What I’m Getting Wednesday July 1

We are so screwed. Maryland is a one party state and a couple years ago they passed the biggest tax increase in state history in the face of an impending economic downturn. Obviously this did not help matters. Now the US is under one party rule (as it was for a couple of years under “W” and we are saw how that turned out) and we are now screwed again. I would like to apologize to my children and any future grandchildren I may have. My parents built a great country and my generation and the one in-between mine and yours is in the process of screwing it up horribly. This new environmental bill is just icing on the cake of a country that has nationalized it auto industry, bailed out its cronies on wall street and has now fallen prey to the pseudo-religious belief that man is responsible for global warming (now called climate change). Newsflash ice ages come and go like clockwork, one volcano can do more then a billion cars and what we are doing is not that big of a deal and has no basis in science. It is all based on computer projections. The same people who can't tell you when it will rain in the next seven days you are now accepting as gospel. An old computer saying is “garbage in, garbage out”. This bill if finally passed (which is inevitable at this point) is a tax bill and will cost everyone a ton of money and will not help with carbon emissions at all. I really want to find a rationale country and leave the United States, but they are all working on a world government so we are screwed no matter where we go. My hope for the future is faded and where I used to be able to see where things are going I no longer have a vision of what tomorrow will be. I hope I’m wrong and we are all skipping to work with bright sunny days in our solar powered cars and the Federation or United Planets has made money and want obsolete.

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

Batman and Robin #2 – The whole Batverse is a great place to be and for me this is the premier book of the group. I’m looking forward to how the whole battle with the Circus of the Strange will play out. The hype “Written by Grant Morrison; Art and Cover by Frank Quitely. "Batman Reborn" continues with the reteaming of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, WE3, New X-Men)! In a blazing Gotham City police department, the new Batman and Robin face the bizarre, fighting freakshow that is the Circus of Strange and find that they don't make as good a team as Batman had hoped! Meanwhile, the mysterious Sasha escapes from Professor Pyg and vows vengeance on the people who killed her father.”

Captain America Reborn #1 (of 5) – I’m a sucker for this type of event. Green Lantern and Flash Rebirth are series I followed or I am following and seeing the return of Steve Rogers should be interesting. Marvel even pulled Hitch away from Millar to do this book and left someone else to finish up the FF run, so you know Marvel has high hopes for this book. The company line “Following the events of Captain America #600, Steve Rogers’ closest friends and allies may have found a way to bring back the original Captain America. Or is what they found something more sinister? The Red Skull’s greatest plan to destroy Captain America has been in motion and its completion is almost at hand. Will Captain America be lost forever or will he be REBORN?”

Chew #2 – This book is like the E-bay phenomenon (as was Mouse Guard). When a small book gets a lot of positive press the demand outstrips the actual product very fast. Of course when 3,000 copies might have been printed and you have 3,500 people wanting it, it can get out of hand very fast. Bottom line, the first issue was great and the word for issue two is “It's Tony Chu's first day on the job as a federal agent for the FDA, the most powerful law-enforcement agency on the planet. He's got a new partner who thinks he knows everything, a boss who hates his guts for no good reason, and his first order of business is to eat a decomposing finger found in a fast food cheeseburger. By the end of the day, Tony will ingest rancid sushi, face Yakuza assassins and meet the girl of his dreams. It's all in a day's work for Tony Chu, in the latest chapter of "Chew," a deliciously unsettling new comic about cops, crooks, cooks, cannibal and clairvoyants."

Existence 2.0 #1 (of 3) – I guess I’m no longer officially looking forward to it, but you can; see my review here and my interview with the writer Nick Spencer will be posted Tueday afternoon. The solicitation copy “Self-absorbed physicist Sylvester Baladine finds his consciousness transferred into the body of the hitman who just killed him! Things don’t seem too bad until his daughter is kidnapped by the same people who "killed" him." Don't be the person who missed out - pick this book up!

Irredeemable #4 – I love that BOOM is offering the trade of the first four issues for $10 and issue #5 for $1 to help people jump on this train. So far this has been one of Mark Waid’s all time best efforts. What’s inside “What if the world's greatest hero decided to become the world's greatest villain? The Plutonian's deadly rampage continues. His former comrades-turned-victims are beaten, tired, and searching for hope. A 'twilight of the superheroes'-style story that examines super-villains from the writer of Kingdom Come and Empire!”

