Here's what Marvel's website says:

This apparently happened last yeat in Marvel Knight Spider-Man #8-10.

http://www.marvel.com/universe/Venom_(Mac_Gargan)

How was Beyond #1? I generally like Dwayne MacDuffie's stuff, so I may pick this up.

Thanks for the info, Jason.

There really wasn't enough substance in Beyond #1 for me to make a decision one way or the other. It's just a re-hash of Secret Wars right now, with new players. All we got was a brief bit about how Gravity (never heard of him) got pulled into a construct like the one that pulled in the participants in the original Secret Wars series. He then meets the rest of the people pulled in - Spider-Man, Medusa, Dr. Pym, Wasp, Kraven, Venom, The Hood (never heard of him) and Firebird (never heard of her either). Just as in Secret Wars a voice calling itself the Beyonder promises wish fulfillment if they kill their enemies. That's pretty much it, except for the ending, which I won't spoil.

It was basically a "get to know the players" issue.

When issue 2 hits, I'll probably leaf through it at the comic shop and decide from there if I want to continue the series.

I'm in the middle of Giffen, DeMattius, and Maguire's "I can't Believe it's Not the Justice League." Corny as the book is, I love it... but unfortunately, we'll probably never see another one, as the DC universe has changed Booster, Beetle, Max, Elongated Man, and Sue Dibny so much. Ah well. Anyone know what Maguire's up to now?

Someone give me a report on the new Uncanny X-Men. How did Brubaker do?

I'm not even sure anyone gets it, but could someone that buys (or knows where to view the current covers of) the Avatar Texas Chainsaw Massacre books, tell me which cover Juan Jose Ryp actually drew? The inside cover states that he drew the "Terror" cover, and that's the one my store ordered for me, but it's DEFINITELY NOT Ryp..

I checked Avatar's site, but didn't find anything. Is there anyplace that has the covers on display?

www.midtowncomics.com has most of the covers up. Just search for Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Thanks Stoney.

I just blazed through that Dini Batman issue. For once reading a Batman book wasn't a pain. I liked the Robinson run as a whole but it felt really poorly paced, and the beginning almost seemed like a "tour of the batman villains" story again. The two-face/harvey dent issue was the best IMO. It's amazing someone can write a great standalone issue nowadays. I thought I was going to have to wait 6 months and wade through countless, pointless issues to see the ending.

52 was great as always. I've never seen a series carry so much energy.

That is what I thought as I was reading it. I think Dini's run is 4-single issue stories.

The pacing, to me, is the best aspect of this series. They haven't jumped the gun yet on the whole "52" part, but they are giving bits and pieces with each week on the complexity of the overall story. I have a feeling everything will be tied in; I hope it is not a disappointing end.

Here's what I picked up this week:

All-Star Superman #1 -- I start every issue hating the book and by the last page, Morrison has totally won me over. This issue was no exception.
Marvel Team-Up #22 -- Great book. Kirkman has really made me care about Freedom Ring, a hero he just created two issues ago.
Atom #1 -- Just a good old-fashioned fun book. Heartily recommended.
Jonah Hex #9 -- Palmiotti and Gray are consistently writing one of the best books on the market, much to my surprise. This one was no exception. Awesome art by Tony DeZuniga, the man who created Jonah Hex.
Beyond #1 -- Intriguing start to the mini. Definitely makes me want to come back for issue #2
Thing #8 -- Slott's run on this book has been outstanding. Do yourself a favor and pick up the TPB when it comes out.

All good stuff this week, all recommended.

Jonah Hex and Solo are the only monthly books I'm getting now. And fell if my store gets it.

I was thinking of picking up Battler Britton and Manifest Eternity, has anyone bothered to pick those up? they any good?

I swear I love Marvel Team-up, but this new art is just painful for me.

Solo only has 2 issues left then it is cancelled, so that is 1 less book to pick up. I don't understand for the people that like Hex, why they aren't checking out Loveless, it is SOOO much better, the best Western comic ever written IMO & the art is brilliant. And if you like Fell you should check out Ellis's Fear Agent. Similar to Fell in that he really makes an effort to give the reader his money's worth packing as much in to every single page & offering a story no other comic being published is attempting.

I guess you didn't read my post about Manifest Eternity. I was luke warm on the first issue, it's an artist I never liked & a writer I never really cared for, but the 2nd issue was very good. I'm definitely hooked, but I doubt the book will make it past 10 issues. With so many amazing monthlies out, it's hard for me to bother with 6-part mini-series like BB, especially since the trades usually come out now a month after the last issue.

And yeah the the above post, MTU is such a great book, but he new artist should NEVER be allowed in the industry again. Its like a child is drawing the book. But Iron Maniac rules.

