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Every Tuesday, I’m here to shed a little light on your comic reading choices for Wednesday. As always, click on a pic to view it in GAMERVISION’s newly patented Expand-O-Scope.

DC COMICS

Batman #674
Here’s what you need to know: Batman’s been kidnapped by an evil Batman. There are only 2 issues left until “Batman RIP” begins. Tony Daniel is penciling his ass off (if that’s possible), and Grant Morrison is segueing into his masterstroke for the character. If you haven’t started reading this yet, find some way to gather two hundred and ninety-nine pennies so you can start reading what is sure to be remembered as a defining story-arc in the life of Bruce Wayne.

Teen Titans #56
Last issue provided a brief respite between the last storyline and the one that begins with this issue. Sean McKeever is a gifted writer who can now take the Titans where he wants, and Eddy Barrows does a bang-up job on penciling duties. I promise your $2.99 won’t be misspent on this perfectly good jumping on point.

Fables #70
Niko Henrichon. Bill Willingham. I can’t lie; a major story-arc is coming to a close. In this epilogue-ish issue, the animal fables are given a choice to stay on our realm, or return to their own. The selling point for people uninitiated with FABLES is the Niko Henrichon art. He hit the big time working with Brian K. Vaughn on the graphic novel PRIDE OF BAGHDAD. There are about 3 words that describe his art: stunning, gorgeous and amazing. I won’t even mind if you don’t actually spend $2.99 on this, as long as you at least promise me to flip through it at your local comic shop. You won’t be wasting your time.

MARVEL COMICS

Captain America #35
Ed. Brubaker. Two words you better get used to seeing. Ed Brubaker (there they were again) continues his ridiculously amazing run on this book by starting what will no doubt be one of his most intense storylines ever. When we last left off, hypnotized government agents opened fire on a crowd of protesters outside of the White House. You better believe your $2.99 is gonna get you some answers. Or will it? You never know with Bru, that’s what makes it so much fun to read.

Criminal #1
Remember when I told you about little known writer, Ed Brubaker? He’s this new guy MARVEL is giving a chance. He’s okay, I guess. But seriously, CRIMINAL is a creator owned book from Bru and artist Sean Phillips. These two have a book that takes all the best elements of pulp crime and noir, and mashes them with modern day craftsmanship. The backmatter is filled with all kinds of behind-the-scenes stuff these two guys want to share so you can enjoy the experience even more. You might as well just put $3.50 aside tonight so you’ll have it ready when you get to the comic shop.

Kick-Ass #1
I really can’t come up with anything better than the actual solicitation for this book on the MARVEL website:
“The greatest super hero comic of all-time is finally here. WOLVERINE: ENEMY OF THE STATE's team of MARK MILLAR (CIVIL WAR) and JOHN ROMITA JR. (WORLD WAR HULK) reunite for the best new book of the 21st century. Have you ever wanted to be a super hero? Dreamed of donning a mask and just heading outside to some kick-ass? Well, this is the book for you--the comic that starts where other super hero books draw the line. KICK-ASS is realistic super heroes taken to the next level. Miss out and you're an idiot!”
$2.99. Buy into the hype just as much as I have.

Thor #6
This was my best returning series of 2007. The first arc has come to a close, and now it’s time to get things moving along for our man, Thor. J. Michael Stracynski is a very talented writer. Despite what the people at your comic shop may say about the end of his run on AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (I am one of those people), his work on THOR has been nothing short of superb. It helps that Oliver Coipel is penciling the book. I can’t begin to describe the fine work this man is doing. He’s able to catch not only the quiet moment in perfect detail, but his grand vistas are just as inspiring. Jumping on points are truly priceless for new readers, but if I had to guess on a value, I’d put it around $2.99.

Trade Paperback/ Hardcover of the Week

At the last minute, DARK HORSE comics decided to delay what was going to be this week’s TPB of the Week, FEAR AGENT V. 3: The Last Goodbye. So, your second best trade this week is going to be…

INFINITE CRISIS
A little over 2 years ago, DC decided to try and fix all of their continuity problems. If you’ve never read a DC comic, this thing is confusing as all hell. Not exactly a great starting point for you guys either as so many things were going on throughout all of DC’s books for the 2 years leading up to this 7 issue series. Here’s a little recap on the events leading directly into this series: Wonder Woman killed Maxwell Lord, who used to run the business end of things for the Justice League. Meanwhile in an alternate universe, a younger alternate Superman (who DC isn’t allowed to call Superboy due to legal reasons) sees this happen, gets angry, and takes his aggression out by punching the very fabric of time and space. Yeah, you read that right. This brings about all kinds of crazy changes, including bringing back the once dead Jason Todd, who used to be Robin in the 80’s until fans voted (by calling a 1-800 number) for the Joker to kill him. Yeah, you read that right, too. Anway, stuff happens. People fight. It’s all very entertaining for those people who were up on current DC events. Oh, I forgot to mention Batman’s super-spy satellite, OMAC, grew sentience and wanted to take over the world. Very many things happened. It was well written and beautifully illustrated, but confusing nonetheless. I recommend it based solely on the premise that you can read this in preparation for the blockbuster FINAL CRISIS beginning later this year. The book will set you back $14.99, and probably most of your day trying to figure out just what the heck is going on.

If you can’t tell, I’m kinda ticked at DARK HORSE (and being a little unfair to INFINITE CRISIS, it’s actually really good) for delaying FEAR AGENT since I really wanted to read it. Below is the original write-up I had. FEAR AGENT will hopefully be out March 19th. Jerks. DARK HORSE, not you guys. I love you guys.

Fear Agent V. 3: The Last Goodbye
Rick Remender and Tony Moore bring you the third chapter of their great sci-fi yarn this month. Collecting the origin of the last Fear Agent, this book will take you back to those moments you first fell in love with space and the heroes the vast frontier afforded it. I missed out on these stories the first time they came around in single-issue form. After reading the first two collections, I truly am jealous of the guys who knew about this great book before me. This is actually a better point for you guys to start reading than the first trade, as the untold origin of Heath Huston is revealed for the first time. Remender’s writing keeps you turning pages to keep up with the frantic pace his tales present. As for Tony Moore, there’s nothing bad I can say about his art. Clean, yet rough at the same time, the style couldn’t be a more perfect fit for this type of story. $13.95 gets you a ticket. Opening the book starts the ride.


See you next week.