Poll: What Book Should I Start Reviewing Here?

With the my dropping of Hawk and Dove, a slot has opened up in my review schedule here at the Comic Box.

The last time I had an opening like this was when R.E.B.E.L.S. got cancelled. At that point, I posted a poll asking what book folks wanted me to start reviewing. The winner was Legion. I have been reviewing Legion and subsequently Legion Lost ever since.

Here are some ideas I had as to which book might best fit the theme of this blog. I hope people will vote.

1) Justice League - This is something of a natural fit as Superman is on the team and thus would dovetail nicely into this blog's focus. Add to that it is the tent pole DC book right now, written by megastar Geoff Johns and drawn by mega-megastar Jim Lee.

2) Justice League Dark - The book stars a bunch of my favorite DC characters - John Constantine, Shade the Changing Man, Zatanna, and Madame Xanadu. It also includes old Supergirl nemesis The Enchantress. It sports nifty art by Mikel Janin. And it is pretty twisted, a different sort of book for me here.

3) Birds of Prey - This book is tied with Superboy for my surprise hit of the New 52. I am an Oracle guy and a Huntress guy, so to see a BoP without either didn't make much sense. I only got the first issue because I had bought enough other booksat my comic store to get a free #1 and chose this on a whim. I have been struck by the great characterization by Duane Swierczynski and the beautiful art by Jesus Saiz on the book. I have been on the Birds of Prey bandwagon since Gail Simone first took over so I wouldn't mind supporting this book.

4) World's Finest (when it comes out) - I have done my best to keep this blog a 'Power Girl free zone' as much as possible. Supergirl isn't Power Girl and vice versa. I don't want to muddy those waters here.  I wanted this blog to celebrate Supergirl and I thought Power Girl might detract from Supergirl. I like Power Girl a lot, don't get me wrong. I collected the Palmiotti/Conner run and loved it. So is this new World's Finest, starring the Huntress (who I love), and with art by Perez and Maguire, the opening Power Girl needed to get some Anj coverage?

5) Kirby Genesis: Captain Victory - It would be a break from the 'DC only' feel to this place (Kelly DeConnick's Sif one shot being the only non-DC book I have reviewed here). But it is a Sterling Gates' book. And these are some wild Jack Kirby ideas here.

6) Other - My pull list is here. Should it be Wonder Woman? Demon Knights? Maybe a wild card - a different book each month depending on which one wowed me?

I hope people visiting will vote!

Poll Results: New Title To Review Is Legion Of Super-Heroes

When R.E.B.E.L.S. cancellation was announced, I realized that there would be an open slot in my review schedule.  And not knowing which title should slide into that slot, I thought a poll would be fun, opening up the decision to popular vote.

There had been a few suggestions prior to the poll so I included those titles as choices. 105 people took the time to cast a vote. Thanks to all who participated.

It very quickly became a two title race between Batgirl and Legion of Super-Heroes, both titles that I collect and enjoy. I have to say I would love reviewing any of the books on the list but there had to be a winner. And, after Batgirl had opened up an early lead, Legion finally overtook her and maintained a slim lead until the poll closed. So from now on, Legion of Super-Heroes will be reviewed on Comic Box Commentary. It seems appropriate given that R.E.B.E.L.S. is sort of an LSH offshoot. And the Legion is one of my all-time favorite group of characters, so I come with some degree of historical knowledge.

I'll start with the Legion of Super-Villains one-shot next month. I don't know how much cross-over there will be with Adventure Comics so hopefully I haven't got myself into a deep hole here.

Again, I want to thank everyone who comes here and was interested enough to vote. I can't believe that over 100 people voted, by far the most votes in a poll of mine. Thanks so much for your time and interest!

Poll: What New Title Should I Formally Review Here?

With the announcement that R.E.B.E.L.S. is going to end in May, I realized that there would be a hole in my monthly blog routine for a non-Super comic to review. R.E.B.E.L.S. was a guilty pleasure and while it didn't really fit into the theme of this place, I liked stretching my legs a bit into the rest of the DCU.

When the end of R.E.B.E.L.S. was announced, I posed the question of which book I should start reviewing here on a monthly basis and got some interesting suggestions, all of which were already on my pull list. But I thought it would be fun to run a quick poll to see which title should be added to Comic Box Commentary's monthly review. So here are the suggestions with some of my thoughts. I hope people will be interested enough to vote.

1) Batgirl - I was so taken in by Batgirl #8 and Batgirl #14 (both bought because of Supergirl appearances) that I quickly went out and scooped up all the back issues I could find and added the book to my subscription. It is a sneaky good book ... always loads of fun. Steph is a very likable character and she is working hard to be part of the Bat-family while being herself as well.

The one thing is I know nothing ... I mean nothing ... about her time as Robin, Spoiler, the events around her 'death', etc. So I won't have the historical background I do with Supergirl.

Still, I love the book.

2) Birds of Prey - Another fun book, albeit in a very different vein than Batgirl. Gail Simone has such a handle with these characters and writes them as three-dimensional fully formed people. I have always been a Huntress fan, but I became a Black Canary and Oracle fan because of Simone. I also like Hawk and Dove a lot (I would love a H&D solo series) and Lady Blackhawk is a hoot month in month out.

I collected Simone's original run of BoP and this new title, but little else of the book. I think I have a pretty good handle on these characters. It is a bit of a darker book than I am used to reviewing which might mix things up nicely.

3) Legion of Super-Heroes - Well, I have been reading Legion books for almost as long as I have been reading. Some of my earliest memories of comics are the Grell issues of Legion (I suppose that dates me somewhat). They are one of my favorite concepts in comics, although some reboots have been rougher than others. I know I am in the minority that liked the '5 years later' run. I didn't get any of the DnA books. I liked the Waid/Kitson books and not just because Supergirl was in it. So I have enough background with the book (especially here with Levitz picking up where he left off those many years ago), that I would feel fine reviewing the book.

I have talked about featuring Legion here in the past but never got around to doing it. Is now the right time?

4) Zatanna - You can't beat the current creative team of Dini and Igle. The issues I have read of the title have been solid. It would be a fresh book for me to review as I have a working knowledge of Zatanna but nothing in depth.

5) Sterling Gates' Top Secret project - When will it be announced? What will it be? One thing I do know, Gates has won me as a fan so I will be buying the title. But should it be reviewed here?

6) Other - Of course, these were the only suggestions I got. Maybe there is something I'm not even thinking about.If you vote other, let me know which title you are thinking of.

Anyways, I thought it might be fun to open the floor for a vote. Vote early ... vote often!