Don’t Ask! Just Buy It! – July 13, 2011: America 6.0

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

KEY:

^ Seven Deadly Finns

* Blank Frank

% Kurt's Rejoinder

¢ Burning Airlines Give You So Much More

* BATMAN: HUSH UNWRAPPED DELUXE EDITION

Or, to put it differently, Jim Lee uninked--a black-and-white edition of the Lee-drawn run on Batman, reproduced from his lushly rendered pencils, with lettering but without Scott Williams' inks. Which reminds me: wasn't Dark Knight: Boy Wonder promised for this past February? And Lee is really signing up to draw a monthly Justice League series?

¢ CAPTAIN AMERICA #1

That would be vol. 6 #1. Ed Brubaker/Steve McNiven. Four bucks. Also this week in the Brubaker dept.: a DC Comics Presents reprint of Batman: Gotham Noir, drawn by his frequent collaborator Sean Phillips.

^ CASANOVA: GULA

The expanded version of the second storyline of Matt Fraction's most Fraction-al series, drawn by Fabio Moon--I like this one even better than the first one, especially for its "wait, where's the protagonist again?" trick. After yesterday's preview, I'm particularly psyched for Avaritia, though Fraction's gotta be busy right now with Fear Itself and its satellites (and by the way that scene with Tony Stark trying to get Odin's attention last week was my favorite thing so far in that series).

% DEFENDERS: FROM THE MARVEL VAULT #1

An inventory piece by Kurt Busiek, Fabian Nicieza and Mark Bagley, rescued from bottom-drawer limbo. I'm not even sure what series this was prepared for--I associate that team with Thunderbolts, mostly--but I'm not going to complain. Between this and Superman a few weeks ago, I wonder what else is about to emerge from the Crypt of Busiek.

¢ IRON AGE #2

I'm not even totally clear on what this Marvel miniseries is, but the Jen Van Meter/Nick Dragotta team on one of the two stories in here makes me curious to have a look.

^ JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #625

Kieron Gillen and Doug Braithwaite's terrific Loki serial continues. And there are hearts on the cover! Actually, as long as Marvel's reviving old copyrights as starring vehicles for Loki, how about Our Love Story? King of the Cads!

* NEW AVENGERS #14

Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato finally catch up with "Fear Itself." That's quite a cover--very DK2.

^ RASL #11

To repeat myself from exactly a year ago: "it wouldn't be a Comic-Con without a new issue of Jeff Smith's freewheeling/free-floating interdimensional jewel thief/alternate history series." This year marks the twentieth anniversary of Bone, too!