A weekly rundown of the week’s new & notable releases, courtesy of our resident Wonder Twins.

52 #24

Adan: After a couple of weeks of not-so-good stories, DC’s star quadruplets finally get back on track… sort of. A book-length story that makes it feel like something is actually happening while taking many of the myriad plot threads and tying them together into a somewhat cohesive story.

Laura: The many-headed plotline hydra that is 52 grinds on, this week premiering a new JLA lineup composed entirely of benchwarming C-listers that remains cohesive for about five seconds before they get their asses handed to them by… well, you’ll see. If you’re still wasting $10 a month on this poor execution of an interesting concept, please believe me: you can do better.

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Guilty Pleasures #1

Laura: Les Dabel says that women don’t read comics. Laurell K. Hamilton says she wants to change that. That’s interesting, because I didn’t know that I don’t read comic books. Good thing Hamilton is here to save me. A recent IGN article promoting the book was titled “Anita Blake Sucks In Marvel.” ‘Nuff said.

Adan: Not everything is about you. Female comic fans obviously exist, but not in the numbers we all wish they did (numbers that rivaled or even surpassed the ones for male fans). That said, this book bites. From what I understand, the first five or six chapters of the book are squeezed into the first issue. Those of you who like this sort of thing should really just read the novels, or better yet, read any other vampire comic on the market (many folks are partial to the “30 Days of Night” stuff).

Laura: Listen, Adan: there are plenty of female comics fans. We’re here, we’re queer, and we don’t want any more bears. Sure, most of us are still buying manga, but that’s still no reason to insult us with this kind of tripe.

Authority #1

Laura: Grant Morrison takes on the Authority for the first, err, second time. Despite ghost-writing one of the best issues on Millar’s run, this is Morrison’s first official issue with the larger-than-life superteam, a relaunch that Morrison describes as “the most realistic comic you’ve ever seen.” To review: It’s Grant Morrison. It’s the Authority. Will you buy it? Yes. Yes you will.

Adan: And let’s not forget Gene Ha’s amazing artwork. The man made us all pore over his “Top Ten” art with fine-toothed combs looking for all the Easter eggs he loved to drop (which is where he first drew the Authority, incidentally). Will he drop them again?

Desolation Jones #7

Laura: “Death is like a bus,” says Jones as the new “To Be in England” arc kicks off. “You wait and wait and then three turn up at once, and none of them are yours.” Well, the new issue of this brilliant, bleak descent into personal and urban decay is finally here, courtesy of Warren Ellis’ special brand of madness. All aboard.

Adan: I can’t think of any other person in the field who could make metropolitan studies interesting, much less must-read, because while this is a tale of an ex-spook turned private eye, it is also a tale of Los Angeles and how it lives and breathes. I will say, however, that Danijel Zezelj’s art is hard to follow and I am not convinced that he is a worthy successor to J.H. Williams III.

Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall

Adan: Every single “Fables” fan is going to buy this book. Every last one of them. The trick is to get those who’ve never read the book. This collection features origin stories of sorts for many of the major characters currently residing in Fabletown or its upstate annex, the Farm. This beautiful hardcover features early stories still set in the Homelands and is priced at only $19.99. What better jumping on point than can you ask for?

Laura: Fables starts out a little slow, so I’d actually recommend this over the first volume as the best entree to the series. Snow White plays Scheherazade to an Arabian fable, exchanging loads and loads of lovely backstory for her life. It’s a trade worth taking up.

John Woo’s Seven Brothers #1

Adan: The Virgin book with the most hype might actually deliver. Jeevan Kang’s art is quite good and Garth Ennis can write a book once in awhile. Most hyped, and possibly most importantly, the idea comes from the mind of superstar Hong Kong director John Woo, who’s not known for neither his fantasy or his comics, so who knows. I’ll take a peek and maybe you should too.

Laura: An ancient Chinese prophecy. A terrible evil threatening to engulf the world. Seven men drawn together by a destiny they can’t escape. Read that in a deep, gravelly voice and it’s the latest movie trailer I don’t care about.

Queen and Country #31

Laura: As the first Q&C volume starts drawing to a close with Operation: Red Panda, Tara Chase is on assignment in Iraq, her sanity still held together with shoestrings and chewing gum. Between this arc’s timely setting and the prescience of his Q&C novel, A Gentleman’s Game, Rucka has pulled his espionage title into the contemporary world of terrorism, and it couldn’t be more compelling.

Adan: I honestly can’t remember what this storyarc is about because it’s been that long. But you know what? Who cares? It’s Greg Rucka writing political spy thrillers with one of the greatest characters ever created. It’s gonna be great.

Runaways #21

Laura: As a monster with a sad sad backstory rampages through Los Angeles and a grieving Chase contemplates a Faustian bargain with the Gibborim, this issue asks us to consider whether profound loss can make men into monsters. It is a question perhaps best answered three months from now by BKV fanatics.

Adan: I’m quite saddened that this beautiful bald bastard is leaving the book that made him a household name. I’m more saddened by the fact that it seems like BKV is phoning in this latest storyline.

Wildcats #1

Adan: The second (technically, the first) WildStorm book written by Grant Morrison features art by imprint founder, and known slowpoke, Jim Lee. Morrison has done every type of superhero in every facet of its existence. He’s ready for something new. I am too. PS: I want to have his baby.

Laura: I’m not quite as ready to bear his offspring and masturbate to
his sigil, but I can’t say I’m not anticipating this book.

X-Men First Class #2

Laura: I think I read this series when it was called Professor Xavier and the X-Men. The only difference is that the plots are new, while the clichés remain very, very old. Note: making Bobby call Cerebro “Bro” does not make either one of them cooler.

Adan: I am the biggest X-fan that I know. For this reason alone I wish this book didn’t exist.