With great comics comes great responsibility — that’s something that we believe the Legion of Superheroes’ Arm-Fall-Off-Boy perfectly encapsulates. The character created by Gerard Jones, Ty Templeton, and Curt Swan inspires us to write these great pieces as he forces the staff here at The Beat Manor to keep reading until our arms fall off! How many characters have the ability to use their own limbs as instruments of destruction? Arm-Fall-Off-Boy A.K.A. Floyd Belkin’s visit to the mansion came at an important time in comics history as Marvel is now on the very edge of Secret Wars and DC is in the midst of Convergence. The rejected Legionnaire had some opinions on each that enlightened The Beat staff towards forming some new conceptions about these titles that we will share with the general public below. Our time with Belkin was limited, but he shared all the Superman and Legion anecdotes that we could handle in the span of just one afternoon. Without further ado we would like to present our picks straight from Belkin and The Beat Manor for your reading pleasure!
Alex and Floyd’s picks:
Avengers #44 Writer: Jonathan Hickman Artist: Mike Deodato
New Avengers #33 Writer: Jonathan Hickman Artist: Kev Walker
Belkin advised us that Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers saga was one of the deepest and most bold comics events ever, with over 77 issues devoted to the lead-up into the Secret Wars, he told us that there was much ‘proverbial crap’ to hit the fan. We feel obligated to post anything the esteemed hero mentioned, but these pair of issues surely look interesting. How is Hickman and company going to blow up the Marvel Universe and create Battleworld? Bear in mind that this is comics, so it probably is going to be fun but not make any sense.
The Multiversity #2 Writer: Grant Morrison Artist: Ivan Reis
Floyd expressed some interest in taking a break from the big events and talking up DC’s huge Multiversity event for a short while. This saga is bringing some brand new heroes together for the first direct follow-up to the Multiversity labeled as The Multiversity #2, but how or why would the installment could it be labeled as such with a new selection of characters being introduced? One of the highlights of our afternoon with Belkin was a spirited debate between team Beat on whether Morrison could even follow-up Multiversity! When one Beat staffer mentioned that he or she (I will not disclose their identity) didn’t like Brazilian artist Ivan Reis, they were given a stern talking to — they insulted one of Belko’s favorites!
Kyle’s Pick:
Convergence: Shazam #1
Writer: Jeff Parker, Artist: Doc Shaner, Colors: Jordie Bellaire
Davey’s Pick:
Heidi’s Pick: