What I’m Getting Wednesday April 8

Where is the outrage? The country has thrown trillions of dollars at a corrupt financial process that is so inbred that we have an investment banker who did not pay his taxes in charge of the IRS. Obama fiddles while Rome is burning. The Congress passes a budget with a built in deficit of historical magnitude and one of the clowns states it is fiscally responsible. In Maryland speed cameras are passed as a revenue generator and budgets are passed with artificial cuts that are only reductions in payouts to the local governments, who will raise our taxes to cover the shortages. We have let our system run mad and there is no outrage, the same people are re-elected over 90% of the time and we just continued to allow ourselves to be raped and never ask for even a kiss.

What the government has done and especially with the ouster of the head of GM is destroyed my ability to be able to plan for the future or even to make investments. The only option I have is the put my money under the proverbial mattress. An example of what I mean involves investing in GM. Personally I do not have a lot of capital to invest, but I had stated that GM would have to go into bankruptcy as the company was not an ongoing concern the way it was structured. This has actually been a known fact to anyone with an IQ for many years, but the market had finally taken noticed and the stock price was coming down dramatically. My thought process was that GM would go into bankruptcy and like the legacy airlines come out leaner and meaner and the devalued stocked that you owned going in, could take off afterwards and you might have a chance to make a killing. The risk is the stock goes to zero and you lose, but the upside was strong if they shed the pensions and healthcare costs and all the other problems that were hurting them. My in-laws liked the idea and brought 100 shares when the stock was around $12 a share (jumping in a little early in my view). Then the government stepped in and said we will not let them go bankrupt. Now they are taking control of GM by fiat. So that means that the short term investment has now turned into a possibly unending game that could mean ultimately the nationalization of GM. Not what anyone was betting on.

I can no longer put my money anywhere, because I would base my bets on being able to read as best as I can what is going to happen, but with government intervention in such a massive way, it makes it impossible to determine what is going to happen. The game was always shady, now it is totally rigged.

I have no faith or confidence in the system anymore. I have always had a limited "trust" in government, but I used to believe that I was able to forecast how the world would work and make rationale decisions about how to manage my life. Now I'm left to just do what I can for today and hide what I can under my mattress and hope to either move out of the US eventually (but is anywhere else any better) or hope that someone wakes up and we have another revolution.

It is a sad state of affairs and it is painful to watch the end of the America Era.

As what use to be dies I would expect outrage, but instead we are like lemmings. I may have to actually run for a State Representative office just so I feel like I’m not going quietly into the night.

On that cheery note let’s move onto what’s coming out this Wednesday.

The books I’m looking forward to most this week are:

Batman Battle for the Cowl #2 (of 3) – This book has me on pins and needles as to which way it will work out. Some preliminary rumors have it as Dick Grayson and I can accept that solution, but any other and I will be torn. I also hope that this is not a one year type deal. I would have no problem with Dick being Batman for a few years and then when Bruce inevitably returns it creates a whole new story line that would have great potential. The hype “Written by Tony Daniel; Art by Tony Daniel and Sandu Florea; Covers by Tony Daniel. With the destruction of Arkham Asylum and dozens of Gotham City's most lethal villains rioting through the streets, it would seem that Nightwing, Robin and their allies have their hands full. But they hadn't counted on the return of Batman himself! But is it really The Dark Knight? If so, why is he acting so strangely? And if not, is this a threat that could mean the destruction of Gotham? This 3-issue series continues to shock and surprise as the battle shifts to the next level with a face-off and ending that will have everybody talking. Who has earned the right to be Batman? Who thinks they deserve it? Robin? Nightwing? Jason Todd? Who will ultimately win the BATTLE FOR THE COWL?"

