Auld Lang Syne!! It's Mr. Chair's comic book pick of the week!

I have no idea how to spell Auld Lange Syne, but I'm pretty sure that's wrong.

Oh my, back in town after a swell trip south and let's see what was on the new release wall upon return. Not much really. Particularly after the little Christmas treat that was Shaolin Cowboy. Man oh man what fun.

For starters, Marvel proved once again the astounding ability the big comic companies have for underestimating their audience. Yet another retelling, recycling, reinterpretation of superhero lore designed to milk our overeager nostalgia and make us buy stupid comics. A whole new "What if" series came out with some of the industry's top writers answering those burning questions that nobody gives a shit about. To be fair, I only read two of these, mostly because I gagged a little bit as I was picking them up in the store. For those who don't know, a "What if," is a trend of the past in which a writer uses a one-shot to toy with a superhero's mythology. What if Wolverine had claws of plastic, that kind of thing. Sometimes these are cool (usually in the form of DC Elseworlds) in spite of the tired subject matter. Most of the time they are forced and a major let down. Sort of like cover songs. I read "What if Aunt May was killed instead of Uncle Ben?" Ed Brubaker is one of my favorite writers, but this was pointless. Also, "What if Jessica Jones had joined the Avengers?" This is pure Bendis fanboy fodder. It had 16!!! pages of recap about Jessica Jones, and another 15 or so of really stupid shit that ended with JJ marrying Captain America. What a fucking revelation! I heard Bendis' Karen Page retelling was good, but again, do we really care?

Enough enourmously arrogant bitching. The MCPotW is yet another Ellis book. I really didn't want to pick him again, but I was left with no choice, as the Invincible Iron Man was far and away the best book on the rack this week. I know I just spent 500 or so words ranting about superhero books, but there's nothing tired or recycled about this one. Second in the series, it tops the first issue with two great intercut narratives. (If you haven't read it and are interested stop here or I'll ruin it) One is Tony Stark's dad lecturing him and his sister about the historic benefits of DMT and psychedelic mushrooms, along with the suspect nature of mechanical and biological invention. The other is a beautifully drawn/computer painted sequence of an ultra-violent one man massacre. Another great example of the way comics can be exciting and thought-provoking beyond the traditional uses, Ellis' Iron Man tackles some great issues: military research ethics, medicine and shamanism as tech research, the use of drugs as a tool for evolution. And it looks cool. And it's violent. And it quotes Godspeed You Black Emperor. What more could you want?

Here's hoping there's more interesting stuff next week. (Tomine, Clowes, Lapham, we need you!) And please correct me if I missed something grand. I know our new addition is chock full of opinions.