Summer 2010 Reading List

Here's a list of graphic novels I intend to buy over the summer. While most schools send out reading lists for the summer that include classic books, such as Tom Sawyer and Great Expectations, I make my summer reading consist of stuff I'd actually enjoy reading.

Invincible Iron Man: World's Most Wanted part 2 TPB

This volume contains the second half of Matt Fraction's World's Most Wanted arc. The story is about Tony Stark's fall from power after the Secret Invasion as he's being hunted by Norman Osborn for the most valuable thing Stark has that isn't a suit of armor, his mind. Before Tony left his office at S.H.I.E.L.D. (now called H.A.M.M.E.R.), he deleted the Superhuman Registration Database from the computer system. Now Tony's mind is the only place where the database still exists, which leads him to run around the country as a fugitive using older versions of the Iron Man armor. While he's running, Tony is slowly deleting his mind so no one can ever know the information he once knew. This story is very compelling as it tells the story of how the intelligent and powerful Tony Stark becomes a brain dead nationally-hunted fugitive. I'm definately picking up this paperback next week.

Mighty Avengers: the Unspoken TPB

Last month I bought the first volume of Dan Slott's run on Mighty Avengers and I was immediately hooked on this series. I recently read Slott's final arc on the Mighty Avengers series and was disappointed this had to end. Fortunately, the next trade paperback for Slott's Mighty Avengers is coming out next month so this is definitely going onto my list.

Superboy: the Boy of Steel

Once again, Superboy is one of my favorite characters. So having a collected edition of the story that featured Conner Kent during Geoff Johns' run on the re-launch of Adventure Comics is really exciting for me. Even though I usually wait for a paperback edition, I'm willing to pay extra for one of my favorite stories.

Invincible Volume 12: Still Standing

Originally, this was advertised on online bookstores, such as Amazon.com, Borders.com, and Barnes & Noble.com, to be released during February but recently ads for this book in the Invincible series has changed the release date to sometime in June. I hope this does come out next month because I've already collected the other volumes and I started buying the issues since December. Overall, Invincible has become one of my favorite series and I hope to expand my collection very soon.

Well that's the end of my summer reading list. Its not very long but it contains most of the books I intent to buy before school starts. If you have any suggestions about what should be added to this list, then post a comment to this post. Later!

New Comics for May 19, 2010

Here's my pull list for the week of May 19, 2010

What new comics am I excited for?

Avengers #1

There's going to be at least six Avengers books coming out this summer as part of Marvel's Heroic Age. The classic Avengers is something I'm excited for because the line up looks great and the first story involves the time traveling villain, Kang. The only flaw is that the writer, Brian Michael Bendis, has failed to impress me with his final issues of New Avengers and some of the dialogue during Siege was pretty weak. Plus, I (like many fans) was expecting Steve Rogers to return to the Captain America identity. Although Bucky has grown into the role, its going to feel different having a new Avengers series and someone else as Captain America on this new team. Overall, I expect this new Avengers series to be a fun and entertaining ride, and hopefully Bendis will do a better job with this team.

Legion of Super-Heroes #1

A new series staring the classic Legion plus its written by Paul Levitz. What Legion fan wouldn't want to pick this up next week. The Legion has been through a lot of changes due to events such as Zero Hour and other Crisis stories. Thankfully the first Legion of Super-Heroes returned during Geoff Johns' run on Action Comics and the Legion of 3 Worlds mini-series. Now the Legion that fans know and love has returned in a new series by Paul Levitz. Levitz's work on the Legion has been favored by many fans and this new series will recieve as much praise as Levitz's work in the past.

 What current comics am I excited for?

Invincible Iron Man #26

Matt Fraction's Invincible Iron Man has become one of my favorite series. I've enjoyed reading the first two graphic novels of the series as well as the recent Stark Disassembled story. The new Bleeding Edge armor has yet to show its true power but so far it looks really awesome. My only complaint about this series is that Tony's new business decision seems too similar to what happened during the Iron Man move. Overall, I'm still pretty excited for this issue. 

War of the Supermen #3

So far I've been enjoying War of the Supermen mini-series. I like how DC decided to release the entire series during the month of May. Plus I enjoyed how General Lane used some giant weapon in each issue (ex. Bomb obliterating New Krypton in #1 and the red sun bomb at the end of #2). Part of me does want this series to end so DC can get back to making stories that have Superman back on Earth fighting villains like Lex Luthor or Parasite. I'm really looking forward to the last half of this story.

What comics am I least excited for?

Brightest Day #2

Although I was excited for most series coming out during DC's Brightest Day event (ex. Green Lantern books and the Flash), so far the Brightest Day series has been a swing and a miss for me. I did enjoy the set up in the first few issues for the resurrected characters, however there has not been anything to get me excited for future issues of this series. I'll still continue to get this to see if anything develops but I would not expect too much to happen.

Justice League of America #45

I initially started to get this series because James Robinson's League initially featured some good characters such as the Titans, but that was short lived. Now the only members on the team are Batman (Dick Grayson), Donna Troy, Starman (Mikaal Tomas), and Congorilla. Plus I'm not too excited about Jade's re-appearance from the last issue because I have not read any stories featuring her. I'll probably stop getting this series after its crossover with the JSA.

So thats my list of new comics for May 19th. Comment if you think I made any wrong decisions regarding my excitement for next week.