Daredevil Noir #1 (of 4) – Marvel continues their noir books and since Daredevil is a modern noir story, setting the story back in time and giving us an “elseworlds” DD is their only other choice. I have to admit to being curious as to what how this will work out. The company line “The latest addition to Marvel’s red-hot Noir line offers a unique spin on the Man Without Fear! Prohibition-era Hell’s Kitchen is Kingpin territory, and until now, his only problem has been the masked vigilante known as Daredevil. When gangster Orville Halloran arrives on the scene, fresh from a stretch in Sing Sing and eager to stretch his wings, Hell’s about to get hotter. For P.I. Foggy Nelson and his loyal assistant Matt Murdock, it all starts when a desperate woman comes to their office with an irresistible story about her and Halloran. To Foggy, she's a client -- to Murdock, she's enough to make Halloran Daredevil's next target. But Murdock is about to find out that half-truths are poison truths, and that the Kitchen is full of history that will put him on a collision course with both the old Kingpin and the man who wants to replace him.”

Echo #11 – This is simply one of the best written series on the stands. Every issue is done too quickly and leaves me wondering where Julie’s story will take her. Science fiction, realistic characters, great art, a fantastic series. The word “(W/A) Terry Moore Dillon finally learns what happened to Annie, and realizes his relationship with Julie is going to be much more complicated than he thought. Meanwhile, Ivy returns to HeNRI and confronts Foster for the truth about Julie and the Beta Suit, only to find the atomic alloy is merely the tip of the iceberg!”

Green Lantern #39 – Not a good sign that GL is already a month late and we are approaching the “Blackest Night” storyline. I have a feeling Johns and a few artists are working overtime to make sure 90% of it hits the stands when it is suppose to arrive. What’s inside “Written by Geoff Johns; Art by Philip Tan and Jonathan Glapion; Cover by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert. "Agent Orange" Part 1 and featuring an "Origins and Omens" backup tale! As the orange light of avarice erupts in violence within the Vega System, the secrets of the Guardians' pact with the criminals of the universe that has kept the Vega System off limits is revealed. Hal Jordan comes face to face with the mysterious and immensely powerful Agent Orange in a bizarre confrontation.”

Hexed #4 (of 4) – My favorite sort of under the radar series. Lucifer is a great character and I can’t believe we have already come to the end of the mini-series. I hope the sales have warranted at least one more mini-series. I know some series have thrived being a series of mini-series, but I think an ongoing should be the next step for this character. The marketing people say ““The Devil I Know, Part IV.” Lucifer is embroiled in a mystical battle for her life in the searing climax of this story! The already critically acclaimed series by scribe Michael Alan Nelson (FALL OF CTHULHU), and hot new art talent Emma Rios!”

Ignition City #1 (of 5) – Another new series from Warren Ellis Press, I mean Avatar Press by Warren Ellis. I’m always willing to give a Warren Ellis series a try and I try to avoid reading too much about them as I like to judge them with limited interference. Avatar says “Where did the space heroes go to die? A major new series by Warren Ellis, the writer who reinvented science fiction in comics, in the alternate-world style of the award-winning Ministry Of Space and Aetheric Mechanics - a retro-punk 'future of the past' where spaceships still belched smoke and arguments were still settled with laser pistols.1956. Personal space flight is becoming illegal all over the world. Grounded space pilot Mary Raven has to journey to Earth's last spaceport, the island of Ignition City, to recover her dead father's effects - and discovers, there in the lawless interzone of the ramshackle settlement raised inside the ring of launch pads, that her father died on the wrong end of a ray-gun. She's not going to leave until she finds out who killed Rock Raven, but there's a lot of people who'd rather feed her to the recycling chipper first! Ignition City is an on-going color epic told in five issue series featuring the art of Aetheric Mechanics' Gianluca Pagliarani.”

Locke & Key Head Games #4 – Like Echo, this is also a well written book. Each author has created characters that I feel I could meet at a ball game or something and would immediately feel like I knew them. Of course this has the horror/supernatural element to it that is not real, but the characters reacting to it feel real. The solicitation text “Duncan Locke finds himself faced with a dizzying, impossible revelation; Tyler makes the ill-considered decision to share with others the unlikely powers of the head key; and Kinsey comes face-to-face with a monster lurking... within.”

