Back by popular demand (& that I finally have some free time) is the thread to help you, the consumer, spend your money wisely on the best new comic books out there to read &/or collect. As in the past I'm not going to list every comic that came out this week, just the 3 best bets if you are going to spend your money or get back into the wonderful world of funny books. For the new people I help run a comic book store, so I have a sad wealth of knowledge so feel free to ask questions & share with us what you bought & what you thought. A pretty light week as the first WEd. of the month is. Now on with the comics. . .

#1. Ultimate Spider-man #50 - Spider-man is my all-time least favorite comic book character & I don't read this comic but I'm trying to be objective. This is arguably the most popular comic being published today & this is the double-sized landmark 50th issue so it's a safe bet for a new comic book fan to pick this sucker up. Featuring the debut of Ultimate Black Cat the book is made to read like a #1 issue for new readers & also features Ultimate Kingpin & Elektra.





#2. Halo & Sprocket: Welcome To Humanity

This is an independant trade paper back collecting the hard to find first 4 issues of this truly engaging, hillarious, & smart story of 3 roomates: a young girl, an angel, & a robot that all live together, plus the book has some extras & unpublished material in it as well. All at a very reasobable $12 this is comic book money well spent. What? You don't believe me, listen to what the critics have to say . . .

The stories are both insightful and hilarious as Callen's mixture of deadpan and slapstick humor prove that an emotionless robot and a headstrong angel can spark serious laughs." - Wizard Magazine

"Sweet, touching, and remarkably funny, Halo and Sprocket goes in exactly the direction you wouldn't expect at any given moment." - icomics.com

"[Halo and Sprocket's] dissections of human logic will not only make you laugh out loud, but think a bit as well." - NewType USA


"...a surreal blend of wonky fantasy with heartfelt reality..." "...whimsy with a touch of subversiveness." - AintItCoolNews.com

"Grade A" - Comics Buyers Guide

"It's a great read that's oddly addicting." - ComicBookResources.com





#2. Superman/Batman #4[/b]

How can you pass up a comic that features the two most iconic characters of the medium drawn by one of the most popular artists around. Yeah, this issue is in the middle of a story arc but in a light week for new books, it's still worth the money.



Also, of note, for Plastic Man fans (of which I am not one), the return of everyone's favorite funny elastic superhero kicks off with the first issue of his new on-going monthly comic. Written & drawn by the very talented Kyle Baker.

I'm not sure of the exact week it comes out, but is there any early word on how good/not good Abadazad is?

Hmmmm, can't bring myself to buy Ultimate Spider-Man. I'm already reading Spectacular and Amazing....do I need one more? Is it really that good?

Hey, Sessa, did any other TPBs come out? When does SLEEPER hit stands?

Oh, and thanks for bringing back the thread. Let's hope our favorite titles are more consistent.

I'd highly recommend Ultimate Spider-Man. I never read much Spidey before this, but I am absolutely addicted. The brand-new #50 is a perfect jumping-on spot.

I'm thinking the Black Cat in that picture needs to eat some french fries and donuts.

The first issue of Plastic Man was pretty great.

Some of the art and ideas for comics over at Arcana seem pretty cool, but I'm always sceptical about independant companies (not sure why...probably burned too often).

Anyway, does anyone know anything about these creators? Are there other books by these writers/artists?

Here's a link to a story: http://newsarama.com/forums/showthre...&threadid=7020

no love for Formerly Known As the Justice League #6?

shame ...

See, that's my problem. I've read waaaay too much Spidey in the past and can't get past some of the changes in the continuity. I am a Bendis fan, but after reading the first two collections, I couldn't stay on board.

Well, look at it this way: no clones in Ultimate Spidey.

What?!? No offense, but that excuse seems pretty crazy to me. I understand what you're saying, but even though Bendis is technically writing a different character than the regular continuity Spidey, Bendis has probably stayed more true to the character than many of the writers who have actually written the regular continuity Spidey over the last 40 years. Any character that's been around as long as Spidey has had his continuity completely messed with time and time again.

It seems to me that anybody concerned with continuity would love USM because even though Ultimate Spidey has appeared in over 70 comics in just 3 years, he's always had the same writer.

I don't know anything about the publisher, but I did notice in your link J.P., that Matt Nixon is one of the writers they have & I am not exaggerating one bit, & you know how many comics I read, he is one of the single worse, least talented writers I've ever read. The publisher looks like a flash in the pan indy line. Just my 2 cents.

Rogue588 - I really dig FNATJL & can't wait for the sequel, but if you read my first post, I try to recommend books for "NEW" readers. That was the last book, part 6 of a mini-series so if somebody picked that up for the first time they would have no clue what was going on.

Finally picked up ULTIMATE SPIDEY. I liked most of it (all scenes with Black Cat were perfect), but I'm not sure how I feel about the youth movement (Aunt May looks a little too young and business like) and I'm not sold on the MJ/Peter dialog.

Also, what's the deal with Spidey "using his superpowers" to stop his freefall? Sure, I thought it was funny, but upon inspection, there was no explanation. How did he do it?

So, I now have 3 Spider-Man titles on my list. That's too many. I should only read one a month at most. Hmmmm. Decisions decisions.