Black rain falling from the sky look strange:

– Not going to lie; Shadowman #1 was “meh” at best.  Hopefully this isn’t how the rest of Valiant’s second tier titles are going to go. Never fear though, there’s a new Archer & Armstrong this week to clear away the bad taste.

– Because I’m a sucker who is terrible with money, I am getting on board with at least the first one or two issues of the Marvel NOW! relaunch/rejigger/re-whatever that is happening in the wake of AvX. Iron Man last week wasn’t bad! Let’s see what Matt Fraction can do with Marvel’s First Family.

– New Locke & Key. That’s all that needs to be said. I want to treat this comic like I treat Homeland; it’s so good that I can’t bear waiting one second more after it’s over to start the next one.  Go to your local library and pick up the trades!

– “Death of the Family” continues in Batman & Robin and Batman this week.  Death in comics is a tricky thing; you know it’s not going to be forever, but at the same time it’s a great talking point & sales generator. But when you’ve been reading “Death of…” stories for 20 years, they kind of lose their gravity. But crazy Joker antics = take my money.

– After 72 issues, The Boyswraps up.  Not in the same ballpark (or even state the ballpark is located in) as Preacher,but still clever & interesting enough at times to warrant picking up here and there.

– Saga is so weird/charming that I keep getting it because I need to know where it’s going. Also the robots with fancy military uniforms & televisions for heads. I like them. ‘Cause they have TVs. Where heads should be.

– Spider Glider! <— shouldn’t that rhyme?

– As for the rest, that’s just reflexive grabbing & impulse purchasing: Gambit, Thor, X-Men. Passable but most likely not life altering. But who knows? Maybe Marvel NOW! has got some tricky sleeves & Gambit is able to recapture the charm of the first issue.

What are you buying this week?