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It's Morrison's Worlds

Comicscape: It's Morrison's Worlds
© Mania

As Lynyrd Skynyrd so famously sang, “Tuesday’s gone with the wind”. And with the passing of another Tuesday comes the dawning of a new Wednesday, bringing with it the promise of the second half of the week, new comics in the shop and another pulse-pounding edition of Comicscape! Welcome back, faithful Maniacs, to the greatest show on earth. A land of tights, flights and no creator’s rights: The world of mainstream superheroes. We don’t talk about elves that urge you to quit your day job, Canadian hipsters or Jack the Ripper theories. Hell, we don’t even talk about Invincible! It’s a world with 22 pages of action, adventure and excitement… or sometimes it’s just a team of heroes watching TV. It’s Comicscape, I’m Chad and this week, I’m gonna ramble for 1,000 words or so about Grant Morrison. I know you’ve got an opinion on the man and if you haven’t heard about his next project, please allow me to spill the beans. It’ll split the internet in half! (Is that joke still funny? To be honest, I don’t even remember what it was that split the internet in half in the first place… was it Hawkeye’s death? At any rate, the internet seems split about Grant Morrison, so whether it’s funny or not, the joke seemed appropriate. Move along, move along…)

Morrison’s Multiversity

I don’t usually like to tout other websites, but this week I have to mention one. I generally don’t bring them up because… well, let’s face it Maniacs, by drawing attention to these other sites, it just invites comparisons such as “Why isn’t this site as totally awesome as Mania?” or “This website is neat, but it lacks the overwhelming and all-encompassing sweetness that Mania offers!” and occasionally even “Clearly the people who write for this site are not as handsome and charming as the folks who write for Mania!” I don’t like to make anyone feel less than adequate, so I usually just avoid the situation altogether. It’s just one of the many ways in which I give something back to the community.

But in this case, I have to give credit where credit is due and pay my respects to someone who beat me to the punch (and thereby out-awesomed me). I don’t read Wizard Magazine, but Kirk Warren over at The Weekly Crisis does, and last Thursday he wrote up a little piece about a particular article he read concerning Mr. Grant Morrison. You can read it by clicking on the link I’ve provided. In a nutshell: Morrison has announced that he’s going to write seven one-shots, each one spotlighting a different parallel earth in the DC Multiverse. Similar to his Seven Soldiers series, each one-shot will act as both a first issue and a series bible and will link together to tell a bigger story.

Grant Morrison is nothing if not ambitious. And the way I see it, this is good news no matter what your opinion of his work may be. If you love it, then you oughtta be excited to get seven titles and several universes worth of ideas. If you hate him… well, let me explain.

Me, I’m a big fan of the whole multiverse concept. As a kid, I scoured quarter bins at any comic shop I could find for old copies of What If…? or books that featured JSA/JLA team-ups. I was a big fan of Elseworlds and when I discovered the entire run of Squadron Supreme at my local shop one day, I very well may have crapped myself. I dig alternate earths, okay? I love the notion that other universes might be out there where one slight alteration led to a myriad of changes. The possibility of an earth upon which there is a version of me that has dedicated his life to good rather than evil is … its just mindboggling.

Anyway, let’s get down to brass tacks. Why do I think Multiversity is something to be embraced by Morrison fans as well as detractors? Here’s why:

If You Can’t Beat ‘Em … Give ‘Em Their Own Universe!

With JLA: Earth 2, Morrison reintroduced a world where evil prevailed and the heroes were bad guys

© DC Comics

Grant Morrison is known as the guy who writes totally wacky, non-linear stories featuring all sorts of metaphysical and counter-cultural stuff. Even when he writes a standard, by-the-numbers superhero story, everybody has to bring up the fact that he does (did?) all kinds of drugs or he was abducted by aliens or whatever. Now, if you dig Grant Morrison, you probably dig that kind of stuff and no matter how good or bad it might be, you’ll stand by your man. If you don’t like him, then it’s likely that no explanation will ever be good enough and he’ll always just be a wanker in your eyes.

I probably don’t need to explain why Multiversity is a good thing for Morrison fans. It’s a Morrison-style book written by Morrison for Morrison fans. And if you hate Grant Morrison? If you’re the type who can’t stand the guy, the person who thinks he’s been fouling up the DCU for years now and shouldn’t be allowed to touch another mainstream book? Well don’t worry. He’s getting his own universe(s) to play with and he’ll leave yours alone.

