What I’m Getting Wednesday May 6

It’s funny when you take a few weeks off from something that has become a regular habit. I had gotten into a rhythm where during the week something would strike a note and give me something to make a commentary about. While there have been thinks that have garnered my interest in comics, politics and sports, nothing is screaming at me for any sort of commentary. I will at least note an old standby and point I have hammered on until the nail is through the board and beyond and that is the economy. On a personal level my wife’s company had dropped the matching portion of the 401K type plan she has and both of our employers are lowering what the raises will be for the year. I’m still singing my “chicken little” song that the worst is yet to come and the government is only worsening the depression and lengthening it. Also I do not envision any grand sea of change in kicking out the leaders in office at this point as the anger over what we are doing will not be in the minds of enough people until thinks get much worse. I’m sure you all glad to have my cheery world view back again.

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

Astro City The Dark Age Book Three #2 (of 4) – I always enjoy the Astro City stuff and my biggest disappointment is how long it takes at times between installments of this material. Still it is worth the wait. “Written by Kurt Busiek; Art by Brent Anderson; Cover by Alex Ross. Astro City's longest and most ambitious epic enters a new era and a new jumping-on point. It's the early 1980s – a time of darkness and danger, the era of the Point Man, the Omega Rangers and others. And for Charles and Royal Williams, it's a time for revenge as their pursuit of the man who killed their parents takes Royal deep into the bowels of the PYRAMID organization while Charles reaches heights he never imagined. Will it be morning in America – or will the long night continue? Also featuring the First Family, the debut of Cleopatra and more!”

Atomic Robo Shadow from Beyond Time #1 (of 5) – Like Astro City I’m always happy to see another Atomic Robo book hit the stands. The first mini-series I loved, the second I liked, so I hope this is back to loving the book again. “New York City, 1926. Atomic Robo's dull night of studying for a physics exam is interrupted by a duo from Nikola Tesla's past with a dire message: the imminent doom of all life in the universe! Guest starring Charles Fort, Howard Philips Lovecraft, and the Tunguska Incident. This is steampunk science fiction at its finest!”

Blazing Combat HC – Warren Publishing did a short lived war series and it received a lot of critical acclaim, but I don’t remember reading it myself, but I know I’m happy to get the chance to read it. “Blazing Combat was originally published by independent comics publisher James Warren in 1965 and 1966. Following in the tradition of Harvey Kurtzman’s Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat, Goodwin’s stories reflected the human realities and personal costs of war rather than exploiting the clichés of the traditional men’s adventure genre. They were among the best comics stories about war ever published, and they are collected here for the first time in a striking hardcover volume with exclusive interviews with Goodwin and Warren.”

Creepy Archives Volume 3 – Not only is Dark Horse reprinting these fun horror stories from Warren Publishing they are soon to add an actual quarterly anthology called Creepy trying to restore the tradition. Two old Warren Books being republished in one week – pretty cool. “Fans of horror comics and jaw-dropping artwork, rejoice! Dark Horse Comics continues to showcase its dedication to bringing you the highest-quality horror comics ever made with this third blood-curdling collection of Warren Publishing's groundbreaking horror magazine Creepy. This landmark archive series brings readers, for the first time ever, each and every eerie story from Creepy magazine's original run, featuring work from many of the best artists ever to work in the medium of comics. Frank Frazetta, Gray Morrow, Alex Toth, Joe Orlando, and Angelo Torres are just a sampling of the artists whose work bring horror to life in startling and gorgeously gruesome detail in this third huge collected volume. Features art by Frank Frazetta, Gray Morrow, Alex Toth, Joe Orlando, Angelo Torres, and others! Features the original back-and-white artwork meticulously restored, with the original covers of each issue reprinted in luscious full color!”

Flash Rebirth #2 (of 5) – The first issue was almost a prologue so I’m looking forward to seeing the story start. While DC does not have a very cohesive universe at this time they have a lot of material that is being published and coming out that I look forward too and Flash is one of them. “Written by Geoff Johns; Art by Ethan Van Sciver; Covers by Ethan Van Sciver. What's happened to the Speed Force? One of the world's most powerful speedsters is dead, and Barry Allen must discover who – or what – is responsible! But the reborn Barry is a man haunted by a dark secret in his past. A secret that drives him to push far beyond his limits. A burden that, if he's not careful, could send him right back into oblivion! Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver's reinvention of the Scarlet Speedster picks up the pace – we dare you to keep up!”

Irredeemable #2 – The first issue was an excellent book and Mark Waid and Peter Krause did an unbelievable job with it This is the book that I’m looking forward to most this week. “A comic book industry event: a new original ongoing superhero series from Mark Waid! IRREDEEMABLE dares to ask the question: what if the world’s greatest hero decided to become the world’s greatest villain? Heroes are being picked off one-by-one in a brutal and viscous assault. They never stood a chance – never saw it coming. A small cadre of heroes race against time and space to stay alive and turn the tables. A “twilght of the superheroes”-style story that examines super-villains from the writer of KINGDOM COME and EMPIRE!”

