Hey. We here at Comics Alliance...we're lovers, not fighters. Sure, we talk a big game. We make Worst Comics of the Decade lists and question the priorities of some "Twilight" fans, but when it comes down to it, we're all about the big L.

That's right. Love. So when we heard through the grapevine that Mark Waid and superhero comics split up, we were shocked. They were so good together! We just saw them like a week ago!


Look, we can understand why MW might feel like he never wants to cuddleup with a superhero book in the near future. Superhero comics have plenty of flaws. Mostof the time, they're bad, and sometimes we can't even stand to be around them. They're far from loyal, and most of the time just stupid. There are plenty more comics in the sea. Smarter and prettier ones, actually. But can it really be over? For all the bad times they've had, the good times have been really good. Sometimes we say things that we don't really mean. Can M-Dog really just leave all that sugar behind? We don't know, yo. We can think of a lot of reasons to stay with the capes. Why don't you turn the lights down low and check out this list of ten.Being Superior Feels Good

Ever been in that relationship where you were way smarter than your partner? You have to keep explaining simple concepts; he or she looks lost in a political or philosophical conversation? Remember how you knew you would have to break it off one day, but figured you could feel superior for a while, secretly make fun of them, manipulate them, and snap off a few dozen pieces before saying goodbye? Man, that felt good. Waid's in the same position here. He's clearly smarter than most comics. Apart from the snappy dialogue and clever dilemmas he throws at his characters, one can actually learn something from a lot of comics he pens. Waid has studied physics and literature and peppers little steaks of information into his books, something only a few can do. This skill is both valuable and a potential source of a superiority complex, which is why Waid is going to be trouble after the apocalypse.


Marcos Martin

A few years into his periodic appearances on "Amazing Spider-Man" and Spanish artist Marcos Martin keeps getting better and better. There's a classic quality to his work that reminds one of Steranko, Ditko, even Norman Rockwell. His two-page backups with the Stan Lee in the pages of "Amazing" have been just as wonder-inspiring as well -- the clever diagrams and exquisite design of his pages continue to reveal Martin's talent. True Pop Art happening before the eyes. Of course, Waid knows this. As part of the "web-heads" that divided writing duties on the thrice-monthly (for now?) title, Waid has collaborated on some pretty awesome stuff with the phenom. Who in their right mind could say goodbye to that?


Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine

Speaking of Spider-Man, he's really got something going in this book. And Wolverine. Two issues into Jason Aaron and Adam Kubert's six-issue miniseries, and we want more. Lots of more. It's easy to get lost in the darker voice and harder edge that Aaron is known for, but "Astonishing" makes plain what so many ignore: he is an idea man who populates his stories with handfuls of concepts one could base a whole career around. Except you can't, because he already did it in four sentences. Suck it, would-be comics writer. And we hate to use cliches, but Kubert has never been better. Never reading superhero books means missing out on this, and I don't know, Mark. I just don't know.


The Return of Bruce Wayne

Oooh, Mark, oooh, oooh, oooh, dude. If you stop reading superhero comics that means you can't read about Bruce Wayne's trek through time between the pages of "Batman," "Batman and Robin," or "The Return of Bruce Wayne." And buddy, it's been a corker. When Grant Morrison took the reigns of the franchise a few years ago, some couldn't get hip to it, and they're missing out on work that challenges the very best ever done on the character. We're getting into the home stretch now, and the synchronicity and scope of Morrison's story is just now becoming apparent, like a string section doing a shrill descending run, or glass breaking in reverse. Glass breaking in reverse, yo! How can someone just walk away from that?

Mark Waid was part of the wave of creators who rescued superhero comics from the gutters of the grim and gritty nineties. Among the other wavers are Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross, who collaborated to great success on "Marvels," a landmark book in mainstream comics' return to less blood-stained territory. It's unclear what exactly they'll be doing with "Kirby:Genesis," but it's Ross and Busiek working with a bunch of Jack Kirby characters. How bad could it be? They had me at "Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross Reuniting, Mark Waid was part of the wave of creators who rescued superhero comics from the gutters of the grim and gritty nineties among the other wavers are Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross, who collaborated to great success on "Marvels," a landmark book in mainstream comics' return to less blood-stained territory."

Can you think of a better combination than the man who wrote "Stray Bullets" and the man who drew "The Cowboy Wally Show" to take on the Merc with a Mouth? NO. STOP TRYING. This news is so fine you can sop it up with a biscuit.

Being the intelligent, literate, compassionate guy that he is, it's a fair bet to say that Waid isn't a fan of Phelps or his Westboro Baptist congregation. Being in any way involved with superhero comics already makes Waid hellbound, so why not live it up and keep reading capes and tights? Hey, read one in front of Phelps and ilk at Comic Con while wearing a Flash costume, kissing a dude and fighting for your country! That'd really show 'em. Honestly, though, I can understand why they're pissed; why think comic readers are going to Hell. I mean, we believe in things that can't be proven to exist. How stupid is that?

Heck yeah! This book is so aweso-wait, Atlas got canceled? That blows. Why is that on the list?


Vampire X-Men

Waitaminnit. What's happening here?


Wonder Woman's New Costume

Oh, I get it. Talking about all the good things superhero comics has going on, then using the last few to bring up the other stuff. Great. Way to take something positive in a bad direction. Maybe Waid has a point. Good superhero comics have almost always been a rarity. It comes down to an ages-old question. When you find something you love, should you hold on tight?

Or let it go...? (on a slow news day)

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