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So anyway, at the shop on Wednesday,
pal Dorian was flipping through some of the comics in his stack, and, while perusing
All New Batman: The Brave and the Bold #12, he says to me “hey, Swamp Thing is in this issue.”
Me: “C’mon. Really?”
Dor: “Yes.” (shows me page with Swamp Thing)
Me: “Well, shit.” (takes copy of comic off rack)
Dor: “Well, I guess we know what you’ll be blogging about tomorrow!”
…Sigh. He knows me so well. And just to be clear, my expletive-enhanced reaction wasn’t to the fact that Swamp Thing was in a comic…that’s always okay by me, of course. It had more to do with the fact that I’m such an easy mark. I must buy the comics with Swamp Thing in them. It’s a sickness.
It’s a fun Halloween-ish comic, by the way, with Batman and Zatanna trying to solve a crime at the House of Mystery, with cameo appearances by lots of DC’s horror characters, such as the aforementioned Swamp Thing, who gets in a panel or three.
Other notable items this week: the new Smurfs collection The Smurfs Apprentice, which I haven’t read yet but I’m sure it’ll be as fun as the rest in the series; Superman #2, which is slightly more readable than #1, but only just; Breed III #6, guest-starring Dreadstar…man, I do love the Dreadstar; Fury of Firestorm #2, which again I haven’t got around to reading yet, if only because I didn’t care for the first one so much, but I like the Firestorm character enough to give it another shot; The Incredible Hulk #1, which gives us Bearded Hulk, and Bearded Hulk is nearly always a mark of quality…as is the fact it’s written by Jason Aaron; and Jason Aaron as writer on Wolverine and the X-Men #1 got me to at least flip through the comic and check it out…well, X-Men books are still not for me, I guess, but folks I know who are more mutantly-inclined seem to really like it, so there you go.
GRATUITOUS PARAGRAPH BREAK: Aquaman #2 was probably one of the fastest selling second issues of DC’s New 52 relaunch, so that’s a good sign…the comic wasn’t bad either; I’ve been hearing here and there people are having trouble finding the free Legion flight ring that’s out to promote the Legion Secret Origin #1…I know we didn’t get our full allotment, so maybe there was a shipping issue with this? I don’t know; Daredevil #5 continues to be remarkably good, and hopefully no editorially-mandated crossover events will come along to spoil things; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3 continues the series that really, really surprised me with the demand I’m seeing…this is a series that has had moribund sales for years, and it’s really taking off. Good, I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for TMNT; and a couple more strip collections: volume two of Fantagraphics’ Mickey Mouse strips, gorgeous as ever, and Reheated Lio: Still Another Lio Collection, peculiar as ever.
Oh, and drop a buck on Spaceman #1 by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso…an intriguing, and beautiful-looking, first issue.
And in conclusion: Comics! I have…won’t you?
Seemed like an appropriate image to post, considering
our current travails. It comes from the cover of
Miracleman #7 (August 1986), published by Eclipse Comics as it was attempting to recover from a flood that devastated its offices and much of its comic stock.
We’re recovering okay from our own flood, as not a lot of actual store stock was lost…most of the unrecoverable items were personal materials from the back office. The primary issue is needing to move stuff out of the back so that we can clean up the mess, and that’s a lot of stuff. Thankfully, we have a lot of people helping out, so everything should be back to normal relatively soon. Still, it’s a huge pain and a significant disruption to the business, but thankfully our customers have been very understanding, gracious, and sympathetic, for which I am very thankful.
• • •
Let me note a few new comical-type things that came out this week:
- Some nice archival stuff turned up this week, including Gahan Wilson’s Nuts! from Fantagraphics (a somewhat nostalgic/somewhat terrifying look at childhood), volume five of the Complete Bloom County, a third volume of John Stanley’s Libary: Nancy Vol. 3 (with our favorite ruffian on the cover), and the fourth volume of Prince Valiant from Fantagraphics (beautiful as ever).
- In the “people in capes punching each other” department, the second issue of Batwoman shows that the art continues to be the star of the show, but thankfully the writing isn’t too bad, either. Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. is still full of monsters fighting monsters and being strange about it, which is okay in my book. And Green Lantern #2…you know, if this just becomes a Hal Jordan/Sinestro buddy-cop series, I’d be okay with that.
