A comiXologist recommends…

Super Sons #7

Super Sons has quickly become one of my favorite ongoing series. It’s fun, wacky, exciting, and the art is gorgeous. For those who haven’t been following along, the series follows Superboy and Robin, biological children of Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne, as they fumble their way through their solo superheroic adventures without their parents. Damian plays the angry, cranky, condescending figure with all of the attitude but none of the gravitas of Batman. Jon is a bright-eyed, idealistic, and often naive stand-in for Superman, who seemingly always struggles to get the same amount of respect as his darker counterpart.  I love the dynamic between Damian and Jon. They’re fun, exaggerated versions of how a cynical audience views their fathers.

This issue is the second part of the Super Sons/Teen Titans crossover, “Planet of the Capes.” Last issue, Robin got changed from a young boy (who thought Superboy was too young for the Teen Titans) into an old man (who’s fine with it, because he can’t be bothered to care anymore at that age). Peter Tomasi’s writing on these past few issues has been top notch. Watching a B-List villain summon other B-List villains to fight the Sons and the Teen Titans was so much fun. On top of that, Jorge Jimenez is one of my favorite artists right now. Everything he does is so pretty and energetic. He finds ways to do that manga thing where he pulls off great, seamless storytelling but still manages to make just about every panel look like a dazzling pin-up. It works perfectly for this kind of series as the book’s characters are manic, high-intensity kids. Add in really visually interesting characters like Beast Boy, Raven, Aqualad, and Starfire, and this book quickly jumps to the top of my list for this week.

Jonah Chuang is a Technical Account Manager at Comixology. He likes Superboy better than Robin

A comiXologist recommends…

STAR WARS: DOCTOR APHRA #11

This week’s issue of Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (issue #11) was so great! Part III of the Enormous Profit story arc, this week’s story sees major changes in the dynamic of the whole series. Triple-Zero and Beetee, the scary but funny killer droids who have been reluctantly complying with Aphra (but slowly working to subvert her) have finally found their way around the restrictions she’s placed on them. Now they’ve unleashed mayhem in the form of a killer ghost-Jedi-robot. 

A couple of issues ago, Triple-Zero, the homicidal C-3PO, took advantage of one of Aphra’s poorly worded commands and set a plan into motion that would take them out of her service and free them to kill indiscriminately once again. While Aphra’s been distracted by trying to auction off her Jedi Holy Grail to the galaxy’s most unsavory and struggling with the moral and historical implications thereof, the droids have contacted Vader, hijacked the ship’s weapons and set the angry Jedi ghost loose on the buyers. Aphra spends this issue running and gunning with bodies falling all around her before the shoe finally drops. 

The Doctor Aphra series has gone from Indiana Jones-like “historical” action/adventure to a heist story to a high-class tale of criminal intrigue. This issue, more than the previous issues, feels like classic Star Wars, with its over-the-top blaster fire, comedic dialogue, dismembered limbs, and untrustworthy aliens. It’s funny, exciting, and has severe and lasting consequences. It moves quickly and leaves the reader wanting more. Top notch story-telling!

Perhaps the best part of this issue is how it sets up the next issue. It seems like all the seeds that writer Kieron Gillen planted throughout this series are blooming. Aphra’s been adventuring around the universe making terrible and powerful enemies. Now, backed into a corner, with all her former allies turned against her, she faces the scary consequences of her actions. Can’t wait to see how it all unfolds and how/if she gets out of this one.

Jonah Chuang is a Technical Account Manager at comiXology. He hopes one day Doctor Aphra makes a cameo in a Star Wars movie or maybe get her own movie.

A comiXologist recommends…

THE FLASH #21

Flash #21 continues right where Batman #21 ended, but this time it’s from The Flash’s perspective. I can’t say enough positive things about this storyline so far. It has so many of the great things from Rebirth—levity, legacy devices, callbacks to storylines long past—along with the freshness and edge that came from the New 52 relaunch.

