A Batmobile replica from Gotham Garage

Legal | A judge refused to dismiss DC Comics’ lawsuit against Gotham Garage, a manufacturer of custom-made Batmobiles, ruling that the design of Batman’s vehicle is indeed copyrightable. DC sued the California company in May for copyright and trademark infringement, claiming Gotham Garage is confusing the public into thinking the cars are authorized products. The manufacturer asked the judge to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the U.S. Copyright Act affords no protection to “useful articles.” The judge disagreed, ruling that Gotham Garage “ignores the exception to the ‘useful article’ rule, which grants copyright protection to nonfunctional, artistic elements of an automobile design that can be physically or conceptually separated from the automobile.” [The Hollywood Reporter]

Legal | Nancy Hass provides a broad overview of the legal battle at Archie Comics that pits Co-CEOs Jon Goldwater and Nancy Silberkleit against each other for control of the 73-year-old company. Silberkleit, who spoke briefly to Hass before a New York judge issued a temporary restraining order last month, called claims that she’s threatened and harassed the publisher’s employees and vendors “completely untrue.” [The Daily Beast]

comiXology

Digital | Four of the 10 top-grossing iPad apps for the past week were comics apps: comiXology’s Comics, DC, and Marvel apps and the Viz Manga app. [Media Bistro]

Digital | Alan Gardner gives the Pearls Before Swine iOS app a rave review but questions whether other creators will have the chutzpah to make videos of themselves, as creator Stephan Pastis does, and cross the line from creator to performer. [The Daily Cartoonist]

Passings| Wolverine and the X-Men writer Jason Aaron remembers Mike Pandel, a long-time employee of A Comic Shop in Orlando, Florida, who died this week following a traffic accident. [Jason Aaron]

Retailing | Christopher Butcher has some advice for fans who are outraged by the high price of “out of print” books at online bookstores: The book may not really be out of print, and it may be available a lot cheaper somewhere else. [UDON Entertainment]

Janelle Asselin

Comics | Former DC Comics editor Janelle Asselin discusses the work she did for her thesis on the subject of women and comics, how to bring in more female readers and more. [DC Women Kicking Ass]

Comics | Martha Cornog shares a list of 25 recommended graphic novels for African-American History Month. [Library Journal

Webcomics | In the days before the Super Bowl, Larry Cruz looks at a handful of sports-themed webcomics. [The Webcomic Overlook]

Comics | U.K. publishers are relying on nostalgia and escapism to bring new readers to the action title Strip Magazine, which runs old and new comics, and is expanding its distribution from comics stores to newsstands (as well as its iPad app). [BBC News]

Grimjack #1

Commentary | Rajan Khanna looks back at the 1980s independent comic Grimjack, by writer John Ostrander and artist Tim Truman. [tor.com]

History | R.C. Harvey delves into the history of the long-running newspaper strip Mary Worth and the controversy over whether or not it was the successor strip to the Depression-era Apple Mary. [The Comics Journal]

Advice | Colleen Doran has some resources and advice for freelancers and creative artists on how to deal with one of the biggest challenges of the creative life: Finding affordable health insurance. [A Distant Soil]

Fandom | CBR contributor TJ Dietsch details how he bound his single issues of Justice League into hardcovers. [United Monkee]

Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList, and tell us what you’re getting in our comments field.

Shade #4

Chris Arrant

If I had $15 I would be in comics heaven, starting with Shade #4 (DC, $2.99). I’ve loved what Cully Hamner and James Robinson have done so far, but seeing Darwyn Cooke drawing this issue knocks it up to a whole new level. It’s like seeing David Bowie sit in on an up-and-coming band’s gig one night. Next up would be the reunion of Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen in Secret Avengers #21 (Marvel, $3.99). I was halfway hoping they would break from the serious tone of the title and revisit the inanity of Nextwave, but the preview dashes that hope; still, excellent work of two guys at the top of their game. Next up would be Invincible #87 (Image, $2.99), promising an all-new level of beatdown for Mark Grayson. Lastly, I’d get Jason Aaron’s fresh take on Marvel’s mutants with Wolverine and the X-Men #4 (Marvel, $3.99). Part return to basics and part brand-new day, seeing Logan having to be the respectable one and not the plucky wildcard is fun, and the cast Aaron’s assembled is great.

If I had $30, I’d continue reading Aaron with Wolverine #300 (Marvel, $4.99). Jokes about the constant renumbering/reshuffling/rejiggering of Aaron’s run aside, it’s been a swell ride and looks to be heading up to a finale of sorts. Next up would be Batwoman #5 (DC, $2.99). Williams’ art continues to impress, and while the story doesn’t match up to his levels with Rucka on Detective Comics, he and Blackman are striving for something I haven’t been able to fully understand yet. Lastly, I’d pick up Northlanders #47 (DC/Vertigo, $2.99). Artist Declan Shalvey is an inspired get for this series, really showing off what he can do outside Marvel’s Thunderbolts.

If I could splurge, I’d dive into Eric Powell’s adaptation of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (IDW, $19.99). Putting Powell together with Twain isn’t an obvious team-up, but given Powell’s depth of work I’m interested to see how it turns out.

Hand of Fire

Chris Mautner

If I had $15, I’d probably get Papercutz’s latest Smurf collection The Return of Smurfette, which is nice to see, because I was kind of worried about her.

If I had $30, I’d put down the Smurfs book and pick up Hand of Fire, a new prose book by blogger, author and scholar Charles Hatfield about the one and only Jack “King” Kirby and his legacy. I’ll read just about anything about Kirby, and Hatfield is a great writer, so this is about as close to a must-get for me as possible this week.

While there aren’t many under $30 I’d buy this week, there are a number of splurge-worthy books, including a hardcover collection of Brooklyn Dreams by J.M. DeMatteis and Glenn Barr, a series I had slotted for a future “Collect This Now” and now shall thankfully scratch off my list; Before the Incal, a $99 prologue to Jodorowsky and Mobieus’ sci-fi epic, this time featuring art work by Zoran Janjetov; and the Steve Ditko Omnibus Vol. 2, which contains more Silver/Bronze Age Ditko goodness than you can shake your oddly gesturing hand at.

The Steve Ditko Omnibus, Volume 2

Graeme McMillan

It’s a weird week for me this week; if I had $15, more than half of it would go on IDW’s Cobra Annual 2012 ($7.99), which promises to tell the origin of the new Cobra Commander. I know, it’s a toy tie-in book, but I’ve been enjoying the ongoing Cobra series so much more than I would’ve imagined, so this one is definitely on my list of things to read, as is Secret Avengers #21 (Marvel, $3.99), a reunion for Nextwave‘s Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen and one that I really, really hope doesn’t rehash old jokes as much as let the two creators play with the medium they enjoy as much as they possibly can.

If I had $30, I’d probably grab a handful of superhero books I’ve been trying to keep up with lately: Batwoman #5, Batman and Robin #5, Legion Lost #5 and Green Lantern #5 (all DC, $2.99). Just to mix things up, I’d also see how X-Men Legacy #260.1 (Marvel, $2.99) is, and whether Marvel can continue their X-book winning streak in light of the successes of Wolverine and the X-Men, the relaunched Uncanny X-Men and the critically acclaimed Uncanny X-Force recently.

Splurge-wise, there’s absolutely no doubt in my mind: The Steve Ditko Omnibus Vol. 2 HC (DC, $59.99). I loved the mix bag of the first volume, and this second edition has the complete original Hawk and Dove. Just sit me down with this one and come back to get me in a few hours; I’ll be fine by myself.

Spera, Volume 1

Michael May

If I had $15, I’d grab my usual series, Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE #5 ($2.99) and X-Men Legacy #260.1 ($2.99) and also finish up the likable Avengers 1959 with #5 ($2.99). I’d top off the pile with the latest issues of two series that I’ve only recently fallen in love with: Batgirl #5 ($2.99) and Batwoman #5 ($2.99).

If I had $30, I’d add Demon Knights #5 ($2.99), a series I’m enjoying, but would love to see slow down enough for me to get to know some of these characters. To that I’d add Lewis Trondheim’s new book Monster Mess ($9.99).

There’s a lot of stuff I’d like to splurge on, like the first volume of The Intrepids ($16.99) and the first volume of Archaia’s Dark Crystal anthology ($19.95), for instance. I’m extremely interested in G. Willow Wilson and David Lopez’s take on CrossGen’s Mystic ($14.99), too. But if I had to pick just one thing, it would be Josh Tierney’s Spera ($19.95), about a couple of princesses and a fiery dog who have to save their kingdom.

Hello and welcome to What Are You Reading? Our special guest today is Andy Burns, editor-in-chief of the pop culture site Biff Bam Pop!, which is doing a holiday gift guide with giveaways through Dec. 24. You can follow them on Twitter for more information.

To see what Andy and the Robot 6 crew have been reading, click below …

*****

Tim O’Shea

Super Dinosaur

Super Dinosaur #6: I appreciate the fact that Robert Kirkman is writing a smart kids book with this series. What I mean is the villains are not easy cardboard stand-ins that get the crap kicked out of them by the heroes. The villains in Super Dinosaur, look in the metaphorical rear view mirror and actually say, “Hey, this guy is dragging us down, let’s dump him” as happens in this issue. It’s refreshing to see villains that conduct (off panel, thankfully) lessons learned meetings. Also, it is intriguing to see how Maximus poses more of a challenge to the heroes as their prisoner versus when he was free.

FF #12: In between Fantastic Four #600 and FF #12, apparently Dragon Man was transformed into a creature that thinks he’s part monkey. How else do you explain why new series artist Juan Bobillo (who loses an “l” in his name in the actual credit page, but they get it right on the cover) has Dragon Man walking on his hands and feet? In general, if I was not still interested in Hickman’s plot, I would not return for FF #13. Bobillo is a great artist, and in fact this issue he renders the kids with some great facial reactions and moments, but he just does not strike me as a good fit for this story. Case in point, the issue opens with Val translocating (Val’s word, not mine) part of the Baxter Building into the side of a mountain. A great visual storytelling opportunity for an artist, but with Bobillo, he went with a faraway shot to convey the scope of what had occurred…that just left me feeling unimpressed.

Wolverine #19

Wolverine #19: Anytime where I get to write “Logan saves a bar in this issue” is a win for me. I will be curious to see if in the next arc writer Jason Aaron maintains the whimsical tone prevalent in this arc. I hope so, but most may not see that as the proper vibe for the main Wolverine book. Time will tell.

Thunderbolts #166: Time travel allows writer Jeff Parker to throw this Thunderbolts cast into any era he wants to. And thus, placing the team in 1888’s London in a tale titled “The Ripper Tour” is fine choice. I have a sneaking suspicion that Parker and artist Declan Shalvey (the latter being perfectly suited to draw a story in this era) are leading us to think one thing about certain ‘Bolts that will be revealed otherwise in the next installment of this arc.

