"Rasl: The Drift" (Cartoon Books, black and white, $13) collects the first three issues of Jeff Smith's new sci-fi series in a nice, oversize format that includes new pages. The first of three volumes, "Rasl: The Drift" is above all else a comicbook. It's not written like a move, drawn like a movie or intended to be like a movie in any way — and it's incredibly refreshing to find such a thing. But it's also good — the concept of a rough-and-tumble kid tramping through dimensions stealing artwork is executed with the kind of craft and care that makes you want to find out what's next. While it may not find the same large audience as "Bone" — this isn't an all-ages project — it's still an excellent example of what mainstream comics can be. Grade: A-

"Marvel Chronicle: A Year-by-Year History" (DK Publishing, 352 pages, color, $405) is a handsome coffee-table/gift book that breaks down the company's history by year, starting in 1939 and running all the way through 2008. The book benefits from being written by a group of experts that includes Marvel history expert Peter Sanderson, current Marvel exec editor Tom Brevoort and former Marvei editor in chief Tom DeFalco. The nature of the format means this is good for casual fans or those who need some brushing up on their Marvel history, rather than those looking for deep analysis or new revelations. The production value is on the whole quite high, though there are a few nitpicks — most notably a number of spreads featuring blown up images of comic panels that have been relettered with a rather lame looking computer font. Also, some of the image quality varies. But on the whole, this is a nice overview for especially new fans of Marvel. Grade: B+

The X-Files #1 (WildStorm, 32 pages, color $3.50) is good enough to be mistaken for a stand-alone episode from one of the long-running show's good years. Writer Frank Spotnitz — who was a writer, producer and exec producer on eight of the show's nine seasons and co-writer this summer's feature film — successfully recreates the show's classic feel even as there's no indication of when this story took place in relation to the series or the movie. The art by Brian Denham helps immeasurably with excellent likenesses and the kind of clarity in storytelling that's often missing from this kind of project. Grade: B

Batman: Cacophony #1 (DC Comics, 40 pages, color, $3.99) is pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a Batman comic written by director Kevin Smith. It's a talky tale in which the Joker and Deadshot go off on long rounds of occasionally scatalogical repartee. It's not the grand, cinematic opera of "The Dark Knight," but with good clear art from Walt Flanagan, it's also a pretty solid, entertaining comicbook. Grade: B-

"Heroes, Vol. 2" (DC Comics/WildStorm, 272 pages, color, $29.99) is the second hardcover collection of webcomics based on the popular NBC series. These are mostly short bits that fill in the blanks for some of the characters and, as such, is hardly essential reading. But the quick-hit serial nature of the whole thing is engrossing in its own way. It's almost like looking what comics would be like if they retained the kind of periodical nature of comics in the 1970s and 1980s, complete with consistent and commercial-looking coloring and lettering. The quality varies immensely, with the art in particular having more than a few rough spots, and as such may not be worth the $29.99 price tag for casual fans. A third volume is planned, though after two volumes of mini-stories, it would be a good change of pace to see what could be done with a longer story featuring the main characters in the series doing things that wouldn't work on TV. Grade: B-

Push #1 (WildStorm, 32 pages, color, $3.50) is a prequel to the upcoming feature film starring Dakota Fanning and Chris Evans. Writers Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman weave a tale of covert missions and superpowers that in some ways defies expectations in that the story comes through despite nothing being directly explained. It's confusing at times, and I found myself wondering how much I gleaned from the comic itself and how much was left over from my attending the Comic-Con panel on the film. Either way, there's at least a few clever, videogame style kicks in here — even if the whole picture isn't crystal clear. Grade: C+

"Northlanders, Vol. 1: Sven The Returned" (DC/Vertigo, 200 pages, color, $9.99) collects the first eight issues of the viking adventure series. The most immediately notable aspect is Davide Gianfelice's art, which evokes the action and grittiness of "300" and is just pretty to look at. The script by Brian Wood tells the tale of Sven, who returns to the Norse village of Orkney in 980 A.D. to find it ruled with an iron fist by his uncle Gorm, who stole the crown from Sven's now-dead father. Sven, of course, fights to liberate the village and restore his famiy's honor even as the Saxons invade. It works pretty well on an action basis, but there's also a modern, urban vibe (Wood's normal setting) that complicates and slows down the book. It doesn't go deep enough to satisfy the brain and isn't fast enough to thrill. Grade: C+

