First Five Comics: September 24, 2014

Welcome to another edition of the He’s Got Issues “First Five” comics previews for new books being released September 24, 2014, highlighting the first five issues I intend to read this week along with some behind-the-scenes information from the creators, starting with:

First Five 9-24 1-3

1) Saga #23

[Solicit:] Betrayal.

Series writer Brian K. Vaughan responded to a question at Comic-Con International about character development: (6:05-7:54)

“I was just writing about this — we’re doing a Saga hardcover for the first time that’s coming out in November and it collects the first 18 issues. It’s a big massive thing and we’re going to have a bunch of extras in the back, including how Fiona and I brainstorm from script to thumbnails. I was writing in the back about how every issue I have real concrete plans and sometimes they get blown up, but the biggest one was that I’d always intended Sophie — the slave girl — she was always going to be a big part of the series. When I got to the issue, I wondered if I was de-balling The Will by having him take on this girl. He’s a brutal murderer, he kills kids all the time, and so should he just off this girl? Would that be more dramatic?

“When I started writing Saga my big concern was that after creators have kids is when they write their crappy kids books,” Vaughan continued. “I wanted to write something really filthy and adult, so I had this big conflict about him killing her. In the end, it’s mostly the way Fiona draws The Will and Lying Cat. He’s just this big, dumb sweet idiot who just dresses up like a little kid. He couldn’t do that to that poor girl, but every issue the characters and I duke it out. They usually win.”

(Source: CBR )

2) Guardians Of The Galaxy #19

[Slocit:] AN ORIGINAL SIN TIE-IN!
* Last we checked, Star-Lord, Thanos, and Nova were trapped in the Cancerverse…
* But Star-Lord and Thanos seem to be running around just fine.
* So what exactly happened to Richard Rider?

Series writer Brian Michael Bendis explained what it’s like picking up this story from Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning:

“It’s funny, there are some die-hard and hardcore fans of DnA, god bless ’em, and already they’re mad at me for what I’ve done. I understand loving a book’s creative team, but they killed him. I’ll take the hit for the stuff I’ve done. I’ve done plenty. You still want to yell at me for Hawkeye? I’ll take it. I got it. I didn’t kill any of the Guardians though!

“DnA killed those characters. They wouldn’t even be around if it wasn’t for us bringing them back. So you can get off my ass a little bit on this one. [Laughs]

“There would be no more Richard Rider stories at all if I wasn’t writing one. So I don’t know how else to put it. This one is not on me. I understand you have an affection for DnA, but you can’t pretend they didn’t write that part that you’re mad about. It’s OK to love and be frustrated by the work of creators, I do that to people all the time, but that’s their thing. I’ve got my own stuff. I’ve got people mad at me that there’s no Peter Parker in the Ultimate Universe. They don’t know what to do with me. I own that, but I’m not wearing their sins too.”

(Source: CBR)

3) Edge Of Spider-Verse #3 (Of 5)

[Solicit:] * What is the secret of Dr. Aaron Aikman, Spider-Man?!
* Who are the villainous Red Eye and Naahmurah? And can Aaron possibly live through Morlun’s arrival?
* Rising star Dustin Weaver (AVENGERS, INFINITY, SHIELD) makes his Marvel Comics writing debut in the most wildly imaginative story of the year!

Writer/Artist Dustin Weaver described his take on Spider-Man:

“My Spider-Man is a man named Aaron Aikman, and unlike Peter, he chose to be Spider-Man. He did it to himself, to become a hero for his city. I guess that says a lot about the character of my Spider-Man. He’s got a big ego and being good at being Spider-Man is a point of pride. He doesn’t struggle with his responsibility. He enjoys it. Other than his origin being different, he also has a completely different cast of supporting characters and villains.

“Aaron does share some things in common with Peter; they are similar types, white, male, fairly young—Aaron might be a little older—and they both have high intellects; but, while Peter had his career as a photographer, Aaron never strayed from academic and scientific pursuits. He’s an accomplished and ambitious scientist.

“In Aaron’s personal life, he struggles to save his romantic relationship with his mentor, the brilliant Dr. Kaori Ikegami,” says Weaver. “As Spider-Man, Aaron is facing an incredibly elusive and mysterious villain known as Naamurah, who has been kidnapping people all over the city. The question is, will Spider-Man learn the truth behind Naamurah in time to save his city, or does fate, despite all Aaron’s ambition, all his intelligence, and his strength, have other plans for him?”

(Source: Marvel)

First Five 9-24 4-5

4) Batman Eternal #25

[Solicit:] With riots breaking out all over Gotham City, can Batman stop the march toward martial law?

Series co-writer James Tynion IV spoke about Batman Eternal at San Diego Comic-Con:

“The big thing is that the readers of the series know from the first page of the first issue and Batman #28 how big and crazy this story is going. None of the characters are going to be left untouched, and we are definitely going to cause some real trouble in Gotham city. We’re not just resting on our laurels. We had such a big opening, as they saw on the first page, we’ve got Batman crucified on the broken bat-symbol in front of a burning Gotham. Every single issue is a step closer to that moment. And things are only going to get bigger and more dangerous and more exciting as we move forward. There is a lot to be excited about, characters that you will see coming back into the fold, villains and heroes who we haven’t seen in the new 52, and just really, really exciting stuff!”

(Source: YouTube)

5) Amazing Spider-Man #1.5

[Solicit:] THE CLIMACTIC CONCLUSION OF “LEARNING TO CRAWL!”
* We all know what Uncle Ben told Peter about power and responsibility, but there were some secrets he kept from Peter…
* Discover Clash’s fate that kept him secret all these years!

Sr. Editor Nick Lowe said this regarding Learning to Crawl:

“There are a lot of things that are important about Learning to Crawl — on a metaphorical level, it defines who he is as a character in a new way. On a more grounded, continuity level, it’s literally planting seeds that are going to become important in Amazing as we move forward. It’s not just a simple re-treading of Spider-Man’s origin. It’s a two-fold story because it’s Peter’s story and Clayton’s story — the character who becomes Clash. And it’ll be fun to see the explanations as to why we’ve never seen Clash between these early stories and the current-day stories. That’s all stuff that Dan has worked out, and I can’t wait for that to unfold, both in Learning to Crawl and in the Amazing Spider-Man stuff moving forward.”

(Source: CBR)

Ok, that’s a look at the first five books atop 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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