Justice League Cry for Justice #1 (of 7) – The new Justice League series that became a mini-series and then the writer of this was named the new JLA series writer going forward. Sounds like a lot of convoluted screw ups at the DC back office again, but still I’m happy to see this book. The marketing pitch “Written by James Robinson; Art and covers Mauro Cascioli. What brings a team together? Justice! Batman and Martian Manhunter have been slaughtered. But he's not the only hero to fall at the hands of villains. The murder has to stop, and it's time to take the fight to the bad guys! Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Supergirl, Atom, Shazam, Congorilla and Starman unite in a cry for justice! This 6-part miniseries from James Robinson (STARMAN, SUPERMAN) and rising star artist Mauro Cascioli (TRIALS OF SHAZAM) pushes our heroes to the brink and beyond as evil can no longer be tolerated to win. But when Prometheus plans his revenge on not only the heroes, but on the very places they call home, will this new team be ready to pay the cost for the justice they seek? This time it's personal – and it'll only get bloodier before it's over!”

The Mighty #6 – I’m always amused that this book and Irredeemable come out at the same time as they have similar themes. Alpha is getting really creepy and the Captain of his support team is very suspicious at this point. DC says “Written by Peter J. Tomasi and Keith Champagne; Art by Chris Samnee; Cover by Dave Johnson. Being the commander of Section Omega has its perks — like a free trip to Earth orbit, courtesy of Alpha One! It may be a beautiful view, but Gabriel Cole had better hope it doesn't turn into a one-way trip! After all, he's beginning to understand just why he's had so many predecessors in his job – and why so few have lived to tell about it!”

Witchfinder in the Service of Angels #1 (of 5) – Another chapter in the Mignolaverse. My one problem with Dark Horse is they are not producing the hard cover collects of Mike’s stuff fast enough. Dark Horse tells us this issue contains “Witchfinder: In the Service of Angels chronicles one of Edward Grey's first cases as an agent of the queen, which takes Grey from the sparkling echelons of Victorian London to its dark underbelly in his first clash with the city's most infamous secret society: The Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra. Mike Mignola teams up with artist Ben Stenbeck (B.P.R.D.: The Ectoplasmic Man) for a look into one of the Hellboy universe's greatest enigmas: nineteenth-century occult investigator Edward Grey!”

The rest of the list:

Agents of Atlas #7 – Journey to the Deep!! The Agents and the Sub-Mariner face not only a deadly attack beneath the ocean, but Namor and Namora’s budding relationship is hit with some ugly facts of Atlantean history. Also: what does a Lung Dragon dream? Peer into the most treacherous space imaginable, the ancient and diabolical mind of Mr. Lao!

Astounding Wolf-Man #17 - “LOCKDOWN,” Part Three Stronghold prison is under attack! Wolf-Man must now face his most deadly adversary yet! Everything changes as we enter the next stage in Wolf-Man’s life – leading up to the monumental issue 25! That is, if Wolf-Man survives the battle.

Astro City the Dark Age Book Three #3 (of 4) - Written by Kurt Busiek; Art by Brent Anderson; Cover by Alex Ross. The secrets of the Apollo Eleven! The inner workings of PYRAMID! An assault on the First Family! The return of the Silver Agent! A game of Jarts! Charles and Royal get dragged deeper and deeper into the darkness and turmoil of Astro City in the early '80s – only to come face-to-face with the cosmic threat of the Incarnate!

The Authority #12 - Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning; Art by Simon Coleby and Cliff Rathburn; Cover by Simon Coleby. The horrifying secret behind the Warhol Infection is finally revealed. And it just happens to coincide with Apollo's return to the Carrier! But it's not the reunion anyone was expecting!

Batman Confidential #31- Written by Peter Milligan; Art by Andy Clarke ; Cover by Guillem March. A new five-part arc begins with an international bang! When a powerful Russian mobster sets his sights on Gotham City, Batman thinks he's ready. But this isn't any ordinary mobster, and he's bringing backup in the form of...a bear? These unexpected foes might just be able to take control of the Gotham underworld – and then the whole city. Can Batman stop them?

Crossed #6 (of 9) - Garth Ennis takes no prisoners and offers no hope in the most intense book of his career! Cindy's patience is tested by her own group as some horrific truths about who they were before the Crossed appeared is unveiled. How evil can people really be? Nothing is going right, but this is no fairy tale - there are no magic cures on the horizon. When civilization crumbles in one terrifying moment; when people are gleefully breaking into unthinkable acts of violence all around you; when everyone you love has died screaming in agony: What do you do? There is no help. There is no hope. There is no escape. There are only the Crossed. This stomach-churning vision is brought to vivid (and more than a little disturbing) life by his partner in crime Jacen Burrows.