"Joker" (DC Comics, $19.99) is a hardcover graphic novel by writer Brian Azzarello of "100 Bullets" fame and artist Lee Bermejo that explores the grotesque world in which this character operates. It takes a page from "The Dark Knight" in its portrayal of the character, taking the psychopathic edge Heath Ledger brought to the screen and trying to figure out what this character would do when he's not fighting Batman. This is not a trip for the squeamish, and Bermejo's intentionally grotesque art does a lot to bring this world to life, while the story struggles — as all serious Joker stories do — with making so  psychopathic a character believable and interesting without the juxtaposition of Batman. Grade: B

"The Spirit: A Pop-Up Graphic Novel" (Insight Editions-DC Comics $34.95) is one of those super-cool things that is in retrospect so obvious you wonder why no one ever did this before. Taking Will Eisner's the classic Sand Saref story (which will be adapted to Frank Miller's upcomign film), adapter Bruce Foster both honors the original content and makes it brand new and exciting all at the same time. Grade: A-.

Dark Horse also has a new mug out featuring the logo of The Umbrella Academy, based on the comic series by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba (Dark Horse, $12.99).

Just in time for Halloween, is a new run of Jones Soda labels featuring "The Goon." The soda was, as always with Jones, quite tasty and an excellent way to quench that Goon-size, zombie-stomping thirst.

The first of six issues spinning off from the new Fox series, Fringe #1 (Wildstorm, $2.99) feels too much like a place for the show’s writers to dump their back-story notes. Two stories here — one about the past of Walter Bishop; the other a seemingly stand-along “fringe science” case — don’t feature either of the show’s lead characters. The comic also, by focusing on the past, seems to violate the show’s promise to avoid complicated mythologies. And it still feels far too disconnected from the show to add much to the experience. Grade: C

Scott Pilgrim: Full-Colour Odds & Ends 2008 (Oni Press) is a modest package that nevertheless epitomizes everything cool about the game-playing slacker’s graphic novel series. Of special interest is seeing creator Bryan Lee O’Malley’s work in color — done so well Dean Trippe and Jason Horn that it’s a shame the rest of the series isn’t done this way. Grade: B+

An ongoing series from “Cairo” creators G. Willow Wilson and M.K. Perker, Air #1 (DC/Veritgo, $2.99) is a interesting mixture of fantasy, romance and air travel, centered around a flight attendant named Blythe who meets a mystery man and visits countries that no longer exist. It evokes the direction “Lost” has taken in recent seasons, but with more of an international flair and an appealing mix of romance that allows it to overcome a few growing pains in the writing and the art. Grade: B+

Greatest Hits #1 (DC/Vertigo, $2.99) is an oddball concept — a 1960s superhero group analogous to The Beatles that is a surprisingly conventional revisionist superhero comic. Glenn Fabry’s art is always welcome, but the flashback framing sequence involving a Hollywood movie about the team and the slightly sleazy and cynical take on era all feels stale and lacking any of the charms of the era its trying to evoke. Grade: C+

Judenhass (Aardvark-Vanaheim, $4) is not really a story as much as Dave Sim illustrating a series of short observations and quotations using the photorealism techniques he’s taken up of late. The art is, as always with Sim, stunning and accomplished — and in this case, suitably evokes the horror. The text is slim, but worth reading for the way Sim’s hoice of quote reinforce something often forgotten today: the ways in which anti-Semitism was accepted and easily observable in the governments and cultures of the nations that came to later defeat and condemn Hitler for his actions. Grade: B+

Archie #587 (Archie Comics, $2.25) kicks off the five-part Freshman Year storyline, in which the Riverdale kids look like they’ll be split up even before they start high school. Archie comics remain light, fun family entertainment — and this is no exception, doing a good job at the same time of feeling current and relevant. Grade: B.

DC’s Minx line offers more sophisticated takes on being young with “Token” (by Alisa Kwitney and Joelle Jones, $9.99) — about a young Jewish girl tempted by shoplifting and romance with a dashing mystery boy — and “The New York Four” (by the “Local” crew of Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly, $9.99) — in which a college freshman learns to live with her friends, herself and deal with life away from her cell phone. Both stories are emotionally honest while having just a slight edge in tone and look — especially Kelly’s wonderfully gritty take on the Big Apple — that should appeal to teen readers. Grade: B (“New York Four”), B- (“Token”).

