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Like the old summertime annuals from a couple generations ago, “X-O Manowar Annual 2016” #1 evokes the feel of something truly special. Series writer Robert Venditti and artist Pere Perez take the lead with a full-length main story preceded by a short prologue. Three other creative teams also deliver some worthy backup features, giving readers their money’s worth with over forty pages of story content. From the first day of their relaunch, Valiant has been the comic book publishing equivalent of a welcoming committee for new readers, ever-vigilant to the always present possibility of newcomers discovering their line of stories. This comic typifies — and, in fact, exemplifies — that discipline, kicking off with a concise and easily consumed single-page origin of X-O Manowar, aka Aric of Dacia, which is nicely detailed by J.G. Jones. In the span of six dense but efficiently laid out panels, rookie readers will find everything they need to know about the character before plunging into t

Matt Kindt and Clayton Crain’s “4001 A.D.” #1, Valiant Entertainment’s latest crossover event, takes place nearly two millennia in the future and continues the events of “Rai.” Having already established the basis for his story in the previous series, Kindt is able to open “4001 A.D.” on an apocalyptic note, getting readers’ attention regardless of whether or not they have been following the story in “Rai.” Crain brings his usual epic flair to all of the destruction, just before Kindt expands the scope of the story to the rest of the Valiant Universe. Before any of that happens, though, guest artist David Mack hops on briefly to deliver a stylish, attractive introduction to the general state of the Valiant Universe in the year 4001, which then drills down to the essentials on Rai, and further still to the recent events leading up to this issue. Mack structures Kindt’s recap so that it takes shape like a Japanese fairytale, naturally fitting to the story’s locale but also giving the i

Since “Justice League 3001” probably won’t return after the upcoming DC Rebirth event, Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Scott Kolins, and Colleen Doran start to wind the series down in “Justice League 3001” #9. It’s unfortunate, too; this issue is a good example of how the series has finally found its own voice with just the right balance of familiar faces and new twists. Over the run of “Justice League 3001,” Giffen and DeMatteis have shuffled out a lot of the original characters in favor of newer ones, and that switching process resulted in a surprisingly good final mix. Watching Wonder Woman, Batgirl and Flash on Cadmusworld gives us a strong balance of personalities, especially with Teri continuing to learn about her abilities as the Flash and gaining confidence in being a hero. In many ways, she’s the breakout star of the comic, and it’s a shame her time on the page is most likely coming to a close. She’s a character whose strengths aren’t limited to her superpowers, and I like tha

Short stories in any medium are difficult to nail, as the length of the piece can become a real issue for the content. That’s a problem that ultimately crops up in “Hellboy Winter Special 2016,” where two of the three main stories feel like they could have benefited from a different page count. The winner in this one-shot is Mike Mignola, Chris Roberson, Michael Walsh and Dave Stewart’s “Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1953 –Wandering Souls.” This is a story that understands its length perfectly and gets in and out of a creepy Wyoming barn haunted by Chinese ghosts. Mignola and Roberson take an appropriate amount of time to set up the conflict and similarly have the characters solve what’s happening in an amount of time that feels neither rushed nor drawn out. It’s especially nice Susan is the one to figure out what’s going on at this early point in Hellboy’s career, with Hellboy serving more as the muscle. Walsh and Stewart do a good job here too, with the ghosts looking genuinely disturb

Like its predecessor, “Justice League 3001” is a strange series, not just in terms of basic subject material — although Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis and Howard Porter’s stories of semi-reincarnated superheroes in the 31st century qualify as strange — but rather in their actual approach. With characters and plotlines zooming in and out of focus, it’s hard to know what to expect from one issue to the next. “Justice League 3001” #2 concludes a two-part story in which the Justice League try to free a planet from Starro’s control (having had Starro’s legal claim revoked by the courts), even as the 21st century Supergirl finds herself in the far future and the Ariel Masters-Lois Lane hybrid continues to secretly try and discredit and destroy the team. Sounds odd? Giffen and DeMatteis’s story lurches from one idea to the next, a literal hodgepodge of concepts and characters. It never feels quite like it’s flowing smoothly and it’s difficult to tell if you’re supposed to be laughing at or w

