Picks of the Week

 FANTASTIC FOUR #587

You know you've been waiting for this one. Who dies? How will this change the Marvel Universe as you know it?

 NEW YORK FIVE #1 (OF 4)

There's nothing more exciting than college life in the big city. But complications can follow you from dark places - and not just from your boring hometown. In THE NEW YORK FIVE, Riley's sister Angie is making a name in the Lower East Side with her new band, and now Riley is the black sheep of the family. Lona's murky past appears to have been hiding an alarming proficiency for stalkerism, and Merissa and Ren will confront uncomfortable situations involving older men. But who is the "five" in THE NEW YORK FIVE? Find out as Vertigo reunites this cast with its stellar creative team of Brian Wood (DEMO, DMZ, NORTHLANDERS) and Ryan Kelly (LUCIFER, Local) in this standard-sized 4-issue miniseries.

 INFESTATION #1 (OF 2)

It begins here! The first-ever IDW event, which affects the Transformers, G.I. Joe, Ghostbusters, and Star Trek universes! This dimensions-spanning storyline begins with a specially priced 40-page story by Abnett & Lanning (The Thanos Imperative) and David Messina (True Blood). Something goes horribly awry in the Zombies vs Robots universe, threatening to tear many of IDW's biggest realities asunder! Don't miss the IDW event ten years in the making!

 STAR WARS DARTH VADER & LOST COMMAND #1 (OF 5) 

Still haunted by the events in Revenge of the Sith, Darth Vader must set aside his past and put his future on hold for a mission to the mysterious Ghost Nebula to locate-and if possible, rescue-a missing Imperial expeditionary force.

But what seems a perfect opportunity to lose himself in his duty is complicated by two factors: he is paired with a willful yet highly competent co-commander, and the officer they are being sent to locate is the son of Vader's rising nemesis, Moff Tarkin.

 ACTION COMICS #897

The last place Lex Luthor expected his quest for the Black Lantern energy to take him was Arkham Asylum - specifically to the cell of The Joker! What clues about Lex's quest could The Joker have to offer, and why on Earth would Lex trust him? Get ready for a one-of-a-kind confrontation between comics' two greatest villains, as brought to you by the twisted minds of Paul Cornell and Pete Woods!

Shannon's Pick of the Month

Stitches

2010 Eisner nominee!  One day David Small awoke from a supposedly harmless operation to discover that he had been transformed into a virtual mute. A vocal cord removed, he had not been told that he had throat cancer and was expected to die. Readers will be riveted by his journey from speechless victim to his decision to flee his home at sixteen with nothing more than dreams of becoming an artist. Stitches will transform adolescent and adult readers alike with its deeply liberating vision.

I wasn’t sure what to think when I picked up this book, but I was immediately drawn in by the artwork. Thankfully, the story ended up being as good as the art. While I wouldn’t call this a happy story, it does have a generally uplifting ending. It’s a fascinating read for anyone interested in the complexities of familial relationships.

Picks of the Week

 MEMOIR #1 Of (6)

Writer BEN McCOOL (CHOKER) teams up with artist NIKKI COOK (Girl Comics, DMZ) for this six-part tale of mystery and memory loss. Lowesville is a small town in the American Midwest, peaceful and quaint. But one morning the population awakens with no idea of who they are, where they are, or what's happened. The town's memory has been completely erased. All except for one man... He remembers everything.

 WOLVERINE & JUBILEE #1 (OF 4)

STRAIGHT OUT OF THE PAGES OF X-MEN AND RIGHT INTO THE JUGULAR! Jubilee is about as far away from the ideal X-Man as it is possible for a 17-year-old minty fresh vampire to be. While the X-Men try to find a way to give her as normal a life as is inhumanly feasible, her decidedly abnormal vampire cravings will not be denied. Between that and her newfound powers, she's winning the fights but not the popularity contests among most of the other X-Kids. Most...but not all. And just when Jubilee starts to think that there is no place for her anywhere, a group of vampire women make her an offer she can't refuse. It seems like the perfect solution...unless Wolverine has anything to say about it!

 INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #500

GIANT-SIZED ANNIVERSARY ISSUE! Three generations of Starks face their ultimate foe, seventy-some years in the future while, in the present, Spider-Man joins Iron Man as he tries to fill in the blanks of his missing memory. What if amnesia was a weapon? What if the smartest man in the land had ten nightmares that all came true? Who is the son of Tony Stark? What's inside of the rings? The future starts now, for the Marvel Universe's favorite futurist. The Eisner-award-winning series makes a four-hundred-something-issue leap and raises a glass of non-alcoholic champale in salute to Ol' Shell-head! By Matt Fraction (THOR, UNCANNY X-MEN, CASANOVA) and Salvador Larroca (UNCANNY X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR), with special guests Howard X, Y and Z!

Book Club

Don’t forget to join the Laughing Ogre Comic Book Club on Shelfari.com (http://www.shelfari.com/groups/75586/about). The book of the month is Casanova: Luxuria and it’s 20% off at your local Ogre Shop. So stop in, grab a copy and join the discussion.

Rack Pick: Thor the Mighty Avenger

  Since its first issue dropped in late summer 2010, Thor: the Mighty Avenger has gained a relatively small but very vocal following.  It's been a fun ride for this critically acclaimed all-ages miniseries, but all good things must end eventually- the eighth and final issue is on stands this week!

Each issue has featured a self-contained adventure while maintaining the continuing narrative of Odin's banished son as he adjusts to life on Midgard, befriends a woman named Jane, and meets other members of the Marvel Universe.  This installment is no exception: Thor is captured by scientists and teams up with a familiar iron-suited zillionaire to escape.  Writer Roger Langridge has crafted the series as an origin story and a jumping on point; it's light-hearted and accessible to new and younger readers, but entertaining and well-crafted enough to merit a look from those who have perhaps wearied of the endless grim n' gritty atmosphere permeating today's flagship titles.  It's got a really classic feel to it.  Chris Samnee's artwork looks very traditional at first glance, however it's flexible enough for moments of punchy action and silly levity alike, and is perfectly complimented by Matt Wilson's understated coloring.

Like many series cancelled before their time, T:MA ends a little abruptly, but it's a good stopping point.  The first trade is out now and the second is coming soon.  Check this underrated gem out today, and don't fight the inevitable urge to recommend it to your friends- it's an adventure everyone can enjoy!

Picks of the Week

 INFINITE VACATION #1

WELCOME TO THE INFINITE VACATION, WHERE CHANGING YOUR LIFE IS ALWAYS JUST A CLICK AWAY!

Mark lives in a world where alternate realities are up for sale, and buying and trading your way through unlimited variations of yourself is as commonplace as checking your email or updating your status. But when other "hims" start dying suddenly and he meets a mysterious girl who wants nothing to do with "life-changing," he'll learn the truth about the universe he stumbles through, and what happens when your vacation turns on you.

 DAREDEVIL REBORN #1 Of(4)

The apocalyptic events of SHADOWLAND have left the once-proud legacy of Daredevil in tatters. Now, far from the mean streets of Hell's Kitchen, a new evil is rising, and the only man crazy enough to face it is a man with nothing left to lose. The road to Hell was paved with good intentions, but the long road to redemption is the far harder path...

WONDER GIRL #1

Spinning out of the pages of TEEN TITANS comes this spotlight on Cassie Sandsmark, the wonderful Wonder Girl! Even though not every moment of Wonder Girl's life is spent being a Titan, strange adventures still follow her everywhere. In this issue, she'll cross paths with the odd new hero known as Solstice!

Junk: Record of the Last Hero

Hiro is a high school student refusing to go to school after a traumatic run-in with the local bullies.  But his feeble life is forever changed when, one day, he applies online for a new gadget called "JUNK". Once the mysterious package arrives, he activates the gadget and finds himself encased within a powered armor JUNK suit.  Apparently "the clothes DO indeed make the man" as HIro is granted abilities far beyond anything the muscle-bound jocks at his school could ever dream.  Soon after, he embarks on nightly rampages getting back at the bullies and destroying property until he discovers... There is another with a unit nearly identical to his own.  The owner of the other JUNK suit is a woman who's not too keen on Hiro's abuse of his new super-powered threads, and smacks him around real good for it.  To complicate matters even further, he accidentally destroys his home and kills his parents! (oops!) Now, a naive boy must learn to fend for himself and choose to use his power for good or evil.