Ok. I admit it. I don’t like change. I’m not comfortable saying I’m a “purist,” either. I think (I hope) I’m a little bit more open minded than that. But, any time DC/Marvel start announcing changes to this character or that universe, I tend to give into my knee jerk reaction. Especially when these announcements involved a “death” of a character (main, or otherwise).
Why are they swinging around without their masks on?!?! Why, oh why!?!?
Writer: Robert Venditti
Penciller: Cary Nord
Inker: Stefano Gaudiano
Colorist: Moose Baumann
Letterer: Dave Lanphear
Cover Art: Esad Ribic, David Aja, Jelena Kevic-Djurdjevic, Cary Nord
Editor: Josh Johns, Warren Simons
Publisher: Valiant Entertainment
Cover Date: May 2012
Cover Price: $3.99 US
Title: “Blades and Open Fields”
The “Summer of Valiant” begins here with X-O Manowar #1 according to Valiant Entertainment. It then continues through August with their three other announced titles, Harbinger (June), Bloodshot (July), and Archer & Armstrong (August).
While these characters may be familiar to long time comic book readers, the company publishing them is entirely new. Although Valiant Entertainment shares 
the same namesake as the former publisher’s imprint, they are a newly formed company and bought the stable of characters from the estate of the bankrupt Acclaim Entertainment that owned their rights.
Writer: Jeremy Whitley
Artist: M. Goodwin, D.E. Belton (backup story)
Letters: Jung-Ha Kim, Dave Dwonch
Colors: M. Goodwin, Jung-Ha Kim (backup story)
Publisher: Action Lab Comics
Cover Date: Oct. 2011 – Jan. 2012
Price: $3.99 ea.
Princeless is an all-ages tale of a fair young princess locked away in a tower waiting for her prince to come save her so that they can get married, have children, and live happily ever after.
Well, sort of…
Writer / Artist: Riley Rossmo
Writer: Alex Link
Publisher: Image / Shadowline
Cover Date: March 2012
Cover Price: $3.50
Rebel Blood involves Chuck Neville, a forest ranger with a wife and son, who commands Fire Tower #6 deep in the woods. He’s all alone, save for a young female assistant and Danny Whitehead, a poacher he’s had some dealings with.
With his isolated surroundings, he’s had plenty of time to think about his strained marriage and let his imagination run wild.
An ominous call from officer Red comes across his radio one day. Red details the rampant infections and mutations that are showing up in people everywhere. He decides to leave and protect his family. But Chuck soon discovers that the infections aren’t just affecting people – the animals in the forest are also sick.
Writer: John Ostrander
Artist: Jan Duursema
Cover: Rodolfo Migliari
Publisher: Dark Horse
Cover Date: February 2012
Cover Price: $3.50
Title: “Your Guide To The Dawn Of The Jedi Era Of Star Wars”
Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi #0 serves as an introduction to the Dawn of the Jedi series by delving into the annals of history 36,000 years before the Battle of Yavin and the destruction of the first Death Star. The story goes back to a time before the creation of the Old Republic and Light Sabers – to the true roots of the Jedi and Sith Orders.
The issue details the events and back story leading into Dawn of The Jedi. From the colonization of the Jedi home world, Tython and the Tythos system, to the technology created and used, to all of the key inhabitants of Tython and the surrounding worlds, the information that one would need to feel immersed in the story is all laid out here.
Writer: Nathan Edmondson
Artist: Mitch Gerads
Letterer: Mitch Gerads
Color assistant: Kyle Latino
Cover: Mitch Gerads
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Date: December 2011
Cover Price: $3.50
Title: “Fiddler on the Roof”
The Activity follows a group of operatives in an unnamed division of the Intelligence Support Activity of the US Government. These teams focus on more selective, secretive, and high-stakes ops than normal covert ops teams. Given bleeding edge tech, they are the problem solvers and first responders that go in and sometimes even have to clean up the CIA’s mistakes.
The story itself gives us snippets of The Activity’s operations, intelligence gathering, and recruiting actions, but there are large gaps in between. This might sound like it’s a bad story, but it is far from it. The way Nathan Edmondson crafts the story, the reader is given just enough info to follow along without giving too much away. This creates more of a mystery surrounding the events and one which Edmondson can control as he sees fit.
Ted McKeever brings Mondo to Image this January in a three issue mini series.
Catfish’s daily grind of "enhancing" poultry comes to a halt when he is accidentally tripped up by a loose chicken, causing him to fall victim to his own process. What proportions of his that were once human are now beyond anything normal. Add villainous corporate and military big wigs, a roller-skating weapon-toting chick named Kitten Kaboodle, a gang of tattooed babies, and there’s still that enormous beach monster…
And what you have is MONDO, in all its raging glory!
Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Mirko Colak
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Cover: David Aja
Editor: Alejandro Arbona, Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: December 2011
Cover Price: $2.99
We’ve seen what adversity young Johann has had to face and the effect it has had on his psyche. Johann is looking out for nobody but himself and will do anything to further his own goals. Whether it means he’ll randomly kill and innocent person on direct orders, or even one of his close associates; if it furthers his agenda, Johann will do so without hesitation.
The young Red Skull joins the Sturmabteilung, but is frustrated with their lack of power. Power is the one thing Johann is striving towards – regardless of how he accumulates it. He then tries to join the SS, but quickly learns that he’s still too young to join them.
Writers: Nate Cosby, Ben McCool
Artist: Breno Tamura
Colors: Christopher Sotomayor
Lettering & Design: Rus Wooten
Cover & Logo: Jock
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Date: September 2011
Cover Price: $2.99
Title: “Hello, Cruel World”
If you like mystery and espionage – then Pigs by Nate Cosby and Ben McCool is what you should be reading. In the present day, a second generation KGB Cuban sleeper cell is activated and it’s mission is to overthrow the United States government.
Pigs #1 is a very tight and well written espionage story that could have very well come from a best selling spy novel. As the story flips through two timelines, the past and present, we’re introduced to several characters along the way – even though they’re not fully explained.
Writer: Judd Winick
Art: Ben Oliver
Colors: Brian Reber
Letters: Carlos M. Mangual
Editor: Rickey Purdin, Mike Marts
Cover: Ben Oliver, Brian Reber
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Date: November 2011
Cover Price: $2.99
Title: “The Cradle of Civilization”
Batwing, created by Grant Morrison in Batman Incorporated, is David Zamvimbi, the Batman of Africa. Not only is he the first black Batman, he’s one of the few characters featured in an American title that takes place outside of the United States.
Working for the Tinasha police department in his civilian guise, David battles not only super-villains, but also tries to combat corruption inside the rank and file of his own police force.
Batwing #1 opens with a full blown battle between Batwing and Massacre, a villain who wields a machete and tries to live up to his name. The story then flashes back to six weeks prior to the opening. With the aid of Batman, David tries to solve a horrific crime scene where victims were butchered and their limbs were piled up like an altar.