Doctor Who Fairest And Teen Dog Comics Collection For Sept 18 2014

Whoever says there’s such a thing as a slow comics week? Twice a month, we at The Escapist‘s Comics and Cosplay team put together a selection of the latest releases, and every time we find something new and exciting. Today has proven no different. Marla Desat looked at superheroes with Captain Marvel and Ms Marvel, the reimagined deity pantheon of The Wicked + The Divine, and the hilariously silly adventures of Teen Dog. Stew Shearer dug into Batman: Future’s End, the latest Nightcrawler and All-New X-Men issues, and the female Thor: God of Thunder. Even The Escapist‘s Ross Lincoln left his top secret Editor-Cave cave to provide his two cents on the latest Fairest collection. Meanwhile, I humbly submit Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor, Forever Evil, Leaving Megalopolis, The Multiversity: Society of Super-Heroes, and Superman/Wonder Woman for your reading pleasure. But before that, let’s take a look at: Ordinarily, a spinoff is never essential reading to fully understand the parent series. Fables, however, isn’t an ordinary comic series. Notable for an extremely complex and constantly changing story that doubles as an examination of literature and narrative, series-creator Bill Willingham has frequently used its spinoffs as what amounts to enormous supplemental material to further flesh things out. That’s not boring, mind you. Jack of Fables was a mostly hilarious picaresque about a sociopath than managed to explain just how the main characters of Fables even exist. And now with Fairest, the second (and still-ongoing) spinoff from Fables, Willingham (and the other writers working on the series) have created a complementary narrative to the soon-to-be-concluded parent comic that illuminates as much as it entertains. With Fairest‘s latest volume, Return of the Maharaja, we finally see the reemergence of a concept that hasn’t factored into the main plot since the shocking recovery of Snow White after her brains were blown out of her head nearly a decade ago: how a character’s popularity can potentially make them immortal. The Maharaja in question turns out to be Prince Charming, last seen seemingly killed off for real back in issue 75 of Fables. We meet him again when a girl called Nalayani (named for the character from the Mahābhārata, though not remotely similar to her namesake) seeks out his help dealing with supernatural creatures tormenting her village. Now firmly established as the ruler of an India-inspired fantasy world called “Indu”, Charming agrees to help Nalayani and embarks with her on a meandering quest that, true to the character’s roots, involves a lot of trying to get into her pants. Amid the attempted bedtime escapades, we learn just how Charming survived, reencounter the rebellious brothers of Bigby Wolf, and see even more of how the fallout from the destruction of Geppetto’s empire will have long-lasting, and frequently unpleasant side effects for the people left to pick up the pieces. It’s a trifle, at least when compared to the increasing dread of the parent series, but it’s also as charming – sorry – as the Maharaja himself, and it expands the reader’s understanding of the Fables-verse at the same time. If you haven’t yet checked Fairest out, you’re in luck: experience with the previous two volumes is not required for it to make sense, and it just might make Fables even better. Favorite Moment: The battle of wits with a giant talking crocodile. -Ross It’s a serviceable Doctor Who story, featuring an alien world, bizarre enemies, and even a tidy moral at the end. But there are also hints of issues yet to come; one villain even claims the Doctor defeated him previously, but Eleven has yet to meet him. (Isn’t time travel fun?) But mostly, this series is a boon to fans who weren’t ready for Matt Smith’s adventures to end. And that’s not all: Titan Comics is publishing an ongoing series about the Tenth Doctor as well. Be still, my beating heart. Favorite Moment: “But I am also doing special Time Lord meditational thinky stuff. Really!” -Marshall I don’t really read a lot of romance stories, but as far as it goes, Superman and Wonder Woman are fine as a couple. It’s actually kind of refreshing to give them an explicit partnership, as opposed to having her compete with Lois Lane for some reason. But as an action comic, Superman/Wonder Woman‘s first storyline works very well. Between well-paced fights with Doomsday and Zod, and even a hilariously brief fight with Apollo, Superman/Wonder Woman is proving to be a solid entry to the New 52. Also, if more romance stories ended with alien invasions and nuclear explosions, I’d probably end up reading more romances. Favorite Moment: “You hit me with… sunlight? You don’t know very much about me, do you?” -Marshall Leaving Megalopolis is a violent and gory comic book, even darker than Secret Six before it. But Megalopolis isn’t mindlessly dark; the finished story does a great job of balancing character development with the fantastic elements of its universe, using the civilian-vs-superhero underdog premise as a compelling hook. There’s also a surprising streak of humane optimism running underneath the surface, but to say more would be telling. Be sure to check out The Escapist‘s upcoming review for more details. Favorite Moment: “I am Overlord. And I come from the bones of the Earth. Runnn!” -Marshall Like The Multiversity #1, Conquerors of the Counter-World is filled with references to parallel worlds, but this story fully supports its own weight. The action is fast-paced, and will gleefully engage anyone who enjoys pulp-inspired tales. The issue still ends on a slight cliffhanger, presumably leading to a crossover with other Multiversity books. But it’s also a more satisfying read overall, and has me looking forward to upcoming universes even more. Favorite Moment: “Abracadabra.” “Hey, presto!” -Marshall Perhaps the best feature of Forever Evil is how well it humanizes several DC villains. This isn’t just bad guys pounding on other bad guys (although that happens a lot); characters like Captain Cold and Bizarro are complex enough to make them the heroes of the story. Lex Luthor in particular steals every page by being utterly ruthless and deeply sympathetic all at the same time. I gotta say, Luthor is a fantastic hero, which makes me all the more excited to check out his recent Justice League stories. That’s not to say Forever Evil is perfect. The story gets a little unfocused near the end as several climatic battles happen at once. Most of the Syndicate isn’t especially developed outside of its “Hey, look, an evil Justice League” novelty. But in the end, I’d say the positive elements of Forever Evil outweigh the bad. If you’re looking for an entry point into the New 52, this is a good collection to check out. Favorite Moment: “But he was my monster.” -Marshall Favorite Moment: “What did you do with Eisenhower?!” – Marla – Marla – Marla Favorite Moment: “I’m not afraid of who I am.” – Marla -Stew -Stew -Stew -Stew