New comic book day is upon us once more and Starburst is here to help guide you through the shelves of your local comic shop (or whatever digital alternative you use like comiXology). It’s a big week for publishing titans Marvel and DC but no one is having a bigger week than your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
Our first first top pick this week is the third installment in Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli’s mini-series Spider-Men. The last issue saw Earth 616’s Peter Parker and the Ultimate universe’s Miles Morales finally come face to face. Things quickly went awry and the issue ended on a literal and metaphorical explosion as Mysterio took aim for both Peter and Miles. Issue #3 picks up where Bendis and Pichelli left off, with our Spider-Men ready to face off against a bloodthirsty Mysterio.
Peter Parker’s adventures continue in Avenging Spider-Man #9, in which the iconic webslinger teams up with the new and improved Carol Danvers, now going by the moniker Captain Marvel. Danvers’ own title is set to launch next week but fans can get an advance look at the new Captain Marvel in action as she and Spider-Man battle the forces of evil with the creative team of Kathryn and Stuart Immonen calling the shots.
In Batman and Robin #11, the Bat-clan is experiencing a less amicable meeting of minds as Damian Wayne and Jason Todd come to blows in this book penned by Peter J. Tomasi with art by Patrick Gleason and Michael Gray. The youngest Robin is on the warpath and he’s intent on battling the Robins of yore, starting with the Red Hood, the second Boy Wonder. Meanwhile, Batman’s enemies continue to unite against them as they plan their revenge against the man they blame for all their troubles.
DC continues its Watchmen parade with this week’s Before Watchmen: Minutemen #2. Darwyn Cooke’s title was the gem of the Before Watchmen collection and it looks like he’s continuing to raise the bar in the series’ second installment. After last month’s introduction of the Minutemen, the team finally sees some action as Nite Owl I continues his confessional narration of the adventures of America’s first superhero team. Writer Len Wein and artist John Higgins continue to tell the tale of the Crimson Corsair in the issue’s backup feature.
With a whopping ten variant covers available, Image Comics’ Walking Dead #100 might just be this week’s most anticipated comic. The “Something to Fear” story arc continues as writer Robert Kirkman delves even deeper into his seemingly bottomless bag of horrors to deliver one of the most gruesome events in the series thus far while artists Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn continue to breathe life in Kirkman’s violent and bleak post-apocalyptic vision. Just when Rick Grimes thought things couldn’t possibly get any worse . . . they do! C’est la vie in the zombie apocalypse.