If you hated Batman R.I.P. and you thought Final Crisis was a joke, don’t worry: Grant won’t be mucking up the DCU proper anymore. Except for that pesky Batman and Robin title he and Frank Quitely are working on… but there will be another Batman book out there that might suit your fancy, so that problem’s solved too. Don’t worry DC fans, this isn’t the next big event and it doesn’t look like it’ll cross over into anything outside of these seven titles. Grant Morrison won’t kill your icons, rape your childhood (is that joke funny anymore either?) or tell nonsensical, poorly written stories featuring Bat-Mite.

It’s NOT Watchmen 2

DC Characters from all over the multiverse (and beyond) mix it up in this Countdown Arena image by Arthur Adams

© DC Comics

Grant only mentioned two books in the Wizard interview and one of them was described as “…if Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons had pitched the Watchmen now, rooted in a contemporary political landscape but with the actual Charlton characters instead of analogues!”

Now, if you’re a Morrison fan (or a Morrison apologist) you might be thinking “Sweet! Grant Morrison is gonna redo Watchmen! But with Charlton characters!” We’ll get to see his take on a messed up world full of deconstructed, dysfunctional heroes. And that’s cool. I guess. And if you’re a Morrison hater? Well, this just proves that you’re correct. Grant Morrison is really nothing more than an Alan Moore wannabe. See? You’ve been right all along: Morrison’s just suffering from a major case of Moore Envy.

No, it’s not really a sequel to Watchmen as much as it’s a bad rip-off (or homage, if you prefer) with a semi-interesting twist.

But then, doesn’t that describe every alternate earth story?

The Return of Hoppy the Marvel Bunny

The big red cheese walks arm-in-arm with a tiger in a suit on the cover of Captain Marvel Adventures #82

© DC Comics

The other title mentioned by Mr. Morrison was "a line of books with the Marvel Family done in a more traditional, all-ages, All-Star Superman style." Do I really need to go on about how cool this could be? Really?

The people who’ve spent the past year pulling their hair out, crying and wailing over the mess that was Batman R.I.P. and the travesty of Final Crisis? Even they loved All-Star Superman. That’s because it was so unbelievably freakin’ good. It was a perfect little love letter to the Silver Age wrapped up with a timeless bow and it showcased the fact that for as out-there as Morrison might get sometimes, he can bring it all back home and just tell one of the best damn Superman stories that we’ve seen in years. It showcased the fact that for as much as the man wants to take the medium and the genre of superheroes in untested (and sometimes not-so-good) directions, he clearly has a deep respect for the past and not only does he respect it, he “gets it”. It might’ve had a lot of Silver Age trappings, but All-Star Superman was an absolutely timeless tale. Can you imagine him bringing that level of awesomeness to Captain Marvel?

Since acquiring the rights to all things related to Captain Marvel back in the 1970’s, a lot of talented creators have tried their hand at revamping the Marvel Family with varying levels of success. Some of them have been really good, but none of them have ever truly captured the essence of those old 1940’s stories. Why not give Grant Morrison a shot? After reading All-Star Superman, I’m kinda thinking that if anybody is gonna get it right, it’ll be Morrison. And at any rate, it’ll be interesting.

And if you disagree? Well, you can just read Justice Society of America. I’m sure Captain Marvel will end up back on the team sooner or later.

My Two Cents

This illustration of Grant Morrison by Cameron Stewart appeared in Arthur Magazine and says it all

© Cameron Stewart

My opinion? Well, let’s face it the internet isn’t really split in half on Morrison; I just said that because it makes for a lot better article. Like most fans, I can’t simply love or hate the man; I take his work one book at a time. I’ve read plenty of Morrison that’s made me want to climb the highest mountain and sing his praises for all the world to hear. I’ve also read Batman R.I.P. and… uggh. Let’s not get in to that just now. I’m trying to think positive.

So I’m neither a Morrison-Apologist or a Morrison-Basher, I’m somewhere in the middle. I’m guessing a lot of you are too. For my money, I think an idea like this is pretty cool and I’m actually quite interested to see what he’s got to offer (though I have to admit that if the whole thing bombs, there’s a part of me that will chuckle at seeing Grant Morrison fall flat on his pretentious, 21^st century-wizard face). But if anybody’s going to bring back the DC Multiverse, it probably ought to be Grant Morrison, right? Well… it probably ought to be Geoff Johns, but he’s busy bringing back the rest of the Silver Age, so let’s leave the multiverse to Grant, eh? Wackiness and string theory are sort of his thing.

