By Molly Jane Kremer and Jarrod Jones. Happy New Comic Book Day! This is Casual Wednesdays With DoomRocket, where each week we discuss our feelings concerning the comics that mean the most to us, and the industry news that affects us all. This week, MJ & Jarrod discuss the current state of Marvel Comics after a solid week of bad press. Then they share thoughts from Marvel readers, be they lapsed or devoted. Then they assess ‘X-Men: Blue’ #1 and ‘Weapon X’ #1.
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MJ’s Top 5 Most Anticipated Issues:
The Unstoppable Wasp #4 — Marvel Comics/$3.99
The Wicked + The Divine #28 — Image Comics/$3.99
Godshaper #1 — BOOM! Studios/$3.99
Wonder Woman #20 — DC Comics/$2.99
Heathen #3 — Vault Comics/$3.99
Jarrod’s Top 5 Most Anticipated Issues:
Action Comics #977 — DC Comics/$2.99
John Carter: The End #3 — Dynamite/$3.99
Helena Crash #2 — IDW Publishing/$3.99
Godshaper #1 — BOOM! Studios/$3.99
Spencer & Locke #1 — Action Lab Danger Zone/$3.99
REVIEWS FOR APRIL 12, 2017
Weapon X #1
Marvel Comics/$3.99
Written by Greg Pak.
Art by Greg Land and Jay Leisten.
Colors by Frank D’armata.
Letters by Joe Caramagna.
JJ: Greg Pak’s solid characterization is on full display here — he establishes Logan as the star of this book (no surprise there), imbuing the Canucklehead with enough wit that Chris Claremont ought to be proud. Pak sets up a mystery that probably isn’t the most inspired, but when you’re knocking out an all-star crossover book featuring every character ever connected to the Weapon X mythos, it’s not surprising that subtlety takes a backseat.
6.5 out of 10
X-Men Blue #1
Marvel Comics/$4.99
Written by Cullen Bunn.
Art by Jorge Molina and Matteo Buffagni.
Colors by Matt Milla.
Letters by Joe Caramagna.
MJ: I picked up X-Men: Gold #1 last week, and though I doubt I’ll continue on with that series, I thought I might give Blue a try. I enjoy much of Cullen Bunn’s creator-owned output, Jorge Molina’s art was a delight on A-Force, and the return of the o.g. X-Men lineup caught my interest. There isn’t much communicated of these kids’ personalities that hasn’t been already established in other books, but with this team–and especially the character reveal on the final story’s main page–I think I’ll be sticking it out for another couple issues.
7.5 out of 10
Check back in two weeks for more from Casual Wednesdays!
Before: “We ❤️ Black Mask Studios,” here.
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Header image: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ vol. 4 #19 by Art Adams. (Marvel Comics, 2017)
Casual Wednesdays written and edited by J. Jones, produced by M.J. Kremer and J. Jones.
Opening/closing theme: “Feels Good 2 B” by Audionautix — YouTube (Creative Commons Attribution)
Intro interview music: “Talk to Me” by Jahzzar — YouTube (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs)
Top 5 Most Anticipated Background music: “Runner Runner” Produced by Marc Dtwo — SoundCloud, YouTube (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs)