Herc #10: The series that I enjoyed (but sadly not enough folks joined me in the fun) comes to an end with this issue. As I read this issue, I found myself wishing I could read 10 issues of mortal/bloated Zeus serving as a sidekick to his son, Herc. Writers Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente try to squeeze in as much as they can (sans kitchen sink) with appearances by both Kingpin and Elektra. What I appreciated about the use of these two characters is that it made sense in the larger scope of current Marvel continuity to use these characters. Added bonus? You get to see Elektra smile in this issue, something I do not think I have ever seen. The end to the series is quite satisfying, if all too soon for my preferences.

Daredevil #6

Daredevil #6: I hope whomever replaces Marcos Martin on the alternating arcs understands as well as he did what Waid is trying to do with this series. When approaching Marvel characters in particular, Waid seems to like to consider the physical mechanics of the characters. I recall the writer discussing during his Fantastic Four days how it might sound when Reed stretched, or what the noise Ben would make when he walked (the stones of his body crunching against each other). In the instance of Daredevil, Waid is having a field day exploring the nuances of what the hero’s heightened senses can detect. Also,I think Waid is building Matt as a character going through recovery, trying to reclaim a great deal of what he has lost and regain the ability to smile again–and mean it (even though often he may not feel like smiling). If you are not reading Daredevil (and Waid admits in the must-read Tucker Stone interview with him that it is not selling as well as he would hope a critically acclaimed book would [“It's doing okay sales wise, but it's not blowing the roof off the joint.”]), you are missing out on the strongest, and most refreshing, approach to the character since Frank Miller.

Andy Burns

Morning Glories

Morning Glories – When it comes to this series from Image, I’m really just a raving fanboy. I was a little behind on picking it up, but I wound up getting the first 12 issues via a comiXology sale a few months back (note: I read the majority of my monthlies digitally at this point). By the end of that first issue, I was completely hooked on the story of the students entering Morning Glory Academy. Joe Eisma’s art is wonderful to look at, while Nick Spencer’s writing is seriously special. He’s got unique voices for all the characters and is clearly building his tale in each issue. The common refrain you’ll hear about Morning Glories is that it’s a cross between Lost and Runaways–I think it’s a fair comparison, but it’s also one that puts a hell of a lot of pressure on the creators to deliver monthly. Amazingly, Spencer and Eisma seem to be doing so with ease. Hands down my favourite series at the moment.

Ultimate Spider-Man – I consider myself a Spidey fanatic, but I’m not a fan so entrenched in the mythos that I get up in arms when great change occurs. For example, when “One More Day” went down I wasn’t screaming bloody murder (and I actually really enjoyed “One Moment In Time”). So when it was announced that we’d be getting a new Ultimate Spider-Man, well, that didn’t phase me either. Instead, I wanted to see what Brian Michael Bendis was going to come up with Miles Morales. Four issues in and honestly, I love the book. I love Bendis’ writing–the language just feels right. The conversations between Miles and his buddy Ganke sound genuine and real. Even better, Bendis isn’t rushing the story at all. It’s not just throw on a suit and instant superhero. He’s taking his time to make Miles Morales a believable hero, which means as a reader I’m becoming more invested in the character with every issue.

This Haunted World

This Haunted World – This apocalyptic supernatural thriller from Sea Lion Press is a digital exclusive, written by Mark Powers and illustrated by Rahmat Handoko. Something to consider for creators and companies working in the digital realm–make sure your descriptions for a given title are solid and evocative. I wound up taking a chance on This Haunted World because the description was really interesting and evocative. The 99 cent price point didn’t hurt either, mind you.

Legends Of The Dark Knight: Marshall Rogers – Just because I’m a digital comic geek doesn’t mean I still don’t enjoy holding a nice hardcover collection in my hands. A few weeks ago on our site, writer JP Fallavollita recommended our visitors check out this new hardcover compilation of artist Marshall Rogers’ Batman stories. I wound up picking up the book a few days after the recommendation and I’m glad I did. There’s some classic moments in the hardcover, including Hugo Strange auctioning off the secrets of Batman/Bruce Wayne and appearances by Rupert Thorne, all stuff I’ve never read before. Rogers’ art holds up nicely decades later, as does the writing of Steve Englehart, Denny O’Neil and others. It’s definitely of a certain moment in time, but one worth revisiting.

Dead of Night

Dead of Night – This is the latest novel from Jonathan Maberry, who has done lots of work the last few years with Marvel, including the two mini-series, Marvel Universe Vs The Punisher and Marvel Universe Vs Wolverine. Dead of Night is the story of a zombie outbreak that occurs in the small town of Stebbins County, Penn. It’s a quick-moving read that never sacrifices character development for cheap scares. I’ve known Maberry for a few years now and what amazes me about him is that as good as he was with his first novel (2006’s Ghost Road Blues), he legitimately keeps getting better with every piece of work he puts out.

PunisherMAX #22

PunisherMAX will end with February’s Issue 22, Newsarama reports, ahead of what Marvel characterizes as “a big change” coming to its mature-readers imprint.

Although the conclusion follows January’s “final brutal confrontation between the Punisher and Kingpin,” it’s unclear whether this is the planned ending for the series. Writer Jason Aaron told Comic Book Resources in August, just as the current arc was beginning, that, “This is the culmination of the Punisher/Kingpin story, but it’s not my last story on the book. There are definitely plans in place after this next arc, but I can’t talk about them without spoiling what’s coming up.”

PunisherMAX, by Aaron and artist Steve Dillon, debuted in November 2009, following the end of the 75-issue run of the original mature-readers Punisher series (retitled The Punisher: Frank Castle during its final year). PunisherMAX and Deadpool MAX are the imprint’s only current monthly series.

News of the title’s end arrives just a day after CBR reported that X-23 will be canceled with January’s Issue 20. It’s the latest in a string of abrupt cancellations at Marvel that includes Alpha Flight, Victor Von Doom, Destroyers, Iron Man 2.0 and All-Winners Squad.

Update (5:47 p.m. PT): Aaron commented on Twitter, writing, “PUNISHER MAX is ending, the way I always intended it. It was not canceled.”

Credits for "The Incredible Hulk" #2

Next week’s Incredible Hulk #2, solicited with Marc Silvestri as penciler, instead has six artists credited with pencils and finishes. Additionally, the original three inkers have grown to at least five. That’s 11 total artists for a 20-page story.

Taking advantage of an apparent glitch that made the issue briefly available last night on some comiXology platforms, Rich Johnston grabbed a screenshot of the credits box, which shows Silvestri joined as penciler by Whilce Portacio and Billy Tan. Michael Broussard and Eric Basaldua are credited with “pencil assists,” while Scott Hanna receives a nod for “finishes.” Solicited inkers Joe Weems, Jay Leisten and Don Ho, meanwhile, now receive help from Rick Basaldua and Crimelab Syndicate.

It’s unclear whether those changes will make The Incredible Hulk #2 returnable; the issue has yet to appear on Diamond Comic Distributors’ product changes list.

Announced in July at Comic-Con International, the new series from Silvestri and writer Jason Aaron debuted in October as Marvel’s highest-selling title, with an estimated 106,470 copies. Silvestri, who received pencil assists from Broussard on the debut issue, concludes his first arc with December’s Issue 3. Portacio will draw the fourth.

Point One

Welcome to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we’d buy at our local comic shop based on certain spending limits — $15 and $30 — as well as what we’d get if we had extra money or a gift card to spend on a “Splurge” item.

Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList, and tell us what you’re getting in our comments field.

Chris Arrant

If I had $15, I’d first get the third issue of my favorite New 52 title, Batwoman #3 (DC, $2.99). Seriously, J.H. Williams III is hitting a home run on every outing here when it comes to my tastes. Although the writing isn’t up to the level of Greg Rucka’s time on the book, it’s close and only bound to get better. Next up I’d get Point One #1 (Marvel, $5.99). I think this format–an extra-size preview book for what’s coming next–is an interesting experiment, and I’m intrigued most by the Nova story, but also interested to see what the others do. Third would be Uncanny X-Force #17 (Marvel, $3.99), to get the one-two punch of Rick Remender and Jerome Opena. Iceman as a bad guy? I dig this.

If I had $30, I’d get Wolverine #18 (Marvel, $3.99) because I love Jason Aaron and Ron Garney teaming up, and seeing them bring in Fat Cobra from Immortal Iron Fist is oddly perfect for the book. Next up would be my comics weak-spot, Top Cow’s Pilot Season book–Pilot Season: Anonymous #1 (Image/Top Cow, $3.99). After that I’d pick up Fear Itself #7.2 (Marvel, $3.99) despite the fact I wish Coipel was drawing this. Lastly would be Kirby Genesis: Silver Star #1 (Dynamite, $3.99) because I love this lesser-known Kirby creation and the artist on this, succinctly named Johnny D., looks worth watching.

If I had the time (and money) to splurge, I’d get the Simon & Kirby Library: Crime hardcover (Titan, $49.95). Lately I’ve had a keen interest on Jack Kirby’s lesser-known work during the 1950s and this seems to fill in a lot of the gaps for me. I’m excited to hold this in my hands and see what surprises it has in store for me.

Graeme McMillan

Silver Star

If I had $15 this week, I’d throw a bunch of it Marvel’s way, with the first issue of Battle Scars ($2.99) and the massive Point One ($5.99) filling up the majority of my budget quite nicely. Well done, House of Ideas. I’d also grab Dynamite’s Kirby Genesis: Silver Star #1 ($3.99), the first (of many, apparently) spin-offs from the enjoyable Busiek/Ross/Herbert series.

If I had $30, then I’d redress the balance a little by grabbing the third issues of some DC books: Demon Knights, Legion Lost, Green Lantern and Batwoman (All $2.99) would make my cut this week, with IDW’s Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes #2 ($3.99) rounding out the haul.

For splurging, there’s really only one choice from my nostalgia’s point of view: Marvel’s Fantastic Four by John Byrne Omnibus Vol. 1 oversized hardcover ($125) is kind of a must-have, what with it being my third-favorite FF run ever (Behind Lee/Kirby and Simonson). If only they’d offered it for $44.44 …

Chris Mautner

Princess Knight

If I had $15: No question, the first volume of Osamu Tezuka’s Princess Knight would be the first and only must-buy item on my list. This is one of those “Man, they’re never going to translate this series, are they?” books and I’m kind of awestruck that Vertical is taking a chance on it, even given the fact that they’ve become the Tezuka publisher of choice these days. It’s not that it’s such a controversial book as that it’s early Tezuka, which is sunnier, sweeter and less bizarre than the late period stuff they’ve been printing lately. At any rate, I’m excited to get this.

