First Five Comics: October 22, 2014

Welcome to another edition of the He’s Got Issues “First Five” comics previews for new books being released October 22, 2014, featuring the first five issues I intend to read this week along with some behind-the-scenes information from the creators, starting with:

First Five 10-22 1-3

1) The Walking Dead #133

[Solicit:] Impending Doom.

Series writer Robert Kirkman and editor Sean Mackiewicz responded to a question about some of the unknowns since the time-jump:

Robert: “There’s a lot left yet to reveal, a lot of characters out there that haven’t been seen. [Michonne?] Definitely, Michonne being one of them… where is she? What’s going on with her? [You tell me!] I’m not gonna… I’m not gonna. You’ll have to wait until, uh, issue 150.” (laughs)

Sean: “It was originally supposed to be 6 issues, but we’re past that.”

Robert: “Was it was supposed to be six issues at one point?”

Sean: “You were like ‘It’s gonna be 6 issues,’ and then…”

Robert: “Oh yeah, I decided against that.”

(Source: YouTube)

2) Amazing Spider-Man #8

[Solicit:] * Step over the EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE!
* MC2 Spider-Girl finds herself and her family under attack from the mysterious forces behind Spider-Verse!
* Ms. Marvel gets Spider-Man out of a jam.

Spider Girl was discussed during the New York Comic Con Spider-Verse panel:

Sr. Editor Nick Lowe said: “She is a very big part of ‘Spider-Verse.”

“She had a wonderful final story that gave her a happy ever after, and everything was so great,” said writer Dan Slott, before conspicuously trailing off — clearly giving the implication that character is also not safe.

“I think I’m getting really good at killing people,” added artist Humberto Ramos. “Did I say something I shouldn’t?”

“It is one of the most heart-wrenching, gut-wrenching stories you can read,” concluded Lowe.

(Source: CBR)

3) Avengers And X-Men Axis #3 (Of 9)

[Solicit:] ACT I: THE RED SUPREMACY
* With the heroes lost, the world’s fate lies in the hands of the vilest syndicate known to man.
* Scarlet Witch is forced to join Dr. Doom, the man who unleashed her power to cause M-Day, or she will watch those she loves most die.
* The return of one of the Marvel Universe’s great villains!
* An Avenger quits, a heart is broken, and the world as we know it is gone.

Series writer Rick Remender shared these thoughts on the Scarlet Witch:

“Wanda has a number of large revelations in AXIS, and she’s a character who, because of her power set and what she’s capable of, has turned into a prize to be sought by numerous evil beings throughout her history,” says Remender. “As we saw in UNCANNY AVENGERS, the Red Skull wants to use Wanda and her reality-warping abilities to accomplish something. And now that he has also transcended the physical form and become something different, he has the power to make that happen

“Wanda will have had enough. And this is when she finally will have the opportunity to stand up and look at the people who have most recently manipulated her and taken advantage of her, and she will set out on a course to acquire sweet revenge. That list would probably include Doctor Doom and Magneto starting off on the top, so we will definitely have some big moments for Wanda in this, and a large revelation that will change her life quite a bit moving forward.”

(Source: Marvel)

First Five 10-22 4-5

4) Superman #35

[Solicit:] The hit SUPERMAN run by Geoff Johns and John Romita Jr. continues with ‘THE MEN OF TOMORROW’ Chapter four! Superman and Ulysses are still dealing with the traumatic revelations of last issue, but the hunt for The Machinist must continue before his would-be-victims fall into his hands. But what happens when the two heroes learn the truth behind The Machinist and the cost to stopping his mad plan?

Series writer Geoff Johns explained one of his purposes for Ulysses:

“Well, one of the things that I really wanted to explore was what would happen if Clark had to help somebody else assimilate to Earth. How do you teach someone else, and ironically, they’re a human being, to come home after years and years? For Clark to take someone who is like himself, who has powers, and try to help them assimilate back into the world and have a human identity helps us reexamine what Clark’s process is. That was the whole point of Ulysses’ character.”

(Source: IGN)

5) Batman Eternal #29

[Solicit:] Hell is bursting out of Arkham Asylum, and the only being that can stop it is The Spectre — but first he must stop himself from razing all of Gotham City!

After reaching the midpoint of the series, co-writer Scott Snyder described the essence of the book:

“When we sat down, I think we wanted to write a story that was exactly about the title. We wanted to show why Batman was eternal. And is forever. And this is something that I’m exploring in Batman as well, in a different way. We wanted to show what his legacy is and turn that on its head. And we wanted to weaponize it so it almost comes after him. And without giving too much away, you can almost give it as an argument for who is coming in the end. The same things that make him forever are the same things that make him vulnerable and make him such a great human character. In Batman, the ‘Endgame’ arc, we explore that Batman’s morality or his humanity is his greatest strength and his greatest weakness — all at once. And we’re able to explore that in a much broader and epic way in ‘Batman Eternal,’ which gives the book an entirely different flavor from Batman even though Bruce is Bruce in both books. The lens through which James, Ray, Kyle and Tim are looking at him is much more prismatic and really colorful and interesting. In Batman, we’re much more monolithic. We just punch him down with one thing. It’s been a tremendous amount of fun watching these guys address such a huge question: What makes Batman eternal?”

(Source: CBR)


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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