New Mutants #1 – When this book was first introduced I always thought it was a little bit lame, but over time the book grew on me and then more time past and I lost track of these characters. I was almost going to skip this book, but I’m curious to see if these characters are now grown up and can I care about them again. “They’re back together again! Cannonball, Dani Moonstar, Karma, Sunspot, Magma and Magik have been gathered once more, but can they stand against one of the most powerful X-Villains of all time? Legion is back, and the villain that thrust us into the Age of Apocalypse is scarier than ever. But what does he want with the New Mutants? Zeb Wells (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN) and Diogenes Neves (X-MEN: WORLDS APART) bring your favorite teen heroes into adulthood. Don’t miss it!”

Pherone HC – Another book I almost passed on and then I saw the artwork and started to read the story and I was immediately drawn in. I hope the book is as good as the preview, which can often be like a trailer to a movie, meaning it was the best part of the book. “Following Eve, a dangerously seductive woman on the edge of her sanity, PHERONE weaves a dark storyline filled with espionage, mystery, and suspense. Armed with a killer body and a killer's mind, the femme fatale must hunt down clues to rediscover her own troubled past, bringing violence and danger to anyone who crosses her path.”

The rest of the list:

Agents of Atlas #4 - What a difference a half-century makes: As the Agents of 1958 find themselves battling deep behind the Iron Curtain, the Agents of today are locked in mortal conflict with Captain America! And if Bob Grayson loses his mind that may very well be the end for the Agents of today!

The Authority #10 - Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning and Christos Gage; Art by Brandon Badeaux and Shawn Moll; Cover by Simon Coleby. When the world ended, the Authority and the rest of the population were caught unprepared and suffered the consequences. Find out what happened in those crucial moments following the destruction of Earth and how it affected the Authority...as well as Rendlesham!

Batman Battle for the Cowl the Network #1 - Written by Fabian Nicieza; Art by Don Kramer; Cover by Ladrönn. A wave of heroes arrive in Gotham City in this one-shot with hopes of helping stem the tide of chaos threatening to overwhelm everybody! Starring Huntress, Batgirl, Misfit, Ragman, Manhunter and many others. Will these heroes succeed – or will they be victims of Gotham City's madness? And if they do succeed, what does the future hold for them?

Farscape Strange Detractors #2 (of 4) - Farscape creator Rockne O'Bannon is back! Television's science fiction masterpiece Farscape continues with the same hit writing team from the first sold out mini-series! Crichton and crew are all here as it's friend vs. friend and ally vs. ally as a mysterious wave of violence sweeps through the crew of Moya. And worse, an entire planet!

Final Crisis Aftermath Run #1 (of 6) – Written by Matthew Sturges; Art by Freddie E. Williams II; Cover by Kako. The Human Flame is a dead man. Literally just waking up after the events of FINAL CRISIS, he realizes all the heroes in the DC Universe target him as the lowlife who taped the murder of the Martian Manhunter with his cell phone. On top of that, all the villains in the world want to kill him for selling them out to Libra. He's powerless and penniless, and his only chance for survival is to run! This 6-issue miniseries examines the underbelly of the DCU and what happens when the wrong choices catch up with you. Nothing can prepare you for this chase.

Grimm Fairy Tales Return to Wonderland Annual #1 - (W) Dan Wickline (A) Dave Hoover In the first-ever Wonderland Annual Dan Wickline (30 Days of Nights) brings you a tale of madness and horror unlike any seen before in the pages of Zenescope's hit Wonderland series. Once upon a time a young girl name Alice went to a place called Wonderland. It was a place that wasn't very nice. She came back and had a nice little family and then her daughter, Callie went to Wonderland too and soon their nice little family was no more. Now a new family has moved into the Liddell house but Wonderland is still there trying to get out - and it doesn't like the new tenants!

Groom Lake #2 - It all started with an exploding crotch-that's what brought young Karl Bauer into a global, possibly galaxies-wide, conspiracy. Trapped under Groom Lake, Bauer is introduced to a second Manhattan Project, this one consisting of unpredictable alien races and devious, deceptive humans...

Human Torch Comics #1 70th Anniversary Special - Before he became the hero he was created to be, the original Human Torch had to battle his inner demons to stake a claim on the soul he knows he has…and his enemies will stop at nothing to tear him apart to get at the city they want to control. Can he learn to tap into the human side of the Torch, or must he sacrifice himself to save the people he has sworn to protect in this al-new 22 page story? Also included is a bonus 10 page Torch tale from Marvel’s rich history!

