ATOMIC
EMPIRE

Unwritten Vol 2: Apocalypse #1 (Vertigo): I thoroughly enjoy Unwritten, as it follows Tom Taylor, the son of a famous children's author (think "Harry Potter" level fame), and the questions that arise when he is asked at a convention "Who are you?" and the web of conspiracy and machinations behind histories, both personal and public. It can be quite surreal at times, as you realize how deeply the struggle for political and social narratives affects everyday life, and how powerful public perception can be.

There are so many layers of storytelling happening in the first pages of Apocalypse that you might get lost in a story or two, but that's the beauty of Unwritten: it never goes where you might expect it to, and is quite subversive. You will recognize snippets of more literary works, parables and folk tales along the way (including Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, the Ugly Duckling, Alice in Wonderland, the Narnia series and Winnie the Pooh).

If you like Fables, Neil Gaiman's Sandman, The Umbrella Academy, and/or The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (mostly for the literary references in an enjoyable graphic novel), this should be right up your alley.

I know I'm already looking forward to the next issue after just finishing this one. I'm hoping you will, too.

Furious (Dark Horse): Speaking of media attention and the superhero business, this is an interesting series: "Furious" is the moniker of the superheroine "The Beacon", who went a scoche too far in protecting college age students from their non-super-villainous attackers, and it was captured on film. Our heroine is clumsy and in her own words "not good with fragile things".This is an interesting meta-debate about vigilantism, similar to the scenes in the ending credits of the movie "Boondock Saints".

If you like Powers, Sin City, just about any new Batman title, or possibly even Constantine, you will want to pick this up. Superhero business is dark and ... complicated.

Revolutionary War - Dark Angel and Revolutionary War - Knights of Pendragon (Marvel): Say hello to Dark Angel, her hilarious wing-woman Doris and the current catastrope brewing in the Marvel UK! Mys-Tech is up to no good, so Captain Britain is only beginning to mobilize his A-team (or his EU-Team?) when he's kidnapped. Sarcastic superheroism and magical mayhem ensues. This cracks me up, and I want to read more about Britain's finest supers.

If you like something silly and superheroic, this is an entertaining read which encourages me to learn more of the non-'Merica Marvel heroes.

That's it for this week, so, I'll see you in the funny papers!