If youâre 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 youâve said goodbye to dozens of longboxes to embrace the promise of digital comics. Whichever it is, youâre still interested in the good stuff.
Welcome, then, to the Panel Discussion Dozen, a round-up of comics that will enrich your sequential art enjoyment. Itâs more like 3/4 of a dozen this week but thereâs great stuff coming out tomorrow. Chime in with what you think everybody needs to be reading in the comments below.
Whatâs the most attractive thing about the series featuring DC Comicsâ rougish, shadow-sustained hero? Itâs the way that James Robinsonâs gives you an expansive sense of the immortal lead characterâs life. Sure, thereâs an uber-plot about family and nature-vs-nuture hovering each issue, but each new sequence delivers the sense that youâre in the company of a man whoâs lived centuries and enjoyed all of it. Good show.
Batman Incorporated Deluxe Edition HC
Grant Morrison takes a goofy concept from 1950s Batman loreâmasked crimefighters from different countries modeling themselves after the Dark Knightâand makes it into a sublime travelogue. This collection puts the first nine episodes of the storyline into one place. Morrison mixes trippy conspiracy threads and gruesome violence with just enough self-aware camp to make Batman Inc. an utterly unique must-read.
One of comicsâ best visual stylists teams up with British talk show host for this creator-owned series about a reality show where super-powered teens compete against each other for glory. With work like The Authority and The Ultimates behind him, Bryan Hitch has shown that heâs a master at creating amodern superhero aesthetic. And Ross has been a savvy commentator on the sidelines of comics, so itâll be interesting to see how his media sensibilities shape this new series.
The first issue of Saga entranced me like very little else has these past few years. Weâre only getting a taste of the tapestry that Brian K. Vaughnâs weaving, but it already feels incredibly dense and organic. War-weary robot rulers, magical counter-culture rebels and a whole social structure architected around and in-between the two bear down on a newly-wed couple thatâs just given birth to a daughter. Despite all the horned heads and android antagonists, Saga feels more human than anything else on the shelves.
Jonathan Hickmanâs on a ridiculously good tear right now. His mainstream comics work for Marvel has revitalized the publisherâs Ultimate Universe and his creator-owned work at Image etches out inventively paranoid speculative fiction with smart, geopolitical twists. Secret is the latest from the latter category and looks to be a twisty, hardcore look at spycraft and how messed it could really get. Pay attention to this one.
Just when it seems like Marvelâs too busy pushing forward into movies, TV shows and video games to pay attention to its publishing past, out comes a fondly remembered gem of a graphic novel. Hooky falls under the category of work that I thought would never be reprinted. Itâs Spider-Manâs first graphic novel and the fantasy adventure that the web-slinger goes on departs from the street crime norm thatâs Peter Parkerâs usual milieu. Legendary artist Bernie Wrightson makes the whole thing look astounding, too.
This Spidey title pairs up the wall-crawler with a new partner every issue and this issue kicks off the three-part Omega Effect crossover with the Punisher and Daredevil. These Manhattan-based crimefighters all have violent history together, having traded blows and gunshots over their long careers. All their titles are enjoying really strong writing now so Iâm intrigued to see where this winds up.
Secret Service #1
http://marvel.com/comic_books/issue/42701/secret_service_2012_1
Years after I enjoyed Wanted and his run on the Authority, Iâve grown extremely weary of Millarâs bluster-heavy, all-high-concept, no-conceptual-buildout movie pitches on paper. But, despite myself, I still show up for the first issues of his new projects. Iâm hoping that this one exceeds the shallow depth of Nemesis and Superior, though. Chances are that it might given that Dave Gibbonsâone-half of the legendary team behind the classic Watchmenâis an excellent scripter and plotter in his own right, along with being a great artist.
Courtney Crumrin And The Night Things HC Special Edition
The gorgeous creepy-cute cult comics series by Ted Naifehâs been out of print way too long, making this hardcover a welcome arrival. Itâs like Edward Gorey and Joss Whedon collaborated on a new not-for-kids horror tale.