Superman World of Krypton #2 (of 12) – After getting use to reading about Superman in two ongoing series, JLA and a big role in Final Crisis only getting one dose a month of his ongoing continuity seems odd. The first issue set the premise well and Robinson and Rucka are great writers so this series should be good. Ultimately I believe New Krypton can not stay where it is or the people have to be de-powered because 100,000 supermen is way too many. The blather “Written by James Robinson and Greg Rucka; Art by Pete Woods; Cover by Gary Frank. Superman thought that joining his people on New Krypton would allow him to ease some of the tension between Earth and his people, but lately nothing's been easy for the Man of Steel! Alura still shows no signs of becoming the kind of leader Superman wants her to be. The people of New Krypton still don't understand the responsibilities that come with their new abilities. And as for Zod? Superman doesn't even know where to start with Zod. All The Man of Steel knows is that he can't be trusted. And Zod is about to prove Superman right.”

Warlord #1 – Mike Grell is seeing if you can come home again. As much as I’m looking forward to this book it is annoying to see how many old ideas are being dusted off and tried again. Still it has worked for many, many projects and often a character just needs to find the right formula to work again (and we can ignore that Bruce Jones / Bart Sears disaster a couple of years ago.) – The report from inside the world “Written by Mike Grell; Art by Joe Prado and Walden Wong; Cover by Mike Grell. At the Roof of the World in Tibet, a team of paleontologists and adventurers has made the find of the century: perfectly preserved dinosaur specimens that appear to have died mere days before! Their expedition takes a deadly turn when they uncover an impossible portal to another world – an unbelievable country at the hollow center of the Earth, the mythical land of Skartaris! But they're not the first surface-worlders to find themselves stranded in Skartaris, and their arrival in his peaceful home triggers an unforgettable new adventure for the hero who has taken the land as his own: Travis Morgan, the Warlord! This new ongoing series marks the return of creator Mike Grell to the fantasy saga that made him famous! Reunite with Tara, Shakira, Tinder and the rest of the cast in a story that continues the adventures of the Warlord but opens up a new era where any reader can jump aboard. Along with Grell's scripts – and lushly painted covers – comes the art of rising star Joe Prado (ACTION COMICS, SINESTRO CORPS SECRET FILES)! DC's finest fantasy franchise is reborn!"

Wolverine Weapon X #1 – So we have Wolverine First Class, Wolverine Origins, Wolverine and a ton of one-shots, Wolverine variants everywhere, Wolverine hard covers, magazines you name it and it is being done in hopes of having tons of product when the movie hits on May 1. So why I’m trying this book out comes down to 2 reasons, writer Jason Aaron and artist Ron Garney. Just those names make it worth checking out issue #1. Marvel’s hype machine says ““THE ADAMANTIUM MEN” Part 1 (of 5) In the jungles of Colombia, people are turning up dead, whole villages brutally slaughtered by a team of soldiers who move through the shadows like ghosts. On the streets of San Francisco, Logan learns that the files from the old Weapon X program, the blueprints for building Adamantium-laced super soldiers like himself, have fallen into the hands of the evil corporation, Roxxon. Once again, it seems, someone is looking to build the perfect killing machine. That means it's time for Wolverine to step in, and remind them that someone already did. Plus 8 pages of Director's Cut Extras!”

The rest of the list:

Batman Battle for the Cowl: Man-Bat – Out last week to some stores. - Written by Joe Harris; Art by Jim Calafiore; Cover by Ladrönn. Spinning out of the events in BATTLE FOR THE COWL, Gotham City is in chaos and the villains of Arkham Asylum are running amok. One such villain is the evil Doctor Phosphorus who seeks out another scientist in this one-shot to help him grow even more powerful. But when that scientist is Kirk Langstrom, a.k.a. Man-Bat, Doctor Phosphorus – and all of Gotham – will get much more than they bargained for!

