On The Shelf: Lessons in humility

Mark Russell & Richard Pace's Second Coming is finally here, and, yep, it's worth the wait.

Ahoy Comics, populated by some former DC talent, including "Tennessee" Tom Peyer and Stuart Moore, took a chance on a religious satire that already raised enough of a fuss such that Vertigo had to cut it before it could be released in February.

Recall that on South Park a number of years back, series creators Trey Parker & Matt Stone posited Jesus as a talk show host for a story arc. Russell, on the other hand, opts to have God send His son back to Earth for a lesson in humility, if you will, learning from a hero named Sunman, billed in early solicitations as the "Last Son of Crispex", a parody of a certain DC icon.

Turns out Sunman has a live-in girlfriend who is privy to his dual ID, and they welcome Jesus into their home. How long this lasts remains to be seen. I'd read that Ahoy will start with a four issue miniseries. Those of you with narrow minds won't accept the context of the story. I can appreciate satire if it's done right, and so far, Russell, one of the hottest writers around, is doing just that.

We'll hold on a rating until the conclusion.
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Marvel continues to serve up some choice "facsimile edition" reprints of classic tales, some of which haven't been reprinted in years.

One such case would be Incredible Hulk 181, circa 1974-5, which introduced the world to the ol' Canucklehead himself, Wolverine, who cuts into a pitched battle between Hulk and the Canadian monster, Wendigo. The downside is that while the emphasis is on Wolverine, it's still the continuation of a story from the previous issue. I get that Marvel is still milking Wolverine's popularity 45 years later, but this was better off not released as a 1-off "facsimile", but instead, issued as part of a trade paperback, if that hadn't happened already.

Rating: B+.

For what it's worth, the latest "facsimile" is of 1963's X-Men 1, which has been reprinted to death. DC joins the party next month, as previously reported.
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Mark Russell's Wonder Twins series has reached the halfway station, as the book has been expanded to 12 issues. Jayna learns a lesson in humility herself, as Russell has redefined her as being more shy & mousy than assertive. She loses a friend whose father has disappeared, and that should set the stage for the second half. When a fellow ex-letterhack like George Gustines, now with the New York Times, is touting this book, you know the Twins have finally gotten some serious respect.
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American Mythology, current licensee for Zorro, has released a new miniseries that is devoted to reprinting some old stories that haven't seen the light of day in years.

Zorro Masters covers some stories illustrated by the legendary Alex Toth for Dell's Four Color Comics back in the day. If you're jonesin' for done-in-one mysteries, these old school tales are for you.

Rating: A.
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Lois Lane stars in a 12 issue maxiseries by Greg Rucka that should set the stage for an ongoing book in 2020 or '21.

In Lois' old series back in the day, the stories were a little more light hearted, because back then, DC editorial didn't see the value of Lois as a serious investigative reporter. Not this time. Rucka and artist Mike Perkins will have the Question (both of them) joining Lois on this case, and of course, you know Superman won't be too far away. You want humor? Jimmy Olsen's new book will be out soon.

Rating: A.
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Speaking of The Question, Jeff Lemire is writing a new miniseries for DC's Black Label imprint, which will reunite artists Denys Cowan & Bill Sienkiewicz, who worked with Denny O'Neil on the book back in the late 80's. Debuts in October, along with another miniseries featuring The Joker.....There are some concerns not just about Doomsday Clock being interminably late, but Geoff Johns' other book, Shazam!, has also fallen behind schedule. Seems the prevalent theory is that Johns and DC editorial want to make sure both books retain the highest quality of storytelling. You have artists on the order of Gary Frank and Dale Eaglesham, who have never had deadline issues before the last year, so it falls upon Johns to make the time to get the books back on time. Otherwise, people will see Johns as another Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, and regular readers of this blog know how I feel about Archie Comics' creative director. I'll just play trade-waiter with Shazam!, thank you very much.