We dropped the ball on last week, folks, so hopefully, your hearts went on without the Book of Doom. But we’re back! This week’s pick is The Unwritten #1, courtesy of Mike Carey, who was nice enough to do an interview with me about the book a bit back.

So the rundown?

Everyone’s read the Tommy Taylor books, the popular series of novels turned pop culture phenomenon about a boy wizard’s adventures. And everyone knows about Tom Taylor, the boy the novels were based on, whose life was so overshadowed by his Dad’s fictional epic that Tom’s become a lame Z-level celebrity at best and a human viral marketing tool at worst.

But what if the resemblance goes even deeper? What if Tom is the boy-wizard of the books made flesh? And if that sounds crazy, why is it bringing him into the crosshairs of an ancient faction that has never been named in any book or text?

To discover the truth about himself, Tom must search through all the places in history where fiction and reality have intersected. And in the process, he’ll learn more about that unwritten cabal and the plot they’re at the center of –– a plot that spans all of literature from the first clay tablets to the gothic castles where Frankenstein was conceived to the self-adjusting stories of the internet.

Can’t argue with that, right? To participate, email me at doominator_at_doomkopf.com.

One of my earliest thoughts when reading this story, most of which is a conversation between Hal Jordan and Barry Allen near Batman’s grave, was “I can’t believe this was written by the same guy who wrote Flash: Rebirth #1. I actually - no lie - flipped back to the cover to double-check that this was Geoff Johns, but more because Flash: Rebirth #1 was so bad and this felt so much like Johns at his best. He packs so much power into so few words when he needs to, like “It’s not my fault hiding in the shadows is your only ’super power’” and “…If there’s an escape [from death], you can bet Batman’s already planning it.” Then there was that fantastic bit of dialogue in which Hal reveals the new Robin to Barry:

HAL: “…And Robin’s insisting that Bruce isn’t really gone.”
BARRY: “He’s holding onto hope. That’s what Dick always gave Batman.”
HAL: “I meant Tim Drake, Barry. You haven’t met him yet. He’s the current Robin.”
BARRY: “Right. Tim Drake. I like him already.”

I mean how sweet is that? Barry learns a little about the new Robin, but the readers learn a ton about Barry, and count me among the readers who needed to learn about Barry, particularly after not liking him much post-Flash: Rebirth #1. But what is so cool about this is that these two guys who have returned from the dead are having the luxury of reminiscing on their deaths as part of a conversation, all the while the threat of the Black Lanterns is looming overhead.
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I’m going a little unconventional this week and picking a book that doesn’t officially come out until Saturday for FREE COMIC BOOK DAY. So you’re all free to choose whatever you want at the shop tomorrow — just be sure to visit your local comic store on Saturday and grab the Book of Doom. Because of the later release, get your reviews in by Saturday night to be included in the roundtable, which we’ll post Sunday.

by Geoff Johns (W) and Ivan Reis (A)

This May, DC Comics will debut its first-ever all-new title for Free Comic Book Day: BLACKEST NIGHT #0, the prelude to “Blackest Night,” the biggest comics event of 2009! Featuring a story by writer Geoff Johns, BLACKEST NIGHT #0 is illustrated by top art teams Ivan Reis & Oclair Albert and Doug Mahnke & Christian Alamy. The issue also features an introductory text page by Johns that sets the stage for new readers and a cover by Ivan Reis. The issue includes a lead story that leads directly into BLACKEST NIGHT #1, as well as a special guide to the various Corps that have recently emerged as forces in the world of GREEN LANTERN.

When DC was getting ready to relaunch their continuity after Crisis on Infinite Earths, they needed a good farewell to the then-fiftyish years of Superman stories. Thus, we were given Alan Moore’s “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?,” a nostalgic trek down the menagerie of Kryptonian heroes, allies and villains. By the end of the story, Superman found one final task and then disappeared.

Neil Gaiman has given us a follow up of sorts with “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?” With Bruce Wayne gone, we need a farewell to seventy years of Batman stories. Part one gave us the funeral and a disembodied Bruce Wayne wondering how and why he’s watching his own funeral. Part two gave us the answers.

How do we address a long, convoluted history with twists and turns and do-overs and forgotten characters across a few universes? How do we know what did and what didn’t happen?

