I really enjoyed the “Zero” issues from DC’s “New 52” a lot, but I want to focus on an important comic that debuted this week, Guarding the Globe #1.
Here’s the book’s description: “The Guardians of the Globe are Back in an all-new, all-exciting ongoing series! Your favorite heroes – Brit, Outrun, Invincible, Robot, Yeti, Kaboomerang, and more -face new challenges of epic proportions in stories by the all-star team of Phil Hester & Todd Nauck!”
During my recent interview during my Wayne’s Comics podcast with Mr. Hester, the writer/artist talked with me about how he likes Brit, one of Robert Kirkman’s earliest comics creations. I have to agree that I can relate to a “seasoned” hero, one who has been around the block several times. He’s also got an interesting family life, which really surprised me a lot. How he deals with the team as well and his wife and child will be things I’ll be buying the book to follow.
Like anything in the Kirkman-verse, Image’s Guarding the Globe doesn’t take a standard path. I enjoy being surprised, and this book had at least five times when I really didn’t know what was going to happen next. I like that a lot!
While Brit remains my favorite person in the title, I also enjoyed Donald (the robot), Best Tiger, the dog who smokes (he is French, after all), the new Invincible, and Outrun. I haven’t yet warmed up to Robot, so I’m anxious to see how this book handles him.
Hester’s script is fast-paced and engaging, and Nauck’s art is clear and easily understood. With a big group to keep track of, the two do a dynamic job of making sure we know who’s doing what when. Not every team book can do that successfully! Kirkman is editing the title, so we can be sure this comic will be a fun read!
Rating: 5 out of 5. Be sure you pick this one up so you get in on the ground floor for what I’m sure will be another great addition to the Kirkman/Image cadre of comics!
This Week’s “New 52” Reviews: It’s really tough to pick out any kind of order I want to put the “Zero” issues in, but I’m going to do my best! Detective Comics #0 features two powerful stories about Bruce Wayne’s pre-Batman days, one from Gregg Hurwitz and Tony Daniel, the second by James Tynion IV and Renrik Johnsson. Both are great ones! Animal Man #0 gave Detective a run for its money with a great effort tying disparate continuity together. Earth 2 continues its winning ways, so don’t miss it! Action Comics #0 has an excellent Grant Morrison story. Swamp Thing does a great job of informing us what happened prior to issue #1! World’s Finest is another great outing from Paul Levitz and Kevin Maguire. Green Lantern introduces the new GL. Stormwatch reveals an interesting connection between the team and Demon Knights. Batwing #0 has Judd Winick writing the hero’s origin. Winick also writes this month’s Green Arrow, setting up some storylines for the future. GI Combat has two origins, the first scripted by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, and the second from JT Krul. Also, the new Dial H continues its odd ways, and I felt this was an interesting bit of backstory. The Phantom Stranger showed both his origin and that of the Spectre, so I did enjoy it. Good reading all!
Also out this week of note are Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #3, Night Force #7, Smallville Season 11 #5 and Sweet Tooth #37 from DC; Garfield #5, Hypernaturals #3 and Planet of the Apes: Cataclysm #1 from BOOM! Studios; The Cape 1969 #3 and True Blood Ongoing #4 from IDW; Avengers Academy #36, Road to Oz #1 and Venom #24 from Marvel; Near Death #11 and Thief of Thieves #7 from Image; Atlas Unified #0 from Atlas; Archer & Armstrong #2 and Bloodshot #3 from Valiant; Red Circle provided New Crusaders #1; as well as Flash Gordon Zeitgeist #6 and Peter Cannon Thunderbolt #1 from Dynamite!