- The Shade #1 is probably best read without trying to think about how it fits into the New DC’s superhero continuity, because…yeah, no way. I mean, it spins out of the James Robinson Starman series, the very premise of which isn’t possible in DC’s “no Golden Age heroes in continuity” thing, if I’m understanding that right. Unless the Starman series now retroactively takes place on DC’s forthcoming Earth-2, where the Golden Age heroes are going back to, but that would mean the Cry for Justice series, referred to in Shade, is also on Earth-2…AAUGH. Mike no like think. Anyway, just enjoy it as a Starman follow-up…which was totally written without any of this new 52 business in mind. Don’t try to figure out how it fits with everything else. DON’T MAKE MY MISTAKE.
- As an aside, here…speaking of things that didn’t account for the new 52 relaunch…I guess that big ol’ Firestorm cliffhanger from Brightest Day #24 is no longer an issue, given the character’s complete reboot.
- I’ve been enjoying the new Hellraiser series from Boom!, which treats the whole premise with a little more seriousness and respect than most of the movies have. Clive Barker being involved in the book, even just a little, certainly helps.
• • •
In other,
other news…I shaved my beard and dyed my hair. No, not because I’m on the run…the girlfriend and I wanted to see how it’d look, and by that I mean “she made me do it.” Hair is perhaps a shade…
too dark, probably from not rinsing it out fast enough. I mean, “teak” is a nice color, right? As a result, I’ve been frightening the populace with my dark brown hair (a color that’s
never been on my head, by the way) and my shorn face. I’ve also been called “Aaron” at least once, which I don’t understand since
my face at least gets touched by a razor once in a while.
Photos possibly to follow, because if it’s one thing the internet needs, it’s more pictures of my mug.
I was going to save these for my next End of Civilization post, but decided I couldn’t wait. Now, I’m not much of a t-shirt wearer, but I think I will make an exception for these fine items, available in the October issue of Previews:
That’s the cover of the new
Swamp Thing #1 by Yanick Paquette, and here is a plain ol’ logo shirt:
…one of which I’ve been awaiting for a
long time. At last, I can finally retire (well,
more retire)
this worn-out piece of clothing.
• • •
In other news…I picked up five of the new DC #1s this week (minor spoilers ahead):
- Superman #1: lots of stuff crammed into this issue — interesting, but can’t really describe it as “enjoyable” — and the last hope that someone, anyone, could make Superman’s new costume look good is finally dashed…though George Perez comes closest on the cover.
- Aquaman #1: pulls off the nice trick of taking all the criticisms and mockeries aimed at Aquaman over the years and putting them in the mouths of a bunch of folks harassing our fishy friend. Effectively puts reader in position of siding with the hero against all those old jokes, probably a more effective defense than attempts at bad-assifying the character. I wasn’t planning to get this, but picked it up on a whim and, surprisingly, turned out to be one of my favorite relaunches of this whole New 52 hoohar.
- Fury of Firestorm #1: noted just recently that I love the Firestorm character, but I’m not quite sure what I think of this new version. It’s a complete reboot, which seems to be taking things in a slightly different direction, and…I’m not sure how I feel about it yet. I’ll keep reading and see what happens. However, I am not down with reboot Cliff Carmichael…sorry, this is “Superman’s new costume” level of tragedy.
- Green Lantern: New Guardians #1: think this may be the “one Green Lantern title too many” series. I’ve said before that I’ve probably had enough of the different-colored Lantern corps for the time being, so it’s probably not you, baby, it’s me. However, totally judging this from just this one issue, this feels like it’s more suited to a storyline in another GL book rather than a series on its own. Then again, you can probably say that about every GL series beyond the first one.
- Justice League Dark #1: only picked it up because of John Constantine, not expecting much…but turned out to be not half-bad. Still in the “let’s get the band together” part of the story, being only the first issue an’ all, but am looking forward to more. And looking forward to any possible Swamp Thing cameos, but that goes without saying.
Also picked up Love & Rockets #4 by those Jaime and Gilbert cats, which is, as usual, a masterpiece of comics storytelling despite its lack of Swamp Thing. L&R, always recommended.
…If you want reviews of all of last week’s DC #1s, pal Dorian has got you covered.
The fact that there isn’t an ongoing Thing solo series with this exact title and logo:
…is a sad indication of our failure as a culture. How could a comic titled
The Ever-Lovin’ Blue-Eyed Thing not sell like gangbusters?
