Wow. Just – wow. I’ve never doubted Mark Waid’s mad skills behind the keyboard. The guy knows how to write good superhero comics, and has done so for years. Anyone who’s read Kingdom Come will agree. Now that he’s the EIC of BOOM! Studios, he appears to be ramping things up, free from the tight editorial reigns that The Big Two can sometimes choke a writer’s potential with.
With the clever marketing campaign stating “Mark Waid Is Evil,” fans were curious. The guy’s not exactly a squeaky clean comics writer. Those days haven’t existed since Batman was dancing on TV. Nor is he Warren Ellis though. However, with this new series, he seems to be exploring the darkness of costumed adventuring to a greater degree than he ever has before. The whole premise of this book is the slow corruption of a good superhero (the first and the best actually) before he begins to hunt down his terrified team-mates. Peter Krause’s art is suitably realistic and vicious and the terror is palpable. Waid – you’ve done it again.
To say more than that would be to ruin the wonderful slam dunk that this debut issue is. Anyone who’s read superhero comics for any length of time needs to read this. It’s a quick read (with an afterword by Grant Morrison and a preview of The Unknown), and not many details are offered, save that The Plutonian has now turned and his fellow spandex wearers are helpless. Imagine if Superman had enough of the human race. If all our stupidity and constant bickering and evil just made the most powerful creature on earth snap. And there was nothing we could do about it. That is Irreedemable, and it’s great stuff.
BOOM! Studios today launched the weekly “15 Minutes with Waid” podcast, where you will be able to get your weekly dose of Mark Waid ruminating on the hot topics of today’s comic industry and talking about the latest creative endeavors of the inimitable Mark Waid. 
Mr. Stuffins returns featuring covers by MOUSE GUARD”s David Peterson! Written by EUREKA creator Andrew Cosby and EUREKA staff writer Johanna Stokes, MR. STUFFINS is a tale of intrigue and suspense, and all before bedtime! For fans of TOY STORY and BURN NOTICE, MR. STUFFINS will have you wondering if your toy’s kung fu grip is for real!
Proving again that the number of tales starring the undead is limitless, 
I get the feeling that I’m at the start of something special. It’s easy to picture this as a future TV series or film. Like Buffy, but with an ambition equal to her comics rather than the TV series, Hexed is smart and entertaining.
Compilations like this are a rarity on the comics stands these days. Image has done very well with the concept with the Tori Amos collaboration, Comic Book Tattoo as well as their two volumes of PopGun books and their recent Liquid City book which featured work by Asian writers and artists. Of course, there is always the excellent Flight series too. Those anthologies are all superb ways of introducing new fans into our beloved medium of choice, but if you’re into something more frequent (as in every month) that features some great short stories, then BOOM! Studios has the answer for you. Comparing their Zombie Tales series to the books mentioned above is a stretch, but they all offer bite sized (no pun intended) tales to hook readers into the marvels of sequential art.
The first tale here is written by John R. Fultz, with art by Aritz Eiguren. It centres on two hitmen presumably working for the Mafia, who take their latest victim out to the woods to complete their given task. For one of the men, it is The Last Hit, as is the title. Despite their killing of the snitch, he digs out of his makeshift grave and attacks Satch in their car. Satch of course turns against his partner Bruno. Now Bruno has two “corpses” to his credit, and when he visits the boss to tell him he’s finished his final job, it looks like Bruno himself may be the third. Suitably bloody art makes this a harsh and violent story, as most zombie tales are.
comicbookjesus 