JUSTIN’S PICK :: REGGIE-12 : Brain Ralph is one of my personal favorites. I regularly point zombie fans in the direction of his criminally under-appreciated book Daybreak, and its narrative’s neat employment of point of view in a post apocalyptic setting. Stylistically, Ralph’s work is bold and organic, with a deceptive and tasteful simplicity. Now he turns his attention to the likes of Tezuka‘s Astro Boy, and the tropes of manga. I expect the subject matter to dovetail nicely with Ralph’s talents, and look forward to this book greatly.

JUSTIN’S PICK :: DIESEL SWEETIES: I’M A ROCKER I ROCK OUT: Being a child of the 80s, 8-bit graphics appeal to my lizard brain. I am quite susceptible to their charms, charms that clearly have antecedents in 50s ad mascots, the work of Ernie Bushmiller, and so on. Richard Stevens’ strip Diesel Sweeties only compounds that appeal with a heavy dose of postmodern irony and self-deprecation. This volume – titled I’m a Rocker I Rock Out – is a best-of sampling of the long-running webcomic. For those of you who think “webcomic” is a dirty word…I count myself among you, but we must bear in mind: print is the final trial. It separates the men from the boys.

JUSTIN’S PICK :: BATMAN BLACK & WHITE #1: In the wake of DC’s massive roll-out of Forever Evil and Villains Month, it might be easy to overlook a black and white anthology, even if it does feature one of the greatest comic book icons of all-time. Batman as a character tends to attract comics’ top talent, and in that interest, DC has revived the Black & White series. Boasting a stunning cover by Marc Silvestri, this issue is a cornucopia of amazing art and writing, from Chip Kidd and Michael Cho‘s wonderful team-up tale to a Harley Quinn/Poison Ivy yarn by dream team Maris Wicks and Joe Quinones. Bat-luminary  Neal Adams flies solo, John Arcudi pairs nicely with Sean Murphy, and Howard Mackie and Chris Samnee round out this outstanding issue with a truly grisly character study of one of the Caped Crusader’s most intriguing villains. In the sound and fury of all these .1 issues, take a little quiet time with this gem, and revel in the art form we all love and appreciate.

JUSTIN’S PICK :: HENRY & GLENN FOREVER & EVER #1: There’s a lot of stuff I’d pick this week: Uncanny Avengers #11, pitting Wolverine against a resurrected and repowered Daken, or Aw Yeah! Comics’ great new Itty Bitty interpretation of Hellboy and company. But despite all that, my pick is Henry & Glenn Forever & Ever #1. The original H+G consisted of one-panel gags by the slick chaps at art collective Igloo Tornado, along with journal snippets and a Satanic Hall and Oates to round out the hilarity. Now the gang’s back together (with some new pals in tow) offering up all-new sequential strips starring the star-crossed couple. See! Glenn’s reaction to the first book! Witness! Henry unleash a dastardly threat from beneath the front yard! But mostly, laugh. And if you haven’t checked out the original book – Henry & Glenn Forever, remember – no coffee table is complete without it!

JUSTIN’S PICK :: THE OUTLIERS #01: Whoever said “You can’t judge a book by its cover” obviously didn’t read comics. The cover has the very important job of grabbing a potential reader’s eye, interest, and imagination. With so many offerings vying for space on the rack, covers require a balance of content and design that can make or break a book’s success. With The Outliers #1, Erik T. Johnson succeeds in crafting an intriguing image, with simple colors, solid composition, and some apparent embossments lurking in the shadows. The lead feature is billed as “A Boy Named Tsu”, a funny little take on the Shel Silverstein poem Johnny Cash famously performed at San Quentin. Between that reference and the cover, I’m sold on this curious artifact.

