Welcome back to Conskipper’s New Comic Day Picks for the week of March, 2021!
More daylight and warmer weather is on the horizon, as well as some high profile comic issues at your local comic shop this week. While the volume of new issues is a bit less this week, the quality is still high. This week’s list contains selections from the big two, with a number of comics that will drive both Marvel and DC through the spring and into the summer months.
–Infinite Frontier #0 (DC Comics): After Dark Knights: Death Metal and DC Future State, DC Comics is ready to pave the way towards the future of their comic line with Infinite Frontier #0.
The talent line up for this preview special includes: Joshua Williamson, Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, John Timms, Brian Michael Bendis, David Marquez, Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad, Alitha Martinez, Geoff Johns, Todd Nauck, Alex Maleev, Jorge Jimenez, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, and Jamal Igle.
As stated in our initial report on DC’s Infinite Frontier, “A number of new story lines will also directly spin out of Infinite Frontier #0 such as: Tynion IV and Guillem March’s world-wide Joker hunt, Tim Sheridan and Rafa Sandoval’s Teen Titans Academy series, Bendis and Marquez’s take on the Justice League (starting in Justice League #59) including new JL members Black Adam, Hippolyta, and Naomi, Cloonan, Conrad, and Travis Moore’s Wonder Woman, and Johns and Nauck’s all-new Stargirl story.” This oversized, all-star issue is an essential primer for DC’s new direction, so if it would be in your best interest to pick this one up while you can.
-Avengers #43 (Marvel Comics): Speaking about new directions, Jason Aaron’s Avengers has been quietly setting up the recently announced Heroes Reborn event at Marvel Comics since the start of his run, which is quickly rushing towards a crescendo with the arrival of the Phoenix Force. As we have repeatedly said about this series, it is tough to forge new ground with the Avengers ever month, and yet Aaron and a host of artists have accomplished this consistently on this iteration of the team and title. Luca Maresca’s art on this issue is well-suited for the cosmic level threats opposing the Avengers at this time and compliments Aaron’s patented “shock and awe” storytelling style. If you love seeing the Avengers do the impossible, you need to be reading this series.
-Sensational Wonder Woman #1 (DC Comics): DC continues to celebrate Wonder Woman’s 80th anniversary with the debut of new anthology series Sensational Wonder Woman. In this first story arc, written by Stephanie Phillips (and you can check out her thoughts on the new series right here) with art by Meghan Hetrick and colors by Marissa Louise, Diana faces off against Doctor Psycho and finds herself trapped in an alternate reality. Fans of Hawkgirl will be happy to hear that she swings by to help Wonder Woman remember who she is… before it’s too late! Future arcs by creators such as Colleen Doran, Alyssa Wong, Eleonora Carlini, Mirka Andolfo, Corinna Bechko are on the way as DC continues to release a slew of anthology books featuring the individual members of the trinity.
-America Chavez: Made in America #1 (Marvel Comics): America Chavez, otherwise known as Miss America, returns to her own title in this new five issue miniseries by writer Kalinda Vazquez and artist Carlos Gomez. The dimension-travelling teen becomes a more important member of the Marvel Universe each and every day, and the new series will further explore her powers and mysterious origins. Gómez stated in December that “Her style and her powers make her an awesome character… There is so much you can do with her, it’s insane. I couldn’t be happier to jump on this ship. So be ready for a new origin story with a ton of unexpected twists!” With Chaves joining the MCU in the near future, it is probably a good idea to pick up this comic while it is still on the shelves.
-Crime Syndicate #1 (DC Comics): Stretching back to the earliest days of DC’s multiverse (in Justice League #29 from 1964), the evil version of the Justice League has excited readers for decades. This version spins out of the the much more recent Dark Nights: Death Metal for a six-issue miniseries that reveals the “true origins” of Earth 3’s Crime Syndicate. The “Anti-Justice League” has always been a fun concept, and writer Andy Schmidt and artists Kieran McKeown and Dexter Vines are ready to guide the villainous organization into the new “frontier” (DC’s Infinite Frontier that is). As an added bonus, Bryan Hitch tells the origin of Ultraman in a backup story.
That’s it for this week, so please continue to support your local comic shop in a safe and responsible manner.