Where Batman #21 was heavily saturated in intense action and mystery, this issue takes us on a fun CSI sci-fi journey featuring the incomparable cosmic treadmill! Yes, that’s right – one of my favorite old-school DC plot devices makes its triumphant return in this issue. With Batman and The Flash stumped about what happened to the Reverse Flash, Barry and Bruce have no choice but to use the time travel treadmill to follow Thawne’s path through time and the multiverse to see what he saw and find out what killed him. To deepen the mystery, it seems like the prime suspect might wind up being the Flash himself (or a version of him—either alternate dimension or future).

There were a lot of really fun elements in this story as well. For one, seeing Alfred and Barry hang out while Bruce rests is a sight not often seen (not by me at least). It was also interesting to see Batman hang on to the cosmic treadmill using a bat-line while the Flash ran through time and the multiverse.

That isn’t to say that this book is all fun and frivolity. There are some heavy elements and substantial reflections in this book as well. Flashbacks (no pun intended– this is serious) to Barry’s death in the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Cameo by Johnny Thunder and a callout to the loss of the DCU JSA. A particularly illustrative simile comparing steering the cosmic treadmill to trying to catch a single, specific snowflake in a snowstorm. The creators of this storyline and the team over at DC are doing an amazing job of managing ‘The Button’ so far. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Jonah Chuang is a Technical Account Manager at comiXology. Some gal in Surrey sent him flowers today and he loves them.

A comiXologist recommends…

BATMAN #21 by Tom King, Jason Fabok, & Brad Anderson

Holy crap, what an amazing issue! After the unbelievable bombshells that dropped in DCU Rebirth, the new DC Universe stayed in a holding pattern for a bit while the characters settled into their new status quo. Batman #21 brings us back to those electrifying and world-changing storylines. The book starts with an ominous prophecy from a fan favorite legacy character and then leads into the dark mystery surrounding the bloody Watchmen button found at the end of Rebirth. This issue does not fail to deliver on the promises set up in Rebirth. The weight of the revelations are profound and are sure to lay the base for all the upcoming heavy-hitting arcs that spread throughout the DCU. 

Not into crossovers? Totally fine. This issue definitely stands up on its own as well. In fact, it’s impressive how far the storytelling pushes the limits of what comics can do. Without giving anything away, Batman has a pretty crazy fight scene in this book. It is, with no exaggeration, one the most impressive comic book fight scenes that I’ve ever seen. The way the artist and writer play with the progression of time and set up driving elements is stellar. I found myself on the edge of my seat with this book, more eager than I’ve ever been to turn the page and see what happens next. 

I can’t fully articulate what a pleasure this book was to read, and how excited I am for the next issue. From the deep mystery surrounding the Comedian’s button buried in the Batcave wall, to the return of some really important characters long thought gone or erased, to the way the storytelling was done in this issue, Batman #21 is worth every bit of the marketing campaign that DC has thrown behind it.

Jonah Chuang is a Technical Account Manager at comiXology. He’s a bigger Superman fan than a Batman fan, but this book might change that.

A comiXologist recommends…

X-MEN BLUE #1

X-Men Blue is so great! After months and months of epic crossovers and events, the X-Men characters settle into their new status quo. This specific title follows the teenage versions of the original five X-Men, now permanently part of the main universe, as they learn and grow under the weight of their predecessors’ legacies.

X-Men Blue returns to the classic dynamic of the original team but still feels fresh because of the recent time travel-y experiences that the team has gone through—sort of like the Ultimate Universe did when it first came out, only better since this lives in main continuity and plays off of the characters’ long history. Also, it’s cool seeing the old X-Men discover everything for the first time in a modern context. It’s a bit reminiscent of the Smallville TV series in that way. Most of the characters are still the same but with slight modifications that have got me curious and excited about future issues. One big difference is that Jean now leads the team instead of Scott. I’m loving the new dynamic that creates!