If I had $30: I’d find an extra $5 and pick up a copy of De Profundis by James Jarvis, an intriguing enigmatic comic about a pointy-nosed artist that wanders through an abandoned city before encountering a mysterious priest who gives him a commission job. I flipped through this at SPX, and while I didn’t have the extra cash to pick it up then, it did look like a worthwhile purchase.

Splurge: Again, an easy choice for me — the second volume of Jacques Tardi’s Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec from Fantagraphics. I’m on a big Tardi kick right now, having just recently read the first Adele collection, and am eager to experience more.

Michael May

Frankenstein

If I had $15, I’d spend most of it on my usual series: Demon Knights #3 ($2.99), Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE #3 ($2.99), and X-Men Legacy #258 ($2.99). I was lukewarm about the first issue of Huntress, but I liked it enough to check out the second one ($2.99). And though I’m not familiar with PC and Kristin Cast’s Harry Potter/Twilight mash-up House of Night, I like the art previews I’ve seen from Dark Horse’s adaptation ($1) and certainly wouldn’t mind paying a buck to learn more.

If I had $30, I’d add Reed Gunther, Volume 1 ($14.99) to read about my favorite bear-riding cowboy.

There are a few splurge items that caught my interest this week, but near the top of the list are The Zombies That Ate the World, Volume 1: Bring Me Back My Head! ($24.95) for the Guy Davis art and The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec, Volume 2 ($24.99). If I had to pick one thing though, I’d get the Fantastic Four by John Byrne Omnibus, Volume 1 ($125.00) because I’ve been wanting to read those stories for decades.

Marvel

Publishing | Damien Lucchese, a production artist laid off last week by Marvel, explains why fans should not boycott the publisher over the layoffs: “What I’m trying to say is that I don’t want everyone to just see the MARVEL logo and think of a huge, top-heavy company, full of money hungry suits that make poor decisions (in some peoples’ opinions). That’s not what MARVEL is and there are still people working very hard (even harder now), day after day to put out comics for people to enjoy.” [Blog@Newsarama]

Digital piracy | Jim Mroczkowski posts his third interview with a digital pirate; as in the first two episodes, what comes through is that social pressures and one-upmanship have a lot to do with it. Also, piracy is expensive for the pirates, who usually buy the comics they scan—and often don’t even read them. [iFanboy]

Creators | Following up on a post from the summer, former Marvel Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter shares more details on the publisher’s failed plans to license several DC characters — specifically the plot for a Superman comic by John Byrne. [Jim Shooter]

Creators | The Columbia Basin Herald profiles Axe Cop creators Malachai and Ethan Nicolle. [Columbia Basin Herald]

Wolverine and the X-Men #1

Comics | USA Today talks to writer Jason Aaron and artist Chris Bacchalo about Wolverine and the X-Men, which has Wolverine becoming headmaster of his own school. [USA Today]

Conventions | Lance Fensterman, who presumably has had time to rest up a bit, looks back at the latest New York Comic Con. Among the high points: The White Space invitation-only pre-con event, and 7,000 kids showing up on Kids’ Day. [Graphic Novel Reporter]

Conventions | Robot 6 contributor Brigid Alverson covers the Womanthology panel at New York Comic Con. [MTV Geek]

Conventions | Stumptown Comics Fest director Indigo Kelleigh looks forward to next year’s show, which will include special guests Kurt Busiek, Stan Sakai and Geof Darrow. [GeekDad]

Drops of God

Manga | Vertical Inc. marketing director Ed Chavez talks about Drops of God, the manga about wine-tasting that has finally made it to the United States after winning much acclaim in Japan and France. [The Globe and Mail]

Webcomics | Cory Doctorow gives thumbs up to Dan Goldman’s Red Light Properties, the story of a real estate company that clears out haunted houses and sells them cheap. [BoingBoing]

Comics | Larry Cruz looks at how The Addams Family went from single-panel cartoons in The New Yorker to a television show, movies and more. [The Webcomic Overlook]

Digital | Viper Comics is launching a new line of direct-to-digital comics. [Broken Frontier]

Digital | Mike Romo explains why he is a convert to digital comics. Reason #1: “The art just looks better.” [iFanboy]

Journalism | Kristy Valenti has some good tips on how to interview comics creators, many of which would apply to other interviews as well. [ComiXology]

Wolverine and the X-Men #1

Welcome to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we’d buy at our local comic shop based on certain spending limits — $15 and $30 — as well as what we’d get if we had extra money or a gift card to spend on a “Splurge” item.

Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList, and tell us what you’re getting in our comments field.

Chris Arrant

If I had $15, I’d be a judicious comics buyer and pick the top four out of over 20 titles I’d want this week. DC/Vertigo makes it slightly easier by making the new Brian Azzarello/Eduardo Risso joint Spaceman #1 only $1. This dollar price point for first issues combined with the $9.99 price point they sometimes do for the first volume of comic trade paperbacks surely gets a lot of traction. Next up I’d get Jason Aaron’s new era of the X-Men in Wolverine & X-Men #1 (Marvel, $3.99) with Chris Bachalo. I’d also get my regular pulls of DMZ #70 (DC/Vertigo, $2.99) and The Walking Dead #90 (Image, $2.99) and last–but first in my stack to read-–would be Secret Avengers #18 (Marvel, $3.99). I hear some Ellis guy is writing it, but the big draw for me is artist David Aja. His Iron Fist run is one of my top favs in comics in the past ten years, and he’s a titan in my book.

If I had $30, I’d first grab this week’s Pilot Season: The Beauty (Image/Top Cow, $3.99) despite not knowing what it’s about because I love the Pilot Season concept. Next up would be the finale of Red Wing #4 (Image, $3.50), Butcher Baker, Righteous Maker #7 (Image, $2.99) and Daredevil #5 (Marvel, $2.99). Looking back at my picks so far, it’s an art-heavy week for me with lots of favorites from Risso to Bachalo, Aja, Burchelli, Huddleston and Martin. That means extra-long reading, as I normally do a second and third read just to soak up the artwork page by page, panel by panel.

If I were to splurge, I would gladly plunk down money for The Manara Library Vol. 1 (Dark Horse, $59.99). I applaud Dark Horse for doing the massive undertaking of collecting all of Manara’s work in seven volume. This first volume collects The Paper Man as well as Indian Summer with Hugo Pratt. It’s going to be a good weekend for me, work be damned.

Graeme McMillan

Kirby: Genesis

For a Kirby fan like myself, this is a pretty great week to have $15: More than half of it would immediately go toward the lengthily titled DC Comics Presents: The Jack Kirby Omnibus Sampler #1 (DC, $7.99), which collects 96 pages of 1950s Kirby from the pages of Adventure Comics, House of Secrets, House of Mystery and other anthology titles. Then I’d throw some coin in the direction of Kirby: Genesis #4 (Dynamite, $3.99), the continuation of Kurt Busiek, Alex Ross and the unsung Jack Herbert’s evocation of Kirbyesque scale and imagination, using some of his lesser-known creations. I’ve really been digging this series, and even if I hadn’t already been planning to pick up this issue, that lovely Ross cover probably would’ve convinced me. Look at the Captain Victory pose! Look at the giant egg-headed character at the back! Not-so-Kirby-esque, but a definite must: The Flash #2 (DC, $2.99), which had a surprisingly lovely first issue last month and earned back all the goodwill lost with the previous series.

If I had $30, there’d be even more Kirby-influence going on, because I’d pick up the first issue of two relaunches of Kirby properties: Jason Aaron and Marc Silvestri’s The Incredible Hulk and Aaron (again!) and Chris Bachalo’s Wolverine and the X-Men (Both Marvel, $3.99). The prelude to the Hulk book at the end of Fear Itself #7 was the very definition of underwhelming, and I didn’t think much of Schism, but I’m holding out hope for these two books nonetheless. Also on the to-buy list: DC’s Legion: Secret Origin (The second retelling of the team’s roots in the last two years, both of them written by Paul Levitz; DC, $2.99) and the second issue of Justice League Dark (DC, $2.99), which was fun if not essential in its debut.

Like Chris, if I had the possibility of splurging this week, it’s be The Manara Library Vol. 1 (Dark Hourse, $59.99). The man’s art is just stunning, and I can’t wait to see it in this deluxe presentation.

Brigid Alverson

The Drops of God

If I had $15, I would have just enough for the first volume of Drops of God, the manga about wine tasting that features two willowy men competing for an inheritance based on how well they can identify 12 different wines. It’s a winning manga formula that has not only won the book several awards but also boosted the popularity of the wines involved, and I can’t wait to read it.

If I had $30, I would add Power Lunch, a new all-ages graphic novel from Oni Press. I like the wacky premise‹a kid gains superpowers from the different foods he eats‹and the creative team of Dean Trippe and J. Torres closes the sale for me.

Splurge: The second volume of A Bride’s Story, Kaoru Mori’s beautifully drawn tale of life on the Silk Road in the 19th century. The first volume didn’t have a lot of story–it was more a series of beautifully drawn moments with occasional bursts of action–which puts it in the splurge rather than must-buy category as far as I’m concerned. And since that only sets me back $16.99, expensive for a weekly buy but cheap for a splurge, I’ll toss in Gladstone’s School for World Conquerors #6, which I believe wraps up a story arc, and The Sixth Gun #16, and call it a very good week indeed.

Chris Mautner

Milo Manara Library

If I had $15:It would be a toss-up between The Smurf Apprentice, the eighth (that many already) volume in Papercutz’s ongoing reprint project, because you can never have too many Smurf comics, or the latest volume (that’s No. 10 if you’re counting) of Yotsuba! the cheery little manga about a effervescent green-haried girl. I’d probably end up going with Yotsuba, only because it’s one of my daughter’s favorite comics, and she’d kill me if I didn’t buy it.

If I had $30:I’d probably take a chance on Drops of God, that manga series about wine that seems to be insanely popular in its home country, if only to see what all the fuss was about.

Splurge:A couple people have mentioned the first volume of the Manara Library, and that’s definitely on my Amazon Wish List, but before that I think I’d pick up the second volume of Floyd Gottfredson’s Mickey Mouse. The first volume was a real treat, not just in terms of reintroducing myself to Gottfredson’s stellar work, but also in the sheer amount of incisive historical information about the strip, Gottfredson and his various Disney helpers. I’m sure Vol. 2 will be more of the same.

Michael May

From All-Star Western #2

If I had $15, I’d continue picking up some New 52 series I’m enjoying along with some talking apes. It hurts–oh it hurts–to pay four bucks for All-Star Western #2 ($3.99), but I’ll do it. I loved the detective story in the first issue with Arkham’s trying to figure out Hex in the voice over, and the art was even better. I don’t think I can keep buying it at that price, but I seem to be hooked for the first story anyway. More affordable are Justice League Dark #2 ($2.99) and Superman #2 ($2.99). JLD is starting with a slow build, but I’m attracted by the concept enough to keep checking it out. I was especially pleased by the attention the first issue of Superman gave to Lois Lane, so I’m hoping there’s more of that as the series continues. Finally, I’d grab Planet of the Apes #7 ($3.99), because that’s a fantastic series that I’ve run out of ways to say I love.