Invincible Iron Man #13 - Tony's flight for freedom goes international! Pepper Potts: Prisoner of H.A.M.M.E.R.! And things get very bad for Maria Hill deep in the heart of Texas! As Tony struggles to keep the Silver Centurion armor up and running, Norman Osborn's noose tightens around his neck – every freak and fiend in his rogues gallery is gunning for him – and Madame Masque gets the keys to the kingdom. WORLD'S MOST WANTED hits the halfway point and absolutely no one is safe.

Jersey Gods #4 - A strange turn of events sends Zoe bargain shopping at the Cherry Hill Mall. Her delight goes sour when an unexpected encounter with fashion mogul Delia forces her to confront a fierce designer-jean counterfeit ring. The gods of Neboron must undergo extreme measures in order to save their planet from an extinction level asteroid. MARK WAID and JOE INFURNARI continue their exciting gods of Neboron Civil War back-up story.

Jonah Hex #43- Written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray; Art and cover by Paul Gulacy. Some small-town officials hire Hex to resolve a hostage situation at a local hotel, but his solution is far more brutal than everybody was expecting. Will anyone make it out of "The Hyde House Massacre" alive?

Kull #6 (of 6) - At odds with a dangerous Valusian cult, Kull attempts to use guile and diplomacy -- instead of brute force -- in an attempt to save Pict leader Ka-nu's life and crush the devious Serpent Cult's schemes. Another Pict ally, the headstrong, stealthy Brule, infiltrates the Tower of the Great Serpent against Kull's wishes. Brule is on an assassination mission of his own making, and stealing a powerful, sought-after gem from the stronghold would be an added bonus -- and would bring the wrath of the vicious, shape-changing snake-men to Kull's front door! Arvid Nelson (Rex Mundi, Zero Killer), Will Conrad (Serenity, Conan and the Midnight God), and José Villarrubia (Conan the Cimmerian, Ghost Rider) expand upon the events in Robert E. Howard's short story "The Shadow Kingdom" and conclude Dark Horse's first Kull series.

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen III Century #1 1910 – Top Shelf and Knockabout are proud to announce the all-new installment in the breathtaking series by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill! In The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Vol III): Century #1 ("1910"), our familiar cast of Victorian literary characters enters the brave new world of the 20th century! Chapter One is set against a backdrop of London, 1910, twelve years after the failed Martian invasion and nine years since England put a man upon the moon. In the bowels of the British Museum, Carnacki the ghost-finder is plagued by visions of a shadowy occult order who are attempting to create something called a Moonchild, while on London's dockside the most notorious serial murderer of the previous century has returned to carry on his grisly trade. Working for Mycroft Holmes' British Intelligence alongside a rejuvenated Allan Quartermain, the reformed thief Anthony Raffles and the eternal warrior Orlando, Miss Murray is drawn into a brutal opera acted out upon the waterfront by players that include the furiously angry Pirate Jenny and the charismatic butcher known as Mac the Knife. This one is not to be missed! This book will be the first of three deluxe, 80-page, full-colour, perfect-bound graphic novellas, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill - with lettering by Todd Klein, and colours by Ben Dimagmaliw. Each self-contained narrative takes place in three distinct eras, building to an apocalyptic conclusion occurring in our own twenty-first century.

Life and Times of Savior 28 #2 - 'To be... or not to be!' How can a man go on living when everything he's ever believed is revealed as a lie? That's the question Savior 28 is forced to ask as we follow him across the decades, from the ashes of Buchenwald to the ashes of 9/11 in this exploration of the dark underbelly of the super hero dream.

Marvel Masterworks The Incredible Hulk Volume #115 - Written by STAN LEE & ROY THOMAS, Penciled by HERB TRIMPE, Cover by HERB TRIMPE. I smash, you smash, but nobody, that's NOBODY, smashes like Hulk smash! Welcome back for another set of gamma-irradiated adventures in the tragic saga of Dr. Bruce Banner and his green-skinned Mr. Hyde, the Incredible Hulk! Stan "The Man" and "Happy" Herb Trimpe have pulled out all the stops for you, and just to make sure the non-stop action doesn't miss a beat, Roy Thomas joins in to knock it up enough to make your teeth rattle! The Hulk bashes outer-space aliens, smashes the shifting Sandman, grapples with the deadly Mandarin, and faces the return of his earliest, deadliest enemy -- the Leader -- all the while defending himself against General "Thunderbolt" Ross and the U.S. Army. It's the Hulk at his absolute most-classic and just in case you had any doubts, we're rounding it out with bare-fisted battles against the Sub-Mariner, the Inhumans and the bizarre swamp beast, the Glob! Collecting THE INCREDIBLE HULK #111-121.

The Mighty #4 - Written by Peter J. Tomasi and Keith Champagne; Art by Peter Snejbjerg; Cover by Dave Johnson. Fire on the horizon! Cole's wife Janet is beginning to have deep misgivings about her husband's trust in Alpha One – but where can she turn? You won't believe this issue's shocking finale, as the world of THE MIGHTY suddenly becomes deadly. And we're just getting started!

