IDW Previews for July 8, 2009
Angel: Not Fade Away #3
Joss Whedon & Jeffrey Bell (story) • Scott Tipton (w) • Stephen Mooney (a & c)
When Joss Whedon’s Angel series ended, the finale left fans gasping for breath they didn’t recover until Angel: After the Fall. See the finale to the episode that nearly broke the Internet into tiny little shards, courtesy of Scott Tipton and Stephen Mooney.
Around the World in 80 Days HC
Jules Verne (w) • Chrys Millien (a & c)
Jules Verne’s classic tale of adventure comes to life in this illustrated hardcover! Join Phileas Fogg and his companion Passepartout as they race around the globe trying to win a bet against the London Reform Club. From railway cars to steamboats, and with a colorful cast of characters the encounter along the way, Around the World in 80 Days is sure to please readers of all ages.
From the Ashes #2
Bob Fingerman (w & a & c)
Bob Fingerman’s speculative memoir (starring Bob and his wife Michele) set in a post-apocalyptic and nuclear ravaged New York City continues as the duo discover there are worse things in this world than tentacled mutations, the walking dead, and cannibalistic foodies!
Ghost Whisperer: The Muse
Barbara Kesel (w) • Adriano Loyola, Brian Miller (a) •
They call her their muse, but this goddess of art is killing artists, not just inspiring them. Can Melinda Gordon help cross over spirits who don’t want to abandon their goddess? This all-new mini-series based on the hit CBS-TV show is written by Barbara Randall Kesel (Rogue Angel: Teller of Tall Tales), with art by Adriano Loyola (Gene Simmons Zipper).
G.I. Joe: The Best of Storm Shadow
Larry Hama(w) • Mike Vosburg, Larry Hama, Frank Springer, Rod Whigham, William Rosado (a) • DiVito (c)
Collecting the most incriminating comics moments of G.I. JOE’s COBRA, this volume focuses on Storm Shadow, COBRA’s silent killer. Read all about his sinister actions in classics issues like #24, 25, 38, 39, 42, and 43!
G.I. Joe: Origins #5
Larry Hama (w) • Mike Hawthorne (a) • Andrea DiVito, Tom Feister (c)
As the Joes close in on Chimera’s stronghold, an unbelievable new surprise is waiting for them. Meanwhile, Snake Eyes begins to do what he does best—and you wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of this skill, trust us!
G.I. Joe Movie Adaptation #2 (of 4)
Denton J. Tipton (w) • Casey Maloney (a) • Maloney (c)
Part 2 of this 4-part weekly series introduces us to the major characters of the G.I. JOE franchise in ways we’ve never imagined! In stores July 8!
Star Trek: Crew #5
John Byrne (w & a & c)
What lies at the literal end of the universe? The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise are going to find out when they try to discover how entire star systems can simply vanish! Story and art by the inimitable John Byrne!
Star Trek TNG: The Last Generation
Andrew Steven Harris (w) • Gordon Purcell (a) • JK Woodward(c)
In this first-ever Myriad Universe tale, Starfleet is no more. The Federation lies in ruin & the Klingons have conquered Earth. But a resistance, led by Jean-Luc Picard, seeks to free humanity from Klingon rule. Now, finally, it may have the means to do it: An android named Data, who has scrutinized the timeline & discovered that things are not as they should be.
Transformers: Maximum Dinobots
Simon Furman (w) • Nick Roche (a) • Marcelo Matere (c)
At last, the ultimate confrontation between not just GRIMLOCK and his
somewhat-estranged fellow Dinobots, SLUDGE, SLAG, SNARL, and SWOOP, but also SUNSTREAKER/HUNTER, SCORPONOK, HOT ROD, Skywatch and a whole army of HEADMASTERS! Mayhem, machinations, melee, and, of course, Maximum Dinobots, all courtesy of TRANSFORMERS über-scribe Simon Furman and fan-favorite Nick Roche!
World War Robot 2
Ashley Wood (a & c)
Award-winning designer/artist Ashley Wood (Popbot, Zombies vs. Robots) continues the World War between a dwindling band of humans and robots that spans planets in this oversize (one foot long by one foot wide!) epic.
