J.R.'s Picks:

Giant-Size X-Men: Magneto #1 – The master of magnetism gets his own one-shot penned by the X-guru himself, Jonathan Hickman. The story starts unassumingly with Magneto atop a large cargo ship, sailing it himself with his magnetism. He arrives at his destination shortly thereafter: a small island that’s a part of the Faroe archipelago, just off the coast of Denmark. A man arrives to whom Magneto says fetch the owner, he’s looking to buy it. Apparently, he’s doing all this purchase as a favor to Emma Frost. The owner as it turns out is none other than Namor, who of course has a favor to ask of him as well. The issue is packed with action and good turns, an all-around great read in the continuing Dawn of X.

Strange Adventures #3 – As Mr. Terrific leaves after his short interview of the Stranges to conduct his investigation, it’s evident that something stinks in their household. Again, the flashbacks continue in this issue showing Adam in a gladiatorial match with a green-skinned lizardman. Surprisingly, the more interesting bits happen in context of our world as Adam and his wife go on the offensive. They do public interviews to insinuate that the Justice League is attacking a war hero, though it was Adam himself who asked them to do it. The culmination of the flashback and the main story are sure to surprise as Batman confronts them about all this…

Empyre #1 – Things are heating up in Marvel’s biggest event of the summer. Coming back from the deep reaches of space, the Fantastic Four notice a combined armada of Kree and Skrull headed towards Earth. Sue uses her invisibility to mask them so they can observe who’s in charge but they’re quickly revealed by the Super Skrull. Turns out Hulkling is leading the way, the two armies coming together under his banner to take out the Cotati, a plant-race who inhabit Earth’s moon. The Cotati are being protected by the Avengers though, Tony Stark being there to patronize Hulkling about siding with two known villains. A conflict ensues and things take an unexpected turn as both sides now seem worse for wear. This one is going to go in all kinds of places so make sure not to miss out!

Engineward #1 – A wild blend of sci-fi and fantasy await you within the pages of this one. The book starts out with a team of salvagers gathering parts for their small village. One man, Ichabod, finds a fossilized head within the foundational rock. As he pulls it out, a T-Rex centipede devours one of his companions. Yup, you read that right. At the village, one of the leaders talks to Ichabod’s friend Joss about how to convince the celestials to give them more water rations. These celestials, at least at this moment from a following scene, seem to be godly beings based off astrological signs. This book throws a lot at the wall so far but with an enjoyable start like this, I’m sure it’s heading in an interesting direction.

Diarra's Picks:

Murder Hobo! #1 - Four broken, beaten, and buggered adventurers decide to drown their sorrows over some ale. It’s a slow night in the tavern, so the bartender listens to their tale of misfortune...and betrayal. Whether it’s a tavern in Neverwinter or a cocktail lounge in a downtown metropolis, bartenders always get an ear full of people’s woes. He tells the adventurers he has heard a similar story from another couple in the bar. After they speak, their is no doubt, both parties have been betrayed by the same person. A third group joins them after over hearing a tale no different from theirs. It’s always the same, the being joins their mission, helps for a bit, disrupts their bowels, and then disappears into the night with their loot. So far the adventurers are just airing their grievances, but maybe they will band together and get the revenge they so rightly deserve!

Dark Nights: Death Metal #2 - Wonder Woman killed the Batman Who Laughs (BWL) in the last issue, so everything should be fine now right? Big wrong. The BWL keeps staying a step ahead, and had a back up body in case this happened! Oh boy, what a body he picked. This dimension’s Justice League (well what is left of them) has one last trick up their sleeve. They think they have a way to save the entire multiverse from BWL and Perpetua’s reign of terror once and for all. Speaking of reigns, once in his new body, BWL is planning on passing his crown down to the only person a Batman would.

Faithless II #2 - Everything has been going Faith’s way. From amazing, new sexual experiences to her quick rise to fame in the art world, all of her dreams are coming true. After being apart for work, Faith and Poppy are excited about their gateway in Italy. It starts off like a normal euro trip, with oral and gelato, but then they run into a familiar face from back home in the states. Faith has to dig deep, but it might not be enough to save the person she loves most. For the first time Faith might have met her match, but will she let her new life slip from her grasp?! (...also, the erotic covers for this arc are connecting and I can not wait to complete this orgy!)

Stone's Picks:

Snake Eyes DeadGame #1 - The best silent assassin alive is slicing and dicing his way through unknown foes as he stumbles into the DeadGame. A conflict from the mid-8th century spills into the present day and the only person capable of handling the situation is the best fighter the Joes have. Snake Eyes and a small team are following up on some intel they've gathered and come across a familiar face, but also words that send the Arashikage shinobi in search of an old foe. If you thought Cobra was going to be the big bad in this issue, they aren’t t, so now you know and isn’t that half the battle?

Transformers ’84 Secrets & Lies #1 – The secrets of the Autobots and Decepticons are told from the perspective of a transformer who is able to be both a bot and a con. With the War for Cybertron raging there is discussion among the inner ranks of the Decepticons as to why they're having so many problems. And the answer is their prime-fixated leader. If the Decepticons are to win then the problem must be resolved, and a fellow member will be the answer.

Empyre #1 – The beginning to the Empyre storyline is here. While on a patrol the Fantastic Four run into the combined might of a hybrid Kree/Skrull army heading toward Earth and discover that it is under the control of Hulkling. On Earth the Avengers await the arrival of this force as they begin preparations to protect the few Cotati living who have said they are the last remaining of that species. As both forces meet head on there is a confusion as to what side is correct with the actions they take. Is it the Avengers fighting to protect a species, or are the Kree/Skrull right in suggesting that the Cotati are a bigger threat than their combined might?