Don’t Ask! Just Buy It! – August 4: Deadpool Thrizzles, Spitfire Sizzles, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Spelling Fizzles

Savage Critic and "Reading Comics" author Douglas Wolk runs down the hottest comics and graphic novels coming out this week.

KEY

* Spinner-rack flashback

^ Italy is a remarkable boot

% Contributors who are currently collaborating with Stan Lee

@ Elseworlds and their alumni

* % AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #639

The first part of Joe Quesada and Paolo Rivera's "One Moment in Time" did a particularly good job of sugarcoating a large, bitter continuity pill; no idea where they're going with it, but I'm curious to find out. Also, that Stan Lee/Marcos Martin backup feature is a beautiful thing to look at. Incidentally, the Marvel subscription page's deal for Amazing--fifty bucks for 36 issues--is looking like a better deal than ever now that every issue's going to be a four-dollar, 30-pages-of-story thing. Preview.

@ AVENGERS: PRIME #2

Brian Michael Bendis and Alan Davis continue their bimonthly Iron Man/Captain America/Thor team-up thing, whose first issue was more about talented creators having fun than about pushing anything forward, particularly. Preview.



* BATMAN: ODYSSEY #2

Hey, it's drawn by Neal Adams. And it doesn't read like any other Batman comic; that's something.

* BONE: TALL TALES

The title is new, but this is actually an expanded version of the "Bone" spin-off miniseries "Stupid, Stupid Rat-Tails," written by Tom Sniegoski and drawn by Jeff Smith; it appears that the extra material includes a story Smith did for "Disney Adventures," and a couple of new Sniegoski-written pieces.

^ CASANOVA #2

Fraction, Moon and Bá. The reprints will continue until morale improves.

% @ CINDERELLA: FROM FABLETOWN WITH LOVE

This Chris Roberson/Shawn McManus miniseries (an espionage-themed spinoff from "Fables") was a lot of fun. In further Roberson action this week, there's the fourth issue of his and Michael Allred's "iZombie" (preview).

* @ DAREDEVIL: BLACK AND WHITE #1

Three stories in this one, only one of which is in the preview, but the one I'm excited about is another pairing of classic "Daredevil" writer Ann Nocenti and occasional "Daredevil" artist David Aja. The previous time they teamed up, we got their superb story "3 Jacks" in "Daredevil" #500; very curious to see what they've got brewing this time.

@ DEADPOOL #1000

At this point Marvel's not even pretending not to pile on the Deadpool product until the market can't bear it any more. But that's one heck of a lineup they've got for this issue: Peter Bagge! Howard Chaykin! David Lapham! Michael freakin' Kupperman!! Preview.



* ^ @ HERCULES: TWILIGHT OF A GOD #3

Bob Layton (with Rob Lim on pencils) continues his boomerang trip back to the tone of his early-'80s "Hercules" miniseries.Preview.

* THE JOHN STANLEY LIBRARY: NANCY VOL. 2

I don't even care how good the stories inside are. I just love Seth's covers for this series.

^ JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE #300

Maybe the best Dredd sequence ever is John Wagner and Colin MacNeil's series of stories about the death of a political activist and its long-term consequences: "America" appeared in 1990, "Fading of the Light" in 1996, "Cadet" in 2006. Apparently, this issue's got another sequel. Can't wait.

^ S.H.I.E.L.D. #3

Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver's series about the history of the Marvel Universe's super-scientists is pretty as anything, even if the new issue's cover claims it stars "Issac Newton," evidently the evil twin of the better-known Isaac (actually the name seems to be spelled correctly on the interior pages). Preview.

% SPITFIRE #1

Looks like we get at least this Marvel one-off before Paul Cornell's DC exclusive kicks in; it's drawn by Elena Casagrande.Preview.

* @ SUPERMAN: THE LAST FAMILY OF KRYPTON #1

Cary Bates is writing Superman again! That's a name from memory lane: he wrote "Superman" and "Action" on and off from 1967 to 1986, and I don't think he's written for DC for close to twenty years. This is an extra-length, three-issue, apparently out-of-continuity miniseries, drawn by Renato Arlem. Preview.