DC Comics regained the public’s attention — and the lead in market share — with a publicized revamp of its superhero line, but not all of the year’s best comics involved capes and tights.

The following are 2011′s best 10 periodical comic books.

1. “Detective Comics 871-881,” Scott Snyder, Jock and Franco Francavilla.

The new Batman, Dick Grayson, is put to the test as a series of brutal murders puts him up against one of Gotham City’s oldest evils.

In the second story, “Hungry City,” the corpse of a killer whale is found in an upscale Gotham City bank, sparking a deadly new mystery.

Snyder’s opus, which includes the mystery of Commissioner Gordon’s son, is a candidate for best Batman tale of the current decade. DC was suitably impressed with Snyder, tabbing him as the writer of its relaunched “Batman” title.

2. “Criminal: The Last of the Innocent,” Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips.

Brubaker (“Captain America”) is one of comics’ finest writers, and this is among his best books, a mixture of noir and nostalgia that’s part twisted take on “Archie”-style characters, part dark secrets and murder. Artist Phillips creates compelling stories in two completely different styles for “Innocent.” Riley Richards seems as if he had it all, marrying the hottest girl in town and moving on to the big city. But now, he can’t forget his simpler life in Brookview. He’s willing to do anything to roll back the clock — including murder.

3. “The Red Wing,” Jonathan Hickman, Nick Pitarra.

Hickman (“Fantastic Four”) writes a story of fighter pilots in the future who fight their battles not only in the air, but also through time. Art by Pitarra.

4. “Action Comics,” Grant Morrison, Rags Morales

In Morrison’s much-hyped revamp of “Action Comics,” a young, brash Superman goes about his business in work boots and blue jeans, rustling up corporate criminals and raising the ire of everyone from the police and military to Lex Luthor, a brash industrialist who doesn’t much cotton to the idea of a superhuman.

Superman’s a bit arrogant, but very much easy to root for, as he attempts to stand up to bullies of all stripes.

5. “Daredevil,” Mark Waid, Pablo Rivera, Marcos Martin.

Writer Waid and artists Rivera and Martin brought Daredevil back to his swashbuckling past in the 2011 relaunch of “Daredevil.” Waid also shows the keen legal mind of Matt Murdock, the blind lawyer who is Daredevil. Murdock tries to keep his legal and vigilante worlds separate, despite his secret identity being somewhat known.

6. “Who Is Jake Ellis?,” Nathan Edmondson, Tonci Zonjic.

The collection of this 5-issue miniseries features former spy Jon Moore, now a mercenary. He’s able to escape capture in part because of the voice in his head — the voice of Jake Ellis. But who is Jake Ellis? He’s a man only Jon can see, providing information on safe escapes and possible threats. The mystery of Ellis, and Jon’s quest to discover the secrets behind it, are what writer Edmondson and artist Zonjic have laid out in this fast-paced espionage thriller from Image Comics.

7. “The Rocketeer Adventures,” various creators.

Dave Stevens created the Rocketeer in the early 1980s, a tribute to the serials of the 1930s and 1940s as pilot Cliff Secord finds a jet pack that allows him to race through the air. He, his mentor Peavy and girlfriend Betty (modeled after Bettie Page) starred in several adventures by Stevens and a 1991 motion picture. Stevens died in 2008, but IDW brought back his character The Rocketeer in 2011, with an anthology series that in part benefits hairy cell leukemia research.

That would be reason enough to buy “The Rocketeer Adventures,” but the all-star lineup of creators has made a book that’s one of the year’s best. Kurt Busiek, Mark Waid, Jonathon Ross, Mike Allred, John Cassaday, Darwyn Cooke, Bruce Timm, Kyle Baker, Gene Ha, Michael Wm. Kaluta and Chris Weston contribute to this lovely taste of 1930s-style adventures.

8. “Animal Man,” Jeff Lemire, Travel Foreman, Dan Green.

Writer Lemire joins artists Foreman and Green for DC’s revamp of “Animal Man,” which became one of the breakout hits of the New 52. Lemire is channeling Morrison’s take on the character, so readers of the 1980s Buddy Baker will find much to enjoy. The art’s a little different from the DC norm, but conveys the story’s mix of domesticity and dread.

