Raffaele Ienco’s Epic Kill #1 is one of two titles featuring mysterious females debuting from Image Comics this week, with this being the more action packed option. Ienco is not a creator I’m familiar with, and credited as the series’ creator, writer and artist this was an impressive introduction to his work. His art reminds of Clay Mann and Billy Tan and is easily the greatest strength of the issue. In contrast, Ienco’s story of the St. Thomas School for Troubled Girls’ amnesiac killing machine,”Song,” is less interesting, perhaps due to it’s initial similarities to Firefly‘s River Tam, Marvel’s X-23, and Echo from Dollhouse.

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Weekly comic books are a big part of my life and this is a fairly big week. Below is a list of what I’ll be picking up this Wednesday along with cover artwork and previews courtesy of  Comixology’s pull list app.

Another week with eight new books for me and most of them are X-Men titles in some way shape or form. I’m considering picking up Earth 2 #1 and Dial H #1 that are shipping as part of Wave Two of DC Comics’ New 52 (on 5/2 no less). I’ll also be checking out Image Comics’ Epic Kill #1 and Mind the Gap #1 and reviews will be posted Wednesday morning. 

• AGE OF APOCALYPSE #3 – There was a time when an Age of Apocalypse ongoing title would have automatically gone to the top of my list of favorite books. Even though this doesn’t bear much resemblance to the original AoA, the twist of having some of the greatest mutant haters of all time fighting for a world that fears and hates them is wild.
• AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #685 – Doctor Octopus has gotten some major villain upgrades in recent years and he’s set to make his move as The Ends of the Earth continues. Unfortunately, I’m way behind on my reading for this series.
• AVENGERS ACADEMY #29 – I don’t normally read this title, but it’s an AvX tie-in this month. The cover reveals that some of the younger X-Men are being held captive at Camp Hammond and I’m glad this story is only happening in one title now that Generation Hope has been cancelled.
• AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #3 – Marvel’s event of the year continues. I’m still not completely sold on what’s happening here as Captain America seems to be making a lot of unexpected decisions and John Romita Jr.’s artwork is hit or miss for me.
• EXILED #1 – Who says AvX is Marvel’s event of the year? Amidst all the hero punching comes a crossover between the New Mutants and the Asgardians of Journey Into Mystery. Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Kieron Gillen are the minds behind this series and that’s a combination I’d read just about anything from.
• WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN: ALPHA AND OMEGA #5 – After reading the first issue, I normally save reading mini-series until they wrap up. Brian Wood’s series featuring Wolverine, Armor and Kid Omega is one I’m really looking forward to.
• X-FACTOR #235 – Peter David’s superhuman detective agency is something I look forward to every month. Adding artist Leonard Kirk, Havok and Polaris into the mix makes it even better.
• X-MEN #28 – This book was meant to be a showcase for the X-Men interacting with the rest of the Marvel Universe, but lately it seems like it couldn’t be more out of touch.

Check back every week to see what’s on My Latest Pull List and please share your thoughts on these titles and everything you’re reading this week in the comments.

WWE Champion C.M. Punk successfully defended his title last night against Chris Jericho at Extreme Rules in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois.

Coming off of the annual Extreme Rules pay-pre-view last night in Chicago and a three-hour Raw last week in Detroit, it’s fair to say the WWE Universe is currently in a weird place. Last week’s edition of Raw was haphazard and even with the bonus hour didn’t divide the time well for the Extreme Rules feuds, which were primarily rematches from WrestleMania XXVIII. Coming off the PPV, Brock Lesnar lost the battle, but may have won the war with John Cena who took a savage beating. Meanwhile, C.M. Punk defeated Chris Jericho in his hometown, avenging his family that had been drawn into Y2J’s crosshairs. This could mean some new feuds are starting at the top of the card tonight in Dayton, Ohio.

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A few months back I wrote about Marvel’s Heroics figures. A series of tiny, blind boxed, 97 cent non-articulated figures. The figures walk an odd line between featuring detailed costumes while having almost blank faces. It was a sad tale about a quest for a Hulk or Captain America figure neither of which I found. This is a very different article. This is all about DC Heroics. And this time it didn’t matter who was in the plastic balls, because I wanted them all anyway. I’m a sucker for all things DC. Always have been. One thing I learned in purchasing this batch of DC figures is that if you turn the plastic ball so that the wrapper runs perpendicular to the split in the ball, you can place just a little pressure on the crack and it will open enough to allow you a peek at what figure is in the ball without actually opening it. Blind box foiled!

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This installment of Standard Deviations takes a look at April 2012’s set of Avengers “Art Appreciation” variants. Released in anticipation of the of the premiere of Marvel Studios’ shared universe film epic The Avengers on May 4th, these images specifically feature characters that are among the film’s cast as opposed to drawing on the huge number that can be counted among their ranks on the printed page. These covers take a note from 2009’s Wolverine Art Appreciation variants in paying homage to a host of classic artists and styles, and it’s nice to see the theme revisited. With that in mind, this post is part of a Standard Deviations double feature today as we look at both entries in Marvel’s Art Appreciation collection.

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