Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Conspirator Brock's Pull List for 1/30/13

For all of the curious people out there wondering what I like to read week to week here is a list of the titles I am going to be picking up for the week of 1/30/13:

(Note: I have included deep links for some titles if you wish to support Comics Conspiracy when you buy digital comics. I have not included links to Dark Horse books because you cannot support us currently by buying them through our site.)

01. All Star Western #16 DC
02. Aquaman #16 DC
03. Arrow #3 DC
04. Batman and Robin Annual #1 DC
05. Batman: The Dark Knight #16 DC
06. Deathmatch #2 Boom!
07. Flash #16 DC
08. Green Lantern Corps Annual #1 DC
09. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #6 DC
10. Injustice: Gods Among Us #1 DC
11. Justice League Dark #16 DC
12. Red Lanterns #16 DC
13. Star Wars: Agent of the Empire - Hard Targets #4 of 5 Dark Horse
14. Superman #16 DC
15. Talon #4 DC
16. Teen Titans #16 DC
17. Unwritten #45 Vertigo


Reading List:

Before Watchmen: Dollar Bill One Shot DC
Before Watchmen: Ozymandias #5 of 6 DC
The Fury of the Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #16 DC
Mara #2 Image
Masters of the Universe: Origin of He-Man #1 DC
Superior Spider-Man #2 Marvel
I'm a bit under the weather this week so this post will be quick blurbs on each title I'm reading. I need to get some rest. Here we go though. Justice League Dark, All Star Western, Green Lantern Corps Annual, and Aquaman are the books that I'm waiting patiently to read this week. Each book has been amazing and I am really excited to read "Throne of Atlantis" and the conclusion of the "Rise of the Third Army".
Superman continues with another horrible "H'El on Earth" chapter, I just want it to be over already so that the Superman titles can maybe attempt to be solid titles again.
Unwritten has been on my pull list so long that I am picking it up because it is part of the motions now, but the book is still interesting so I don't mind that so much.
Injustice: Gods Among Us will prep me for the video game to come. That reminds me when does that come out? I checked, April 2013.
I actually was able to check out the first nine episodes of the Arrow TV show and I must say that it is a solid show and the digital first comic based in that world is a fun addition to watching the show.
Deathmatch promised death and it delivered. I enjoyed the first issue of this book, and I'm looking forward to issue two, because the threat is real and the characters could die.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe comes to a conclusion with this issue and despite the rockiness of the series I have overall enjoyed seeing this world I knew from my childhood (minus the moral to every story).
Star Wars: Agent of the Empire - Hard Targets continues and I may start to only read these mini series and just buy the trades of the stories I like. We will have to see.
Talon has been interesting and watching the battle with The Court of Owls continue makes this a nice after book to the "Court of Owls", cross-over.
Teen Titans is only on my pull list because it is the last part of "The Death of the Family" story involving Robin of the Teen Titans. I'm curious to see what Robin has to go through to see the silver platter?
Batman The Dark Knight has been a good read for some time so I don't have much else to say besides the art has been fantastic and I like that this title has given readers straight Batman stories separate from everything else that has been going on in the New 52 Batman universe.
Flash faces off with Grood and it should be an interesting issue.
Batman and Robin Annual has been talked about online already, and I have ignored all the talk. I just hope this Annual is better than the last two DC Annuals.
Red Lanterns sees the rise of a Manhunter army. This may be a good equalizer against the Guardians Third Army.
Mara #2 I picked up just to give it another attempt to catch my interest. Still don't know why I did though.
Masters of the Universe: Origin of He-Man looks to be interesting, but I'm still not a fan of the art.
Superior Spider-Man #2 has one last shot to interest me if not I'm done and I will find out about Peter Parker's ghost gaining control from others who are sticking with the title.
Before Watchmen: Ozymandias and Dollar Bill look to be interesting, but I thought this whole Before Watchmen thing was going to be over and done with already.
Fury of Firestorm has definitely been a better title with the new creative team and I will keep reading this book unless it starts to suck like the first few story arcs.


I think you should get down to your local shop or over to or Comics Conspiracy's Digital Store to get your books. See you next week.

Remember you can now find these titles and more in digital format at our Comics Conspiracy - Comixology Storefront or you can still order comics from us directly by visiting the shop, giving us a call (408) 245-6275, or dropping Ryan an email at ryan@comicsconspiracy.biz.