I’m also a big fan of the notion that these concepts can exist without the larger DCU to prop them up. As I said earlier, pretty much every Captain Marvel revamp has fallen short; even the good ones. Rather than desperately trying to shoehorn him into a universe in which he doesn’t really fit, why not just try to tell Shazam! stories that aren’t part of the larger DCU? Just give him his own universe and let the stories be as goofy as they need to be! We’re talking about a book that features a talking tiger and a villain who is a tiny worm with a 1930’s radio around his neck for god’s sake! These characters don’t need to (and probably shouldn’t) stand side-by-side with the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel.

Again, it really just comes back to a very simple notion: It’s not the DCU proper, a fact that should satisfy those who can’t get enough Morrison as well as those who can’t stand the guy. If you like him, here he is telling a tale seven issues wide! And if you don’t: hey, just ignore it and it’ll go away. It’s not canon, after all; it happened on Earth-M.

Sequential Ink

Hey, wanna check out some sweet superhero tattoos? I do!

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

The Armored Avenger

World’s Finest Tattoo

Two Varieties of Phoenix

… and now it’s time for the Spinner Rack! Yaaay!!!

The Spinner Rack

By Ben Johnson and Chad Der-der-derdowski

AARDVARK VANAHEIM
Cerebus Archive #1, $3.00
Cerebus Archive #1 (Zombie Variant), $15.00
Ben: I hope this is a parody.

AC COMICS
Femforce #147, $6.95

ALTERNA COMICS
Jesus Hates Zombies Lincoln Hates Werewolves GN Vol 2 (of 4), $6.95
Ben: And I hate Joe Quesada!

AMERICAN MULE ENTERTAINMENT
Public Enemy TP Vol 1, $22.99

ANTARCTIC PRESS
Demon Cleaner #1 (of 3), $3.99
Ben: It’s important to really get behind the horns.
Fire & Brimstone #5 (of 5), $3.95
Ben: What’s with Antarctic Press and hell this week?
Gold Digger #105, $2.99
Gold Digger Tech Manual #3, $3.95
Rod Espinosa Prince Of Heroes Chapter 2 #1, $3.50

APE ENTERTAINMENT
Walled In GN, $16.95

ASPEN ENTERTAINMENT
Soulfire #9 (Cover A Michael Turner)(resolicited), $2.99
Soulfire #9 (Cover B Joe Benitez), $2.99
Soulfire New World Order #1 (of 5)(Francisco Herrera Cover)(resolicited), $2.99
Ben: Oh snap! The reptile people are finally making their move.
Soulfire New World Order #1 (of 5)(Marcus To Cover), $2.99
Soulfire New World Order #1 (of 5)(Michael Turner Variant Cover), AR

AVATAR PRESS
Anna Mercury #5 (of 5)(NYCC Edition), $5.99
Crossed #2 (NYCC Edition), $5.99
Freakangels HC Vol 2 (Regular Edition), $27.99
Ben: For those that don’t like free.
Freakangels HC Vol 2 (Warren Ellis & Paul Duffield Signed Edition), $39.99
Gravel TP Vol 1 Bloody Liars, $24.99

BLUEWATER PRODUCTIONS
Plan 9 From Outer Space Strikes Again, $3.99
Ben: So bad it’s good?
Ray Harryhausen Presents 10th Muse 800 #3 (of 4), $3.99
Ray Harryhausen Presents The Elementals #4 (of 4), $3.99
Vincent Price Presents #8, $3.99
Warlock (Bluewater) #2, $3.99

BOOM! STUDIOS
Farscape Strange Detractors #2 (of 4)(Cover A Joe Corroney), $3.99
Farscape Strange Detractors #2 (of 4)(Cover B Dennis Calero), $3.99
Farscape Strange Detractors #2 (of 4)(Retailer Incentive Variant Cover), AR
Irredeemable #2 (Cover A John Cassaday), $3.99
Irredeemable #2 (Cover B Dennis Calero), $3.99
Irredeemable #2 (Incentive Jeffrey Spokes Cover), AR
Ben: Two comics, six covers!

DARK HORSE
Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery Archives HC Vol 1, $49.95
Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 8 TP Vol 4 Time of Your Life, $15.95
Buffy The Vampire Slayer #25 (Season 8)(Jo Chen Regular Cover), $2.99
Ben: Longevity is so grand!
Buffy The Vampire Slayer #25 (Season 8)(Georges Jeanty Variant Cover), $2.99
Creepy Archives HC Vol 3, $49.95
Kull #6 (of 6), $2.99
Chad: Every time I see this solicited, I get really excited thinking that it’s an adaptation of the movie Krull and every month I am disappointed.

