The Geeky Brummie Pull List with The X-Cellent

Thanks to missing a week last week I’m bringing you a bumper selection of comics this time. We have four great books on the Pull List including the debut issue of The X-Cellent from Marvel Comics. We also have ten great comics to look out for On The Radar from Image, DC Black Label and Marvel Comics. In MEANWHILE… this week we have a new pre-order campaign from those fine folks at Time Bomb Comics.

If you want to send any comics or comic related events we should feature, feel free to reach out to me at keith@geekybrummie.com.

Now on with the comics…

Title: The X-Cellent

Issue: 1

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Written by Peter Milligan : Art by Mike Allred

IT’S FINALLY HERE! They were loved by their adoring fans. They were reviled by the harsh press. They lived, they loved, they fought and they died…a lot – all for the sake of fame. They were the X-Statix, a team of mutant celebrities fighting for a brighter world and an even brighter spotlight! But they’re old news now, because there’s a new mutant team that will live harder, love harder, fight harder and die a whole lot harder than those has-beens! Peter Milligan, Michael Allred and Laura Allred return to introduce the best new super hero team you didn’t know you needed! Meet…THE X-CELLENT!

I’m a big fan of X-Statix so to have the creative team behind that book back again for another sideways look at the mutant mayhem was too much to resist. If you don’t read any other X-book then you should read this one. The partnership of Milligan and Allred are so perfectly suited to this series I can’t believe it’s taken them so long to return to this world. Oh, and if I haven’t mentioned it all ready, we are getting to see more of Doop!

 

Title: One-Star Squadron

Issue: 3

Publisher: DC Comics

Written by Mark Russell : Art by Steve Lieber : Coloured by Dave Stewart

Things just keep getting worse for Red Tornado as he’s called in to face his most ferocious foe yet…the Board! This group of money-hungry investors are willing to do just about anything to turn a profit, and that could mean the end of Heroz4U. Now, as the company’s stock plummets, our hero questions why he got into the lifesaving business in the first place. When the time comes, will there be anyone left to save him?

I really feel for Red Tornado, he’s trying to do the best he can but sometimes it just doesn’t go your way. This book continues to be a glorious ride and can be as heartbreaking as it is funny. These kind of books are why I love comics so much, there is so much you can do with these characters and Russell just keeps getting better and better at finding new ways to subvert the genre. Lieber is the perfect partner for this story and I’m loving every page.

 

Title: Once and Future

Issue: 24

Publisher: BOOM! Studios

Written by Kieron Gillen : Art by Dan Mora : Coloured by Tamra Bonvillian

The civil war continues to rage in Otherworld as both Arthurs face off against one another! Meanwhile, Bridgitte and Duncan seek out a secret weapon against their royal foes — a true man of the people by the name of… Robin Hood.

Oh yeah. Robin Hood! One of the first things to turn me on to proper British folklore was Richard Carpenters Robin of Sherwood, so I’m eager to see how the hooded man fits into Gillen’s spin on things. I love this book and the only thing that disappoints is just how quickly each issue goes by. Mora and Bonvillian continue to deliver top notch work every issue and I am here for the long haul.

 

Title: X-Men

Issue: 7

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Written by Gerry Duggan : Art by Pepe Larraz

CAPTAIN KRAKOA & THE X-MEN! Doctor Stasis makes his deadliest move yet as Captain Krakoa takes charge of the X-Men! But what is the lie at the heart of the newest mutant hero?

I like how this book is taking a different look at how the mutants have to deal with the resurrection protocols then the team is very clearly in the public eye and people witness a death. They must surely be in line for a fall when people discover what’s really happening. The public generally don’t generally approve when their heroes lie to them and the X-Men have always been on shaky ground. Will Captain Krakoa turn out to be more of a curse than a blessing? Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

 

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On the radar this week some other comics not on the Pull List but well worth checking out:

 

X Deaths of Wolverine #1

Marvel Comics

Written by Benjamin Percy : Art by Federico Valentini

DEATH IS NOT THE END. DEATH IS THE OMEGA. WEEK 2 – If WOLVERINE’s future lies in the past, what does that mean for the present? The reciprocal series to X LIVES OF WOLVERINE, X DEATHS OF WOLVERINE is can’t-miss reading, chock-full of revelations for the best there is as well as the fate of mutantkind.

Saga #55

Image Comics

Written by Brian K. Vaughan: Art by Fiona Staples

At long last, Hazel and her star-crossed family are finally back and here to kick off a NEW STORY ARC! So, where the hell have they been? As thanks for fans’ endless patience, the SAGA team is proud to return with a double-length issue—44 pages of story for the regular $2.99 price point—without variant covers or gimmicky renumbering. Just more pulse-punding adventure, heart-wrenching character drama, and gloriously graphic sex and violence, as SAGA begins the second half the series and the most epic chapter yet!

The SAGA series has sold over 6.8 million copies to date across all formats, has been translated into 20 languages, and has garnered multiple Eisner and Harvey Awards, plus a Hugo Award, British Fantasy Award, Goodreads Choice Award, Shuster Award, Inkwell Award, Ringo Award, and more. It has been featured in such mainstream media outlets as TIME, Entertainment Weekly, The Atlantic, NPR, and beyond, and has become a pop culture phenomenon.

