This week's comic book expectations

Slow week this time out, folks. Don't shoot the messenger. HERE'S the link to the full list.

There are SOME upsides to the week, though, namely Captain America #49, which begins a new story arc which will bring Sharon Carter back into the fold. Personally, I applaud Ed Brubaker for taking a step away from Agent 13 for a while. I know it must have been tough to hold off from mining the further story of Sharon's memories and current state after shooting Steve Rogers, but by completely removing her from the title for a while it has really allowed the book to take on the new Bucky-centric identity with no ghosts of Steve Rogers' world lying around. After this past three-issue arc, I feel that, more than ever, James Barnes owns this book ... which means it's the perfect time to bring back Sharon and jump into the deep end. I, for one, cannot wait to see where she will fit into this new Captain America world.

From there Marvel simply has BUNCHES of X-Men titles, the best of which will likely be X-Men: Legacy #223, the penultimate chapter of the current Rogue/Mystique/Professor X vs. Danger in the Outback story, which has been surprisingly good so far. Normally I could give a damn about Rogue and Gambit and their constant whining, but the interaction between Mystique and Rogue is conjuring memories of Rogue's glory days struggling with Carol Danvers, only with a more mature feel from the character. And can you really argue with the promise of a Danger vs. Xavier throwdown?!? Sure, it's likely to have a weak, mushy cop-out ending, but I can dream, can't I?

Also from the Merry Mutants is X-Factor #42, Uncanny X-Men #508, Rampaging Wolverine #1 and Wolverine Noir #1. I don't expect much from any of them, and especially not the two Wolverine titles. For one, I'm VERY sick of this "Noir" stuff. For two, "Rampaging" is a one-shot in black and white because it's "Too Hot for Color to Handle!" Ugh. Give me color, thank you.

And did I mention that EVERY Marvel book has a Wolverine-centric cover variant? We really needed this much Logan? All this over exposure really makes me hate the character.

DC has two books worth looking out for, including Green Lantern Corps. #35 (and two years ago, did anyone think this book could headline a week?!?), which is fighting a war on two fronts in this one. On the one hand, Sodam Yat is about to go mano-a-mano with Mongol. On the other hand, a Red Lantern is running loose in the OA prison. No good can come of any of this for the boys in green.

And finally, Action Comics #876 continues the story of Chris and Thara under attack in the Fortress of Solitude. And really, if you were trying to take out Kryptonian sleeper cells, would you really hide out in the world's most well-known hide out to Kryptonians? They all know their boy Kal lives there! Hopefully this week we get to learn more about Chris' aging problems, but I'm willing to bet we'll have to wait for the annual to find out all we want to know.