If I had $30, I’d get Aquaman #2 ($2.99). I enjoyed the stronger, tougher Aquaman in the first issue; I just hope the tone becomes less defensive, and quickly. I’m a big fan of the character, but (or maybe because of that) I’m already tired of his constantly explaining how cool he is. Next, I’d add some more expensive comics to the stack, like John Martz’ Heaven All Day ($4) about a lonely man who’s building a mysterious contraption and the abandoned robot he encounters in the process. Then there’s Ape’s Western/Kung Fu/Monster mash-up, Helldorado #1 ($3.99) and Warren Ellis’ Secret Avengers #18 ($3.99).

My splurge item would be Flesh: The Dino Files ($25.99) from Rebellion/2000 AD, because it’s a badass version of Terra Nova. Instead of going back in time to live, the future citizens of our depleted planet go back in time to capture dinosaurs for food. That’s a horribly irresponsible plan, but I’m curious to see if that’s addressed too. I hope it is, but even if not, I’m okay with shutting off the environmentalist part of my brain long enough to enjoy some dino-roping cowboys.

JK Parkin

If you buy one comic this week, it’s gotta be Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #19.

Batman #2

Welcome to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we’d buy at our local comic shop based on certain spending limits — $15 and $30 — as well as what we’d get if we had extra money or a gift card to spend on a “Splurge” item.

Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList, and tell us what you’re getting in our comments field.

Michael May

If I had $15, I’d mostly grab the second issues of some DC stuff I enjoyed last month: Batman ($2.99), Birds of Prey ($2.99), and especially Wonder Woman ($2.99). No Justice League for me though. Unlike Action Comics, I didn’t enjoy the first issue enough that I can rationalize paying $4 for it. Instead, I’ll grab Avengers 1959 #2 ($2.99) and Red 5′s Bonnie Lass #2 ($2.95), both of which had strong first issues.

If I had $30, I’d have to put back Bonnie Lass and wait for the collection in order to afford Jonathan Case’s atomic-sea-monster-love-story Dear Creature ($15.99).

If I had some splurge money, I’d likely grab the first issues of the 30 Days of Night ongoing ($3.99) and John Byrne’s Cold War ($3.99) as well as Dark Horse Presents #5 ($7.99). And if I had lots of extra money, I’d take First Second’s Nursery Rhyme Comics ($18.99) and Orcs, Volume 1: Forged for War ($17.99) too. I’ve already read Nursery Rhyme Comics and it’s wonderful; I’m curious to see if Orcs can redeem those creatures from the ennui I feel about them from growing up with Tolkien and D&D. If it was anybody but First Second publishing it, I don’t think I’d give it a chance.

Graeme McMillan

Star Trek/Legion of Superheroes #1

If I had $15 this week, the first thing I’d make a run for in the store would be Star Trek/Legion of Superheroes #1 (IDW, $3.99), Chris Roberson and Jeffrey Moy’s mash-up of two of my favorite SF series and something I have been embarrassingly looking forward to since its original announcement. I’m also finding myself obsessed with Fear Itself #7 (Marvel, $4.99), for slightly different reasons; after a year in which the climaxes of both Flashpoint and Schism underwhelmed, I just want Fear Itself to go out with a bang. Talking of underwhelming, I wasn’t completely on board with the first issue of DC’s new Justice League, but I’ll be picking up #2 (DC, $3.99) to see what happens next nonetheless, and seeing if things improve.

If I had $30, I’d continue my Legion of Super-Heroes love with DC Comics Presents Superboy’s Legion #1 (DC, $7.99), the latter a collection of an Alan Davis/Mark Farmer Elseworlds series that I’ve never read. I’d round out my purchases with another DC $7.99 reprint book – I have money left from the original $15, honest – and grab Vertigo Resurrected: The Eaters (DC, $7.99), which brings a Peter Milligan horror story from the early ’90s back into print for the first time in far, far too long.

If I were going to splurge this week, I could be persuaded to grab Marvel’s 15-Love TP ($14.99), based upon surprisingly good reviews of the mini. I admit, “tennis manga done by American and European creators” doesn’t sound like a great idea to me, but some of those reviews really sold it to me.

Chris Mautner

If I had $15: Butcher Baker, Candlestickmaker #4, the latest issue of the last of The Boys spin-off mini-series would be my first grab. I might also pick up the fourth issue of the newspaper anthology Pood, which, with this issue, features the work of Joe Staton.

If I had $30: Well, I’ve been long intrigued to read Alan Moore’s Neonomicon, especially since it generated such controversy and outright hatred. Now that it’s been collected in trade paperback it seems like I have a golden opportunity.

Nursery Rhyme Comics

On the complete other end of the spectrum I feel obliged to point out that First Second’s Nursery Rhyme Comics anthology, which we highlighted via a series of interviews with contributors on the blog last week, is also out in stores. Even if you don’t have young children at home, it’s a pretty boss book.

Splurge: Let’s see, there’s Vol. 16 of Tezuka’s Black Jack (and it’s always nice to see that’s continuing along) as well as MetaMaus, the “DVD features” companion to Art Spiegelman’s Maus that comes with an actual DVD and (I think) is thicker than the work it references.

But if you really want to splurge, you gotta go for The Metabarons Ultimate Collectors Slipcase edition. $130 gets you all of Alexandro Jodorowsky and Juan Gimenez’s trippy, multi-generational sci-fi epic. Get it for the Eurocomic nerd in your life.

Chris Arrant

If I had $15, my first purchase would be Jason Aaron’s Wolverine #17 (Marvel, $3.99). Re-teaming with his original Wolverine collaborator Ron Garney, this one is billed as a post-Schism tale but the shadows of the last story arc of the title itself cast longer on the series to me. Next up would be Wonder Woman #2 (DC, $2.99), because I’m really interested to see Azzarello explore the mythological worldview that Diana inhabits. Lastly would be the de facto anthology of record in comics currently, Dark Horse Presents #5 (Dark Horse, $7.99). This issue promises a short by Eric Powell about a suicidal space robot, so what’s not to love.

Fear Itself #7

If I had $30, I’d double-back and get the finale of Fear Itself #7 (Marvel, $4.99). Although the writing hasn’t lived up to my expectations compared to previous events or previous work by Matt Fraction, I still enjoy Stuart Immonen’s work here and am interested to see what he pulls out for the final issue. After that I’d get the under-the-radar OGN by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Juan Santacruz – Book Smart (Kickstart, $8.99). This is out of the poorly publicized line of titles that the film company Kickstart is doing in comics, but the stories are strong as is the creators involved.

If I could splurge, I’d splurge all over the Metabarons Ultimate Collection Slip Case (Humanoids, $129.95). Sure I have most of these in earlier editions, but by adding this to my bookshelf I can give away those older ones and spread the love. That’s validation, right? You’ll back me up with my wife when I spent $130 on comics I already have, right? Right?

Janelle Asselin

Publishing | DC Comics associate editor Janelle Asselin has left the company, reportedly for a job with Disney. She clarifies on Twitter that, contrary to a report, she wasn’t escorted from the building on Tuesday but, rather, left “at my leisure.” Asselin had been with DC since 2008, working primarily on Batman books like Batman and Robin, Batman: Streets of Gotham, Red Robin, Birds of Prey and the relaunched Batman, Batwoman, Detective Comics and Savage Hawkman. [Bleeding Cool]

Publishing | Longtime editor Betsy Mitchell is taking early retirement from her post as editor-in-chief of Del Rey, where she helped create Del Rey Manga. Tricia Pasternak, a former Del Rey Manga editor herself, has been promoted to editorial director. Del Rey was established as a science fiction prose imprint; the manga line was created in 2004 and was mostly shut down in 2010, when Kodansha began publishing its manga directly in the U.S. However, Del Rey still publishes a handful of manga and graphic novels, including xxxHolic, King of RPGs, and Deltora Quest. [Publishers Weekly]

Legal | In a twist that sounds like something out of a comic (or even an ad from an old comic), a witness in the Michael George trial testified he saw someone wearing an obviously fake beard outside George’s Clinton Township, Michigan, comics shop a few minutes before George’s first wife Barbara was murdered inside the store in 1990. [The Tribune Democrat]

Starfire

Comics | The latest critique of Starfire comes from Michelle Lee’s 7-year-old daughter, who was a big fan of the incarnations of the character in the Teen Titans comic and animated cartoon. She summarizes the whole problem with childlike simplicity: “Well, she’s not fighting anyone. And not talking to anyone really. She’s just almost naked and posing.” [io9.com]

Comics | Former superhero reader and current manga blogger Deb Aoki describes the Starfire/Catwoman controversy for her manga fanbase and discusses how shonen manga manage to provide good, even fanservice-laden, stories for men without alienating their female readers: “The fascinating and diverse female casts of Bleach and Naruto are a big part of these series’ appeal to both male and female readers. Yes, there are some busty babes in both series — but Soul Reaper Rangiku Matsumoto is a commanding officer in the Soul Society in Bleach, and Tsunade is a strong and dynamic Hokage (leader) of Naruto’s ninja village to name just a few.” [About.com]

Comics | Brian Truitt spotlights Marvel’s ABC television tie-in Castle: Richard Castle’s Deadly Storm, the just-released graphic novel by Brian Michael Bendis, Kelly Sue DeConnick and Lan Medina. [USA Today]

Wolverine and the X-Men #1

Comics | Writer Jason Aaron and editor Nick Lowe discuss the upcoming debut of Wolverine and the X-Men, which establishes Logan as headmaster of the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. [The Associated Press]

Creators | Jonathan Callan has started a Facebook campaign to persuade the Animation Writers Caucus to give a Lifetime Achievement Award to the late Dwayne McDuffie. McDuffie’s wife Charlotte has posted there, asking that members of the Caucus nominate McDuffie via write-ins, as his name is not on the eligible list. [Facebook, via Blog@Newsarama]

Creators | Kate Beaton gives a pair of interviews about her popular webcomic Hark! A Vagrant!, which has received a printed collection from Drawn and Quarterly. [The L Magazine, io9.com]

Creators | Geoff Johns discusses DC’s relaunched Aquaman, which debuts today: “Everybody around has at least heard of Aquaman, and they’ve probably heard all the jokes — the same jokes Aquaman’s heard — and they have their opinion on Aquaman. Whether it’s good or bad, that’s what the book’s all about.” [USA Today]

Creators | For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, writer Jim Ottaviani was interviewed about his new graphic novel Feynman while riding on a teeter-totter with the interviewer. [HD Teeter Talk]

