11.02.11 Releases

I can’t say I’m terribly excited about many of the releases this week, as it’s mostly notables and items of interest vs. any sure buys. Perhaps the most critically anticipated book is Kevin Huizenga’s Ganges #4 (Fantagraphics) as the continuation of his sleepless escapades, which distills so many complex modern dynamics into an easily understood visual language. It’s not as exciting a creative pedigree as, say, Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo for me, but I’ll probably give Kieron Gillen and Carlos Pacheco’s Uncanny X-Men #1 (Marvel) a fair shot. The aforementioned Wolverine & The X-Men #1 surprised me to the point I’ll give it another issue or two, so let’s hope the same applies to this title. Avengers: 1959 #3 (Marvel) is also out. Honestly, some of the dialogue is a little hoary and over-the-top, but the globetrotting mega-cast story is fun enough, and it’s difficult not to like Howard Chaykin’s art. I’ll be curious to flip through Heart #1 (Image) to see if Blair Butler can bring the magic. I gave up on this series probably 10 issues back due to severe delays between issues, but Fear Agent #32 (Dark Horse) is also out. This is listed as a part 5 of 5, and I thought I heard that Rick Remender might be wrapping up the series(?). I’ll give it a flip. Anyone enjoying Remender and Jerome Opena on Uncanny X-Force should check their issues of Fear Agent out. Lastly, I thought it was interesting that the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Omnibus HC (DC/Vertigo) was being put out by Vertigo after the demise of WildStorm, and that it contains both the first and second series (that’s 416 pages!) for $49.99. If you purchased the Absolute Editions of these (like I did), that would have set you back $200. Sure the Absolutes are bigger and have extras, but if you just want the story content in a nice single edition hardcover, you can hardly go wrong here. Anyway, this is a great price, marking the only “good” LOEG stories in my opinion, before Alan Moore really went off the deep end and drowned in his own obscure Easter Eggery. What looks good to you?