Joe The Barbarian #3- Been hearing complaints that the story is a little lackluster, but so far for me it’s just been fun. It still has that quick pacing Morrison's been utilizing as of late, and it keeps you guessing as to how much of this is real and how much is a hallucination. The main push for me here is the Sean Murphy art which is utterly brilliant. If you get the opportunity, you really should check out his early work with Zach Howard on Outer Orbit. I was able to meet Howard at the Emerald City Comicon last week and talk about their work, and let’s just say I’m excited for the future.

Green Lantern Corp #46- I really, really, really want a Black Lantern Refrigerator figure. Besides that, I’m continually impressed with the amount of ass-kickery this series packs in per issues, and Guy Gardner showing off his Trekkie geek roots was pretty awesome. Gleason’s art continues to amaze.

Brave and the Bold #32-The Straczynski run has been fairly fun so far, but for me this stands out as the best so far. Once a year, Aquaman and Etrigan the Demon battle Lovecraftian horrors attempting to move into this plane of reality. It's a concept that not only makes perfect sense but is a nice touch to the characters and underscores just how powerful and important Aquaman and the Demon are to the DCU. The Saiz art is beautiful, and the story is just fun. My only complaint is that I think such a concept should have been given more issues, but that defeats the point of the current run.

Hercules Fall of an Avenger #1- If you haven’t been reading Incredible Hercules you need to do yourself a favor and check it out. This issue actually isn’t a horrible starting point since it showcases exactly what makes the series fantastic. The great sense of humor despite the somber story stands out and pulls you in and makes you care for the characters. Pak and Van Lente are two of Marvel’s most valuable assets as far as I’m concerned, and this book is proof. It doesn’t hurt that there is a Jeff Parker back up story, and the art duties provided by Olivetti and Reilly Brown are sharp and help to make the story pop.

Final Crisis Escape TPB- If you were slightly unsatisfied with the end of Checkmate and Brother Eye in Final Crisis and are a fan of psychedelic spy stories such as the Prisoner, then you should check out this collection. I was avoiding all the Final Crisis after minis at first, but this one pulled me in since it was so Kirby centric and brought together a number of characters and concepts I’ve always enjoyed, including Cameron Chase from her own defunct series of the late ‘90's and Manhunter. Throw in Buddy Blank, OMAC, Amanda Waller, and more and this is just a fun yet strange look some more of the obscure DC characters.