I went into this issue totally blind so it was surprise after surprise for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. I recommend going in that way, especially if you’ve been keeping up with the recent X-Books. If, however, you need a little more convincing, you should know that Beast now uses magic, Angel has cosmic wings, the main villain in this is the Juggernaut, the team is now based out of Madripoor, and Magneto now serves as the Professor X figure.

The most exciting parts about this issue for me were the teasers for what’s to come at the end. I won’t give these away but suffice it to say that we’ll soon see the team tackle lots of other throwbacks (both recent and distant past), which should really reward long time readers for their X-loyalty.

Jonah Chuang is a Technical Account Manager at Comixology. He thinks Magneto WAS right.

A comiXologist recommends:
We Stand On Guard #1

by: Jonah Chuang

Brian K. Vaughan’s at it again. The subject of his latest great work? War. It’s nearly a hundred years in the future and it’s USA vs. Canada, and the Canadians are the good guys (though I suspect, knowing BKV, it will get more complicated than that). That’s right—the maple syrup-loving, universal healthcare-having, notoriously polite Canadians versus the aggressive and overly militaristic U.S. of A.

The story follows Amber, a Canadian who, at a very young age, lived through the U.S.’s first bombing of Ottawa, Ontario—a bombing that killed her parents. Now she survives wandering the frozen Canadian territories fighting off a vastly overpowered American military presence (in the form of huge robotic animals with laser weapons). Already pretty cool, right? It gets better—Amber soon meets up with a rag tag band of grizzled freedom fighters and together they go up against the biggest mother effing robot of them all, and this is just the first issue.

If you’ve ever read Saga, Runaways, Swamp Thing, Ex Machina, Y: The Last Man, Pride of Baghdad, or any of the other tons of great books BKV has done, you’ll remember that his stories tend to be action-packed, filled with mystery, and feature really great characters. We Stand On Guard promises to be no different. Already the Two-Four, future Canada’s gang of renegade freedom fighters, boasts a few stand out characters, including a famous actor, a tire company engineer, a dude who walks a feral wolf with a harness commonly seen on teacup pups, and a guy who passionately proclaims that Superman is one of Canada’s greatest treasures.

Steve Skroce’s art is absolutely perfect for this kind of story. It’s gritty, epic, and grimy, while being clear, detailed, and expressive. His robots, weapons, and people all look equally awesome and dangerous, which is a feat considering how gigantic the robots are. Really, the power differential is nuts and I can’t wait to see how the Two-Four holds up against the US. If nothing else I’m excited for the scale of the battles to come because Skroce draws them in a way that feels really cinematic and real.

[Read We Stand On Guard #1 on comiXology]

Jonah Chuang is a Production Coordinator Assistant at comiXology. He wishes he had a feral artic wolf, but he had a chain with three weak links so he no longer does.

A comiXologist recommends:
Thors #1

by: Jonah Chuang

My pick for this week is Thors #1, a part of Marvel’s Secret Wars crossover. I picked this book up for two reasons. The first is its wow-factor: I couldn’t resist seeing images of an army of Thors (Ultimate, Rune, All-Father, Frog) and other-Marvel-characters-as-Thor (Beta Ray Bill, Storm, Groot) act as God Doom’s police force throughout Battleworld, each wielding their own magical hammer and flying through the skies together. The second reason is because the Thor Corps seems to be the one element that appears in almost every Battleworld title there is, but you never really get a sense of what they’re all about. Usually they’re just Doom’s henchmen and they do whatever he commands, but, come on, they’re Thors, so you know there has to be much more going on behind the scenes. This book gives us that peek behind the curtain.

Turns out the Thors are very much like the cops of Battleworld. They have partners, they report to superiors, solve mysteries, bicker with co-workers, worry about performance and promotions/demotions, and drink at Thor bars together. They have thoughts, interests, goals and personalities, despite how they appear in the other Battleworld titles.

