4.20.11 Releases

The name “DHP” sure takes me back to a different time in my comics reading life. Dark Horse Presents #1 (Dark Horse) is 80 pages (and no ads) for $7.99, so hopefully the pieces by Neal Adams, Howard Chaykin, Richard Corben, Paul Chadwick, Frank Miller, Carla Speed McNeil, and more! will pass the casual flip test and make it home. It would be great to see one of the larger publishers actually do the impossible and sustain an anthology book. Also out this week is DC Comics Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes: Legion of the Damned #1 (DC), which is a ridiculous mouthful of a title, yet it still stands as my all time absolute favorite LSH story and is the only time I’ve ever purchased the book regularly. This $7.99, 96-page volume collects Legionnaires #78-79 and Legion of Super-Heroes #123-124, written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, with art by Olivier Coipel. Abnett & Lanning were acclaimed for some of their Marvel Cosmic work, but this series predates that by roughly 10 years. Similarly, Coipel has made a big splash at Marvel on various projects, but this is some of his finest work, in a sketchier, looser, darker style. While it’s interesting to think DC had the better projects from these three, Marvel ultimately pulled a coup by signing all of them to exclusive deals. In any case, it’s a great jumping on point for this run of the series, since the hardcover collection of Legion Lost, the 12 issue series immediately following these events, is due out in June. You might have also heard, there’s this little series called DMZ that I think is pretty good. DMZ #64 (DC/Vertigo) is out this week, which means there are only 8 issues left! Marvel offers up a double tap of their two finest titles with Invincible Iron Man #503 (Marvel) and Uncanny X-Force #8 (Marvel) both appearing in stores. Let’s hope the Fear Itself crossover doesn’t cock things up too badly.