Coming This Week: There Are 10 Foods With More Tryptophan Than Turkey, But It Won’t Stop Me From Reading These Books In A Serotonin Induced Malaise

Every week I review Diamond's “New Releases” to determine what I’ll definitely be buying sight unseen, what I’m interested in enough to do a quick scan of at the LCS to see if it can win me over, and note any other items that catch my eye. Here’s a look…

Buying:

Detective Comics #859 (DC): I’m really looking forward to the second part of Kate Kane’s origin; if it’s anything like the first, we’ll see JH Williams III continue his controlled experimentation with form and style, while Greg Rucka finally balances the formula on the scripting side of the equation.

Justice League: Cry for Justice #5 (DC): Despite being absolutely despicable in terms of characterization, plotting, technical competence in penciling, perspective, lighting, and, oh… just about everything else you'd want to find in a flagship property, this has become such a guilty pleasure. It’s so self-aware that it’s surpassed homage and become a parody of itself. This makes for a truly enjoyable reading experience. Yes, it’s so bad, it’s good.

Northlanders #22 (DC/Vertigo): Continuing the intriguing Plague Widow arc, courtesy of Brian Wood and Leandro Fernandez.

Invincible Iron Man #20 (Marvel): If you’d told me about two years ago that I’d be enjoying Matt Fraction’s Iron Man more than his Uncanny X-Men, I’d have, well, I’d have called you crazy. If you take this run, along with Warren Ellis’ Extremis arc, I think that’s all the Iron Man you’d need, the best takes on the character in the last 10 years, if not longer.

I Am Legion #6 (DDP/Humanoids): Congrats to DDP for doing what DC couldn't, the last issue of the Fabien Nury and John Cassaday WWII/Nazi/Vampire/Paranormal/Suspense/Investigation/Procedural type thing. It’s a little bit of F. Clay Wilson’s The Keep, a little BPRD, a little Twilight (I just want the hit stats), and a little of that one movie with that one guy who played Han Solo... plus Oscar Schindler or something. It’s probably not any of those things, I just don’t feel like editing today.

Lone Ranger #19 (Dynamite Entertainment): The best re-imaging of an old property since… hrmm, I’m going to say Battlestar Galactica.

Considering:

Justice League of America #39 (DC): There’s nothing like having your introductory issue of an anticipated run of a failing franchise Shanghai’d by the latest all encompassing crossover. James Robinson’s first issue of this soft reboot wasn’t exactly engaging me with its teasing ways (“it’s Dick, Donna, and Mon-El! Only… they’re not in the book! Oh, wait... what?”), but seeing Blackest Night rule the roost toward the end made it even worse. I want to like this title, but never seem to.

Uncanny X-Men #517 (Marvel): Speaking of things I’d really like to like… will Matt Fraction and company be able to pull this together? Hope is fading quickly…

Noting:

Powers #1 (Marvel/Icon): There’s just nothing like an outright, blatant money grab is there? Every time the narrative goes astray and people lose their patience with this title and tune out, they re-launch with a new #1. Every arc manages to be repetitive, while somehow going more and more off course from the original series premise. The once famed letters page is now certainly an outdated self-swilling relic of the lofty heyday of this title.