Also, said theoretical The Ever-Lovin’ Blue-Eyed Thing logo would require that pic of the Thing in a circle just to the left of it at all times.
image from Marvel Two-in-One Annual #1 (1976)
• • •
In other news:
- I never got around to reviewing my picks from last week’s New DC #1 haul, but thankfully pal Dorian did. Dor points out something about Mr. Terrific’s name that…I hadn’t really considered. Hmm.
In case you were wondering: I picked up Batwoman, Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Green Lantern, Red Lanterns, and Demon Knights. Will be back for second issues on all these. Tried Mr. Terrific, but didn’t do anything for me, sadly.
- Tony Isabella presents six-part behind-the-scenes look at an Ant-Man story he did with Steve Ditko, beginning with the introduction here and the first page of the story (including original Ditko pencils!) here.
Also, at the end of this post, Mr. Isabella expands on a comment he left here, lamenting the lack of a creator credit for Jack Kirby in the new Omac series. I hadn’t noticed that lack of a credit, so shame on me for that. Another person noted that Kirby did get a credit in Demon Knights, so hopefully the same will pop up soon in Omac.
- Bully, the Post-Flashpoint Little Stuffed Bull with an All-New Costume and Origin, details all those other changes made to the DC Universe you might have missed.
So the weekend before Justice League #1 was due out, I had a last minute feeling of “hmmm…maybe I should have more copies of this, since it is the first New DC title, and will likely sell well.” Thus, along with my regular reorders I sent in that Sunday evening, I put in an order for an extra bushel or two of that first Justice League comic.
Well, the immediate response from our distributor was “only available via back order,” which most of the time is the equivalent of “fat chance, laughing boy.” That, coupled with the reports of sellouts and announcements of reprintings, told me that my reordering was in vain.
…Until this week, when we received a big ol’ stack of Justice League #1, first printing, with our regular weekly shipment. Not sure how our distributor came across these (warehouse find? initial order for a now defunct store?) but there they were. And I threw them back on the new comics shelf, with a little “1st printing!” tag on them, and sold them for cover price. I didn’t do the “one per customer” thing, if only because 1) that results in panic buying, making people feel like they have to buy it rather than just picking it up if they’re interested, and 2) I didn’t feel like dealing with dudes returning to the shop five minutes later wearing a beret and a fake mustache saying “Bonjour! I am Monsieur I-Wasn’t-Just-Here-Buying-A-Copy-of-Justice-League-#1…may I buy a copy of Justice League #1?”
Speaking of panic-buying…remember a while back, when I looked at the sales patterns of the multiple Flashpoint tie-ins, and thought maybe the seeming new-series fatigue that sort of set in there may reflect a similar fatigue with this onslaught of DC debuts? Looks like the opposite may be true…with the constant sellouts and reprint announcements, this seems to be encouraging higher and faster sales than before, with folks not wanting to miss out. We planned ahead as best as we could, trying to anticipate sales among our clientele, but with customers from other comic shops coming to us for their books, along with a cascading demand feeding more sales and even more interest, we went from looking at our initial orders thinking “hope we don’t get stuck with these” to “oh crap, that’s not nearly enough.”
I did place back orders on everything hoping for a repeat of that Justice League situation, but lightning probably won’t strike twice. I did get some confirmations on some of my advance reorders, so we’re not totally out of luck. And I’m getting lots of the second printings as well.
In other non-DC news…the new Optic Nerve (#12) is out, and it’s a good’un. Actually, really good. Sergio Aragones Funnies #3 is also out, and you should be grateful that there’s a regular monthly booklet of cover-to-cover work by one of the world’s greatest cartoonists. You really should buy it. Mark Waid and Paolo Rivera’s Daredevil (also #3) is pulling off what I thought was impossible – me buying a Daredevil comic that doesn’t have the name “Miller” anywhere in the credits. Punishermax #17, that great comic with the worst name, (re-)introduces a character that usually isn’t of any interest when appearing in comics that don’t have the name “Miller” anywhere in the credits, but is sure used effectively here.
And that Sugar and Spike Archives is really good. Yeah, that doesn’t fit under “non-DC news,” since it is DC, but I don’t care. It’s great cartooning by Sheldon Mayer, and in every way deserving of its reputation.
To follow up on yesterday: I ended up not getting Justice League International…just seemed a little too…generic-y superhero, you know? I also picked up Omac, after giving it a look-through or two, and hearing a good word or two about it from comrade-in-funnybook-arms Chris Sims. It’s Keith Giffen doing a totally-nuts Kirby riff, and if you’re gonna do a book like Omac, Kirby it up as much as possible, I say.
