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I'll be checking out Bat Lash. When's the last time you bought a new comic with art by John Severin?

Bat Lash #1. Gotta be worth a try. His recent appearances in Jonah Hex and Justice League Unlimited sold me.

Earlier this year Severin had a few pages in an issue of Immortal Iron Fist, I believe.

Bat Lash should be good. I'll also recommend Green Lantern Corps #19, which I plan on buying just to see the reunion between Guy and Ice.

Poison Elves #80 should be interesting too as it serves as the 'bookend' issue to the series, with Drew Hayes' last stories and details of where he was going with the series. Sad we'll never see it completed...

Were you reading Ant-Man before it got canned? Because the second digest is out.

I was also going to vote for Bat Lash, but just to be different I'll say go with Punisher: War Journal #14. Last issue really surprised me, and I think it's down to the fact that Cory Walker took over art duties for Olivetti. It was just a really fun issue and I think the art helped convey that much better, rather than feeling stilted as Olivetti art sometimes does. Now, saying that I'm not sure if Walker is still working on this book, but I suggest give it a try anyway.

Or I'd suggest the second Criminal trade if you're like me and decided to wait for it.

Bat Lash, c'mon.

I will likely go out of my way to get that Essential Dr. Strange 3.

I'm interested to see what The Engineer is going to be like.

New ish of Green Lantern out this week, too.

Well, I'd recommend Elephantmen: War Toys #1, as I've been enjoying most of Starkings' work with the characters so far and I'm always up for a good sci-fi war series.

I saw something listed as "Wormwood one shot," and although I'm not certain, if that's either the Chronicles or Wormwood: The Last Enemy GN or a one-shot of Ben Templesmith's Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse, either one would probably be a worthwhile comedic read.

Also, I'm not sure it's up your alley, but I'm personally interested to see how Phil Hester handles the new Darkness series. I've always liked the concept, even if the execution has usually been lacking.

Slim pickings this week. All I'm getting is New Avengers, and I realise that's not for everyone...

Sadly I despise the New Avengers. Why doesn't Bendis call it the New Defenders? That's who they are.

But how about Ultimate Iron Man II? I don't usually buy Ultimate books, but really liked Orson Scott Card's take the first time around. Will definitely be checking that out.

What, no love for "Countdown: Arena" #2?

I kid, I kid. Looking at the list, there's not much I would ask you to buy. (Which is only slightly less than I'm getting.) Sadly, there's just less and less out there that's any good. I retired "Fantastic Four" after #550, which was both dull and near-impenetrable. (Besides, I've no interest in buying a Millar comic, when he finally takes over.) And after the latest issue of "Justice League," I won't be buying that anymore either. At least not until they get rid of Benes — McDuffie can write better scripts, I'm sure he can, and maybe he will after the run-up to "Final Crisis" is over. But as long as he's stuck tying into every other crossover while Benes is busy drawing Diana and Dinah with wonder-thongs, I'm done with that title.

Meanwhile, I wonder who on Earth is actually going to plunk down money for an "Amazons Attack" hardcover. Seriously, a HARDCOVER? Yikes. Pete Woods sure draws purty pictures, but ... sheesh. Of course, Marvel's offering an "Ultimates 2" hardcover for $35, and I wonder who's shilling out dough for that too.

I only just heard about "Bat Lash" yesterday (thanks to Newsarama, in fact — don't know where I was if there'd been any previous buzz about it) and, yeah, although I'm not a big Western-genre fan, but I'm grabbing it up to see what Mr. Severin can do these days. So I vote either for that, or for Simone's next ish on "Wonder Woman." Really, it's only fair to give her a couple issues to show us where she's really going with everything. And I still have very high hopes that the book and the character are FINALLY in very good hands.

Hey Greg, I also wonder: Have you ever weighed in on "DMZ"? I picked up the first two trades and thought it was good. A completely predictable set-up, but beyond that, pretty damn enjoyable.

Greg have you read Scalped before? I keep hearing a lot of buzz on it, wondered your thoughts.

Captain Carrot #3
Stormwatch Armageddon #1
Astounding Wolf-Man #4
Amazing Spider-Girl #15

That's it as far as I can tell. Fine by me. Four books is a good number for one week. I don't follow too many titles regularly anymore.

The question that I must ask is: WHY?!?

