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. Be sure to chime in with the books you'll be picking up or that you think everybody should be ready in the comments.
Mass Effect Homeworlds #4
I romanced Liara in my Mass Effect 3 playthroughs, drawn in by the quiet, scholarly confidence of the Normandy's Asari crewmate. This issue—written by Sylvia Feketekuty
who crafted Liara's storyline in ME3—happens after she's become the Shadow Broker. I expect shady dealings. But not too shady. I still need to be able to love her in space.
Justice League #12
Here's the issue where Superman and Wonder Woman begin their much-ballyhooed romance. Other stuff happens, too, as one story arc wraps up and another gets teased. But the reason anyone will be picking this up is because Clark and Diana will be k-i-s-s-i-n-g in a tree. Let's see what happens when Batman finds out. And he will find out.
Powers #11
Ever since Watchmen, lots of comics have tried to tackle the "superheroes in the real world" idea. I've always liked the hot-headed impulsive approach to that concept that Brian Bendis and Michael Oeming have brought to Powers. The characters feel fallible and layered, like they sweat and have bad breath. It's been away for a while so here's hoping that the pair make re-entry into their fiction easy to handle.
Li'l Homer #1
If you're doing a young Homer Simpson comic, you clearly can't go the proto-Bart route. No way that Homie was exactly like his son. Bart is smarter, for one. So, I'll take a look at this first issue to see how different the Simpsons pater familias's mischief is from his offspring's.