And Swamp Thing…my mystical eye of Aga-Mike-o has peered across the nerdinet and has witnessed the pleasingly positive response most people have had to this new debut issue. Like I said yesterday, it continues the “Alec Holland evading his Swamp Thing destiny” storyline from the mini-series, and I’m assuming Scott Snyder will eventually provide the explanation for the sudden reseparation of Alec from Swampy, when the rejoining of the two was such a big deal at the end of Brightest Day. But, also like I noted, where the Search for Swamp Thing mini-series seemed awkward and forced, this new issue is more along the lines of what I want from a Swamp Thing comic…creepier and more introspective.
There’s also a bit of business introducing Swamp Thing’s next adversary, which features a certainly intentional reference to one of the more disturbing visuals from the Moore/Bissette/Totleben era. I don’t know that it’s supposed to be the same thing from the Moore run, but…well, I realize I’m being vague here, in an attempt to avoid spoilers. But you’ll know what I’m talking about when you see it.
One more thing, and this could be a SPOILER, I guess: this comic features, I believe, the second in-story appearance of Superman in his new costume that we’ve seen since the beginning of the relaunch. And while Yanick Paquette does a remarkable job illustrating this issue, there’s only so much one can do with that new Superman costume. It just plain looks awkward. Even the dude who designed the thing couldn’t make it work in the one panel he had to sell us on it in Justice League #1.
I like to think that I’m not simply being a typical reactionary comics fan, hating something because it’s different from what I’m used to. I mean, it’s…I’m not even sure how to articulate it. I think it’s a level of…pretension, perhaps, that seems uncharacteristic of what we think of when we consider the character of Superman. I think it’s that collar. It sort of gives him, like…airs of royalty, maybe? A “hey, this is my important uniform, I outrank you” kind of thing? And the action figure space-boots he suddenly has? It’s like Superman is slowly turning into the kind of superhero Old Superman opposed in Kingdom Come, with the overwrought, overdesigned ’90s tech-fest look.
Yes, maybe the red underwear over the blue tights was kind of goofy. Actually, there’s no “kind of” about it…it is goofy. And as someone reminded me on the Twitter not long ago, Superman’s costume is essentially just an old-timey circus strongman outfit. And…I’m okay with that. “Simple” works for Superman. So does “goofy” — it’s a little more humanizing, helping to bring a fantastic (in the original sense) character like Superman down to earth. (Compare also with the work jeans and boots costume in the new Action.)
Granted, that George Perez cover makes it look okay, but then, that’s George Perez. He makes purt’near everything look okay. But I’ll have to see what he does with it inside the book. Maybe once I get the in-story explanation for it (if there is one), I’ll be a little more accepting.
I mean, sure, if DC sticks with this costume, I’ll get used to it. But it’s really no improvement, especially if no one can draw it in an appealing fashion. It’s just change for change’s sake, and just one more shout of “hey, look, we’re different now!” among DC’s cacophony of similar cries.
So, in conclusion, I liked the new Swamp Thing comic. And let us put an end to the DC posts on this site…at least ’til next week.
So yes, we sold out of the first issue of Justice League, the vanguard title for DC’s rebootalaunch, and orders have already been placed for the second printing. Had a few new faces come into the shop looking for it, had plenty of our regulars pick it up, and have been receiving calls from out-of-towners trying to track it down as their local suppliers ran dry. That kind of momentum isn’t going to keep up, of course, as media coverage dwindles and first-issue fatigue starts to set in as wave after wave of debuts hits this racks…but at least it shows some interest is there, and that DC’s new publishing initiative isn’t falling flat on its face saleswise from the get-go.
An interesting thing I’ve noted is the number of people asking when those next #1s were due to come out, and how surprised they were when I told them DC would be releasing several #1s every week for the next month. So apparently DC was successful in getting the word out there that there was a new Justice League #1, that there would be more #1s to follow, but not when they were coming? Or perhaps I just had a string of folks who happened to miss that bit of info. Or even more likely, people were still in denial that they have 51 more first issues headed their way. “Tell me it’s not true…it can’t be true!”
