THE TWELVE DAYS OF COMIC CHRISTMAS

You know, I would have liked that a lot more if whoever made it had stuck to superheroes. But beggars can’t be choosers when lazily reposting the hard work of others. Besides, the only reason it’s here is Batroc the Leaper. Nice touch. So, another Wednesday is upon us. Time to hose off and head out into the world, you nerd. Climb out from under that pile of pizza boxes and Prima strategy guides, re-wrap your thinning ponytail, and get on down to the comic shop. I’ll see you there, with the following books under my arm.

Final Crisis #5: Having read a bunch of Batman and Big Blue recently, I’m happy to say that the DC Universe and I are on speaking terms again. So I’m definitely looking forward to the new issue of Grant Morrison’s Final Crisis. While the scope of this story has, at times, made it hard to follow for the DC newbie, Morrison’s body of work would suggest that he always has a plan in the end. I bet it’ll be real good. By the way, his ongoing Batman run is great (although I’m only through the first two trades so far, so don’t anyone spoil Batman R.I.P. for me).

Action Comics #872: So, has YOUR comic had 872 issues? Didn’t think so. This is New Krypton part 7, and the installment of that series showed the dark side of the Kryptonian “occupation”…the idea of a whole city of Supermans suddenly appearing in Metropolis has kept up my interest so far, even through the rough patches. A god concept all around. And the cover of this new issue looks awesome.

Secret Six #4: This is one of the most consistently fun books in the current DC line-up, and Gail Simone’s handle on these characters is steady as ever. A great writer, it seems, can make even the lowest rungs on the totem pole into leading lights, and she’s certainly done it with this team. Really, it’s all about Catman, but the others are cool, too. Mainly, Secret Six is a good time, and isn’t that why we all started reading these things in the first place?

Punisher War Zone #1: Well, it’s been a bunch of years now since Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon made the Punisher respectable again with their seminal “Welcome Back, Frank” arc. And, with this relaunch of War Zone, they’re back at it again. A sequel to the original story, “The Return of Ma Gnucci” promises to be a real romp (does anyone say shit like that except in comic reviews?)…I can’t wait.

Secret Invasion: Dark Reign #1: Well, the Invasion is over, but it l;ooks like the fun’s just begun. Just look at that cover. Doom, Loki, Namor, the Hood…Emma Frost? Uh-oh, girl, you really shouldn’t be there. This doesn’t bode well for the X-Men at all. At all….

House of Mystery #8: I guess I keep getting this out of respect for its creator, Bill Willingham (Fables). Because, truthfully, the device of including a second short story in each issue slows the main plot to such a stuttering crawl that I no longer really care about the characters (although I WANT to care…I don’t hate them or anything). So maybe this will be the week I give up on it, but maybe not. We’ll see, eh?

OK, chumps. My time here is up. Gotta get motivated and make this cake to live. Or something like that. I’ll see you next week. Until then…

Keep it bagged and boarded,

Grip