My Recent Comics 2-8-12

With my procrastinating and lack of rest time and such, I actually went to the store(s) on three different days for these. I can't remember exactly when, but I've had them a while. They've been sitting on a table waiting to get their day in the blog spotlight. So, for the sake of getting this out of the way once and for all, I'm only going to touch on a few of these.

Simpsons Comics 183, 184, 185
Simpsons Winter Wingding 6
Simpsons Super Spectacular 14 -- The story of the musical "Radioactive Man: Turn Up The Silence." Sound familiar?
Futurama Comics 58
Veronica 209 a.k.a Veronica Presents: Kevin Keller 3 (of 4) -- As with the first two issues, I actually found this at a bookstore -- Barnes and Noble, now that Borders is gone. I never picked up issue 4, however, which is too bad because it actually had a bit of a cliffhanger. Plus they actually mention Snooki and plug her book, "A Shore Thing." Wait -- did I just plug it too? And that Barnes and Noble is also where I bought...

There is no scene like this
in Life With Archie 16

Life With Archie 16 -- This is the most fascinating thing, and not just because, unlike most comic books, this is the size of a magazine like Entertainment Weekly. The hook for this was the well-publicized wedding of Kevin Keller. But wait -- he's just a teenager. How can he get married? And therein lies the rest of the story. "Life With Archie" is set in something of an alternate reality. No -- two alternate realities. The basis of the series is that, thanks to some magical trail he follows, Archie somehow sees two of his potential futures: in one, he marries Veronica, and in the other, Betty is his bride. So each scenario gets half a book, following the now-grownup Archie characters.

In the future where Archie married Veronica, they're now separated and she's basically acting like a Kardashian, with tabloid reporters and paparazzi on her every move. In the other future, Archie and Betty aren't separated, but there are some issues with their marriage as well. These and other continuing storylines play out while we learn that Kevin Keller followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Army. Lieutenant Keller is injured in combat while rescuing another soldier, and months after recovering, he has a chance meeting at the airport with his physical therapist. Eventually they fall in love and Kevin returns to Riverdale for the wedding. In both futures we see a little of the ceremony (conducted by the town's mayor), but in neither do we see that climactic moment where groom and groom kiss. I guess that, even in a world where Archie Comics features a gay teenager, some things are still a little too touchy.

And, finally...

Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes 1 (of 1) -- In this one-shot, the forces of Batman, Inc. are in battle with Leviathan, a secret organization, and ...wait. Stop. Hold up.

Did I actually buy a DC book????

Well, yes. Despite all of my angst over the so-called DCnU, this week...or whatever week it was when I actually bought it...I purchased something from DC Comics for the first time since August 31st. And I had a couple of reasons for doing so. For one, although there were some changes in timelines and such, the Batman "family" for the most part underwent the least dramatic changes -- the rise of Barbara Gordon from her wheelchair to return to the role of Batgirl notwithstanding -- in the relaunch. You don't see Batman using his baby blanket as a cape, for example. (Yeah, that still pisses me off.) As it turns out, there's a little text box at the start explaining that the events in the book occurred before Flashpoint rendered everything moot, so here the only view of Barbara is in her old Oracle role. The other is that I did, for much of its short run, enjoy "Batman, Incorporated" -- or at least the concept, in which Bruce Wayne tells the world that he's been funding Batman's crimefighting activities while Batman begins assembling a world-wide army of Batmen to battle evil on a global scale. This was basically like the original series itself: occasionally brilliant with superb humorous touches, more often being a convoluted mess. It had an interesting twist at the end, though, and the story will be continued somewhere. So there is still a chance I may keep up with it.