As usual I'll be talking comics on The Comic Conspiracy, and on the Geekbox Forums. Now get out there and enjoy some good old fashioned comic book reading.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Conspirator Brock's Pull List for 1/23/13

For all of the curious people out there wondering what I like to read week to week here is a list of the titles I am going to be picking up for the week of 1/23/13:

(Note: I have included deep links for some titles if you wish to support Comics Conspiracy when you buy digital comics. I have not included links to Dark Horse books because you cannot support us currently by buying them through our site.)

01. Batwoman #16 DC
02. Bedlam #3 Image
03. Catwoman #16 DC
04. DC Universe Presents: Black Lightning and Blue Devil #16 DC
05. Fables #125 Vertigo
06. Green Lantern #16 DC
07. Green Lantern Corps #16 DC
08. Green Lantern: New Guardians #16 DC
09. Harbinger #8 Valiant
10. Justice League #16 DC
11. Legion of Super-Heroes #16 DC
12. Nightwing #16 DC
13. Red Hood and the Outlaws #16 DC
14. Sword of Sorcery #4 DC
15. X-O Manowar #9 Valiant


Reading List:

Avengers #3 Marvel
Before Watchmen: Minute Men #6 of 6 DC
JSA Liberty Files: The Whistling Skull #2 of 6 DC
Superboy Annual #1 DC
Supergirl #16 DC
Uncanny Avengers #3 Marvel
Uncanny X-Force #1 Marvel
Winter Soldier #14 Marvel


Another week of new comics is upon us, so what the hell am I picking up this week? A lot of titles really, but let's start with the titles that are going straight to the bottom of my stack. Justice League, Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps and Green Lantern: New Guardians are the four titles I'm looking forward to reading this week. That's a whole lotta green, but I'm enjoying each of these titles so I don't mind the will power over load. Plus the "Rise of the Third Army" story arch should be winding down with these issues and we will be moving on to the next story arc with the First Lantern. Can't wait. I'm really excited to see where "Throne of Atlantis" takes us with this week's Justice League and next week's Aquaman (Spoiler for what will be at the bottom of my pile next week.). Geoff Johns is killing it with these title and I don't care what anyone says about Aquaman; Johns made him a solid character to follow.
Now let's get on with what I bought this week. Legion of Super-Heroes has Validus in it so I'm thinking this issue has to, hopefully, be better than the last 15 or so. I like the Legion, but I'm having trouble following Paul Levitz down the road he is taking us with this book. I do however get to finish up Legion Lost this week, because we were shorted it last week. Legion Lost has been the better of the two Legion titles and it is sad to see it get the axe after 16 great issues.
My guilty pleasure reading is DC Universe Presents, because my Outsider Black Lightning is in it kicking some ass and taking names. This series is headed to Cancelville though with issue 19 I believe. Sucks because this book would was a good way to showcase talent and characters without throwing out a mini-series that only a handful of people would by. Wish there were more people out there willing to give something a try.
Bedlam is back and I'm hopefully going to understand a little more of what is going on in this title. Nick Spencer is a master at story, but sometimes great writers can go out into left field at times. We will see about Bedlam after this issue. Might stay or it might go.
Despite the fun Ryan Higgins pokes at me for liking Sword of Sorcery and not Wonder Woman I enjoy Sword of Sorcery immensely. It ties in with Justice League Dark, and the back up with Beowulf has been so awesome. Hope Beowulf comes back, because it is a great DC version of the character.
Fables, Fables, Fables. What can I say about Fables? Reaching the milestone issue #125 is an accomplishment, but the story needs to pick up in this book, because honestly the last three haven't been that great. Let's hope the "Snow White" story arch that begins in this issue will do just that; improve the book.
All I am going to say about Batwoman is the art is amazing, the story has been fantastic and I am so glad Joker hasn't pulled her into "Death of the Family".
"Planet Death" gets a prelude in X-O Manowar this week and we are getting closer to the "Harbinger Wars" with Harbinger. Valiant has been doing a top notch job on all of there titles and they are going to attempt to cross-over titles and I think with their current success rate they will knock these stories out of the park.
Catwoman is still involved in "The Black Diamond Probability" and I have been enjoying her title even with this break from getting back to her norm on this title. What am I saying there isn't a norm for this title; it is just fun.
"Death of the Family" has two books out this week: Nightwing and Red Hood and the Outlaws. Once this cross over event got into full swing I have enjoyed it more and more. I still don't see how Joker is everywhere at once. (unless Clayface and his wife are back and impersonating the deadly Court Jester. I guess like everyone else we will have to wait for Batman #17 to figure it all out. Especially what is under the silver platter?
And as for the titles on my reading list: JSA Liberty Files: The Whistling Skull captured half of my interest. We will see if the second issue can keep me till issue six.
Threshold came out last week and we were shorted our copies. I'm excited to read the Larfleeze back-up story and not much else.
Before Watchmen: Minute Men is finally over after being delayed for a while. Let's see if the book leads into Watchmen smoothly.
Uncanny X-Force is a new Marvel NOW! title that I will give a read to to see if it is any good. Hoping, but after Rick Remender's run on the title I fear the same problem Captain America had since Ed Brubaker left...doesn't even hold a candle to.
Avengers #3 may be the last Avengers book I pick up for awhile. I was not impressed with the last two issues. They just seemed to have Captain America telling Iron man that they need a bigger team.
Uncanny Avengers has graced us with another issue finally. This might be the make or break issue for me.
Superboy and Supergirl continue the "H'El on Earth" story arc that needs to just die already.
Winter Soldier is the only reading list title I am really looking forward to this week. The only downside to this feeling is that I know Ed Brubaker's run on it will end with issue 16.

