New Comic Book Day: Bob’s Burgers Are Made of Wolverine

All good things must come to an end, my friends. This lovely blue orb will spin only so long before the sun explodes and makes what life remains here extinct.

As with Earth, so too goes the funny books game. Specifically, All-Star Western and Wolverine which both see their final issues making their debut this week. Oh, and Logan begins his slow crawl toward the grave with “One Month to Die.” Plus, a little fools are about to die hard in the latest The Goon series out of Dark Horse.

But it’s not all doomed! What could possibly be more fun than the Ninja Turtles going back in time and cosplaying as pirates? Plus, Bob’s Burgers makes the leap from the small screen to the comics page.

Batman ’66 #41 (DC Comics)

With the latest issue of Batman ’66, we’ve got a good idea/bad idea situation. On the meta level, the latest issue of ’66 has the fine idea of giving Batman his own Bat-bot to take over patrol duties when he and Robin need a break from fighting crime. In the bad idea column, Batman, why did you build a crime-fighting Bat-bot? You know there’s no way that’s gonna shake out free of complications and crazy.

Oh, and it’s an armored, clawed giant? Even better. Why not just level the city yourself, why don’t you, Bats?

At least you know writer Jeff Parker can deliver the goods when it comes to this kind of hyper aware comical comic mayhem. P.S., I miss Agents of Atlas. That’s all.

You can buy Batman ’66 #41 via comiXology.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time #3 (IDW)

I want you all to sound off in the comments: was Turtles in Time the best Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game or what?

Someone at IDW seemed to think the idea of time-tossed Turtles was a good idea, too, with the second issue of the Erik Burnham-penned series on shelves this week. This time out, it’s (teenage mutant) ninjas vs. pirates, as the boys are thrown onto a pirate ship with Michelangelo as captain.

I’m gonna ignore the played-out vs. meme and say I’m digging the lovely David Petersen cover for the book. Now here’s hoping that IDW will be able to throw enough money at the Mouse Guard creator to get him on a Turtles arc or miniseries sometime in the future.

You can buy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time #3 via comiXology.

Pop #1 (Dark Horse Comics)

From the high seas to the high concept, Pop is one of those books that’ll either be a brilliant piece of satire or something so precious about its idea so as to be unbearable.

The pitch, from writer Curt Pires and artist Jason Copland, imagines a future where celebrities are literally corporate-owned products. One escapes, providing the thrust of this Dark Horse series which seems to owe a little to similar works like Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral and Michael Bay’s The Island.

Here’s hoping Pop has a little more to say than either of those painfully one-note works. Also, I just introduced you all to a movie about cloned celebrity flesh being turned into meat – please tell me at least one or two of you sought out the trailer, because it’s crazy-stupid stuff.

You can buy Pop #1 via Dark Horse Digital.

Bob’s Burgers #1 (Dynamite Entertainment)

You know what I bet’s hard to capture in print? The rhythm of John H. Benjamin’s comedic voice. I kind of imagine at this point, roles are written specifically with the Bob’s Burgers actor in mind, as opposed to the alternative. Is that something the writers of the new Dynamite anthology comic will be able to overcome? It might help that the book’s creators are also some of the producers and writers from the award-winning series.

It was a problem for the Dark Horse’s Metalocalypse comic from a few years back (which included songs and was truly no damned good), but then we have the very particular worlds of Adventure Time and Bravest Warriors out there getting repped legitimately on the comics page.

Oh, hey, it’s gonna have Gene solving mysteries. Alright, consider me on board.

You can buy Bob’s Burgers #1 via Dynamite Entertainment.

All-Star Western #34 (DC Comics)

When it made its debut nearly three years ago, Palmiotti and Gray’s All Star Western felt like one of DC’s few unqualified successes with the then-New 52. I’m gonna chalk part of that up to not being subordinate to any of the continuity shenanigans of many of the present-day titles. While its writers were laying down some interesting backstory for Gotham in its first issues, All Star was still allowed to be a weird western with Confederate freakshow Jonah Hex out front and center.

Just shy of its third birthday, the book is coming to an end, and I’m wondering where ol’ Jonah’s going to show up next (and more importantly, who’ll be writing him).

Anyway, this final issue will see Jonah facing off against himself (!) in a battle to the death. Who will win? Who will die? How does he drink water without it all ending up down the front of his shirt?

You can buy the All-Star Western #34 via comiXology.

Wolverine #12 (Marvel Comics)

Is it possible to really enjoy Wolverine stories and not really give a hot damn about Wolverine the character?

I’m giving a lot of latitude to the word “character” here, by the way: like the Punisher, I’ve always felt Wolverine was a great storytelling engine but that there was seldom enough there with the man himself to get all that emotionally invested in. Samurai, spy, amnesiac – Wolverine’s whatever the current writer needs him to be, and it’s that mutability that has allowed him to endure, I think.

But now we’re being asked to care about a story involving Marvel’s pseudo immortal dying for a little while. His healing factor on the fritz, Wolverine’s only got a month left to live and all of his villains are out to get him. It’s asking for a level of human investment for a character whose whole thing is how inhuman and roughly-drawn he is.

I think Death of Wolverine‘s Charles Soule gets that there’s not a whole lot to the character and has framed the miniseries about his death around the many roles Wolvie has played and how other characters react to him.

The final issue of Wolverine sees him getting into some beef with Sabretooth, who I’m sure will get some licks in before himself being banished to the back-issue bin for a few years.

You can buy Wolverine #12 via comiXology.

The Goon: Occasion of Revenge #2 (Dark Horse Comics)

Goon doesn’t have a Sabretooth – he’s got zombie gangsters and gypsy women trying to bring him down. And he’s a hell of a lot more human than Wolverine.

The Goon is good when creator Eric Powell is having fun with all of the bog-set supernatural goings on, what with all of the witches and ancient prophecies and shabby orphans trying to get into the burlesque show. But it’s at its best when we get a look inside the heart and guts of the book’s scarred-up lead, when he’s got something to lose and his fists and bullets aren’t enough to keep him away from tragedy.

This second issue of Occasion For Revenge has put Goon in the worst possible place: next to a great lady who’d fight by his side. If she survives this book, it’ll be a surprise. Given how bad Goon’s love life has been in the past (see: Chinatown), if whatever the two have going between them survives this arc, it’ll be nothing short of a miracle.

You can buy The Goon: Occasion of Revenge #2 via Dark Horse Digital.

Those are my picks for the week. What’s on your list?