Octopus Pie: There Are No Stars In Brooklyn- The first printed collection of the popular webcomic series, this dense collection puts together the first two years worth of stories. Great sense of humor, a solid sense of characterization, and fun fluid art make this something definitely worth picking up. Fans of Scott Pilgrim, North World, and just anything fun should check this out. Check out Meredith Gran’s site if you want to sample it, but try to help support the release of the book. Considering it’s only $17 for 252 pages, it’s a great package and Villard books did a nice printing job. A

X-Men: S.W.O.R.D., No Time To Breath SC- So if you aren’t current with X-Men continuity, specifically Astonishing X-Men, or with the Dark Reign period of Marvel, then this might be a little tricky to just jump into. However I feel it was just a solid script with a great sense of humor, so really if you just try it should be easy to jump into. Agent Brand has the daily task of preventing alien invasions of Earth, and after the Secret Invasion the new government regime is looking to replace her. Teamed with her boyfriend Hank McCoy aka the Beast, Lockheed the alien dragon, and the awesome bounty hunter Death’s Head, Agent Brand has to save her half brother, prevent multiple alien invasion, put down an insurrection among her ranks, and basically just survive over the course of a very long day. Kieron Gillen gives us a truly awesome story that doesn’t take itself too seriously while at the same time making everything awesomely serious with a great sense of scale to Brand’s job. Steve Sanders art might not grab everyone, but I felt it was the perfect fit for the story and great. Solid package for only $15.99. A-

Superman/Batman Finest Worlds SC- The Michael Green scripts can be a little forced at times, but the main reason I picked up this volume was for the Rags Morales and Rafael Albuquerque art. The first story dealing with the fathers of Superman and Batman meeting was alright, while the next story drawn by Albuquerque with the kiddie version of the JLA and their villains was cute. The last chunk of the book drawn by Morales dealing with Batman getting Superman’s powers was fun if a little predictable. The $14.99 price tag is pretty good for six issues, so well worth it if you like Morales as much as I do. There is a HC available as well for $19.99. B-