My Week In Comics 11-17-10

Okay, so I have to decide tomorrow (later today, since it's after midnight when I begin writing this) whether I have enough time to see "Love and Other Drugs" (with Anne Hathaway and my future ex-husband Jake Gyllenhall) and get my comic books -- or choose between one and the other. This is what passes for an Infinite Crisis in my life. Oh, and also as I write this the John Williams main title theme to "Superman: The Movie" came up in my iTunes! Hmmmm...

Batman: The Return 1 (of 1)
Batman, Incorporated 1: I tie these two together because the "Return" one-shot leads right into the new ongoing Bat-series. The actual return of Bruce Wayne coming in that muddled miniseries and in Batman and Robin #16 dilutes the story here a bit, but "Batman: The Return" sets up what is a very interesting premise for the future. That would be "Batman, Inc." -- with Bruce publicly announcing (again, this moment actually happened in B&R 16) that he's funding Batman's war on crime, and Batman's recruitment drive for an army of crimefighters, all working under the Batman brand. Bruce is now focused on the big picture -- not just on stopping crime in Gotham City as vengeance for the murder of his parents, but on fighting evil worldwide. And he's having some fun doing it, which we haven't seen in ages. The new series is one that I might keep buying.

Superman 705: Continuing his Trudge Walk Across America, Superman takes on a case of domestic violence. Something I recall he did back in the day, just before he temporarily died at the hands of Doomsday. This storyline has turned disappointing, after a nice start. Should have turned around in Philly and walked back to Metropolis, Supes.

Supergirl 58:
Three children have disappeared from the streets of Metropolis, and Supergirl helps Cat Grant investigate. Not willingly, because Cat has written many nasty anti-Supergirl articles. Cat doesn't quite realize the danger she's in, though, so she might want to start being nicer to Supergirl. Just sayin.'


Simpsons Comics 172: It's a Christmas issue, so it's like they're going back to their roots, to that very first episode, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire," where the whole amazing Simpsons phenomenon began (if you don't count the shorts on the Tracey Ullman show, that is).