There's Battlestar Galactica: Origins # 1 (everything that you don't want to know about Baltar but they're gonna tell you anyway - whether you like it or not, want it or not - so just put up with it)

and The Boys # 13 (the 7th monthly issue from DE - wow!)

I second GL:Corps #19. Overall the series has been pretty strong, especially the use of Guy.

I'd like you to get Gen 13 #15, so I can get another opinion on the series. I'm not exactly recommending it, though. (I've found it wildly inconsistent, ranging from very good to bloody awful, sometimes in the same issue, and I can't quite figure out why)

this week I'm getting:

BPRD, Bat Lash, Booster Gold, Countdown, Green Arrow/Black Canary, Salvation Run, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, After the cape, Marvel Comics Presents, and X-Factor.

You're not getting Marvel Comics Presents? Get Bat Lash and try it out.

I'm getting Hate, Comics Journal and Bat Lash.

So Bat Lash, 'cause your store won't get the other two I bet.

Wonder Woman. Gail is the first writer in a while to really love the character and show it. Get in while she is still new to this book and it can really go anywhere. But I bet it will be to great places. Also, Terry Dodson has subdued his cheesecake (as much as possible with Dian's costume), and his art is great.

Also, Fantastic Four. McDuffie is leaaving soon, but with the last issue he really hit his stride. Last issue, Namor, Doom, and Panther of the future came back to warn that present day Reed is nuts. So Reed starts killing them. Excited to see where this is going...

Bat Lash sounds like a good one. Not quite a superhero comic, so maybe it will be Fun, enjoyable, etc. and not one of these depressing someone will die type books.

Bat Lash was the only thing I considered buying this week, so you should let me know if it's good or not.

Just to go with a recommendation that's completely off-the-wall:
LIVING WITH THE DEAD #3

And you've absolutely got to read NOVA #9. #8 was reminiscent of G-Mozz: think All Star Superman meets We3 with shades of The Authority, plus a bit of K-Man's Zombies mixed in. It was a whole lot of fun.

And why aren't you picking up POTTER'S FIELD #3? From what I've read so far, I'd definitely read this title on an ongoing basis.

Of course, we've got the wonderful and incomparable Ms. Simone's second issue of WONDER WOMAN coming out this week. Read #15. I dare you to be upset about it.

I am getting Potter's Field, sir!

The more I think about it, Greg, the more I think you should pick up two books that everyone's buzzing about (on this thread at least): Bat Lash and Wonder Woman. We all wanna talk about the Lash after we read it. And we wanna hear if you think WW improves on a decent start with Simone's next ish, or if she goes south (or merely hits a holding pattern). And you get to snag (borrow?) a few books for free, don't you?

Scalped is one of the greatest book around these days, you (and everyone else) should definitively read it. Nova is very different, but almost as good.

There’s Battlestar Galactica: Origins # 1

I'm waiting for the trade. Seriously. I wish Dynamite would come out with them quicker. So far there's only one out.

Nightwing 139, DMZ 26, Astounding Wolf-Man 4.

I should check out Scalped though. I didn't care for the preview that ran in the back of... something, but I gather that it was just slow starting.

Are you trade waiting on the Sinestro Corp War? Green Lantern 25 & Green Lantern Corp 19 & Tales of the Sinestro Corps Ion #1 come out this week.

Also: what about Simon Dark, Astounding Wolf-Man, or even Wonder Woman? Come on, Gail Simone on Wonder Woman! Boom!'s Potter's Field can't touch that!

Not a big Bat Lash fan, but if you are liking Suicide Squad, then it might be for you.

Nexus: Origin is a great comic; pick it up! It's a re-release of the Dark Horse one shot from 1993. It's a top notch book for fans of superheroes and science fiction and has a modicum of moral quandries. The perfect thing to whet your appetite for the brand new Nexus coming out next month!

Is the Hate Annual by Peter Bagge? That should be good.

I've been looking forward to Bat Lash for a long time. It has Sergio Aragones writing in addition to the John Severin art--what a pedigree!

Mecha-Shiva--I read that preview as well (in DMZ) and was also unimpressed, but I read the whole first issue and it really changed my opinion. It's worth a look!

Yeah, the first couple of issues of Scalped were a bit, well, not that good.

Then it suddenly got AWESOME, and has maintained its awesomeness ever since.

