This week’s entries include two mainstream titles and three smaller company books, hooray for the little guy. In a week with a lot of milestone and big titles, it was the “other” ones that got it done for me. So without further fuss, her are my five picks for the week, spoiler free of course.



Action Comics #871 The fourth part of the New Krypton is my “official” selection of the week, as have three of the previous titles in the saga thus far. The story progresses as last we saw Kal-El led a delegation of New Kryptonians to meet his peeps in Metropolis when all sorts of funny stuff broke out (of course). Without giving anything away, lets just say in this issue, the plot thickens. Enjoy.

Star Trek Mirror Images #4 IDW has done some masterful work with its Star Trek titles and this one continues in the same vein as the rise of Kirk to power in the Mirror Universe culminates and concludes. While these books are not canon, they certainly make a lot of sense in connecting the dots to some classic original episodes. And Italian-artist David Messina’s likeliness’ are uncanny.



Fables #78 Four months ago in the conclusion of the war, Bill Willingham promised repercussions that would affect the Fables far into the future. The war might have been won, but this month we learn at what true cost (and this is only the beginning). That said, I have not had as much fun reading a character since the Joker when in this issue I was introduced to Mister Dark!



I Hate Gallant Girl #1 Meet Renee. Since she was a little girl she has dreamt of being a super-hero, which means a Gallant Girl. Selected once every 10 years, Renee believes herself to be a shoo-in as she has all the attributes. Turns out all of them save one – the look. So, what is a rejected Gallant Girl to do? If you guessed become a hero anyway, you would not be wrong. An Image-Shadowline production, I Hate Gallant Girl is by Jim Valentino and Kat Cahill with pictures from Seth Damoose.



Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson #1 Much like Anita Blake, this comic is adapted from a series of books under the same name. This time the adaptation is performed by Dabel Brothers publishing. David Lawrence works the magic with Briggs writing while the true wonder of this four-issue mini-series is the paintings by Francis Tsai – worth the price alone. The kicker is this is actually an enjoyable tale about a coyote shape-shifter raised by werewolves. And did we mention the vampires? Hooked yet?

The Brave New Worlds Blog Review Has Returned

Yes, it is back, my top picks of the week after a very lengthy hiatus (don’t ask). Anyway, without further a do my top five of the week (half of them being mini-series), spoiler free as always.

X-Men and Spider-Man #1 My actual pick of the week, X-Men and Spider-Man #1 harkens back to the early days of Marvel and both Spidey and the X-Men. It is a classic Marvel story from that era as Peter Parker is hanging out with Gwen, MJ, Harry and Flash. But Kraven is on the hunt (when is he not?) and this time with a new twist that directly involves the students of a school in Westchester. Christos Gage provides the story while Mario Alberti provides the breathtaking visuals in part one of four.

Go here for a preview http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories.5785.Preview~colon~_X-Men~slash~Spider-Man_%231

Cable #8 Cable has been a slow burn since issue one, building towards something big. You can just tell. And each issue leaves me wanting more and more, which is impressive when you consider how much of a fan I am not of Cable (he just does not do it for me). That being said Duane Swierczynski has a way of writing the book that makes me care (the same can by said for his other title Iron Fist as well). The first couple of issues basically consisted of just Cable and Bishop, but now the X-Men are involved and things have started to heat up.

Gemini #3 It took a little bit of time, but Gemini #3 finally hit the shelves and was so worth the wait. Jay Faerber’s epic tale of a superhero who does not know he is a superhero continues as Gemini learns a little more about whom he actually is and what is going on all around him. By the time you get to the end you will be like, where is the rest, it’s that good.




Superman Supergirl Maelstrom #1 First thing to realize when you pick this up, don’t get stuck trying to figure out where in the DC continuity this takes place, it is obviously before Final Crisis and the Death of the New Gods. Now that we have that out of the way, Maelstrom is some low-level Apokolips lackey with delusions of Darkseid matrimony (never a good thing). So, she goes to prove her worth the only way you can with the Big D by going after the Big S. Unfortunately she has to settle for the S in the skirt. But this issue is so much more as Jimmy Palmiotti and Justine gray provide the first glimpse of what we can really expect from this five issue mini-series.



Invincible Iron Man #7 Where Director of Shield fails, Matt Fraction allows Invincible Iron Man to deliver. This issue features a guest spot by your friendly neighborhood web-head and the aftermath of the first six-issue arc, very poignant and well done.



Final Crisis Resist First let me remind everyone that in the beginning I was so a Final Crisis hater. However upon further review this is a pretty good series and for my money as fun as the main Secret Invasion title is, FC delivers more issue for issue, especially in its tie-ins. Resist is just that, how the resistance is doing against the Anti-Life equation (not well) and just what drastic measures they are prepared to do to win. This issue leads directly back into the main series, so you don’t want to miss it.

Sandman: Dream Hunters #1 This is a bonus review that some could say was 10 years in the re-making. An original Sandman story from Neil Gaiman from 1999, P. Craig Russell has decided to adapt the original text and provide all new artwork. The story delivers as always and the art work is phenomenal. If you read the original with illustrations by Yoshitake Amano, pick up this four-issue series for a new twist on a classic.