This week, Beast Boy felt that he wasn’t receiving enough attention so he allowed Starfire to think she had murdered him and that he was now a ghost tied to her for the rest of her time on this mortal coil. Since Starfire is portrayed worse here than she is in The New 52, she believes him and does all of Beast Boy’s chores. The other Titans catch wind of this and try to punish Beast Boy by convincing him he really is dead with one of Raven’s intangibility spells. Beast Boy, who seriously has no moral compass here, decides that being a ghost is great and he can now go jump into a volcano like he always wanted to. The Titans follow him to prevent his actual death before the spell wears off, until they also horrifically die in the process. Cyborg gets killed by a mountain lion and Raven is killed by what Starfire describes as “just random lasers.” Their ghosts then tell Beast Boy not to jump into the volcano when he reveals he knew about the spell all along. Which would’ve been a good thing to say earlier, before his friends all died horrifically. Beast Boy also ends up dying and all the ghosts stand around the volcano laughing, stuck forever in their ethereal forms and unable to pass on to the next life. Because Beast Boy wanted some attention.

Well that wasn’t very heroic of anyone was it? Yeah, it’s played off for laughs but everyone dying horrifically due to Beast Boy craving attention. Of course, it is all played off for laughs but it’s really hard to laugh when everyone is so shallow as a character; especially Beast Boy who here has the same “Annoying Cool Character” archetype that most lazy kid’s shows have. Yes, an annoying character can be funny but if annoying is all they are it becomes hard to not want to turn off the TV. Especially when some of the jokes are just so flat and not even really there. Nearly every week each episode just feels rush, and this one is no exception.

Final Verdict: 3.2 – Pass.

Now thankfully, there was no second segment to this week’s Go! episode so we can take the time to talk about something else: this Saturday’s premiere of Avengers Assemble.

The trailer can be found online, as can the first full episode on iTunes and as of right now, it’s a pretty hard show to judge.  For one, it seems incredibly unlikely that it’ll be, as rumored, a continuation of Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.  That’s probably for the best if the trailer is any indication. Focusing on the movie’s six, as well as new point of view character The Falcon, this show takes most of it’s cues from the Joss Whedon’s film. Like the one part where Iron Man says “Oh yeah. We have a Hulk.” Remember? Like in the movie you paid 10 dollars to see. Now you can see the same lines said again but, instead of by Robert Downey Jr., by Adrian Pasdar from Heroes. Good.

Hopefully Avengers Assemble won’t try riding the film’s coattails for the entirety of its run. A few shout-outs to the movie are expected; the whole show was based on the premise that it would attract casual viewers who liked the movie. Thankfully we’ll know this Saturday when the one-hour premiere airs (or you could go on iTunes and get it for free. Your choice.)

Everyone loves Jonathan Hickman. He’s Marvel’s big heavyweight this summer with “Infinity,” his Image books are selling like hotcakes. Now, in addition to writing all your other favorite comics, he’s heading to Avatar to get his gruesome on with “God Is Dead.”

Announced at Bleeding Cool, the book is illustrated by Di Amorim and will run six issues starting in September with covers by Hickman. The book tells the story of “gods returning to modern day Earth and dealing with what’s been happening in their absence,” with man rebelling against them. It sounds rather Hickman-y already, so I’ll venture a guess that you’ll probably love this if you like all his other stuff.

And from Hickman in regards to the cover credits:

Sigh. I didn’t place the credits on the God is Dead covers. Equal billing will be on the final version LIKE EVERY OTHER BOOK I’VE EVER DONE.

— JonathanHickman (@JHickman) May 22, 2013

The book debuts in September. Get your pre-orders in early.

I’m curious about how far ahead the farthest-ahead planning is for Marvel events. If all current plans were to remain in place (which I’m sure is a big if), would you know stuff that’s scheduled to happen in, say, 2015?

~ Hal Phillips

Yes. If all goes as planned, our big storyline for 2015 will have a title that’s two words long, ten letters in total.

~ Tom Brevoort

So the big storyline for 2015 is fully in the works he says? As a hard hitting news organization, it’s our job to figure out what exactly that could be, and with the copious hints Brevoort dropped, we think we have exactly what they have planned already figured out. For this week’s Countdown, here are our 4 Color News and Brews team of David Harper and Brandon Burpee’s five best guesses as to what Marvel’s big show stopping 2015 storyline likely is (but seriously, these are not our best guesses, nor are they actually serious ideas).

5. Druid Quest

Creative team: Matt Fraction and Bill Sienkiewicz

What it’s all about: Scorched Earth. Seas running red with blood. Death and destruction. Nothing can compare to a world without HD television.

From the ashes of Chaos War, a forgotten man with wizardry skills and A/V abilities grows thirsty…FOR REVENGE. After the events of Age of Ultron and Infinity reveal none other than the thought dead Dr. Druid as the man behind everything – after all, we knew he was good with electronics, why couldn’t he control Ultron!! – the world gets darker than ever as Druid casts a spell to remove all HDMI cables from homes FOREVER.

Now, without the ability to watch Dog Cops in 1080p, the heroes that remain standing must strike out to find their former ally in the heart of darkness. Who lives? Who dies? Who gets to watch their blu rays in premium quality picture? Find out in this mega event that critics are saying “makes DC’s Flashpoint look like Watchmen.”

