This Week in Comics: Late Edition

Solo records are funny things. Some of them show you an artist stripped of her band as she explores her interests. Often the extreme happens, where, free of his band, the artist releases an entire album of self-indulgent wanking set to music. People hated Lou Reed’s first self-titled album, a collection of unused Velvet Underground songs he tried to re-appropriate. Transformer, however, is a classic with songs like “Walk on the Wild Side” and “New York Telephone Conversation.” Julian Casablancas of The Strokes, who sounds a bit like Lou Reed, released a solo record whose first three tracks are brilliant but the rest of it is kind of not-so-good. Does that mean Casablancas follow-up might be his Transformer? Will anyone care by then?

To tie this into comics — which I totally don’t have to do if I don’t want to — the comic book equivalent of the solo record would most be the artist writing and drawing his own work. All my favorite artists — a.k.a. the ones I mention in this column every week — do work of their own in addition to drawing other people’s scripts. They do it a lot in manga, too. Frank Miller didn’t become Frank Miller until he went solo on Daredevil after drawing a couple scripts of someone else’s.

These are the things that interest me.

So welcome to This Week in Comics, where every day is a comic book and only some of them are solo records.

MONDAY

First Issues

Green Hornet #1

(Kevin Smith/Phil Hester/Jonathan Lau)

Dynamite Entertainment

We may be at the point where Kevin Smith’s comic books are better than his movies if Cop Out is any indication (pray that it’s just a fluke of awfulness). Most surprising is that his comics come out on time which, as you might remember, used to be a problem a few years ago.

As I understand it, Green Hornet is Kevin Smith’s original Green Hornet screenplay in comic book form, which both intrigues and horrifies me — intrigues because I’d like to see Smith’s original vision for the film that Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Michel Gondry will surely do much better; terrifies because, well, it’s a Kevin Smith action movie and he’s not good when it comes to action.

Maybe he should take a hint from the comics and hire someone to handle the visual element of his movies while he directs the actors. Sometimes Simon needs his Garfunkel. Or, more accurately, Garfunkel needs his Simon.

TUESDAY

New Manga Day

Cactus’s Secret Volume 1

(Nana Haruta)

Viz Media

Cactus’s Secret is a manga I chose for this week’s column based on name alone. I like cactuses, especially the anthropomorphic kind. Remember Cactuar from Final Fantasy? Amingo from Marvel vs. Capcom 2? Anyway, it’s not clear if there are any cactuses in Cactus’s Secret aside from figurative ones. It’s apparently about a girl whose love interest is too dim to realize she’s after him. It’s a fairly common trope of manga, I’ve realized.

WEDNESDAY

Mainstream Superhero Stuff

First Wave #1 (of 6)

(Brian Azzarello/Rags Morales)

DC Comics

Even though it was a pretty standard superhero team-up story, I dug the Batman/Doc Savage one-shot that introduced this pulp/noir-style DC Universe where nobody really has superpowers and Batman, The Spirit, The Shadow and Doc Savage all hang out. I can dig First Wave provided Brian Azzarello makes it fun and not, I dunno, Identity Crisis (sorry, Rags).

THURSDAY

Not Quite Friday, but Still Exciting

Invincible Iron Man #24

(Matt Fraction/Salvador Larroca)

Marvel Comics

Have I made it obvious that I love Invincible Iron Man? Superhero comics wish they were as smart, exciting and cool as Invincible Iron Man. People wish Invincible Iron Man was a person so it could sweep us off our feet and into bed — all while wearing sunglasses.

Issue #24 concludes the wonderful “Stark: Disassembled” story arc, wherein Tony Stark is in a persistent vegetative state and his friends try to resurrect him while Norman Osborn and other baddies want to put a stop to that. Matt Fraction’s stories thus far have all been about subjecting Tony Stark to the biggest, most insurmountable odds — which is how superhero comics should be.

FRIDAY

TGIF(orgetless)

Forgetless #3 (of 5)

(Nick Spencer)

Image Comics

I’m very cool, and here’s how I know: first, I’ve already read Forgetless #3. Secondly, I know Forgetless is awesome. It’s super-cool, has fantastic art and takes place at a dance club. It’s got models-turned-assassins and teenagers just looking to party.

SATURDAY

Essential Reading

Planetary Volume 4 Hardcover

(Warren Ellis/John Cassaday)

Wildstorm/DC Comics

The final volume of Warren Ellis’ survey of 20^th century pop culture. I only discovered Planetary last year after years of hearing how brilliant was, and was FLOORED — a popular superhero(ish) comic where the characters are archeologists? Where every issue comments on a different aspect of genre fiction — especially comics? Planetary is great stuff, and I can’t wait for the softcover edition of this. It’s not a grueling wait, considering how long it took for this to conclude.

SUNDAY

Last Issues

Crossed #9 (of 9)

(Garth Ennis)

Avatar Press

Crossed, one of Garth Ennis’ meanest comics in years, is ending. The book is Ennis’ take on the zombie genre where the infected are hyperviolent and say very nasty things to the survivors. I suppose it’s a bit like The Crazies, a movie which I have never seen but, hey, now there’s a remake.

If Crossed #9 doesn’t make you cry from sheer insensitivity, I’ll let you eat my hat.