3.07.12 Releases

The most anticipated book of the week for me is The Manhattan Projects #1 (Image) from Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra. As I’ve said before, not all of Hickman’s creator-owned books connect with me, but they’re always worth a look. Pitarra is the artist from the recently wrapped The Red Wing, and I enjoyed his sort of Frank Quitely meets Chris Burnham vibe just fine. If my interests this week are any indication of what this year is going to be like, then Image will probably occupy the majority of the mindshare. They’re also offering Hell Yeah #1 (Image), which is from Glory scribe Joe Keatinge. The strength of that book in one short issue has already earned this book a look, which probably would have not been on my radar otherwise. To top it off, Image is also offering Prophet scribe Brandon Graham’s King City TPB (Image), which is 400+ pages and collects issues 1-12. That’s highly recommended. Over at The House of Ideas, Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung wrap up their LONG confluence of Avengers, X-Men, Young Avengers, Dr. Doom, Magneto, and the Scarlet Witch in this opus, with Avengers Children’s Crusade #9 (Marvel). I’m sure it will have some bearing on the upcoming AvX crossover, but I just really enjoy it for the tightly crafted melodrama and Cheung’s crisp clean art. Winter Soldier #3 (Marvel) is also one of the better offerings from this publisher at the moment, and let’s not forget Brian Wood’s Wolverine & The X-Men: Alpha & Omega #3 (Marvel), featuring Wolverine and Armor on the run from Quentin Quire in a PKD-esque, future-esque, virtual-esque mental construct, with control of the school hanging in the balance.