With an adult comics enthusiast (me, for the record) and a seven-year-old in the house, comics and their representations in other media often factor into the holidays in our homestead. This year was no exception, with Santa dropping off a super-hero video game for the boy, among other items.
My wife — aware our son has been learning how to play chess at his after-school program and that my father, brothers and I often played chess during my youth — picked up this little number when she spotted it at a discount dollar store in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Big Moose, One-Shot
Superb Volume 1 trade paperback
M.O.D.O.K. Assassin #s 1 & 2
After the fun I had reading Hellboy: Krampusnacht, I thought I’d delve into another holiday-themed comic for amusement, and the Curse Words Holiday Special popped up on my radar. Now, while I haven’t read any issues from the regular series, I figured this would be an accessible gateway into the property. It turns out it was and it wasn’t. While the premise here is clear enough — a dark, fantasy future is ruled over by a powerful magical entity and his wizard minions — this one-shot doesn’t give one a sense of what the regular title is all about. As such, this comic is low on plot and therefore has to focus on the oddball, villainous characters that populate this psychedelic future. Soule succeeds in conveying the characters’ corrupt and twisted nature — which means there’s really no figure in this book for which the reader can cheer. Everyone is so… off-putting. It’s like the book is is a DayGlo, candy-coated convention of ugliness. Soule’s distortions of holiday traditions for this weird world are creative and colorful, but several of them are rather… well, gross. And that’s the point, I know; it just wasn’t my thing. 
Hellboy: Krampusnacht one-shot
Quantum and Woody! v.3 #1
Marvel Two-in-One v.2 #1
When this weekly series was released 10 years, I was terribly curious about it. There was a lot about the premise that piqued my interest. Each of the five issues offered a team-up between two unlikely characters, and I’m always been a sucker for team-up titles. Furthermore, I was a fan of the original Batman and the Outsiders title from the 1980s and had lost track of the 21st century revival. I also appreciate a comic on a weekly schedule, and several of the creative contributors on the series were of interest to me. Nevertheless, I ended up passing on it. I was probably bogged down with too many other comics to read anyway. I recently got the chance to pick these comics up at a fraction of the original price (cheaper than the cost of a single issue), and now I’m wondering if maybe I sensed something less than satisfying about these books when they originally hit the stands.
Rumble v.2 #1
4 Kids Walk into a Bank trade paperback
I remember when I was a kid buying World’s Finest #271, one of DC’s many oversized dollar titles, and that issue promised a celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Superman/Batman team. It explored the history of the characters’ connection (and I believed it opened to my eyes to DC’s multiple-earths concepts, which I loved). That purchase was made 36 years ago, so it’s safe to say I’ve read a lot of Superman/Batman team-up stories. With this newly released story, Tom King may have delivered the best Superman/Batman story to date. The villain in this opening chapter of the “Superfriends” story arc is deliciously deep cut, but what makes this such a memorable and touching piece of pop culture is King’s focus on who Bruce and Clark are and they view one another. The pacing and scripting are meticulous. I love how every moment, every word parallels another. I can’t begin to express how happy this comic book made me. My awe at the writing gave way to a real warmth inside. Thanks, Mr. King, for snatching a relatively simple notion out of the ether — the heroes’ unspoken awe and respect for one another — and shaping a wonderfully grounded tale that still builds on the ongoing engagement story.
Runaways v.4 #s 1-4
Jupiter Jet #1
Faith and the Future Force trade paperback
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