The Best Comics This Week: Green Lantern, Iron Man, Deadpool, and More!

We list the best comics coming out on April 20, 2011. The Green Lanterns continue their war, Iron Man faces Fear Itself, and Deadpool experiences marital bliss!

The Best Comics This Week: Green Lantern, Iron Man, Deadpool, and More! Image

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The Best Comics This Week: Green Lantern, Iron Man, Deadpool, and More! Image

In a tight economy, it's not always clear what you should spend your hard-earned money on, and with comic books getting more and more expensive, your dollar doesn’t go as far at the comic shop as it did in the past. We here at Complex feel your pain, so we're providing you with a rundown of the best comics coming out on April 20, 2011.

Green Lantern #65

What it’s about: Even though the character has been around since 1959, the Green Lantern has never had a better run than he has since Geoff Johns started writing the book in 2005. Johns put the focus back on Hal Jordan and introduced new story elements such as the various other Lantern Corps and the reemergence of Sinestro as the Green Lantern’s main adversary.

After the Green Lantern was reborn, fought in the Sinestro Corps Wars, and battled the Black Lanterns, he firmly reclaimed his place among DC’s elite.

What to expect this month: As The War of the Green Lanterns continues, Hal and Sinestro must continue their tenuous partnership and fight off the other Lanterns who are hunting them down. With all of the various teasers that DC has been throwing around regarding the aftermath of this storyline, it’s safe to say that not everyone is making it out alive.

While most crossover events tend to be overblown, the fact that DC kept this storyline contained to just the three Green Lantern books makes the story arc much more streamlined and less tedious to follow.

 

Green Lantern Corps #59

What it’s about:Green Lantern Corps focuses on the other 7,199 Green Lanterns not named Hal Jordan who are patrolling the galaxy. The book follows the stories of Kilowog, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, and various other Lanterns as they take on the usual intergalactic threats.

But the real selling point of this book is its separation from the rest of the DC Universe. This is a book just for Green Lantern fans who don't want to worry about the other storylines that the company is running.

What to expect this month: This installment of The War of the Green Lanterns picks up right where Green Lantern #65 leaves off. While Hal, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, and Guy Gardner try to save the Green Lantern Corps from Krona, they’ll have to first deal with their former allies Kilowog and Salaak.

Going forward, The War of the Green Lanterns will set up a lot of threads throughout the DC Universe and it will be very important to pick up the story in order to fully understand where the Green Lantern will be going in the next year.

 

Deadpool MAX #7

What it’s about: Deadpool is a violence loving, fourth-wall breaking merc with a mouth who is about as deadly as he is irritating. And Marvel’s adult oriented MAX line gives him the proper breathing room to be as nasty and obscene as possible.

Writer Dave Lapham gives Deadpool a sardonic voice that differentiates him from other scribes who tend to portray an "All-Ages" version of the character.

What to expect this month: Deadpool has faced off against homicidal terrorists, universe-devouring aliens, and god-like superheroes, but now he faces his biggest struggle of all: domestic life. As Deadpool learns the ins and outs of married life and fatherhood, he must struggle with the accompanying tedium and pressure.

But even though Deadpool is trying to settle down and enjoy his honeymoon, you just know that there will still be plenty of people to both offend and kill.

Invincible Iron Man #503

What it’s about: It’s amazing to think that only a decade ago Iron Man was reduced to an afterthought by Marvel. His books didn’t sell, creative teams didn’t stay, and fans didn’t care. But a couple of years ago, thanks to Warren Ellis and Adi Granov’s Extremis storyline, Iron Man began a renaissance that saw him propelled back into the mainstream consciousness.

Now a full fledged movie star, the character is more popular than ever and Invincible Iron Man is one of Marvel’s best books thanks to the socially relevant writing of Matt Fraction.

What to expect this month: Tying in to Marvel’s Fear Itself story, this issue will deal with the ramifications of the first installment of the event. With heroes preparing to battle forces beyond their comprehension, they must also take into account the residents of Broxton, Okla. who are just the innocent bystanders in all of this. And as fear begins to spread through the community, the heroes themselves have to get over their own anxiety and help the civilians.

While this issue won’t be vital in order to follow Fear Itself, it will make the reading experience much richer and more fulfilling. The job of the tie-in story is to provide smaller character moments that the main story is too crowded to deal with. So while it won't be as action-packed as the main Fear Itself book, this issue will give more clarity to Iron Man's thought process during it. Any fan of Iron Man will want to pick this up. 

Captain America vs. The Red Skull Paperback (Collecting: Captain America Comics #1; Tales of Suspense #79-81, Captain America #143, #226-227, #261-263, and #370; and material from Captain America Annual #13 and Captain America: Red, White and Blue #1)

What it’s about: Captain America has been battling it out with the Red Skull since FDR was in the Oval Office. Over the years, these two have fought during every political climate that America has seen and now their greatest brawls are collected in one paperback.

Featuring stories written by comic legends such as Roger McKenzie, J.M. DeMatteis, and Mark Gruenwald, this book boasts a great collection of Golden Age, Silver Age, and Bronze Age Cap stories that show off how the character has progressed over the decades.

New fans waiting for the movie should pick this up in the meantime in order to familiarize themselves with the greatest brawls between Cap and the Red Skull.

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