From the Joss Whedon-helmed webmovie Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog comes the origin story of the next greatest supervillain of all time… Dr. Horrible!

In this one-shot comic, Zack Whedon (younger brother to Joss) and artist Joelle Jones establish how a young, impressionable, but brilliant Dr. Horrible was drawn into a world of crime. Readers are reacquainted with the charming, brawny, crime-fighting superhero extraordinaire Captain Hammer when Dr. Horrible crosses paths with his greatest enemy in an all-out showdown of immeasurable proportions. Special guest appearances include…

Highlights This Week: Joss Whedon’s internet cult hit Dr. Horrible gets a one shot; Stephen King & Peter Straub’s Talisman #1 from Del Ray; Humberto Ramos’ Kookaburra K #1 from Marvel (via Soliel); Sherlock Holmes & Watson fight zombies in Victorian Undead #1; the Robots in Disguise finally get a regular ongoing in Tranformers #1 from IDW; not to be outdone, Farscape #1 begins a new ongoing, as well; Flash Rebirth #5 and Fallout Toy Works #2 both finally ship, along with the tardy (and now with correct barcode) Phonogram 2 #5; shipping a week after a book that spins off from it is the Realm of Kings one shot, continuing the Annihilation/Conquest/War of Kings mega-epic; and numerous other great items are shipping, too!

This week’s lastest addition to DC’s Showcase black and white library is DC Comics Presents Volume 1. DC Comics Presents was a comic book published by DC Comics from 1978 to 1986 featuring team-ups between Superman and a wide variety of other characters from the DC Universe

The stand alone stories were written by a variety of talent including Len Wein, Paul Levitz, Cary Bates and featured art by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Murphy Anderson, and others.
Superman met most of DC’s greatest heroes including The Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and a number of secondary characters including The Metal Men, Zatanna and Sgt. Rock. this new volume collects DC Comics Presents #1-26.

Carol L. Tilley, a professor of library and information science at Illinois, recently published her research in School Library Monthly saying that comics are just as sophisticated as other forms of literature, and children benefit from reading them at least as much as they do from reading other types of books.

“A lot of the criticism of comics and comic books come from

Highlights This Week: Dark Horse releases a sequel to their best-selling Star Wars: Purge one-shot from four years ago Star Wars: Purge - Seconds to Die; the Punisher is relaunched again as PunisherMax #1 with writer Jason Aaron and artist Steve Dillon telling the story of the first meeting of Frank Castle and The Kingpin; the forces of Blackest Night invade Booster Gold #26; Green Lantern Corps #42 and R.E.B.E.L.S. #10; besides his first ever team-up with the Man of Bronze in the Batman/Doc Savage Special, there’s more joy to be found in Batland this week in Batman and Robin #6, and the introduction of new villain The Flamingo; Tony Daniel writes and draws the new story arc beginning in Batman #693 and Batgirl #4 finds Stephanie Brown dealing with her first official night on the job; after finding himself no longer the Sorcerer Supreme Stephen Strange must discover a new path in Strange #1 (of 5); Deadpool does double duty this week (he’s everywhere! he’s everywhere!) appearing in his own Deadpool #17 as well as showing up in a certain webslinger’s title in Amazing Spider-Man #611; Mark Millar’s modern classic is now collected as the Superman: Red Son Deluxe Edition Hardcover; Norman Osborne’s mutant team gets their own mini-series Dark X-Men #1 (of 5), but first they have to deal with the return of Nate Grey (aka X-Man); the all-new Locke and Key: Crown of Shadows #1; Horror legends Steve Niles and Berni Wrightson bring you The Ghoul #1; an essential guide for robots in disguise fans the Transformers: Continuum One-Shot; Warren Ellis’ superhero who has left humanity behind Supergod #1; And, Stan Sakai celebrates 25 years of a his rabbit ronin with the original Usagi Yojimbo: Yokai hardcover.

• Novelty Highlights This Week: Dark Horse Capsule Assortments Spider-Man Superballs and Ben 10 Figures; an all-new batch of Super Deformed Plushes of Black Costume Spider-Man; Darth Maul; Jawa; Santa Spider-Man; and Silver Surfer; And, Star Wars Galactic Heroes Action Figures 200904 and Star Wars Ralph McQuarrie Action Figure Set

• DVD Releases This Week: Big Bang Theory Seasons 1 and 2; Red Dwarf: Back to Earth; Ruby Spears Superman and Superman Batman: Public Enemies

We don’t promote the upcoming releases of too many statues because, well, they make so many of them. But every once in awhile one comes along that we just have to tell you about.

The Joker’s love, Harley Quinn, is the latest statue to join DC Direct’s popular Cover Girls of the DC Universe statue series. The character is designed by fan-favorite artist Adam Hughes and is the perfect companion to the next statue in the series, Poison Ivy (more on her at a later date).

Place your order no later than Sunday, November 29 to guarantee availability. The statue retails for $99.99 and is currently scheduled to be released on June 9, 2010.

Doc Savage returns to DC Comics this week and comes face-to-fist with The Batman in the Batman/Doc Savage Special. Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets; Joker Hardcover) and artist Phil Noto shine the first light on a shadowy new version of the DCU, where thugs run rampant, corruption runs deep, and heroes can’t be trusted.

Similar to the recent Batman/Spirit One-shot, this new book serves as a

The Authority: The Lost Reader reprints the first and only 2 issues of The Authority series by Grant Morrison & Gene Ha three years ago. Next week will see the release of The Authority: The Lost Year #3 that will begin completing the 12-issue story using Morrison’s original outline by the creative team of Keith Giffen and Darick Robertson.

The Carrier is dead, leaving The Authority stuck on an Earth in a reality they don’t recognize. They find themselves on our Earth. Their powers barely work, and to add insult to injury, in this universe they’re not only unknown to the population, they’re comic book characters.

This week New York Times bestselling author Kevin Baker (Dreamland) writes his first original graphic novel, Luna Park, with artist Danijel Zezelj (Loveless).

Alik Strelnikov lives in the shadow of Coney Island; a world of silenced rides and rusting amusement parks that mock his dreams of becoming a hero. Ten years ago, he traded a brutal existence in the Russian army for the promise of America only to become an enforcer in the Brooklyn mob. Now, he chases his ghosts with all he has left: booze, heroin and his lover, Marina, part-time prostitute and full-time fortune teller.

The only way to escape their miserable fates hinges on a plan that will put them between

No longer Sorcerer Supreme of the Marvel Universe after recent events in New Avengers, Stephen Strange must discover a new path to fulfillment and enlightenment. But

In this week’s Strange #1 (of 4), by the creative team of Mark Waid and Emma Rios (Hexed), unfortunately, that path leads through a bizarre, terrifying gauntlet of magical menaces — and if the former Master of the Mystic Arts is going to survive the journey, he’ll need some assistance in the form of a brand-new apprentice.