9. “The Sixth Gun,” Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt.

An Oni Press Western with supernatural horror elements, “The Sixth Gun” follows the path of six cursed guns during the darkest days of the Civil War. Bunn and Hurtt are the creative team.

10. “American Vampire,” Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque

Also written by Snyder, “American Vampire” follows the exploits of a new breed of “American Vampire” that has the ability to feed in the sun. The 1880s outlaw Skinner Sweet and 1920s actress Pearl Jones make their way to Las Vegas circa 1935; later the series follows Pearl and her husband into the World War II era.

- Matt Price
WORD BALLOONS
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Click here for the best graphic novels of 2011.

IDW and ComiXology have teamed up to bring the IDW library to the comiXology app.  Titles including Transformers, Star Trek, and Locke & Key will be available.   Click past the cut for the full release.

- Matt Price
From comiXology:

ComiXology and IDW Publishing today announced a new partnership to bring the complete IDW library to comiXology customers. Through this strategic undertaking, comics fans everywhere will now be able to experience every IDW digital comic across all comiXology’s platforms — iOS, Android and the Web!

“It’s personally very exciting to have IDW join the comiXology platform whole-heartedly,” said David Steinberger, CEO of comiXology. “As one of the largest and most esteemed comic publishers in the industry, IDW has an incredible range of content. From G.I. JOE to TRANSFORMERS to THE HUNTER and LOCKE & KEY, their content looks great on comiXology.”

Starting today, the entire TRANSFORMERS comic line will be available immediately on all comiXology platforms and will range in price from $.99 to $1.99. All TRANSFORMERS comics previously sold only through comiXology’s Android or online store will sync across all devices and platforms supported by comiXology. Additionally, several new titles will also be available starting today, including the first issue from IDW’s new STAR TREK ongoing series, and issues from the company’s G.I. JOE, LOCKE & KEY and TRUE BLOOD series.

“ComiXology customers have asked for IDW to be part of the Comics by comiXology lineup for some time, and we’re thrilled to bring our catalog to those readers,” stated Jeff Webber, IDW’s Director of ePublishing. “We’ve always been impressed with comiXology’s strength in offering comics across multiple platforms, including Apple iOS, Android and the Web. David and his team have put together an awesome offering. ComiXology has established a huge audience — I know we’re going to make a lot of IDW fans happy this week.”

All comiXology platforms feature the company’s Guided View™ Technology, enabling the reader to transition smoothly between different comic panels, mimicking the reading experience of a traditional print comic book. All purchases of IDW comics through the Comics by comiXology App whether on Apple® iOS devices or Android sync to all devices and the web at comics.comixology.com.

The complete list of comics coming to the Comics by comiXology app are below:

TRANSFORMERS – over 200 issues

STAR TREK Ongoing 1

G.I. JOE Ongoing 1-6

ROCKETEER Adventures 1-2

LOCKE & KEY Clockworks 1-2

PARKER: The Hunter

PARKER: The Outfit

TRUE BLOOD Vol 1 1-6

JERICHO Season 3 4-6

Ghostbusters: Infestation #1

More than 25 years after they first arrived in movie theaters, the wisecracking Ghostbusters remain at the heart of a popular franchise.

Ivan Reitman plans a third “Ghostbusters” film for Sony. He recently told The Hollywood Reporter that he’s waiting on Bill Murray to read the script.

In the meantime, Murray’s character Peter Venkman — along with fellow Ghostbusters Egon Spengler, Raymond Stantz and Winston Zeddmore — continue to appear in other properties about the characters, including comic books and video games.

IDW Publishing’s Tom Waltz is involved in both of these worlds, as the editor of IDW’s “Ghostbusters” comics and as the writer of the upcoming “Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime” video game.

“Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime” will be available on Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation Network, and Windows PC Download at Atari.com, on Wednesday.

The game is a four-player, ghost-busting adventure that allows gamers to take on the role of a rookie hired by the Ghostbusters to save New York City from a paranormal disaster.