DC COMICS
Astro City The Dark Age Book Three #1 (of 4), $3.99
Ben: I’m waiting for the trade. I can’t stand waiting between issues.
Authority #10, $2.99
Bang Tango #4 (of 6), $2.99
Batman Battle for the Cowl The Network #1 (One Shot), $2.99
Batman The Resurrection Of Ras Al Ghul TP, $19.99
Dead Romeo #2 (of 6), $2.99
Ben: Imagine how this would smell.
Final Crisis Aftermath Run #1 (of 6), $2.99
Fire Investigator Nanase TP Vol 2, $9.99
Ben: This CSI craze has got to end.
Flash Presents Mercury Falling TP, $14.99
Flash Rebirth #2 (of 5)(Ethan Van Sciver Regular Cover), $2.99
Ben: After last issue I just can’t help thinking that Barry Allen is kind of a dick.
Flash Rebirth #2 (of 5)(Ethan Van Sciver Variant Cover), AR
Genghis Khan To The Ends Of Earth And Sea TP Vol 1, $9.99
Green Arrow Black Canary League Of Their Own TP, $17.99
Jonah Hex #43, $2.99
Justice League Of America HC Vol 5 The Second Coming, $19.99
Looney Tunes #174, $2.50
Mighty #4, $2.99
Ben: I’ve been reading this and enjoying it well enough, but if the writer doesn’t get to the point soon I’m done.
Point Blank TP (New Edition), $14.99
Power Girl #1 (Adam Hughes Cover), $2.99
Ben: How’s that for a fetish?
Power Girl #1 (Amanda Conner Cover), $2.99
Prototype #2 (of 6), $3.99
Ben: The new and improved model sh*ts you!
Seaguy The Slaves Of Mickey Eye #2 (of 3), $3.99
Ben: The first issue was sweet. Check this out for some seriously weird stuff.
Solomon Grundy #3 (of 7), $2.99
Strange Adventures #3 (of 8), $3.99
Ben: Starring Chad and a Priest.
Supergirl Cosmic Adventures In The 8th Grade #6 (of 6), $2.50
Superman World Of New Krypton #3 (of 12)(Gary Frank Regular Cover), $2.99
Ben: Damn… it feels good to be a gangster. And this is good.
Superman World of New Krypton #3 (of 12)(Eric Canete Variant Cover), AR
Trinity #49, $2.99
Two Flowers For The Dragon TP Vol 4, $9.99
Warlord #2, $2.99
Y The Last Man Deluxe Edition HC Vol 2, $29.99

DEVILS DUE PUBLISHING
Hack Slash Entry Wound (One Shot), $2.50
Voltron A Legend Forged #5, $3.50
Zombies That Ate The World #3, $3.50

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
Army Of Darkness #20, $3.50
Battlestar Galactica Final Five #1 (of 4)(Mel Rubi Foil Cover), $18.00
Ben: Damn the price of foil is through the f-ing roof.
Boys #30 (Darick Robertson Regular Cover), $2.99
Boys #30 (Jim Lee Variant Cover), AR
Boys #30 (Jim Lee Virgin Incentive Variant Cover), AR
Ben: Starring Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers.
Boys #30 (Jim Lee Negative Art Incentive Variant Cover), AR

FANTAGRAPHICS
Monologues For Calculating The Density Of Black Holes GN, $22.99
Ben: I don’t know what it is, but I’m interested as hell.

HARPER COLLINS
Magic Trixie GN Vol 2 Magic Trixie Sleeps Over (Release not confirmed by Diamond Distribution), $7.99
Neil Gaiman Coraline TP, $9.99
Wicked Lovely Desert Tales GN Vol 1 Sanctuary (Release not confirmed by Diamond Distribution), $9.99