Well I have some reading to get to, and you have some books to get from your local comic book store or online at our digital store. Thank you for reading.

Remember you can now find these titles and more in digital format at our Comics Conspiracy - Comixology Storefront or you can still order comics from us directly by visiting the shop, giving us a call (408) 245-6275, or dropping Ryan an email at ryan@comicsconspiracy.biz.

As usual I'll be talking comics on The Comic Conspiracy, and on the Geekbox Forums. Now get out there and enjoy some good old fashioned comic book reading.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Conspirator Brock's Pull List for 1/16/13

For all of the curious people out there wondering what I like to read week to week here is a list of the titles I am going to be picking up for the week of 1/16/13:

(Note: I have included deep links for some titles if you wish to support Comics Conspiracy when you buy digital comics. I have not included links to Dark Horse books because you cannot support us currently by buying them through our site.)

01. Ame-Comi Girls #4 featuring Power Girl DC
02. Archer & Armstrong #6 Valiant
03. Batgirl #16 DC
04. Batman #16 DC
05. Batman and Robin #16 DC
06. Batman: Arkham Unhinged #10 DC
07. Bleeding Cool #2
08. Bloodshot #7 Valiant
09. Creator-Owned Heroes #8 Image
10. Demon Knights #16 DC
11. Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E #16 DC
12. Saga #9 Image
13. Suicide Squad #16 DC
14. Team 7 #4 DC

(We were shorted our copies of Legion Lost #16 DC.)


Graphic Novels
Invincible: Vol. 17 - What's Happening (TPB - collects #91-96) Image


Reading List:

All New X-Men #6 Marvel
Captain America #3 Marvel
Daredevil #22 Marvel
Deathstroke #16 DC
Indestructible Hulk #3 Marvel
New Avengers #2 Marvel
Savage Wolverine #1 Marvel
Superboy #16 DC
Todd, The Ugliest Kid On Earth #1 of 4 Image

(We were shorted our copies of Threshold #1 DC.)