Simpsons Super Spectacular #7 (Bongo, $2.99) features a pair of clever superhero parodies, saddling Bartman with an unwanted sidekick called the Salesman, and sending Radioactive Man into “The House of Westinger!,” a friendly poke at the 1950s and 1960s Superman comics edited by Mort Weisinger. Goofy fun with a few moments worthy of out-loud laughs. Grade: B

I finally got around to reading Mark Evanier’s excellent “Kirby: King of Comics” (Abrams, $40) an illustrated biography of Jack Kirby. Evanier gives an excellent and entertaining overview of Kirby’s life and conveys in a relatively short text a compelling portrait of Kirby’s life, personality and motivations. Here’s hoping the wait isn’t too long for the more detailed bio of Kirby that Evanier plans to write. Grade: A+.

Herbie Archives Vol. 1 (Dark Horse, $49.95) is one of those hidden gems that just kind of hits you from out of nowhere. Most fans probably know little about Herbie Popnecker, a fat kid with glasses and an affinity for lollipops who most definitely is not what he first appears to be. Appearing first in the American Comics Group's Forbidden Worlds series in 1958, Herbie not only talks to animals, but he can fly, travel through time, and is renowned by important and historic figures throughout the world and the universe. Describing these tales — written by Richard E. Hughes (as Shane O'Shea) and drawn by Ogden Whitney — hardly does them justice — they're bizarre, very funny and the sort of thing that could only have been done in comics at the time. This is a pricey, high-quality volume, though it's worth it for the chance to discover some of these near-forgotten beauties. Grade: A.

Supernatural Law #45 (Exhibit A Press, $3.50) is the kind of cross over comics need more of. In addition to the series' usual wordplay and legal humor, this issue sees Wolff and Byrd defend Troma Films' flagship character The Toxic Avenger from charges of being a monster in a trial presided over by Troma chief Lloyd S. Kaufman himself. As usual, Batton Lash puts out well-written story — With a plot! And interesting characters! And jokes! — that is perfectly matched by the artwork. But the Troma stuff makes for an especially good match, lifting this above the series usual high-water mark. Grade: A.

No Hero #0 (Avatar, $1) is a promo intro for another hard-edged, "serialised graphic novel" about superheroes from Warren Ellis and Juan Jose Ryp, who just wrapped up Black Summer. As usual, Ellis tells a tale of tough-as-nails superheroes who have no problem taking the law into their own hands and throwing their weight around to do what they think is right. This time, a killer is after the heroes, allowing for Ryp to bring his insanely detailed style to a scene that outgrosses anything a dozen seasons of "C.S.I." could pull off. Ellis' ideas always elevate the material above what could otherwise be simple exercises in violence and gore, but there's also a feeling that if he pulled back just a bit, one of these Avatar series could cross over to a wider audience the way The Authority did way back in 1999. Grade: B+.

In War Heroes #1 (Image Comics, $2.99), "Wanted" creator Mark Millar injects superheroes into the war on terror by having the U.S. discover a way to give all its soldiers pills that endow them temporarily with superpowers. What's sure to provoke people is the politics of the comic, as the success of superpowered soldiers leads to not just success in Iraq and Afghanistan, but an invasion of Iran and characters inspired enough to espouse the kind of all-out, gee-shucks patriotism not seen since newsreels plugged War Bonds. The approach delivers its share of drama — augmented by Tony Harris' heavily photo-referenced artwork — though the first issue leaves the question up in the air of whether Millar will take this approach to an extreme or pull out the rug from under it. Grade: B.

Time to motor through the giant stack of books that has been piling up throughout the summer and see what we think.

The Alcoholic (Vertigo, $19.99, out in September) is a groovy tale that’s the best so far of Vertigo’s new series of original graphic novels. Novelist Jonathan Ames manages to bring his distinctive voice to comics with a script that’s funny, touching and seemingly tailor made for artist Dean Haspiel. I still think $19.99 for 136 black and white pages is a bit much — even in hardcover — but this is a cool tale that goes down easily enough to be worth it. Grade: A-. ...

