Starlight #1
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Goran Parlov
Colors by Ive Svorcina
Letters by Marko Šunjić
Cover by John Cassaday & Ive Svorcina, and Goran Parlov
Image Comics
Release Date: March 5, 2014
Cover Price: $2.99

Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might that Mark Millar would make more comics like this and spend less time dicking around with Fox’s seemingly endless ability to fuck up every Marvel property they lay their hands on. Yes folks, it’s your ol’ pal Mr. Murphy here to review the MillarWorld’s latest creation: Starlight.

What if you were whisked away to another world where you saved its inhabitants from a tyrannical dictator, rescued the princess, thwarted evil doers, flew around in a classic 1950’s rocket ship and, in general, lived the fantasy that every boy has? Awesome, huh? Now what if you came home to Earth, retold the tales of your heroism, and no one believed you? You then lived your whole life in disgrace, dealing with taunts, jokes, and the constant knowledge that what you did there ultimately didn’t matter. Welcome to the world of Starlight and one Captain Duke McQueen.

Doc Savage #3
Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Bilquis Evely
Colors by Daniela Miwa
Letters by Rob Steen
Covers by Alex Ross and John Cassaday
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: February 26, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

Doc Savage #3 is where this title REALLY gets going. Without even realizing it the first two excellent issues have, while we thought they had just been stand alone stories, set up a great story that really gets moving in this issue.

Author Chris Roberson really kicks things up a notch in this issue. The first two issues have each taken place in a different decade, and this one is no different. Taking place in the early 1960s, Doc is ready to reveal the secret of his longevity and seeming lack of aging. But, of course, some people don’t want that secret revealed; they want it for themselves and for their own personal gain. As if dealing with that wasn’t enough, an old enemy turns up to literally take away everything Doc holds dear to him.

Doc Savage #2
Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Bilquis Evely
Colors by Daniela Miwa
Letters by Rob Steen
Covers by Alex Ross & John Cassaday
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: January 22, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

I didn’t think Doc Savage #2 could get any better than the first issue, but I was SO WRONG!! If the quality keeps up, this series could go on forever.

Writer Chris Roberson REALLY knows his Doc Savage. And I mean REALLY KNOWS HIS DOC SAVAGE! This new issue is set 10 years after the first one, and there’s some really interesting twists and turns in the ongoing story. What’s even more impressive is that this is a total standalone tale, but with the way Roberson tells it, it’s very evident that this is just one chapter in an ongoing arc. The writer introduces a lot of hallmark Doc Savage trademarks here, the Fortress of Solitude and Pat Savage, just to name a couple. This is one of the most solidly written comics that I’ve read in a while.

Doc Savage #1
Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Bilquis Evely
Colors by Daniela Miwa
Letters by Rob Steen
Covers by Alex Ross and John Cassaday
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: December 11, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Straight from the good old 86th floor, the Man of Bronze has returned! This is a bold prediction from me, but Doc Savage is Dynamite Entertainment’s new Shadow. I see this title spanning multiple spin-offs and miniseries. Not because of any kind of over-saturation planning by Dynamite, but because it’s THAT good, and the character has THAT much potential.

I can’t imagine that writer Chris Roberson had it easy. Not only did he have to write a comic book, he had to write one that not only included mind-bending science, but 1930’s “slang” as well. Roll all of those up together and it had to be a pretty daunting task. But, thankfully, Roberson knows his way around writing comics. In Doc Savage #1, Roberson writes a very well crafted first issue, and, I can only assume, the first part of a storyline that is far from over. This is a great introduction to the world and characters of the Doc Savage universe, and, on its own, a very entertaining story.

As we get towards the end of Marvel’s Infinity event, we’re starting to get the shape of what the universe will be like once the cosmic storyline comes to an end. One of the books that will spin out of Infinity was announced at New York Comic-Con this weekend with Avengers World set to release in January 2014.

Avengers World teams up writer Nick Spencer (Secret Avengers, Superior Foes of Spider-Man) with co-writer Jonathan Hickman (Avengers, Infinity) and artist Stefano Caselli (Avengers) and focuses on “the new heroes recently added to the team’s roster.”