Poyo's Picks for November 1st, 2017

Halloween has arrived and so has new comic Wednesday. For me, this is really another uneventful week for new books. There might be a few surprise spec’s or winners but for the most part, even if there are, I don’t expect them to last long.
This week is so boring, I don’t really see a reason to even rush out to my shop when it opens like I usually do to score some cover price variants.

If Wednesday is a dud for comics, at least I’ll have plenty of candy to pick through and steal from the kids trick or treating while they’re at school, right?
DC/Vertigo Pick
This weeks DC pick goes to Batman The Devastator #1. These Dark Nights Metal tie-in stories have been selling out and going back to 2nd prints. These are introducing new characters in the Batman Universe so they should not be counted out as first appearances can always heat up, maybe not now but could prove to be a good pickup long term.
A book that would have been on my list but didn’t make it due to the artwork is the Jetsons #1. I don’t know how I feel about the covers for this with the new style of artwork depicting the family. It just doesn’t carry the same vibe as the original series. I would rather read these with the original art style that I grew up watching, as I was a long time Jetsons fan as a kid.
Marvel Pick
Not a whole lot going on in the Marvel Universe as well but Spider-Man #234 stands out. I grew up enjoying the Sinister Six villains and this one introduces a new character villain that is part of the Six. Although this won’t be a overnight heat or spec but could be one of those long term winners I think, unless this new character popularity takes off, maybe ends up with his own series down the road, etc. One never knows, that’s why we call it speculating. The market is certainly unpredictable.
The long term winner will be Cover A though. So if you gamble, go with Cover A for the long term pickup win.
Indie Pick
This pick goes to The Willows #1 from Alternative. It’s a one shot book but I’m hoping for great artwork in this $4.99 priced book.
From the description:

Algernon Blackwood’s immortal novella of extra-dimensional weirdness on the Danube comes to life with incredibly detailed artwork by Sam Ford (Wizard Rifle). Two women encounter strange horrors in the Hungarian wilderness of 1907. Nathan Carson’s (Witch Mountain) graphic retelling reverently preserves the classic tale while breathing character-driven depth into H.P. Lovecraft’s personal favorite short story. A Floating World production.

Small Publisher Pick
This is a no brainer. Walking Dead is back on television. This one, Walking Dead #173 hints at a possible character death. Although first appearances fair better in the spec market, Walking Dead characters gain their followers who hate to see them go. So once they die in the book, they’ll likely die in the show, which leads to increased value as long as the show is still hot.
So is Jesus going to die? Does his lover die and he defends to the death? Does Beta die? We’ll all just have to wait and read..  or wait for Anthony’s spoilers (which I’m sure will happen sometime today, might even already be posted by the time you read this).
An honorable mention goes out for G.I. Joe #245. This one was on my radar to check out and see if that new Snakes Eyes makes their first appearance before issue #246 hits stands, which they’re actually on the cover. So there’s a good chance we get a cameo in this book. I’m sure if there’s spoilers for this one, Anthony will be on it, hopefully.

Now on with the dreaded “avoid” pick, every writer and artist worst nightmare when it comes to selling their hard work.
I already mentioned this one but this one has to goto the new Jetsons book from DC. I think they’re making a mistake in not using the original art style (see image to the left) of the characters in this book. It just doesn’t seem right. Maybe they’re hoping new people pick this up but if you’re like me and grew up with the original Jetson’s, this just doesn’t do it for me.
For some reason the new Scooby Apocalypse series with the more modern looking artwork for the characters doesn’t affect me the way this does for the Jetson’s. It just feels wrong that they made the new series look less cartoonish.
So with that in mind, this is the book to avoid this week. I just don’t see this happening as a spec book.