Coming This Week: Using Exclamation Points Is Like Laughing At Your Own Jokes

This could be a humongous week for me if Sea Donkey actually manages to order everything I’m interested in, which on average runs about an 80% likelihood depending on the… mainstreamyness, or relative… obscurativity of the books. Hey you, it’s been a while, but I’ll gladly check out Wasteland #28 (Oni Press) from rising star Antony Johnston and the inimitable Christopher Mitten. I’m also glad to see Stumptown #3 (Oni Press) on deck, though it’s also suffered some lag on the production and shipping schedule right out of the gate. Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth’s seedy crime drama is just offbeat enough to make it worthwhile. Continuing the theme of books I’m into, bearing less than regular schedules of late, is The Last Days of American Crime #2 (Radical Comics). I enjoyed the first issue of Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini’s crime saga, but what is this, a quarterly book now? It’s only a three issue mini, but the first was out in December of 2009. At that rate, we might as well skip the prestige format floppies and go right to an OGN for maximum oomph. I remember the broad sweep of the premise, but all of the subtle detail is sadly lost from four months ago.

I will not be purchasing Detective Comics #864 (DC) as it sheds all glimmer of uniqueness and clever experimentation, proceeding to promptly return to mediocrity. Vertigo continues to grab a large slice of my purchasing dollar, with Northlanders #27 (DC/Vertigo) and Scalped #37 (DC/Vertigo). Between Jason Aaron’s examination of the collapse of the American Dream, masquerading as a crime infused set-piece, and the larger body of Brian Wood’s work, this is the best that Vertigo has looked since the early heady days of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman. I’ll also be picking up Invincible Iron Man #25 (Marvel), marking the quarter century for Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca acting as an uninterrupted creative team, this time double-sized and serving as a jumping on point for movie fans, new readers, and those of us who can say we were there from the very beginning.

In the collected editions department, we have Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse Volume 2: Only Hurts When I Pee (IDW). For the production quality, $24.99 seems like an attractive price point, and Ben Templesmith’s solo show is one of the most underrated books around. Of course he’s a super talented and stylized artist, but his writing ability shines here as well. I still maintain that the one shot Segue to Destruction is one of the funniest things I’ve read. Also of note is the Kabuki: Reflections HC (Marvel/Icon). Fans of David Mack will be delighted to finally get this collection of Mack’s first six art books in an oversized format loaded with never before seen goodies. It’s 320 pages for $39.99 and will certainly be worth a look, if not an outright purchase. Last, but not least, is the long awaited Super Spy: The Lost Dossiers (Top Shelf). I enjoy all of Matt Kindt’s work immensely, but I have to say that Super Spy remains my favorite, so I’m really looking forward to this 88 page installment.