1. HIT-GIRL #1
Taking place between the first two volumes of
Kick-Ass, the events of
Hit-Girl will also play a prominent role in the upcoming
Kick-Ass 2 movie from director Jeff Wadlow (according to series writer Mark Millar). The five-part series follows Mindy McCready's attempts to settle into a normal life with her mother and step-father, although it's fair to say that fans should expect much more than the pint-sized superhero just sitting around and doing her homework. Instead, Hit-Girl has taken on Kick-Ass as her sidekick and if the cover is anything to go by, there will be plenty of action packed and bloody violence. Throw in the fact that original series artist and co-creator John Romita Jr. is on art duties and this is definitely the most essential purchase of the week.
2. BEFORE WATCHMEN: NITE-OWL #1 Despite being incredibly controversial with hardcore
Watchmen fans, the first prequel issues which featured
Minutemen,
Silk Spectre and
Comedian were all fantastic.
Nite-Owl looks set to continue that trend as J. Michael Straczynski (
The Amazing Spider-Man) is joined by superstar artist Andy Kubert (
Batman) for a story examining the early days of Daniel Dreiberg's career as Nite-Owl. Little is known about what we should expect from the series (the initial solicitation details consisted only of, "The hero known to the public only as Nite Owl announced his retirement today") but with such a great creative team working on it, there's no way that any fan of
Watchmen will want to risk missing this intriguing first installment.
3. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #688 He's baaack!
The Amazing Spider-Man is released in theaters next week and Marvel are taking full advantage of the big screen debut of the Lizard by bringing him back to face off against Peter Parker in this week's latest issue of the series. The last time we saw him, the Lizard has "Shed" the Curt Connors part of his personality, killing (and eating) his son Billy before withdrawing to the sewers. However, the "No Turning Back" arc looks set to be more than just the duo battling it out as Morbius the Living Vampire returns in an attempt to restore Connors. Giuseppe Camuncoli joins regular writer Dan Slott - who recently wrapped up the fantastic "Ends of the Earth" storyline - as the artist for the issue, and while his style isn't quite to everyone's tastes, previews have shown that this might be his best work yet.
4. SPIDER-MEN #2 The first issue of
Spider-Men focused mainly on Peter Parker and his arrival in the Ultimate Universe. In fact, Peter and Miles Morales didn't meet until the very last page, so it is this second issue which is truly essential for those who have been eagerly anticipating a meeting between the two Spider-Men. Preview art has already shown that the duo will come to blows AND unmask in front of each other, so it sounds as if readers should expect to see all the scenarios they've ever dreamed of happen in this issue from writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli. Whether Bendis will pack enough into the script to make it a truly cost-effective read remains to be seen (his comics are often criticized for being either too talky or not talky enough) but the first issue got things off to a great start so fans needn't worry much.
5. THE FLASH #10 If Warner Bros. ever finally get around to making a movie based on
The Flash, they should turn to THIS series for visual inspiration. Co-writers Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato continue their redesign of Flash's rogues gallery, this time introducing Weather Wizard to "The New 52". With Iris West still stuck in the Speed Force, there are a lot of loose ends that the duo have to wrap up (for example, everyone currently believes that Barry Allen is dead) so this latest chapter will hopefully continue developing those as well. Manapul also provides the artwork on the series, and it is this which makes
The Flash such an essential purchase in a week where DC has plenty of other big titles out such as
Justice League #10. Top quality storytelling and breathtaking artwork collide in one of their best series.
THE BEST OF THE REST... 6. JUSTICE LEAGUE #10
7. WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN #12
8. THE INCREDIBLE HULK #10
9. AQUAMAN #10
10. BATMAN INCORPORATED #2