Scouring out the weekly singles scene … in comics!

THE IMMORTAL IRON FIST #1 (Marvel) I don’t care who it is – give a D-list Marvel character a new book, and I’ll be first in line to try it out. You can have your Spider-Mans and Captain Americas, but for me, the best, most intricate, most interesting characters are the ones that tend to stay in the shadows of the biggies. In the past few months, we’ve seen the returns of Blade, Moon Knight and now, after about six failed relaunch attempts in the past decade, it’s time for Danny Rand – aka Iron Fist – to get a gritty new feel, courtesy of writers Ed Brubaker and Matt Faction. Seamlessly interweaving the history of the Iron Fist lineage with the current Iron Fist whipping a whole army of Hydra operatives, this is a great start to the series. Wisely, they are going for a darker, Daredevil-esque style that works very well with the character.

ARMY OF DARKNESS #13 (Dynamite) Prepare to ejaculate all over your Mylar protective bags, comic fans. First off, this latest issue of the AOD series has four covers, but be sure you find the one which features MARVEL ZOMBIES‘ Sean Phillips take on a zombieifed Ash. The story itself is the conclusion of “The Death of Ash” storyline, with the return of Ash’s Deadite girlfriend Sheila and the return of Evil Ash. This is all well and good, but my sweet Lord, the final splash page is probably one of the most exciting comic-book crossover teases ever, prepping up for what promises to be the Greatest Comic Book Ever: March’s MARVEL ZOMBIES VS. ARMY OF DARKNESS.

THE SPIRIT #1 (DC) This is going to be complete sacrilege, but here goes: I don’t like The Spirit. I find him completely boring and kind of useless. I can understand the contributions that Will Eisner has made to the medium, and I appreciate that, but I just don’t like his stuff. But, because I always want to re-examine my prejudices and tastes, I picked up Darwyn Cooke’s reimagining of the character for DC and, well, guess what: It’s still boring. No need to pick up issue two.

SCALPED #1 (Vertigo) Folks, here’s the first must-own book of 2007. I am not a fan of THE SOPRANOS, so when I first read the description as “THE SOPRANOS on an Indian Reservation,” I was intrigued, but fully apprehensive. It’s a great idea when you think about it, and something that really hasn’t been done in really any medium. As the story starts, a just-returned-to-the-reservation Dashiell Bad Horse calls a bar full of thugs “prairie niggers” and then whips out a pair of nunchucks. This is all a ploy to get in good with the rez’s corrupt chief, but for what reason, we’re not sure until the final page. From the inner workings of Native American politics to the twist on the gangster ethos, SCALPED just might be the Next Big Thing.

And please, don’t forget to pick up these perennial SERIOUS ISSUES faves:
• A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET #4 (WildStorm) A little girl fronts on Freddy’s shit and he gets all butt-hurt.
• FRIDAY THE 13 # 2 (WildStorm) Once again, not much happens here and Jason doesn’t show up until the last page. Get on the ball, guys!
• HELLSTORM: THE SON OF SATAN # 4 (Marvel MAX) Hellstorm rips off the dick of an Egyptian god – the fuck?!?
• JONAH HEX #15 (DC) The conclusion of Jonah Hex’s origin. Man, he’s got some issues!
• THE INCREDIBLE HULK #102 (Marvel) Alright, guys, keep reading. Don’t give up. Hulk should be back on Earth and pissed in about two issues. I hope. –Louis Fowler

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