Five Comics Where Humans Help Each Other This Week

If you’re here in the Panel Discussion programming block, you might be a lapsed comics reader, trying to find a way back to the JLA Satellite. Or you might someone killing time until you pick up your weekly Wednesday pull list. Or maybe you’ve said goodbye to dozens of longboxes to embrace the promise of digital comics. Whichever it is, you’re still interested in the good stuff.

Welcome, then, to the Panel Discussion DozenQuintet, where I pick out just-released or out-soon comics that I think are worth paying attention to. Ready? Then, let’s meet the sequential art that’ll be draining your wallet this week. Be sure to chime in with the books you’ll be picking up or that you think everybody should be reading in the comments.

Dragon Age, Vol. 2: Those Who Speak

If you didn’t like Dragon Age 2 because of how much it re-used the game’s environments, consider this comics collection a chance to travel through more of Bioware’s fantasy universe.

I, Vampire #16

The vampires in this DC Comic don’t mope. That’s probably why I like I, Vampire so much. Whether it’s former bloodsucking queen Mary, ancient sire Cain or lead character Andrew, they’re all about doing stuff. Joshua Hale Fialkov’s writing constantly shifts the status quo: one minute, someone’s human; the next, he’s immortal. Or vice versa. All the plot changes get paired up with great art—this time by Dennis Calero—-and a keen set of character dynamics. One of DC’s best right now.

Batman Inc. #7

The best/worst thing about the Batman-vs-Talia tug-of-war going on in this comic is how children are caught up in the middle of this conflict. Grant Morrison taps into a primal fear—”what if something happens to the kids?”—and uses it to make Batman vulnerable in a rarely seen way. And it cuts across Damien’s psyche, too. The current Robin has always been portrayed as super-deadly but he’s found himself compromised in this hero/villain custody battle. From the looks of that cover, the stakes are getting even higher.

Invincible #100

I’m way behind on Invincible. Like, 40 issues behind. (I did read issue #97 but was way turned off by an utterly baffling plot contrivance that returned the status quo.) Still, I’ll probably show up again for this anniversary of Robert Kirkman’s young superhero book. It captures much of the energy of old-school Marvel Comics but updated with a self-consciously quirky modern sensibility. It’ll be interesting to see how much things get shaken up.

Hawkeye #7

You all pre-ordered this, right? Writer Matt Fraction is donating all of his check to charities helping victims of Hurricane Sandy, remember? That’s a beautiful thing. And look this is already one of the best written, best-drawn comics coming out from the House of Ideas.

See the rest of this week’s new releases, via Midtown Comics’ ever-helpful website.