Comics | Caroline Small, the treasurer for Small Press Expo, meditates on the difficulty of bringing art-comics to a wider audience. [The Hooded Utilitarian]

Americus

Censorship | The Good Comics for Kids bloggers, many of whom are librarians, discuss MK Reed and Jonathan Hill’s Americus, a graphic novel about religious fundamentalists challenging a YA fantasy novel in a small-town library. The discussion touches on the issues the book raises and the way those issues are portrayed in the graphic novel. [Good Comics for Kids]

Comics | Kristy Valenti takes a look at Rob Liefeld’s fashion sense: “From a fashion (and commercial) perspective, ideally, a superhero artist should create an iconic costume (for example, Steve Ditko’s Spider-Man kit, Gil Kane’s Green Lantern look, or even Power Girl’s indefatigable “boob window”); Liefeld’s costuming is more like a collection, with certain motifs he returns to.” Such as high-waisted pants, shoulder pads and French-cut bikinis. Call in the fashion police! [comiXology]

Comics | Daniel BT suspects that life is imitating art as DC’s latest effort matches all too closely a Cracked parody of superhero comics art from the 1970s. [Sunday Comics Debt]

Manga | Translator Tomo Kimura lists the top ten manga creators in Japan and the number of books they have sold, from a list compiled by Nikkei Entertainment magazine. All ten are published in the U.S. as well as Japan, and One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda tops the list with almost 55 million sold. [Tomo Kimura's Translation Notes]

Defenders

As is typical, Sunday was a bit slower in terms of announcements at the San Diego Comic-Con, but there were some on the last day of the show:

• At the Fear Itself panel, Marvel made several announcements, including a new Defenders series by Matt Fraction and Terry Dodson. The team includes Dr. Strange, Iron Fist, Namor, Red She-Hulk and Silver Surfer.

• Jason Aaron and Marc Silvestri will chronicle the adventures of Bruce Banner and his alter ego starting in October, when Incredible Hulk #1 hits the stands.

• Much like Siege begot the Heroic Age, Fear Itself will bring Battle Scars, a post-event branding for the Marvel Universe titles. Several Shattered Heroes one-shots will be released, focusing on how Fear Itself impacts various Marvel heroes.

• Marvel confirmed the launch of The Fearless, a bi-weekly series by Matt Fraction, Chris Yost, Cullen Bunn, Mark Bagley and Paul Pelletier.

• DC Comics released a gallery of character designs and sketches for the New 52 launch.

• Comic-Con International released the full list of Inkpot Awards recipients from this year’s show. The list includes Steven Spielberg, Alan Davis, Chester Brown and many more.

October will see the debut of The Fearless, “an event that shows readers what’s in store for their favorite characters in the wake of the Fear Itself event. Anyone that enjoyed Fear Itself should be interested in finding out how Captain America, the Avengers, and other characters from all across the Marvel Universe deal with the aftermath.”

Although further details haven’t been publicly released by Marvel or Diamond Comic Distributors, Newsarama reports that the twice-monthly series will be written by Matt Fracion, Cullen Bunn and Chris Yost, and illustrated by Mark Bagley and Paul Pelletier. The website also confirms the October launch of Incredible Hulk, by Jason Aaron and Marc Silvestri.

Stay tuned to Comic Book Resources for more information as details surface from Comic-Con.

Scalped, Vol. 1

Scalped, the Eisner Award-nominated crime series by Jason Aaron and R. M. Guéra, will end in April with Issue 60.

While Aaron had repeatedly suggested the Vertigo comic was nearing its conclusion, he resisted naming a final issue, writing just three months ago that, “It’s never been a secret that Scalped had a definite ending point. I still haven’t put a specific issue number on it, but we’re certainly getting closer.”

However, during Thursday’s Vertigo panel at Comic-Con International, Executive Editor Karen Berger got specific, confirming that Aaron and Guéra will bring the story to a close with the 60th issue.

Debuting in January 2007, Scalped is a gritty crime Western that’s been described as “The Sopranos on an Indian reservation.” It follows Dashiell Bad Horse, an angry undercover FBI agent who’s to return to the Prairie Rose Indian Reservation after a 15-year absence to infiltrate the criminal organization headed by Chief Lincoln Red Crow and bring him to just for the murder of two agents 30 years earlier.

The end of Scalped will follow the conclusion of DMZ in December and the cancellation of Northlanders in March.

Casanova: Avarita #1

Welcome to another edition of What Are You Reading? Our special guest today is Chris Butcher.

Butcher is the manager of The Beguiling in Toronto and founder of The Toronto Comic Arts Festival. He’ll be at the UDON Booth #5037 and The Beguiling Original Art Sales Booth #1629 at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend.

To see what Chris and the Robot 6 crew have been reading, click below …

*****

Tim O’Shea

Iron Age #2

Iron Age #2: Jen Van Meter writing a 1970s era adventure with Power Man and Iron Fist, color me interested. Drawn by Nick Dragotta? Sold. Added bonus: the second tale sports artist Sal Buscema drawing Iron Man armor with a nose and Johnny Storm in his red costume. I only wish they could have worked in the Spidey Mobile.

Red Robin #25: In the second to last issue of Red Robin, we see he’s developed his own Robincave. Wow that should be an interesting for … one more month. The final days of DC Oldverse are killing me. Particularly given how well writer Fabian Nicieza utilizes Cassandra Cain.

Batgirl #23: See my Red Robin thoughts above. I hate to see this book going away. If DC is foolish enough to not give writer Bryan Q. Miller a monthly assignment, I hope Marvel scoops him up. The Bombshell/Stargirl/Supergirl/Miss Martian team up cameo would have made for a fun all-female team book pitch for Miller if the universe was not ending.

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #8: Sorry, but I had to crack up at the blurb quote slapped on this issue: “If you haven’t jumped on yet, now’s the time.” Yes, by all means, jump on board with a month to spare.

Jonah Hex

Jonah Hex #69: Drawn by Jeff Lemire, Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray reveal Jonah getting to confront his dear old dad. The story far exceeded my highest expectations. And all it is two men talking for the bulk of the tale, and yet it is much more than that. Glad to see the writers will still get to play with Jonah in the DCNuverse.

Alpha Flight #2: Reading the comments section of my interview this week with miniseries artist Dale Eaglesham, I am bewildered by the folks unwilling to consider the characters acting out of character might be the victim of mind control. Neither Fred Van Lente or Greg Pak are writers known for doing Chuck Austen-scale butchering of characters, so I am waiting to see how things play out. But in general, I am loving what I read and looking forward to more (hopefully this series becomes an ongoing).

Mystery Men #3: Of all the new characters introduced in the five-issue miniseries, this issue features my favorite to date: The Doctor. (The guy takes folks out via scalpel with abandon, a pulp noir Wolverine kind of…). I wish this project was an eight-issue miniseries, so that the storytellers could give more of their back story and (in the case of The Doctor) better explain what tragedies fuel his vigilante justice.

Brigid Alverson

Aki Alliance

I really, really enjoyed Ryan Estrada’s Aki Alliance, which is available to read or download for free at his site. It’s a funny, snarky story about a girl who sets out to make friends with everyone in her fifth-grade class, and it’s simply delightful. Estrada presents a number of different challenges: His heroine, Aki, tries to compete in a Scrabble tournament while coaching a friend in a boxing match, take the middle ground when two girl gangs (both of which claim her as a member) start a turf war, and solve a ridiculous grade-school riddle. Most of the book is done in a cartoony style that mixes in scrapbook elements, but he also plays with other styles—one chapter is done in manga style, another like a sprite comic. He clearly had a lot of fun with it, and in the end, no lessons are learned. Good stuff.

I also enjoyed Mameshiba on the Loose! much more than I thought I would—in fact, it made me laugh out loud. Mameshiba are cute, rounded creatures (the name is a portmanteau of the Japanese words for “bean” and a breed of dog) who were first featured in animated shorts on Japanese TV, popping out of people’s lunches and spouting random bits of trivia. The comic goes way beyond that, really bringing these odd little beans to life with distinct personalities and plenty of cuteness. In the first, and longest, story, the beans team up to rescue a pea who has fallen down the drain and into the sewer—the jokes just write themselves, but writer James Turner doesn’t stop there, and he comes up with a zany set of sewer dwellers for the beans to contend with in equally creative ways. The second story is a trip to outer space, again with plenty of slapstick and random humor. Viz has come up with a great kids’ comic here, and I hope the kids find it.

Chris Butcher

What am I reading? Why, single-issue new comics, surprisingly enough.

I ran TCAF—The Toronto Comic Arts Festival—a few months back, and quite honestly in the lead-up to and the downtime after that fantastic event, I feel like I’ve read fewer comics than ever. I moved houses in there, too, and so all of my TCAF purchases like Paying For It by Chester Brown and Vietnamerica by GB Tran are still in boxes, waiting to find a shelf to call home.

Cross Game

Oh, and I’m going to be on The Best and Worst Manga of 2011 panel Friday night at Comic-Con (6:30pm! Room 26!), and so I’ve been feverishly trying to catch up on my manga reading. While I will save the majority of the surprises for the panel, I want to give a special shout out to Mitsuru Adachi’s Cross Game, an outstanding slice-of-life/baseball manga. It is so good—created at such a high degree of craft from a masterful author who’s been working in the manga industry for 40 years. It possesses so much of what I love about manga, including engaging characters, a surprising story… and the whole thing just breathes. It’s a pleasure to read and spend time with. I actually feel confident recommending it to people who don’t normally like manga at all, or even sports. That’s an accomplishment.

But yeah, if you look at what I last read, it’s just a thick stack of single-issue comics. I thought Jason Aaron’s X-Men Schism #1 was a solid start to that mini, great premise, but I found the change of artists halfway through the issue jarring—it reminds me what I don’t like about most corporate superhero comics. Also on the Marvel tip, Brubaker and McNiven’s Captain America #1 was a really solid start, very clean continuity-wise if you haven’t been following… the last 5-10 years of Marvel comics, actually. Some nice art by McNiven there too, I felt like he was stretching himself a little more than he had been as of late, and that incredible glossy sheen that his work had on Civil War that I felt was missing on Nemesis? Back here with a vengeance. Oh, and props to Brubaker (and Sean Phillips) on another outstanding Criminal miniseries, with Criminal: Last of the Innocents. Another great, tangled noir series, this time with a twist that no comic fan will want to miss.

Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown

Over at DC, I’ve been trying to stay on top of the main Flashpoint series, but I’d missed all of the spin-offs (no time to read, son, we’re selling comics!). I sat down with my friend Jeff Lemire’s Frankenstein #1 and #2 and thought those were fun takes on the characters, with more a few excellent surprises thrown in there for good measure as well. If this is what we’ve got in store for Lemire’s ongoing Frankenstein series in September, I’ll definitely be reading that. Speaking of friends who write comics, I also just caught up with my buddy Jim Zub’s series Skullkickers from Image. I think the most interesting thing, for me, is how much he throws against the wall in every issue. You’re at this dinner party in issue #7, and there’s so much possibility for mayhem as the dwarf and the bad ass (shorty and baldy) rub shoulders with the hoi-polloi. Zub runs through all the jokes in under five pages and then kills everyone except for the leads. Breakneck action comedy, both literally and figuratively, no screwing around. Check it out.

