Comics this week

Another big week as another 19 or so major books come out on Wednesday. You might be asking yourself "gee, doesn't that make it over 60 in three weeks?" Why yes, yes it does. Trust me on that. I have to imagine that we're squeezing out all the books we can before a presumably slow Christmas week. Anyway, let's talk about this week with a few QUICK HITS.

Avengers 24.NOW
That's right, All-New Marvel NOW is starting and I don't know why we have to name our new-brandings like that. I felt ridiculous enough all year saying "Marvel NOW!" (with or without exclamation point, that was never cleared up) and now I have this hyphenated mash-up of words that serve only to remind me of ALL-NEW X-MEN, a series I do not care for. ANYWAY, this is the first AVENGERS issue post-INFINITY and, if you needed more reasons to check it out, comes with a Daniel Acuña poster exhibiting EVERY AVENGER.

Captain America 14
Cap is up against Nuke after a couple issues building to it! Can he stop the far more deranged and probably more powerful super-soldier? Also, what is happening in that poor guy's mind (in this case, "poor guy" can apply to either Nuke or Cap)?

Captain America Living Legend 4
This mini-series wraps after a pretty exciting and successful run. Excited to see just where it's going to go. Oh yes, and Cap is a monster as we start issue four. THESE THINGS HAPPEN SOMETIMES.

Marvel Knights Hulk 1
The two currently running MARVEL KNIGHTS series (SPIDER-MAN and X-MEN) are both impressive in their own ways, featuring really stand-out and unique art to go along with a story that I would deem "compelling enough." Interested to see where MARVEL KNIGHTS HULK will fit in, which I think leaves room for a lot of interesting art but who I also find to be an often-uninteresting character. In the right hands, he's amazing. In the wrong ones (which I tend to see more often) he's the same story over and over and I do not care. Let's find out where this one falls TOGETHER.

Thunderbolts 19
Maybe my favorite cover of the week. The Thunderbolts are on a road-trip! I've really liked this series as it turned the corner from readable with Daniel Way to immensely enjoyable with Charles Soule. I'm sad Jefte Palo seems to have moved on but I do like Gabriel Walta and I think the writing has been more than sharp enough to stand with an art change. Very interested to see where this is going now that Soule will move on to his first non-event-related story.