The Longbox Short-List - Week of June 7, 2017

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

• BABYTEETH #1 – Aftershock tells a story about a woman pregnant with the Anti-Christ. As I say all the time, I pretty much always check out each new Aftershock series, and they very rarely let me down. This sounds like it has potential to be a real disturbing series!

• MIGHTY MOUSE #1 – Not particularly sure why I put this on my pull list. I am sure I had a good reason at the time…my daughter is a fan of old Mighty Mouse cartoons, so I guess that is probably why.

• MAGNUS #1 – Magnus Robot Fighter written by Kyle Higgins? How could I possibly pass this one up!

• ICEMAN #1 – I actually didn’t have this one on my pull list, but I have really been enjoying the X-Men books lately, so I figured why not. I actually don’t expect this book to have much legs, but sometimes Marvel does manage to surprise me and stick with books longer than I would normally expect.

• STAR WARS: DARTH VADER #1 – Kind of strange that they ended this series just to bring it back, but I guess that really isn’t a surprise for Marvel. They do love their #1’s. DARTH VADER was an awesome series, and I am glad to see it’s coming back.

• BANE CONQUEST #2 – The first issue seemed to ignore a lot of what Bane’s done in the last few decades, but I still enjoyed it. Knightfall came out just when I started reading comics, so Bane has always had a special place in my heart.

• BATMAN #24 – Batman is still dealing with the aftermath of The Button. DC has been keeping it pretty close to the vest in terms of what comes next. The solicit teased “Armed with the terrifying knowledge gained from the mysterious button, Batman prepares for the coming storm by making a proposition to one of his enemies—one that will change everything for the Dark Knight and his allies!” The cover shows Catwoman, but I am thinking this has something to do with the upcoming War of Jokes and Riddles.

• Pestilence #2
• Flintstones #12
• Green Arrow #24
• Green Lanterns #24
• Nightwing #22
• Superman #24
• Wonder Woman Steve Trevor #1
• Rom #11
• Paper Girls #15
• Reborn #6 (Of 6)
• Spawn #274
• Youngblood #2
• All-New Guardians Of The Galaxy #3
• Amazing Spider-Man #28
• Avengers #8
• Champions #9
• Daredevil #21
• Doctor Strange #20
• Hawkeye #7
• Jessica Jones #9
• Nova #7
• Rocket #2
• Secret Empire Brave New World #1 (Of 5)
• Spider-Man #17
• Unstoppable Wasp #6
• X-Men Gold #5
• Faith #12

In Case You Missed Them

Here are some noteworthy books from last week…

WARNING!  CONTAINS SPOILERS!!

Book of the Week - DEADPOOL #31 by Gerry Duggan, Matteo Lolli, and Christian Dalla Vecchia

Summary: Captain America reaches out to Deadpool to find and kill Agent Coulson.  Since Deadpool trusts Cap, he agrees.   We find out that Coulson has started to piece together Cap being with Hydra.  Coulson tries to convince Deadpool, but Deadpool refuses to listen and kills Coulson.  He reports back to Cap asking, “Do I get to know what this was all about?”  Cap responds, “Yes, but not tonight.”  Cap promises big changes are coming, and he’s counting on Deadpool to help him.

Review: This was a real strong issue.  It shows how much people in the Marvel universe trust Captain America and how Secret Empire came together.  I also liked seeing how seriously Deadpool takes Captain America’s trust in him.  This was one of the better Deadpool stories I’ve read in awhile.

Not sure if Coulson is going to stay dead.  Maybe he was able to appeal to Deadpool and get him to listen to reason.  But either way, this was my favorite comic from this week.

Score (out of 5): 5

DOCTOR STRANGE #21 by Dennis Hopeless and Nikos Henrichon

Summary: New York has been thrown into the Darkforce Dimension.  Doctor Strange’s Powers are still diminished from his battle with the Empirikul, but he’s gathering what magic he can.

Meanwhile, Spider-Woman, Daredevil, and Ben Urich has gone to the Sanctum Sanctorum which is now embedded in the Chrysler Building.  They find Baron Mordo has taken it over.  They escape, but in the process, they end up disrupting Strange’s attempt at making a spell to break New York out of the Darkforce Dimension.  Mordo sends an Elder God after them.  They are rescued by Kingpin who claims the Sorcerer Supreme now owes him a favor.  

Review: I really enjoyed Jason Aaron's run on Doctor Strange, but Dennis Hopeless has proven himself to be one of Marvel's strongest writers.  It was great to see Spider-Woman and Ben Urich here.  Hopeless really gave them new life during his Spider-Woman run.  And I would love to see Hopeless write more Daredevil at some point.

Some great action here and even some humor.  Starting off a series during a crossover is always tricky, but I think Hopeless has shown he's up to the challenge here.

Score (out of 5): 5

The Flash #23 by Joshua Williamson and Carmine Di Giandomenico

Summary: Star Labs is performing an autopsy on Reverse Flash.  His eyes start to glow red.

Barry’s friends throw him a surprise birthday party, but he’s distracted by Jay Garrick’s death and concerns about the Reverse Flash.  Hal Jordan is there.  Multiplex shows up; he’s become obsessed with one of Barry’s friends who he had gone on a date with.  Flash and Green Lantern team up to take on Multiplex. Multiplex forms a mass of bodies that is too much for Green Lantern and Flash to face.

Iris and Wally have escaped Multiplex.  They arrive home to find Reverse Flash waiting for them.

Review: I absolutely loved the Flash and Green Lantern team-up here.  And I have liked Multiplex since I first saw him in Firestorm way back in the day.  Plus, Reverse Flash continues to be a strong adversary for Flash, though the revolving door with Reverse Flash being dead or not dead has become exhausting.   I also really liked the dynamic between Barry and Iris with Barry struggling over whether or not to tell her that he’s Flash.  That felt like classic DC, and that is almost always a good thing.

Score (out of 5): 4.5