Wednesday = new comic books here in the United States of America. Many new comics are junk. Let me tell you about a few ones that are not, some of which are even about video games.
Plus, there are some classics and some classically-ridiculous comics debuting on the iPad this week — for people who don't have enough 90s cheesiness in their Apple device.
Comics You Should Consider Buying (from comics shops)
Action Comics #899 Continuing writing Paul Cornell's terrific adventures of Lex Luthor as the saga brings Luthor up against a new villain each issue. His nemesis is Brainiac this time. Superman returns to the series next month in issue 900, the first 900th issue of a (mostly) monthly comic in U.S. publishing history. That all might sound standard, but trust me that Cornell's spinning an original adventure here.
Captain America #616 I love buying anniversary issues, even though they're often bereft of good stories. Why get them? Because top talent usually shows up to write a short back-up adventure or draw a splash page. Official summary: "A double-size main story by award-winning writer Ed Brubaker sees Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes both struggling with the shocking ramifications of the Trial of Captain America and what comes next! A forgotten portrait of Captain America, painted in the waning days of World War II, brings up nearly forgotten memories of those turbulent and frightening years for Steve Rogers-memories of yearning, of loss and of innocence betrayed, brought to you by legendary writer/artist Howard Chaykin. Captain America falls under the vampiric Baron Blood's spell in an untold tale of the Invaders! Plus: Steve Rogers: Super-Soldier, and the Secret Avengers investigate a modern day Hitler"
Jimmy Olsen One Shot The official summary does this some justice — "When Jimmy Olsen finds out that his ex-girlfriend, Chloe Sullivan, is spending a week writing a profile about a young big-shot LexCorp employee, Jimmy is determined to prove to Chloe that he can have just as exciting and interesting a week. Cue bar fights with drunken aliens, a visit to the Yarn Barn with Supergirl, Fifth Dimensional stalkers, and Jimmy Olsen: Space Warrior!" — but the part of this comic that I already read and loved had Jimmy preventing hard-partying aliens from destroying Earth by convincing them that we're all boring.
Comics With Video Game Connections (new this week in comics shops)
Pocket God #4 Official summary: "With the tribe's mortality hanging in the balance, Ooga must travel deep into the temple to confront the unmerciful gods, but with the rest of the pygmies turned into zombies, can the unlikely hero complete the mission on his own or is the tribe destined to be disbanded for good?"
Sonic the Hedgehog #223 Official summary: "Chaos and the Crown,' Part 1. The vile wizard Ixis Naugus finally makes his bold move, and the Republic of Acorn will never be the same! As Sonic races to bring the villain down, Dr. Eggman makes the final preparations for his newest scheme in 'Special Zone House Call.'"
World of Warcraft: Curse of the Worgen #5 Official summary: "Gilneas City has fallen to the Worgen. Halford Ramsey lies near death and a terrible new threat waits in the shadows. In their darkest hour, will Genn Greymane and the citizens of Gilneas find the strength to stand against impossible odds?"
World of Warcraft Volume 3 (softcover) Official summary: "The third collection based on the world's most popular massively multiplayer online game finds King Varian and his companions attempting to heal the rift between Horde and Alliance by seeking out help from ogre leader Thrall. Collecting issues #15-21."
And Over On The iPad…
The release of the first six issues of writer Grant Morrison's Batman and Robin on the Comixology Comics iPad app is a no-brainer. Buy just the first three to get the first story arc if you just want to sample the adventures of Dick Grayson as the new Batman and Bruce Wayne's young brat of a son as Robin. Hardcore Morrison fans should pick up Dark Reign: The List: Wolverine a one-shot by writer Jason Aaron that successfully re-visits characters from Morrison's Marvel Boy and New X-Men runs. They keep releasing bizarre 1990s X-Men comics for some reason, like X-Universe and X-Man. I'm not sure why, and I'm just as confused why they just posted a run of old Captain Americas from the 90s in which Captain America was fighting crime with the Free Spirit, a woman, an anatomically improbable woman dressed in the American flag. Surely this is one of the classics?
Captain America Issue 431 cover via the Marvel wiki.