Tales of the Starlight Drive-In (Image Comics, $19.99) is a convincingly bittersweet love letter to the passion pits that once dotted the American landscape. Newspaper reporter Michael San Giacomo writes a series of short vignettes that cover the history of the Starlight Drive-In from its glory days to the present, with different artists illustrating each story. The stories have a ring of authenticity and it’s easy to imagine San Giacomo — a reporter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer — might have dug up these stories while rummaging through the paper’s library of old issues. The final comics are by nature a bit uneven, given the number of artists involved, but this still ends up an effective and satisfying taste of nostalgia and Americana. Grade: B. ... 

Janes in Love (DC/Minx, $9.99, out in September), the sequel to last year’s debut Minx title, The Plain Janes, is thankfully more of the same — an appealing story about normal, creative girls trying to fit in. Reuniting writer Cecil Castellucci and artist Jim Rugg, the Janes are more charming, earnest and fun than ever, making up for a plot that falls shorter on the drama. Some of that likely comes from the novelty having worn off a bit, but it seems unlikely to slow down the Janes, who already are set to appear in a third book. Grade: B.

Todd McFarlane’s Spawn is still motoring along quite nicely in issues #178-180 (Image Comics, $2.95 each), proving that it’s still possible that superhero comics can succeed as entertainment all on their own. Writer David Hine has had a good run on this title, playing with the basics of Spawn in fun ways while never forgetting this is essentially a horror comic. The art also is slick and fun. Brian Haberlin serves up some excellent horror work while Mike Mayhew delivers some stunning photorealism in #179’s standalone tale of a WWI veteran who has to choose eternal death to save the life of his bastard son. These comics won’t change anyone’s life, but they were a lot of fun to read. Grade: B+. …

I received a copy of Jonny Gambit 01: The Prodigal Son Preview Edition (Pure Comics) in the mail and it’s like an artifact from the black-and-white boom of the 1980s. That may be appropriate, given that the character previously appeared in a single issue about 20 years ago. The story and the art are a pure throwback to that time — though not in a completely unpleasant way. The story about a futuristic city gone wrong and the racing toughs who may be able to save the man who can fix it is pure 1980s, complete with an elaborate and complete backstory. The art holds this back a bit — it’s flat, angular and simple and would benefit greatly from some quality inking and the addition of color. Grade: C.

Color is no problem for Radical Comics, whose books are all lushly painted and tell stories thick with blood and oil. Hercules: The Thracian War #1-4 ($2.99 each) seems like it wants to tap into the ancient war action of "300" and "Beowulf," but comes off more like "Conan." I’m not sure why Hercules and his coterie of demi-gods aren’t using their “powers” more, but an even stranger note is struck by the extent of the characters’ thirst for blood. The dialog is full of references to eating hearts, scooping out brains and cannibalism, eventually making it hard to see the heroism in the patriotically-motivated Hercules’ and his crew. Grade: B-. …

Caliber: First Canon of Justice #1-4 ($2.99 each) has a little more depth to it, but suffers from the lack of clarity that has often plagued comics that are fully painted by anyone save perhaps Alex Ross. Characters are so fully integrated into their realistic surroundings that it’s often hard to tell who’s who from panel to panel. That’s made even tougher by a script that revels in taut dialog over any kind of direct exposition that could clear up the plot and perhaps inject some deeper personalities into this Western take on the legend of King Arthur that John Woo is attached to direct. Grade: C. … Radical’s third series, Freedom Formula #1 ($2.99), is a sci-fi tale that evokes anime in general and “Akira” in particular. The story — optioned by Bryan Singer as a film for him to produce — is standard fare about futuristic couriers who take their duties to clients and their families very seriously, but what this is really all about is the cool Transformers-style tech and a futuristic setting artists Chester Ocampo and Kai depict with scope and imagination. Grade: B-.

DC/Vertigo continues to roll new ongoing series with a pair that go back to the imprint’s roots in fantasy. Madame Xanadu #1 ($2.99) has been out for a while, revamping an old DCU character with a new origin from writer Matt Wagner and artist Amy Reeder Hadley. This features lots of the fairies, magicians and medieval-style witchcraft in a style that evokes at least a little bit the classic “Midsummer Night’s Dream” issue of Sandman. The book looks lovely and reads well, though it’s underwhelming enough to raise questions about why this character would be revived using the approach the least likely to win over the superhero fans who are most likely to know her. Grade: C. …

Also out for a while now is House of Mystery #1 ($2.99), a more traditional Vertigo book, featuring oddball fantasy tales from strange characters. The stories are quirky and creepy in a fun way — no surprise, given that this is written by Jack of Fables collaborators Matthew Sturges and Bill Willingham — and there’s enough variety here to lure the curious back for more. Grade: B.