IDW PUBLISHING
Angel Blood And Trenches #3 (John Byrne Regular Cover), $3.99
Angel Blood And Trenches #3 (John Byrne Sketch Variant Cover), AR
Cameron And His Dinosaurs GN, $12.99
Ben: I remember this asshole! He never shares!
Classic GI Joe TP Vol 3, $19.99
Doctor Who Classics TP Vol 3, $19.99
Ghostbusters The Other Side TP Vol 1, $17.99
GI Joe Movie Prequel #3 (Baroness)(Joe Corroney Cover), $3.99
Chad: Skip this crap and buy that Classic Joe trade!
GI Joe Movie Prequel #3 (Baroness)(Photo cover), $3.99
Groom Lake #2 (Ben Templesmith Regular Cover), $3.99
Ben: The first issue sucked… and there you go.
Groom Lake #2 (Ben Templesmith Variant Cover), AR
Life And Times Of Savior 28 #2, $3.99
Oliver Twist HC, $14.99
Star Trek Crew #3 (John Byrne Regular Cover), $3.99
Star Trek Crew #3 (John Byrne Sketch Variant Cover), AR
Sword Of My Mouth #1, $3.99
Transformers Best Of The UK City Of Fear #4 (Andrew Griffith Regular Cover), $3.99
Transformers Best Of The UK City Of Fear #4 (Incentive Retro Art Variant Cover), AR

IMAGE COMICS
Jersey Gods #4 (Michael Allred Regular Cover), $3.50
Jersey Gods #4 (Dan McDaid Variant Cover), AR
Killer Of Demons #3 (of 3), $3.99
Noble Causes Archives TP Vol 2, $24.99
Overlook #2 (of 3), $3.50
Ben: The cover has a big fist punching! Sweet!
Pherone HC, $24.99
Spawn Origins TP Vol 1, $14.99
Top Cow Crossover Set, $9.99
Viking #1 (2nd Printing), $2.99
Walking Dead Compendium TP Vol 1, $59.99
Witchblade Annual 2009 (Cover A Eric "E-Bas" Basaldua), $3.99
Witchblade Annual 2009 (Cover B Sami Basri), $3.99

LITTLE BROWN AND COMPANY
Ben: Something you’ve always wanted but always been too afraid of looking like a (female dog) to ask for.
Adventures Of Tintin HC Vol 2 (New Edition), $18.99
Adventures Of Tintin HC Vol 3 (New Edition), $18.99
Adventures Of Tintin HC Vol 4 (New Edition), $18.99
Adventures Of Tintin HC Vol 5 (New Edition), $18.99
Adventures Of Tintin HC Vol 6 (New Edition), $18.99
Adventures Of Tintin HC Vol 7 (New Edition), $18.99

MARVEL COMICS
Agents Of Atlas #4 (Stuart Immonen Regular Cover)(Dark Reign Tie-In), $2.99
Agents of Atlas #4 (Ed McGuinness Variant Cover)(Dark Reign Tie-In), AR
Alias Ultimate Collection TP Book 1, $34.99
Ben: Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Anal Sex… Need I say more?
Chad: SOLD!
Amazing Spider-Man #593, $2.99
Astonishing Tales #4 (Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited), $3.99
Avengers Invaders #10 (Of 12)(Mitch Breitweiser Variant Cover), AR
Cable #13 (Ariel Olivetti Second Printing Variant Cover)(X-Men Messiah War Tie-In)(Messiah War Part 2), $2.99
Cable #14 (Ariel Olivetti Cover)(X-Men Messiah War Tie-In)(Messiah War Part 4), $2.99
Cable #14 (Kaare Andrews Cover)(X-Men Messiah War Tie-In)(Messiah War Part 4), AR
Daredevil Noir #2 (of 4)(Tom Coker Regular Cover), $3.99
Daredevil Noir #2 (of 4)(Dennis Calero Variant Cover), AR
Deadpool #9 (Paco Medina Second Printing Variant Cover)(Magnum Opus Part 3)(Dark Reign Tie-In), $2.99
Deadpool #10 (Dark Reign Tie-In), $2.99
Destroyer #2 (of 5), $3.99
Essential Spider-Man TP Vol 9, $19.99
Exiles #2, $2.99
Ben: Does anyone out there actually read this?
Fantastic Four TP True Story (Direct Market Edition), $10.99
Fin Fang Four Return #1 (One Shot), $3.99
Hulk Broken Worlds #2 (of 2), $3.99
Human Torch Comics #1 70th Anniversary Special (Adi Granov Regular Cover), $3.99
Human Torch Comics #1 70th Anniversary Special (Marcos Martin Variant Cover), AR
Invincible Iron Man #13 (Dark Reign Tie-In), $2.99
Marvel 70th Anniversary Poster Book, $5.99
Marvel Masterworks Incredible Hulk HC Vol 5, $54.99
Marvel Masterworks Incredible Hulk HC Vol 5 (Variant Edition 115), $54.99
Marvel Masterworks Uncanny X-Men HC Vol 4 (2nd Printing)(Release not confirmed by Diamond Distribution), $54.99
Marvel Masterworks Uncanny X-Men HC Vol 4 (2nd Printing)(Variant Edition)(Release not confirmed by Diamond Distribution), $54.99
Marvel Spotlight New Mutants (One Shot), $2.99
Marvel Your Universe #4, $5.99
Marvel Zombies 4 #2 (of 4), $3.99
New Avengers Reunion #3 (of 4)(Dark Reign Tie-In), $3.99
Ben: Beside the stupid ninja showdowns between the two main characters this has been pretty well done.
New Mutants #1 (Adam Kubert Regular Cover), $3.99
New Mutants #1 (Alex Ross Variant Cover), AR
New Mutants #1 (Ryan Benjamin Variant Cover), AR
New Mutants #1 (Bob McLeod Variant Cover), AR
Official Index To Marvel Universe #5, $3.99
Spider-Man Premiere HC Death And Dating, $24.99
Terror Inc Apocalypse Soon #1 (of 5), $3.99
Ben: Thank God, I was getting sick of this place.
Trojan War #1 (of 5), $3.99
Ultimates 3 TP Who Killed The Scarlet Witch (Book Market Edition)(Release not confirmed by Diamond Distribution), $19.99
Ultimates 3 TP Who Killed The Scarlet Witch (Direct Market Edition)(Release not confirmed by Diamond Distribution), $19.99
Ultimatum X-Men Fantastic Four Premiere HC, $24.99
Universal War One Revelations #2 (of 3), $5.99
War Of Kings #2 (of 6)(Paul Pelletier Second Printing Variant Cover)(War of Kings Tie-In), $3.99
War Of Kings #3 (of 6)(Brandon Peterson Regular Cover)(War of Kings Tie-In), $3.99
Ben: Damn good!
War of Kings #3 (of 6)(Paul Pelletier Variant Cover)(War of Kings Tie-In), AR
X-Men First Class Finals #4 (of 4), $3.99

