2.08.12 Releases

It’s actually a huge week for me, although I can’t ignore the fact that 3 of the 6 books I’ll be picking up are written by Brian Wood. In some odd way, the books this week are fairly representative of where his career is at currently and the transition it’s recently undergone. First up, we have Conan The Barbarian #1 (Dark Horse) with the inimitable Becky Cloonan, which represents one of his major new efforts. Then you have Northlanders #48 (DC/Vertigo), which we can use as a marker of his “old” career at DC. The series ends at #50 and will wrap up that phase of his career; aside from various forthcoming collected editions, he’ll then have no regular ongoing series coming out of DC (I'm not counting that Supernatural mini-series). We also have Wolverine & The X-Men: Alpha & Omega #2 (Marvel), which signifies a work-for-hire project at The House of Ideas. I guess it would just be perfect if an issue of The Massive also shipped this week; the inclusion of a new creator owned title would just about encapsulate every aspect of his career right now.

Anyway, The House of Ideas also has available Secret Avengers #22 (Marvel) from Rick Remender and Gabriel Hardman. After the hot mess that was #21.1, I’m curious to find out if I’ll still be purchasing this title. It’s a make or break moment. I came in with Warren Ellis, and I feel like I might be going out with Warren Ellis, unless Remender can somehow bottle the magic of the Uncanny X-Force issues with Jerome Opena and pour that awesome sauce all over this title. We’ll see. At the Distinguished Competition, JH3, Amy Reeder, and W. Haden Blackman continue their impressive run, with Batwoman #6 (DC) hitting shelves. For something a little less mainstreamy, Jason Lutes churns out Berlin #18 (Drawn & Quarterly) and it’s good to see this title returning to something resembling a regular publishing schedule.