Batman Confidential #28 - Written by Christina Weir and Nunzio DiFilipis; Art and Cover by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Kevin Nowlan. "New Dawn" Part 3 of 3! Forced to work side by side, Batman and the Riddler may end up together forever…trapped inside King Tut's Tomb! Concluding Batman's first comic book encounter with the cursed King Tut!

Booster Gold #19 - Written by Dan Jurgens; Art and Cover by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund. It's the aftermath of the "Reality Lost" arc as Booster Gold learns the dire consequences of time travel from Time Master Rip Hunter. And the toughest lesson learned involves understanding how keeping his sister Goldstar alive could be more dangerous than anyone ever dreamed.

BPRD Black Goddess #4 (of 5) - Outside Memnan Saa's sanctum, two armies of monsters clash over the fate of the world; within, the B.P.R.D. can only watch as Saa's machinations continue to unfold around them, building up to an apocalyptic climax with Liz at its core. Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi, and drawn by Guy Davis, B.P.R.D.: The Black Goddess is the second of three arcs pulling together threads from the beginning of the series -- and leaving the B.P.R.D. and the world forever changed.

Cleaners #3 (of 4) - In the midst of a blood-drenched mystery, a picture is beginning to emerge from a veritable Rorshach test of evidence. And in one suburban neighborhood, a weird event in a dark alley leads to the revelation of a secret the world isn't ready to learn. A massive blood spill reveals the existence of something previously unknown-a person or a thing that lives on mass quantities of blood of all different ages and types. Robert Bellarmine is the man who sees this picture taking shape, and when a little neighborhood boy goes missing, Bellarmine knows it's only a matter of time before the boy becomes the next victim of a blood-hungry monster.

Dark Reign Hawkeye #1 (of 5) - From the pages of DARK AVENGERS—Bullseye cuts loose! The media knows him only as Hawkeye–-but we know he’s really the psychopath named Bullseye! How does the world’s deadliest assassin fit in with Norman Osborn’s hand-picked team of public do-gooders? What’s his agenda, and how does it instantly jeopardize the entire Avengers legacy? And how long can the most ruthless killer ever to walk the Earth be kept on a leash? The one-two punch of writer Andy Diggle (THUNDERBOLTS) and Tom Raney (SECRET INVASION: INHUMANS) unite for the solo mini-series that puts the innocent right in the angry archer’s crosshairs!

House Of Mystery #12 - Written by Matthew Sturges ; Art by Luca Rossi and Grazia Lobaccaro ; Cover by Esao Andrews. Part 2 of "The Space Between"! Disappointed by everyone around her, Fig is unsure who to trust and is back at square one. Where do you go when there's nowhere to go? You go nowhere. Or you stop being you. Or you go to the Goblin Market with the things that go "HZZZZZZ." Featuring werewolves galore and the return of the House's first waitress, Rina, whose political convictions will blow your mind.

Infinite Horizon #4 (of 6) – The Soldier is broken in both body and spirit after barely surviving his battle with the deadly cyclops. What perils await him in THE LAND OF THE DEAD? How will his past haunt him? And how can matters get worse back at home? Read issue four of THE INFINITE HORIZON for the answers!

Northlanders #16 - Written by Brian Wood; Art by Ryan Kelly; Cover by Massimo Carnevale. "The Cross + The Hammer" part 6 of 6. Ragnar and his Irish armies appear to be the lone victors of the day as they break the back of Viking rule and finally pin Magnus down in what seems like certain death. But in an unexpected 11th-hour reveal, Ragnar and Magnus both discover that nothing in this battle was ever what it appeared to be.

