[The Brothers Omega are way late on the FF #587 tip. Apologies.]

I can understand the consternation people feel when fucking offing characters. I get it. I’ve been embittered by it. You kill off Jean Grey. She rises. You kill off Magneto. He’s back. You off Spider-Man. Whatever.

I really get it.

But this storyline felt much different. It didn’t feel driven by an editorial mandate. Maybe it was, but we’ll never know. It didn’t feel that way, and that’s what matters. Hickman didn’t off Johnny Storm on a whim. He was meticulous in building towards this climax.

The great irony is that when the nucleus of the First Family split up and went its separate ways, it was the two Best Friends who had to stem the tide of the actual threat. Saving Nu World turned out to be incredibly easy, and Sue Storm stemmed her problem with a fucking pimp slap.

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[images & words is the comic book pick-of-the-week at OL. equal parts review and diatribe, the post highlights the most memorable/infuriating/entertaining book released that wednesday]

It’s been over a week since the release of Fantastic Four #587. In that time, the comic has inspired a few mild debates here at OL and no doubt countless others across the globe. Hell, maybe even the galaxy! But it’s to be expected, as this issue has long been designated as the comic in which one of Marvel’s First Family would be killed off.

Do superhero deaths ever last? No. Absolutely not. The decision to kill a character is almost always rooted in the hopes of driving up sales. After all, there’s nothing more attention-grabbing than “HEY, KIDS, YOUR FAVORITE HERO IS GOING TO DIE!” Hell, when old Kal-El bit the dust millions of comics were sold and the story hit the news:

Even in the news clip, it’s no secret that Clark Kent would eventually return. And you know what, I’m okay with that. I don’t mind the deaths and resurrections of caped heroes, provided that they are treated appropriately. If it seems like a hollow cash-grab, then count me out. But if it seems like a creator is murdering or reviving a character to tell an affective story, then I say go for it. `Cause the fact of the matter is that although rare, it can be done.

Case in point? Bucky Barnes. Ed Brubaker took a dead sidekick, turned him into a villain, and then made him Captain America’s replacement. And while this might seem like a gimmick, the quality of the comics has always been way above most superhero books. Will Steve Rogers eventually reclaim the shield as his own? Certainly. But the ride we’ve been taken on is damn amazing.

It’s this same sense of enthusiasm that I find flowing through my veins when reading Fantastic Four #587.

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And a good afternoon to you all. Provided, of course, you’re reading this when I post it. This is Variant Covers, the column where I give the rundown on this week’s comic book releases. As all the women who have seen me disrobe have muttered, let’s get this over with.

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King Of The Flies Vol. 2: The Origin Of The World.
Did you miss out on the first volume of King Of The Flies, or am I the only dumb one? While perusing (far superior) columns today on what’s dropping tomorrow, Douglas Wolk  recommended this son of a bitch. Intrigued, I followed the various hypertextual references until I found a preview of the new volume. In short? It’s weird, man. Real weird. Wolk had me at “its look owes rather a lot to Charles Burns’  Black Hole, but it’s also got a sick, surreal vibe of its own.”

Sold.

(And if you haven’t checked out Burns’ latest, X’ed Out, get on it. My favorite graphic novel of last year.)

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Action Comics #897.
Don’t let the cover fool you, Action Comics is some of the most fun I get in my funny books diet today. Quick editorializing: Fuck misleading covers. I understand that some angsty David Finch cover probably grabs the nuts of the average fanboy, but it may also dissuade others. Action Comics is funny, intelligent, and relatively XTREME free. You wouldn’t know it by the cover, though.

This month’s issue has Lex Luthor rolling up into Arkham Asylum and soliciting the help of the Joker. I don’t know where it’s going to go from there, but I’ll find myself rooting for the bastard. A megalomaniacal sociopath on a quest for the Black Lantern energy, penciled by Pete Woods?

Pick it up.

Also In DC:
Detective Comics #837 is dropping, and as I said in my recommendation of #836, the artwork alone may be worth it. It’s Jock, yo!

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