Hot Ink: Werewolves on the Moon vs. Vampires

Enjoy our rundown of the most notable books coming out in comic shops today.

CURIOSITY PIQUED BY "Batman & Robin #1." Grant Morrison returns to Batman, bringing with him a new caped crusader, Dick Grayson, and a new boy wonder, Damian Wayne. Reading a book by Morrison is often an experience akin to picking up a Rubik's Cube and twisting and turning the sides only to discover that each of the 54 stickers is a completely different color. And then realizing that the cube has been coated in a powerful hallucinogenic compound that absorbs through the skin. The end result is usually something along the lines of "I have no idea what just happened. When can I do that again?"

CONFUSED BY "Werewolves on the Moon Versus Vampires #1." . . . . . . . Wha?!?

More after the jump!UNABASHED FANBOY EXCITEMENT PROVOKED BY "Atomic Robo and the Shadow from Beyond Time #2." The second issue of the series' third volume sees the titular hero, a robot built by everyone's favorite scientist, Nikola Tesla, teaming up with paranormal writer Charles Fort in 1926 New York to stop demonically possessed 20th century horror writer/21st pop culture icon H.P. Lovecraft from bringing about the end of the world. "Atomic Robo"'s a smart, funny, action-packed joy to read. And if the geeky among you aren't excited enough yet, there's a promised appearance by astronomer Carl Sagan before the five issue arc wraps up.

SLIGHTLY SADDENED BY "Lionsgate Films: Leprechaun #1." The release of the first issue of the comic adaptation of the horror series is a little disappointing, if only because it may signal that no more films are being released. Spanning six movies from 1993 - 2003, the "Leprechaun" series saw its villain visit many diverse and dangerous locales, including, in chronological order, Las Vegas, Space, the Hood, and tha Hood. While the quality of the movies is open to debate, they at least had the upside of providing steady acting gigs for Warwick Davis, a talented performer who's unfortunately not going to be considered for a wide variety of film roles. So I guess what I'm saying is it looks like Val Kilmer's going to have an ally this year when he pesters Ron Howard to finally get around to making a sequel to "Willow."

OKAY, SERIOUSLY, WHAT?!? "Werewolves on the Moon Versus Vampires #1." All right, I'm still working through all this. So moonlight triggers a werewolf to transform from man to wolfman. I get that. And moonlight is just sunlight reflected off the moon. So, then, whenever they're on the moon they're always a wolfman. But what about when they're on the dark side of the moon? Still wolfman? And vampires die from exposure to sunlight. So can they only come out when the earth's in between the sun and the moon? But wouldn't that mean no moonlight, and therefore no werewolves? And come to think of it, aren't all stars actually suns? And doesn't their light reach the Earth (or the moon), and therefore the vampires, too? So is it a safe distance type of thing? And how far is that? Now I'm really confused. This is what we get for codifying our horror folklore before we had all the astronomy stuff figured out. "Werewolves on the Moon Versus Vampires #1," you'd better have your answers ready.