Superboy No. 1
Conner Kent's hometown of Smallville is unlike any suburb in the American Midwest, mostly because in any given week there are two or more extraterrestrials duking it out in the streets.
High school is tough enough with its advanced placement courses, in-crowds and retrospectively irrelevant popularity contests, but the genetic mutation of the Man of Steel has to deal with merciless space invaders to boot.
Superboy, for those who don't know, is the product of splicing Superman and Lex Luthor's DNA together. This unorthodox "birth" puts Conner in a strange position in life, somewhere in between the role of world-class superhero and bringer of the apocalypse. Suffice it to say, Kent has a lot on his plate.
Artistically, the comic has a few panels worthy of the Man of Steel title, though much of this issue's art is rather bland.
Superboy No. 1 is both witty and humorous, surprising many as the typical high school demographic is pushed to the backburner in order to flesh out more of Kent and his plotline.
As Jeff Lemire takes the reins of this series, the DC Universe holds its breath for what could be the perfect reboot for the quasi-embodiment of Supes.
Iron Man/Thor No. 1
Tony Stark, the egotistical demigod, teams up with the actual god of thunder to take down two completely unrelated supervillains in one of the most pointless comics in recent history.
The city of the Norse, Asgard, has fallen on hard times. So hard, in fact, that adventure capitalist and philanthropist Tony Stark is called onto the scene to oversee the reconstruction of the ancient city. Cue an irrelevant Norse throwback, the separation of the two protagonists and two utterly nonsensical villains, and that wraps up the issue.
One would think that when two of the world's most powerful superheroes get together, at least something monumental would happen. This comic proves that theory dead wrong.
As the comic concludes, Thor is entrenched in a fistfight with Ulik the Stone Troll, while Iron Man has his gauntlets full fighting his soviet nemesis, Crimson Dynamo.
In this heroic fail of a fight, the only real losers are those who spent the $3.99 on an issue whose plot is forgotten before the comic is even put on the shelf.
Scarlet No. 3
Losing a loved one is always tough, though rarely is homicide an acceptable way to cope with the loss. This is the premise of Icon Comic's latest femme fatale, Scarlet.
Scarlet has a vendetta against the world and intends to crumble the foundation of society as she mercilessly assassinates those who have abused their position of power.
This issue follows the madwoman on her path of destruction as she finally unveils her plan to the world. Before she can make those who abuse others pay for their crimes, she will need someone behind the scenes to capture every gory detail of this one-woman revolution.
With her dead boyfriend's best friend behind the camera and a sniper rifle in hand, she takes to the rooftops to start what she hopes to be the end of injustice.
While this comic isn't the first to follow such a heroine, it has its own unique nuances that accurately depict the struggle and mental anguish that Scarlet is going through.
Done mostly in black, red and white, the comic indicates to its readers any other important detail in the drab world with vivid color. This exceptionally artistic plot device is not only aesthetically pleasing, but when used correctly, it conveys almost a plot within a plot.
Scarlet is a woman with a mission: a bloody, deranged and definitely illegal mission. Though for a comic book junkie, that mission makes for a really spectacular read.
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