About the Justice League itself…well, yeah, as our intro to this new DC Universe continuity, it’s a little underwhelming. Superheroes meet, they fight, we get teased with the supervillain threat, oh hey there’s Superman, and suddenly “to be continued.” All very by-the-numbers, with nothing to intrigue or inspire the imagination. I mean, it looks okay, with Jim Lee turning in a respectable art job on this issue, even if Superman’s new costume continues to appear unnecessarily rejiggered. And I’m calling “no way” on Batman being able to yank Green Lantern’s ring off his hand without GL noticing. I mean, come on.
DC’s other release this week was Flashpoint #5, the conclusion of the whole crossover event hoohar that introduced this new DC Universe. I hadn’t read any of the previous issues of the mini, and the only tie-in minis I read were the Frankenstein series (which seemed to have very little to do with it) and Project Superman (the reasons for which I explained previously). However, having read plenty of superhero comics in my life, I don’t feel like I missed anything by not reading the first four issues of the series. I can pretty safely extrapolate how they got to this point, I think. But anyway, the only reason I did pick up Flashpoint #5 was for the Swamp Thing cameos. …Yeah, I know.
I was discussing DC’s new publishing strategy yesterday with a longtime customer of mine, and he was wondering when DC would switch everything back to the way things were, including continuity, issue numbering, etc. My response was that if things went badly enough that this new strategy clearly wasn’t working, this wouldn’t be the kind of problem that would be solved by reverting to the old issue numbers and the old DCU. As I said on this site before, this whole thing smacks of a “nothing left to lose” decision, that is was either this or “might as well shutter the publishing arm and give our characters to the movie and TV studios so they can make real money with them.” No idea if that’s actually the case, though this article makes it seem like it is.
At the very least, DC’s efforts are generating some activity and discussion among our customers, and that certainly doesn’t hurt. Whether it helps in the long run…well, let’s hope so.
So here’s the thing about that Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search for Swamp Thing series:
The end of Brightest Day was about the Swamp Thing “elemental spirit,” bereft of the personality template of Alec Holland and running amok, being brought back under control by “reinfecting” that elemental spirit with the personality of Holland.
The Search for Swamp Thing is about…the Swamp Thing elemental spirit, bereft of the personality template of Alec Holland and running amok, needing to be reunited with Holland’s mind to be brought under control. It’s repeating a conflict and, presumably, a resolution that we already saw at the end of the Brightest Day event (which, admittedly, was undone almost immediately as seen in one of the cliffhanger epilogues at the end of Brightest Day #24). Of course, we haven’t seen the last part of the story yet, but it seems like a done deal, judging by solicits for the upcoming Swamp Thing series, that Holland will once again become Swamp Thing. (SPOILER ALERT, I guess.)
The main purpose of the series is, I guess, to reemphasize the return from the Vertigo imprint of Swamp and John Constantine, having Constantine interact with Batman, Superman, etc. (And just to keep Swamp Thing in the public’s eye, of course.) But really, if it weren’t for that Brightest Day epilogue re-setting up the Berserk Swamp Thing hoohar to be resolved, we could have skipped right from BD #24 to that new Swamp Thing #1 in September.
I don’t know. I’m too much of a Swampy fanboy to argue that there should be fewer Swamp Thing comics, and all things considered, I still find this comic to be inept but amusing. But it certainly feels…redundant in its goals, both in reestablishing the status quo for the character and reintroducing the character to the DC Universe, tasks already accomplished a couple of months prior.
Also picked up this week: the seventh volume of the Smurfs albums, The Astro Smurf. This is the Smurf story I’ve most recently read prior to this new publishing effort, having borrowed an older English album edition from pal Dorian about a decade ago. Haven’t read this new edition yet, but I liked it the last time I read it, and suspect I’ll still like it now, even if it’s in this smaller digest format.
Another new item this week I haven’t had a chance to read yet: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen – Century: 1969. Any new League comic from Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill is most welcome, even though Kevin’s response has me intrigued.
So I generally like Daredevil, though I haven’t been much interested in what’s been done with the character over the last, oh, decade or so. When this new Daredevil #1 came out this week, I didn’t have any intention of picking it up, but 1) just look at this gorgeous cover:
…and 2) Mark Waid was writing it, so I thought I’d peek inside at a page. Or two. Then three. Then four. Then…ah hell, fine, I’ll buy it. It does a great job of giving a fresh, non-angsty start to the character without forgetting everything that’s gone before, with the vast majority of the past decade’s storylines basically summed up by Daredevil with (paraphrasing) “yeah, things have been pretty crap for me recently.”