The Damned: Prodigal Sons #1 (Oni Press, $3.50) is a solid comic that improves greatly on the first book in this demons-as-the-mob series. Writer Cullen Bunn and artist Brian Hurtt draw their characters and the boundaries of their fictional world well. Hurtt in particular brings care and craft to the art, which all by itself lifts this above the vast majority of today’s indie comics. Grade: B+ ...

Resurrection #1-4 (Oni Press, $3.50) has an interesting concept, a top-notch writer in Marc Guggenheim of ABC-TV’s “Brothers and Sisters,” and plenty of rave reviews. I agree that the basic idea is a good one — What happens after the aliens who invaded in “War of the Worlds” or “V” head home? But four issues into the series, not much has happened save long conversations that appear borrowed from other movies. In some ways, this is too much like a TV show and not enough like a comic. It doesn’t help that the art by David Dumeer, while decent, at times doesn’t well match the dramatic content of the writing. More action and less talk would help this a lot. Grade: C.

It's been four years, 24 issues, 11 variant covers, and one movie adaptation since Joss Whedon and John Cassaday began their run on Astonishing X-Men, which at last comes to a conclusion in Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1 (Marvel, $4.99). Despite all the publishing delays and the extra pages this final issue affords, the conclusion is ultimately a big let down.

For those waiting for the trade, be warned: the rest of this review is all SPOILERS:

Action Comics Annual #11 (DC, $4.99) wraps up the long-delayed "Last Son of Krypton" story co-written by "Superman: The Movie" director Richard Donner. Despite the delay, this was a very satisfying ending with some truly epic art by Adam Kubert marred only by what seem like some coloring glitches. ... DC Universe #0 (DC, 50 cents) is a low-cost primer for fans old and new in advance of Final Crisis, and as such is more of a recap than an actual story. The big thing with this issue is the return of a long-missing fan-favorite character, though the execution of it is implied to the point where it's not clear how many people would have really understood that was the point without all the surrounding hype.

Invincible Iron Man #1 (Marvel, $2.99) kicks off the Golden Avenger's second ongoing series with a smart script from Matt Fraction and fantastic looking art from Salvador Larocca. This is the sort of book that might have a real chance at convincing moviegoers to pick up a comic and stick with it. ... Logan #3 (Marvel, $3.99) is a disappointing conclusion to the Brian K. Vaughan-Eduardo Risso collaboration. The Hiroshima idea that seemed so cool in the first issue has degenerated into a strange and sadly routine fight in which Logan's nemesis rips out his heart and eats it — an attack that merely slows down the mutant and points up how invincible and unable to be put in serious jeopardy the character has become.

Glamourpuss #1 (Aardvark-Vanaheim, $3), Dave Sim's follow-up to 300 issues of Cerebus, isn't really a story as much as a parody of fashion magazines and discussion of the photorealistic comics artwork of Alex Raymond, John Prentice, Al Williamson and Neal Adams. Sim's recreations of specific panels in this style and his own fashionplate illustrations are stunning, making this a book that really is all about the art. ... Local #11 (Oni Press, $2.99) is the best issue to date of the series, with a Toronto art student forcing wandering protagonist Megan to face the artifacts of her life. Ryan Kelly really outdoes himself on the art, which is expessive, detailed and distinct.

From the graphic novel pile, comes X-O Manowar: Birth (Valiant Entertainment, $24.95), which includes the first six issues of the classic series as well as issue #0 and a new short story. The story mixes Conan and Iron Man to produce a satisfyingly cool hero. The art ranges from serviceable to fantastic, with #0 featuring one of the early bravura efforts from Marvel editor in chief Joe Quesada and his frequent collaborator, Jimmy Palmiotti. The recoloring job is good, though it's always a shame when such a nice package shows at times the ragged line reproduction common to not having original art or film to work from.

Hercules: The Thracian Wars #1 and Caliber #1 (both 32 pages for only $1) are the first comicbook releases from new publisher Radical Comics, headed up by rock photographer turned producer Barry Levine and featuring dark stories smothered even more in what looks like buckets and buckets of oh-so-serious painted artwork.  Everything is so dark that it's at times hard to follow the story and characters from panel to panel — and the noir-ish scripting does little to alleviate this. Hercules in particular is light on plot but easy enough to figure out; fantasy Western tale Caliber was tougher to follow but more obviously could be very cool if its concept can escape the dark art into the light of day. ...