Third week of the new year and there are a lot of books to get to. First things first; what are the titles I'm looking forward to reading this week? Batgirl, Saga, Suicide Squad and Batman are the four books sitting at the bottom of my stack of books to read this week. More "Death of the Family" is good for me and I cannot get enough of Scott Snyder. Saga is still a solid book that despite my dislike of Fiona Staples lack of world painting imagery I am digging the shit out of this book. As for Suicide Squad I cannot wait every month to read through this title. The book is action packed, a great read and of course it has some really great characters. I'm curious though if we will see any stray pies in this series.
Team 7 is moving forward with "The Black Diamond Probability" and so far it is working just enough to hold my interest. We will see if that continues to be the case.
The digital first Ame-Comi Girls hits us with a print dose of Power Girl this week and I must say that this re-imagining of the DC heroines is a fun book that honestly I think more people would enjoy if they gave it a try. Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray are an amazing team and it is sad to see Creator-Owned Heroes bite the dust with the final issue out this week. Such a shame I was really enjoying that book.
Another digital first title I'm really into is Batman: Arkham Unhinged. This title that explores the video game universe is a fantastic read, and has been a solid character driven title since the Arkham City issues that started it all. Deadshot is in this issue and I must say that the video game version of him looked fucking savage.
This week we say goodbye to Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E, which for a lot of the readers I think will be a great disappointment. This book rocked and it was actually one of the titles from "The New 52" that I didn't initially pick up, but after hearing some recommendations I grew to really like this book. Sad to see it go, but I will enjoy reading about Frankenstein in Justice League Dark so the big green dead guy isn't really gone.
The other title being canceled this week is Legion Lost. We were shorted our copies so I will have to wait until next week to enjoy the last issue of the best Legion book being printed.
Valiant keeps pumping out these fantastic book and every time they come out I can't wait to read them. Archer & Armstrong and Bloodshot both hit the shelves today and I must say that with all of the cross over hype that Valiant has been plugging makes me even more excited to get to reading these books. If you are late to the Valiant show you should really try and get caught up.
Demon Knights keeps going strong and with a new story arc starting I'm ready to see where else this title can take us.
The other "Death of the Family" title out this week is Batman and Robin. I've really been enjoying this book. Peter J. Tomasi has a solid grasp of the relationship between Bruce and Damian in this title (far better grasp than Grant Morrison has in Batman Incorporated), and I'm always looking forward to seeing what happens in this book.
If you haven't picked up Bleeding Cool you should at least give it a try. I got through about half of the last issue and I wasn't completely turned off by it. Magazines can live again if you believe and actually buy them.
As for the titles on my reading list: Captain America gets one last issue to show me something otherwise it will go the way of Iron Man off the reading list completely.
The Illuminati, I mean New Avengers gets another shot to wow me, but if issue one was any indication I may be done with this title after the next issue.
Savage Wolverine...the title alone makes me laugh. I'm not sure if this will go anywhere. The last Savage Wolverine I remember was a One-Shot that had an okay J. Scott Campbell cover. I could be surprised by this book.
I wish "H'El on Earth" would end already. This Super Family cross over is garbage and I cannot wait until it is over and I can get back to reading just Action Comics by Andy Diggle and the floundering Superman title.
Has it been six months already? No it has not. All New X-Men is the most over shipped Marvel NOW! title that I am at this point still reading because I'm actually waiting for something to happen. Unless something did happen and it was wiped from my memory.
Deathstroke has to kill an Unkillable Man. I'm sold.
I'm curious to see how ugly Todd is and I have to go to another shop to pick up this book, because Ryan didn't order any copies for our shelves.
Daredevil and Superior Spider-Man team-up book. Just typing that made me want to vomit.
Indestructible Hulk is one of the only Marvel NOW! titles I actually look forward to reading. I just hope he doesn't have to team-up with Superior Spider-Man.


Thank you for taking the time to read through my pull list. Now get over to your local comic shop or click over to our digital storefront, and get your selection for the week.

Remember you can now find these titles and more in digital format at our Comics Conspiracy - Comixology Storefront or you can still order comics from us directly by visiting the shop, giving us a call (408) 245-6275, or dropping Ryan an email at ryan@comicsconspiracy.biz.

As usual I'll be talking comics on The Comic Conspiracy, and on the Geekbox Forums. Now get out there and enjoy some good old fashioned comic book reading.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Comic Book Binding Update 1/13/12

Got the call the weekend before Christmas that my books were done and ready to be picked up. So, Gage and I decided to head up to Herring & Robertson the day after Christmas. All I had ready to get bound was my Curse of the Spawn run, so with that we made the trip up to Brisbane in the rain.

The binding for Ascension was at first a little odd with the tan with red lettering, but it grew on me the more I looked it over. This binding was the easiest, out of all the stuff I brought down, to acquire the single issues for. There were some things I  did leave out: a few variant covers and sketch versions of certain issues, but overall I think this binding will look good on my self and stand out enough to make people take a second look when they see it. I'm just looking forward to reading a book with some of David Finch's amazing early art work.


The Crimson binding came out nicely. Black with red lettering, and a nice blood red book mark really added to the whole look of the volume. I was really excited when I saw how nicely the black blank pages looked too. I know a lot of people just get everything bound in black, but I prefer to have a cover color reflect the title inside. This binding definitely fits that.

