First Five Comics: Aug. 27, 2014

Welcome to this week’s edition of the He’s Got Issues “First Five” comics preview for new books being released August 27, 2014. I’m Jon Cooney, here to share the first five books I intend to read this week. I’ll also give some behind-the-scenes information from the creators, starting with:

First Five 8-27 1-3

1) Saga #22

[Solicit:] The family is tested.

Series writer Brian K. Vaughan was asked about his inspiration for “saga” during a Q&A session at San Diego Comic-Con (audio track at bottom of the post):

“Yeah, uh, I knocked up my wife…. [Cheers] Yeah, so we made babies, and it was really terrifying. And whenever I am frightened and confused by something, I try to write about it. But I have said this before, I know nothing is more boring than hearing people talk about their children… [Cheers] alright, you dicks… [laughter] we like to talk about them, right? [laughter] So I wanted to talk about the experience of fatherhood and childhood and all that, but I wanted to sort of smuggle it inside of something interesting. So yeah, I think all of the characters are in some way based on my family or my idiot friends or the TV-headed robot that lives in my basement. Lying Cat? Yeah, probably a lot of Hamburger K. Vaughan, my beloved dachshund, sole heir to the K. Vaughan Empire. He’s a dog but he’s kind of more cat than dog. I have no imagination; I just steal from life and change the color and species…. then it’s a comic book!”

(http://comicsbeat.com/sdcc-14-brian-k-vaughan-the-greatest-one-man-show-ever/)

2) All-New X-Men #31

[Solicit:] * ICEMAN UNLEASHED! Young Bobby Drake takes to the offensive!
* For someone who’s said she doesn’t find him particularly pleasant to be around, Laura seems to have taken an odd interest in Warren.

Series writer BMB spoke about Laura and Warren’s relationship:

 “I like, and I’m using very broad generalizations here, when the gothiest girl in high school and the nicest guy on the football team find each other. I’ve personally seen this in real life; there is someone who’s literally dripping with miserableness and this guy who has the nice haircut and jacket finds himself completely attracted to that other kind of energy.

“Angel, and I’m talking about the teen incarnation, is not all niceness and light but there is a lightness to him. He’s fresh-faced and young and has this light energy about him, and she does not. I like them finding each other attractive, and I think that neither one of them necessarily want them to be what they are. There’s a sense of maybe you’ll help pull me out of my misery and maybe you’ll help me find my edge. Plus, sometimes you just can’t help who you’re attracted to. It’s like, “I never thought in a million years I’d be attracted to a woman who has claws shooting out of her foot, but I am.”

(http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=54839)

3) Guardians Of The Galaxy #18

[Solicit:] * You know you want to know how Star-Lord got back from the Cancerverse.
* And didn’t Nova go in there with him? Guess he’s not into the whole “no man left behind” thing.

Series writer Brian Michael Bendis shared this about the story:

 “I’ve been holding on to this story since before I wrote my first issue because, even if I’m not showing the readers, I have to know how these characters got from the end of “The Thanos Imperative” to where I’m bringing them. I knew that I needed to tell that story and I knew that the time to tell it would reveal itself. I also knew that we were coming at this series like it’s a brand new chapter in these characters’ lives.

“So to start with a continuity-heavy story would have been a disservice to DnA [the collective nickname for writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, whose 2008 Guardians of the Galaxy series established the incarnation of the team featured in Bendis’ series and the feature film], and a disservice to the new audience that could have potentially been there and was there. So to immediately make those new readers feel punished for not having read something was a disservice to everybody.

“I thought we have a secret in this book, that these guys are alive, and a lot of people will want to know why these guys are alive. I also thought it was fascinating that Peter Quill, who does wear his heart on his sleeve and values his friendships, is keeping these secrets to himself. I said, ‘I’ll know when it’s time to reveal that.’ Cut to six months later. ‘Original Sin’? Got it! Done! We have one. We don’t even have to give it a second thought because Peter has been carrying this around with him.”

(http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=54899)

First Five 8-27 4and5

4) Superman #34

[Solicit:] Geoff Johns and John Romita, Jr. continue their epic Superman run with ‘The Men of Tomorrow’, chapter 3, introducing the bizarre villain known as The Machinist – the man behind the recent technological attacks on Metropolis. But what is his strange connection to Superman? Where is he from? And what does The Machinist want with The Daily Planet? Plus, the mystery behind the disaster at the Ulysses Research Lab sends Clark on an investigation that will reveal a dark secret from his past.

Series writer Geoff Johns emphasized the importance of Ulysses:

 “His story’s going to continue, and there are a lot of stories that will build off of it, too. I don’t want to spoil everything, but we’re spending a lot of time on the character because the character’s very important to us, and Superman, and the world, and the story we’re telling. I can’t really say much more than that.”

Series artist John Roimita Jr. added:

 “To say that the character’s going to be around forever would take away from the storyline. To say that he’s a limited character would ruin the storyline. There’s more to it — it’s a nice gray area.”

(http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=54590)

5) Wolverine And The X-Men #8

[Solicit:] * What’s it like to be a rich, famous, teenage mutant? Just ask Quentin Quire!
* Logan and storm go on a long overdue date!
* And when the headmasters are away, villains come out to play.

Series writer Jason Latour mentioned this issue specifically when discussing Storm and Wolverine’s relationship:

 “Well it’s bittersweet. I really hope my fondness for this relationship shines through, because I love writing them together. It seems very unfortunate that they seem to have finally, truly fallen into each other’s arms, now at a point when it just might be too late to see it bloom into what it could be. But even if Logan’s death weren’t around the corner, I think it would be pretty clear that the responsibilities they’ve taken on are more than a bit prohibitive of their own desires. So the real question we’ll be dealing with is, can they reconcile their romance with those responsibilities? Why not?

“With that in mind, issue #8 will look to address those issues, as Logan and Ororo go on a long overdue date. One that, thanks to the strange properties of The World, will see them spend a lot of time together. We may know what’s coming to some degree with these two, but trust me, there’s a lot of texture to be added and lots of seeds to be planted yet.”

(http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=53352)

Ok, that’s a look at the first five books on top of my stack of comics this week, but to see what the next five books in my top ten are, as well as the best of the rest for this week and some interesting trade paperbacks, go to my Youtube channel at www.hesgotissues.com and be sure to subscribe while you’re there. I also broke out ALL the Marvel titles this week in their own video, as well as separate video for all the DC books, and even a video with the top independent publishers. And you can always follow me on facebook, pinterest, tumblr or twitter to see everything I read, as I read it! So until next week, I’m Jon Cooney, and I’ve got issues.

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