Marvel’s announced the cancellation of Thor: The Mighty Avenger. And I have to say without any irony that this significantly bums me out.

Thor: The Mighty Avenger stole this site’s heart from the moment it was released. A lighthearted, beautiful rendition of the god of thunder and his experiences in good ole Asgard caught me off guard. Thor usually broods, Thor usually swings his hammer and pouts about Odin dismissing him from his realm. This was different. This was fun and sweet and it had heart. I was smitten. My brother was smitten.

The issues were self-contained romps that complimented each other in growing towards something greater.   While sites have reported that the title will get a satisfying conclusion in January, I can only wonder what they were building towards, had they been given time. I lamented last week about the deluge of Thor titles hitting the market. Something had to give. Unfortunately, it is my favorite Thor title on the market getting the axe. Maybe it was too kind, too witty, too innocent. Even with forthcoming titles getting nixed, Deadpool has ninety-three titles. Logan as a zillion. Skint and bawdy humor and et cetera, and et cetera.

Again, sadness.

I have to tip my cap to Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee. They sold me on a title in three or four pages of the initial run, and two creators who I had never heard of before became instant favorites. Crisp dialogue, tight scripts, gorgeous, ephermeal artwork. It all came together! Ah well, motherfucker. Nothing gold can last, right? Kudos to the two of you, for proving that there’s room for wonder amongst the smoldering and brooding in the Marvel universe.

If you haven’t checked out TMA yet, get the fuck on it. Your negligent ass killed it. The least you can do is enjoy the entire run, which, consider its only eight issues, is not only brilliant, but cost efficient.

And a thousand thunders uttered, welcome to Variant Covers! Your hostel, your refuge from intelligent comic book talk. No sir, here at Variant Covers I pledge to inundate your unsuspecting brainstem with talk of superheroes, superpowers, and super fanboy-boners over things that are exciting me this current week in comic books. Don’t say I didn’t never warn you, ya’lll!

This week is chock full of fucking righteous comic book dalliances awaiting all of my kindred spirits. The sort of week that makes up for every installment of my blathering here which sounds like “Oh golly gee whiz, ain’t nothing droppin’ whine whine whine blah blah.”

Buckle up, I got a chubby for panels and pencils and dialogue boxes this week.

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Casanova #1
If you spend any amount of time loitering within the halls of Variant Covers, you know that one of my most revered writers is Matt Fraction. I think his ability to manipulate serious political issues within the realms of robot suits and billionaire playboys is amazing. In my more fanboyish moments, I am certain he’s doing something special with Tony Stark during a period in which the character’s popularity is unfathomably enormous. Pick up Invincible Iron Man, and you’re getting all the big budget theatrics of the movies interfacing with all the sort of culturally aware political commentary that you wouldn’t expect.

This week, Fraction’s getting his original work, Casanova, reprinted through Marvel’s Icon line. If you didn’t check out Casanova, you’re not alone. Penned back in 2006, it was where Fraction cut his teeth, and was to my understanding, not widely printed. I also understand nothing, so I could be completely incorrect. Whatever! Fraction takes you on a journey with intergalactic superspy Casanova Quinn, and it is absolutely insane. I’ve gotten to read the first couple of issues, and it really rocks out like nothing in Fraction’s Marvel catalog.

The series is getting reprinted in two four-issue arcs and in full color for the first time, and then Fraction is going to tackle the third volume of the series. I’m looking forward to it; it’ll be intriguing to see embryonic Fraction, fumbling through his first moments in comic book crafting. It’s a bit gushy, but the guy is extremely well-spoken, and beyond talented, and this is going to dominate my reading tomorrow.

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Batman: Odyssey #1
This week, we be getting the first issue of Neal Adam’s extravaganza. Adams has been instrumental in crafting the god damn Batman that we’ve come to know and love. His work in the 1970’s, were the “eggs [he] laid all those years ago” that have resulted in what “Batman has finally become”. Adams has returned to the Flying Rodent to examine the “now what” of Batman in this day and age. This meditation is arriving in the form of a six-issue extravaganza, and the man himself will be writing and drawing the entire storyline, as well as inking the first two issues.

I’m stoked.

Whether or not you’ve read Adam’s work on Batman, you’ve felt the repercussions if you’ve dallied in the world of Bruce Wayne. For someone who helped sculpt the character to return and give us a new storyline is pretty stellar. Frank Miller tried to do that with All-Star Batman and Robin, but I have a better chance of actually graduating from my Master’s Degree and entering the real world before it actually wraps up. So I’m going to have to cling Adams to deliver me some interesting new spins by someone who delivered a seminal work.

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