InvestComics Comic Hot Picks 6-17-09

It’s an early release for one comic this week. Monday is the biggest Captain America issue since #25. It’s already sold out. If it’s not on your pull list, too bad for you.

Captain America #600
Has it been 575 issues since Steve Rogers departed? No it hasn’t, but it sort of fells like a long time doesn’t it? This is where Marvel comics super exceeds DC by leaps and bounds. DC kills characters almost every other week it seems and every other week someone comes back from the dead. Marvel has kept Steve Rogers, yes “The” Captain America dead for about 2 years. That’s impressive by today’s standards. Not as impressive as keeping Captain Marvel
dead for all those years before tinkering to bring him back, but impressive nonetheless. Yes Marvel has had their share of bringing the dead back to life. Phoenix and Elecktra have more lives than Pa Kent. Getting past that, Marvel has done this one right. How else could anyone explain that the Captain America title has done so well without Steve Rogers as Cap? One word needed here: Brubaker. Here’s a news flash fans, riveting storytelling will always win over anything else in the comic book
world. The mere fact that the Captain America comic has sustained its core audience and turned new readers by the droves to jump on board is a huge victory here for all. So what is the big draw here to number 600 exactly? Marvel’s hype machine will hit full throttle on this one. Like the release on Monday instead of Wednesday. The television coverage it’s gaining. Here is the million dollar question. Is Steve Rogers coming back? Not to sound too crass but hopefully he’s not coming back. Bringing him back now would just seem, well not real enough. Yes these are comic books and yes it’s not supposed to be taken so seriously, but tell that to the readers of the Cap series. It’s realism at its finest form. So real in fact we all saw Steve’s lifeless body on the gurney, super serum gone and all, we also saw his body drift away into the abyss. He’s dead right? How do you reverse this? How compelling or brilliant must a writer be to bring him back? Brubaker obviously has had a plan since day one as so Marvel has told us. This better be big Ed. You must make the fans gasp when the reveal happens. We really hope not to see Steve Rogers (Patrick Duffy) in the shower saying, “good morning honey”. The funny thing about all of this is that Steve Rogers is probably not even coming back in this issue. The foundation might be set in this issue for the Cap’s Rebirth coming soon; Steve might not even show up in there! Well Mr. Brubaker
looks like you have a monumental task on your hands. You have all of us waiting to see the next chapter in the new Captain America era. There is no reason why we should all think that now will be the time you let us down. No pressure Mr. Brubaker, no pressure.

Dark Reign: Mister Negative #1 Here is a comic that you could have fun with
this week. Search for 5 villains and their first appearance from this ONE
comic. Scorcher in Untold Tales of Spider-Man #1, Speed Demon from Amazing
Spider-Man #222, The Squid could be found in Peter Parker:Spider-Man #16, the sexy White Rabbit in Marvel Team Up #131 and last but not least, Mister
Negative could be found in the first part of the Brand New Day storyline, Amazing Spider-Man #546. All of these comics are under the $5 mark except for the first White Rabbit; she comes in at the $15. Happy hunting!

Here are a few first appearances you could look for this week. Romulus makes an appearance in Wolverine Origins #37. Find Romulus’ 1st ever in Wolverine #50 from 2007. X-Men Origins: Gambit #1 (One Shot) is coming at you this week. The Wolverine movie has sparked the interest of our favorite Cajun hero. Find Gambit’s cameo in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 and his 1^stfull in Uncanny X-Men #266. American Eagle starts kicking butt in War Machine #7. Already featured on IC as a BUY, it’s a cheap first appearance of a character that has tremendous breakout ability as far as popularity goes. Find the Native American’s 1^st spot from 1981 in Marvel-Two-In One Annual #6 at a bargain price!

….And here are some quick shots: Invincible #63 Conquest
has arrived and our hero feels it. In the face, in the stomach, in the legs, in his head……Cable #15 final chapter in the successful storyline Messiah Complex. Ultimate Spider-Man has died so check out the Ultimatum Spider-Man: Requiem #1. Origins of Flamebird and Nightwing in Action Comics Annual #12 and finally Batman arrives with another number one issue with Batman Streets of Gotham #1.
This new ongoing series will be brought to you by Paul Dini, Marc Andreyko and Dustin Nguyen. A variant cover from JG Jones is a plus too.Check out this one folks.