Nick Pitarra's rough cover to Maggott Now! #1 (not really)

4. Maggott Now!

Creative team: Brandon Burpee and Frank Quitely

What it’s all about: Following his resurrection during Necrosha the long dead Maggott has seemingly been abandoned by those he would call friends. The sting of indifference to his existence is not the only thing poor Japeth is feeling though. He also feels an insatiable HUNGER! It’s an appetite not quenched by mere Earth matter. To satisfy this hunger he heads into space unleashing his maggots Eany and Meany on the populations of entire planets. Traveling through space Maggott must find something to overcome this overbearing hunger and grapple with the moral dilemma of unleashing his powers on entire civilizations. Hot on the heels of Age of Ultron and Infinity there is a new devourer of worlds and this one not only has a chip on his shoulder, he also has two maggots that act as his digestive system on his shoulders as well! Can anyone stop him?! Find out here in the winter event of the millennium! Yes, the millennium!

The New Avengers, Pre Re-Assignment

3. Equality Up!

Creative team: The Architects and Joe Quesada

What it’s all about: Following Infinity and the Age of Ultron we promised that the Marvel Universe would never ever be the same again! Well now it’s time to find out just how different! Fans have demanded more equality in their comics and in a world where characters have switched race, sex and gender numerous times the time is now for a shuffle of the deck. In an unprecedented move, we’re using advanced computer systems to randomly assign a race, sex, sexual preference, religion, political leaning, education level, nationality and favorite color to every single Marvel character. You asked for it! We promised it! Now it’s time to see what the all new and all remixed Marvel U will look like after! It’s time to Equality Up! The series that USA Today calls, “Confusing as all hell and incredibly insane”!

This is one small step for man, woman, transgender and one giant leap for political correctness! This will truly break the internet in half as message boards are caught in a logic loop of wanting to complain about the widespread changes but being too afraid to complain and come across as intolerant. Be careful what you wish for as it might just come true!

Gotta get dem clones!

2. Clones Saga

Creative team: EVERYONE IN THE MARVEL UNIVERSE!

What it’s all about: When Age of Ultron wraps, nothing will ever be the same, as the resurrected Hank Pym, now having been motivated to not create Ultron, instead begins cloning superhumans. When every single character in the entire Marvel universe is cloned, all hell breaks loose and lives are turned upside down. With two foil covered bookends – Clones Saga Alpha and Omega – written by the Architects and illustrated by a clone of Olivier Coipel starting and concluding the event, the rest of the story takes place in one month with each title getting clone books, doubling the amount of releases in the month.

That’s right: we’re talking quadruple shipping.

How will the heroes survive sort things out? What can Pym do to survive a vengeful Wolverine who has an even more confusing origin now? What does the Hypno Hustler have to do with everything? Find out in May of 2015, in an event that fans are already calling “the most expensive anything ever” and “a situation that literally asks me to eat or read comics.”

1. Amalgam Two

Creative team: Many creators, but fronted by Brian Michael Bendis, Geoff Johns and the Kubert Brothers

What it’s all about: Dark Claw. Iron Lantern. Super Soldier. Whatever happened to the Amalgam Universe, and what happens when the space-time continuum is torn asunder when Angela kills Galactus with her Infinity Brass Knuckles? The answers to both are tied to one another, as all of your favorites from the vaunted event return, spilling into both the Marvel and DC universes. Each issue comes with 52 variants, ranging from foil, gatefold and hologram covers, and combinations of all three. There’s even a 1:5000 variant that replicates itself every time you say the word “disaster.” Don’t miss a single issue of this 27 part maxi series told over 3 weeks.

Welcome back to another installment of Multiversity Comics’ Art Of The Week! You all know the deal by now, I don’t need to tell you what’s going on here. I mean, come on, it’s in the title. This week, I wanted to showcase this Wonder Woman piece Jordan Gibson posted to his tumblr where he talked about designing a Wonder Woman comic aimed at young girls. I don’t know about any of you, but I think this is definitely something that should.

I also wanted to highlight this comic Jake Wyatt posted to his tumblr which was too long to post in full here, but is definitely something to check out.

With all that out of the way, you can check out the rest of this week’s art down that way.

Adventure Time by Dustin Nguyen

The Office by Ramon Villalobos

Swamp Thing by Michael Walsh

Blueberry by Morgan Jeske

Little Hellboy by Skottie Young

Cameron Stewart

The Thing by Doc Shaner

Wonder Woman by Peter Nguyen

Khan Noonien Singh by Ming Doyle

Mother of Dragons by Mahmud Asrar

Spider-Man Redesign by Valerio Schiti

Red Sun Trinity by Eric Canete, Dave Johnson and Andrew C. Robinson

The Darkness by Dexter Soy

Death by Terry Dodson

Coming in September of this year, Cosby and Eliopoulos continue Boyd’s quest to round up all the people who led him wrong in his tremendously young life in “Cow Boy: Unconquerable.” Namely, his family. It’s sure to be filled with laughs, poignant character moments, and apparently a great loss in Boyd’s life if the cover is to believed. I couldn’t recommend this book more. It’s wonderful for all-ages, but don’t let that scare you away, o tough comic reader: this is just a damn fine comic book. More on it later I’m sure, but this is a great way to start my day.

Peek on below for the top ten picks of Image books based only on solicits for August 2013.