Something I found that was cool about this binding was the fact that the first issue inside has Huberto Ramos's signature, so when you open the book it feels like the creator gave a stamp of approval.

There are a few things I learned from this binding:

1) Glue the variant covers together if you can to avoid repeating the back of the cover page, but you could also just print up the covers you can't find and include them in the back like a cover gallery.
2) Preview, prelude, 1/2 issues, and specials are sometimes tricky to find spots for so do research.

I'm happy with this bind and I can't wait to see how well I did with the ordering of the titles. Fingers are crossed.


My fingers are also crossed for my first multi-volume comic binding of the 1990's Guardians of the Galaxy. This series was a tough one to put in order due to the fact that a cross over happens at the end of the first volume, the team jumps around in time and some things just didn't seem to add up when I attempted to put them in order.

I did my research on this one and even double checked my mapping to be sure. Well now I have it and despite the different sizes of each volume I'm happy with how these books came out

The most important thing I can recommend to anyone working on muli-volume bindings is do the research. There are literally millions of comics out there and even though your little book might be a very small portion there might be something you miss.
With Guardians of the Galaxy there were a few appearances that warranted being in this collection. In addition there was a spin off mini series that was associated with this run, which I would have missed out on if a friend hadn't mentioned it to me.

I also tried putting a table of contents in with this binding and it came out nicely. My table of content layout skills will hopefully improve with other volumes, but it does help to let people know what is exactly in each volume.


I think overall I am happy with how all of my bindings turned out. Now the bigger question that is looming over me is how well I did on the mapping and ordering of the comics inside each volume. I'll just have to dive in and get to reading to find this out.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Conspirator Brock's Pull List for 1/9/13

For all of the curious people out there wondering what I like to read week to week here is a list of the titles I am going to be picking up for the week of 1/9/13:

(Note: I have included deep links for some titles if you wish to support Comics Conspiracy when you buy digital comics. I have not included links to Dark Horse books because you cannot buy them through our site.)


01. Action Comics #16 DC
02. Animal Man #16 DC
03. Batwing #16 DC
04. Clone #3 Image
05. Detective Comics #16 DC
06. Earth 2 #8 DC
07. A Game of Thrones #12 Dynamite
08. Green Lantern: New Guardians Annual #1 DC
09. Human Bomb #2 of 4 DC
10. Peter Panzerfaust #8 Image
11. The Phantom Stranger #4 DC
12. Shadowman #3 Valiant
13. Smallville: Season 11 #9 DC
14. Star Wars #1 Dark Horse
15. Swamp Thing #16 DC
16. Worlds' Finest #8 DC

(We were shorted our copies of Fairest #11 Vertigo.)


Reading List:
Cable and X-Force #3 Marvel
Fantastic Four #3 Marvel
Legends of the Dark Knight #2 DC
Superior Spider-Man #1 Marvel
Thor: God of Thunder #4 Marvel
Thunderbolts #3 Marvel


