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

KEY:

* True Brits

^ The beating of wings

% Body displacement

* ^ % ABSOLUTE SANDMAN VOL. 5

Did you imagine that the previous Absolute volumes reprinting the Sandman series and the Death miniseries exhausted Vertigo's ability to repurpose Neil Gaiman's fantasy work? Nope: now we get this oversized hardcover reprinting the Endless Nights anthology and both versions of The Dream Hunters (the prose version with illustrations by Yoshitaka Amano and the comics version adapted by P. Craig Russell), for a C-note.* ^ % 2000 AD #1755

The four ongoing serials (my favorite of which at the moment is probably Rob Williams and D'Israeli's lunatic Low Life: The Deal--disgraced undercover cop running around Tokyo controlling a motion-capture mecha-kaiju? Sign me up!) are joined this time by an odd silent story by Bob Byrne. Also, my fellow fans of Judge Beeny should be advised that she turns up in this week's Judge Dredd installment. But what's up with this not appearing on the Diamond list? I thought it was supposed to be shipping weekly in the U.S. now!

* ACTION COMICS #3

Grant Morrison's "the adventures of Superman when he was a crusading social-justice type" flashback serial continues; this time, Rags Morales is supplemented by Brent Anderson and Rick Bryant. It'd be nice if they gave us more than 20 pages of story for $3.99 this time, but as of last issue DC's no longer "holding the line" and I'm not holding my breath.

% AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #673

Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli give us the epilogue to "Spider-Island." The cover is a pretty funny riff on Amazing #50, too.

^ % A FLIGHT OF ANGELS

A hardcover graphic novel with an unusual scheme: one artist (Rebecca Guay), five writers (including Bill Willingham). You don't see a lot of this kind of fluttery post-Neil Gaiman fantasy these days. Is it bad that every time I look at the title I think of the Fall song "Flat of Angles"?

* ^ % JOE THE BARBARIAN

Grant Morrison and Sean Murphy's serial about a kid's fantasy adventures in the mystical domain of his own house seemed pokily paced (if attractively designed) in monthly installments; I'm curious to how it hangs together as a single volume.

* % LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN OMNIBUS

In the Dept. of Superfluous Editions of Very Good Comics: $50 gets you a hardcover with the first two volumes, but not the Black Dossier that's also lurking around the catalogue.

% MOON KNIGHT #7

Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev wrap up their first storyline; the Avengers are involved.

^ SNARKED #2

The first full-length issue of Roger Langridge's new kid-friendly series--whose characters are mostly drawn, one way or another, from Lewis Carroll's various works--was as clever and elegant as anything Langridge has ever done, a bunch of very familiar children's-story elements made fresh by vigor and wit alone. I really want to see where this story goes.

* ^ UNCANNY X-MEN #1

I believe this is technically the first time "Uncanny" has been part of X-Men's title as of any of its launches' first issue, for what that's worth. Kieron Gillen and Carlos Pacheco do the honors this time.

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