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 June 1, 2011. Single issues and trades, they’re all here.

Apparently, I took all the comics that MK2Fac3 wanted to talk about this week, which I can’t be held responsible for, so you fine readers will get an extra helping of my suggestions. I hope you enjoy.

ISSUES

Criminal: Last of the Innocent #1 (Marvel/Icon – $3.99): I’m very excited that Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips‘ Criminal is back with a new story. Criminal is consistently one of the best books on the market and it’s a shame that more people don’t give this book a shot. Every story arc is a self-contained story, but Brubaker also has created a universe where all of the stories exist and long-term readers are rewarded with Easter Eggs showing how the stories are connected. The art by Sean Phillips sets the perfect mood for this series and always impresses. If you’ve been reading Brubaker and Phillips’ Incognito but haven’t been reading Criminal, it’s time to jump on board. And if you haven’t been reading Criminal or Incognito, well then you have a lot of reading to do.

Fans of the Vertigo series 100 Bullets will be pleased to learn that the creative team behind that book, Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso are teaming up again for a new series coming from Vertigo comics this year. The series will be titled Spaceman, and that’s about all we know at this point.

If you go to DC’s blog The Source, you can see a conversation between Azzarello and Editor Will Dennis about the series, as well as some preview art.

With today being 1/01/11 DC Comics is offering up 101 issues of Batman comics for only $.99 each!

For today only, you can download the digital versions of issues #600-700 for only $.99 each at the DC Comics Digital Store, the DC Comics App, and the ComiXology App.

The sale is valid until 11PM EST tonight, at which time the issues will go back to their full price.

Amongst the storylines included in the comics in this sale are Hush, Broken City, Under the Red Hood, Batman and Son, and BATMAN: R.I.P., with contributions by some of comics’ greatest creators like Brian Azzarello, Tony S. Daniel, Geoff Johns, Andy Kubert, Jim Lee, Jeph Loeb, Grant Morrison, Dustin Nguyen, Eduardo Risso, James Robinson, Bill Willingham, and Judd Winick.

First Wave #1
Written by Brian Azzerello
Art by Rags Morales
Covers by J.G. Jones; Variant by Neal Adams
DC Comics
Price: $3.99; 40 pages
Released date: March 3, 2010

If you read the Doc Savage/Batman special from a few months ago, then you got a sneak peek of what the First Wave miniseries is like (but not much more, that special was pretty slim on story).

The goal of this miniseries is to combine various pulp heroes such as the aforementioned Doc Savage and Batman, as well as The Spirit and the Blackhawks. There are a lot of different characters in First Wave #1, and unfortunately the only one I have much familiarity with, Batman, was not in this issue. That means the whole issue focuses on who Doc Savage and The Spirit are, and that’s where this issue fails. I don’t think I’m alone when I say that I don’t know much about Doc Savage, and unfortunately, I don’t know much more after this issue, and I don’t really care to. I generally enjoy the writing of Brian Azzarello, or at least I enjoyed his writing on 100 Bullets, but there’s just not much to write home about this one. The dialog is fine, if uninspired, but the biggest problem is that I have no connection to these characters and this issue does nothing to foster a connection with them. If you don’t know the characters already, you won’t know them any better after this issue.

Are you as excited about DC’s First Wave as I am? I’ve been inundated with previews in the back of every DC book and I can’t wait for the first issue to hit stands tomorrow. But what if I told you there was an even more awesome way to experience First Wave? “˜How,’ you ask? How about reading it with two of comics biggest names?

Geoff Johns and Jim Lee will be reading First Wave #1 on Wednesday, and you can share the experience with them on Twitter, where you can tweet your thoughts and comments to the superstar creators and hear what they think as they flip from page to page. Not on the Twitter bandwagon? Sign up!

Everything kicks off this Wednesday at 3pm PST, so you have plenty of time to run to your shop and join in on the action. While you’re at it, don’t forget to follow GeeksOfDoom, too.