“The game itself ties in a lot more closely to the movies, as well as the last video game,” Waltz said. “I think our comics at this point (also) always tie back in to the movies.”

While the gamer will play as rookie characters, those characters interact throughout with the original Ghostbusters.

“The four main characters from the movies … are actively involved in the adventure though you’re not actively utilizing them with your joystick,” Waltz said. “The adventure hinges on decisions that the four original Ghostbusters are making.”

In the comics, those four original Ghostbusters find themselves fighting zombies in the IDW crossover event “Infestation.”

“We did a big event where we crossed over IDW properties ‘CVO,’ which is ‘Covert Vampire Operations,’ and ‘Zombies vs. Robots’ properties into our licensed books, which have included the Transformers property, G.I. Joe, Star Trek and Ghostbusters,” Waltz said.

Erik Burnham and Kyle Hotz are the creative team for “Ghostbusters: Infestation.”

“My hope is that … what we’ll see now is a continuation and possibly an ongoing series with our ‘Ghostbusters’ comics coming out of this ‘Infestation’ event.”

“Ghostbusters: Infestation” No. 1 is on sale now, and the concluding issue, No. 2, is set to ship Wednesday.

- By Matthew Price
WORD BALLOONS
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

G.I. Joe Civil War #0

The world of the Transformers, robotic aliens who can shape-shift into cars and planes, will expand this summer with a third Michael Bay-directed film. IDW Publishing plans to give fans additional tie-ins in comics to further explore the characters and storylines based on the Hasbro toys.

IDW also holds the rights to the G.I. Joe license from Hasbro, and the anti-terrorist team of military specialists will receive a revamp this year as Cobra Commander, the leader of the Cobra terrorist organization, has been killed.

The most lethal Cobra operatives must now compete to become the next leader of the organization. The battle begins in April with “G.I. Joe: Cobra Civil War” No. 0.

The issue will be written by Chuck Dixon and Mike Costa, with three separate 10-page stories. Artists Javier Saltares, Antonio Fuso and Agustin Padilla each illustrate one story.

In May, three new ongoing series begin: “Cobra,” “G.I. Joe” and “Snake Eyes.”

“With ‘G.I. Joe: Cobra Civil War’ No. 0, we’re giving readers a taste of what each of the three series will be,” IDW’s “G.I. Joe” editor Andy Schmidt said. “Each series will be self-contained enough to enjoy on its own, but I don’t think any reader or fan will be content with just one series. The books are getting more tightly interwoven because an event like this must impact all corners of the universe in a profound way.”

In April, the “Cobra Commander Tribute” ships, reprinting the death of Cobra Commander in “G.I. Joe: Cobra” No. 12, plus offering special features and additional stories.

The Transformers and the Joes are currently fighting off an infestation of zombies in IDW’s “Transformers: Infestation” series, but there will be no time to rest after.

The third “Transformers” film, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” is set for release this July. In the film, the Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the moon and race against the Decepticons to reach it first, according to imdb.com.

Two “Transformers 3” film prequels, “Foundation” and “Rising Storm,” are set to begin this month in comics, with the first issues of each released this week. “Rising Storm” introduces Shockwave into the movie continuity, and “Foundation” explores the past of Megatron and Optimus Prime.

Dirk Wood, IDW’s retail marketing director, talked about “Transformers” at the recent ComicsPRO annual membership meeting in Dallas. He said IDW would be announcing a “Transform Your Store” promotion for comic book retailers who wanted to promote “Transformers” comics.

“One thing we’re going to do is something called ‘Transformers Day,’” Wood said. “(On) May 25, a couple of weeks before the movie comes out, is when our adaptation comes out.”

Wood said direct-market comic-book stores had done well selling “Transformers” tie-in comics during each of the two previous movie release windows, and similar results are expected this year.

- by Matthew Price
WORD BALLOONS
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

DALLAS, Texas — IDW Publishing CEO Ted Adams spoke at the ComicsPRO Annual Membership Meeting about his history in the industry and his hopes for the future.

Adams came to the meeting after visiting the set of the “Locke & Key” pilot in Pittsburgh, based on the IDW comic written by Joe Hill.

