Wow. June has arrived and so have about half a dozen new titles that have me totally clamoring for the newsstands. (HAH… newsstands) But seriously, in the last thirty days I’ve added five new titles to the pull-list and three just came out in the last 2 weeks. Normally I grab off the shelf for at least three months before I even begin to think about committing a title to the pull-list and in reality it’s usually more like six months. (I still haven’t committed to the Fantastic Four Titles) But at least five number 1’s in the last thirty days have earned that title a spot on the pull-list with just a single issue. Let’s talk June’s pull-list additions.

Astro City #1

Writer: Kurt Busiek

Artist: Brent Anderson

Cover Artist: Alex Ross

 

Call me the happiest camper ever. I am such a huge fan of Kurt Busiek’s Astro City and I am so pleased to see DC and Kurt bring it back. (Under the Vertigo Umbrella no less) Kurt packs more story into a single issue of Astro City than most comic titles give you in twelve. Right off the bat we are introduced to a new character who ends up being the narrator of our story. The story starts off with the appearance of a giant cosmic door that is hovering above the lake. The entire populace of Astro City comes out of the woodwork to try and get a closer look. While the local authorities fail to perform crowd control we are re-introduced to the Samaritan, the Honor Guard and few other known characters. Our narrator is searching for a certain someone who is capable of rising up and meeting the challenge of what is about to come through the door. The door opens and a cosmic being steps through the portal. (I would call him a mix of Galctus and the Watcher) He means no harm and is looking for someone to help him chronicle the human race. The person who volunteers is a surprise.

The single greatest thing about Astro City is that there are no strings attached. Kurt can take us wherever he wants us to go and there is no second guessing as to what a character should or should not be. All the characters are his to create, destroy, erase & improve. We are just along for the ride. It was pure joy for me to read new Astro City and I’m looking forward to seeing where Kurt takes us next.

Superman Unchained #1

Writer: Scott Snyder

Artist: Jim Lee

Inker: Scott Williams

Artist: Dustin Nguyen

 

I guess I might be acting on some biases here. Jim Lee on Superman is good enough for me. I know, I know. Generally speaking I follow writers and choose story over art. With Jim Lee it’s just not the case. Scott Synder’s dialogue could be 100% cow sound effects and I would buy this comic. Jim Lee‘s work is just that spectacular. I mean the center of the book has a four page fold out poster splash. Fucking insane. Jim Lee is worth the cover price.

Ok. Enough about Jim Lee.  Scott Snyder has won, no wrong word, he has earned the top writer spot for me. I trust him to write good stories. Jim and Scott working on a project together is an automatic add to the pull-list. Scott has done an awesome job with the Batman and the court of owls, Swamp Thing & the current Batman Zero Year story. Scott is an unbelievable story teller.

Superman Unchained is looking to pit Superman against a new and powerful foe. The beginning of the book flashes back to WWII and the bombing of Nagasaki. Only instead of a nuclear bomb going off, the bomb splits apart to reveal a being of blue energy explode towards ground zero. The rest of the story goes on to have Superman save a group of astronauts from crashing to earth. Soon after the rescue we are introduced to a few shady military type government officials exclaiming that the US government has their own Superman, queue the re-introduction of the blue energy being from the Nagasaki bombing.

Scott Snyder has been quoted as saying “My favorite Superman stories are ones where he has to make the right decisions.” (Washington Post) It seems that Scott is looking to pit Superman against a foe with awesome potential for destruction and Supes will need to make some tough decisions. Like Scott I too enjoy those types of stories, but I also like the other kind. The kind where Superman spends an entire issue pummeling the shit out of some being that can take it and dish it out to. So here’s to getting both my wishes.

The Wake #1 of 10

 Writer: Scott Snyder

Artist: Sean Murphy

 

No need to introduce Scott Snyder. As I’ve already stated previously, Scott has earned the top writer spot for me. I trust him to write good stories. I was first introduced to Sean Murphy through the Vertigo maxi-series Joe the Barbarian, written by Grant Morrison. (I could go off on a tangent, but that would not be fair to The Wake, but if you haven’t read it, go pick up the trade of Joe the Barbarian.) Sean’s art fits sci-fi/fantasy really well and is someone as I would refer to as a typical Vertigo artist. I don’t mean to down play his art. It is exceptional.

The Wake starts off in the distant future where it looks like the oceans have taken back the land and a young woman hang-gliding through the now waterway streets of a submerged metropolis with her robotic infused dolphin friend are searching for something. All of a sudden a behemoth of a creature starts to emerge from the water and we cut to the present. A woman biologist who specializes in underwater acoustics and the sounds of whales is approached by a man from her ex-employer, requesting her assistance with an issue. He promises that her compliance to assist would put her back in good standing with the company. She complies and travels with the company man to the depths of the ocean to an illegally built under water oil rig to investigate an eerie sound. The sound itself is awful, but from what it originates from is terrifying.

The Wake is an entertainment home run for me. I know right off the bat that A) good creative team B) I’m in it for a finite amount of time and C) I can never be inundated with too much sci-fi/fantasy.

Until Next Time… Surprise surprise, DougVonDoom is reading more DC books. I know , I know. It has to be getting old. (NEVER! DC FANBOY 4LIFE!) Have no fear I will be talking about Guardians of the Galaxy next. (hey it’s pretty good!) Until then hit me up on twitter and/or check out our twitter, facebook or google+ page.