Hot Hot Books - March 3rd, 2010

My first Wednesday store visit in months is exciting but also depressing since I'm still behind on my books, and also terribly broke. Luckily, I have some unused credit with one of the local stores, a benefit to trading in an unwanted rare variant cover (snicker).

Girl Comics #1
This book has gotten a lot of buzz recently on the "blogosphere" (I feel like a douche just typing that word). It's had a few mentions on Comics Alliance,  which has also dubbed this week Girl Week, a focus on female characters, creators, and a hilarious look at a long history of terrible female action figures.  This mini-series has also created a lot of unnecessary controversy over the title, which can come across as painfully sweet. When you get down to it though, it is called Girl Comics because of the all girl line up of creators, unlike Gotham Sirens, which I am pretty certain doesn't refer to Paul Dini and Guillem March.

First Wave #1
Another first issue this week, First Wave is DC's attempt to create a pulp world within the DC universe featuring Doc Savage and The Spirit. I wouldn't give much notice from me if it wasn't written by Brian Azzarello, who writes everything through a thick haze of noir. I'm thoroughly enjoying 100 Bullets (about haflway through the series now), so it should be an interesting read. If not, it's only one issue!


Green Hornet #1
Okay, lots of new series starting up this week! Released by Dynamite and penned by Kevin Smith, this book is coming just in time for the summer release of the Seth Rogen film, though this is in fact based on the unproduced script put forth by Smith. I have enjoyed Smith's previous comic book ventures, such as his Marvel Knights Daredevil run and the recent Batman Cacophony mini. Smith has learned over the years to better edit his rambling dialogue for the screen, but the long passages of exposition in his comics don't bother me in the least, and they often lead to some memorable moments. Also considering that he was really gung-ho about directing the Green Hornet film only to lose out to Michel Gondry, it's safe to assume that Smith is a big fan of the character and wants to do the franchise justice. The only problem is, I won't know which cover to choose from because there are no less than 8 covers for the first issue.


Invincible Iron Man #24
I picked up issue 23 on my last visit to the comic book store, as I've heard nothing but good things about this series. It won the Eisner Award for Best New Series of 2009, a distinction that is worth paying attention to since those guys really know what's up. Matt Fraction has been Marvel's golden boy writer for a while now, and nothing I've read has really blown me away, but   Invincible Iron Man #23 was an engaging issue as it gave us a glimpse into the comatose mind of Tony Stark. lucky for me, it was also the start of a new story arc. Artist Salvador Larroca is known for his work on the X-books, and I have found his work on X-Men Legacy to be decent; wish I could say the same for the writing of that title. Also, Larroca makes Stark look like a young Clark Gable - no complaints here. My only qualms about picking up this title will be the $3.99 cover price. The second half of issue 23 was nothing by a recap of Iron Man's recent history, which was obvious filler to make the book seem worth the higher price tag. Here's a five page preview of issue 24 from Marvel.com.

Well I've already gone over my budget for the week, and that doesn't even include the books that I subscribe to, including Detective Comics and Sweet Tooth. I have yet to venture to the store, so I may not get all of these books, but these are the ones for which I'll be keeping an eye out!