The new attitude from DC Comics owes a lot to the adventurous attitudes exemplified by Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis and Howard Porter in “Justice League 3001” #1. The trio, along with colorist Hi-Fi and letterer Rob Leigh, anchored the continuity-light, reader-friendly, anything-can-happen predecessor to this series in “Justice League 3000,” and the qualities that made that book fun and entertaining are exactly what DC is talking about with their entire lineup now. It all started with this creative team. That same team brings a new adventure to the new season of Justice League by advancing the title a year and throwing the threat of Starro at the reconstituted heroes. Giffen and DeMatteis play fast and loose with the entirety of the history of the DC Universe by including some nods to their “Bwah-ha-hah” League (as well as a handful of cast members from that era), checking in on Camelot Nine and discussing the Boltinoff Treaty. The writing duo throws in some humor, like Tora tellin

Few of this year’s Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) titles market their upcoming arcs as well as DC’s “Divergence” does. This issue teases big changes to three titles — “Superman,” “Batman” and “Justice League” — and each preview introduces its concept sharply. As with many FCBD titles, “Divergence” is essentially a trailer, so these entries are written to build anticipation rather than to build story. In that, they succeed rousingly. It remains to be seen how DC will execute on these ideas, but they are certainly attention-grabbing. Note: The stories in this issue are short and entirely dedicated to setting up their premises, so it isn’t possible to substantively review them without discussing those premises. I’ve avoided spoilers where possible but, if you really don’t want to know what the big pitch is for these series, I’d recommend you read “Divergence” first. “The Rookie,” Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s “Batman” story, introduces a new status quo for Gotham. Snyder’s affection fo

Marvel uses Free Comic Book Day to allow Jonathan Hickman one last trip back to the Future Foundation in “Secret Wars” #0. The short story — an entertaining look at Valeria rounding up the troops to build the life raft that will ferry a sliver of humanity through the final incursion — touches upon the greater plot Hickman has been telling for the past few years in the “Avengers” titles, but still requires readers to have some working knowledge of big players in the story. Hickman has fun revisiting the kids and, strategically, it’s a smart move to allow them to be a FCBD casual reader’s inroad to this story. The characters bounce off one another very well and the dialogue is fun enough for adults to enjoy but also gives kids a point-of-view on the event from someone their own age. Valeria gives readers a quick summation of where the universe is at the onset of the story and jumps to the day of incursion quickly, ending with a gorgeous Paul Renaud double-page spread of the Ultimate U

Marvel’s “Free Comic Book Day 2015: Avengers” is a giveaway aimed to both promote existing properties and to get readers excited about new ones. It’s the latter that will grab most people’s attention, with Mark Waid and Mahmud Asrar giving readers a teaser for the upcoming “All-New, All-Different Avengers” title. Despite that book’s title, it’s actually very much in line with the Avengers franchise as a whole. Waid’s new lineup is a mix of old and new faces, with some falling into both categories. Thor, Iron Man, Captain America and the Vision are all on board, although in the case of Thor and Captain America we have the new heroes using those titles. Likewise, the new Ms. Marvel, Nova, and (fresh from the Ultimate Universe) Spider-Man are on board, reveling in their brand-new membership with the Avengers. It’s the latter three that might cause some eyebrows to rise but, in many ways, it’s completely in touch with how the Avengers lineup has always gone. Ever since the first big ros

“BOOM! Box 2014 Mix Tape” #1 is an anthology of short comics and teasers from the BOOM! Box imprint. While the title alludes to the mix tapes of the 90s, the stories themselves aren’t retro at all. They share a manic, cartoony vibe similar to the approach of “Adventure Time” but with some stories that are just for adults. In “Hambourgeois & Chip” by Rian Sygh, grumpy Hambourgeois is paired with his loopy, excitable friend Chip. Their interaction is reminiscent of many odd couple character pairings, “Pinky and the Brain” in particular. The central conflict of possible cannibalism is riveting if off-the-wall. Sygh’s facial expressions and dialogue are superb at drawing the reader in. “Paz & Richard: A Midas Flesh Short Story” by Ryan North, Braden Lamb and Chris O’Neill is just a teaser that leads into the regular “Midas Flesh” title. North builds suspense efficiently and the information-dumping is confined to Paz and Richard’s teaching lecture. It works fine but more action