Simple. We just don’t dwell on it. It all happened and it was all the story of Batman, the idea. When Batman dies, his ultimate fate is that he stays Batman. It’s immutable. A dead Batman is still Batman. And why is Batman watching his own funeral with a calvicade of familiar faces? His brain is in its dying moments.

Like its sort-of predecessor, this is more mythology than continuity. To say goodbye, we have to know what we’re leaving behind. Through each vignette from the friends-or-foes gallery, we have that much more Batman to remember - for anyone who’s picked up the book at any point in its history.

Neil Gaiman did here what he does best - take mythology and find a new way to present it. And the more I think on it, the more I enjoyed this book.

Now, turning it over to Jim Doom: (more…)

Of any Batdeath / Captain Batcaveman related books, this is seemingly the best. It’s part two in Neil Gaiman’s arc “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?” This book is sure to be as memorable as Alan Moore’s “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” where Superman made his pre-Crisis exit.

“Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?” part 2 of 2! This second part of Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert’s special collaboration is sure to be a BATMAN story for the ages. This extraordinary tale, told as only Gaiman and Kubert can, explores the intricate relationships between Bruce Wayne and his friends and adversaries and builds toward an exciting and unexpected climax. It’s a classic in the making

Jim Doom loved part one, so hopefully it lives up to our expectations. If you want to participate, email doomkopf@doomkopf.com.

The thing I’ve always liked most about Wolverine is that he’s a character who, for all intents and purposes, is indestructible, but unlike, say, Superman, he’s able to feel pain. That’s one thing that Marvel’s always been pretty good at - - making their characters relatable to the reader. By tempering Wolverine’s healing factor power with his very humanistic feelings of pain and agony, a new side to him develops and makes it so that the reader can sympathize with him more than they can the Man of Steel (sorry to pick on Supes, but he’s a pretty boring character sometimes).

Unfortunately, this one-shot book with three separate stories kind of ruins that entire concept. Wolverine is brutally shot, again and again, in places like his eyeballs or his neck or his mouth or, hell, right straight through his heart, but he never shows pain or acts as if he’s in any sort of harm (except for during this three-page prose section that pops up midway through the issue that is just ridiculously stupid and a waste of time and space).

What I’m saying is that it turns Wolverine into a Superman that bleeds, and it takes away all of the tension from the story. For example, there’s one little section that has Wolvie being targeted by a HYDRA sniper who repeatedly delivers headshots to the ol’ Canuckle-head, but it never feels like the outcome of the bout is in question. I know that, to a certain extent, we all know the outcome of every comic (the Day Evil Won is invariably followed the next day by the Day Good Came Back and Eventually Beat Evil), but, in this case, the excessive use of gore and violence just took me out of the story and made me feel like there wasn’t much point in my continued reading of it.

Plus, to further tank it, there are quite a few ridiculous lines of dialogue that, again, took me out of the story and/or made me groan. Telling a pack of wild monkeys to, “pack their bananas” is one such example. But that feels like a nitpick, comparatively. I just didn’t care for this thing, at all.

Fortunately, we had one other taker this week, as good ol’ Doominator took a look and has agreed to offer up his own thoughts on the issue. Here we go:

Doominator: (more…)

“Herman, how could you? We’ve all thought about counterfeiting jeans at one time or another, but what about the victims? Hard-working designers like Calvin Klein, Gloria Vanderbilt, or Antoine Bugle Boy. These are the people who saw an overcrowded marketplace and said, ‘Me too!’”
- Homer Simpson, “The Springfield Connection”

While the analogy doesn’t fit perfectly, it still makes me laugh. Wolverine seems to be in every single Marvel comic book these days, and, yet, here we are, ready for a new ongoing series about even more of his exploits. I’m hoping this is decent, but it’s starting to get a little tired at this point. But, hey, at least it doesn’t have any ads, so it might be worth checking out. Here’s what Marvel says about it:

WRITER: JOSHUA FIALKOV, CHRISTOPHER YOST, ROBIN FURTH, TED MCKEEVER
PENCILS: PACO DIAZ LUQUE, NELSON, TED MCKEEVER

THE STORY:
The Marvel Magazine that never was—three ALL-NEW, ALL-ACTION Wolverine tales, all in fantastic BLACK AND WHITE! Josh Fialkov (ELK’S RUN) and the fantastic gray wash art of Paco Diaz Luque pit Wolverine against South Pacific pirates…and worse. Plus, X-FORCE writer Christopher Yost introduces a sniper with a secret—and a canuckle-head to kill! Finally, comics legend Ted McKeever (METROPOL, EDDIE CURRENT) tells a third island adventure. Plus even more! It’s non-stop Logan—too hot for color to handle—and NO ADS!

