6.29.11 Releases

The only sure-fire purchase I’ll be making this week is Scalped #50 (DC/Vertigo), which features some historical tales that impact the series either directly or indirectly. Regular series artist R.M. Guera is on board, along with a handful of guest contributors, including the always impressive Igor Kordey. Also worth considering is the issue 50 milestone itself, which so few Vertigo books seem to achieve. I’m interested in Batman Incorporated #7 (DC), provided that Chris Burnham is on art. I’ve seen a couple bloggers refer to his style as “Frank Quitely Lite,” though I think that gives him short shrift. True, it does bear some similarity, and Burnham readily admits to the influence – along with several others, but it’s very much its own thing. DC’s copy indicates that this is a Burnham issue, but with the duplicate art and placeholder entries on their site, along with the havoc that Flashpoint-Oh-Let’s-Just-Reboot-The-Entire-Line is causing, who knows? It’s speculated that Burnham will be on the continuation/relaunch/wrap-up of some form of this title (Batman: Leviathan?) exclusively, so that’ll be swell if it comes to pass. In the same manner that fill-in artists disrupted the flow of Morrison & Quitely on Batman & Robin, so too do the fill-ins disrupt the magic of Morrison & Burnham on Batman Inc. On the graphic novel front, I can recommend the I Am Legion (DDP/Humanoids) softcover. This is a 6 issue series for $19.99. While some of Fabien Nury’s script involving WWII-era Nazi Vampire Espionage Mystery may come off as slow-burning or complex, it actually contains some of John Cassaday’s most dynamic art, like, ever, including that little thing he did with Warren Ellis called Planetary.