10. Joe’s Comics Launches Second Book

Continuing on the heels of “Ten Grand” and the return of Joe’s Comics, August sees the launch of a new book from J. Michael Straczysnki entitled “The Sidekick,” featuring Tom Mandrake and Brian Miller on art. It tells the story of what appears to be Batman/Superman and Robin analogues, except that the main one gets assassinated. The sidekick, Flyboy, devolves into a twisted world of darkness as his world subsequently crumbles.

I’ll admit – I’m a little less intrigued by this than I was “Ten Grand,” which probably isn’t that surprising. Still, It’s Straczynski, and when he’s not writing “Before Watchmen” comics he’s usually putting out rather thoughtful little gems. “Midnight Nation” is still a favorite of mine. I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least give this a tiny peek.

THE SIDEKICK #1 – GEM OF THE MONTH
story J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
art / cover A TOM MANDRAKE & BRIAN MILLER
cover B CHARLIE ADLARD
AUGUST 14
32 PAGES / FC / M
$2.99
WITNESS A MODERN HERO’S FALL FROM GRACE!
The Cowl and Flyboy: renowned superhero and sidekick despite dopey names. They were famous, popular, and happy until the Cowl’s assassination. Now, no one takes Flyboy seriously. Follow his trajectory from barely tolerated hero to figure of ridicule, and witness his slow descent into madness, darkness and crime.

9. New from Sina Grace – The “Born to Lose” Trilogy

From the guy who brought you “Li’l Depressed Boy” and “Not My Bag” comes a side-scroller tribute comic “Burn the Orphanage: Born To Lose.” Coming in at 40 pages and part one of a three part series, the book brings together Sina Grace and Daniel Freedman and your wallet for some good old fashioned kung-fu fun. From what little I’ve seen of this series in previews, it reminds me of what I liked about old “Power Man and Iron Fist” and “Masters of Kung Fu” comics, and that’s a good thing.

Of course, I’ll note that I’m confused as to whether the trilogy is the three issues of the series, or if this story is the first serialized portion of an overall trilogy. It doesn’t really matter, though; I’m buying it regardless. I mean, come on — “topless stripper ninja.” What more do you want …?

BURN THE ORPHANAGE: BORN TO LOSE #1 (of 3)
story DANIEL FREEDMAN & SINA GRACE
art / cover SINA GRACE
JULY 3
40 PAGES / FC / T+ TEEN PLUS
$3.99
A young orphan named Rock was left for dead, now he’s out for revenge! With partners Lex and Bear by his side, our hero will find out who burned his home and family to the ground. If that means taking on every goon, punk, and topless stripper ninja in the city… then so be it.
PART ONE OF THE BORN TO LOSE TRILOGY!

8. The Return of Haunt

When it was coming out, I wasn’t shy about asserting how great I thought “Haunt” was by Joe Casey and Nate Fox and Robbi Rodriguez. And then it ended because McFarlane was apparently not satisfied with the direction the book was going in, and I was very sad;  randomly, at the end of issue #28, everything just blew up and ended, with McFarlane noting that he’d bring back Haunt in the pages of “Spawn” when the time was right.

That time is apparently now.

The question is: what does Haunt being re-tooled mean, and will the character still be worthwhile? Casey and Fox did wonders on that book. I’ll be interested to see what it is that is replacing that.

SPAWN #234
story TODD MCFARLANE
art SZYMON KUDRANSKI
cover TODD MCFARLANE
AUGUST 7
32 PAGES / FC / T+
$2.99
The violent, soul-shattering struggle between Jim Downing and the increasingly powerful K7-Leetha threatens to overwhelm the world’s new savior. Whoever wins – Jim or the symbiote – will change the world.

7. “Nowhere Men” Goes to Emitown

In a surprising solicit that hasn’t seemingly been discussed too many places, it looks like Emi Lenox of “Emitown” has her name popping up in the solicit for August’s issue of “Nowhere Men.” What this could mean I have no idea, but I’m very excited. In fact, now that I think about it, I kind of remember Stephenson mentioning something off-hand to us at a con about working on something with Emi; I’d assume that this is potentially it.

Given the solicit, I can’t help but wonder if this issue might be a character-based one-off like we often times get, focusing on Monica Strange with art by Emi.

Only time will tell, but we’ll certainly be buying it.

NOWHERE MEN #7
story ERIC STEPHENSON
art NATE BELLEGARDE, EMI LENOX & JORDIE BELLAIRE
cover NATE BELLEGARDE & FONOGRAFIKS
AUGUST 28
32 PAGES / COLOR / T+
$2.99
Meet Monica Strange.

6. Get To Know An Artist: Johnnie Christmas

We’ve shown you a peek inside the book, but “Sheltered” continues its launch into our world in August with a beautiful second cover by newcomer Johnnie Christmas. You all probably know Ed Brisson by now (or The Bri$$, as he likes to be called), but you may be unfamiliar with Christmas, which is a shame. An incredibly talented artist, Christmas sells the book’s premise in ways you can’t even begin to comprehend yet (specifically because you haven’t had the chance to read it, obviously); his art effectively exudes the cool chill of the icy north out of the pages and into your bones, and his characters are full of life — except when they are rather painfully not anymore.

You should get to know his art. You’re going to want to be seeing much more of him this time next year.

I met Johnnie at Emerald City this year and as good as his art is, his personality is even better. I only mention this because when Johnnie starts drawing horrible, twisted things in this book, you should forgive him.

