week of August 9, 2017

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Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 08/08/2017 - 08:30

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s weekly look at what new comics you should check out each week. Just a warning, I make these picks pretty much a week BEFORE I actually get to read any of these comics, so if something is a stinker, I take no blame on that. Let's get to it!

Comics shipping this week

FIRST STRIKE #1 - I have been playing catch up on IDW's Hasbro line. I actually only read REVOLUTION a few months ago. I don't love all the series, but ROM, MICRONAUTS, REVOLUTIONARIES, and ACTION MAN (which needs to come back) have all been excellent, so I will likely give this a shot.

JUSTICE LEAGUE/POWER RANGERS #5 - About damn time this issue is coming out! I've been really enjoying this series, but it's a long gripe of mine that mini-series should probably be finished BEFORE the comic company starts soliciting them. It really kills the momentum of a good mini-series for me.

MISTER MIRACLE #1 - I have to admit, I don't really like most of DC's New Gods stuff...but I have long been a fan of Mister Miracle. Hoping Big Barda shows up at some point, and I would be very happy. Put Tom King writing this book, and there is no way I could possibly pass this one up.

STAR WARS ROGUE ONE CASSIAN AND K2SO SPECIAL - My one "gripe" with ROGUE ONE was that we didn't get enough of a chance to get to know all the characters. Still loved the movie though. DISNEY has done a nice job expanding on the cast though the tie-in novels, and I'm glad to see Cassian and K2S0 getting their own comic special. Hopefully Marvel/Disney will continue to expand the Star Wars universe this way. The new Expanded Universe has been surprisingly cohesive.

SECRET EMPIRE #8 - Was not expecting Black Widow to die in the last issue. It's very possible that they will end up using the cosmic cube to reverse that, but I am actually thinking it's just as likely that Wasp's friend Ying could end up becoming a new Black Widow. For the most part, I've been enjoying SECRET EMPIRE but I still think extending it to 10 issues was a bit much.

GENERATIONS PHOENIX AND JEAN GREY - Having read the Hulk one from last week, I am still not quite sure what they are going for with GENERATIONS. How did the modern day incarnations end up getting tossed back in time to interact with their classic versions? That said, I really did enjoy the Hulk issue, and I'm curious to see where the rest of these specials go.