1) The Great Ten
A few years ago, during DC's foray into a weekly maxi-series, a coalition of writers introduced a new super-team based on China, the Great Ten, complete with a base in the Great Wall of China. Like many other titles before it (most notably the DC Earth Annuals from several years ago), the characters only recieved a passing glance in the dozen or so appearances they were allowed in the 52-issue maxi-series. Sure, we had the makings of a good team-book, but beyond their names, pure speculation as to their actual powers, and a few minor character traits, the Great Ten was still a largely undeveloped property. Beyond a few later appearances in the ongoing Checkmate series, the Great Ten was largely absent after 52 ended. Here we had nearly a dozen new characters that were introduced in a successful maxi-series and nothing was done to capture any interest that customers might have. Few titles have attempted to showcase a team based in a country outside the United States, and in most of those cases (such as Justice League Europe), the team has a large membership of US-based superheroes. With Great Ten, the entire membership is composed of new Chinese super-heroes that have theoretically been around for years, but simply haven't appeared due to few DC stories being set in China. Fortunately, now that DC comics has decided to get back to the Great Ten, they've chosen a writer with a good talent for writing a large cast of characters. Tony Bedard first caught my eye with his excellent Negation series, and he currently showcases his abilities with the large cast of DC's cosmic team REBELS, which i've previously written about. Where other writers would choose to write a team book where only one or two characters get the spotlight, Tony is writing an eight issue maxi-series where each issue focuses on a different character. It's almost like a Secret Origins: The Great Ten mini-series, with a secondary plot set in the modern day. Now, don't think this means that Bedard ignores the present-day conflict (with Chinese gods returning to get rid of the Communist Government). I simply think the origin story is far more interesting, and Bedard uses the tapestry of DC Universe history to help him shape the backgrounds of these ignored superheroes. Issue 5 just came out and it features the most interesting member of the Great Ten, August-General-In-Iron, who uses the teachings of Sun Tzu in his dealings with the threats that China faces. The General is a good example of how Bedard uses the history of China along with the history of the DC Universe in writing his story. I recommend Great ten if you like China, international super-heroes, or Tony Bedard. Even if you don't like any of the three, you should still give it a try.
2) Captain Swing and the Electric Pirates of Cindery Island
It's hard to write about this mini-series because the first issue just came out last week, but Warren Ellis wrote a good first chapter that has me hooked for the entire series. For Avatar Comics, Warren Ellis has already written good historical fiction with his Crecy graphic novel and science fiction with Ignition City, so now he combines the two to write an ambitious series set in London of the 1830s, complete with a few historical footnotes so you can get an idea what the world was like at the time. So far the title has dealt with an English constable investigating strange murders by 'Spring-Heeled Jack' that are tied to a strange 'airshop' while coming into conflict with a rival law enforcement group.
4) Astro City: The Dark Age
Astro City isn't so much a mini-series as it is a series of mini-series, that deals with many popular comic book archetypes with a fresh spin on an old concept. the location Astro City is the base of operations for dozens of super-powered beings drawn from a variety of genres. The current run consists of four mini-series (for a total of sixteen issues) set during the darkest period of Astro City's history. Kurt Buseik, one of the best super-hero writers in history, tells a story spanning generations, accompanied by Brent Anderson on the interiors and the legendary Alex Ross as the cover artist. While you may feel lost by trying a maxi-series that is almost over, I would be surprised if you didn't get hooked by the fascinating world after only reading a single story. If you've enjoyed Buseik's previous work on Marvels or Avengers, Astro City is him at his best.
4) Cinderella: From Fablestown With Love
Fables is one of my favorite comic books. I recommend it to anyone looking for a good story to read, even if they usually stick to super-hero comics. I can't get enough of it and have to read the new issue as soon as I unpack it from the weekly shipment. Therefore, it's no surprise that I love the latest Fables-related book, Cinderella, which showcases the fairy tale princess turned secret agent on her latest adventure. Bill Willingham originally introduced Cinderella almost as an after thought in the first volume, but by the second year, he showed that he had a clear vision for the character. While Cinderella allows others to thing she is a simple socialite, she simply uses this as a cover to allow her to undertake top secret missions for the Fabletown Sheriff. Rookie Fables writer Chris Roberson crafts a tale set after the Homelands War with Cinderella teaming up with a fellow fairy tale agent to stop the unrestricted flow of magical artifacts into the mundane (mundy) world. The illustrations are provided by the talented Shawn McManus and cover artist Chrissie Zullo, a young artist that rivals popular Fables cover guy James Jean. All together, this team is putting out a quality Fables story that keeps up with the regular Fables title in quality, something the hit-or-miss spinoff Jack of Fables has often failed to do. Hopefully once this mini-series wraps up we'll see more Cinderella stories by this creative team, as Cindy's adventures could certainly justify an ongoing series.
That's it for now. I hope some of you will consider trying some of these titles.
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