Waiting for Wednesday, Issue 16

Okay, so this opening is going to sound similar to another Waiting for opening, but I swear--they're very different. Well, fine, not very as in very, but still, they're different. Now, they both deal with dreams that I had--

Hey! Wait! Where ya going? Hang on, hang on--listen to the story before you bolt over to Newsarama instead.

So, last night I dreamed that I was at the comics shop. Now, this was Dream Logic, and the comic shop my dream-self was visiting was not my normal shop, but some weird amalgamation of several that I've been to. In front of my dream-self lay (lie?) the glowing (yes, in my dream it was actually glowing, all angelic-like) wall of new comics.

As I started walking towards the glowing wall of comics (which, by the way, is a title I am going to trademark), I noticed something in my way. What is it? I thought, and peered downwards.

To my great surprise (and un-ending annoyance), there was a crocodile-lined, um, moat, between me and the shining wall of new-ness. So, of course, my dream self did what anyone in my (his?) situation would do.

I jumped in and braved the croc-filled waters.

I woke up just then, a little startled, but mostly perplexed as to how in the world it got to the point where I am, in fact, King Dork of Everything. And, of course, thoroughly annoyed that the stupid crocodiles kept me from that wonderful, shining wall...

On that note, on to the books that will make me broke today. Actually, it's a small week for me (well, not counting the several titles that Diamond STILL hasn't shipped to my LCS) and I only have a couple of suggestions for our reading masses.

First up is a title that ships today with issue two, and I wish I had mentioned its first issue. The Unknown, from BOOM! Studios was a book I picked up on a whim last month, and I ended up really enjoying it. A solid, interesting first issue, and I'll be buying today's installment. Here's the synopsis for the series:

She has solved every mystery known to man. But there is one mystery that remains... UNKNOWN! Revered as the smartest person alive, Catherine Allingham is the world's most famous private investigator. Follow her adventures as she sets out to solve the one mystery she's never been able to crack - DEATH! A new original mini-series from Mark (KINGDOM COME) Waid in the vein of RUSE with EXCALIBUR’s Minck Oosterveer.

And here's this week's cover:

This book has the right amount of mystery mixed in with overtones of the occult to warrant my picking up issue two. Good art, great story by Mark Waid, and it's a mini-series, so there will be an end! Another really good offering from BOOM!

Next up we have Anna Mercury, Volume 2 Issue 1, written by Mad Genius Warren Ellis. The first volume of this series in already collected in trade form, and it tells the tale of a futuristic city called Ataraxia and one of its guardians, the enigmatic Anna Mercury. Here's the description for that first series:

Dancing amid the spires of a city called New Ataraxia, there is a woman who can cloud men's minds, leap across buildings as if weightless, unerringly fire twin automatic pistols in the most insane conditions, and disappear in a crowded room.

She fights against the political repression of an insane technocratic society, and she comes from a place that no-one in New Ataraxia has ever heard of. And she's got one hour to save the city from itself.

A high-octane blend of The Shadow, Tomb Raider, retro-punk science fiction and 21st century Weird Pulp Action, ANNA MERCURY is a headlong adventure serial about a beautiful and mysterious spy-adventurer who is not what she seems.

A caveat for anyone unfamiliar with Ellis' work: he's a bit crazy. Tons of techno-babble and futuristic whatever pervade each and every one of his books, and Anna is certainly no different. So if that type of thing isn't your style, I'd stay away from this title. But, the art by Facundo Percio is stellar, the story is over the top fun, and I really enjoyed it.

Now, in lieu of recommending the first trade, I'd instead say to give today's Volume two, issue one a try and see if it's your thing. If so, then definitely go back and find the first series. Here's the cover:

Which brings us to the big wrap-up. This week's Waiting for may be short and sweet, but your lists of Books to Buy probably aren't.

So, let us know--what are you Waiting for today?