Dead, She Said #1 (IDW, $3.99) tells the tale of a private eye who continues his case even though he's so dead his guts are spilling out. Full pencils and inks by Berni Wrightson are a big draw on this one, though somehow it fails to live up to the cool factor he established on DC's 1970s horror books. ... Igor Movie Prequel #1 (IDW, $3.99) tells two tales that help set up this fall's animated feature from The Weinstein Co. The art has a clever, CG-assisted look  and the story is fun enough to raise my interest in the film, but the dark colors make the reader spend too much time figuring out what they're looking at rather than just enjoying the story. ... Batman #675 (DC, $2.99) is my favorite single issue of Grant Morrison's run, for the great Bruce Wayne scenes and a particularly cool ending. ...

The Uncanny X-Men #497 (Marvel, $2.99) featured another good script from Ed Brubaker — with the exception of Emma Frost's dialog being far more colloquial than I expect from the former White Queen. Both plots — San Francisco reverting to 1969, and Wolverine, Colossus and Nightcrawler's Russian adventure — were entertaining and progressed enough to be worth the cover price. ... Doktor Sleepless #6 (Avatar, $2.99) is getting more interesting as the larger plot starts to take shape, proving to be one of Warren Ellis' more interesting sci-fi premises. ...

American Splendor Vol. 2 #1 (DC/Vertigo, $2.99) tells you more about the life of writer Harvey Pekar, who judging by his recent stories has mellowed out a bit. The lineup of artists is particularly nice — never thought David Lapham would draw a Pekar story — and for some reason I'm really glad this is still published in black and white. ... Young Liars #2 (DC/Vertigo, $2.99) is better than the first issue, feeling more like a particularly good issue of Stray Bullets than the first. Colorist Lee Loughridge does an excellent job coloring creator David Lapham's always-cool art. ... If you've read it up till now, you're not going to snub Countdown to Final Crisis #1 (DC, $2.99), which struggles to generate some excitement as it wraps up the weekly series and sets up the board for the next OMG don't-dare-miss-it event, Final Crisis. 

Our reviews get down to the Marvel section of the stack, starting with The Mighty Avengers #10-11 (Marvel, $2.99 each). While I've never quite taken to The Sentry, the 1970s look and feel of the story as Sentry and Iron Man go back in time to the 1970s with Dr. Doom and then come back for a big throwdown in Latveria made for some cool, old-school comicbook action that went down easy. .... I liked The New Avengers #39 (Marvel, $2.99) for different reasons, not the least of which was the dark mood evoked by David Mack's art as Maya Lopez and Wolverine tackle Skrull imposters. ... I cared not one whit for the way in which the Peter Parker-Mary Jane marriage was dissolved, but the rollicking nature of the thrice-monthly "Brand New Day" stories is definitely a throwback — in a good way — to the comics of yore. Toss in some stunning visuals by Chris Bachalo, whose art seems much better suited to Spider-Man than it ever was to X-Men, and The Amazing Spider-Man #555-556 (Marvel, $2.99 each) are winners. ...

Kick-Ass #2 (Icon, $2.99) is about as gut-wrenching as it gets. It also proves that sometimes it's extremely entertaining to watch characters do something they know is incredibly stupid. ... War is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle #1 (Max, $2.99) was much goofier than I expected for a World War I flying ace story by Garth Ennis and Howard Chaykin. It has its charms, though I can't help but feel the tale of a naive pilot expecting glory only to face the true horrors of war is going in a predictable direction. ...