SHELTERED #2
story ED BRISSON
art / cover JOHNNIE CHRISTMAS
AUGUST 7
32 PAGES / FC / T+
$2.99
With their parents’ blood on their hands, the youth of Safe Haven begin to splinter as doubt is cast on Lucas’s leadership. New arrival Victoria finds that escaping from a compound built to keep others out is near-impossible.

5. Sex Sells

While you may initially think I’m going to tell you about Joe Casey and Piotr Kowalski’s “Sex” here, I’m actually going to point you in the direction of the second “Satellite Sam” solicit, featuring a cover that can only be described as classic Chakyin. The book was always solicited to have a “Black Kiss”-era Chaykin feel (maybe not so much in the explicit area… or maybe yes?) and this cover is pretty much the epitome of that.

I have very mixed feelings on “Satellite Sam” at the moment, but something tells me we’re all going to like it.

SATELLITE SAM #2
story MATT FRACTION
art / cover HOWARD CHAYKIN
AUGUST 7
32 PAGES / BW / M
$3.50
SEX • DEATH • LIVE TV!
NEW YORK CITY, 1951: Mike buries his father and Ginsburg buries the lede making his sales pitch. Will TV be an East Coast or West Coast medium? And in a pile of filthy photographs Mike finds one image that is really and truly shocking.

(The “Sex” #6 cover is obviously supposed to be pretty titillating as well.)

4. The Return of Everyone’s Favorite Comic

A while back, the delay between “Saga” #6 and #7 caused a wee bit of controversy when Image said they wouldn’t be doing any more second prints for the sold-out issues of one of their biggest series. Retailers complained, noting that the delay between issues — trade or no trade — didn’t help and Image recanted, saying that reprints would then happen. Second printings of #7 and #8 were produced for fans who hopped over from trade and were a bit late to the party, though no subsequent issues received any second prints.

But, screw that. Why wait? Get your “Saga” on now while it’s hot! And when “Saga” returns in August, especially after the finale of issue #12 (in all of its Inglourious Basterd-y gloury), you’re going to want to make the jump to singles if you haven’t already.

SAGA #13
story BRIAN K. VAUGHAN
art / cover  FIONA STAPLES
AUGUST 14
32 PAGES / FC / M
$2.99
THE SMASH-HIT, CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED SERIES RETURNS!
Now that you’ve read the first two bestselling collections of SAGA, you’re all caught up and ready to jump on the ongoing train with Chapter Thirteen, beginning an all-new monthly sci-fi/fantasy adventure, as Hazel and her parents head to the planet Quietus in search of cult romance novelist D. Oswald Heist.

3. That’s Not All, Folks!

So apparently August’s issue of “Chew” is going to harken back to the issue right before something major, awful and terrible happened. (If you don’t know what that is, don’t give a second glance at the above cover.) But it’s going to tell something in between… Hmm.

My guess? Something is going to happen in #35 that needs explanation of an event that we didn’t see happen, and #36 is going to give us that. What do you think?

CHEW #36
story JOHN LAYMAN
art / cover ROB GUILLORY
AUGUST 14
32 PAGES / FC / M
$2.99
CHEW #36 is CHEW #29½ . Did that just blow your mind?

2. Listen (Oo-aa-oo), Do You Want To Know a Secret?

Oh, hey, remember when Hickman had a book with Ryan “Red Mass for Mars” Bodenheim coming out called “Secret,” but it only released two issues? That made us all a bit sad. Here’s something to make you less sad, though: “Secret” is coming back, Hickman, Bodenheim and all! You might want to go dig out your copies of the first two issues in between re-reads of “Manhattan Projects” and “East of West” there.

SECRET #3 (RES)
story JONATHAN HICKMAN
art RYAN BODENHEIM & MICHAEL GARLAND
AUGUST 7
32 PAGES / FC / T+
$3.50
“THE SYSTEM”
Things begin to unravel as we learn the identity of who Steadfast is working for. Billions and billions of bits of data floating through the air screaming to anyone who will listen: FOLLOW THE MONEY.

1. lol

Best. Solicit. And cover. Hands down. Period.

All hail the Zub/Huang perfection.

SKULLKICKERS #24
story RON MARZ, ADAM WARREN, TODD DEZAGO, JIM ZUB
art LEE MODER, TOM RANEY, STJEPAN SEJIC, EDWIN HUANG
cover EDWIN HUANG & JIM ZUB
AUGUST 14
32 PAGES / FC / T
$3.50
BEFORE SKULLKICKERS
A return to our classic legacy numbering just in time for a new set of Tavern Tales! Four short stories by top flight talent detailing the earlier adventures of our heroes.

That’s all from us for today! For the full solicits that we have not shown you due to not having the gusto to do a full set of commentary, be sure to check out CBR (Resource is part of their name for a reason).

Puzzle Piece #1: The Supposed End of the Ultimate Universe - Posted on Bleeding Cool (of course) after the Marvel Summit, we had the rumor that a big Avengers vs Ultimates mini was coming that would hail the end of the Ultimate Universe. It wouldn’t be particularly surprising if the Ultimate line ended; it has been a shadow of itself for better or worse for some time, with “Ultimate Spider-Man” being the only rock in a rough storm.

If Marvel did something to end it, I doubt many people would be shocked (although losing Miles would probably cause some ruckus. I know I’d complain.)

