Action Comics #856
Geoff Johns, Richard Donner & Eric Powell
I don’t know what I’m enjoying more about this arc (the first issue and the preview of this one up on Newsarama): Johns and Donner’s tortured take on Bizarro or Eric Powell’s brilliantly appropriate art. I know it may sound like heresy, but I found Morrison’s take on this concept in All Star Superman far too plodding due to the incredibly convoluted Bizarro-speak; while funny, it seemed to drag the book down and, much of the time, obscure meaning. The Bizarro-talk in this book may be nowhere near as clever, but it’s also far more clear, and Powell’s artwork introduces a number of fun visual gags. This strong run continues despite being beset by delays.
Countdown Presents The Search for Ray Palmer: Crime Society
Sean McKeever & Jamal Igle
A friend of mine misread this as “The Search for the Ray Palmer Crime Society,” which sounds a lot more entertaining than the origin of the Jokester, the Earth-3 Joker, who is a bad comedian inspired by Owlman jumping through a window! Ha ha ha! Also, Jamal Igle’s art utterly butchered by bad inking.
Vinyl Underground #1
Si Spencer & Simon Gane
The story of a group of high-flying, champagne-swilling indie detectives who solve mysteries about demons and the occult and shit. The solicitation compares it to The Invisibles, as if the rest of the solicitation text didn’t say that itself by basically rehashing the premise, and the main character is named Morrison. Come on.

Howard the Duck #1
Ty Templeton & Juan Bobillo
Part one of FUCK YOU STEVE GERBER WEEK! In this book, Ty Templeton makes a bunch of jokes about the Marvel Universe involving Howard and it’s all drawn by She-Hulk‘s Juan Bobillo. It looks to be a fun, lighthearted romp that will no doubt piss off Steve Gerber because it’s his character and also because for some goddamned inexplicable reason they have fit this cover into ZOMBIE MONTH with a ZOMBIE VARIANT. It’s pictured above. What the fuck, Marvel? Oh wait…


Ms. Marvel #20
Brian Reed & Greg Tocchini
What’s this? Anothe—
from next week’s shipping list
JUL078209 AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL ZOMBIE VAR #13 (PP #783) $2.99
JUL078210 PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL ZOMBIE VAR #12 (PP #783) $3.99
JUL078098 RUNAWAYS ZOMBIE VAR #28 (PP #781) $2.99
JUL078211 WOLVERINE ZOMBIE VAR #58 (PP #783) $2.99
…
This has officially gone too goddamned far. Why does this shit continue to sell? Now these aren’t even Suydam covers anymore, they’re just… the regular book. With ZOMBIES. And they aren’t incentive covers either. I don’t really know what to think about this trend but it’s approaching Loebesque scales of awfulness and scope. Anyway, back to Fuck You Steve Gerber Week!
Omega the Unknown #1
Jonathan Lethem, Karl Rusnak & Farel Dalrymple
Jonathan Lethem, award-winning author of Fortress of Solitude joins the chorus to say Fuck You Steve Gerber! Lethem, noted for his avarice and amorality, is cruelly making a quick buck off of Gerber’s cult creation Omega the Unknown to soullessly rip off its legions of fans. Or he’s a guy who wanted to make a book about his favorite comic as a kid, who knows. Discussions about creator rights and authorial intention aside (and poking fun at a guy who’s really a great writer and admirable, if stubborn, fighter for creators’ rights and I wish him the best fighting his illness), this is an incredibly quirky project by a guy with significant mainstream cachet published in a characteristically forward-thinking move by Marvel. It’s his first try writing comics, but really, the guy’s pedigree speaks for itself. If there was a yearbook for Marvel publishing, this would win “Most Likely To Sell Forever In TPB.”
And FROM THE FUTURE, since it was originally solicited for this week…
Foolkiller #1
Gregg Hurwitz & Lan Medina
Hey, Steve Gerber! Yeah, you! You know how you get annoyed when other writers do stuff with your characters? Yeah, well, FUCK YOU! Love, Marvel (enemyz 4 life)
Quick Thoughts:
Green Lantern Corps #16, Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Cyborg Superman: I hate to say it, but this story continues to reduce my intellect down to that of a drooling fanboy. I don’t know how good it actually is, but it presses all of my Alan Moore GL and ’90s Jurgens Superman and ’90s GL buttons simultaneously in a way that speaks to me way too well.
Infinity Inc. #2: Love Milligan, hope this psychological superhero book continues to be original and smart.
Countdown #30: I hope Donna, Kyle and Jason aren’t too affected by the emotional experiences they will have meeting themselves on Earth-15! This rollercoaster masterpiece continues to improve as it barrels towards its exciting conclusion. Wait, no, that was 52. Why do people buy this shit?
Wolverine Annual #1: The cover says “one-shot.” But it’s a first annual. But the solicited title is Wolverine Annual: Deathsong #1. So is it just a one-shot? If so, then why are you calling it a fucking annual? GAH
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