Power Girl #1- Written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray; Art by Amanda Conner; Covers by Adam Hughes and Amanda Conner. In her own ongoing series at last! Straight from the pages of JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA, Power Girl starts life anew by building herself a secret identity. But a major villain from her past has other plans in store for the Super Hero, and to get his way, he's holding Manhattan hostage! From the fan-favorite writing team of Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray (JONAH HEX, TERRA) and featuring the vivacious art of Amanda Conner (JSA CLASSIFIED, TERRA) comes this rip-roaring new series!

Prototype #2 (of 6) - Written Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti; Art and cover by Darick Robertson and Matt Jacobs. Exploding from the highly anticipated game comes the hyperkinetic world of PROTOTYPE! New York homicide detectives continue to track a serial killer but soon discover all is not as it seems. Their investigation takes them into uncharted territory, and tensions flare as the detectives come up against a black ops unit with a mysterious agenda of its own!

Seaguy the Slaves of Mickey Eye #2 (of 3) - Written by Grant Morrison; Art and cover by Cameron Stewart. On the run with his mysterious counterparts known as Peaguy, Treeguy and Threeguy to escape the omnipresent Mickey Eye, Seaguy must thrust himself into his new life as El Macho the Bulldresser – a new kind of matador who entertains the crowds by dressing stampeding bulls in women's clothing! Just how far will the Eye go to prevent Seaguy from learning the terrible secret behind his cartoonish world?

Shrapnel #5 (of 5) - The planet-shattering conclusion! The war for galactic freedom reaches its final moments as the Alliance Marines storm through the militia's resistance. Faced with imminent defeat, Sam realizes that their only hope lies with the one person who understands the Marines well enough to destroy them utterly: herself.

Strange Adventures #3 (of 8)- Written by Jim Starlin; Art by Manuel Garcia and Al Milgrom and Rafael Albuquerque; Cover by Jim Starlin and Rob Hunter. Comet and Eye have to deal with a very different and dangerous version of The Weird while Adam Strange travels to Hardcore Station only to discover that the space city holds unexpected perils. Bizarro also arrives at Hardcore and finds it most unwelcoming.

Superman World of New Krypton #3 (of 12) - Written by James Robinson and Greg Rucka; Art by Pete Woods; Cover by Gary Frank. With Superman now drafted into New Krypton's Military Guild, it seems that General Zod finally has the Man of Steel under his control. But when given a command to commit an act of brutality against his fellow Kryptonians, Superman must choose between following orders and following his conscience – at the risk of being branded a traitor by his own people!

Trinity #49 - 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 Jim Lee and Scott Williams and Mark Bagley and John Dell. The final showdown. The world hasn't just been changed, it's been destroyed. Can the Trinity still save the day? Not if Morgaine le Fey and Krona have anything to say about it. Answers, revelations and more come fast and furious in the mother of all action finales! Guest-starring just about everyone and featuring a final cover by TRINITY interior artist Mark Bagley!

Universal War One Revelations #2 (of 3) - Written and Art by DENIS BAJRAM, Adapted by PAUL BENJAMIN. The Earth has been annihilated. Forever. Now the Purgatory Squadron knows who its enemies are, but can they defeat a foe willing to murder twenty billion people? The survivors of the Purgatory Squadron land in a world without hope. Welcome to the worst imaginable future. Welcome to the first universal war.

War of Kings #3 (of 6) - Marvel’s next sci-fi spectacular rages on! Emperor Vulcan cuts loose, but will final victory depend less on military might and more on actions of the conscience? And how will the Inhuman known as Crystal and the Imperial Guardsman named Gladiator factor in to the escalating events? The balance of power in the Marvel Cosmos will change.

Warlord #2 - Written by Mike Grell; Art by Joe Prado and Walden Wong; Cover by Mike Grell. The arrival of a new band of surface-worlders in the subterranean land of Skartaris has sent its delicate political balance tumbling into chaos – and only the Warlord can pacify it. To do so, however, he'll have to undertake an epic journey across Skartaris to the deadly lands of the Shadow Kingdom! The rebirth of DC's finest fantasy franchise continues from Mike Grell and rising star Joe Prado (ACTION COMICS, SINESTRO CORPS SECRET FILES)!

X-Men First Class Finals #4 (of 4) - Before they can face the world, the X-Men must face the dark secrets that lie inside Marvel Girl. Is it true what they say about red-heads? YES. It's all true.

Four week months mean every week could be a decent size week, especially since I have a fair number of hard cover and collections that are due out in May. Also between May and June I have quite a few new books and returning titles coming back onto my list which means I may need to do a little trimming. Of course I have a bunch of mini-series ending, so I will have to see how things balance out.