Puzzle Piece #2: Sam Humphries Leaves “Ultimates,” Fialkov Disassembles - With the latest “Ultimate” launch, Jonathan Hickman was at the helm of the series and he tore the world apart. Sam Humphries co-wrote the book with him for a bit before taking over, leading to the dismantling of the Ultimate United States of America even further. Humphries’ run then ended with this month’s #24, and Josh Fialkov takes over next month with issue #25.

Fialkov’s first order of business? “Ultimate Avengers: Disassembled.” Hulk gets the Infinity Gauntlet. Bad things happen.

Given the amount of Thanos-pushing that Marvel is doing with “Infinity” and “Thanos Rising”, it seems miiiiiighty convenient that his main toy of choice happens to finally form in the Ultimate U, even if a) Thanos has appeared before in “Ultimate Fantastic Four” and b) Humphries was seeding the gems into the book for a while. But, to be fair, Humphries “Ultimates” at times seemed like a reflection of the popularity of Avengers, and that the Avengers ostensibly had the mind gem in the movie it’s not a big surprise that the Ultimate U would head in that direction as the inspiration for a lot of the action of that movie (Jackson’s Fury, Chitauri, etc).

Puzzle Piece #3: “Age of Ultron”, Angela and Multiple Realities - While “Age of Ultron” is raging on, we’ve seen that our heroes have ended up in a distorted version of their reality based on changing the past. While we don’t know the ending fully, we do know one thing: Angela shows up — and that, for all intents and purposes, seems a grand impossibility of “Marvel Universe/Continuity Logic” (all in quotes because, well, come on).

Of course, Angela is a character from “Spawn” and not actually a resident of the Marvel 616 by any means, so something has to happen to get her into the Marvel U — say, some kind of breakdown of walls that keep universes apart. And if one universal wall can breakdown, especially in terms of a wall separating two universes that have NEVER touched before, certainly another wall of universes that HAVE touched before could equally breakdown.

And, hey, didn’t we totally say that it looked like “Age of Ultron” was bringing some kind of Ultimate clash back in February, in the same general time period of Bleeding Cool’s Avengers v Ultimates rumor? Hey, we did! We were wrong about who that Wolverine was, but I’d wager we’re still on the right path.

Puzzle Piece #4: HUNGER U.C. - Last but certainly not least, we have the mysterious “Hunger” tease. Originally solicited as “Age of Ultron #10 U.C.”, we assumed it was something Galactus related — but as this month’s solicits have revealed, this book is actually:

HUNGER #2 (of 4)
JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV (W) • LEONARD KIRK (A)
Cover by ADI GRANOV
• The fallout from AGE OF ULTRON rips open a dangerous rift in the universe!
• Prepare for a hunger so strong, that no universe is safe.
• Is this the beginning of the end?
• All the details will be revealed when Age of Ultron #10 hits stands everywhere!
• PREVIOUSLY SOLICITED UNDER THE CLASSIFIED NAME OF AGE OF ULTRON #10 UC
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

And look at that. The writer of “Ultimates” is writing “Hunger,” a 4-issue mini whose solicit is tucked away nice and neat next to the three other Ultimate minis. And, hey, doesn’t Marvel have a history of publishing three “Ultimate” ongoings and one “Ultimate” 4-issue mini? They do?

And, just for posterity, do you think that “Age of Ultron #10 U.C.” could stand for “Age of Ultron #10 Epilogue Set In The Ultimate Comics Universe”? You do?

Ok then.

Here’s the guess for the completed puzzle:

• “Age of Ultron” breaks down some kind of universal wall between the 616 and the Ultimate world
• The Avengers and the Ultimates clash
• Something about the 616 Galactus probably wanting to eat the Ultimate Universe (as opposed the the Gah Lak Tus Swarm thing) to fit the “Hunger” stuff, because Marvel loves cosmic right now
• Maybe something about Angela too, because why not?
• Marvel is able to destroy/rebuild the Ultimate Universe a bit

All of which results in all new #1s coming your way later this year/early next year for Ultimate Universe v4.0! Ultimate Marvel NOW!

Who wants to take that bet?

Today brings the arrival of “Subatomic Party Girls” from writers Chad Bowers and Chris Sims and artist Erica Henderson, and this Monkeybrain Comics release is a 12-page whirlwind of a good time, with stellar art and engaging characters driving the action. Not only that, but it’s led by an all-female power pop trio, and for those looking for quality girl characters in comics, here’s a good option for you.

Oh, and Bowers is a Multiversity writer, and I couldn’t be happier for him to have his book getting a noted release from one of the coolest publishers around.

To get people pumped about “SPG,” I talk to Bowers about the creative team, where idea came from, why Monkeybrain is such a great publisher, his plans for Destro and much more. Check it out, and people, read this book! It’s 99 cents and it is straight up fun.

A page from Subatomic Party Girls #1

Chad: Chris and I started working on an entirely different Monkeybrain project about a year ago (with Awesome Hospital’s Matt Digges, which we’ve yet to announce), and Subatomic Party Girls grew out of those plotting sessions and kind of just came to life. We’ve wanted to do something kind of big and space-y with an ensemble cast since we wrote Awesome Hospital: Forever, and I’d written the title Subatomic Party Girls down years ago with a sort of ersatz Josie and the Pussycats thing in mind, so it was only a matter of time, I guess. Because that’s how I roll, David… notebooks, and notebooks of stupid puns just laying around the house.

So what exactly is this gig all about? What is Subatomic Party Girls?