Hopefully you have recovered from all of your holiday festivities, because it is a good sized week of new comics. So, what am I looking forward to this week? Green Lantern: New Guardians Annual, Detective Comics, Animal Man and Swamp Thing are currently at the bottom of my stack waiting to be enjoyed. Between "Rotworld", "Rise of the Third Army", and "Death of the Family" I cannot seem to get enough of these New 52 books. Scott Snyder, John Layman, and Jeff Lemire have captured my interest with the engaging stories they have created in these titles. I have to give it to John Layman though for turning Detective around and making it a must read book every month. Can't wait to read these titles.
Time to go over the rest of my pull list. A Game of Thrones #12 is finally out and despite the delays I still think this has been a great comic book adaptation of a novel. I'm curious to see if they can keep this going through out the whole Song of Ice and Fire series. Maybe they will get caught up when George R.R. Martin actually finishes the series. The race is on.
Smallville: Season 11 is a guilty pleasure of mine since I was a fan of the TV show. The comic has kept the overall tone that ran through the TV show in later seasons, and I have enjoyed the direction Bryan Q. Miller has taken the characters.
Batwing is a book that has stayed on my pull list not because it is a great title, but because it is an entertaining enough book. I'm actually impressed that Batwing has been running for as long as it has. I'll keep getting it as long as it keeps me entertained enough.
The last story arc from Worlds' Finest almost made me stop getting this book. Paul Levitz did not capture the tone of Damien and you could tell. I will give this book another shot because I have enjoyed the team-up of Earth 2 Power Girl and Huntress, and honestly because I think it is funny that they have to rip Power Girl's costume off in every issue.
Dan Didio has been slipping with Phantom Stranger. The book has had a bit more religious over tones in it and that hasn't improved the story. Hopefully the appearance
of Justice League Dark will shake this book up and get it back on track with revealing more about Pandora and maybe even lay some ground work for the trinity War.
All I will say about Action Comics is that I am so excited for Andy Diggle to take over writing duties with the next issue.
Brain Wood writing a Star Wars comic. This should get me excited, but with the announcement that Disney is taking back the Star Wars comic license from Dark Horse that puts a dark shadow over this hopefully good run on a Star Wars book. The Alex Ross cover is cool though.
Human Bomb #1 caught my interest enough for me to check out number two. Let's see if Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray have another solid mini series based on obscure DC characters.
If you missed out on Clone you need to get caught up. This book is a great read and I think it has potential to be another sleeper hit for Image. The other hit from Image that has lost a bit of steam due to publishing delays is Peter Panzerfaust. I still enjoy this title, but if the book is delayed anymore it will be a hard sell to get new readers.
Valiant has definitely made there mark on the comic industry since the release of X-O Manowar last summer and Shadowman has kept that intense, entertaining and quality that has resided in all of the Valiant titles thus far. I'm hooked and if you haven't checked out the titles from Valiant you are definitely missing out on some great books.
Steppenwolf, need I say anymore? The cover of Earth 2 alone sold me on the fact that this series kicks ass. I have really enjoyed James Robinson's take on this other Earth, and I hope he can continue with this book for a long time. Solid title for any pull list.
As for my reading list: Cable and X-Force is on the chopping block this week. If the story doesn't grab me I'm going to have to say goodbye to even reading this title. Shame because it has some good art.
Fantastic Four will hopefully go somewhere with this issue. The last two were so similar that I felt as if on was a okay first issue and the second should have been the first issue of the FF series. This title is also on the chopping block, because I'm not impressed with the lack of adventure thus far.
Legends of the Dark Knight is always a read first title for me because I want to like the whole issue of stories if I'm going to buy it.
Superior Spider-Man is here to stay (for a few months at least). I'm curious to see if this book will hold any interest in Spider-Man for me, because if it doesn't then I will have to say good-bye to Spider-Man for awhile.
Thor: God of Thunder is the only must read title from the Marvel NOW! in my opinion. If you aren't reading it you should be.
Thunderbolts had a good start, but the last issue wasn't a solid enough read to say if this is a good read or not. I'm going to be reading this issue with a hopeful mind that Thunderbolts can recover from the hiccups of issue two. If the book can do this I will keep it around. If not, well it will get added to the laundry list of titles I have dropped from my reading list.
Well there is my weekly new comic book rant. You can "Follow Me" on Twitter to get some more rants about what I read every week. Now, get you asses down to you local shop or over to the Comics Conspiracy - Comixology Storefront to get your books.

Remember you can now find these titles and more in digital format at our Comics Conspiracy - Comixology Storefront.
You can still order comics from us directly by visiting the shop or giving us a call (408) 245-6275, or dropping Ryan an email at ryan@comicsconspiracy.biz.

As usual I'll be talking comics on The Comic Conspiracy, and on the Geekbox Forums. Now get out there and enjoy some good old fashioned comic book reading.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Conspirator Brock's Pull List for 1/2/13

For all of the curious people out there wondering what I like to read week to week here is a list of the titles I am going to be picking up for the week of 1/2/13:

(Note: I have included deep links for some titles if you wish to support Comics Conspiracy when you buy digital comics. I have not included links to Dark Horse books because you cannot support us currently by buying them through our site.)