I would not be surprised if I’m flying solo on this one.

While one of the goals of the Book of Doom is to try something new, or at least choose a good hopping-on point, I may have picked something a little too out-there for my Doomkopf peers. I’m hoping not, but I’m obviously insecure in the choice, do I’m doing my damage control in advance.

I don’t know anything about The Warlord, but I do know that I don’t read anything like this, and it’s only $2.99. Wolverine: Weapon X #1 is $3.99, and the only other new arc I knew of was in Green Lantern, but I feel like we’ve gone to that well too many times. So Warlord it is. If you’re feeling adventurous, and maybe that’s kind of a Warlord pun — I really don’t know, pick up the book, send your review to doomkopf at doomkopf dot com and join us back here on Saturday for the roundtable.

Written by Mike Grell; Art by Joe Prado and Walden Wong; Cover by Mike Grell

At the Roof of the World in Tibet, a team of paleontologists and adventurers has made the find of the century: perfectly preserved dinosaur specimens that appear to have died mere days before! Their expedition takes a deadly turn when they uncover an impossible portal to another world – an unbelievable country at the hollow center of the Earth, the mythical land of Skartaris! But they’re not the first surface-worlders to find themselves stranded in Skartaris, and their arrival in his peaceful home triggers an unforgettable new adventure for the hero who has taken the land as his own: Travis Morgan, the Warlord!

This new ongoing series marks the return of creator Mike Grell to the fantasy saga that made him famous! Reunite with Tara, Shakira, Tinder and the rest of the cast in a story that continues the adventures of the Warlord but opens up a new era where any reader can jump aboard.

Along with Grell’s scripts – and lushly painted covers – comes the art of rising star Joe Prado (ACTION COMICS, SINESTRO CORPS SECRET FILES)! DC’s finest fantasy franchise is reborn!

The thing about Nick Fury is that he always works better when he’s lurking around in the background. The trouble with that, however, is that it makes him an incredibly compelling character; one that you would like to see more of.

Fury is a character that’s built to fill in holes, smooth over rough patches, and advance the plot. He has access to a super-intelligent network that can pretty much figure out anything and everything (except, of course, that which the protagonist seeks). He is the hero’s best friend. He has all the right answers, and he always knows what to do next. So Fury is a real badass who’s handy in a pinch.

Unfortunately, that’s about the only time he’s handy. The rest of the time, he’s apparently caught up in the drama of playing father-figure to the amateurs around him, and slogging through failed relationships. That’s the kind of stuff we don’t want to see Fury involved with. When something goes wrong, he says “I’m on it,” disappears, and gets to work getting his hands dirty. He doesn’t get told off by children and the go somewhere to sulk; it’s just not becoming of this jack-of-all-trades.

Even if the writing were better, Fury’s “solo” adventures would still lose that trademark Fury appeal, because suddenly he’s yanked out of the shadows and, in the light, his flaws are exposed. He can’t afford to have his flaws exposed.

I didn’t read the first two issues of the series, so I don’t know why he’s herding children around, and I don’t know who ex-flame Contessa is, and in the end, I don’t want to know. This all despite the fact that I picked the series up because, yes, I did want to know.

That’s just the thing about Nick Fury.

Doominator chimes in: (more…)

I’m responsible for the Book of Doom this week, and as all three of my regular titles came out last week, I’ll be venturing into somewhat new territory, here. While I was really curious about the comics adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, and while Doominator tried to vicariously spite my fellow Doomers and having me choose the Franklin Richards April Fools issue, I ended up choosing a Nick Fury book, Secret Warriors #3. It’s not necessarily a good jumping-on point, but it’s the closest thing to something interesting to me.

The solicit sounds promising:

The most talked-about new Marvel series continues as HYDRA’s plans pick up speed while more remnants of S.H.I.E.L.D. fall. Nick Fury reconnects with an old colleague and finds out that the balance has shifted between him and some of his former soldiers. All that, and the Warriors suffer their first casualty of war.
Rated T+ …$2.99

Join me this weekend, won’t you?