DC characters both familiar (Batman, Superman, Supergirl, The Flash, The Green Lantern, Wonder Woman) and less familiar (Metamorpho, Metal Men, Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth) are introduced with 40s style dialogue and settings. As you'd expect, the results are mixed. Neil Gaiman's Metamorpho made me laugh out loud, as did Jimmy Palmiotti & Amanda Connor's Supergirl and Dan Didio's Metal Men. Kyle Baker's Hawkman is the stand-out, with striking images and words, and the strips by Paul Pope (Strange Adventures) and the Kuberts (Sgt. Rock) are very good as well.

But I'm not so sure I want to invest $44.00 in the remaining 11 issues, which are due to be published weekly. The lower newsprint quality is a drawback, especially for the artwork, and the hit-and-miss nature of the strips themselves could become a big drag. The lack of ads (save for the back page) is a plus. DC plans both downsized and full-size trades, though I don't know what the price point will be.

Quick Shots on Last Week's Issues

Greek Street #1 (Vertigo)
I felt so dirty after reading this ish that I took a shower with my clothes on. Exceptionally nasty just to be nasty, to my way of thinking, which may well reflect the original Greek tales that writer Peter Milligan and artist Davide Gianfelice are drawing upon as inspiration for their modern-day tale of crime and corruption, set in modern Soho. Cheap at only $1.00 for the first issue, though.

Fearless Dawn #1 (Asylum Press)
After that mess, I was more than happy to curl up with Steve Mannion's throwback comic. It's retro-kitsch with bigger-than-life characters, silly and sexist (one panel features a rear view of Fearless Dawn, our heroine, bending over at the waist, for no reason other than fan service). Fresh out of jail, Fearless Dawn straddles her tiny jet like a horse and heads to Manitoba to steal some syrum back from the bad guys.

Captain America Reborn #1 (Marvel)
As Dr. Frankenstein cried, "It's alive!" It seems the patriotic hero wasn't really dead -- he was whisked away and held in a space/time continuum or some othe mumbo jumbo -- and now he'll be time shifting through his long life and career. I really, really like writer Ed Brubaker's work, but this was a severe case of "feh!"

Batman and Robin #2 (DC)
Now that Bruce Wayne as Batman is out of the way (for now), Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely are doing their thing with a new Caped Crusader and Boy Wonder. Good so far, but Quitely moves on after the next issue, and I'm wondering where Morrison will be pushing the story down the line.

Bang Tango #6 (Vertigo)
It's not too often that you read a book about a mob assassin turned tango dancer whose transsexual ex-girlfriend shows up to complicate his life. Joe Kelly wrote a compelling six-issue series, and Adrian Sibar gave it plenty of flair. It's a weird series that came to an end with a couple of good twists.

Locke and Key Head Games #6 (IDW)
Without having read the first series, I was still drawn in by Joe Hill's story about good, evil, and a set of magical keys, as well as by Gabriel Rodriguez' dynamic art. It motored along well for the first four issues, slowed down a bit in issue #5, and then turned into a train wreck with issue #6, which ends this arc on a sour, very unsatisfying note.

On Sale Next Week

Here are a few I'm planning to pick up, of the titles scheduled to be in stores on July 15.

Olympus #3 (Image)

If I'm honest with myself, what I'm really digging about this 4-issue series so far is the artwork by Christian Ward.

Nathan Edmondson's story is fine -- gods dealing with miscreants on Earth, globe-trotting, universal danger -- but I just love gliding over the pages and staring at the panels. Ward's art looks like the acid sequence from 2001: A Space Odyssey crash-landed on the dark side of the moon and then someone turned on neon spotlights. It's the perfect contrast to Edmondson's tale, with very human illustrations illuminating the downfall of immortal beings.

From the Ashes #2 (IDW)

IDW says issue #2 should be in stores this week, while the owner of my local shop owner said it's coming next week. In any event, issue #1 follows creator Bob Fingerman and his real-life wife Michele in the immediate aftermath of the apocalypse. Manhattan is ruined, and all Bob and Michele do is walk around wisecracking about the destruction. It's a very funny, beautifully-drawn book, with the heft of literature and the dexterity of a comic. Issue #1 ended on a good cliffhanger, so I'm eager to see how Bob and his wife will survive -- and what they'll stumble upon next.

Executive Assistant Iris #2 (Aspen Comics)

You know I can't resist an Asian women who works as an executive assistant / bodyguard / assassin for a wealthy tycoon -- especially when she's built like that!

Jammed with action, Issue #1 hit all my personal pleasure points, even though it had maybe a little too much story to pack into all the panels. Still a good guilty pleasure, and Iris' moves would be perfectly at home in any good, modern Asian action picture you can name. I'm waiting for the moment when the very intelligent Iris will rebel against her life-long training.