Dead Run #2 (of 4) - America has become a wasteland, leaving the few cities that remain transformed into impenetrable fortresses. Nick Masters is a driver, the best there is. If you need something picked-up, delivered, or disposed of, Nick's your man. But when he fails to deliver all hell breaks loose. From the writer of Hexed, Michael Alan Nelson, collaborating for the first time with Eureka creator Andrew Cosby!

Echo #13 - The Army has intensified its search for Julie Martin, and the scientists at HeNRI warn it's only a matter of time before the liquid metal remnants of the Beta Suit she's wearing explode with the power of a hydrogen bomb. Running for her life, Julie desperately seeks a way to remove the metal, only now she faces a new problem: the metal is growing. The Beta Suit is regenerating!

Escape from Wonderland #0 (of 6) - The beginning of the end is here. The final piece to the Wonderland trilogy brings the powerful story of Calie Liddle full circle. Her infant daughter was taken from her arms and brought into the realm of madness. Now Calie must re-enter the one place she has tried for so long to escape. The moment of truth has arrived as the girl who became a woman now sets out to become a hero. The one person who can prevent pure insanity from escaping into this world must now find a way to defeat madness itself. The final chapter of the most intense, riveting and addictive comic book series you have read in years has arrived and this time around there may be no escaping Wonderland.

Farscape Strange Detractors #4 (of 4) - Farscape creator Rockne O'Bannon is back! TV's science fiction masterpiece Farscape continues with the same hit writing team from the first sold out mini-series! Crichton has discovered the cause of why everyone on Moya is out for each other. To cure them, he must shrink down and embark on a fantastic voyage you will never forget!

Final Crisis Aftermath Run #3 (of 6) - Written by Matthew Sturges; Art by Freddie E. Williams II; Cover by Kako. Everything you've come to love about RUN! is on display this month: beatings, fire, explosions, guns, jokes at the expense of the less fortunate, stupid costumes and stupid people. You get all this entertainment plus the shocking chain of events that leads to the Human Flame getting a new girlfriend. It's all downhill from here…

Gravel #12 - Combat Magician William Gravel is playing with powers far beyond his own in this second story arc of his ongoing series! The nature of the game William Gravel's playing is revealed. He has a process for discovering who killed Avalon Lake, and it's as brutally logical as you'd expect from an SAS man. The problem is that all the members of the Major Seven are more powerful than him and have been magicians for a lot longer. How does one man affect a group who are more numerous and more deadly? Well, that's pretty much what the SAS was invented for!

Greek Street #1 - Written by Peter Milligan; Art by Davide Gianfelice; Cover by Kako. You're a boy from the hood. You're brought up rough in a children's home, trying to stay out of trouble but usually failing. Then at 18 you decide to track down your mother. Within hours of finding her, she's lying naked and dead at your feet. So you run to Greek Street. And that's when your troubles really begin… Boasting a cast of sexy strippers, murderous gangsters, body-snatching mad women and a disturbed young girl who can see the future, GREEK STREET is Peter Milligan's reimagining of those brutal and visceral tragedies that graced the Theater of Dionysus in Ancient Greece – bloody tales about incest, homicide, beautiful oracles, all-knowing choruses, kings, monsters and gods – played out on the mean streets of modern-day Red-Light London. Milligan – best known for his super-smart Vertigo work like SHADE THE CHANGING MAN, HUMAN TARGET and now HELLBLAZER– joins forces with illustrator Davide Gianfelice (NORTHLANDERS) to create an epic ongoing series that's both familiar yet completely new and always with the bloody, visceral edge that makes it a Vertigo book. Take a trip to GREEK STREET where the old stories are not through with us yet.

Green Lantern Corps #38 - Written by Peter J. Tomasi; Art and cover by Patrick Gleason and Rebecca Buchman. "Emerald Eclipse" hits its shocking conclusion leading directly into BLACKEST NIGHT. The sciencell riot causes a new law to be doctored into the Book of Oa as Kyle and Guy fight against it. What fate awaits the honor guards, and who will be left standing from the riot that shook Oa to its core?