MOONSTONE
Partners In Crime Novel, $14.95

NEW PRESS
Secret Identities The Asian American Superhero Anthology SC, $21.95

PAIZO PUBLISHING
Outlaws Of Mars, $12.99

PAPERCUTZ
Bionicle HC Vol 5 The Battle Of Voya Nui (Release not confirmed by Diamond Distribution), $12.95
Bionicle GN Vol 5 The Battle Of Voya Nui (Release not confirmed by Diamond Distribution), $7.95
Classics Illustrated HC Vol 5 Hamlet (Release not confirmed by Diamond Distribution), $9.95

RADICAL PUBLISHING
Shrapnel #5 (Cover A Marko Djurdjevic), $2.99
Shrapnel #5 (Cover B Bruno Werneck), $2.99

RED 5 COMICS
Atomic Robo And The Shadow From Beyond Time #1 (of 5), $3.50

TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS
League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol 3 Century #1 (of 3)('1910'), $7.95

ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT
Grimm Fairy Tales Return To Wonderland Annual #1 (Eric "E-Bas" Basaldua Cover), $5.99
Grimm Fairy Tales Return To Wonderland Annual #1 (Eric J Cover), $5.99

And now, because exactly none of you demanded it:

Ben’s 10, in which I mistakenly assume anyone cares about the 10 books I most look forward to reading this week.

10) Amazing Spider-Man #593: I know, I know, it’s lame Spider-Man since the mind wipe thing, but as far all things Spider-Man go this is shaping up to be an important story line.
9) Hack Slash Entry Wound: A one-shot for a comic I waited waaaaaaaaaaay to long to start reading.
8) Irredeemable #2: The first issue was disappointing, but it’s Mark Waid, so me thinks it will turn around.
7) War of Kings #3: Cosmic stuff is where it’s at all across the comic spectrum, and Marvel is not letting us down with War of Kings.
6) Buffy The Vampire Slayer #25: 25 issues in and Dark Horse is proving that proper treatment of a license can reap huge rewards.
5) Boys #30: This is just on here because I’m sick and can’t get enough of this series.
4) Superman World of New Krypton #3: Superman among supermen (people, whatever, I guess I’m just sexist) is amazing.
3) Astro City The Dark Age Book Three #1: Every issue of Astro City is meticulously thought out and beautiful. If only it came out a little more often.
2) Trojan War #1: From the God’s point of view and looking amazing.
1) League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol 3 Century #1: Why is this number one? Why the hell do you think?