 

Human Target #4

DC Black Label

Written by Tom King : Art by Greg Smallwood

With eight days left to solve his own murder, Christopher Chance tracks down his next suspect. His murderer couldn’t be Blue Beetle…could it?

 

Stray Dogs: Dog Days #2

Image Comics

Written by Tony Fleecs : Art by Trish Forstner

The STRAY DOGS adventure concludes with this giant-sized anthology issue. Take this last walk with us as we say goodbye to old friends, meet some new dogs, and make one final trip out to the Master’s house of horrors.

 

Superman ’78 #6

DC Comics

Written by Robert Venditti : Art by Wilfredo Torres : Coloured by Jordie Bellaire

The final battle for Metropolis is here! Superman stands against Brainiac as he tries to save his city from being cataloged and bottled by the mechanical menace. But can Superman save his adoptive city and the bottled city of Kandor from Brainiac’s clutches, or will he be forced to make the impossible choice?

 

Grrl Scouts: Stone Ghost #3

Image Comics

Written and Illustrated by Jim Mahfood

Dio and Natas score some snazzy new sweaters. This is an incredible issue! Packed from cover to cover (no ads!) with completely unique eye-poppin’ MAHFOOD art, including bonus comics and behind-the-scenes fun! Plus, an absolutely badass variant cover from superstar artist MATTEO SCALERA! Feel the Funk!

 

X-Men Legends #11

Marvel Comics

Written by Louise Simonson : Art by Walt Simonson

APOCALYPSE’S HORSEMEN RIDE FOR THE NEW MUTANTS! Just in time to celebrate forty years of the original NEW MUTANTS, catch up with some old friends – like SUNSPOT, CANNONBALL, WOLFSBANE, BOOM-BOOM, DANI MOONSTAR, RICTOR and more – as CALIBAN leads PESTILENCE and WAR, the remaining horsemen of APOCALYPSE, in a hunt for new blood! Witness the never-before-seen link between the New Mutants and Apocalypse in this all-new tale penned by NEW MUTANTS legend Louise Simonson!

 

Fantastic Four: Reckoning War Alpha #1

Marvel Comics

Written by Dan Slott : Art by Carlos Pacheco

FIFTEEN YEARS IN THE MAKING – AND IT ALL KICKS OFF HERE! In a time before the Kree, Skrull or Shi’ar Empires. Before the emergence of Galactus. Before the birth of Asgard. There was the First War. The greatest war to ever rage across the Multiverse. Today, it is reignited. This is the Day of Reckoning. And all that stands between all of reality and revenge from the dawn of time are the heroes of Earth, the Fantastic Four and the mind of Mister Fantastic. Starring the FF, She-Hulk, Jack of Hearts, the Unseen, the Silver Surfer and everyone in the whole damn Marvel Universe.

Ant #2

Image Comics

Written and Illustrated by Erik Larsen

“ANTPOCALYPSE!”
Young Hannah Washington is recruited by the United States government and sent behind enemy lines to contend with murderous zealots hellbent on destroying America in this jaw-dropping, head-busting, bone-breaking, assault on your senses from acclaimed author ERIK LARSEN!

The Official Image Timeline #1

Image Comics

Written and Illustrated by Jim Valentino

Just in time to celebrate Image Comics’ 30th anniversary, Image archivist and co-founder JIM VALENTINO details the company’s history (warts and all) in the single most comprehensive chronology of the company ever published. Featuring rarely seen covers, photos, milestones, and behind-the-scenes events from the company’s Marvel-ous beginnings to the present, this is the chronicle all future histories will be judged against.Featuring an introduction by Image Publisher ERIC STEPHENSON and a chronicle of historic Image accolades, and printed in beautiful 64-page prestige format.

 

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New From Time Bomb Comics

This week Steve Tanner of Time Bomb Comics launched their latest pre-order campaign for new title Rotten Under The Snow – an original, oversized 96 page full colour graphic novel by Katie Cunningham, Mike Bogdanovic, Danielle Wiebe and Aaron Rackley.

This pre-order campaign also officially launches the 15 Years Publishing celebrations for Time Bomb Comics, and includes a special celebration reward package containing a selection of some of our most popular titles!

A city turned battlefield becomes stranger.

Bizarrely mutilated bodies are found in the muddy snow of Leningrad. To solve the mystery and stop an oncoming horror, a traumatised Soviet pilot with a terrible connection to what’s happening must cross enemy land- and fight what is rotting inside herself…

Rotten Under The Snow is a a historical sci-fi thriller with a dose of horror, and a good dose of pulp adventure thrown in. It follows female Russian fighter pilot Dajana, a former Night Witch, as she fights Nazi off-world technology and regains her humanity along the way. It’s that combination of action and personality that makes this story unique and perfect for all adult and young-adult audiences, and the sort of traditional genre mash-up that Time Bomb Comics has become known for.

The presentation of the book will be oversized at A4 – that’s closer in format to British comic annuals of the past rather than the size of traditional graphic novel that you might be familiar with.

You can pre-order Rotten Under The Snow and pick up some nice backer rewards or add-ons by heading to the campaign Kick-starter page – Rotten Under The Snow

 

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