Invincible Iron Man #15 - Eisner nominee for Best New Series! Tony's on the run and turns to an old foe for friendship. Maria Hill is out of her mind on hunting her prey in the streets of New York City. And Pepper Potts flies in the face of Norman Osborn and all the horrible things he stands for. Oh, but don't fret for Norman, dear readers -- he's got some more horrible things up his sleeve that Tony and the gang won't even see coming. Guest stars and gut shots galore!

Jonah Hex #45 - Written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray; Art and Cover by Cristiano Cucina. The "Six Gun War" epic continues in part 2 of 6! Jonah Hex recruits another soldier in his war against El Papagayo, and this time it's Blue Eagle! But Hex must hurry, as El Papagayo is preparing to execute his prisoners, Bat Lash and Tallulah Black!

Locke & Key Head Games #6 (of 6) - 'Backstory.' Ellie Whedon is many things: loyal mother, tough coach, embittered daughter, lost soul, Dodge's prisoner and unwilling accomplice. But above all she's a threat to Dodge's safety, the one person who knows the truth about him, and it's time for him to do something about it. Step into Ellie Whedon's tormented memories, and find out how Dodge wound up in that well, in the shattering final issue of the Head Games arc!

Mr. Stuffins #3 (of 3) - 'My teddy bear's a secret agent!' This is it! What everyone's been waiting for: a teddy bear vs. the huge military robot smackdown! The fate of the Tyler family rests in Mr. Stuffins hands err, paws. Paws of fury that is!

Secret Six #11 - Written by Gail Simone; Art by Nicola Scott and Doug Hazlewood; Cover by Daniel LuVisi. A former Wonder Woman is now a slave? That's just the first shock as the Secret Six face a new enemy with a heart of ice and an entire country at his command! All this plus the return of Mockingbird! It's all heading towards a confrontation against one of DC's biggest powerhouses, and the Six don't stand a chance…

Strange Adventures #5 (of 8) - Written by Jim Starlin; Art by Jim Starlin and Al Milgrom and Michael Shoykhet; Cover by Jim Starlin and Rob Hunter. An army of Weird duplicates attacks Adam Strange, Comet and company! Another member of the mysterious Aberrant Six stands revealed – who it is will shock you! And Lady Styx makes her next move!

The Sword #18 - Dara’s battle with the earth-god Knossos finally comes to an end, but in a way she and even Knossos never expected.

Uncanny X-Men #513 - “UTOPIA: CHAPTER 2” WHO ARE THE DARK X-MEN? He has his own Avengers team and now Norman Osborn has his own X-Men team. The other shoe has finally dropped and Emma Frost has betrayed Cyclops and the rest of the X-Men. And that’s just one of the huge surprises in “UTOPIA”. Is that Namor? Cloak and Dagger? Professor X?! The thing that you aren’t ready for is that Osborn is right.

USA Comics 70th Anniversary Special - Marvel continues its historic anniversary celebration – by unleashing the Mighty Destroyer! Before the Punisher there was another one-man army with a skull on his chest! Travel back with us to the desperate days of World War II, when the mystery-shrouded, merciless man with no face struck at the heart of Nazi Germany, deep behind enemy lines! Who is the Destroyer? What is his secret mission? And what does he want with a heavily defended train…and the simple journalist who rides in it? Find out as writer John Arcudi (B.P.R.D.) and artist Steve Ellis (High Moon) unite to shine a cold, hard light on the unstoppable weapon of vengeance! Plus: A classic Mighty Destroyer reprint from ALL WINNERS #3!

War of Kings #5 (of 6) - The high impact, critically acclaimed sci-fi epic rages towards its explosive climax! Last issue’s jaw-dropping cliffhanger has everyone scrambling! Vulcan’s once unbeatable and vast war machine is grinding to a halt! Black Bolt’s forces are struggling to survive! It’s all coming down to the final clash, king vs. king! But where will the other power players place their loyalty, and can anyone imagine a solution as extreme as the one Medusa is proposing? The Universe is about to change forever.

July has so many great things happening, with the continuation of the Batman stuff, Captain America Reborn, Blackest Night and my favorite new project Wednesday Comics. I’m almost giddy in my anticipation of all of these events and to top it off we have our blow out cook out on July 11 (in the area e-mail and come on by) which will be attended by both of my daughters who will be visiting from Florida. Now if the Orioles can have a winning record and someone can stop this train wreck of a US government I’d be slap happy.