Prejudged! 01.26.10

Welcome to another Super-sized edition of Prejudged!, where we judge the books by their cover. This week sees the release of many major titles like Batman and Robin, New Avengers, Green Lantern, Superman: Secret Origin, Detective Comics, Chew, Punisher, and the long awaited last issue of Captain America: Reborn. That’s a lot of ground to cover, so let’s get to it.

Let’s start it off with Captain America: Reborn #6 by Brian Hitch:

SPOILER ALERT! In this issue, Steve Rogers comes back from the dead!!! (wink wink, Marvel) Even though we all saw this coming for months now, you could always approach this the same way you did Revenge of the Sith. Sure, you already knew that Anakin was going to turn into the universe’s most awesome douche, but it’d be nice to know how it all happened.  Looking at the cover (which probably took Hitch years to finish), you can see that this’ll be just like a billion other Avenger stories…. I mean, come on. Really?? The “just-throw-all-the-Avengers-in-there” concept does not a good cover make. You know what EJ would call this? Generic. There. I said it.

Next is the cover to Batman and Robin #7 by Cameron Stewart and Frank Quitely:

This issue promises to offer some clues on the death of Bruce Wayne and also features Morrison favorites, Knight and Squire, along with one of my favorite new characters, Batwoman. This is the beginning of a new story arc where we find Batman across the pond. I’ve always thought that Batman was a perfect fit in England. Like a cosplaying Sherlock Holmes. Also, people can finally stop whining about Philip Tan’s art (myself included), since we  are now graced with the stylings of Mr. Cameron Stewart. The title has been on a bit of a slump since its explosive first three issues. Hopefully, this story arc can bring back that same momentum.

Now we have the cover to Irredeemable #10 by Peter Krause:

It’s hard for me to tell how far Mark Waid can take this “Superman Gone Wrong” story, but I guarantee I’ll be along for the ride, ever step of the way. Irredeemable, of course, is the “Superman Story DC Wouldn’t Let Mark Waid Write in DC”, and reading the book, you could probably see how this really was intended to be told in the DC Universe. Most of the characters in Irredeemable have their DC Universe counterparts, and it’s always fun to play “what if”. One thing though; I’ve kind of developed some kind of sympathy for the Plutonian. Not the “him throwing a tantrum” part. The whole “him being underappreciated, hence him throwing a tantrum” part. Is that weird?

Here, we have the cover to New Avengers #61 by Stuart Immonen:

This is a really badass cover. You know, THIS is why we have Steve Rogers back. So, he can pull off an Uncle Sam point and say “I WANT YOU…. to buy this comic book”. Who could say no? Well, Jihadists for one, but that’s beside the point. This is the kind of comic book cover that gets me excited to pick it up. It just demands attention. But also, if you try and focus on the image, specifically into Captain America’s eyes, he doesn’t seem to be looking directly at you. I wonder if I caught something “No-Prize” worthy there.

Up next, the cover to Superman: Secret Origin #4 by Gary Frank:

Geoff Johns seems to be DC’s authority on continuity, from rebirths to reboots, they let him do it all. And I believe that the DC Universe is better for it. He not only made Hal Jordan and the entire Green Lantern Corps relevant, but is now setting the stage for what I think will be the biggest rebirth/reboot/retcon in the history of comic books through Blackest Night. Superman: Secret Origin, on the other hand, is nestled in its own time, unaffected by the zombie infestation of present continuity. Although, this isn’t as much about another retelling of the origin of Superman as it is about setting the record straight about Big Blue’s beginnings. Plainly put, this’ll be the definitive Superman origin story. For now.

And finally:

I’m on board. I don’t care if it’s bad.

There you have it. Your weekly dose of Prejudged! comic books. Join me again next week. Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.