Variant Covers: Scalp The Alien, Sell Their Soul!
Close the door and turn out the light. If you use your mind’s eye, you’ll see an infinitely tendriled machination coming your way. Don’t even sweat that, okay? It’s my mind-parts worming their way into your synaptic cores. They’ll be done soon, and when they’re gone, you’ll have the latest edition of Variant Covers in your mushy grey matter. The column that blathers on, and on, and on in verbose unedited prose about the comic books I’m interested in this week.
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Action Comics #898.
Are you still being an asshole, or are you reading this comic book yet? This title is the thunder. The culmination of a talented writer, a gorgeous penciler, and the desire to tell a hilarious, absurd storyline. In the past few months, Luthor has shot the shit with Death, gotten into a philosophical debate with the Joker, and beaten some serious ass. It’s a hodgepodge of wit sexy panels. I dismissed it at first because I’m a dismissive douchebag who thought that sticking Luthor in his own titles just didn’t make sense. Was a money grab. All of that has been thrown to the wind, cast aside like autumn leaves. This week Luthor is going to run into Larfleeze, and I imagine the alien avarice motherfucker and him are going to engage in yet another bizarre encounter. Cornell just wants to trot Luthor into the path of one prominent DC character after the next. I’m down with that.
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Shit I Should Be Reading: Scalped #46, Morning Glories #7.
There’s a good amount of comic books currently running that I’m not up to date with. Call it a function of having to read floaty bullshit about paratexts in the influence of meaning on a copy of DeFoe’s Robinson Crusoe. I’m not frontin’, I’m awash in that gunk. So time is limited. Whenever the schooling gods smile upon me, I hope to begin to read Scalped. Everything I’ve heard about it informs me that a) it’s fucking awesome and b) that I’m a choad-stuffed choad for having not gotten around to it yet.
Then there’s Morning Glories. I’ve heard almost exclusively awesome things about the title, save for the inestimably rageful description of it as “LOST” meets Zac Efron’s dance moves. Sir Rager is probably correct, but it didn’t stop me from whoring out $10 for the first trade last week. It sits amongst a bunch of other trades, waiting for me to crack their spine and eat their souls.
But for those in the what, Morning Glories #7 comes out this week. For many I assume it gets their glands flowing with blood and vigor.
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Animated All-Star Superman.
I know you’re asking, what the fuck is an animated movie doing in a comic book column. Well, I’ll tell you, inquiring lads and lasses. It’s a scientific fact that All-Star Superman is the greatest Superman of the last forever. And while I haven’t been able to personally confirm it, a good amount of websites are commenting that the transition from panel and text to celluloid has gone flawlessly. This is the story that a thousand Morrison bonerbots (hi!) splooged over, only animated.
I didn’t pay attention to the first three-thousand glowing articles about it, but eventually it overwhelmed me. My forcefield eroded, I was helpless to its allure.
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Fantastic Four #588.
Listen. Listen well. This “final” issue of Fantastic Four is not going to be the last. Just like Johnny Storm is going to reach up out of the miasma and shuffle on his mortal coil. But within the internal logic of Jonathan Hickman’s Fantasi-Verse, this issue is going to be the hotness. The Brash One’s death shook me to timbers, despite both knowing that he was the one to die ahead of time, and being cynical enough to know that he’ll eventually return. Well written words are well written words, and I accept the cyclical nature of characters’ lives in comic books.
This issue has the Marvel Universe reacting to the bad ass demise of Storm as he took on a billion insectoid pukes in his final stand. If you’re a betting person, you’ll be safe throwing down some cash on me being a blubbering mess during this issue. I feel things big, or so my therapist says.
After this issue it’s time for the Future Foundation, and I can’t wait to see what tomorrow holds.
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Around The Horn:
The second issue of Who Is Jake Ellis comes out this week, which continues the Fight Club-esque noir action thriller descriptive phrase title. There’s a plethora of Marvel titles dropping, the extent of which I’ll downplay because I’m a Marvel fandouche. Let’s just say I’m excited for Captain America #615 and also Iron Man #501.
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What are you peoples buying? Hit me.