As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I’ve bifurcated my usual discussion of spandex and superpowers into a two-day extravaganza this week.  Please, drop me some comments.  My blog isn’t taken seriously by the comic book blogworld, and I’d like to change that!  I know I’m usually about tunes and funny pictures, but who says a blog can’t have many focuses?  Isn’t that what tags are for?  Read on, and please encourage me . . .

1.  BATMAN: ODYSSEY. The top print news has to be about Batman: Odyssey, because D.C. released preliminary sketches, and the cover, for (the best Batman artist ever) Neal Adams’ return to the character.  I think the story will be outside of regular continuity—so it’ll be Bruce as Bats—and will feature some classic enemies as well as some new foes.  You all know I don’t read a lot of D.C. books, but this is one I’m definitely going to get . . .

2.  TRADES.  . . . But I’ll be getting it in Trade form.  More and more, I’m finding single issues too costly, too hard to store, and too hard to share.  I’ve kept up on Siege in individual issues thanks to my good buddy Chris (who used to write for me but now only shares his talents here), but the new Avengers titles will have to be a wait-for-6-months deal for me.  I just like the trades better.  Plus, by then Marvel will have figured out all the screw ups it has been making over continuity, and I’ll be able to tell better which of the 9 zillion new Avengers books are really worth my money and time.  For more on the Avengers, watch this blog.  Soon.

3.  X-MEN #1. Marvel is doing some kind of X-Men “relaunch” dealie in July.  It is written by Victor Gischler and Paco Medina, who have done solid work on the Deadpool titles.  I love Matt Fraction, but I haven’t read an X-book in years (other than Jason Aaron’s Wolverine: Weapon X title).  The continuity and tremendous cast of characters is just too hard to jump into.  I guess the idea of the #1 is to try to make a new starting place for readers, but I doubt it’ll be accessible.  I guess Marvel is just sad that they killed Nightcrawler and nobody notices.

4.  BEST PUNISHERS. In the always enjoyable “Comics Should Be Good” column, they’ve compiled a list of the best Punisher stories.  Nearly all are Garth Ennis, naturally.  Even people who don’t like comics ought to check out his Punisher stuff.  It’s rough, gritty, and powerful.  And speaking of Big Pun: Punisher’s “monster” story (Frankencastle) went on too long, but it was cool for a hot minute.  I’m wishing they’d use that restorative “gem” from that storyline to bring him back to human form—maybe young him up in the process (dude is like 50-something now)—and get on with real Punisher business.  I’m really hoping they do that before he goes to war with Daken, who cut him to pieces during Dark Reign and therefore was directly responsible for FrankenCastle in the first place.  But I know they won’t.  In the meantime, one of the greatest Punisher artists from Garth Ennis’s groundbreaking Punisher MAX title, is returning to the character again.  With writer Jonathan Maberry, Goran Parlov will bring us a four-issue miniseries: “Marvel Universe Versus the Punisher.” It will be an alternate-reality type story, being under the Marvel Knights banner and taking place in the future (or “a” future), so anything goes.  And by “anything” I mean Spider-Man, Hulk, the FF, Thor, Cap, Daredevil, and, of course, Deadpool (who never sits anything out).  Can’t wait.

5.  D.C.ERS! Marvel Comics’ recent “Marvels” series, written by retcon expert Ed Brubaker, was a pretty good (and occasionally great) reimagining of the formation of the Marvel Universe, in the context of World War 2 and the “race for the superhuman.”   Never ones to miss out on copying Ed Brubaker (compare “Batman R.I.P.” to “The Death (and return) of Captain America”), D.C. has hired one of its best long-standing writers, Len Wein (he created Swamp Thing—and Wolverine for Marvel), to retell the history of the D.C. Universe.  It will be a 10-issue series told via a framing sequence with art by Scott Kolins and flashbacks of origins by a veritable “who’s who” of classic D.C., such as the Kuberts, Dave Gibbons, Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, George Perez, Walt Simonson, and others.  Stories will feature the esoteric (Crimson Avenger, DC’s “first” superhero); B-listers (Shining Knight, Adam Strange); and golden-age majors (Dr. Fate, Spectre).  I can’t say I’m super-excited about this—I’m only a casual DC fan—but the talent attached to it makes it a likely “must buy” in trade.

6.  For my review of Kirkman/MacFarlane’s Haunt book , go here.

7.  IMPOSSIBLE MAN RETURNS. Fantastic 4 #580 will feature The Impossible Man.  Despite the great reviews Jonathan Hickman has received, I haven’t read that book in years.  I gave Mark Millar’s run a try and found it as dull as all the other FF runs I’ve read (other than John Byrne’s, of course).  But if Impy is back, I may actually have to pick it up . . .

8.  DEADPOOL. Last, but not least, there’s another Deadpool book (“Wade Wilson’s War”) coming out.  This one is by Duane Swierczynski and Jason Pearson, and will tell his origin.  But don’t mix it up with July’s “X-Men Origins: Deadpool” one-shot.  Sigh.

Tags: Deadpool, Filthy Muties, Garth Freakin Ennis, Punisher, The Caped Crusader