Don’t Ask! Just Buy It! – May 9, 2012: Inimitable, Incredible, Indefatigable

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

KEY:

* Remarkable writer/artists who started still-unfinished projects in the '90s

^ Five

% At least some character-creator involvement

¢ At least some creator ownership

Comics adjectives are the best

% ¢ SPACE DUCKS: AN INFINITE COMIC BOOK OF MUSICAL GREATNESS

Anyone know if Daniel Johnston has published a comic book before? At this point, he's built up enough cred in the fine-art world that it's kind of hard to tell the difference between his actual obsessions and the things that are expected of him. This graphic novel involves a struggle with Satan, lots of misspellings, some sexual desperation, wordplay based on Beatles lyrics, and a lot of art-brut sloppiness; it ties in with some new music from him, and the "Editor," "Publisher" and "Editor-in-Chief" credits go to people who bought those titles on Kickstarter. That said, I'm really happy to see this, and if Marvel ever does another one of those Strange Tales miniseries, I can't think of a more apropos idea than a Daniel Johnston Captain America story.% ^ ¢ 2000 AD #1776-1778

If you picked up the Free Comic Book Day special issue... well, three of the creators involved with that one (and one of its five strips) are also in these three issues, which are smack in the middle of five serials right now: John Wagner and Henry Flint's extended Judge Dredd storyline "Day of Chaos: Eve of Destruction," Pat Mills and James McKay's "Flesh," Al Ewing and Brendan McCarthy's "The Zaucer of Zilk," Alec Worley and Jon Davis-Hunt's "Age of the Wolf," and Robbie Morrison and John Burns' "Nikolai Dante." Also out in the States this week, per the Midtown Comics list (but not the Diamond Comics Distributors list, which also omits 2000 AD #1776 and 1777, curiously): Judge Dredd Megazine #322, featuring the first episode of Andy Diggle and Jock's "Snapshot," whose pitch might have been something like "Blow-Up, but set in a comic book store, and without the sexy parts."

AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #7

Kathryn and Stuart Immonen, together again! I loved their 2010 graphic novel Moving Pictures. I bet this isn't much like that. I also bet it's good.

* ¢ DAN THE UNHARMABLE #1

The first issue of an ongoing series by David Lapham and Rafael Ortiz about an invulnerable P.I. is also my twelfth-or-so opportunity to briefly wonder if we'll ever see Lapham do more Stray Bullets.

% ESSENTIAL BLACK PANTHER VOL. 1

I'm very curious about this: a $20 black-and-white paperback collecting Jungle Action #6-22 and 24 (the Don McGregor-written run from 1972-1976), plus Black Panther #1-10 (most but not all of the subsequent Jack Kirby run).

* % ¢ iZOMBIE #25

Well, at least the rest of Chris Roberson and Michael Allred's monsters-a-go-go series still gets to come out. Allred also has a piece in this week's Mystery in Space one-shot, as does Paul Pope.

^ JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #637

Kieron Gillen and Carmine di Giandomenico continue the five-part "Exiled" crossover with New Mutants.

* % MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER: THE STEVE DITKO ARCHIVES VOL. 3

This $40, Blake Bell-edited volume reprints horror stories drawn by Ditko in the late '50s for Charlton Comics titles including Tales of the Mysterious Traveler and This Magazine Is Haunted.

^ NEW AVENGERS #26

AvX, Brian Michael Bendis, Mike Deodato, Iron Fist and Phoenix. We know what we're getting with this stuff. Also this week: Bendis and Mark Bagley's Avengers Assemble #3. Speaking of which, would anyone like to take a guess at the number of Diamond shipping updates so far this year that have not included at least one announcement of a delay on a Bendis-written Icon title? (See key for answer.)

* % SILVER SURFER: PARABLE

A $25 reprint of the two-issue Stan Lee/Moebius project from 1988, plus Lee and Keith Pollard's 1990 graphic novel Silver Surfer: The Enslavers. Note to the cynical: this was solicited in November, and Moebius died in March.