ATOMIC
EMPIRE

Without too much preamble, here's some reviews and a preview! Enjoy!

All-New All-Different Avengers Annual - This is a hilarious issue about Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel and her brush with fanfiction. As potentially awkward of a series of stories about fanfiction could be, the scripts and artwork have been delightful. Most of them have been tongue-firmly-in-cheek funny and/or they just jump headfirst into the comic book tropes and frolic about.

There are some powerhouse writers and artists involved in the fanfiction vignettes, among them : Mark Waid (Too many to name, check them out here.) , Chip Zdarsky (Sex Criminals, Howard the Duck), Natasha Allegri (Adventure Time, Bee and Puppycat), Scott Kurtz (PvP/ Player Vs. Player), and Zac Gorman (Rick and Morty).

Batgirl and the Birds of Prey - For anyone coming to this book without much context, the main characters are Batgirl / Oracle (Batman), Black Canary (Green Arrow/ Black Canary) and Huntress (Batman / Justice League) . If you've been watching TV's "Arrow", you will recognize both Black Canary and Huntress, and have a rough outline of their origins from the second season episode. A footnote: the character Black Canary is a direct relation to the most recent Black Canary comic series (2015), rather than "Arrow".

The character interactions are roughly what I'd expect: Huntress is surly and filled with super-serious vigilante justice, Batgirl is clever and awkwardly effective, and Black Canary is a dangerous foe and a tough cookie. The plot is interesting, as someone has assumed Oracle's identity, and the relationship dynamics between them stretches and flexes as they focus on the problem at hand.

Angel City - Welcome to the 1930's, by way of LA noir (think L.A. Confidential), and a new spin on the classic detective story.

Dolores Dare is hard-boiled ex-stunt woman, currently a gangster moll and sometimes muscle for Gino Volante. After the death of a former friend and fellow aspiring actress, Dolores is determined to find her friend's killer, as the local cops are too corrupt to care.

The writing is stylistically noir, without being an archaic caricature. It has a easy rhythm to it that keeps you reading and savoring every panel. The art style is just as glossy, shadowy and unflinchingly vibrant as you expect from a noir series.

Among the people who are singing this series' praises are Greg Rucka (who wrote -in my humble opinion- the best parts of Wonder Woman, and Queen & Country), Kelly Sue DeConnick (Bitch Planet and Pretty Deadly, among other excellent works) and Kieron Gillen ( of The Wicked + The Divine and Phonogram fame).

Release date: October 5, 2016

Wubalubadubdub,

Dee