Another Trip, New Releases, and a Guest

I'm going to be out of town for the rest of the week, so no more updates until this weekend guest blogger Richard Oldstate will be taking over this blog for the next few days. I hope you enjoy his forays into comic book history.

My trip means I'll miss New Comics Day, which is always slightly disappointing (who wants to wait?!?!?), but this week is even more so with a bountiful array of cool comics being released.

Here are my Top Ten Most Anticipated Comics for This Wednesday. Buy them and read them before I do!

10) WOLVERINE #56--Jason Aaron is great. Howard Chaykin is great. Maybe, together, they will make a great story. It's gotta be better than the last Wolverine arc, right?

9) MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #27--It's a Guess Who's Coming to Dinner with the Inhumans! I love the Inhumans so much. No doubt Black Bolt will spoil the meal with an off-color comment. That wacky Black Bolt!

8) BLUE BEETLE #18--This is one of DC's best serialized comics that actually has an ongoing story, character development, subplots, and all that other stuff they stole from Marvel (and rightly so). If you're not reading this, then it just might be THE BEST COMIC YOU'RE NOT READING. If you are reading it, then you are my friend.

7) ANNIHILATION CONQUEST STAR LORD #2--Rocket Raccoon in The Dirty Dozen in space. Yes!

6) ASTONISHING X-MEN #22--Am I the only one who regularly reads this title but has only a vague memory of what's going on? I think the X-Men are still in space, right? And Colossus is going to destroy the planet? Or did that already happen? Has it been a while since issue #21? I don't even know anymore. But it's still the best X-Men comic on the stands no matter what.

5) SPIRIT #9--It must be a good week when a Darwyn Cooke comic lands at the number 5 slot. As much as I'll miss Cooke when he leaves this title after issue 12, I'd much rather see him do his own stuff, actually. Will Eisner's ghost is too constraining for an artist of his caliber.

4) SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #33--I like this new direction of the Legion so far, even with my problems with the consistency of Calero's otherwise excellent artwork. I wish Tony Bedard had a year or two on this title to develop his approach fully, but it looks like he's going to be booted in a few months in favor of (probably) Jim Shooter. I am hoping for the best, but not-so-secretly fearing the worst when that happens.

3) THE ORDER #2--This is my impression of Matt Fraction: "I am Matt Fraction. I write comics that are AWESOME. Seriously." And, it's just so true. This comic is going to be great. I can taste it.

2) IMMORTAL IRON FIST #8--This is my impression of Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction, together. "We are Ed and Matt. We write comics that are AWESOME, especially when we write them together, and double especially if they involve kicking and huge kung-fu tournaments." Oh, man, the only reason this comic isn't #1 is because of...

1) BATMAN #668--You may have heard that I think Morrison is pretty good, and I kind of like J.H. Williams III, especially when he's drawing, well, anything. This is going to be a great issue. The Club of Heroes! Death! Mystery! Romance! (Well, probably not Romance) Fanciness! Spectacle! Maybe I'll find a shop while I'm on vacation, read this in the store, put it back on the shelf, and then actually buy it from my local shop when I get home. No, maybe I'll buy two copies and give one to a homeless orphan to cheer him up. I'm sure this comic has the power to heal.