Wednesday's comic release list

It's a big week, for DC especially, who is starting to benefit from Marvel shooting most of its "Secret Invasion" load over the summer. HERE'S THE LINK to the full list.

A couple of "Final Crisis" books highlight my week, both by Geoff Johns. Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #2 (finally) continues what began as a fantastic story, after already shaking the Legion's core with the Durlan reveal in the first issue. Last issue we also saw Superboy Prime throwing another fit (as only Johns can do well), leading him to the future where his followers (?!?) were eagerly awaiting his direction. How come I think things are only going to get worse for the Legion, at least for a couple of months? And how come I also think we're going to have to wait at least another month until we see who was in that lightning rod? -cough, cough- Bart Allen -cough, cough-

Meanwhile in Final Crisis: Rogue's Revenge #3, we could be looking at a rather bloody conclusion, given the determined disposition of the revenge-hungry rogues at the moment. Will they kill Inertia? Will Zoom succeed in making Inertia Kid Flash? Will Barry Allen or Wally West have anything to say about it? This is must-read writing if you are into the Flash universe at all, and unnecessary but still strong writing if you're only interested in "Final Crisis."

If you've been enjoying the rebirth of "Kingdom Come" and the emergence of Gog, then you're probably chomping at the bit to read another Johns' book, Justice Society of America #19. Yes, I know, this "Kingdom Come" stuff has been going for almost a year now. And yes, I agree, it might have not been the best idea for such a popular and well-written book to spend so much time fairly outside of its own universe. That's in the past, though, since the current goings-on with Gog have returned the book to its almost top form. This issue, expect to see the JSA fighting amongst themselves, as some feel a biblical allegiance to Mr. Third-World Survivor. Frankly, I have no idea where these characters will be when all is said and done, and I have no idea what will become of the team as we know it, all I know is this is one story no JSA fan should be missing. If I can make one request, though? PLEASE don't let this be the end of Crazy Thom Kallor!

Meanwhile, I've read this Superman's Pal: Jimmy Olsen Special #1 feeds directly into the big "New Krypton" story. Other than that, I don't really know anything about it. According to the solicitation, Jimmy spends the issue investigating Atlas, and apparently draws the ire of some assassin named Assassin. Creative stuff, huh? Still, if this leads into "New Krypton," it may not be a bad idea to pick it up.

One last note on DC this week: remember Booster Gold #13 does not feature new writer Dan Jurgens, who doesn't take up the pen until issue #15. This week's issue is written by Rick Remender, and features Starro: The Conqueror... which likely means the story will be cheesier than others. Hopefully DC doesn't lose too many fans in the next two months...

From the "House of Ideas," Astonishing X-Men #27 debuts this week, and it's probably the biggest Marvel book of the day, despite the fact that this third part of Warren Elli's debut arc "Ghost Box" has not astonished anyone. The intriguing part of the story so far has been this concept of man-made mutants. The less than intriguing part is this whole ghost box non-sense. Maybe this issue will actually reveal why we should care -- or at least reveal how this title isn't simply "Uncanny X-Men" in a fancier wrapper.

Speaking of "Uncanny," Uncanny X-Men #503 is out this week, and if the cover is any indication, we're going to get a Cat Fight. Personally, I haven't much cared for "Uncanny" since the move to San Francisco became official, and before that I hadn't cared about "Uncanny" for a long time. Right now as far as I can see, we're just getting a month's worth of mis-characterizations and re-treaded stories. Plus, Cyclops is using sentences that end in"babe." Please, please, make this Cat Fight between the White Queen and Fetish Girl make this book worth reading again! Yeah, I know, I'm not going to get my wish.

OK, all this X-Men talk has made me angry. Hopefully this week's books will make me feel a little better.