The one recent plot development that does carry over into this new series is the public exposure of Daredevil’s secret identity, and the problems that Matt Murdock has trying to deny everything while that particular genie slowly crawls back into the bottle. It makes for an entertaining read, as this way of dealing with the identity-outing is quite a bit more down-to-earth and (please pardon the expression) “realistic”-seeming than, I don’t know, amnesia spells or deals with the devil or the thousand different ways Superman protected his identity in the Silver Age. No Daredevil robots here!
Anyway, it’s a fun book, with more of a classic House of Ideas feel with its appealing combination of melodrama, exciting superheroics, humor and charm. Here’s hoping it can avoid any intrusive crossover company events and be left to develop on its own, without interruption.
• • •
Also of note:
Sergio Aragonés Funnies, filled with single-page gags, autobiographical stories, and funny shorts, all from Sergio’s masterful pen. The only thing wrong with this comic is that it only started
now, and hasn’t been running for decades.
Rocketeer Adventures #3 – each issue’s been a mixed bag, though that makes it sound worse than I mean. It’s all fine and entertaining, with some standouts and other stories just simply “pretty good,” which mostly only suffer in comparison to Dave Stevens’ original Rocketeer stories. So, you know, there’s no shame in coming in second to those. I liked Ryan Sook’s lead story in this new issue the most, and while I think I would have preferred Joe Lansdale and Bruce Timm’s story to be an actual comic story and not just prose-with-pictures, I’m not going to complain about a new Joe Lansdale short story that happens to be illustrated by Timm. I mean, honestly.
Also, each issue has featured the “main” cover by Alex Ross, and a more limited cover reusing Stevens’ art from previous Rocketeer-related publications. I’ve been sticking with the Stevens covers…nothing wrong with the Ross covers, but it feels more…”right” to get the Stevens ones, I guess. Or maybe I’m just being a sentimental ol’ dope.
So now that I finally started using my Tumblr site, I believe I finally found a purpose for it (aside from using it to comment on friends’ posts and reblogging awesome things, like this unused Superman versus Titano cover by Curt Swan). I think I may be using it as a “commentary track” or “greatest hits” supplement for this site, revisiting old posts and images and providing some additional info, background material, or just reminding folks of some of the older, sillier stuff. Okay, I did just repost that recent Klarion pic but c’mon, that pic is fantastic.
In other news…I’m sure most of you are aware by now of the Diamond street dates thing, in which retailers can get their comics on Tuesday in order to prep them for Wednesday sale, and woe betide you if you sell them early. I hear tell that Diamond has “secret shoppers” out there in the wild, enforcing the Wednesday street dates. Well, considering I yell even at Employee Aaron if he even looks at the books as I’m breaking down the order, I think I’m pretty safe there.
But anyway, this Tuesday, we had a large order of gaming product come in from Diamond, along with our usual comics order. I mean, a very large order. It was all prepaid for by a customer, so we had the coin of the realm on hand to take care of it, but still, it’s a bit imposing when you check the status of your UPS shipment and discover sixty boxes waiting for you. There’s always that fear that maybe your finger slipped while placing your orders three months ago and you accidentally ordered 15,000 copies of Green Hornet: Aftermath #4 and they all turned up today and OH GOD. But no, it was just the games stuff, and it was about fifty boxes all of approximately the same size and shape and while Aaron and I were tempted to build a fort with them, alas, we were too busy.
It was also a fairly sizable comics ship week as well, with a handful of notable items, like Superman #713, the next issue after the surprise Krypto fill-in for the scheduled Muslim superhero story. Some folks claimed the fill-in had something to do with the powers-that-be not liking the originally-planned story showing Superman rescuing a kitten, as it undermined the strength of the character or something. Well…guess what happens in this new issue? Go on, guess. Okay, it involves a roof, not a tree, but if anyone’s really going to split hairs over that, they are welcome to jump up my hinder.
Oh, and Superman #713 has this awesome Jeff Smith variant, and they should totally give Smith his own Superman series to do. (And speaking of Smith, the new issue of Rasl is out this week, too.)
The next issue of the Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown mini is also released this week, which turned out to be the only Flashpoint book I’m reading. I wasn’t going to be reading any of them, but those cats over at the War Rocket Ajax podcast convinced me to give it a try via their discussion of it on the show, and they were right: this is the stuff.
And this action figure is out this week. This is a gargantuan hunk of plastic. You could probably concuss a pony with this thing. I am praying this is how Tom Hardy looks in The Dark Knight Rises.
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