The Longbox Short-List - Week of December 16, 2015

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s weekly look at what new comics you should check out each week.   Just a warning, I make these picks pretty much a week BEFORE I actually get to read any of these comics, so if something is a stinker, I take no blame on that.  Let's get to it!

Comics shipping this week

STAR TREK: STARFLEET ACADEMY #1 – Having just passed its 50th issue, IDW’s Star Trek comic has been a great read each and every month. I am glad they are doing this spinoff series which tells flashback stories of the classic crew and also new stories about a new class at Starfleet Academy. This should be a real fun read.

SECRET WARS – ULTIMATE END finally wraps up leaving us with one more issue of Secret Wars to go. By the way, it was delayed AGAIN! By the time Secret Wars #9 actually comes out, Marvel might be ready to relaunch all their series all over again. Ultimate End has been a bit of a mess in terms of continuity. It’s definitely been a pathetic way to bring the Ultimate Universe to an end. BUT, I do want to know how Miles Morales made his way to the new Marvel universe, so I am a captive audience here.

WEIRDWORLD #1 – Weirdworld was one of my favorite Secret Wars titles, so I am glad to see that it will be continuing. I would have preferred Jason Aaron stick with this book, but Sam Humphries is a good writer too. Not sure we need TWO Weirdworld titles (this one and Black Knight), but I am still looking forward to this.

HUCK #2 – Mark Millar has been putting out some real great books for Image over the last year or so. Huck’s first issue was an awesome new take on the Superman story. I have no idea where this series goes from here, but with Millar, you know it will be different if nothing else.

SQUADRON SUPREME #1 – The original Squadron Supreme is one of my favorite comic series. I am a little disappointed that this series seems to be a hybrid of Squadron Supreme, the Max version, and a bunch of other realities. But I love alternate reality stories, so despite the fact it’s not really a Squadron Supreme series, I will still give it a fair shot.

ALL-NEW X-MEN #2 – The first issue was a nice surprise. Huge improvement over Extraordinary X-Men, and the creative team was perfect. I was reminded of Ultimate Spider-Man in a lot of ways. The X-Men books still seem to be a little shaky after Secret Wars, but All-New X-Men definitely gives me a lot of hope that everything will work out.

ILLUMINATI #2 – The big problem with Marvel releasing so many new books at once is that it’s hard to keep track of them all. I know I read the first issue of Illuminati. And I vaguely remember liking it, but I honestly could not tell you what happened in that comic.

INVINCIBLE #126 – Last issue took a lot of risks, and they worked real well. I still don’t think Kirkman will be keeping this major shift in the timeline, but it’s definitely been an intriguing arc that brings some fresh perspectives to the Invincible universe.

SECRET SIX #9 – Last issue, rocks fell. Everyone died. Fortunately, it seemed like they had been setting up an alternate Secret Six team more in line with the Pre-52 series (Scandal Savage, Ragdoll, etc). Now I don’t really think the Secret Six team is going to stay dead, but Gail Simone has kept us guessing each issue. Secret Six is one of my favorite series, and probably the best book DC puts out not called Grayson.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #46 – After a brief break for some mostly pointless tie-in issues, Darkseid War is back. I actually have been enjoying this story a lot, but I can’t help but feel it’s a cash grab with the tie-ins, and in a few months we’re getting another overpriced “Darkseid War Special.” Justice League had been good at having a big budget feel while keeping the reader from having to buy a ton of tie-ins. But they seem to have abandoned that here.

WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR #2 – The first issue of this book was a huge departure from what I expected. Gilad is dead and in what seems to be purgatory deciding whether or not he wants to return to the real world. This provided us with a very different take on Eternal Warrior. Loved the first issue and I can’t wait to see more.