Each week, MK2Fac3 and Henchman21 read a lot of comics. Seriously, a lot of comics. Maybe too many comics. They look forward to some more than others, I mean, who doesn’t? So, let’s take a look into the depths of their pull list, grab some issues and we’ll let YOU know what the top books to look forward to are for the week of May 18, 2011. Single issues and trades, they’re all here.

MK2FAC3

Well, it’s an interesting week for me comics wise, I have a lot of collections that I want to tell you about, and about three single issues, all of which are first issues and each is from a miniseries! And, of course… Batman is represented in my section. Let’s kick it off with…

Drums #1 (Image Comics – $2.99): I seriously know nothing about this book, but it just looks really cool and supernatural. Based on its solicitation, I could say that the book centers around Santeria, more commonly know as “voodoo,” and raising of the dead, and that’s honestly good enough for me, but it also says that it takes place to the sound of drums. Now, I don’t know how they’re going to pull that off, but it’s got my attention. Pick this up if you want to try something new and different.

Last Mortal #1 (Image Comics – $3.99): Continuing the string of “I don’t what the F%$* this is, but it looks cool” is Last Mortal, which appears to be one of those great minis where it’s a super depressing, yet uplifting tale of real life, and I’m sure that this will get a lot of praise by the end of the year, so now’s not the time to sleep on this title.

Batman: Gates of Gotham #1 (DC Comics – $2.99): Scott Snyder. Batman. Enough said. But I’ll say more anyway! According to rumor, this is a must-read for fans of The Batman. It is apparently supposed to tie in and give hints to the future of Batman Incorporated, play with moments from The Return of Bruce Wayne, explore Gotham City’s past, as well feature many different cast members from Batman’s family of heroes. So, yeah. I’m pretty excited.

COLLECTIONS

I have two collections, and you should buy both, understand?

Batgirl: The Flood TPB (DC Comics – $14.99): Dude, this storyline was awesome, and no one bought it, and I constantly question what is wrong with the world, and the worst part about this is that since Batgirl doesn’t sell well, DC Comics doesn’t print enough trade paperbacks, so they go out of print, and then you can’t get one for under $80! What?! Anyway, this storyline (The Flood) was really awesome, had some great art, and features THE ANTI-LIFE EQUATION!!!!

The Adventures of Dr. McNinja, Vol. 1 Night Powers TPB (Dark Horse Comics – $19.99): Dr. McNinja rules, and that’s all you need to know.

Henchman21

ISSUES

Rocketeer Adventures #1 (IDW Publishing – $3.99): I haven’t had the chance to read Dave Steven’s original Rocketeer comics, but probably like a lot of you, I have seen the movie, and I have always enjoyed it, so I was interested to read this series when it was first announced. What got me even more excited was the list of creators connected to this miniseries. The first issue features stories by Mike Allred, John Cassaday, and Kurt Busiek, as well as a cover by Alex Ross. Other issues in this four-issue mini will feature Darwyn Cooke, Mark Waid, Geof Darrow, and Gene Ha, among others. The creators list is a who’s who of modern masters, and I’ll read anything they do, having them all create new Rocketeer stories is just icing on the cake. I have no doubt that this is going to be one fantastic-looking book. If you need any more incentive to buy this, part of the proceeds will be donated to Hairy Cell Leukemia research, so you can feel good when you buy it.

DMZ #65 (DC/Vertigo – $2.99): According to DMZ writer Brian Wood, while the series may be wrapping up with issue #72, this week’s issue features what he “would call the first of two endings.” Wood also says that “some major, long-running plotlines wrap up.” So, that right there has got me excited. I’ve been reading DMZ from the beginning, and while I’ll be sad to see it end, I’m also very excited to see how things wrap up. DMZ is one of the smartest titles around and over the course of its run, I have become very connected to the different characters. The art by Riccardo Burchielli has been uniformly great throughout the series. This is just a great series, and if you haven’t been reading it, go out and pick up the first trade.

GI Joe A Real American Hero #166 (IDW Publishing – $3.99): I’ll be honest, this book is pure nostalgia for my childhood, and I love it for it. Real American Hero is the GI Joe series from IDW that exists as a continuation of the original Marvel comics series from the 80s (not to be confused with IDW’s other GI Joe books which are a different beast unto themselves). RAH started from where the original series ended, and features the original versions of all the characters you may have grown up loving. Recent issues have seen a classic fight between Snake Eyes, Stormshadow, and Dr. Venom as they fight for control of Cobra Commander’s son. I’m not going to say this is the greatest series in the world, but every time I read it, I’m taken back to my childhood, and a group of characters I have fond memories for, and that’s enough for me. If you’re a child of my generation I think you will get a lot of enjoyment out of this series.
 
COLLECTIONS

If you’ve never read it before, there is a new printing of the first volume of Powers, this time in a nice hardcover. Powers: Who Killed Retro Girl? still stands as one of the most interesting and important story-arcs of the last 20 years, and if you’ve never read it, you owe it to yourself to pick this up (or find a copy of the trade paperback). The hardcover is out from marvel/Icon and will set you back $24.99. Another one to check out would be the Thor: World Eaters hardcover (Marvel – $24.99). This hardcover collects issues 615-619 of Thor, which is Matt Fraction and Pascual Ferry’s first arc on the book. The art is gorgeous, and its required reading if you really want to get into Fear Itself and the new Mighty Thor book.

I own all the issues collected in those hardcovers though, so the collection I’m looking forward to most is Ultimate Comics Spider-Man Vol. 2 TPB (Marvel Comics – $19.99). This trade collects issues 7-14 of the most recent run of Ultimate Spidey. Brian Michael Bendis continues to write a large but always compelling cast of characters and has always been able to write a fun and exciting story. The art by David Lafuente is very unique and perfectly captures the energy that Bendis puts into the script. I sometimes lament not reading this series in issue format, but I’m sure once I dive into to this, I will forget all my worries and just enjoy the story.