Adams suggested ideas for the direct market going forward, including the possibility of a national racking program and a combined industry co-op.

Adams suggested it’s important for the direct market to embrace diversity in the marketplace to ensure it’s continued existence and success.

“We’re going to niche ourselves into irrelevance” if the market is completely dependent on the top publishers, Adams said.

Adams discussed his past in the industry, from his early days with Eclipse, and his time with Dark Horse and Todd McFarlane.    Things have changed mightily over the years, from days when very few graphic novels were rare to today, where nearly every bookstore in the country has a graphic novel section.

“The impact of our content on pop culture is extraordinary,” Adams said.  “”There’s clearly an audience for the content we create.”

- Matt Price

Here are my selections for the best 10 graphic novels of 2010. I’ve limited the list to stories that first appeared in a graphic novel format, as opposed to collections of periodically released comic books.

Next week, return for the top 10 periodical comics of 2010.

1. “The Outfit” by Darwyn Cooke (IDW).

IDW released the second adaptation of Richard Stark’s “Parker” novels by Cooke (“Justice League: The New Frontier).

When the syndicate gets wind that Parker has survived, they send someone after him. But Parker decides to take matters into his own hands and hit the Outfit himself.

Cooke perfectly translates the world of the “Parker” books into illustrated fiction.

2. “Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour” by Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni Press).

Scott Pilgrim received a lot of hype this year for the film directed by Edgar Wright, but he also finished his story in the world of graphic novels this year, with O’Malley giving just the right touch to the final stanza of the 20-something slacker who found love.

3. “X’ed Out” by Charles Burns (Pantheon).

The “Black Hole” creator shows a “Tintin” influence in his latest sci-fi/horror epic. The first of several planned installments, “X’ed Out” follows Doug, a young man who wakes up with a head injury who can’t remember his past except in disjointed flashbacks.

4. “Acme Novelty Library #20/Lint” by Chris Ware (Drawn and Quarterly).

As part of his ongoing “Rusty Brown” storyline, Ware introduces us to Jordan Wellington Lint. Each page provides a glimpse at Lint’s internal life year by year, as he grows into a privileged businessman.

5. “Bodyworld” by Dash Shaw (Pantheon).

Dash Shaw creates a trippy, futuristic tale set after the second Civil War where a new drug allows the user to feel the reactions of others.

6. “Meanwhile” by Jason Shiga (Abrams).

An all-ages graphic novel with a story that can branch in multiple directions, “Meanwhile” is innovative in form and charming in content.

7. “Market Day” by James Sturm (Drawn and Quarterly).

Economic forces disrupt the career and life of an Eastern European rug-maker in a graphic novel by James Sturm set a century ago, with relevance today.

8. “Grandville Mon Amour” by Bryan Talbot (Dark Horse).

In an alternate 19th century where Britain lost the Napoleonic War, LeBrock is a detective in a world of talking animals. LeBrock attempts to recapture a former British patriot turned killer, and finds a conspiracy that goes deep into the government.

9. “Return of the Dapper Men” by Jim McCann and Janet K. Lee (Archaia Entertainment).

An art nouveau fantasy with elements of steampunk features 314 “dapper men” who fall from the sky to restart the world of Anorev.

10. “Picture This: The Near-Sighted Monkey Book” by Lynda Barry (Drawn and Quarterly).

A sequel of sorts to “What It Is,” “Picture This” is an examination of drawing and artwork with elements of memoir and a how-to book. Anyone can draw, and should, the book posits, to express our feelings, to deal with our emotions or just to have fun.

- By Matthew Price
WORD BALLOONS
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

IDW is bringing back Dave Stevens’ famous character, The Rocketeer.   A four-issue miniseries is set for 2011 release, and will include contributions from Mike Allred, Kurt Busiek, John Cassaday, Darwyn Cooke, Michael Golden, Gene Ha, Michael Kaluta, Garry Leach, Bruce Timm, Bill Willingham, and more. Alex Ross will be the cover artist for the series.

The Rocketeer, first published in 1982,  was an indy comics sensation despite an infrequent publishing schedule.  The character was adapted into a Disney movie in 1991. Stevens died in 2008 after a battle with leukemia.