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All about Justice.For a while now, both old and new fans of the Justice League have been on what I would call, to put it mildly, a roller coaster ride. After the events in Infinite crisis, where the Leagues original timeline and line-up were re- established as cannon in the DCU, to the darkening tone left on the League after Identity Crisis, the JLA has been in a sort of limbo. Yes, there was a new team, a new base (two in fact if you count the Hall of Justice) and a new direction. But somewhere, somehow, things got stalled. But if anyone knows their history of the JLA, this is just another incarnation which has come to pass, giving way to something much needed and more relevant. And it’s about time.
Justice League: Cry for Justice #1 opens with a meeting. On one side you have Hal Jordan, who is tired of the way Justice has been denied for those heroes who have fallen in the line of duty, and how the villains of the DCU seem to get away without being prosecuted for their crimes. On the other side, you have the rest of the JLA, who believe that the method of justice which Hal seeks borders on revenge, which is something the JLA will not stand by and support. The only one to side with Hal is Oliver Queen, a.k.a Green Arrow. Oliver feels the same way, but is just not being as vocal about it, which I find ironic because this is something Oliver used to do in the Old JLA comics of the silver and bronze age.
As we then cut to various scenes across the DCU, we bear witness to a series of events which make one start to believe Hal Jordan isn’t the only hero who feels justice isn’t being served properly. Ray Palmer, Mikkal Tomas (Starman III), and Congorilla all have similar epiphanies, leading one to think this disenchantment might be more widespread than first thought.
Now, the scenes and dialogue with Oliver and Hal after leaving the JLA meeting, are very reminiscent of the “Hard-Traveling Heroes” era in Green Lantern’s comic history (GL Volume 2: # 76- 89). At that time( early 1970’s) it was felt that comics needed to get away from the campiness which had become the industry standard, and go more towards comics which were socially relevant for the times. Thanks to the efforts of Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams, the concept became widely accepted, ushering a new age in comics. I personally feel James Robinson, who has now been named the official writer for the ongoing JLA monthly, is steering this version of the team into that direction, and I applaud him for it. For me, the JLA has been a big ship without a captain, going in circles for way to long now. And if anyone can chart this ship though some very choppy seas, and come out still in one piece, it’s him.
Question now is, are fan’s willing to go along for the voyage, or will they bail? All I know is I got both my boarding pass and life jacket in hand, just in case.
8.5/10
Eddie R
Review Co-Editor
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When Dragons Dream…
Have you ever seen the see the sci-fi movies of the fifties and sixties? There is always the manly adventurer, the lovely and seductive female sidekick, the funny bamboozling klutz, and the quintessential Robbie the robot lookalike. Now take that team, throw in a splash of myth and magic, add a little Ian Fleming into the mix, make them an independently backed operations team by a dragon none the less, and you got one heck of a premise.
As I was reading Agents of Atlas #7, I was either giggling, or my mouth was open in awe. I am a great big geek at heart, and to see these B-Level heroes carousing around on their mission was awesome. To have them interact with a few A-listers such as Namor and Namoreena and better still, have them whisper of the goings on of such illustrious villains as Norman Osbourne and his shadow teams.
This team is supported by a Dragon named Mr. Lao and his followers, a bunch Shaolin warrior monks and mystics who tend to the welfare of the Dragon, and his team the Agents of Atlas. One of the mystics who meditate purposely next to the Mr. Lao, does so in order to channel the dreams of the slumbering behemoth and it is here where we are treated to a bit of a history lesson into the origins of this mythical beast.
It seems centuries ago, Mr. Lao sought out the magical means to physically become a man, in order to be able to lead his “people”. Mr. Lao quest lead him to a Djinn, and he tried in vain to bind the Djinn in a mystical pact. But the terms of the pact was established between Djinni and mankind, so this binding magic would not work in favor of dragonkind, therefore the Djinn tricked the dragon, and imprisoned him in his lamp for centuries.
This book is a rare gem, beyond the few pages where we are lost in the love life of Namor, which I found were a little like filler, I thought this book was amazing. The art is rich and colorful, aiding the story in its depth, and you realize after a few pages there is much more going on here then what you might think.
So go and treat yourselves…. This is worth geeking out over.
9.0/10
John H
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