Comic Cover of the Week (1-23-13)

Browsing this week’s releases left me without an eye-catching cover image. Now the good news. The show must go on, so I’m switching it up for this week. Instead of presenting you with one cover image, I’m giving you five. But of course I have to give it a twist. So here are five covers showcasing awesome female characters.

Astonishing X-Men #58 by Phil Noto

The Shi’ar warrior featured here is Warbird. Here’s a relatively new character who’s been receiving a lot of attention not only in this book, but also in Wolverine and the X-Men. Warbird is no stranger to Comic Cover of the Week and she’s certainly welcomed back.

Cobra #21 by Antonio Fuso

Yo Joe! Though the book is named after the criminal organization, the overall focus is on a small team of Joes. One of whom is Ronin. Who doesn’t love a lady with a sword?

Batwoman #16 by J.H. Williams III

If there’s anything you should know about this book it’s the amazing visuals that Williams has provided. Here, we see what Batwoman and Wonder Woman have been up to during their team-up.

Winter Soldier #14 by Daniel Acuna

Black Widow. She’s one of the deadliest WITHOUT powers. Cool character drawn by an amazing artist. Natasha’s stock has risen exponentially thanks to mainstream media focus from her appearances in the films Iron Man 2 and Marvel’s Avengers. Sidenote: this is Ed Brubaker’s final issue on the title and it’s a memorable one. I highly recommend it.

Uncanny X-Force #1 by Olivier Coipel

This final piece drawn by Coipel, who I would certainly love to be doing more ongoing work, features two of not only my favorite X-women, but also favorite characters in general, Storm and Psylocke. Joining them are the six times as deadly Spiral and newcomer Cluster. Spiral has not been seen in a while, so it’ll be interesting to catch up with her. If you caught the solicit not too long ago, you were probably wondering who the female Fantomex was. That question was answered at the end of the previous Uncanny X-Force series.

This part may or may not seem confusing but if it does, don’t worry, it happens. Fantomex had three brains: one being the Fantomex we’ve come to know and love, a second being this version known as Cluster and the last one who is a not-so-nice fella. Fantomex died during the “Final Execution” arc. He was brought back at the end of that storyline which was also the end of that book. During his resurrection, his brains were separated and placed into their own bodies. You still with me? Okay, well that’s where Cluster comes in and here we are. The final page of this book caught me, and I’m sure many other readers, by surprise. I’m definitely looking forward to the second issue.

Cobra #14 Review

IDW is running two different G.I. Joe continuities across four books. That may confuse people, especially considering two of the books carry the G.I. Joe title. One series is G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero penned by Mr. G.I. Joe himself, Larry Hama. This series picks up where the original Marvel run ended. The other timeline is comprised of G.I. Joe, Cobra, and Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow. To further help readers, read the latter grouping. The story and art outdo the former. But I have hope Hama’s book will pick back up.

Mike Costa, Antonio Fuso, Werther Dell’Edera, and Arianna Florean are guiding the Cobra title which sees Flint leading a small team of Joes tasked with taking down Cobra from an intelligence angle. Flint’s team consists of Lady Jaye, Chameleon, Firewall, Clockspring, and Ronin. An interesting note is that this team is primarily female. Their base of operations: a Las Vegas casino. That’s classic right there. I like it. It’s unexpected and Costa makes it work.

In this issue, the Joes learn more about the former Cobra Commander’s son from Tomax. The remaining half of the Crimson Guard Twins (two of my favorite characters in the Joeverse; long list) is no longer a part of the Cobra Command Structure due to their recent shake-ups in leadership. Flint doesn’t really trust Tomax (rightfully so) and readers will see he has another source for information. This second character is another unemployed former Cobra operative.

The Joes make plans to catch up with the son of Cobra Commander. But they don’t know who else is heading towards that same target. A fan-favorite Cobra operative makes an appearance. Here’s a character I haven’t seen in action in several years. And no, I won’t spoil it. Well only if you really want to know.

I like the direction of this book and look forward to the next issue. Costa’s strong writing shows well through his character interaction and the story as a whole. Visually, Fuso, Dell’Edera, and Florean, produced a book that’s not overly flashly, but it gets the job done. The coloring carries a flatter tone as well. These elements work well and give it that G.I. Joe look.

I like this series and Cobra #14 is definitely worth a read. The overall set-up on this side of the Joeverse is the Joes are still suffering from a recent loss at the hands of Cobra. As a result of that, their budget is cut and Hawk was relieved from duty. The new Cobra Commander and the organization as a whole are doing big things and it doesn’t appear is though they’ll be easily stopped.