June 2013 Alternate Comics Diamond Previews Review
The third and final part of our look at the August and beyond shipping product from the most recent issue of Previews. Starting over at Dark Horse, they have something that gamers will be interested in, a new Halo series. Halo: Initiation #1 is the first of three issues that detail the origin of not just Sarah Palmer but also the Spartan IV program. Brian Reed is a writer with a strong pedigree, having crafted Spider-Woman: Origin, one of the best stories about the female webslinger, New Avengers: Illuminati, and so many other notable comic book runs, not to mention he is one of the writer’s from Halo 4. This man knows his stuff so Halo fans take not.
The more I see of the PlayStation game The Last of Us, created by Naughty Dog Studios, the more I want to know of this world the game portrays, and one of those fixes may come in the form of the recently completed and now collected The Last of Us: American Dreams. This trade paperback contains the mini-series that shows the world while there were still a large number of survivors. The military takes control as the epidemic spreads and pretty soon Ellie feels the need to break free from the military boarding school herself, and other children, find themselves in. The writers involved Erin Hicks, and Neil Druckmann are both qualified in terms of quality such as Hicks, known for The Adventures of Superhero Girl, and Neil Druckmann coming from Naughty Dog itself. With the strength this creative team have, this trade may be worth checking out.
Buffy fans take note, both Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 9 and Angel & Faith are both in the midst of their season finales. The finale’s for both promise to be spectacular while Severin and Simone put a plan in motion that could very well turn back time in Buffy #24, and Angel & Faith may have to go further than they ever have in order to save millions of lives in peril in issue #25 of their series.
Dark Horse hops onto the de-aging and kidifying of their characters with the first issue of Art Baltazar (W/A) and Franco’s (W) newest creation, Itty Bitty Hellboy. Is this an odd trend appearing in comics? And how much longer before we see all the top characters kidified? Will the trend be overdone, making everyone tired of it and end up considering it nothing more than a stunt? I actually don’t think so. The quality of the work is so much fun to look at and the writing is well paced, always packed with a fun story. This book is definitely worth a look.
IDW is publishing a wonderful series when they release T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1 by Phil Hester (W), and Andrea Di Vito (A). This book has had a long and sordid history with IDW being the fifth publisher to take its shot, the last one being DC Comics. The story of the people who chose to take on great powers at the cost of their lives has always been a captivating plot point and I hope, with this being the fifth iteration, that it adds something new to the mix to make it a little more relevant, and even unexpected to a degree.
The beginning of the end of Locke & Key: Alpha #1 is the first of two issues by Joe Hill (W) and Gabriel Rodriguez (A) where the last door is finally unlocked.
Speaking of kidifying we have Kiss Kids #1 (of 4) where we see the children versions of the rock band having fun adventures around town. I wasn’t aware of the demand of this or that the title sounded like a good idea but IDW knows their licenses so I could very well be wrong.
The third Rachel Rising trade comes out entitled Rachel Rising Volume 3: Cemetery Songs. I am a huge fan of volume 1 and volume 2 sits on my definite to read list. I hope that the same care that Terry Moore puts into this series is the same care that is applied to the television show. Either way the print edition is amazing and if you have the first two volumes there is no reason to miss on the third. If you don’t have any, get all three to get caught up on one of the best series launches in recent memory.
Director’s Cuts visit Avatar with the Enhanced Edition of Uber #0 is released. This book is spectacular with some of the best stories I have seen from Kieron Gillen (W) and Caanan White (A), and the opportunity to see allot of the background work that went into the book is quite the opportunity. The issue is limited to 7500 copies and will be the last printing of the issue until the trade next year. Get this while you can, this book will only get hotter.
With a Frank Miller omnibus out from Marvel, Miller fans will find a second reason to celebrate in the pages of Previews when they scope out Robocop: Last Stand from Boom! Studios. This is truly the final story for Robocop as envisioned by Frank Miller, Steven Grant (adapting), and Korjut Oztekin (A). I am going to run the risk of trade waiting in hopes of a nice hardcover collection, but Frank Miller fans will undoubtedly pick up the singles of this book.
By August Valiant will have wrapped up their first crossover, The Harbinger Wars, and the after effects begin to ripple through the Valiant universe in the pages of Harbinger #15. This is also the first issue for the new creative team of Joshua Dysart (W) and Barry Kitson (A). I wish them well and while I am nervous about a new creative team I can’t wait to see Peter Stanchek and his crew come together even more after having survived the Harbinger Wars.
Matt Kindt (W) and Chris Cross (A) brings us the definite origin of Bloodshot before we dive into a retitled book in September. We have been given clues throughout the run of the series and it is time to see if we put them together correctly or if something was hidden up Valiant’s sleeve all along. This book has been a consistent good read and the origin better be as strong as the rest of the book has been throughout its run.
Well that completes my look at the August and beyond shipping product from the pages of Previews Magazine. Good reading everyone!