This particular story revolves around the discovery of a serial killer who is going around the different Battleworld realms and killing the same woman. Spoiler alert: it’s Jane Foster, and it seems like the only one who knows anything is a crazy, homeless alternate version of Loki. Leave it to Jason Aaron to weave such familiar elements into a totally different type of story, right? Thors is part police procedural (complete with Thor Frog/Throg as the forensics guy) and part hard-boiled detective mystery.

[Read Thors #1 on comiXology]

Jonah Chuang is a Production Coordinator Assistant at Comixology. He saw Tomorrowland last week and really enjoyed it. 

A comiXologist recommends:
Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #1

by: Jonah Chuang

Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows is pretty great. It brings back the Peter Parker: Spider-Man that many of us grew up with and still love. For veteran fans, reading this book is a lot like you grew up with a favorite restaurant, then one year they tore it down and you were sad but the new restaurant they put up in its place was pretty good so you kept going, then one day you walk in and find that the original restaurant is there again!

One of the most appealing things for me about Spider-Man is the Average Joe aspect of his characterization. The pre-Brand New Day Peter Parker was married to MJ and swung around New York fighting bad guys and had marital and career problems. He was very relatable. This book plops Peter and MJ back in that setting again, but changes the world around them into a crazy, dangerous, and exciting alternate society. Even if you’re not a Spidey veteran reading this book for nostalgia’s sake, this book has got crazy fights, great art, and pretty good character development.

It opens with a classic fight about Peter juggling home life and Spider-Man-ing, then ramps up into a mystery surrounding dead and missing New York super-heroes. Without giving too much away, Peter is faced with having to choose between helping with an omega-level threat to the city and dealing with a danger to his family, and his choice has some real serious consequences.

ASM: Renew Your Vows was the book that I was most excited about in this Secret War event, and it did not disappoint. It’s a very well executed return to the amazing Spider-Man of yesteryear, and I can’t wait to see what impact this has on Peter for the stories to come.

[Check out Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #1 on comiXology]

Jonah Chuang is a Production Coordinator Assistant at Comixology. He has always considered Peter and MJ to be the ideal couple (unless it’s the cinematic ASM, because there it’s Peter and Gwen for sure).

A comiXologist recommends:
Injection #1

by: Jonah Chuang

Let me first get this disclaimer out of the way: The Injection had me way before I read this first issue. When I found out that Warren Ellis, Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire (the superstar team behind one of my favorite comics series ever, Moon Knight) would be helming this project, I was already intrigued. Then I read the plot synopsis and I was hooked.

Essentially, there’s a group of crazy people who mess the world up and are trying to fix it. The series deals with those crazies as they deal with the physical manifestations of the fallout of their mistake, the mysterious ‘Injection’. It’s like Fringe, but with all members of the team are Walter Bishops. It’s subtle, mysterious, and very intellectual.

Warren Ellis’s handling of future fiction and mental illness in this book is as spot on as ever. Just as promised in its solicit, this first issue sets up a really complex universe which includes elements of sci-fi, supernatural horror, transdimensional misadventure and paranormal weirdness. These things, however, are not blatantly the focus of the story. If you like Image’s Trees, it’s very similar to that in that the characters only tangentially react to the spectacular elements in the story and mostly just carry on with their individual stories. Part of the reason for that is the characters are crazy, but it also seems to be a function of Ellis’s world building. He’s creating an interesting world where the abnormal comes off as commonplace.

The most captivating part of this book for me is the big mystery surrounding the title. What IS the Injection?? We see the symbol pop up all over the book in weird places but it’s not directly explained. It seems to be responsible for a bunch of mind-boggling craziness, like a lightning and fungi filled parallel universe, or a roasted human plugged into a computer that still talks, that incite your curiosity and inflame your imagination. With such a solid setup I can’t wait to see what kind of magnificent payoff Shalvey and Ellis have in store.