A substantial portion of profits earned from this new mini-series will be donated to Hairy Cell Leukemia research by the estate of Dave Stevens, the creators involved, and IDW Publishing.

“Dave Stevens was an incredibly talented artist and a wonderful person,” said IDW Special Projects Editor Scott Dunbier in a news release.  “I would like to think that he would be happy with a book like this, one that pays such loving tribute to his greatest creation.”

- Matt Price

SAN DIEGO — One of my favorite comic books of the 1990s is coming back.  IDW Publishing is bringing back John Byrne’s Next Men in new stories from Byrne.  The science-fiction series was a modern take on superheroes, through the means of a government experiment.

“When John started working for us three or four years ago, two things happened, and have been happening pretty much every month since then,” said IDW’s CCO/Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall in a news release. “I’ve been asking John about doing new Next Men comics, and fans have been e-mailing me demanding that we do new Next Men stories. Happily, after all this time, John is going to quiet us all down and do just that.”

“John Byrne’s Next Men” will return in December.

- Matt Price
Click past the cut for the full news release.

San Diego, CA (July 24, 2010) – At the 2010 Comic Con International, IDW Publishing, a premier publisher of graphic novels and books, and award-winning creator John Byrne, today announced the long-awaited return of Byrne’s fan-favorite series, John Byrne’s Next Men. Picking up where to series left off in 1995, Byrne and IDW will at last return fans to the world of Project: Next Men.

Debuting in 1991, Byrne’s Next Men originally ran for thirty issues and a standalone prequel graphic novel, 2112. Next Men developed an all-new world of superheroes grounded in modern reality. The series quickly became one of the most critically acclaimed runs of Byrne’s remarkable career, but ceased publication in 1995 and left fans with a cliffhanger at the end of issue 30. Now, coinciding with the twentieth anniversary of the original first issue, Byrne and IDW invite fans back into the world of the Next Men.

IDW has previously collected the existing Next Men material, in two black and white “Compleat” volumes and oversized Premiere Edition hardcovers, the third volume of which will be available in stores on September 1, 2010.

“When John started working for us three or four years ago, two things happened, and have been happening pretty much every month since then,” said IDW’s CCO/Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall. “I’ve been asking John about doing new Next Men comics, and fans have been e-mailing me demanding that we do new Next Men stories. Happily, after all this time, John is going to quiet us all down and do just that.”

John Byrne’s Next Men returns to stores in December 2010. For more information, please visit www.IDWpublishing.com and www.ByrneRobotics.com.

In this week’s Planet 46 Comics Podcast, Kyle Roberts and Matt Price review the comics The Man with the Getaway Face, Astonishing Spider-Man/Wolverine 2, Batman 701, Booster Gold 34 and X-Men Second Coming 2.
We take a look at Green Lantern’s new costume, the arrest of a Hollywood Superman, and the fate of Edward Norton as the Hulk. Also, Kyle bites it.

Publishers IDW and Dark Horse have made “Star Trek” and “Terminator” comic books available in the iPhone App Store this summer, tying in to the release of the movies “Star Trek” and “Terminator Salvation.”

The first iPhone comic book from veteran publisher Dark Horse is “Terminator: Death Valley.” In Death Valley, Calif., two Terminators have been sent back in time to kill John Connor as a boy. Each of the four issues is available for 99 cents from the App Store. The story also is available in print as part of “Terminator Omnibus” Vol. 2, which contains “Death Valley” and four other “Terminator” miniseries for $24.95.

“Death Valley” is by Alan Grant and Steve Pugh and originally was published in 1998. “Death Valley” is meant to be the first in a line of comics apps from Dark Horse.

“This is an evolution for the comics industry, and we look forward to bringing our tradition of innovation and creativity into this new medium,” Dale LaFountain, chief information officer of Dark Horse, said in a release.

IDW’s “Terminator Salvation” prequel also is available on the iPhone, with each of the five issues going for 99 cents or the entire graphic novel for just $3.99.