Chad: Subatomic Party Girls is the story of the tragic, career-ending space accident that tosses the three members of Beryllium Steel — the most popular band on Earth — across the cosmos and into a galaxy that knows almost nothing about rock n’ roll, and even less about Earth. And yes, you heard that right — they’ve heard of rock n’ roll, but not Earth. How’s that possible, you ask? Well, David, let’s just say that all things are possible through Bob and leave it at that for now.

But our story’s more or less about the girls trying to get back to Earth, the trouble they get into along the way, and what they find out about each other during the weirdest road tour in the history of rock ‘n roll.

A page from Subatomic Party Girls #1

Chad: The keytar’s all me, bro. Everything else is Chris.

No, but we’ve talked about this a lot lately, and the way we work varies depending on the project. Although usually, I’ll bring an idea to the table I think we can do something with, and from there, we start looking at plot and format and all that stuff, and just generally start shaping it into something we’re happy with and that somebody else might want to read. Then comes the scripting, and typically I’ll start by writing two or three pages before I pass it off to Chris, who’s much faster than I am and sends back the next six or seven pages. But we edit each other and argue so much throughout the scripting stage, the book’s been rewritten at least three times before we send it off to an artist.

Speaking of artists, lets talk Erica Henderson. For most, she’s a newcomer, but she’s done some work around the industry and she’s a pitch perfect fit for the story. How’d the two of you lock her in to be your partner in crime on this adventure, and why do you think she’s the ideal artistic partner for you guys?

Chad: We’d been talking about doing something with Erica for a while, and when everything opened up for us to do Subatomic Party Girls, we thought “now’s our chance!” So Chris talked to her about it and thankfully, she really dug the story and things clicked into place for her schedule wise, and here we are. And yeah, she’s amazing — better than we could have ever imagined. And with every week and every new set of pages, she just reminds us that she’s the star of this book. Chris and Chad who? Oh my god, wait until you see the second issue.

One of the things we talked about early on were the complexities of doing a comic about a band and not being able to convey sound, and maybe doubly so with a band in outer space where there’s LITERALLY no sound. But it’s like Erica didn’t have time for that, and just fell right in and solved the problem by just doing what she does best. From those first pages forward, I dare you to look at those three girls and not hear some kind of music.

On top of that, we throw all this insane space stuff at her, and she throws it right back in our faces like “what else you got?” There’s all these little things we put in there as throwaway details and sight gags that we’re now keeping and expanding on because she went and made everything look so damn cool.

Oh and those boots, and all the colors, and…no kidding, it’s like I said before, she’s the star of Subatomic Party Girls.

A page from Subatomic Party Girls #1

Chad: I think what Chris and I do fits really well with Monkeybrain’s sensibilities and goals for comics. Everything we’ve done so far has been digital, and that’s kind of where our home is and where I genuinely think people expect to see us. And frankly, nobody’s doing digital comics like Monkeybrain. They’re the first truly viable digital-only comics company, and with such talented people and titles coming out of there, hell, it was exciting enough to watch it expand, but now, to be a part of it in some modest way, it’s just kind of astonishing.

Honestly, it’s still hard for me to ask people to spend money on my comics. Not because I don’t think I’m worth it or anything, but most times, I’m just so thrilled to be doing comics, so for them to actually buy a book I’ve worked on, it’s a big deal for me. So that was really attractive for me, personally, I think… being able to set our own price and develop our own format, and not have that dictated to us by some arbitrary, 50 year old technical spec or print requirement. Having the freedom to make a comic that’s 10 pages for .10¢ or to do something larger or odd format just opens the door for a lot more creative freedom and ingenuity without having to worry about 20th Century collector problems, like “is it going to fit in my longbox?” Don’t get me wrong, I love print comics, and we’re by no means reinventing the digital wheel with Subatomic Party Girls, but you can’t help but kind of feel that pioneering spirit when you’re doing something at Monkeybrain, and it’s inspiring as a creator to be right in the middle of it all.

I know you’re a guy with a long history of reading comics, with diverse taste ranging from things like Transformers and G.I. Joe to more adult fare like Judge Dredd. That said, what do you find to be the types of comics you most want to write yourself, rather than just read?

Chad: That’s a good question. I’d say that the more unusual the premise, the more I’m interested. Giant, transforming alien robots who’re millions of years old, some of whom are space dinosaurs and dump trucks? Sold!

At the moment, I don’t have an interest in doing slice of life comics, or for that matter, anything that’s set in a cold, hard, real world setting. It’s some of my favorite stuff to read, but it just doesn’t hold much interest for me as a writer, I guess. I’ve tried to write crime stuff before, but… well, for instance – and people will eventually get to read it (I hope) — but Down Set Fight’s kind of deceptive, because on the surface, it’s definitely the most real world thing Chris and I have written. But even there, it still has guys in dumb clothes kicking each other through walls and dealing with things in ways nobody that can die ever would. The absurd has a way of finding its way into everything we do, so I just embrace and celebrate it these days, and hopefully folks find it at least half as fun as we do.

Let’s say you finally get the chance to work on any character or book with any artistic partner. NAME IT. What is it Chad Bowers? Tell me what it would be, and get as in-depth or weird as possible.

