The New Thor Meets Lil Depressed Boy Comics Collection For Oct 2

It’s October, and that means the Comics and Cosplay crew at The Escapist is celebrating the arrival of new television shows based on our favorite comics (like Gotham), and the return of Agents of Shield . The steady flow of comics doesn’t stop for new television series however, so as usual we’ve rounded up the best issues from the last two weeks for you to enjoy while sipping your first pumpkin spice latte of the season. This week, Marshall Lemon follows Batman’s pal Dick Greyson into espionage in Greyson, and gets ultraviolent with the all-new Lobo. Marshall also took a look at the first collected volume of DC Comics’ Injustice: Gods Among Us Year 2, gumshoed through Ed Brubaker’s new crime noir The Fade Out, and got a little melancholy with The Li’l Depressed Boy: Supposed to Be There Too. Stew Shearer checks out Marvel’s latest leading lady in Thor, and heads out into space with Silver Surfer, before ending up on a backwater mining planet with a small massacre problem in Image Comics’ Copperhead. Marla Desat was also drawn out into the cosmos with Roche Limit, a sci fi noir about a colony gone bad, and jumped back in time to 1600s Spain to see a samurai and a Jesuit priest team up in the sword fighting mystery Cimarronin. Marla checked in on Marvel’s Inhuman to see how Queen Medusa is faring with her city now known to the world, and found a gem with the coming-of-age story Princess Ugg. First up, it’s… Injustice: Gods Among Us is set in a parallel universe where Superman, distraught over Lois Lane’s death, takes over the world to prevent future disasters. But where the game depicts the end of Superman’s story, the Injustice comic follows Superman’s full descent into madness, starting with the destruction of Metropolis. By Year Two Earth’s heroes have already taken sides, but now the Justice League has to contend with the Green Lantern Corps, who suspect Superman is the next great threat to the universe. There are several “What If Superman went bad” stories out there, but what’s delicious about Injustice is that it drags the entire DCU along for the ride. As an ongoing series, we see that the Justice League still has as many alien invasions and crisis events as before; it’s just that Superman doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty to fix them. What’s more, Superman isn’t so evil that you can’t sympathize with him. He regrets fighting his friends and wants to do the right thing, but constantly finds himself crossing moral lines to achieve his goals. That alone elevates Injustice to a superhero tragedy, one that I hope continues for years to come. Favorite Moment: “Ah. Now I see it… The ambition. You want Superman to fail.” – Marshall That being said, the first issue of Lobo does offer an interesting premise. After finally tracking down and killing the alien that stole his name, Lobo is offered a new mission: Head to Earth and stop eight of the universe’s worst bounty hunters from killing their target, by any means necessary. Issue #1 show Lobo confronting the first of these adversaries while facing a conundrum. If someone was willing to hire eight bounty hunters, what stopped them from hiring Lobo himself? That concept alone is enough to get one through Lobo #1, and the ultra-hyper comic book violence is well presented, if you enjoy that sort of thing. It’s just too bad it couldn’t be the original Lobo carrying out this job in his usual, ridiculous fashion. If that’s a hindrance to you, perhaps you could rename him something else for your head canon. Like Pobo. There, I feel better already! Favorite Moment: “We’ll see how the history books remember it… ya bastich!” – Marshall Handling depression is a very common, but still tricky, issue for many. Representing these struggles through Lil’ Depressed Boy is surprisingly appropriate, as it brings to light the silent idiosyncrasies that many sufferers deal with on a regular basis. It’s also clear from the letter columns that LDB’s portrayal is something that’s touched a lot of people, since it showed they weren’t alone in their symptoms. If you’re interested in a reading a nuanced take on the subject, Lil’ Depressed Boy is a great choice. Favorite Moment: “Let’s not let her ruin everyone’s night.” – Marshall Meanwhile, flashbacks also explore the past of Gil Mason, Charlie’s writing partner who was accused of Communist leanings by the FBI. The experience has left Gil broken and unemployed, not to mention reliant on Charlie to help provide for his wife. It’s a very personal and sad story showing that the movie business never worked out for everyone, not just the murdered actress of last issue. The murder investigation takes a back seat to the slow burn of character development, but like any good film noir story, that’s unlikely to keep for long. I still get the feeling that once The Fade Out is complete, this issue is one people will be look back to for hidden clues and character motivations. We’ll find out in future instalments. Favorite moment: “Look at the headstone… they put her fucking stage name on it.” – Marshall In this issue, Dick and Helena are partnered with another pair of agents to catch “The Old Gun”, an eyeless assassin who connected his optic nerves to his weapons. Everything Old Gun sees, he can shoot, which leads Spyral to think they’ll need weapons to take him down. But Dick has no interest in killing any of his enemies, preferring his martial art skills, acrobatics, and compassionate nature to achieve his goals. That all comes to a head as Dick’s peaceful solutions and the violent approach of Spyral agents culminate in a tragic ending that packs an emotional punch. This issue gets just about everything right. The moral ambiguity. The Batman-esque fight sequences. And the attempts of a former Robin to hold onto the values he once knew. If that’s what it manages in three issues, I can’t wait to see what comes next. Favorite moment: “That’s not my name.” – Marshall Up next, it’s Stew’s picks… Favorite Moment: “Worthiness should not be defined by the whims of magic weapons. Rise my son, and let the hammer be damned. Rise and remember the hero that you are.” – Stew Favorite Moment: “Fine! I will use my cosmic senses and find you the greatest ice cream in the galaxy!” – Stew Favorite Moment: “You spelled ‘sheriff” wrong.” – Stew Up next, Marla’s picks… Favorite Moment: “Maybe try The Avengers – This seems like their sort of thing.” – Marla Favorite Moment: “Go ahead, stab me with your Spanish knitting needles…” – Marla Pricess Ugg from Oni Press follows Princess Ülga, berserker warrior of the northern tribes, on her quest to find better way to end her people’s ceaseless war with the frost giants. After learning that the five lowland kingdoms have a place where princesses go to learn, Ülga set out to join the school, and quickly discovers that her fighting and survival skills don’t help much when it comes to weaving, royal etiquette, and the verbal sparring matches of the other princesses. Determined to learn diplomacy, Ülga ‘s first assignment is to become friend with her standoffish, prissy roommate. Written and illustrated by Ted Naifeh, with colors by Warren Wucinich, Princess Ugg is fantastic blend of Conan the Barbarian and Disney-style princesses. Short sequences in each issues are done in watercolor by Naifeh, and the effect is stunning. Ülga ‘s accent can be a little jarring at times, but Naifeh’s writing deftly avoids the tropes that could plunge a series like this into boring territory. Ülga ‘s motivations are far from cliché, the princesses from the lowlands have different cultures and personalities, and the world hints deftly at wider magical concerns. Princess Ugg has been such a satisfying read that I’m hesitant to talk much about its plot and character development out of fear of spoiling it. If you’ve ever felt out of place, or misunderstood, or like chasing a unicorn with a battle-axe, you’ll find something to love in Princess Ugg. Favorite Moment: “What do yeh take me for, a barbarian?” – Marla Malhotra manages to capture the grungy sci-fi feel of the colony while keeping up the classic beats and look of a noir drama. The mystery of the anomaly, and the recent rash of disappearances is carefully built up. The stunning, full page views of space and precise scientific drawings promise a deeply researched, scientifically grounded story, thought the anomaly itself is like nothing we’ve ever discovered. It reminds me in many ways of Blade Runner and The Outer Limits. The Roche Limit is the second science fiction comic (after Lazarus) to make it to my regular reading list. Favorite Moment: “Our only fate is to lie in the beds that we make.”