You know the films vying for summer blockbuster status are nearly upon us if you just check out the
comic books. The first thing you learn is that DC and Marvel see the battle as being between The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers. Though The Amazing Spider-man is set for a July 4th release, Mavel's using all of its comic energy to push The Avengers.
The three best Batman titles in DC's "NEW 52!" (their latest reboot) are Batman: The Brave and The Bold, Batman and Robin and the Justice League.
Issue 8 of Batman and Robin finds Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason and Mick Gray working overtime to turn Batman into a pedophile. They also make Robin look rather asexual. The creepy vibe travels throughout the issue as Batman alternately snaps at Alfred (the butler) and then grovels. Or maybe you'll enjoy seeing Robin poke a chained corpse?
In fact, the best page in the mag -- two pages in fact, is an advertisement for New 52 action figures. Batman kicks things off in May 2012, the ad tells you while Wonder Woman goes on sale October 2012. Others include Green Lantern, Flash, Superman, Cyborg and a spooky looking Aquaman.
Issue 16 of Batman: The Brave and The Bold finds Sholly Fisch, Rick Burchett and Dan Davis eager to show you that a Saturday morning cartoon can be adapted into a comic book. Batgirl and Batman meet . . . Bat Mite. It's so sugary you'll probably need to make an appointment with your dentist before you get to the end of the story.
Did we already note that these were the best, these two and the Justice League? Because they are. Issue seven of the Justice League introduces Shazam to the title (he's the second story in the issue). Geoff Johns, Gene Ha and Gary Frank put Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Superman, Aquaman and Green Lantern up against a doctor with a bio-threat (no, we didn't make that up). They League wants the government to stop the Justice League International and they appeal to Steve Trevor to send more food up to their satellite. Although it doesn't sound like it, this is DC's strongest Batman issue this month.
Again, Marvel's all over The Avengers with special issues, limited editions and regular titles featuring the team and its various members.
Jeph Loeb, Ed McGuinnes, Dexter Vines and Morry Hollowell bring the limited edition Avengers to a close with the fourth part of the series. As with many a Marvel title, the scene is set with Wolverine. Then Spidy can't shut up and you have to wonder if Marvel wants the Spidey flick to fail. Wolverine's not the only X-Men to show up. Look, there's Cyclops, there's Storm. In fact, pretty much everyone in the Marvel universe except Stan Lee shows up.
Slightly better is the regular title of The Avengers. Excuse us, Avengers Classics! The text on the first page boasts:
THE AVENGERS! WOLVERINE, IRON MAN, SPIDER-MAN, THOR, SPIDER-WOMAN, THE PROTECTOR AND HAWKEYE ARE HANDPICKED BY STEVE ROGERS TO LEAD THE PREMIER AVENGERS TEAM.
But the bubble close ups on the first page feature, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Luke Cage, Ms. Marvel, Beast, Thor, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Moon Knight and Maria Hill. In fact, you're half way into the magazine before you come across Spider-Woman and then she's in crowd shots.
Fortunately, Ms. Marvel always kicks ass. And while Spider-Man simpers (this seems to be the seasonal theme), you can focus on her.
Among the best things that the limited Thor series has for it is that it concludes (issue five) without throwing 101 super hero guest stars at you. For once, you get to focus on one hero. Not counting the cover, turn to page eleven of issue 6 of The Incredible Hulk and you'll see why Isaiah offers up She-Hulk. The Hulk has a bad hairdo (not the close cropped one on the cover) and it looks like he should be She-Hulk. The story, however, is probably the best of the month of Marvel titles.
If you're Marvel, your powerhouse is the X-Men. So you mix them in whenever you want to grab attention. Here they do so with the first issue of Avengers vs. X-Men. Yes, it's cheesy and, yes, it's irresistible. How it ends, who knows but it's one of those that you have to pick up.