Chad: Man, like everybody, I’ve got tons of ideas and pitches, and little bits of this and that all over the place, and it’d be a dream to get to do all of it someday, and this question opens the door to me rambling, so I’ll limit myself to two or three of my favorites. More than anything, I would love to work on Superman because he’s the best. Nothing too serious, or topical, or creepy. Just good, solid fun comics with Superman doing stuff that we all want to see Superman do, like judging cosmic pie eating contests, and wrestling future versions of himself for charity. Superman had almost two decades of publication history where he rarely threw a punch, and I think it’s time to get back to some of that. And yeah, let’s have Clayton Henry draw that.

G.I. Joe would be a lot of fun, obviously. #2 on the dream job list. IDW, if you’re reading this, I’ve got an amazing Destro: Year One pitch whenever you’re ready! I bet it wouldn’t be too hard to get Scott Kowalchuk to draw up some plans on that one.

I’d love to do something with Death’s Head, but the real Death’s Head… none of that Minion bull****. I’ve got this Death’s Head / Deadpool mini-series that would just be insane. It’s got the Time Variance Authority hiring Deadpool to erase all traces of licensed characters published by Marvel over the years. So Deadpool’s taking out Doctor Who, Crystar, Godzilla, with it all leading up to him going after the Transformers, forcing Death’s Head to step in because of his connection to the Transformers, and would be wiped out too. Who wouldn’t read Deadpool: Licensed to Kill, David Harper?! But that’s a comic I could never do because of all the licensors involved. That’s how I do it. Chad’s rule to success: come up with a killer story that nobody will ever let you do!

What else is coming down the path for you? I know there’s Down Set Fight with Chris and artist Scott Kowalchuk, but anything else on the horizon for you?

Chad: We’ve got several things in the works. There’s the book with Matt Digges that I mentioned, and I’m really excited for that and can’t wait to start talking about it. It’s the most superhero-like thing we’ve ever done, and at the same time, the most personal. We’re looking to announce it sometime later this year.

I’m in the very early stages of putting something together with JoJo Seames, who worked on Monster Plus with me. It’s called “Man Down” and if I can get the story where I want it, it should be awesome, and terrifying, and one of the most visually stunning projects I’ve worked on.

And there’s more stuff behind that, but Subatomic Party Girls is front and center at the moment.

Here’s your soapbox Chad. Why should people check out this book today? What makes Subatomic Party Girls something that people should pay attention to?

Chad: It’s our goal to be the first digital comic to sellout at Comixology. The first issue’s only .99¢, so there’s your reason to buy it right there. If you don’t like it, then you’re out a buck. But if you love it (and you will), then you get one super deal AND your new favorite ongoing series! Heck, Erica’s pages alone are worth twice the cover price, so think of it as getting me and Chris for free!

More than anything, though, it’s just a good comic, and hopefully right at home with other Monkeybrain books, like Wander, Knuckleheads, Bandette, and Amelia Cole. If you enjoy those comics, we’re pretty confident you’ll like ours too. I’m just really proud of this first issue and the issues to come, but to continue a dumb music metaphor I’ve been using all day, this is a strong track one and you’ll be sorry if you skip it.

New Lobster Johnson? That’s good!

It isn’t drawn by Tonci Zonjic. That’s bad!

It is drawn by Kevin Nowlan. That’s good!

It has less of a pulp feel than normal. That’s bad!

It has a sci-fi feel to it. That’s good!

Oh, just read our review already.

Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Illustrated by Kevin Nowlan

The artist of Hellboy: Buster Oakley Gets His Wish returns for two-gun vengeance!

Someone is killing off skid row bums and dumping their corpses. The only one who can deliver justice is Hellboy’s favorite gun-blazing vigilante.

Brian: After a seemingly endless run of LoJo stories about a year or so ago, we’ve had to wait for this most recent one-shot. And, partly because of the wait, it was a pretty fun flip through a classic literary trope. What did you think, David?

David: You’re a way bigger LoJo guy than me, as he reads a lot more style than substance to me quite often, but this was a really nice book. I did have one minor problem – Mr. Podell immediately running from the police instead of trying to explain away the body in his place when he had a perfectly fine (and do I mean fine) alibi right next to him – with it, but overall, it was a fun, quick read, with really, really stellar art by Kevin Nowlan. In fact, like with most LoJo stories, the art was the highlight for me. What was the highlight for you?

Brian: Well, before I say my highlight, let me say this: I think I’ve discovered something about LoJo stories that make them fun, but also a tad bit frustrating. His stories appear to be period pieces that paint themselves into a corner, and once they’re in that corner, Lobster Johnson arrives.

Like, this is a “what if someone tried to play Dr. Frankenstein in the ’30s?” story and, when that becomes problematic, the Claw of Justice shows up! I think you could, realistically, make any story from this time period into a LoJo one with relative ease. He’s the crustacean ex machina.

This is a boon to the character, because it makes him a Zelig-type, jumping from story to story with ease. But it can also be a bit frustrating, as the character is often times the least developed or interesting thing that happens in each issue.

Does that make any sense at all?

David: Oh, absolutely. I call that the X-O Manowar Corollary. Lobster Johnson is bar none the least developed part of his own comics, but unlike the aforementioned X-O, that’s by design. I don’t think they have any interest in developing him as a character. They’re trying to accomplish with us what LoJo has done with the criminal underworld – the idea of him is every bit as frightful/remarkable as him in actuality. So yeah, I agree, but I do think it’s by design.

