Dynamo 5
written by Jay Faerber, art by Mahmud Asrar

When Captain Dynamo died, his widow discovered he’d been unfaithful. Now, as his enemies descend on his unprotected city, Captain Dynamo’s widow rounds up his five illegitimate children, each of whom have inherited one of their father’s super-powers.

Kind of sucks to be Captain Dynamo’s widow. Not only does she find out about her husband’s infidelity, she also has to hunt down his illegitimate children, and then she has to flaunt his infidelity in her own face by sending out these children to follow and fight in his footsteps.

Honestly, it’s tough to say too much more about this book, as I’ve never read Faerber’s popular Noble Causes book, which this spins indirectly out of. All I know is that it successfully (financially as well as storywise) deals with family in the superhero context too. And honestly, the idea of these kids being asked to avenge a father who wasn’t there for them has my interest piqued all on its own. I’m definitely onboard for the first issue, and you should be too.

Dr. Strange: The Oath #5 (of 5)
written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Marcos Martin

This book clearly illustrates why Brian K. Vaughan is one of comics’ top writers today, and why it’s an absolute travesty that he’s going to be writing creator-owned stuff solely from now on. Dr. Strange is often criticised for being too powerful of a character. He waves his hands, and the problem is solved immediately. There’s no limit to what he can do, and so there’s no situation where he’s ever in real danger. Brian K. Vaughan not only slaps these misconceptions in the face, he also goes on to make you excited and eager to read about the guy’s exploits.

In this book, Wong is dying of cancer, and Dr. Strange went to great lengths to find a cure – but then the cure was stolen by a sorcerer who works at a pharmaceutical company who can’t afford for their business to be ruined. Throughout, one of the more surprising aspects that Vaughan has explored is Dr. Strange’s ruined hands – Strange got into sorcery because his hands were mangled in a car accident, putting an end to his days as a surgeon. Another side effect of mangled hands: It’s quite difficult to shoot the giant eye of a giant demonic being strangling your friends – even if it’s Hitler’s gun, which you stole from your enemy – when your fingers are unsteady and crooked. Oh, and Night Nurse has been hanging out with them the whole time which, I promise you, is pretty awesome and brilliant in itself.

What Vaughan does is take the core components of the character – previously a doctor, has ruined hands, now practices sorcery – and celebrates them in the midst of a compelling and exciting story. I’ve never read a Dr. Strange story that equals this one, and if you’ve got any sense whatsoever, you’ll scoop up all 5 issues of this mini when you hit the shop tomorrow.

The Brave & The Bold
written by Mark Waid, art by George Perez

The name might sound more like the title of a soap opera than a comic book, but those that know, know that “The Brave & The Bold” is a proud, longstanding DC tradition. Similar to Marvel’s “Marvel Team-Up” (which has a name that’s a bit more to the point), the book will feature a pairing of DC characters, working together to do superheroic things. The plot is going to spin larger and larger, bringing in new people to help out in some areas, and leaving other people to work on others, but the starting point is a mystery that Hal Jordan needs help to solve – so he turns to Earth’s greatest detective. Something about him finding a corpse in orbit, I think. I can’t remember now.

With the DC-tastic Mark Waid on writing, and the legendary George Perez on art, this book is a must buy for any one that has even a passing interest in superheroes. I’m not as dedicated a fan of DC as I am of Marvel, but I fully anticipate this being one of the best books in a while, based on the skills of the creative team alone. If they can even live up to half their proven potential, this book should be a must-buy every single month.

GØDLAND #16
written by Joe Casey, art by Tom Scioli

Well, I definitely tried to pimp this book out before, but I don’t think anyone took any interest, as I also definitely screwed up the image-linking in that post, but no one minded.

BUT!

Tomorrow, to celebrate Valentine’s Day I presume, issue #16 is ONLY SIXTY CENTS!

And, considering the book is at Image rather than Marvel or DC, the creators have to give up more than just the bulk of their paycheck to put a book like that out. Think about what a labor of love and effort Casey and Scioli went through in making this so affordable. And if your local retailer doesn’t have one, just back-order it; it’ll still be the same price!

So seriously, take one for the team and cough up sixty cents already you damn cheapskate!

Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil #1 (of 4)
story and art by Jeff Smith

What’s that? Can’t read the title of the post? Well, thank God you’ve got your handy dandy Secret Decoder! What’s that? You don’t? Oh. Well, thank God I’ve got a spare!

