Who's the best publisher in comics right now?
DC's got plenty going on with Convergence and then fresh story arcs for all of its major characters. Marvel's got Secret Wars coming up, followed by a line-wide reboot. Image just keeps putting out amazing originals and indies. Dark Horse and IDW both have some fun properties these days, too.
Who would you pick in a publisher showdown based on what's out now and what's coming over the next few months? Sound off in the comments and let us know.
In the meantime, here's a rundown of the comics not to be missed this week.
Two Batmen are about to meet for the first time: Bruce Wayne and his father, Thomas Wayne. We're talking about the Batman of the pre-Flashpoint universe, and the Batman of Earth-2 — a man living on borrowed time, given strength and agility due to a powerful drug that will eventually kill him. What else happens in Convergence #2? I can't wait to find out.
In Convergence tie-in issues this week, the Zero Hour characters enter the mix. Among the highlights are a sequel to Knightfall called Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1, the return of the villainous version of Hal Jordan in Green Lantern/Parallax #1, a very young Kon-El takes on the Superman of Kingdom Come in Superboy #1, and in Suicide Squad #1 a new team is assembled to defend against the floating fortress of New Oa.
Needless to say, it's getting crazy all up in Convergence.
After a long delay, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips are back with The Fade Out #5, which marks the start of the title's second story arc. This noir tale like no other has it all: a murder mystery, dark secrets and characters that are all shades of gray. It's a fan-favorite for a reason, and this is a great place to jump onboard.
And now, for the strangest comic book you will see all week. Guaranteed.
Yes, you are reading that image above correctly. Allow me to introduce you to Dark Horse's Archie vs. Predator #1. Don't let the (mostly) cheerful cover art fool you — this is an old-school horror story. Archie and his pals head down to Costa Rica for spring break, setting them up for a classic "serial killer at camp" thing. There's some surprisingly graphic violence, as well as some deeply funny dark humor. Don't say we didn't warn you.
Not a lot happening in Marvel town this week. Princess Leia #3 was scheduled to release today, but we're hearing it was delayed. Otherwise, no major issues of anything, and definitely nothing that feeds into Secret Wars. If you need to scratch your Avengers itch, try Thor #7, which we know nothing about except that the female Thor is in it and she fights the Destroyer. So... yay?
And it looks like this whole hedonistic/capitalistic approach to Iron Man is (finally) starting to wind down with Superior Iron Man #7. Seems Pepper Potts ain't too happy with iTony's selfish new attitude, and is willing to betray him to stand by her man. You go girl. Seriously, hurry up.
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