In most ways, it works, but at the same time it sort of gives each story a bit of formula like you said. Like every story we get from him is LoJo mad libs to a certain degree. I’m not saying this necessarily makes this book bad – because it doesn’t – but it certainly puts a cap on how good his books can ever truly be in my opinion.

Brian: Exactly – these are the comfort foods of the Mignolaverse, and while they may offer no real surprises, they do offer some fantastic art and fun sequences.

I am a huge fan of all things “Frankenstein,” and so the basic plot of this one-shot really hit home for me, and was my highlight. I think the regrowing or organs/reanimating life is still somehow a rich vein to tap into.

You mentioned the artwork – what about it worked so well for you?

David: Everything. Kevin Nowlan is an exceptional artist, from characterization to storytelling. He reminds me a lot of Eric Powell (although the influence likely is in the opposite direction), but based much more in reality. The way he tells a story gives it a fierce realism to a highly unreal storyline (even though you could sort of see things like this happening), and it gives the story a lot more weight than it would in other artist’s hands. I know you might find this blasphemous, but as much as I love Tonci Zonjic, this story HAD to be Kevin Nowlan.

He’s a brilliant artist, and I hope we see more from him in the LoJo world. What did you think of his work?

Brian: Well, I know who isn’t getting their “#1 Fan of Tonci Zonjic” newsletter this year!

I kid, but I sort of agree. Nowlan’s work is exceptional on just about all fronts, and his tone is a nice change from the usual. His LoJo felt more like a star from a film serial than from a pulp novel, if that distinction makes any sense. It was full of action, was visually fun to look at, and had just enough creepy to go around. I dug it.

David: Yeah, and Tonci I think is better in more atmospheric, pulp type stories, while this was very based in reality except it has elements of supernatural. I just think that’s a perfect fit for Nowlan, and I love his work generally. This was an exceptionally well drawn book.

The last thing I was curious about is whether or not you caught anything in here that may have overarching ties. I personally didn’t, but you never know how they might sneak something in here. Feel like it’s a strict one and done, or do you think there’s hidden depth here?

Brian: My only thought was that maybe some of this technology has been appropriated by various baddies in the current world of “B.P.R.D.” to create super-soldiers and/or help bring back folks from the dead. I’m no Mark Tweedale, so I can’t recall if that has been a plot point thus far, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it pop up in the future.

David: Yeah, that was the only part for me too. I racked my brain trying to think of what could benefit from what they were doing there – as they love making things covertly purposeful – but short of making Panya walk again (which isn’t really that beneficial), I had nothing.

Anything else to add before we grade this bad boy?

Brian: Not particularly. A solid, enjoyable LoJo. I give it an 8.

David: Agreed. 8 it is. Honestly, due to the nature of the book, that feels like the cap for me. That’s not bad, really, but it’s destiny is an enjoyable read that I don’t clamor for. A good spot to be in, but it just never feels like a true comic book champion for me.

Brian: Again, as we’ve said before, grading Mignolaverse works is rough, because the floor is so high. Even a sub-par Mignola book is a 6 for just about any other creator. That said, because we also know how great Mignolaverse works can be, it is hard to go much higher than an 8. We’re dealing with a very different rubric here and that can make things tricky.

David: My only addition to that is I think there is a fundamental cap on LoJo as far as being invested is concerned. It’s by design, like I said earlier, but an 8 is about as much as I feel like I am capable of enjoying these stories. This was, for all intents and purposes, a great LoJo issue, but it is what it is. I think GREAT Hellboy or B.P.R.D. work on a full spectrum, up to a 10, but LoJo isn’t that kind of book. It’s just a good time. An entertaining read. That is a great thing, but it never tries to be more than that.

Final Verdict: 8.0 – Buy

After three trailers firmly focused of the man in question from Zach Snyder’s Man Of Steel, we’re finally getting a look at that other part. What’s funny about this trailer to me is that even though Christopher Nolan only has a story and producer credit for this film, Zod really feels like a villain from his Dark Knight trilogy. Zod’s ‘You Are Not Alone’ message feels like Joker’s videotapes in The Dark Knight except, you know, they were sent from space.

Either way, despite the fact I can’t bring myself to be objective about this film, there are definitely some things to be on the lookout for in this trailer:

1. Heat vision! There are two distinct scenes here that show first Zod and then Superman himself using heat vision and it really looks a lot more destructive than it has in the past.
2. War Of The Worlds? With each trailer we’ve gotten better glimpses at some kind of giant tri-pod… thing. I’m inclined to say it has something to do with Zod, but it’s anyone’s guess at this point.
3. Metropolis is getting owned! Remember the super battle from Superman II where the extent of the destruction was some cars getting tossed over? Yeah, we’re getting a whole new level super battle here as we see buildings collapsing and jet fighters flying into buildings.
4. Faora talks? This is, I think, the first time we’ve really seen Faora in the trailers, played by Antje Traue. Faora seems to be something of a right-hand-woman to Zod in the way Ursa was in the Richard Donner films.
5. That’s… a lot of skulls. Some of you might remember when Greg Rucka talked about how he was worried about Man Of Steel‘s PG-13 rating. I agree with him for the most part in that a Superman film you can’t take your kids to is not a good Superman film, but I felt that simply being a PG-13 rated film doesn’t mean that. Until I saw a clip of Superman under a mountain of what looks like human skulls. That might just do it. We’ll see.

Unfortunately, I am far too invested in this film to think objectively about it at this point so if you need me, I’ll be crying over the trailer a lot.