My Week In Comics 10-6-10

About a week ago in this space I teased about picking up just one comic book for the week, "unless I get the second printing of something recent that I somehow missed." As it turned out, it wasn't in the comic book store I frequented (although perhaps I just missed it somehow on the shelves). However, I went into the Borders in Center City after that and, lo and behold, they have one of those spinning magazine racks full of comics. Double lo and behold, they had the issue I was looking for. Triple lo and behold, it wasn't from the second printing but from the first run that sold out. Then I had a really stupid dilemma. But first...

Who is this guy, and why was he such a problem for me?

Superman: The Last Family of Krypton 3 (of 3): I think I mentioned before -- sorry, but I don't feel like going back through my prior posts and confirming this -- that although the Elseworlds books DC has put out may take characters and put them in wildly different circumstances, eventually the status quo often wins out. Superman is still a hero. Villains are still villains. So it is with this series, which started with Jor-El and Lara coming to Earth along with baby Kal-El. This issue starts with the premise that the others destined to become Earth's greatest heroes never did so because of the Kryptonians' influence, and there are consequences for the El family as a result. But by the end of the series, a familiar character who started out good shows his true colors (and as a result, a prediction I made at the start turns out to be partially true), and his evil plans are thwarted by...well, you know...

That brings us to my strange problem...

Veronica 202: You read that right. An Archie comic book. The issue that introduced Kevin Keller, the first openly gay character in the Archie world, was released last month and sold out, prompting the first-ever second printing in Archie history. Only through the dumb luck described above did I end up with a copy. The first we see of Kevin, the new kid in Riverdale is outeating Jughead in a burger-eating contest (how is it that these two can eat so much in comics and not be fat? Why can't that work for me?) Having a lot in common (like eating lots of junk and not getting fat), Kevin and Jughead become fast friends. Veronica sees the new hottie and shows immediate interest. Jughead tries to warn him about her, only to have Kevin reply that he's not interested in dating her because he's gay. Kevin wants to tell Veronica but Jughead persuades him to hold off for a while, telling Kevin she's "sensitive," while Jughead's true motivation is to see Veronica make a fool out of herself. Jughead gets his wish but also his comeuppance, as Kevin realizes what he was up to and becomes friends with Veronica anyway. What's worthwhile about this tale is that Kevin's sexual orientation is treated as no big deal by everyone. It's not one of those "very special episode"-type deals.

So what was my dilemma? I wasn't buying anythng else in the store, and I felt strangely self-conscious about taking an Archie comic book -- especially one titled Veronica -- to the register! Weird! After some thought, I finally picked up another comic, one targeted to a younger demographic, so the two books together didn't look quite as conspicuous...

Looney Tunes 190: There's not a whole lot to tell about this, to be honest, except that I was disappointed because none of the three stories in this book starred Bugs Bunny.

Anyway, news out of New York Comic-Con this weekend is that, besides making recurring appearances in the various Archie books, Kevin Keller is starring in his own four-issue mini-series in 2011. If I end up buying it, I just hope that I find it in a comics shop.