[QUOTE=Sessa17]Solo only has 2 issues left then it is cancelled, so that is 1 less book to pick up. I don't understand for the people that like Hex, why they aren't checking out Loveless, it is SOOO much better, the best Western comic ever written IMO & the art is brilliant. And if you like Fell you should check out Ellis's Fear Agent. Similar to Fell in that he really makes an effort to give the reader his money's worth packing as much in to every single page & offering a story no other comic being published is attempting.[QUOTE]

Warren Ellis doesn't write Fear Agent. It's written by Rick Remender and drawn by Tony Moore. But it is a great book and I'm sad that Moore is leaving the book for a while.

Oh yeah, my bad, I don't know what I was thinking, but its still worth checking out for someone who likes Fell. Moore isn't leaving Fear Agent though, he is coming back to do the next story arc. The art on last issues back up story was awesome, I hope that guy does some more.

Justice League Unlimited is a great title. It's written for a younger audience and the stories are always positive and uplifting. None of the crisis of the main DCU is happening here and there's always obscure heroes appearing.

I love Azzarello most of the time, but I can't stand loveless. All the characters look the same, the flashbacks dont make any sense, and it just screams deadwood rip-off. I like Jonah Hex because it's a single story every issue and it's not trying to copy deadwoods formula.

And fear agent is written by remender and a few of the issues are done by moore. The art's great and I like the concept but the story takes itself to seriously. It's not a fun read and it should be. Someone like mignola should be writing it.

it sucks that solo is being cancelled, and Ill probably stop going to the comic store since I mostly buy trades anyway.

I couldn't disagree more about Loveless, the character design is different for every character & the flashbacks add great layers b/c not everything is spelled out for you. Aside from them both being westerns, how does it "scream" to be a Deadwood rip-off? The cursing is light, the plot is COMPLETELY dififerent, the characters are no where similar, I don't see a single character in Loveless that parallels any in Deadwood & it doesn't even take place during the same time period. Where is it ripping off Deadwood?

I really like Loveless - I've never seen Deadwood tho - but even I have to admit some of the characters are hard to distinguish from one another visually, especially in panels with lots of characters, or when the plot moves between different sets of characters.

I love Fear Agent tho, I've found it to be a fun read, with some meat at the same time. Maybe its because the pacing is so much faster than the mainstream Marvel/DC stuff that tends to be decompressed for longer arcs. My favorite book tho is Fell, I'd gladly double dip on a HC if one ever emerges.

I picked up the first 2 issues of Loveless and couldn't really get into it. However, I have a couple friends who read the book and say that it gets better as it goes on. The only thing I can figure is that it reads better in trade format, like Azzarello's other book 100 Bullets. I might give it a look next week when I go out to the comic shop again.

We're talking about the "one-artist-per-issue" Solo, not the sucky character from Web Of Spider-Man, right?



Shame they're cancelling it. I read on Wiki that the creators discussed as working on future issues were Brian Bolland, John Cassaday, Dave Gibbons, Adam Hughes, J. G. Jones, Kevin Nowlan, Bill Sienkiewicz, Walt Simonson, Jill Thompson, Brian Stelfreeze, Bruce Timm, John Van Fleet and Matt Wagner for future issues.

LOOK AT THAT TALENT?!?!? How could they cancel it now?? Perhaps if they had an issue by Rob Liefield?

Yeah, it's really depressing. DC trys to put a little art and class back into comics and look what happens. But given what they typical comic fan normally buys it's not really a huge surprise.

Well I enjoyed the hell out of the new Gaiman Eternals. Of course I'm always a sucker for that alternative ancient human history Art Bell sort of stuff.

Also enjoyed Brubaker's Uncanny X-Men I picked up on a whim.

Ditto with the Civil War and 52 issues that came in my DCBS shipment.

Worst thing I have read in a long time was Beyond. What the hell is the point? Oh yeah to make 30 somethings like me get all misty-eyed in the store when flipping thru the issue and seeing the transport thing from Secret Wars in Central Park again. Yeah another whim.

And I agree it sucks about Solo being canned. I didn't pick up every issue but I have about 5 of them.

I was just wondering if anyone else has this problem with their local comic shop....
I am a person who likes to give just about every #1 comic a chance when it comes out. Unfortunately when I purchase a number 1 issue the comic shop is already hounding me about adding the title to my pull list. Am I the only one who likes to sample (buy) a new title before I commit to adding it to my sub list? My local shop seems to not comprehend this concept, at 2.99 a title I have to be damn sure I want this title add to my sub list..

they might be trying to gauge interest in the book, as retailers usually order more #1s for precisely that reason and then drop orders for #2 (which is why #2s of a popular book have been harder to find) with the way they have to order in advance, its possible they'd still have time to bump up #2s order if demand is there when #1 is released.