Probably the single issue I’ve most enjoyed in the last little while though? I was fortunate enough to get an advance look at Casanova: Avarita #1 debuting this September from ICON. I’m a dyed-in-the-wool Cass fan from before the first issue came out, so it won’t be any surprise to hear that I liked the new issue… but man, it’s great. Gabriel Ba just killed with the art on this issue, and the story is a harrowing natural progression from the first two arcs. I’m kinda sad that there’s only four issues of this series to come, but elated that it’s going to be this good. Pre-order it with your retailer, pick it up this fall. You won’t regret it.

Who will you follow?

The Associated Press announced this morning that following this summer’s X-Men: Schism event, two series will take the place of the ongoing Uncanny X-Men series. October’s Wolverine & the X-Men by writer Jason Aaron will feature, obviously, a Wolverine-led team, while Uncanny X-Men #1, due in November, will feature a Cyclops-led team written by Kieron Gillen.

But who is drawing them? Marvel.com revealed the art teams for both books this morning. Wolverine & the X-Men will be drawn by Chris Bachalo, who has a long history with the characters. Uncanny X-Men will have two rotating artists — Greg Land and Carlos Pacheco. Land has been drawing arcs in Uncanny X-Men for awhile now, while Pacheco recently returned to the characters to draw the Point One issue.

“The best thing about this split is that the two books hit two very different chords. One is hardcore super hero action and the other is something else entirely that I can’t go too deep into without spoiling `Schism,’” Editor Nick Lowe told the AP. “The best way I can describe it is a return to a structure that made the X-Men what it was.”

The current Uncanny X-Men series ends with issue #544.

Update: Aaron has a post on his blog about the news, where he says not to read too much into the accompanying promo image: “I can’t say who’s going to be on my team, other than Wolverine of course. I can’t say where they’ll be or what they’ll be doing. I will say, don’t assume you know the full roster for either team based off this one promo image. Both sides will feature their share of surprises.” Gillen says something similar on his blog.

Finder: Voice

Welcome to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we’d buy on Wednesday based on certain spending limits — $15 and $30 — as well as what we’d get if we had extra money or a gift card to spend on what we call our “Splurge” item.

Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList if you’d like to play along in our comments section.

Chris Arrant

$15:

This week is a busy week for me -– I count 13 single issues I’d buy if I was a rich man, but with only $15 I’d narrow it down to four things. DMZ #62 (DC/Vertigo $2.99) looks to be really amping up the series for it’s final year. I’ve enjoyed this series’ long run, and the way he’s built up this world only to tear it down seems amazing. Second in my bag would be the closest thing to a modern Moebius at Marvel, Shield #6 (Marvel $2.99). This secret history of the Marvel U has been really eye-opening, and Hickman’s bold reach really takes some big brass ones. This in line would be Rick Remender’s Uncanny X-Force #5 (Marvel $3.99). Remender’s done some solid modern-work while trying to not be outshone by Jerome Opena’s star-turn, but in this issue it’s got guest art by Esad Ribic. Ribic’s work has always carried this sense of gravitas without being stuffy like some painters, and I’m interested to see how he does these visceral heroes. Last up would be Brightest Day #20. On paper, a book with a league of b-list heroes seems like a non-starter, but I really like what the team have done on this, especially the Martian Manhunter and Firestorm threads.

$30:

If I doubled my money to $30, I’d pick up Jason Aaron’s Wolverine #6, which has a new artist, Daniel Acuna. Aaron’s seemed to have found his character in this series, and it’ll be interesting to see what Acuna does. I’ve been a big fan of his for years, but it seems he’s never gotten the right book to show it off. Second would be Alex Toth Adventures: Jon Fury In Japan Special Edition (Paul Power, $11). I buy each of these Toth collections has they come out, despite the uneven print quality I’ve seen. I hope this is something special -– although I kind of wish someone like IDW or Image would do a series of Alex Toth volumes collecting everything one by one.

Splurge:

My splurge this week would be the new Finder graphic novel Finder: Voice (Dark Horse, $19.99). I’m excited to see what Carla is doing now that she can focus less on self-publishing and more on cartooning.

Chris Mautner

If I had $15:

Uptight #4

The new issue of The Boys is out ($3.99) but for me the must-grab item of the week is the fourth issue of Jordan Crane’s always excellent Uptight from Fantagraphics ($3.95). It’s kind of fascinating to me how Crane has become one of the few indie guys to still be plugging away at the semi-regular pamphlet series, when so many of his peers and direct influences have given up on that format. I’m not sure what, if anything, it means, but he’s cranking out some of the best stuff of his career in these pages, let me tell you.

If I had $30:

I’m kind of curious to check out Dark Horse’s first collected volume of Carla Speed McNeil’s much lauded Finder ($19.99). I’ve only read her work in bits and pieces and haven’t really gotten a feel for it yet. I know there are many who really appreciate her work though, so I’d like to check it out (plus, she’d probably be a great Comics College entry somewhere down the road).

Splurge:

I can’t think of a better book to splurge your hard-earned money this week than on than the $75 Captain America by Jack Kirby Omnibus. Collecting all of Kirby’s great ’70s Cap material, including the history-warping Bicentennial Battles, this is great stuff that any Kirby or Cap fan should get their hands on if they don’t already have it in some other form.

Michael May

Wonder Woman #607

If I had $15:

I’m a complete-story kind of reader, so I’ve been waiting until it’s all done to dig into Kill Shakespeare, but the 100 Penny Press edition of the first issue ($1) is awfully tempting. Meanwhile, Josh Fialkov is one of the sickest (in a good way), most inventive minds in comics and I can’t imagine a more surprising thing for him to be writing than a one-shot about the early days of Marvel Girl ($2.99), which of course makes me want to read it that much more.

Meanwhile meanwhile, my disinterest in what Straczynski was doing with Wonder Woman is rivaled only by my extreme desire to read Phil Hester’s writing that series. It’s these in-between issues like this week’s #607 ($2.99) that are killing me: not only does Hester have to ease himself and us out of Straczynski’s plot, but in order to understand it, I’m going to have to go back and read the Hesterless issues too. I wouldn’t do that for many writers, but I’ll do it for him.

Rounding out the #15 pile would be Flash Gordon: Invasion of the Red Sword #1 ($3.99) and Jennifer Blood #1 ($3.99). Flash Gordon’s an easy choice for me at any time, but Garth Ennis’s new series is outside of my usual range. I have a very limited tolerance for Ennis’ kind of storytelling, but it’s been a long time since I’ve indulged and the vigilante housewife concept sounds fun.

If I had $30:

I’d add Brian Clevinger’s Avengers and the Infinity Gauntlet ($14.99). I’m looking forward to seeing what the Atomic Robo writer does when he’s cut loose in the Marvel Universe.

Splurge:

I’d finally check out Carla Speed McNeil’s Finder series via the new printing of the first volume from Dark Horse ($19.99). I’m embarrassed by how long it’s taken me to do that.

Graeme McMillan

Morning Glories Vol. 1

If I had $15 this week, the majority of it would go on the first collection of Nick Spencer’s Morning Glories (Vol. 1: For A Better Future, Image Comics, $9.99); I’ve heard good things about the series and liked Spencer’s writing elsewhere, but this passed me by when it was first released, so I’m looking forward to trying it out. I’d also pick up IDW’s GI Joe: Cobra II #13, to see what happens after the previous issue’s death of Cobra Commander. I’m a sucker for things like that, I admit.

That said, if I had $30, I’d probably tradewait for Cobra II, and pick up Finder Vol. 1: Voice (Dark Horse, $19.99) instead. I’ve read some of Carla Speed McNeal’s great sci-fi series before in borrowed collections from friends, and so have been anxiously awaiting the roll-out of Dark Horse’s new line of collected editions to have them for myself.

When it comes to splurging, it’s between two choices for me this week: DC’s Bayou Vol. 2 TP ($14.99) continues the print edition of the former Zuda webcomic, while the Captain America By Jack Kirby Omnibus (Marvel Comics, $74.99) contains some of the best and weirdest Cap comics ever made. If only I had a lot of money to imaginary splurge with…

Battle of the beards: Jason Aaron and Alan Moore

No, seriously! Those are Scalped and Ultimate Captain America writer Jason Aaron’s exact words to the legendary Watchmen and From Hell scribe (and fellow beard enthusiast) in Aaron’s latest “Where the Hell Am I” column for CBR: “Go fuck yourself, Alan Moore.” Apparently the writer took Moore’s spate of angry and dismissive comments about the comics industry — spurred most recently, in straw-that-broke-the-camel’s-back fashion, by unpleasant dealings Moore had with former collaborator Dave Gibbons over DC’s potential publication of Watchmen sequels — very personally:

But just how has Alan Moore seen fit to thank me for all the support and adoration I’ve shown him over the years?

By throwing me under the bus, that’s how.

[...]

As a comic book writer, I am mostly definitely a child of Alan Moore, whether it shows in my work or not. He had one of the most profound influences on me of any writer in comics.

But I guess all I’ve done is let the old man down.

Apparently it’s my fault, as a modern-day comic creator, that poor Alan Moore continues to be so bedeviled by Marvel and DC. If I just didn’t suck so bad, along with all my peers, then comic book companies wouldn’t have to keep making Moore so miserable.

[...]

“That’s too harsh,” you might say. After all, Moore’s a rather squirrelly old man who worships a snake god. He probably doesn’t even know what he’s saying, and he does have every right to be upset about possible “Watchmen” sequels. I mean, as a fan, I don’t want to see those either. And besides, he’s said many times before that he doesn’t even read comics anymore, so he really doesn’t even know what he’s talking about. It’s certainly nothing I should take personal.

But I do.

As a fan, I’d just rather not support someone who so blatantly insults me and my friends.

Some other creators have gotten in on the act as well: Ex Machina artist Tony Harris (himself no slouch in the beard department) tweeted of Moore “He’s a Douchebag” after first admitting he’d never read a single Moore comic. On the other hand, Viking writer Ivan Brandon (reasonably if not extravagantly bearded) begged to differ with Aaron’s interpretation of Moore’s remarks:

though i love my friends, still funny to me that some have taken a really vague rant & managed to find a way to be personally insulted by it[.] “alan moore said i suck!” well, first of all, no, he didn’t. second of all: alan moore likely has no opinion at all about you or your work.

