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Issue #1
Why does this say “Issue #1” at the top? Well, all comic books come in issue numbers so I figured why not have this column come in issues as well.
Welcome to what I hope will become your comic book Nerdvana every Saturday afternoon here at Good Men Project! We’ll look at what’s new in the vast multiverse of the comic book realm, stick our noses exactly where they do belong (in comic books) and maybe even run a little nerd smack.
Each week we’ll look at what’s new in the world of comics as well as what’s coming soon, my weekly pull list (what arrived this week in the series I subscribe to at my local comic book store, Comic Force in Branson, MO, as well as a review of a comic and some general comic book talk. The pic on the left is of Comic Force. Notice the insane floor!
Let’s get to it!
By now it should be no surprise to anyone who is into comic books or superhero movies that there’s an Aquaman movie coming out on December 21. I have to admit that when I heard Aquaman was going to be in Justice League I had mixed emotions about it.
I’ll be straight with you and tell you that I’ll be fifty-three later this month, so the Aquaman I grew up with was the Justice League cartoon Aquaman of the 70’s and 80’s and he was a little sketchy for me.
The guy wore green and orange tights, rode a seahorse and had a young sidekick named Tadpole. You tell me. Does that sound like a superhero you could get behind?
Yeah. Me neither.
This new and MUCH improved version of Aquaman is way more of a badass than the version of my youth. You can see what I’m talking about at the end of the article when you watch the new Aquaman trailer.
Mera, who is now fighting alongside Aquaman, could wipe the floor with Tadpole. From what I’ve seen in the trailers, this pretty stunning redhead can handle herself and doesn’t need a seahorse or Aquaman’s permission to do anything.
More on this as we get closer to the movie release.
New This Week
X-Men Black #1 Emma Frost Marvel
Spider-Force #1 Marvel
West Coast Avengers #3 Marvel
Heroes In Crisis #2 DC
Justice League Dark & Wonder Woman Witching Hour* DC
Justice League & Aquaman Drowned Earth* DC
Peter CannonThunderbolt #1 Dynamite
Elvira: The Shape Of Elvira #1 of 4 Dynamite
Red Sonja #24* Dynamite
* J.R. Collects these
J.R.’s Weekly Pull List
It was a really slow week with only two new comics arriving in my inbox.
Justice League Dark & Wonder Woman Witching Hour Crossover
Justice League & Aquaman Drowned Earth Crossover
Review
Black Panther vs. Deadpool
The foul-mouthed superhero, Deadpool, is one of my favorites and one thing I really like about the various Deadpool series is that they do them in short series of five-six books, so you can get in and out without a ton of expense.
This is a six-book collection and starts off with Wade Wilson, A.K.A. Deadpool, heading to Wakanda, home of the Black Panther to get a bit of vibranium to help a friend.
To say King T’Challa, A.K.A. Black Panther is less than thrilled to see Deadpool is an understatement. When Deadpool walks into the throne room in Wakanda screaming, “Hakuna Matata, your majesty,” a line from The Lion King, the Panther King is not happy.
Deadpool, who has self re-generating powers is also less than thrilled to find out that T’Challa has developed a weapon that will sever body parts and seal the wound, not allowing it to grow back. Deadpool finds this out when T’Challa slices off Deadpool’s arm and it won’t grow back.
What happens after this? I guess we’ll have to wait a month to find out, but like most Deadpool series, it’s definitely going to be worth the wait.
What I’m currently reading and collecting:
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) Marvel
Aquaman Rebirth DC
Batgirl Rebirth DC
Batman: Kings of Fear (6-issue series) DC
Black Panther vs. Deadpool (6 issue series) Marvel
Books of Magic DC Sandman (Vertigo)
Bully Wars Image
Captain America (2018) Marvel
DC ‘s Bombshells United DC
Deadpool (2018) Marvel
Doctor Strange (2018) Marvel
Fantastic Four (2018) Marvel
Flash Rebirth DC
Grimm Fairy Tales (Vol 2) Zenescope
Hal Jordan & the Green Lantern Corps DC
Justice League (2018) DC
Justice League Dark (2018) DC
Life of Captain Marvel Marvel
Mr and Mrs X Marvel
Red Sonja (current) Dynamite
Legendary Red Sonja (5 issue series) Dynamite
Return to Wonderland Zenescope
Revenge In Wonderland Zenescope
Robyn Hood Origin Zenescope
Supergirl Rebirth DC
Superman (2018) DC
Van Helsing vs. The Werewolf (6 issue) Zenescope
Trade paperbacks sitting on my reading table
Robyn Hood: I Love NY Zenescope
The Unbelievable Gwenpool Marvel
Van Helsing vs. Dracula Zenescope
Marvel, DC or Independents?
You know, that’s a tough question because there are a lot of great things about all three categories, but if you look at my numbers below, you’ll see that while I’m slightly DC heavy, there’s not a lot of separation between first and third, so let’s say they’ve all got their strengths.
Marvel 7
DC 11
Independent 8
Does that sound like I’m trying to weasel my way out of an answer? Yeah. Probably.
OK. The Indies, while still carrying some heroes, has stories that, as a writer, I really get into. The tales of a grown-up Alice and her daughter Callie in the Wonderland series and Skye Andrews, Guardian of the Nexus, fighting the figures from Grimm Fairy Tales that spring forth from the pages every month are awesome. I also completely dig the re-invention of the classic tales of Robyn Hood and the vampire fighting Liesel Van Helsing from Zenescope. And who doesn’t like a badass with a sword in a chainmail bikini? That would be Red Sonja.
Marvel leads my collection off with Ant-Man and the Wasp, a story I like because it takes a regular guy with a lot of problems in his life and gives him a chance to make things right. Then there’s Deadpool, the foul-mouthed superhero and classics like Captain America and the Fantastic Four.
DC has some of my favorites too in Batgirl, Aquaman, Justice League and Superman. Making a choice is a tough decision, but I think I have my mind made up.
When it comes to the traditional superhero genre, DC and Marvel are neck and neck, but I’ll give a slight nod to DC. The Indies are a thing of their own and are really difficult to compare with the other two, so the Indies stand on their own two feet.
The Back Cover
After all is said and done, do you know what’s one of the very best things about reading and collecting comic books? It’s something you can do with your kids and it doesn’t matter if you have the same tastes as they do. There’s literally something for everyone.
So make your way to your local comic book store, peruse their goods and I’m sure you’ll find something that you’ll enjoy!
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Photo credit: Photos provided by J.R. Reed
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