Graphic By: Julie Brennan

Birds of Prey (DC): From the "Oh, Crap! I Can't Believe I Haven't Talked About it" Department comes Birds of Prey. I've been collecting this book for about a year now, right after Villians United made me into a Gail Simone fan. Deciding to sample her other offerings (as in comic books, you pervert), I added this title to my pull list. I haven't been disappointed. Each month, this book balances traditional super-heroics with great characterization and a lighthearted tone. Birds of Prey follows the exploits of several of DC's top female characters: The Huntress, Black Canary, Oracle and Lady Blackhawk. During the One Year Later initiative, Canary left the team (for reasons yet to be disclosed), and Lady Shiva joined, taking the name Jade Canary. The Birds are forced to protect the Crime Doctor, a D-list Batman villian, whom Gail employed to chilling effect in Villians and who is defecting from the Society. Great stuff. Check it out,

JSA (DC): JSA has been a part of my pull for over two years now, and I haven't mentioned it once in this column. Why do I like JSA so much? Is it because it focuses on some of DC's Golden Age characters? Yeah. Is it because it also offers contemporary spins on some of those characters? Yes. Is it because it's consistently one of the best-written superhero titles on the market? Yup. As you can see, there are many reasons to pick this book up. Sadly, it's coming to an end in July, and I can't understand why. Its one of DC's top-selling books. I've heard rumors of a relaunch, but I don't see any problem with it as is.

Nova (Marvel): This is the third Annihilation book I've reviewed in this column. I didn't know if I was going to enjoy the Annihilation event, but now it looks like I'm going to dig it. Out of all the characters featured in the Prologue, Nova's story intrigued me the most, and this book picks up on that. Richard Ryder, AKA Nova, is the last of the Nova Corps, and he is out to avenge his fallen comrades. If Marvel decides to give any of these characters an ongoing series after this event concludes, I think Nova is a prime candidate. The story potential is there: he is the last of his kind, and now he must rebuild the fallen Corps.

Wolverine: Origins (Marvel): Part of the fall-out from House of M was Wolverine regaining all of his memories. This event set off a panic among various governments and agencies across the Marvel Universe, as many of them had employed Wolvie at some point, and just as many have screwed him over. This series promises to reveal the many secrets in Wolverine's past. This arc features art from Steve Dillion (Preacher), and I can't help but to think his art style isn't suited for a character like Wolverine. I love Dillon's art, don't get me wrong, but it's too clean and bright for what looks to be such a dark and gritty book.

That's a wrap for this season, folks. Before I go, I want to remind everyone that Saturday, May 6, is Free Comic Book Day. As the name suggests, retailers that day will be handing out free comic books. All of the majors, and many small presses, have created special one-of-a-kind books just for this day. Gamequest in Radford will be participating, so don't miss it.