Because clearly the best way to respond to Moore’s scathing critique of contemporary comics and Aaron’s equally vicious rejoinder is with a good old-fashioned “let’s you and him fight,” I’ll put it to the group. In the immortal words of the ads for Civil War: Whose side are you on?

Axel Alonso, by Skottie Young

The news broke yesterday that Axel Alonso will take over as editor-in-chief of Marvel Entertainment, following Joe Quesada’s shift in focus to Marvel’s multimedia initiatives. Here’s a few reactions over the last couple days from various folks around the industry:

Tom Spurgeon: “I don’t know Alonso at all, not even a little bit, but he strikes me as a comics-first guy in a period in comics history where Marvel as a publishing company could use every bit of close attention that comes with having a savvy, comics-first guy in that position. That’s not in any way implied commentary on Joe Quesada, I swear. I’m comparing Alonso to other people that might hold that position in this day and age, not to his predecessor. Quesada’s run would have to be termed a big success. Moreover, he leaves that historical position I believe still generally well-liked and certainly widely admired, which is sort of astonishing given the decisions that job calls for over time.”

Tom Brevoort: “This is Axel’s moment. He shouldn’t have to share the spotlight. He well deserves it.”

Jason Aaron: “My bold prediction: the Axel Alonso era at Marvel will be just as exciting and groundbreaking as the Joe Q one, only with more cursing.”

Dan Slott: “Huge congrats to @axelalonsomarv and @TomBrevoort on their promotions. And world’s biggest THANKS to @JoeQuesada for all of his support! ”

Matt Fraction: “Now DC looks like precognitive geniuses for republishing all that Axel-edited Vertigo work last month.”

Erik Larsen: “So, wait–Marvel is promoting the guy who took the X-Men from being their #1 franchise to being titles with no heat whatsoever? Seriously?”

Newsarama has more reactions from creators, while Bleeding Cool lists five changes the new regime could mean. Also, a blast from the recent past: Alonso celebrated his 10th anniversary with Marvel last September, and the Sept. 24 T&A column on CBR collected responses from pros on the occasion.

Wolverine #1

This week was marked by the debut of a new Wolverine series — it’s at least the seventh, by Douglas Wolk’s reckoning — in which the hirsute mutant goes, quite literally, to hell. Or at least his soul does. His body, meanwhile, is on Earth, possessed by demons who have nefarious plans for the fleshy vessel.

The premise undoubtedly leads more than a few readers to cringe, at least until they consider the creators behind the storyline: writer Jason Aaron (Scalped, Wolverine: Weapon X) — it’s based in part on an idea he pitched for Hellblazer — and artist Renato Guedes (Superman, Supergirl).

“It’s my ‘Heroic Age’ story of sending Wolverine to hell and watching him grapple with this sense of hope and faith and what’s really more scary to him: more of the same old dark, pessimistic Logan he’s always been, or him actually thinking that there is a chance things can get better and wonder where he fits into that,” Aaron tells USA Today.

But the first issue also includes a Silver Samurai back-up feature by Aaron, artist Jason Latour and colorist Rico Renzi, which, judging from the reviews, may have stolen the lead story’s thunder.

Here’s just a sampling of what people are saying about Wolverine #1:

Jacob Dodd, Comics Con Queso: “I think that for the longest time most people didn’t know what made a decent solo Wolverine story. They simply tried to ape the parts of stories that they themselves liked when the first became enamored with the character and it never quite worked. Aaron is able to create something that builds off of Wolverine’s over-arching history while at the same time feeling fresh and modern.”

Rob Siebert, Primary Ignition: “The concept of Wolverine in hell is a little cheesy. But I think it can work. Especially if Logan is confronted by some (if not all) of the countless people he’s killed over the years. What’s really interesting to me is the idea Wolverine’s hope and faith being tested. Considering he’s likely one of the most cynical characters in American comics, it’ll be interesting to see how Jason Aaron plays with that idea, especially with Logan in the fiery depths.”

Dan Phillips, IGN.com: “Even with its high concept, the book simply feels like more of the same superhero stuff, and Aaron’s unique voice, style and brand of character work too rarely spring out from under the plot machinations. The main instance where Aaron’s voice does come alive, besides the opening Wraith/Logan conversation, is a wonderfully demented monologue delivered by a demon towards the end of the issue. More than anything else, this final scene made me eager to see Aaron literally put Logan through hell.”

Zack Freeman, Comic Vine: “Aaron’s got a unique ear for dialog and it was refreshing to have this story hook you at the beginning with an arresting talk between Logan and Wraith as opposed to, say, a flashy fight. While Guedes does some solid work, it’s the combo of Latour and Renzi in the back-up feature that’s really turned me my head. I’ve never seen anything as arresting as their style in a long time.”

David Pepose, Newsarama: “… I like having some shadows with my figures, and Renato Guedes has more of a flat, let-the-colorist-handle-the-shadows look that isn’t particularly attractive (at least to me). When you have characters like Wolverine, you have to finesse it a bit, or else the character is just pointed hair and endless lines across his face, which is pretty much what you see here. Other things, however, feel a little more objective — there is some shaky design in here, ranging from the possessed Wolverine to his demon captors, with over-drawn cloth wrinkles or spikes and muscles jutting everywhere. [...] But let’s talk for a minute about the second feature, ‘The Last Stand of the Silver Samurai.’ Holy. Cow. To be 100% honest? This is better than the main feature. Marvel, whatever you do, give Jason Latour and Rico Renzi more work.”

Jordan Cappy, Forgot My Toothbrush: “[The backup story] pretty much steals the show as soon as you see the first page. Art-wise it’s fantastic, and the colours highlight everything so well. From the blood to the bright pink cherry blossoms and the sharp cuts reflecting the sword strikes; I just looks fantastic from start to end. It’s a poetic piece and I’m not really sure what the point of it is just yet. Is it meant to enhance the main story? Cause it kinda overshadows it a bit.”

What did you think about Wolverine #1?

Scalped

With the school year ending and summer arriving faster than you know it, now’s the time to update your summer reading list — and there’s no better place to find some good stuff to read than right here in our weekly What Are You Reading? column. This week our guests are Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt, the creative team behind The Sixth Gun, published by Oni Press. You’ll be seeing a lot of Cullen and Brian over the next few weeks here at Robot 6, so here’s the perfect opportunity to find out what comics they’re into.

*****

Brigid Alverson

Neko Ramen

Lots of manga came in the mail this week, so I’m having a good time. From Tokyopop, I have Neko Ramen, which is a collection of four-panel gag strips about a cat who runs a ramen shop. Like Snakes on a Plane, the title pretty much embodies the concept. Four-panel gag manga (4-koma) are not usually funny in the same way gag strips here are, and the structure is different, so they often don’t travel well. This one does, although the humor is pretty goofy, relying on a mix of cats acting like humans, cats acting like cats, and human customers trying to sort it all out. I wouldn’t watch a full-length film based on this premise, but broken into short strips, it works OK.

My Girlfriend’s a Geek is a gender-reversed twist on the usual Train Man/Genshiken story, because in this case the otaku is not a nerdy guy but a confident woman. Taiga is a college student who has a thing for girls who are slightly older than him. He sees a beautiful girl through a window, applies for a job at her office, and gets it, but at first he seems to get nowhere. What Yuiko is hiding from him is that she is a fujoshi, a girl otaku, who sees Taiga only as a human version of the fantasy boys in yaoi manga. Ed Sizemore really didn’t like it, finding Yuiko’s objectification of Taiga “unsettling.” I haven’t gotten that far into it yet, so I’m enjoying the romantic-comedy aspects and Rize Shinba’s lovely artwork, but I may end up agreeing with Ed when I’m done. We’ll see.

Sean T. Collins

Wilson

Dan Clowes and minicomics are how I spent my last two weeks. Click the links for reviews of what I’ve been reading…

Mister Wonderful by Daniel Clowes: Clowes’s New York Times Funny Pages strip reads like a trial run for his next comic…

Wilson by Daniel Clowes: Never mind the backlash — this mean-spirited comic about the price of being mean-spirited is a black-comedy masterpiece.

Jumbly Junkery #8-9 by L. Nichols: This one-woman anthology series is manic creativity in minicomic form.

Henry & Glenn Forever by Igloo Tornado: Tom Neely and friends pay tribute to the undying love between Glenn Danzig and Henry Rollins. The feel-good comic of the year.

The Numbers of the Beasts by Shawn Cheng: A children’s counting book using mythological monsters, e.g. “Nine are the heads of the hydra.” Gorgeously drawn.

Wiegle for Tarzan by Matt Wiegle: In this not-very-autobiographical minicomic, the author asks for your support as he runs for New York State’s official Tarzan. Yes we can!

Chris Mautner

Little Sammy Sneeze

I picked up Sunday Press Books edition of Little Sammy Sneez by Winsor McCay back on Free Comic Book Day, as my local store was having a 20 percent off on everything discount and I’d been eyeing the book for quite a while. I’m glad I got it because while it doesn’t match the heights of McCay’s Little Nemo, it does have some odd merits on its own.

As his name suggests, Sammy has got one hell of an achoo — it sends, billiard balls blowing, frightens elephants, sends just about everything flying every which where and creates general chaos and devastation in its wake. Each strip is paced almost exactly the same: Adults are engaged in some important adult activity and Sammy gears up for a mother of a sneeze, which always lets loose in the next to last panel (the final one usually involving him getting a kick in the rear). As many reviewers (and the book’s contributors) note, what’s odd about Sammy is his complete laconic attitude and steadfast refusal to alter his ways. He never says a word and never seems to learn to use a handkerchief. You get the feeling the boy ain’t quite right in the head.

What’s equally interesting to me however, is how utterly oblivious the adults are to Sammy’s sneezes. There he is, taking several minutes to wind up but everyone else seems to busy engaged in their own petty matters to pay any attention. It’s suggests a bit of an editorial on McCay’s part, especially as the Sammy strips are paired with McCay’s Hungry Henrietta. That strip follows a young girl who, as a baby is basically fed whenever she’s upset and, as she grows (she ages a few months every strip), her parents become mystified at what an enormous appetite she has. It’s the helicopter parenting of 1905 I suppose, though there’s something selfish in in the family’s inability to understand Henrietta’s behavior that coats a somewhat sad veneer over the whole enterprise, which is what makes it so fascinating in the first place.

Cullen Bunn

It seems like lately I’ve been reading more prose and non-fiction than comics, and a lot of my comic reading involves delving into some of the books that inspired me in my youth. I could go on for hours about my “go-to” books—my all-time favorites—such as Micronauts and Dreadstar and Man-Thing. I’ll steer away from those until some other time. Instead, here are a few graphic novels and comics that I’ve really been digging lately.