JUSTIN’S PICK :: SAVAGE DRAGON #190: Periodically, I am honor-bound to pick Savage Dragon, because it is my favorite superhero comic. I think it’s a truly underappreciated and misunderstood book, still mired in a reputation hewn from the abysmally embossed 90s. What most people fail to see is that series perpetrator Erik Larsen is a dedicated craftsman who takes plenty of chances when he could just coast by on the fumes of nostalgia. He consistently pushes himself as a writer and an artist, from the book’s driving real time concept (i.e. the characters age with the rest of the world) to stunts like he’s pulling with issue #190. You can opt for the standard sized issue, but Larsen has also reformatted the book’s contents into a 64 page digest edition, wholly as an exercise in the versatility of print media. This is another example of Larsen’s willingness and ability to take chances, and take full advantage of the potential Image Comics engendered at its outset. If you needed any more persuading, Dragon also battles one of his more vicious baddies, the shark-man Mako, amid a prison full of supercrooks. A must!

JUSTIN’S PICK :: BURN THE ORPHANAGE #1: This is the inaugural issue of a miniseries with the overarching title Born To Lose. Between the titular references to disparate pop songs, and the familiar aesthetics of 90s side-scrollers, this is a book I’ve been looking forward to for some time. Sina Grace’s art is charming and disarming in S. Steven Struble’s Lil Depressed Boy; here Grace is stepping up his game, exhibiting a versatility he only hinted at in last autumn’s underrated Not My Bag. Conceptually, this book sounds like your basic quest for vengeance, but simple plots yield simple pleasures…Burn the Orphanage is tailor-made for trash culturists.

JUSTIN’S PICK :: TOM STRONG AND THE PLANET OF PERIL: It’s been a few years since we’ve been treated to the exploits of the Strong Family, and writer Peter Hogan promises to put them through the wringer. Tesla Strong is with child and in mortal danger, necessitating her father and husband – subterranean royal Val Var Garm – travel across the stars to the alternate world of Terra Obscura! Terra Obscura was one of the more interesting concepts that Alan Moore introduced into his ABC universe, blending the standard “evil twin” archetype and metafiction to fan-favorite results. The stalwart art team of Chris Sprouse and Karl Story assures this book will be a thing of beauty, indeed. Their collaborative efforts always offer clean lines and clear storytelling, cutting through the din and clutter with economic vitality. It’s nice to have the band back together.

JUSTIN’S PICK :: BATMAN ’66 #1: I was gonna start this write-up with a “Holy ______, Batman!” joke, but let’s buck convention and skip it. It seems nowadays, the majority of Batman’s fanbase exhibits a slavish devotion to the “dark”, “realistic”, “grim ‘n gritty” take on the character that Neal Adams initiated, and Frank Miller solidified. It’s often taken for granted just how outlandish and ridiculous the entire premise of Batman is (but I guess when you think critically, that’s any superhero). On the other end of the spectrum, you have the TV show’s garish, Warholian take on everyone’s favorite playboy vigilante, and that interpretation was also pushed to its grossest extremes, unquestionably. But visually, the 60s Batman show was a technicolor wonderland, taking full advantage of the potential of its nascent medium, just as the character had a couple decades earlier in the comics. Does it play on nostalgia? Certainly. Could it go horribly, terribly awry? Of course! Could it be a lot of fun? Well, that depends on your sensibilities. For me, a kid who grew up on reruns and dusty old comics, it’s likely to be right up my alley. The quality talents of Jeff Parker and Jonathan Case don’t hurt the book’s chances, and Mike Allred covers are always a bonus.

JUSTIN’S PICK :: SCIENCE FICTION GN: I’ll admit, I have a certain weakness for offbeat curiosities like this. But the premise sounds interesting, and the art has an early Clowes, Tommaso-esque vibe that is certainly appealing. A high school teacher is inexplicably drawn to some B-grade sci-fi fare, which in turn activates repressed memories concerning an alien abduction in his youth. Whether played as a straight narrative or an exploration of the obsessive loneliness that accompanies modern adulthood, this is a story that has a lot of potential, both good and bad.