Unity #1
Written by Matt Kindt
Illustrated by Doug Braithwaite
Colored by Brian Reber
Covers by Doug Braithwaite, Bryan Hitch, J.G. Jones, Travel Foreman, Paolo Rivera, Clayton Crain, Neal Adams
Valiant Entertainment
Release Date: November 13, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

The universe’s most powerful weapon must be brought down! But how can the devastating X-O Manowar be defeated? The time-displaced keeper of the X-O Manowar armor has declared Romania his kingdom, but the world isn’t going to let this invasion happen without a fight. As the Russians plan for a nuclear attack, the world’s most dangerous man, Toyo Harada puts together a ruthless team to take out the armor in Unity #1.

I am exhausted with massive crossover events in comics. Occasionally they deliver on their promises to be a game-changing event with spectacular storytelling, but most often they end up resetting the status quo of all the characters and telling a mediocre story.

The Occultist #1
Created by Mike Richardson
Written by Mike Richardson and Tim Seeley
Art by Mike Norton
Color by Allen Passalaqua
Letters by Nate Piekos of Blambot
Covers by Steve Morris, Paolo Rivera
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: October 2, 2012
Cover Price: $3.50

I’ve got a confession to make here, I chose to review this comic based solely on the title. I love horror comics and when a book is entitled The Occultist #1, I immediately think of Lovecraft, Cthulhu, and the like. So I dove in with some preconceived expectations, most of which never presented themselves. But hey, can’t blame a guy for trying…right?

Now, I don’t want you to get the wrong impression here. This wasn’t a bad book, quite the contrary. It just wasn’t what I was expecting. The main character, Rob Bailey, is in possession of an ancient artifact called The Sword. He’s described as a “mild-mannered college student,” but that just made me think of a certain super man masquerading as a newspaper reporter. I assume this was done purposefully, sort of tongue in cheek you might say. But Rob is a young man trying to unlock the secrets to this cryptic power he has been given. He’s not flying around saving the world…he’s saving it one haunted house at a time.

After one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns EVER, Image Comics is teaming with God Hates Astronauts creator Ryan Browne to bring the beloved web comic to comic shops everywhere this October!

Check out the full press release below.

The Green Hornet #5
Written by Mark Waid
Illustrated by Ronilson Freire
Colored by Marcio Menyz
Lettered by Troy Peteri
Covers by Paolo Rivera and Jonathan Lau
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: August 28, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

In this issue of The Green Hornet, we see Britt Reid go through the aftermath of The Voice debacle. The board is furious, Kato is gone, and everyone blames Britt for Mills attempted suicide.

I wasn’t that familiar with The Green Hornet before reading this series. Though I know this character was around during the radio serials, I was only really familiar with the property from the movie, which I wasn’t really able to get into. This comic is different.

The Green Hornet #2
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Daniel Indro
Colored by Marcio Menyz
Letters by Troy Peteri
Covers by Paolo Rivera & Jonathan Lau
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: May 15, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

The Green Hornet #2 easily holds up the standard set by Mark Waid and company in the first issue, and in some respects, surpasses it. This book is the perfect gateway to get people introduced into Dynamite’s excellent Pulp Heroes world that they’ve spend so much time setting up.

Is there any comic that Mark Waid can’t write? I mean, seriously. After spending years reading his work on super hero books, and loving them, I expected something TOTALLY different from what’s he’s given us with this book. The result? I couldn’t be happier. And neither will you, when you start reading this. What surprises me most about this comic is that Waid makes the the Green Hornet an ACTUAL villain. Not a “let me confuse the police and then do the right thing,” no. He’s an actual, honest to God villain. Villains are normally not very pleasant people, but most gangsters had a certain gentleman’s code that they lived up to. Not so for the Green Hornet. He’s the baddest of the bad. And he spends the majority of this issue proving it.