01. All Star Western #15 DC
02. American Vampire #34 Vertigo
03. Arrow #2 DC
04. Batman: The Dark Knight #15 DC
05. Flash #15 DC
06. Great Pacific #3 Image
07. Justice League Dark #15 DC
08. Red Lanterns #15 DC
09. Superman #15 DC
10. Talon #3 DC


Graphic Novels
Green Lantern: Vol. 2 - The Revenge of Black Hand (HC - collects #7-12 and Green Lantern Annual #1)


Reading List:

All New X-Men #5 Marvel
Batman Incorporated #6 DC
The Fury of the Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #15 DC
Morbius: The Living Vampire #1 Marvel
New Avengers #1 Marvel
Teen Titans #15 DC


Welcome to 2013! Now some of you might be screaming that DC is late with their #15's this week, but they are actually not late. The were solicited to be released today, and DC did this so that there wasn't two huge weeks in a row right at Christmas time. So, those of you who aren't that in the know, well now you know.
Now that that is out of the way let's get on to what I'm looking forward to this week: All Star Western, American Vampire, and Justice League Dark. Jeff Lemire is doing some interesting stuff with Justice League Dark, and this book really ties together the "Edge" titles that DC has been putting out. American Vampire has been the wonderful combination of Scott Snyder's writing with Rafael Albuquerque's crisp art that I keep recommending to people and they want more. And finally, All Star Western has been the gritty work of Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray that gives readers a glimpse into the history of the New 52 through the tales of Jonah Hex. This issue is tied to "The Black Diamond Probability", which is turning out to be a title spanning event to bring about the return of Eclipso. We will see where this goes. These titles keep delivering some great stories and are well worth reading every month, and if you need something good to add to your pull list these titles are great choices.
"H'El on Earth" continues in Superman this week, and to be honest it isn't doing anything for the Superman family of books. The main villain H'El isn't a great character and we are a month into this cross-over event and I have been nothing, but bored with these titles. Almost to the point where I may have to drop Superman from my pull list down to my read list.
Image's Great Pacific is still trying to find its legs, and despite the second issue falling a bit short for me I'm going to stick it out and see if it can get back on its feet.
The digital first Arrow titles continues in print this week with issue #2. The first issue and the preview were fair introductions to this version of the character, but I must say the episodic randomness of issue one didn't grab my attention. I'm not sure if this title will hold my interest if it doesn't level out and give me a full story in one print issue. As for the show itself I haven't watched it yet, but from all of the great reviews I'm itching to see it.
Batman: The Dark Knight has been really dark and really good. The Scarecrow story that is coming to a close has been a roller coaster ride of really intense moments that I praise Gregg Hurwitz for his writing. He has breathed life back into this title after David Finch was struggling with writing and art duties. If you like Batman this title is a nice escape from all of the other stuff that is going on in the Bat titles right now.
Talon is still spreading its wings, but it has made its mark on my pull list and I look forward to seeing where things go with this Ex Court of Owls Talon.
Francis Manapul has been doing great work with Flash and I'm really enjoying this title. Let's see if Flash can get out of the predicament he is in with Grodd.
The "Rise of the Third Army" has been taking to long to unfold and that is apparent in Red Lanterns. Let's see if something in this title can bring Red Lanterns back from yet another story arc that takes to long to tell.
Green Lantern: Vol. 2 - The Revenge of Black Hand the nice hardcover hits shelves today, and yes I had to snatch up a copy for myself. It think once I get this one home and put on the shelf with the other Green Lantern hardcovers I'll want to start the Geoff Johns run all over again.
As for the books on my reading list:
Morbius: The Living Vampire #1 doesn't look to be very interesting. if Amazing Spider-Man #699.1 was any indication this book won't last 8 issues. The baby variant cover however is awesome.
All New X-Men has past Beast trying to save present Beast and is it true past Jean Grey realized in a single moment how powerful a telepath she is when it took her so fucking long in the actual X-Men books to realize this. I'm thinking Xaiver mind wipe slash power inhibiting mental block. This book is out way to fast and really sucks.
More herky-jerky story telling from Grant Morrison with Batman Incorporated get your Wikipedia pages ready.
New Avengers #1 comes out this week and I'm curious if this is the big team Captain America and Iron Man were talking about in issues #1 and 2 of Avengers, or is this Black Panther and the Hickman Avengers or is it bringing back the Illuminati, which in theory is a good idea, but never pans out well. Still hopeful for a good Avengers book.
Firestorm has redeemed itself enough to be a solid stay on my reading list. Captain Atom appears in this issue.
Teen titans crosses over with "Death of the Family" this week. Reading only for the cross-over, but don't except much.
Well that is it for my pull list this week. Now get your "recovering from last night" ass down to your local shop or over to or Comics Conspiracy's Digital Store to get your books. See you next week.

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