[Check out Injection #1 on comiXology]

Jonah Chuang is a Production Coordinator Assistant at comixology. He’s going to Disney World next week!

A comiXologist recommends:
Batman #40

by: Jonah Chuang

Batman: Endgame has been blowing me away at every turn. For those who haven’t been keeping up, spoiler alert: it’s Batman vs. the Joker again, but it’s not just another battle. All the cards are on the table, all the stops have been pulled, and it definitely feels like an “endgame” situation.

Just a quick recap: It started with Batman fighting a mind-controlled Justice League (and really holding his own despite his lack of powers).  Then, The Joker returns from the dead, revealing that he’s been behind the scenes, pulling the strings for a while. Not only that, but maybe the reason he keeps being able to come back to life after all those “nobody could survive this” moments, might be because he is this creepy supernatural Pale Man monster, a creature that’s been present throughout the history of Gotham. Also, he knows who Batman really is and has for a while.  Lots of really creepy, freaky, Joker mind games happen after that, leading up to the final showdown, which happens this issue. It’s Batman and his partners teaming up with his usual villains to go up against the Joker and his army of Jokerized Gotham citizens.

I was very excited for this issue, mostly because I could finally find out the answers to all the mysteries that Scott Snyder’s been building on his New 52 run on Batman, but I equally loved the really epic action shots in this issue, too. If there is anything cooler than seeing the Bat-Family fight alongside Mr. Freeze, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy and the Scarecrow while Bane pulls ‘fastball special’ with Batman at the Joker, it’s probably watching Batman jump on the Joker’s back and making fun of him as the Joker tries to crawl away, terrified. Spoiler alert: both of those things happen this issue. It’s kind of ridiculous how much awesome is packed into this issue.

Quick tip: As with any great Joker tale, there are a ton of twists and turns in this story. I reread the story arc before going into this and it was a lot more satisfying.

[Check out Batman #40 on comiXology]

Jonah Chuang is a Production Coordinator Assistant at Comixology. He also highly recommends Superman #40, also out this week.

Inhuman Special #1

There’s not much to dislike about Inhuman Special. It’s got Spider-Man, the Inhumans, the NuHumans, a classic hero-turned-villain, and a pretty heavy hitting storyline. Another one of Marvel’s famous three-part specials, this story continues from Amazing Spider-Man and continues in All-New Captain America, and focuses on a huge conflict in New Attilan, which sits just outside of New York City.  

For those that haven’t been keeping up, a while back, Black Bolt, king of the Inhumans, in order to bring his people into a new age, set off a Terrigen mist bomb that gave powers to a ton of people (including Ms. Marvel, the blind guy from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Toro) who didn’t know they had Inhuman ancestors (sound familiar?). Everyone besides him and his crazy brother thought it was a bad idea because it disfigured a bunch of people who didn’t ask for it and created a ton of conflict, but it turns out it also messed up a whole race of people.

Enter Red Raven, a golden age hero who used to team up with Captain America and the rest of the Invaders. He retired, lived, loved, and raised a family with some distant relatives of the Inhumans, but all of that changed when the Terrigen Bomb hit. That society, because of its unique genetic variation, got totally destroyed by the mists, and Red Raven is out for revenge/justice.

The best stories, I think, are ones where the villains’ interests are just as valid as the heroes’. Red Raven has a legitimate right to be upset by what happened, and the list of problems that Black Bolt has caused keeps getting longer. This flub, though, isn’t something that’s easily forgotten or resolved. Tensions continue to built and Black Bolt and the Inhumans are soon going to have to face the consequences of the mistakes they’ve made. With the Inhumans taking such a big role in the Marvel Cinematic I have a feeling that we’ll be feeling the effects of this storyline’s inevitable climax for a long time to come.

[Inhuman Special #1 on comiXology]

Jonah Chuang is a Production Coordinator Assistant at comiXology. He’s got Avengers fever and his prescription can’t be filled until May 1^st.