Warner Bros. and IDW Publishing present the “Terminator Salvation” graphic novel prequel, which takes readers through a series of events that have transpired since Judgment Day, leading up to “Terminator Salvation”.

IDW made its entry onto the iPhone in late 2008 with “Star Trek Archives” and gained even more momentum with “Star Trek: Countdown,” a prequel to the 2009 “Star Trek” movie.

Selected “Star Trek” comics from IDW are available via iVerse, which also distributes iPhone comics from Red 5, Image, Archie Comics, Antartic Press, Boom! Studios and others.

- by Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

Since “The Resistance,” written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, was just released as a graphic novel by IDW, I thought I’d reprint my 2002 column talking about the series, first released by WildStorm.

—

In New York in 2280, unlicensed births are illegal, the city is in turmoil, and a civil war is being covered up by the government. This is the world of “The Resistance,” a new WildStorm title written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray.

The artist on the book is Juan Santacruz.

Most of New York is covered in water, and skyscrapers leap 500 stories into the air.

In “The Resistance,” a disaster in 2030 caused nearly three-fourths of the Earth’s plants to die, leading to an ecological imbalance.

Species of animals are extinct. Oxygen production declined and brought about the need for artificial respiration farms. These vast factories manufacture breathable air for a dying world.

One hundred years of food riots, famine, war and chaos followed.

As “The Resistance” begins, the year is 2280. Food is Earth’s most precious commodity, and the planet is under the watchful eye of the Global Control Commission.

Since humanity does not have enough food to support itself, only those capable of financially supporting children and contributing to the global economy are allowed to reproduce.

Unauthorized free-births began calling themselves Strayz as they had strayed from the commission’s view of what was good for humanity.

These Strayz, born with a death sentence, formed small cells of Resistance fighters. They seek the overthrow of the commission and the exposure of the greatest conspiracy in human history.

“The Resistance” has the feel of a sci-fi blockbuster, Gray said on www.dccomics.com, the Web site of DC Comics, of which WildStorm is an imprint.

“‘The Resistance’ is meant to be fun – a big summer popcorn movie. So, if you want to kick back and be taken to another world, then ‘ Resistance’ is your kind of book.”

“The Resistance” is a fast-paced thriller with high-speed action and constantly shifting alliances and plans.

Palmiotti said in “The Resistance,” he and Gray are able to test the boundaries.

“In ‘ Resistance,’ we get to go crazy, open up our minds and blow off steam. We can do all sorts of extreme action sequences, poke fun at the world and work outside of reality. ‘ Resistance’ is like going to the amusement park with a free pass to all the rides.”

“The Resistance” bears some similarities to a superhero team, with a rotating cast of members.

Some members of ‘The Resistance’ will be rotating here and there, some will be shot and killed, and some will go through changes,” Palmiotti said at dccomics.com. “At its core, we follow four basic characters and a few supporting ones, as well. Think ‘X-Men’ without the mutant capabilities, blasting their way out of every situation, having to be smarter and more resourceful than everyone around them.”

- By Matthew Price
From The Oklahoman, Nov. 15, 2002

IDW Publishing dips into the realm of political biography this fall, with comic books based on the lives of Barack Obama and John McCain.  The candidates for president will each be featured in comic books available in stores on Oct. 8, and also available for sale online and for cell phones.

For more information, visit www.presidentialcomics.com.

– Matt Price

From the release:

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (May 29, 2008) ” Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS) has reached an agreement with IDW Publishing, creators of the best-selling TRANSFORMERS comic book series, to launch an all-new line of G.I. JOE vs. COBRA comic books. As part of the agreement, IDW will produce a new monthly comic series, as well as deluxe reprints of the G.I. JOE property’s vast comic library, which helped catapult the G.I. JOE vs. COBRA phenomenon more than 25 years ago. IDW also has the rights for trade paperbacks and graphic novels.

The first products from this deal, a new monthly comic book series based on classic G.I. JOE vs. COBRA lore, will be launched with an introductory debut issue in October 2008. Featuring all-new storylines, the comics will portray the epic struggle of the G.I. JOE team against the evil forces of COBRA, while highlighting the brand’s favorite heroes and villains that made kids of the ‘80s today’s fans.

