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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.
Action Comics #0
Now that it's been announced that beloved and controversial Grant Morrison will be leaving this series, it's impossible to not read a sense of finality to all of the remaiing issues. Despite the fact that this is a prequel to Morrison's current interpretation of Kal-El, this book still feels like the beginning of an extended goodbye. It's got some real poignancy, too, and might just remind you how powerful Superman is as a concept.
Incognito: Classified Edition
Ed Brubaker excels at telling noir stories in comic-book form. But more than that, he keeps finding interesting ways to tie the precepts of noir to other genres. In Incognito, the dark genre shadings manifest in a pulp universe where a once-infamous supervillain is in a witness protection program, struggling to live a normal life. Does he resist the urge to use his powers? What do you think? Artist Sean Phillips continues his long-running collaboration with Brubaker on this project. It's as great as everything else they've done.
Hawkeye #2
This solo series featuring the Avengers' archer is a prime example of what I call low-stakes superheroics. Clint Barton hasn't been saving the world or the universe so far in this series. He's bought a building in a rough part of Brooklyn. That's about it. But, Matt Fraction and David Aja gives readers a great sketch of the reckless, rough-and-tumble life Hawkeye lives when he's not rolling with the Hulk, Thor and Captain America. The next big crossover can wait for a while; I'd rather see Hawkeye take care of a dog any day of the week.