Is It Wednesday Yet?

Here are a few comics worth checking out this week.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #13
Finally! Seems like it's been forever since the last issue. There were a few delays, but most importantly, we've seen three issues of Return of Bruce Wayne since we last checked in with the boys. The Joker's back. Bruce is on his way. Shit hits the fan and you don't want to miss it. Written by Grant Morrison, with art by Frazer Irving.

BATMAN ODYSSEY #1 (OF 6)
Neal Adams is writing and pencilling this potential trainwreck. This will either be brilliant or terrible, or possibly a mix of both (à la All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder), but there can be no in-between. I think I'm going to trade-wait on this one, but I'm really looking forward to the reviews and fan reactions.

BRIGHTEST DAY: THE ATOM SPECIAL #1
I don't really care about the Atom or Brightest Day, but the reason this is on my list is that Jeff Lemire is writing it, and this marks the beginning of his transition into mainstream super-hero comics. I probably won't buy this. But I'll definitely give it a flip-through at the store. Maybe if the art is good enough I'll give it a try. What I'm really holding my breath for is Lemire's Superboy, though. And we haven't even been given a date for that yet.

RED ROBIN #14
The second issue of Fabian Nicieza's run, with the excellent Marcus To providing the art. I'm really enjoying this book.

SECRET SIX #23
I haven't read a single issue of Secret Six, and everyone keeps telling me that I'm missing out on something really fantastic. I just hate to jump in at a random spot, so I think I'm going to continue to hold off. Too many good books this week anyway.

SWEET TOOTH #11
This is going to be epic. This is the conclusion of Jeff Lemire's second arc, and it's gonna be brutal!

TOM STRONG AND THE ROBOTS OF DOOM #2
First issue left me a bit lukewarm as far as the story goes, but Chris Sprouse's art blew my mind. I'm sure the art will be just as brilliant in this issue, so the real question is will the story pick up or not? We'll see.

AVENGERS: CHILDREN'S CRUSADE #1 (OF 9)
I have no idea what this is. I kinda like the title and the fact that it's a limited series. But am I going to spend money on another random Avengers title? Probably not. I'll give it a quick flip-through, though.

HIT-MONKEY #1 (OF 3)
It's got a big monkey on the cover. It's also a mini-series. I don't know.

SHADOWLAND #1 (OF 5)
Marvel's big epic event. Well, the one that doesn't feature vampires anyway. I'm totally clueless when it comes to all this Marvel stuff, but apparently this is a big deal. I'm almost tempted to go along for the ride. Comics Alliance has a very useful post for people exactly in my position, called 10 Things You Need to Know Before Reading Shadowland.

SPIDER-MAN/FANTASTIC FOUR #1 (OF 4)
The only reason I mention this is that I've seen some pages from the creative team's previous X-Men/Spiderman mini-series, and the art was really beautiful. Mario Alberti is the man responsible for that. Google him.

STEVE ROGERS: SUPER-SOLDIER #1 (OF 4)
Another Captain America book written by Ed Brubaker.

THOR AND WARRIORS FOUR #4 (OF 4)
Okay, this is issue 4 and I haven't read the first 3. But I wish I had found out about it sooner, because I hear it's excellent and I saw some pages from it and the art looks really cool. I might check it out if they still have back issues lying around. This is an all-ages title.

X-MEN #1
Something about vampires. I didn't pick up the Death of Dracula last week, and apparently that was a big deal. I don't really care, I guess.

CRITICAL MILLENNIUM #1 (OF 4)
I have no idea what this is. Published by Archaia. It looks kinda cool.

Sorry for the half-assed nature of this post. It's really hot and disgusting here and I can't think straight. I think my computer is melting.