Bears

As much as they might've been modernized over the past few years, I think it's still safe to say that Archie comics are rooted in a series of classic elements. The eternal war between Betty and Veronica for Archie's affections, for instance, or Archie's well-meaning clumsiness, or even Jughead constantly mooching off Archie to get money for burgers. Those are all long-standing traditions in the Archie Universe, but none are so well-regarded as the gang having to fight a bear. What's that? Y'all don't think that's a traditional Archie story? Well, I can assure you that it happened in 1974's Life With Archie #143, and that's enough of a tradition for me --- especially since Chip Zdarsky and Derek Charm are bringing it back for the next issue of Jughead. Check out a preview!

There are a lot of things that can get me to read a new comic book. I like supporting creator-owned titles, for example, and while the record will show that my heart lies with superheroes, I definitely have an interest in historical fiction and stories that take an interesting look at ideas of magic that lend themselves to cool visuals. And, on a very basic level, I really like it when there's a story where someone turns into a bear and fights a bunch of dudes. Good for me, then, that Luciano Saracino and Ariel Olivetti's Brutal Nature has all of the above. Set for release in May, Brutal Nature is IDW's latest foray into the world of creator-owned comics, telling the story of one of Colombia's indigenous people using a set of magical masks to take on the invading Spanish empire. Check out the solicitation and a cover featuring Olivetti's designs below!

Over a lifetime of reading comics, Senior Writer Chris Sims has developed an inexhaustible arsenal of facts and opinions. That's why, each and every week, we turn to you to put his comics culture knowledge to the test as he responds to your reader questions...

Bears. They are great. Superheroes. They too are great. Bears and superheroes together? Well, you tell me - great or not great? The answer should be obvious, but in case it's not, let's explore the topic further. Over at King Panpan, Julius Santiago has been drawing a different bear every single day since 2010 began...

Fans of both the webcomic Nedroid and/or superheroes may wish to take note of the "Beartato Heroes" poster on sale in the site store, where regular characters Beartato (bear), Reginald (bird), and Harrison (shark) step into superhero suits and jump into the air in front of rampaging robots, monsters, inexplicable lightning, and Michael Bay explosions...