Graphic Novel Roundup: The Space Shuttle Is Back, and so Are Green Hornet and Doomsday

Batman ’66 Meets the Green Hornet, by Kevin Smith, Ralph Garman, and Ty Templeton
Geek-extraordinaire Kevin Smith (joined by Garman and Templeton) takes over the Batman ’66 series for this crossover special. Green Hornet and Kato met Batman and Robin for the first time in 1967 in the classic Adam West episodes A Piece of the Action/Batman’s Satisfaction. Here they again face the villain of that episode, the former Colonel, now General Gumm. Originally, Gumm was played by Star Trek’s own Harry Mudd, Roger C. Carmel, so there’s something here for everyone who loves the golden era of pop-art TV.

Justice League of America Vol. 2: Survivors of Evil (The New 52), by Matt Kindt, Eddy Barrows, and Doug Mahnke
Two big DC releases this week: first, in Matt Kindt’s Justice League of America (now in paperback), Martian Manhunter and Star Girl pick up the pieces in the aftermath of the New 52’s Trinity War crossover. As far as those two are concerned, the rest of the League is dead and the world on which they’re trapped is run by villains. In desperation, they realize that big bad Despero might be the last hope. Meanwhile, Charles Soule’s Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 2: War and Peace (The New 52) finds Superman battling the effects of the Doomsday virus with help from his girlfriend Wonder Woman. Doomsday himself may have been defeated, but the plague has infected Superman. It’s a key chapter in the Doomed crossover.

Marvel’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron Prelude, by Will Pilgrim and Joe Bennett
If you’re anything like me, you’re pretty much FREAKING OUT about this summer’s Avengers sequel. But enough about my James Spader obsession. This book combines some fun odds and ends that should help to calm the shakes, including stories from both within and outside of Marvel’s cinematic universe. In addition to a couple official prelude stories that fill in the blanks between the two Avengers movies, this volume collects classic and more recent appearances of Ultron and the Vision, the two sure-to-break-out robot stars of the summer movie season.

Deadpool Volume 7: Axis, by Brian Posehn, Gerry Duggan, and Mike Hawthorne
The latest from writer/comedian Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan walks the line between humor and drama as Deadpool joins in the Marvel Axis crossover. On the drama end, Wade works to become part of his daughter’s life, but still has to face threats from vampire king Dracula. Before things get too serious, there’s a full issue done in the style of a kids’ coloring book.

Birthright, Volume 1: Homecoming, by Andrei Bressan, Adriano Lucas, and Joshua Williamson
I missed the first issues of this ongoing series, but I’ve been hearing some great things about it. It’s got a genre-defying premise: Mikey Rhodes disappears during a game of catch with dad in the park, an event that all but destroys his family. A man is later arrested who claims to be an adult Mikey, having spent the intervening years battling a fantasy tyrant in a parallel universe. Naturally, he’s met with skepticism, especially when he asserts that our world is now in danger. The art on this one’s pretty great, too.

Ocean/Orbiter Deluxe Edition, by Warren Ellis, Chris Sprouse, and Colleen Doran
Two of Warren Ellis’ timely sci-fi masterpieces are collected together, along with some extra material. In Ocean, scientists try to come to terms with the very real possibility of life beneath the crust of Jupiter’s moon Europa. Engineers at real-life NASA are moving ahead with plans for a probe to study one of our solar system’s wettest locale, so fantasy could become fact within a few years. Orbiter, an elegy for the U.S. space shuttle program, follows the team tasked with studying a long-missing shuttle, mysteriously returned to Earth. The team finds a skin-like substance covering parts of the ship, Mars-dust in the wheels, and a lone, delirious surviving crew-member. They’re two killer stories from Ellis, along with great art from Chris Sprouse and Colleen Doran.
What’s on your pull list?