June 5th, 2013

I look outside at clear blue skies and green plants. The temperature isn't too hot, the humidity’s not too choking, and the insects haven’t blotted out any major light sources. It is, to be blunt, a remarkable season.

And among the fruits in this season’s first crop are a few titles that we haven’t seen in a long time, each feature new number 1's. They're all recognizable, popular, and haven't missed a beat in all the time they've been away.

Let's look at Kick-Ass 3 #1 (Millar/ Romita Jr.) first. The juvenile vigilante hits the streets again with a fresh crew and a brand new agenda.

In the last volume, the most capable junior justice distributor, Hit-Girl, was arrested buying time for Kick-Ass and the rest of their newfound gang of costumed crusaders to escape. This volume opens with an intricate escape plan to bust her out, with the largest obstacle not involving laser grids or unpredictable guard schedules, but adolescent attention spans.

I can honestly say this series has the same feel and tone of the first two. Dave Lizewski is the same awkward, well-intentioned young man that puts himself over his head on a regular basis. Everyone around him loves the concept behind what he’s doing, but lacks the passion to fully commit like he does. And like the previous volumes, I just can’t comprehend why this is so popular. It’s not gritty or realistic – Dave would and should be persistently vegetative or dead by now. It’s not because this is inspiring – any time someone does something noble or strong, they’re somehow punished. Near as I can tell, the biggest standout quality this book has it that it provides the most socially-acceptable forum to watch teenagers beaten up outside of YouTube. And thinking of it that way, it makes some sense.

Any fans of the first two volumes are going to find plenty more to love in this one. If you haven't been following it, you will miss little in passing the title by.

Astro City #1 (Busiek/ Anderson) is a slightly different beast. Astro City has never followed a single character, instead looking through an ensemble cast at a location that seems to hold everything anyone could want. Just like Serenity in Firefly, the location is treated as a character, with its own interactions, highlights, and troubles.

There’s a lot going on in this issue. A grand, celestial doorway appears just outside the city limits, a new superhero emerges whose physiology could only sustain herself with some reality-bending aid, and the fourth wall gets some aggressive renovation so that it can accommodate a service window complete with its own rude, overactive attendant. And along with all the cosmic conflicts and international intrigue is an average man entering his twilight years looking for something new to do with his life.

What’s always impressed me about this title is the balance it provides to its scope. Superhero comics take a top-down approach literally, where the impossible people look down upon the normal folk; in Astro City, the story is told from the ground up. Jane Doe has to save herself from student loans and insufficient parking, and when that gets stressful, she can always look up and know that at least she doesn't have to defend against sentient meteors with abandonment issues. With this, not only does Astro City read as a place the audience could seem themselves, but its heroes read as people a reader might actually meet. It’s a singular take on the genre that no one else has been able to capture, much to the industry’s loss.

This comic is a clear summer day that makes you want to take a walk as see the world with your own eyes, just to make sure the world's still there and having a good time. Buy it.

Last, and far from least, we welcome back Herobear and the Kid (Mike Kunkle). This is a one-shot prefacing a mini-series that'll be on shelves in August, an appetizer before the main course. Since many readers were drooling as soon as it appeared on the menu, I don't know how necessary such a thing is, but we're eating it up.

Tyler is a young boy that has just a little more to deal with than most kids his age. He moved into a new house, one his parents inherited from his grandfather. There’s a pack of bullies, each at least twice his size, that delight in torturing him. He’s noticing the difference between the girls he likes and the ones he doesn't. And lest we forget, his toy bear, another inheritance, can turn into a talking polar bear that could give Superman a decent fight, but would much rather take him out for a root beer. This issue starts with the bane of schooltime drama that is Picture Day and becomes an adventure to stop a techno-villain’s latest heist. Like any day a child gets to hang out with their best friend while wearing capes, it's the best day of his life.

Mike Kunkle took a break from this title to work on a couple projects in animation that a few readers may've heard of. That style of art hits the eyes clearly, even if the lines themselves have a rough appearance. As far as I'm concerned, it just hammers home the fact that this is a hand-drawn comic, a personal love note. Herobear is the kind of character that would just as soon hug the world's problems away, but proves wholly capable of laying a beat down to a school of rowdy robotic fish when the situation demands. Tyler's imagination gets the best of him, and rather than punished and replaced with cold, hard reality, that imagination gets encouraged at every opportunity. That's a feat of magic.

This is a kid's comic in the sense that it connects to every child, especially the ones that've grown a bit. It's a book many will enjoy, especially if it's shared.

Okay, if anyone needs me, I'll be at the dentist, because this week's entry turned out so sweet I gave myself cavities. Happy reading!

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