What does this mean? Well, probably a hit in market share for Devil’s Due, who revived the G.I. Joe series in 2001.  Possibly/probably a change in continuity in the official Joe stories.  IDW does really nice work on licensed comics, but “Joe” was always clearly a labor of love for the Devil’s Due guys.  I hope that Larry Hama can get involved in the property in some way, as he has off and on for Devil’s Due.

– Matt Price

Art from “Star Trek: Assignment Earth” #1 

Kyle Roberts and I discuss “Star Trek: Assignment Earth” #1, by John Byrne; “Justice League of America” #21, by Dwayne McDuffie and Carlos Pacheco; and the career and legacy of retailer Rory Root, all on today’s comics podcast.

– Matt Price

The second-season “Star Trek” original series episode, “Assignment Earth,” featured Kirk and the Star Trek crew visiting 1960s earth.

Special agent Gary-7 and his sidekick Ms. Lincoln (played by Teri Garr) and the cat, Isis, were introduced as possible stars for a spinoff that never happened. Robert Lansing played Gary-7, sort of a futuristic James Bond from another planet, assigned to 1960s Earth.

Writer artist John Byrne, 40 years later, takes that premise and runs with it, creating “Star Trek: Assignment Earth” as a comic-book series.  The five-part series features the time traveller and his assistant covertly tackling threats to the past. 

Byrne’s art is in fine form here, and it’s well-written as well. Byrne has his bashers nowadays, but this is an interesting take on a spinoff that might have been.  And “Time-travelling James Bond” seems like a good hook for a comic-book series.  This one feels like a comic you could have read at the time, with nuclear tests, Soviet scientists, secret projects and double-crosses.

– Matt Price

Kyle Roberts and Matt Price talk about several of this week’s new releases, including “Wild Cards: The Hard Call” No. 1, “Titans” No. 1, “FX” No. 2, “Echo” No. 2 and “Criminal” vol. 2 No. 2 in this week’s comic podcast.  Some excerpts:

Wild Cards: The Hard Call #1

Kyle Roberts:  Instead of being a superhero like they were born with their powers, it’s strictly science fiction. 

Matt Price:  There’s a couple different elements in play, it’s kind of a lot to take in if you’re brand new to the franchise, but if you’ve read some of the books before, I think you’ll like it.

Titans #1

Kyle Roberts: I don’t know a lot about DC, but this reminds me of the 80s Titans group.

Matt Price: I like the first three or four pages with Nightwing quite a bit, after that it lost its way for me.  It feels like he’s trying to sexy up the team a little bit, most of the characters end up running around their shirts for at least part of this issue.

FX #2 

Matt Price: This to me has a very old-school feel. I like John Byrne in his “Superman” era in the 1980s, up through the 90s with Next Men … I like this clean, very 80s style that Byrne has, and this feels almost like an 80s comic.

Criminal vol 2 #2 

Matt Price: It’s a very dark, crime noir book. … It’s one of the best books out there.

Kyle Roberts: It’s kinda like a Sin City, almost like a Grand Theft Auto kind of thing, for the gamers out there.

Echo #2

Matt Price:  I continue to be intrigued by the storyline, and (Terry Moore’s) art is as good as it’s ever been.

– Matt Price

I’ve read the first issue of this, and it reminds me of the creepier “Sandman” stuff.  I highly recommend giving this one a look.

Description from IDW:

Acclaimed suspense novelist and New York Times best-selling author Joe Hill (Heart-Shaped Box) creates an all-new story of dark fantasy and wonder: Locke & Key. Written by Hill and featuring astounding artwork from Gabriel Rodriguez (Clive Barker’s The Great and Secret Show, Beowulf), Locke & Key tells of Keyhouse, an unlikely New England mansion, with fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them…. and home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of them all…

– Matt Price 

Kyle Roberts and I discuss the explosive conclusion to “X-Men: Messiah Complex” on this week’s podcast.  We also cover “Iron Man” 25, “Star Trek Alien Spotlight: Borg,” and “Teen Titans” No. 55.  Give it a listen!

- Matt Price