This week's comic book expectations

DC has had its fun in the sun, now it's Marvel's turn. Big Big week for Marvel's "Dark Reign" event (can you really call it an "event"?), even if DC has a couple of good issues out of their own. HERE'S THE LINK for the full list.

Dark Avengers #1 headlines the week, as the world will finally get to meet the team Norman Osborn built. Through this whole "Dark Reign" nonsense, "Dark Avengers" is going to be place to be for the biggest news, so get on the bandwagon early. Frankly, I find myself wondering when the Avengers took over every Marvel storyline, but I guess a good story is a good story -- will this be one? Was "Secret Invasion" or "Civil War?" I think you all know my answer to that...

I'm actually more excited for Mighty Avengers #21. For one, it's written by Dan Slott, a writer a trust. For two, it introduces an all-new lineup in order to distance itself just a bit from the epicenter of the "Dark Reign" tremors. And, oh, is that Scarlet Witch I see on the cover? It's just too bad that because this book is written by Slott and not Brian Bendis, this will probably be a little more of an ancillary Avengers title.

Thunderbolts #128 also revamps the roster for the sake of "Dark Reign," seeing as Norman Osborn is a little bit too busy to be running the 'Bolts full-time. Uncanny X-Men Annual #2 will also tell the tale of why Emma Frost wanted into this "Dark Cabal" (how dorky of a name is that, anyway?) in the first place.

Speaking of Emma and the X-Men, it's also a pretty big week for the Children of the Atom, what with Astonishing X-Men #28 (Finally after those awful "Ghost Boxes" tie-ins, we get to see more about those Chinese X-Men), X-Men: Kingbreaker #2 (Will the Starjammer break Alex Summers free this issue or next? You know it's happening soon!) and X-Men: Legacy #220 (Rogue returns to the fold).

Sound good? Well there is plenty to like from DC too.

Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #2 will hopefully fill us in on how Superman got from his Universe-spanning adventure to the 30th Century in last week's "Final Crisis #6." More importantly, I want to learn more about this "Dark Monitor," especially since Grant Morrison really only has this one issue to build him up into a villain worthy of being the "big bad" for this whole event. Oh, and did I mention this issue will be, again, in 3D? I'm not so nuts about it, but some of you may be enjoying that stunt.

"Rage of the Red Lanterns" continues in Green Lantern #37. I just bought my Red Lantern T-shirt last week, so I'm all set to geek out on this one. If you remember back a couple weeks ago, Hal Jordan was just told he will be the greatest of the BLUE Lanterns. Exqueese Me? A Baking Powder? That comes across funnier when Wayne and Garth do it. Either way, I'm pumped to see this story develop.

Personally, I'm also excited for Robin #182, which wraps up the "Search for a Hero" story arc and the penultimate issue of the series. If you haven't been reading, Tim Drake has been doing a helluva job filling in for the Caped Crusader -- even if it does seem the job is changing him for the worse. Now, wearing a hood to hide horrible scars, we're about to see if all his plans for a cleaner Gotham come through. This has been a great lead-in to "Battle for the Cowl," and I highly encourage all of you to pick up the arc in TPB form if you haven't read along.

Supergirl #37, the first issue in a while to not directly tie-in with the rest of the "Super" titles, begins a five-issue arc titled "Who is Superwoman?" Now, while I am looking forward to this new direction of the series, my bigger question is "How is Kara not on New Krypton?" Didn't she take off with her Mother at the end of the 10-part "New Krypton" story? I guess We'll learn here.