Busy?  Bah!  I’ve got a list to compile!

• Veil #3 (Dark Horse): The ante has been upped–and so has my interest in the book. It ain’t Lazarus, folks, but it ain’t bad: Greg Rucka’s going full Fatale, and Toni Fejzula’s art is pretty striking.

• Astro City #12 (DC/Vertigo): The follow-up to a terrific #11, which you’ll see highlighted in a celebratory post in the not-so-distant future.
• Batman Eternal #5 (DC): Into my second month of Gotham-centered gobbledygook. #4 offered up plenty of reasons to jump off–including an awful conversation between Batman and Batgirl. I mean, who talks like that?
• The Wake #8 (DC/Vertigo): Ah, a rare double dose of Scott Snyder.  I was disappointed with #7: it didn’t quite sell what #6 so emphatically offered.  By and by, I buy.
• Alex + Ada #6 (Image): Nothing artificial about this intelligent little tale from Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn.  Ada’s awake–let the nightmare begin!

• Clone #16 (Image): #15 is a bit lost on me, but that’s OK; Clone‘s been a fun ride.
• Fatale #22 (Image): No surprise here: Fatale has been nominated for an Innie in the Best Ongoing Series category!  #21 didn’t quite capture the same magic as #20–our #2 book of February–but is was still pretty darned good.  Hey: Brubaker and Phillips are competing against themselves–the ridiculously high standard they’ve set for themselves over the life of this brilliant book.  Hmm…  Would that be a fatal strength?

• Nailbiter #1 (Image): I haven’t been taken by anything I’ve read from Joshua Williamson.  But I’ll take this one home, thank you very much.  It’s a #1 thing.
• Rat Queens #6 (Image): Violently vivacious vermin with a bit o’ the ol’ va-va-voom.  Queen me!
• Satellite Sam #8 (Image): Hawkeye is very good.  Sex Criminals is more overrated than x-rated.  Satellite Sam, however, is proving to be Fraction’s flagship.  Doesn’t hurt that Howard Chaykin’s black and white art is out of this world.
• Cyclops #1 (Marvel): Greg Rucka–nominated for an Innie in the Best Writer category for his work on Lazarus–returns to the hot half of the Big Two and takes on one of my all-time favorite characters.  Even though we’re going to be spinning ’round in space, I’m still pretty psyched.

• Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #2 (Marvel): Writer/artist Kaare Andrews impressed with an engaging #1.  Highlight: his building of Danny’s backstory.  Let’s see what he does with Danny’s frontstory.
• Loki: Agent of Asgard #4 (Marvel): Al Ewing’s having fun and so am I; so I’m still buying.
• Magneto #3 (Marvel): I really liked what Cullen Bunn did in #2: he crafted a tight, emotionally affecting story from the past and cradled it expertly with a tense present.

• Miracleman #5 (Marvel): So, so good.  What have we learned after four issues?  Alan Moore’s the real Miracleman.
• Moon Knight #3 (Marvel): Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey delivered a kill-shot–one after another–with #2.  If you–yeah, you–didn’t pick it up, do yourself a favor and grab it and #3 while you’re at it.
• Archer & Armstrong #20 (Valiant): Two words: new arc.  Thank Van Lente.

• Caliban #2 (Avatar): The first one was good enough to give this one a go.  Liked it more than I liked Pariah and the space side of Letter 44, if that tells you anything.  I’m not too sure that tells me anything.
• The Sixth Gun #40 (Oni Press): As solid–and consistent–an ongoing as you’re bound to find.  That’s right: no peaks and valleys here: Bunn and Hurtt are brilliant from one issue to the next.
• The Woods #1 (BOOM!): James Tynion IV goes original with some otherworldly horror.  Talk about field trips!

What are you looking forward to this week?

Turning pages,

Scott