This is the kind of effort that Jeff Smith (known for his career-defining work on Bone) is putting into this book. He’s been providing regular updates on his blog, using the code-speak as an added treat, and he says it’ll even be handy when you’re actually reading the book. For example, take a quick glance HERE, and see not only his mindset about putting Talking Tawny in the book, but also the process of creating the art for the page. And hell, you even get another chance to use the decoder. Interested? Don’t even know who Captain Marvel is? Want some preview pages? Well, read on for more!
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Ghost Rider Finale
written by Ivan Velez, art by Javier Saltares & Mark Texeira

Time for a history lesson.

In 1998, the then-current Ghost Rider series was canceled at issue #93. The catch is, the big end of the storyarc was scheduled to take place at issue #94. Issue #93 simply ended with the death of Dan Ketch, leaving fans with one crapper of a cliffhanger. As Mike Sterling – comic book shop owner – says, “The result? My having to tell customers for eight years that, no, there never was a #94, honest, I’m not kidding, and having them look at me like I’m 1) an idiot, or 2) lying to them.” This took place during some of the harshest time for the comic book industry, and the simple fact of the matter was, Marvel couldn’t afford to publish it. If you want some more of the details, as well as see a glimpse of the unpublished pages and the script, you can see read on here.

However, tomorrow, with the Ghost Rider movie looming near, Marvel has seemingly decided to increase product on the shelf (despite the lack of any connection to the movie characters or its story), and they’ve done a good turn by finally bringing issue #94 to the stands. While 12 pages were originally penciled, it seems (based on solicitation info) Saltares and Texeira were brought back together to finish the thing, which is a pleasantly surprising effort from Marvel. This “Finale” issue will also include issue #93 (to give the reader a complete story), and also some undescribed “bonus material,” whatever that includes.

Whether or not this book will be worth your money … well, your mileage may vary. But at least now you’ll know what the hell this thing is when you see it on the stands.

Invincible #38
written by Robert Kirkman, art by Ryan Ottley

I’m hesitant to recommend this specific issue, as it seems to be running a couple of the longer-running subplots, specifically involving the Viltrumites, Allen the Alien (who is totally awesome), and that weird alien business from Mars. Kirkman clearly always tries to make the book accessible, but there’s just so much more to appreciate if you’ve been reading it for a while.

In fact, if you’re going to start reading this book, there’s really one best way to do it – From the very beginning. Buy the first two trades (or just the Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1 – the stuff is collected in a couple different ways). I promise you, if you regret that purchase, then YOU ARE NOT HUMAN. Because once you’ve read the first 8 issues, you will hit the mindjob that is the overarcing story of the entire book – the deep issues between our developing superhero, Mark (Invincible), and his veteran superheroic father (Omni-Man). And the third trade only gets better from there (though again, that’s all part of that one Ultimate Collection – only $25 on Amazon or MileHighComics.com).

This book is a non-stop ride of excitement, classic superheroics, and heart-wrenching twists. Kirkman’s recent work at Marvel has failed to come anywhere near the heights of this joyride of a book, but that has more to do with just how incredible this book has consistently been.

It’s really difficult to talk to much without giving away the amazing plot points. Simply put, if you like superheroes, and you love a great story, just go buy those first two trades – or the Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1. If you’re feeling hesitant, maybe at least give tomorrow’s issue a try though – if you like that, THEN go buy the trades. And then you’ll understand that you must always trust my word on such matters. Because, like this book, my word is GREAT.

Marvel Adventures: The Avengers #9
written by Jeff Parker, art by Juan Roman Cano Santacruz, cover by Cameron Stewart

Holy. Crap. Look at that cover, man.

Now, to be fair, the Avengers aren’t fighting your traditional M.O.D.O.K. They’re fighting M.O.D.O.C. This is because the K in M.O.D.O.K. stands for Killing – as in, Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing – and the Marvel Adventures line is supposed to be more kid-friendly, so the words “kill” aren’t allowed. So the C stands for Conquest. I guess it’s alright if the kids lead lives dedicated to conquest, then.

For those of you out of the loop, the ‘Adventures’ line is like the Ultimate line: It’s a separate continuity from the main Marvel U, allowing for more accessible, less continuity-intensive storytelling. The lineup for the team (in case the picture is a little unclear) includes: Captain America, Iron Man (on the same team? gasp!), Spider-Man, Wolverine, Storm, the Hulk, and Giant-Girl (as I understand it, it’s Janet Van Dyne, AKA the Wasp, but she uses her powers for BIGNESS).

The writer also happens to be Jeff Parker, the writer of the excellent Agents of Atlas, and the successful X-Men: First Class. I’m not as familiar with Santacruz, but I’ll say this about him: He draws a GREAT Avengers-as-M.O.D.O.C.s (see the preview pages).

For more M.O.D.O.K.-related reading and links, go here and enjoy – And definitely continue after the jump for that 6 page preview!

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