Cable #2 (Marvel, $2.99) is hard to judge because so far the story been little more than a continuation of the plot from the recent "Messiah Complex" crossover. Still, the combination of painted art and Photoshopped realism by Ariel Olivetti is fantastic and worth a look at on its own. ... X-Men: Legacy #209 (Marvel, $2.99) is another continuation from "Messiah Complex," though there's a lot of stuff going on in here that will appeal to the longtime X-Men fan. Mike Carey mines continuity with unusually interesting results and it's all drawn very nicely by Scot Eaton and Philip Tan. ... More "Messiah" fallout in Young X-Men #1 (Marvel, $2.99), as "Eli Stone" creator Marc Guggenheim catches fans up on the various New X-Men characters, reducing this spinoff's appeal to that of fans of that now-canceled book. ... Wolverine: First Class #1 (Marvel, $2.99) falls into the same concept as X-Men: First Class — simple, all-ages stories focused on younger characters from the X-Men's past. I think appealing to that kind of audience works better when you don't turn it into a separate line of comics. This book, featuring Wolverine and young Kitty Pryde, doesn't succeed qutie as well as Jeff Parker's X-Men: First Class, but the nostalgia and simple fun make it hard to pick on this one too much. ... Wolverine #63-64 (Marvel, $2.99 each) continue the "Get Mystique" storyline, which straddles a modern encounter in Afghanistan and an early meeting of the characters in 1920s Kansas City. This works pretty well, thanks to creators — Jason Aaron of Scalped and underrated veteran Ron Garney — who manage to make Logan's tough nonchalance and Mystique's sexy/evil combo an entertaining and convincing one.

THE INDIES: Maintenance #7-9 (Oni Press, $3.50 each) works because it's a complete concept, albeit one that seems heavily inspired by the flicks of Kevin Smith. Funny, well executed and goofy. ... Having fallen behind on the series, Wasteland #14 (Oni Press, $3.50) was only partially satisfying because it's just a bit too difficult to tell what's going on. Joe Infurnari fills in on art for Christopher Mitten and produces some lovely drawings that nonetheless make it hard to tell who's who from panel to panel. ... Gravel #0, #1-2 (Avatar, $3.99) are solid, hard-core genre entertainment. Warren Ellis and Mike Wolfer deliver on the kind of emphemeral mood and thrills that periodical comics can be so very good at but often aren't, anymore. ... Warren Ellis' Anna Mercury #1 (Avatar, $3.99) is more accessible, with a good twist and a heroine that's tough and buxom in all the right places to please the fanboys.

MARVEL: Fantastic Four #554-555 (Marvel, $2.99 each) can only be said to be rockin' cool. Why can't the movies be this cool? Bryan Hitch can draw the hell out of Mark Millar's sci-fi big concept stuff better than anyone. It's still not Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, but what is? ... Secret Invasion  #1 (Marvel, $3.99) kicks off the publisher's next big event with some panache, as Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu deliver an old-fashioned mystery and some fascinating revelations over who truly has been a Skrull. What's going to make or break this is how far it decides to go: too much retconning can annoy fans into rebellion, e.g., The Clone Saga.

DC: Wonder Woman #18 (DC, $2.99) gives the Amazon princess an appealing — albeit a bit light — personality as she takes on the Khunds from way back when. Gail Simone seems to have the best chance of any recent writer to give Wonder Woman the winning mix of action and fun the character has long seemed to need but has rarely ever had. ... Writer Kurt Busiek has been sorely underrated in his excellent run on Superman, and issue #674 (DC, $2.99) is no exception. This is a hip, modern and very cool take on the Man of Steel, lushly illustrated by Renato Guedes. ... Paul Dini brings an enjoyably simple take on Batman to his tales in Detective Comics #841 and 843 (DC, $2.99 each), with a fill in on #842 from Peter Milligan in much the same tone. If you miss the Batman seen on the old 1990s animated series, this is the Batbook for you, even as artist Dustin Nguyen goes for a completely different and stylish look that works just great on the page. ... Grant Morrison shakes up (usually in a good way) every book he takes on, and his version of the Dark Knight in Batman #674 (DC, $2.99) is his most successfully radical-yet-logical take on a classic comic since New X-Men. This is the build up to the Batman R.I.P. storyline, and you can't help but get sucked into the idea while reading this issue that something big and very cool is happening. ... All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder #9 (DC, $2.99) sees Frank Miller and Jim Lee make up (a little bit) for Batman and Black Canary doing the nasty on the docks in issue #7. Most of the issue makes fun of Green Lantern (which Garth Ennis did first and arguably better way back in the late, lamented Hitman), but Batman and Robin finally show some emotions recognizable as human and even kind of sympathetic toward the end of this issue. ... Countdown to Final Crisis #3 (DC, $2.99) ticks the clock one issue closer, as Superman and Darkseid duke it out. What's really going to be fun is next issue, as we'll finally get to see the long-promised Giant Turtle Jimmy Olsen in action.