Batman and Robin #13

BATMAN AND ROBIN by Grant Morrison

I probably don’t have to encourage most comic fans to read this one. Here’s a secret, though: I’m not a huge Batman fan. I like the character, sure, and I have a ton of back issues stowed away in the long boxes hidden in the basement. But he’s not a character I go out of my way to follow. So, this is for the non-Batman fan. It was Morrison’s run on New X-Men that got me back into comics after a long hiatus, so I was excited by the prospect his take on the “new” Batman. He plunges the reader right into the new Batman and Robin pairing, and I didn’t miss Bruce Wayne at all. The new characters (especially Scarlet and Flamingo) alone are worth the price of admission. There’s a little Batman back story that may cause brand new readers to stumble just a bit, but not much. If you’re passingly aware of the Caped Crusader, you’ll be able to keep up without a problem.

Jack Kirby’s THE DEMON and DEVIL DINOSAUR

One from Marvel. One from DC. Both from the 70s. Both awesome. I just re-read these series in the collected formats. Holy Cow! Talk about no-holds-barred craziness! These are the types of books that hook readers with their wild plots and eye-popping character designs. And it’s not some sense of nostalgia that fuels my love for these books. Okay … maybe a little … but that’s only part of it. The most important thing about these stories, written over thirty years ago, is that they show a level of fun and creativity that I often fear is lost in newer comics. As a writer, I aspire to capture some of that anything-can-happen wonder in my work.

AMERICAN VAMPIRE by Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque, and Stephen King

Finally a vampire comic for horror fans! I guess there’s nothing wrong with Lestat and company, but I’ve always preferred my bloodsuckers to be a little more down and dirty, and that’s what I got with the story of Skinner Sweet, the first American Vampire. If this series keeps going the way it has, it will quickly become one of my favorite Vertigo series. Hey, it’s got the Old West and the Roaring Twenties, two eras that are obviously near and dear to me, and I’m eager to see the history of the titular character unfold.

SIEGE by Brian Michael Bendis

When I picked this up, I really just wanted to read a story about superheroes beating each other up. That’s what I got, too! It was a lot of fun, and it’s interesting to see the culmination of events that were set into motion years ago. A book like this, which seems a little tight with just four issues, is all about moments of coolness, like Thor’s entrance in issue 1, Captain America’s arrival on the final page of issue 2, and Iron Man’s appearance in issue 3. Wait a sec! All my favorite bits are when characters arrive on the scene. Well, I guess Bendis writes damn good entrances.

SCALPED by Jason Aaron

When I first started reading comic books, I would have never thought that a book like Scalped would by one of my favorite titles. Here’s a book that has everything going for it. A great premise. A terrific cast. A suitably damaged protagonist who can “break it off” when he needs to, and a complex, evolving storyline that never lets you get too comfortable. One of the things I like most is that I started out thinking this was the story of Dashiell Bad Horse, but as the tale unfolds, I’m thinking this is really crime boss Red Crow’s story.

SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING by Alan Moore

Again, there’s probably a little nostalgia here. When I first read Alan Moore’s take on Swamp Thing, it was when my younger brother bought a bunch of them at the flea market. The stories have been reissued in some beautiful hardcover editions, so I couldn’t help but dive back into them. It’s strikes me that the individual covers to those early Moore issues really couldn’t prepare the reader for the shock and awe awaiting them. The covers often looked like your standard monster vs. monster fare. There’s nothing wrong with that. I love that stuff! But when you opened the book, you were thrown into this poetic, creepy, disturbing world that changed the way American comic creators approached horror forever. And if that wasn’t enough for me, the confrontation between Arcane and the “new” Swamp Thing still makes me giddy with the level of whoop-ass unleashed on the page.

Vol. 8 of Pluto

A Bunch of Them There Manga Books

Lately, I’ve been getting into a lot of manga titles. It started with an exploration of J-Horror in comics, because I wanted to immerse myself in the surreal creepiness of books like Uzumaki and Tomie by Junji Ito. The structure of those books is appealing to me, but I don’t know how they manage to suspend my disbelief from beginning to end. In Uzumaki, most of the stories (especially in the beginning) stand on their own, and the horror gets more and more bizarre. I guess it’s a little like reading someone else’s nightmare. It’s tough for comics to be truly scary, but these are definitely unsettling.

I think it was Brian who turned me on to Death Note and Parasyte, both of which I enjoyed from beginning to end. What I like most about these stories is that the creators really take their time developing the characters and letting the plot unfold, sometimes over the course of dozens of issues. Along the way, they manage to toss complication after complication into the mix, so there’s always something new to keep the reader’s attention, even in the midst of page after page of exposition. I just really dig these complex plots and characters … and the more fantastic elements are always a lot of fun.

Currently, I’m reading Pluto, which for a book inspired by an episode of Astro Boy is a damn fine mystery. Again, this one is focused on character development rather than robotic battles. I went into this one without knowing a whole lot about it, and I think I’m better off for it. I’m only three volumes in, but the stories of North No. 2 and Brando were surprisingly sad and touching.

Brian Hurtt

When I was first asked “What Are You Reading?” I kind of panicked. I stay pretty busy, I’m on a budget, and I have this constant guilt about not reading enough comics. So I started to put together a list of what I’ve been reading recently that I could recommend. I really hoped that I could come up with 3, maybe 4 books. That’d be fine. That’d be enough. I had to stop my list at 10. That surprised me. So, what follows, are a few titles from that list—the ones I’ve read most recently and was most excited to share.

Dungeon Twilight: The New Centurions

DUNGEON: This is one of my all-time favorite series! It’s a great day when I walk into a store and see that a new volume has come out. My only complaint is that there aren’t nearly enough of them (translated to English) and they don’t come out often enough. Just this week I picked up Dungeon Twilight: The New Centurions.

I really have a hard time describing this book to people when trying to recommend it. It is sort of a parody of fantasy or sword and sorcery comics but at the same time it is so much more. At first glance, it is very cartoony, with all the characters being anthropomorphic animals and monsters, and you immediately think it’s a “funny book”. And it is a funny book. But it’s also, at times, dark and violent and sometimes existential and sad.

One of the things that is really interesting about this series is the rotating cast of French creators. Every volume, as far as I can tell, is either written, or co-written, by the series creator’s Joann Sfar (The Rabbi’s Cat, Vampire Loves) and Lewis Trondheim (Little Nothings, Harum Scarum). They also dip in and do art chores from time to time as well as some other French luminaries like Blutch and Christophe Blain and many more.

I’m absolutely in love with all these creators so it only makes sense that if you put them all in the same universe and let them run wild that the final product of that will be something that I can’t resist. There is this quality that they all share and I describe it as immediacy. There is an immediacy to the art and the quality of line. Nothing seems labored over—it’s like a pure love a just drawing exudes every panel. It’s kinda hard to convey. But that immediacy also extends to the storytelling. You are given an almost stream of consciousness sense to the plotting—like the creators have no idea what an outline is. It may be a quality that is intentionally brought to the stories by masters of storytelling—kind of like jazz masters who are so intimate and knowledgeable of the art that they can then break it down and improvise. But I’m constantly left with the sense that they’re making it up as they go along—until the end, when the whole journey comes together beautifully.

But maybe I’m just over thinking it. It is just a funny book, after all.

Fantastic Four: World's Greatest

FANTASTIC FOUR: WORLD’S GREATEST: I’m one of those people who finds Mark Millar hit or miss. In fact, the only time I ever really enjoy his work is when he’s working with Bryan Hitch. I loved Ultimates. I liked Ultimates 2. I wasn’t sure what to expect from their work on the Fantastic Four. Now, the Fantastic Four, similarly, is hit or miss. I really like the FF but I tend to like them best when the series most closely resembles the tone, imagination and scope of Lee and Kirby when they were in their prime on this series. I’m a big fan of John Byrne’s run on the book in the 80′s (in my opinion, along with Simonson’s THOR, one of the best series of the 80′s). The last time I was compelled to pick up FF was when Waid and Weiringo were on the book. So it was with trepidation that I picked up the recent Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest (collecting FF #554-561). My concerns were laid to rest pretty quickly. I found a series that was as exciting and epic as any previous incarnation while at the same time adding depth to the characters (especially Sue and Reed) without sacrificing their core personalities. It goes without saying that the art is amazing. Nobody stages epic action like Hitch and he’s firing on all cylinders here. This book was exactly what I wanted from a post-millennial FF book and has guaranteed that I will be back for more.

JASON AARON: Okay, I realize this is a cheat. I was going to just tell everyone that I was reading Scalped, that it is the best ongoing on the stands, and it’s generally all around awesome. There really isn’t anything I can say about Scalped that hasn’t already been said by everyone else. It’s a testament to his writing that a book that, conceptually (a crime series set on a Native American reservation), didn’t really appeal to me ahs become my favorite ongoing series. It’s a book that has a rich ensemble (the main character, Dashiell Bad Horse, disappears for a whole arc and you don’t mind) and is emotionally and psychologically dark and complex–all the while, being a great thrill ride. But, I couldn’t mention Scalped and not also mention where it has taken me.

I wonder if Aaron hopes that his work for Marvel might in some way be a gateway drug to discovering, what is obviously a more personal work, Scalped. I know that it has actually been the opposite for me.

I don’t generally read a lot of superhero books, I just tend to dip my toe in here and there (usually when Ed Brubaker is involved). But, in the past couple weeks I’ve found myself tugged toward the Marvel Universe. Specifically, the work of Aaron. Already a Scalped fan, I found myself in the possession of the first arc of Aaron’s PunisherMAX series. This was essentially a Kingpin origin story. I’ve never found the Kingpin more compelling, smart and dangerous as I did in this series. The Punisher, in this series, is more of an engine for the story. He seems less a character and more a force of nature. Kind of like the character of Shigur in No Country for Old Men. And Aaron’s command of the comic language is on full display here with flashbacks and parallel narratives—just a wonderfully constructed comic. Did I mention that Steve Dillon delivers some of his trademark, mundane ultraviolence? The arc that just started in the series features Bullseye. Hell yeah. Ya got me, Mr. Aaron. I’m sold.

So there I was. I loved Scalped. I was intrigued enough to pick up PunisherMAX and I loved it. So what am I to do when I see Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine…written by Jason Aaron? Not something I’d pick up, generally. But, with Aaron’s name on it I’ve gotta give it a chance, right? Well, glad I did. Again, he does a does a great job of constructing this dual narrative, with two distinct and iconic comic voices, and all the while making it look easy. It has that sense of pure fun and adventure that superhero comics, on a whole, seem to have lost. It’s a book that I want to read on the floor of my living room on a lazy Saturday afternoon. I’m on board. And I’m also compelled to go seek out some of his other recent Marvel work. From Scalped to Spidey and Wolvie–well played Mr. Aaron.

Some of the other books I wanted to write about but didn’t have the space for: CRIMINAL, SCOTT PILGRIM, HELLBOY/BPRD, Fraction’s INVINCIBLE IRON MAN and Matt Kindt’s 3 STORY.