Punisher Frank Castle #69 - “SIX HOURS TO KILL, PART 4: MINUTE MEN” Frank Castle finds himself face down in the Philadelphia gutter — with professional killers, crooked cops, and even the Mayor himself fixing to make sure he dies there. And that’s if the poison racing through Castle’s veins doesn’t kill him first. Can Castle stay conscious enough to save the life of an innocent man—and take out the criminal mastermind behind it all?
Salem’s Daughter #0 - (W) Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco (A) Ciao The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 resulted in the hangings of 19 women and men. Over the years many came to realize that the trials were perhaps done in haste with no hard evidence of witchcraft being used by any of the accused. Two hundred years later, Anna Williams is living a regular uneventful life in Essex County, Massachusetts. But there is more to Anna than meets the eye, much more. Now Anna is beginning to discover her unique powers and knows her life will never be the same as she reluctantly decides to follow her true calling. And a hardened and bitter gunslinger named Braden Cole is the one man who can help her along the way. From the minds behind the hit series Grimm Fairy Tales, Se7en, and Return To Wonderland comes a new series unlike anything you've seen! The ghost and monster stories passed down from generations before will shine in a whole new light in this stylistic supernatural thriller that will bring the feel of X-Files to 19th century America. Features a special wraparound cover by Ebas! ALSO THIS WEEK’S BREAST COVER AWARD.

Secret Six #8- Written by Gail Simone; Art by Carlos Rodriguez and Bitt; Cover by Nicola Scott. It's a special double date issue as the surviving members of the Six take a night on the town in that disturbing way that only they can do. Its dinner and a movie with bullets and bloodshed in an all-romance (with violence) issue you won't want to miss! Plus, what does Ragdoll dream about? Um, it's not for the squeamish.

The Sword #16 - story JOSHUA LUNA art & cover JONATHAN LUNA Dara finally has her chance to go head to head with Knossos, the man who murdered her mother. However, killing someone who can manipulate the earth is easier said than done.

Timestorm 2009 2099 #1 (of 4) - 2009…meets 2099? Future history has been shattered by events in the present! If you think you know the heroes and villains from Marvel’s dark future, writer Brian Reed (SECRET INVASION: CAPTAIN MARVEL) and artist Eric Battle (Batman) say it’s time to think again! Get ready for the re-imagined 2099 versions of Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, the X-Men and more! Plus 8 pages of Director's Cut Extras!

Titans #12 - Written by Judd Winick; Art by Howard Porter; Cover by Andrew Robinson. "Deathtrap" Part 1 of 5! Completely unhinged, Jericho continues his assault upon his former teammates. As if that wasn't enough, he also draws the Teen Titans into his twisted plot. And the Vigilante makes it his mission to stop Jericho – permanently! Continued in VIGILANTE #5

Trinity #45 - Written by Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza; Art by Mark Bagley and Art Thibert, Mike Norton and Ande Parks, Scott McDaniel and Andy Owens and Tom Derenick and Wayne Faucher; Covers by Shane Davis and John Dell and Jesus Merino. Earth – and all of reality – is under assault from space, magic forces, other dimensions and more! But if Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman changed forever, does it mean salvation for everybody else – or disaster? The Trinity leads DC's heroes and some surprising allies in a sprawling battle to save reality! Featuring Krona, Morgaine Le Fey, the Crime Syndicate, Despero, Enigma, the JLA and loads of other DC heroes and villains!

War of Kings Ascension #1 (of 4)- A WAR OF KING tie-in! Who is Talon? What does he want with the young Earthman that ‘90s comic junkies know as Chris Powell? What is the shocking truth that connects the hero called Darkhawk not only to the Shi’Ar, but to the larger cosmos? And how does it all lead to a confrontation with Annihilus’ forces in the Negative Zone?

I was shocked to see Infinite Horizons back on the list as I thought that was a book that had died due to low sales and we would never see the end of it. Glad to see it made it back and I hope we get the other two issues with less of a lag time. When I have what is almost a slow weak I will try out books I had decided to pass on before and Timestorm from Marvel is one such book, but Brian Reed shown me some good stuff in a short lived book called "The Circle" and I’m curious to see what he is doing with the 2099 Marvel Universe from years back. All in all this should be a good week.