The thing about the Sinestro Corps war is that it's in a holding pattern now, just killing time. It was supposed to have been over by now, but DC saw the initial success it had and prevailed upon Johns to stretch it out over a few more months than was originally intended. So, the story remains the same, but we get such wasteful issues as last month's GLC which featured an issue-long fight between Ion Mark II and Emoboy Prime. And not even a resolution. And we get scattered GLC vs SC battles in nowheresville America before suddenly relocating to New York City. You just KNOW that these elements got no more than a page or two in the original script, but now they've been blown out of proportion and the event has begun suffering because of it.

Simon Dark is certainly interesting, but it's not that good. For one thing, it's set in a Gotham city unlike any that we've ever seen before. What's the point of setting this book in a shared universe if you're not even going to take advantage of said universe's preexisting elements? I'll read it, because I'm mildly curious, but I'm not excited about it or anything, nor would I strongly recommend it to anyone as anything more than a curiosity.

Astounding Wolf-Man has been moving v e r y s l o w l y. So slowly that I can't really recommend it to anyone looking to pick up a new book. I love the K-Man, don't get me wrong, and am therefore reading this book. But it's more out of loyalty and anticipation than anything else. I'm really just waiting for K-Man to bring the AWM into his shared Invincible Universe. As an agent of The Pentagon (parking in rear).

As for the resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul, there's one huge problem that keeps coming back to me, and that's that the ONLY functioning Lazarus pit in THE ENTIRE DCU is SUPPOSED to be IN THE BATCAVE! Recall a few years ago (Ra's Al Ghul: Year One) when Bats destroyed every single one, only to be confronted with the reanimation of the dead and the refusal of the dying to actually die? And he realized that by destroying all the pits he had disrupted the universal balance? At that point, he figured that the safest place to create a new pit would be in the Batcave, so that's what he did. Yet, others apparently have sprung into existence since that time, with absolutely no explanation! Continuity IS important, regardless of what others may say, otherwise, each story must need to stand alone in its own microcosm.

Booster Gold is GREAT FUN, but Greg didn't like it last time he tried it, so I won't waste my time recommending it to him.

Battlestar Galctica: Origins has nowhere to go. The show is so tightly plotted, with such a tight continuity, that no matter what happens in the series, there's no possibility of jeopardy, surprise, or, therefore, fun.

Salvation Run has MAJOR PLOT HOLES THAT YOU COULD DRIVE A TRUCK THROUGH. Primarily, if the point was to exile criminals to another planet, WHY send them there in their COSTUMES WITH THEIR WEAPONS??? Makes no sense. Might be fun, but ultimately isn't worth the read.

Gen13 #14 was AWFUL, so bad that it was tough to read through. Gail ripped the heart out of the series in her last issue, and #14 had the characters acting completely against their previous 13 issues of characterization. I'm NOT going to be continuing to read this series.

The rest of the Wildstorm Armageddon books have been really, really BAD, and I see no reason to believe that the Stormwatch book will be any different.

Captain Carrot has just NOT BEEN FUN.

The problem with Ultimate Iron Man II is that the original series was supposed to tell a complete story, but Orson Scott Card just couldn't stick to his monthly deadlines and it ended up getting cancelled after FIVE issues! I see no reason to expect any differently THIS time around. This reader is STILL waiting for the long promised conclusion to the Alvin Maker series. Long delays like this make me start to worry that a writer will actually DIE before finishing the story. The Crystal City was published in 2003!!! And no word from Alvin Maker since.

My ongoing problem with New Avengers is that Bendis has been writing the Hood COMPLETELY DIFFERENTLY than he was originally envisioned by BKV. I'd have preferred that he just create a new character, as opposed to butchering the characterization of an already extant one.

Top Cow managed to alienate me completely with its last Marvel crossover issue. That was teh SUCK, and following it I have absolutely NO INTEREST in reading any of their established properties AGAIN.

And somebody is STILL reading Countdown? Why torture yourself, man? A couple of times since dropping the series I've come back for an issue because of somebody else's online review, and every time, without fail, I've found myself hearkening back to the "good old days" of Bruce Jones on Nightwing. That's how bad it is.

Nova of course. Common, it has a telepathic Russian space dog and is set within a Celestial's severed head!

Fantastic Four has been good.

Let me add my voice to the throngs recommending Bat Lash. I'm not generally a fan of the western genre, but I'm interested to see what Sergio Aragones brings when he's not working on a gourd-nosed barbarian.

Thanks for the Scalped recommendations, btw. It was definitely slow getting going, but now I'm hooked.