Hello, comic friends! I am here to discuss comics that will be released this Wednesday, January 15th, 2014.
Now, if I had the wallet of guys like Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark… I would honestly buy one copy of every comic book that comes out. But, alas, I’m not a jewel thief like Catwoman and can’t phase through the floor of my local comic book store like Kitty Pryde to grab every comic book created. So instead I look through the list every week and pull the ones that interest me the most.
All book premises are in quotes and brought to you by Midtown Comics. The rest is all me, friends! For a complete list of releases you can visit Comic List.
THIS WEEK’S PICKS:
A Voice In The Dark #3
“‘KILLING GAME,’ Part One With freshman year pressures mounting, will Zoey be able to contain her compulsion to murder another student before school lets out for Thanksgiving break? Written and drawn – by mouth – from disabled creator Larime Taylor.”
I’ve declared this comic book as my favorite non-superhero comic book of all time. When issue one came out in November, I was blown away by the story of Zoey, a girl who just started college and is counting the days since she last murdered somebody. The story shows the defense for her friend as she tries to move on from the urges to commit murder again. She starts an on-campus radio show, Voices in the Dark, to allow callers to be anonymous as they share their problems.
I’ve become online friends with the author/artist, Larime Taylor, to the extent that I actually earned myself previews of every single new issue in advance for 2014… so I already read this issue a few weeks ago… and I love it.
If you like murder mystery, thriller and horror… this brilliant comic book is for you. If you go to Larime Taylor’s website, you can read the story about how he creates this comic, as well as support him by purchasing autographed/sketched copies of this series.
Alex + Ada #3
“Ada is an amazing piece of technology, but Alex realizes she’s missing something. He goes in search of it and finds out he’s not the only one unhappy with the way things are.”
Alex is unhappy with his life in this futuristic story, and his grandmother tries to cheer him up by purchasing a robot girlfriend for his birthday… that he has absolutely no interest in… at least from the start. I am a huge fan of writer/artist Jonathan Luna, assisted in writing by Sarah Vaughn, and every time his name is on the creative team of a comic book, it’s an instant buy for me, and I’ve never been left disappointed. Other titles from him and his brother, Joshua Luna, that I love are: The Sword, Girls and Ultra.
All-New X-Men #21
“X-23 is back, joining the ALL-NEW X-MEN and kissing Cyclops? What does this mean to Jean Grey? Jean and X-23 are forced to team up against a mysterious force, so she better figure it out!”
Writer Brian Michael Bendis has been hitting this title out of the park since its debut. A story about the original X-Men traveling to the present time to convince the current Cyclops that what he is doing is wrong, based from events that rolled out of the Avengers vs X-Men event. After wrapping up an amazing event, Battle of the Atom, the original X-Men from the past are stuck in the future… and trying to find a place to fit in.
Amazing X-Men #3 (of 5)
“BEAST UNLEASHED! Dr. McCoy is pushed over the edge and gives into his savage side like never before! The X-Men, split between heaven and hell, are in way over their heads! Can they get to Nightcrawler before evil Azazel does?”
After Nightcrawler died many years ago, he is back… bringing his former teammates into his afterlife.
The Illegitimates #2
“The Illegitimates are assembled and identities revealed as Dannikor’s world-changing plot kicks into gear! Can these kids process their newly revealed parentage and, more importantly, get along long enough to embrace their legacies and save the planet from a zombified doom? And, hey, what about the Illegitimates’ moms?”
Co-creator Taran Killam, cast member from Saturday Night Live, makes his comic book debut with this ridiculously unique and fun new mini-series! I am a huge fan of Taran and was excited to check this out and was not disappointed last month with it’s debut.
When the world’s best secret agent dies, his agency must gather his illegitimate children out of hiding after being trained for years, waiting to be the possible replacement for when their father would pass away.
My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic #15
“Things are getting positively bookish in Ponyville! When a magical bookworm starts to cause some literary mischief, it’s only a matter of time before things start to get out of hoof! It’s up to our ponies to set things right… but will they want to when Daring Do shows up?”
This series is never not fun, never not cute, and never not worth my money every single month since it’s debut. Do not read if you hate comedy and gorgeous art and coloring.
Rat Queens #4
“Holy vengeance can be a real headache, but it’s so much worse when it’s coming from a fifteen foot tall lady troll who’s just lost her dad. In this blood-splattered issue, the Rat Queens find out that every action has some sort of hilariously brutal consequence!”
This book is for mature readers that enjoy violence and comedy. The Rat Queens are a group of misfits who were sent on a mission that turned out to be a trap, as punishment for constantly trashing their city from their drunken shenanigans, and are using their specific skills in fighting and magic to stop the obstacles that come before them.
The Superior Spider-Man #25
“Special super-sized 25th issue! Otto Octavius, the Superior Spider-Man, in a life-or-death struggle against the original Superior Venom! Plus: With one last goblin on his side, the Goblin King’s court is now complete! Guest starring: The Avengers!”
Dan Slott took a huge risk at the end of 2012 by killing off Peter Parker and putting Otto Octavius in his body, fooling everybody in Peter’s life and taking over the role of Spider-Man. I absolutely love every single daring issue that comes out. Joined by writer Chistos Gage, we are getting some excellent writing with this recent Venom arc.
Velvet #3
“You all know the story: a beautiful woman seduced by a secret agent into revealing secrets and helping him on his mission… but what happens to them once the agent is gone? Find out in issue three, as Velvet tracks Agent X-14’s most recent asset down very dark paths.”
The above description sums it up pretty well as we are still early on with this great new secret agent comic book story, and it’s never too late to jump on board!
Conclusion:
I’ve recently made a huge decision in the way I get comic books. I discuss it in Episode 89 of my podcast, AB Conversation, on iTunes. Instead of going to my local comic book store, which I’ve recently been experiencing some bad customer service, I’ve now transferred my 30+ comic book series subscriptions over to Midtown Comics! An online store that I’ve purchased from many times when looking for deals as well as books my local shop didn’t get in, Midtown Comics will now be my number one source for shipping my books weekly to save on money, gas, and frustration. I go into greater detail in the episode of the podcast advertised above.
My other podcast, Ant On, is available on iTunes (with a link below this post), and I do several episodes focused 100% on comic book previews and reviews. It’s been awhile since I’ve done an episode on comics, but I am currently restructuring for a more entertaining way to celebrate the comic book industry. I am planning to record a brand new one that might be available by the time you read this post!
I also do a comic book segment on my first podcast, AB Conversation, in which I will highlight just a few of the books, leaving reason to check out the Ant On Comics podcast as well for the full feature. The AB Conversation covers movies, television, comics, video games, food and the internet every Sunday morning.
Pre-orders are key. If you purchase the monthly Previews guide located at your store, or online, you can browse upcoming titles and set up an order and/or a pull-list with your store so they order the items that you are interested in.
If you don’t have a comic book store near you, you have several other choices. I like to visit Midtown Comics as well as Things From Another World. If you are into digital comics, then simply go to Comixology or the individual websites and apps for the publishers you purchase from.
Are there any titles that you are excited for that I didn’t talk about? Contact me and share your non-spoiler suggestions! If you don’t agree with what I have to say, I apologize and hope you are enjoying the comics you read, because I am definitely loving mine.
This is the Ant-Man signing off… I’ll see you between the panels!
My podcasts on iTunes: “AB Conversation” & “Ant On”
My podcast websites: http://www.abconversation.net & http://www.antonpodcast.podomatic.com
My film-making website: http://www.bartonheights.4t.com
My Twitter: @anthonylaatsch
What are you picking up? Let us know in the comments!
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Nerdy Minds Magazine 
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