If you're here in the Panel Discussion programming block, you might be a lapsed comics reader, trying to find a way back to the JLA Satellite. Or you might someone killing time until you pick up your weekly Wednesday pull list. Or maybe you've said goodbye to dozens of longboxes to embrace the promise of digital comics. Whichever it is, you're still interested in the good stuff.
Welcome, then, to the Panel Discussion Dozen Quintet, where I pick out just-released or out-soon comics that I think are worth paying attention to. Ready? Then, let's meet the sequential art that'll be draining your wallet this week.
Batman & Robin #9
The Night of Owls crossover moving throughout all the Bat-comics comes at a particularly fraught time for this title's father-and-son superheroes. Damian—Batman's long-lost son who's been Robin for the past few years—has been trying to fight his born-killer assassin's instincts while facing enemies that have no hesitation in trying to kill him.
Mystery in Space #1
Anthology one-shots can be great places to see established talent stretch and new talent shine. This one's got bona fide legends like Mike Allred, Paul Pope and Kyle Baker contributing, and promises of a story with zero-gravity sex. None of the Mass Effect games have give you that. Your move, BioWare.
Frankenstein Alive, Alive #1
Bernie Wrightson's masterful interpretation of Mary Shelley's immortal horror classic was a book that I only was able to hear about for years. So color me super-excited to finally get a chance to see how the genius craftsman turns out the story of the re-animated monster.
The Pro
Seemingly just in time for Saints' Row raunchy superpowered DLC, this reprint of Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner's sexed-up take on cape comics shows what happens when a prostitute gets superpowers and joins her world's premiere super-team. Things get, um, messy. It's like every dirty joke ever told about superheroes done up beautifully in one place.
Wolverine and the X-Men #10
I don't know if I'm mad that this crucial moment in present-day X-Men mythos—where Cyclops comes to the school that Wolverine's started in the X-Men's old stomping grounds—is happening On one hand, the plot considerations of a big even might not give the meeting of the two former friends room to breathe. On the other hand, the heightened tensions of the Avengers vs. X-Men crossover might provide a great stage to show just how bitter the rivalry between Logan and Scott Summers has become.