Guess who's back? Back again?

Ooh, lots of stuff going on.

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Some neat comics are coming out this Wednesday, for starters:

DMZ #4 should be interesting, since - as several folks have pointed out - issue #3 felt kinda like a "last" issue. New beginnings, at this point in the series? Shit, why not? I've been enjoying Ricardo Burchielli's artwork enough, anyway, just to stick around and see where he's going. Plus, that's a hell of a gorgeous cover.

Bomb Queen #1 is the launch of a new Image series that has me curious. The super-villainess has destroyed all the super-heroes and is now the only law in town. Is she a total evil bitch? Does he have her own idea of justice she'll defend to the death? I don't know where they're going with this, but I'm gonna give it a shot.

I Heart Marvel: Web Of Romance isn't the kind of thing I'd pick up except that it's written by Tom Beland of True Story, Swear To God fame. As such, there's no way I can let it pass me by, and I recommend y'all take a look, yourselves. Plus, it looks like Cory Walker's doing the artwork, so fans of his stuff on Invincible (like me) should be pretty damn happy.

Incredible Hulk #92 launches Grek Pak's run on the title and the Planet Hulk "event" proper. Ladronn starts doing covers and Hulk starts smashing puny aliens. Sounds fun to me, anyway.

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Then, over at Lying In The Gutters this morning, it looks to me like Rich Johnston's telling us that Cliff Chiang will be doing artwork for the new Spectre series:





--which may mean that I'm signing up for the new book, regardless of who's writing it. I'm pretty much a Chiang devoteé.

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Some brief thoughts on a few of last week's books:

I've been waffling on Ennis' Punisher MAX series, but he may have sold me on the run with issue #30, the conclusion to the latest arc, "The Slavers". The sheer vileness of the villains, the extremity of Frank's response ("Don't come back here."), and the subtle starkness of the resolution all fired perfectly, and while I'm sad to see artist Leandro Fernandez taking a break in the coming arc, I'm curious so see what Goran Parlov will bring to the table. Will colorist Dan Brown stay on board? Because his work here is really breathtaking.

X-Factor #3 is the strongest of the series yet, I think, because it doesn't rely so heavily on the last page twist (a la #1) and Layla Miller is starting to actually become an interesting character; the "I know things" catch phrase was beginning to grate in issue #2, but things are a bit more intriguing and noirish here. Also really enjoyed the presentation of the Mutant Town riot; Ryan Sook and Dennis Calero both turn in layouts that bring a chilling "real life" vibe to the violence, and Peter David's decision to narrate it through a non-present third person voice enhances the disturbing feel of the scene. Basically, the series is becoming one of those grimey, under-your-skin sort of affairs, which is the best thing it could do. The humor remains to keep a sense of levity - after all, this is a super-hero comic - and everything is starting to click. Very promising.

Ganges #1 is clever and pleasant, yes. But it's still a bit on the dull and precious side, don't you think? Strong work, I agree, but don't pick it up when you're looking for excitement.

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That's me for today. Catch up with y'all tomorrow!