Nextwave #1

Written by Warren Ellis
Pencilled by Stuart Immonen
Inked by Wade von Grawbadger
32 pages, color
Published by Marvel Comics

Every now and then, I buy something on little more than a whim. Something about it just catches my eye, and the next thing I know I’m pulling out my wallet and wondering if I’ll be excited or disappointed when I get home. In the case of Nextwave #1, soon after I got home I was calling the comic book store back up to make sure they knew exactly what they had on their hands.

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Runaways Vol. 1-3

Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Penciled by Adrian Alphona, with Takeshi Miyazawa
Inked by Craig Yeung and David Newbold
144 pages, color
Published by Marvel Comics

In 2003, a group of new titles debuted from Marvel under the promotional heading of “Tsunami”. It was an apt name, with the titles being unleashed on retailers and consumers alike as a massive wave, making it hard for many of the books to grab people’s attention in the sudden flood of new creations. Probably the most critically-successful book was Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona’s Runaways. With the entire 18-issue run now collected in three low-priced digest books, and a new Runaways series beginning next week, there’s no better time to take a look at these three collections.

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Alias Vol. 4: The Secret Origins of Jessica Jones

Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Michael Gaydos, Rick Mays, Mark Bagley, and Art Thibert
176 pages, color
Published by MAX/Marvel Comics

Alias was the first ongoing series in Marvel’s MAX Comics imprint, books intended for older readers. After 28 issues it came to an end, although a non-MAX version continues in the form of The Pulse. What’s interesting to me is not so much that creator Brian Michael Bendis chose to end the book, but in the manner he did so. Sometimes, you see, that fourth wall is there for a reason.

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New Mutants #1

Written by Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir
Penciled by Keron Grant
Inked by Rob Stull
32 pages, color
Published by Marvel Comics

It’s hard to believe that it was just over 20 years ago that Marvel first decided to create an X-Men spin-off in the form of The New Mutants. Starring five younger characters to be a second wave of mutants, the book originally starring Cannonball, Psyche, Karma, Sunspot, and Wolfsbane lasted for 100 issues (plus a handful of annuals and specials) before ending to make room for X-Force. With X-Force ending recently to make room for X-Statix, it’s almost fitting that we once more have a New Mutants ongoing series.

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