This week a horror novelist and a-list comic writer his long-time collaborator team up to give a new take on God’s walking among us; the other Justice League take the fight to the Secret Society’s doorstep; a new team of X-women is formed; the Illuminati get Doom’s attention; and we may just be seeing the debut of the next great Vertigo series.

CLIVE BARKER’S NEW TESTAMENT #1

Eccentric billionaire Julian Demond is being guided by his dreams to run blindfolded through a desert until he trips (literally) over an ancient artifact that he promptly digs up, beats with a hammer and lets loose a being called Wick, the self-proclaimed Father of Color and capital “G” god from the New Testament. wick then proceeds to do what ancient beings that have been locked up for a millennia are won’t to do on their first day back in the world…kill a bunch of folks.
Final Verdict: OK, I was prepared for high concepts from a book written by the wacky duo of horror-meister Clive Barker and superstar comic book writer Mark Millar longtime film partner Mark Miller and NEW TESTAMENT #1 doesn’t fail on that count. However it did feel like I was dropped into the middle of a story that had been going on for 2 issues already. However the characters that were introduced were very vividly “painted” and Wick has a lot of potential to be a very memorable Big Bad. a lot of that goes to the design of the character; he looks like a walking talking water color painting and artist Haemi Jang does a great job with bringing all of the ideas in this book to life. I think I will be sticking around for the 12 issue run of this maxi-series.
Grade: B

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #4

Catwoman is in the clutches of the Secret Society and we get introduced to the New 52 versions of several DC villains like Dr. Light and The Shaggy Man (a personal old school favorite of mine). This being the more dysfunctional team to bear the Justice League name, things do not go all that well for our heroes and the last couple pages of this comic are sure to be the most shocking of the year so far.
Final Verdict: I am liking the slow build with the Secret Society and the mysterious villain in control of them. They are being shown as a a truly deadly threat and not just a bunch of costumed bad guys who are destined to get their clocks cleaned by the JLA. My biggest issue is with the art. while I am not a huge David Fincher fan I would take his art anyday over Brett Booth whose work is just so 1990s that it irks me to no end. Also the Martian Manhunter back-up feature is proving to be a bit of a waste of time.
Grade: B-

NEW AVENGERS #6

The Illuminati head to Latveria to deal with another incursion and this time they bring Black Swan (that is such a dumbass name) with them. Turns out if the sky is red it is bad but if the sky is blue it is really bad and guess which color the sky over Latveria is? Anyhoo Doom and his “son” Kristoff fend off some new players in this increasingly overly complex incursion mumbo jumbo and the Illuminati use their recently built world killer ray for the first time.
Final Verdict: I was really disappointed that Doom had no interaction with the Illuminati but seeing Doom kick ass against the The Mapmakers (an even more dumbass name than Black Swan) was fun and hopefully he uses his newfound knowledge of the Incursion stuff to force his way onto the Illuminati, he can take Beast’s place because he has done nothing but stand around being insulted by Namor since he arrived on the scene.
I like the book for the most part but it is beginning to become repetitious in its dialog and its action. Something else needs to happen besides these characters whining and Black Swan talking in riddles.
Grade: B-

X-MEN #1

Jubilee is a teen mom!!! Well she’s a sorta teen foster mom actually as she has taken an orphaned baby under her wing and is trying to bring the little guy back to the safety of the Jean Grey School while being followed by a tall dark stranger who it turns out is also looking for the shelter of the Jean Grey School from a major menace that is returning to Earth seeking revenge. Luckily for Jubilee, her unnamed baby and the mystery man that Storm has a team of X-Men ready to take on all dangers despite the fact that there are no men on this team at all.
Final Verdict: Brian Wood’s writing is pitch perfect and none of the characters sound off to me while Olivier Coipel’s art is just as amazing looking as usual. I am intrigued by the villain that is being introduced and the actual X-ladies that Wood has chosen for his team makes up a who’s who of the coolest dames to ever wear an “X” on their belt buckles. I did have an issue with the fact that Rogue seems to be back to having Ms Marvel’s super-strength (which she lost) and that Jubilee is no longer a vampire (which I always thought was stupid) but those are minor gripes because this comic was that good.
Grade: B+

THE WAKE #1

Marine biologist Lee Archer is recruited by the Department of Homeland Security to assist in an investigation of a bizarre marine animal sound that was accidentally recorded by a government research station. Because nothing good has ever come from being recruited by a shadowy government organization (and yes i consider DHS to be damn shady), Lee ends up at the bottom of the ocean with a team of specialists who are just as clueless about their purpose as she is and something…else in a story that spans centuries and attempts to give a new take on the old sea monster genre.
Final Verdict: Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy have created what could be the next big Vertigo series and while that is full on hyperbole I am quite confident I may be right. this comic looks great, it reads like a suspense novel and I could just envision this being made into a movie or TV series. I was instantly hooked after the first 3 pages and that was before i was introduced to the character of lee Archer who is one of the best new characters I have read all year. You are instantly connected to her and her plights (both personal and professional) and I am already dreading the bad things that are likely to befall her as this series gores on. A great book that is well worth the read.Grade: B+