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 Dr. Horrible’s love interest, Penny; his sidekick, Moist; and a meter man.

• For a preview, check the Dark Horse website (which is where most of this text is lifted from; shhh). Please be aware these are not the stories originally available on Myspace Dark Horse Presents, though we won’t stop you from heading over there and reading those, too!

• This full-color, 40 page comic book includes two alternate covers by artist Kristian Donaldson and a pin-up from superstar artist Gene Ha.

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.

See the fllowing list for individual issue contents and character appearances:

• The Flash (issues #1, 2)
• Adam Strange (issues #3)
• The Metal Men (issue #4)
• Aquaman (issues #5)
• Green Lantern (issues #6, 26)
• Red Tornado (issue #7)
• Swamp Thing (issues #8)
• Wonder Woman (issues #9)
• Sgt. Rock (issue #10)
• Hawkman (issues #11)
• Mister Miracle (issue #12)
• The Legion of Super-Heroes (issues #13)
• Superboy (issue #14)
• Atom (issues #15)
• Black Lightning (issue #16)
• Firestorm (issues #17)
• Zatanna (issue #18)
• Batgirl (issue #19)
• Green Arrow (issues #20)
• The Elongated Man (issues #21)
• Captain Comet (issues #22)
• Doctor Fate (issue #23)
• Deadman (issue #24)
• The Phantom Stranger (issues #25)

“A lot of the criticism of comics and comic books come from people who think that kids are just looking at the pictures and not putting them together with the words,” Tilley said. “Some kids, yes. But you could easily make some of the same criticisms of picture books — that kids are just looking at pictures, and not at the words.”

“If reading is to lead to any meaningful knowledge or comprehension, readers must approach a text with an understanding of the relevant social, linguistic and cultural conventions,” she said. “And if you really consider how the pictures and words work together in consonance to tell a story, you can make the case that comics are just as complex as any other kind of literature.”

• Click here to read the entire article about Professor Tilley’s research on the Science Daily website

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.

Similar to the recent Batman/Spirit One-shot, this new book serves as a prologue to an upcoming 6-issue miniseries by Azzarello and Rags Morales (Identity Crisis), revealing the full width and breadth of DC’s new pulp-influenced universe.

Also featured is sketchbook material by Morales that will show you just what you’re in for early next year.

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.

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 warring mobs and span  from contemporary Coney Island to the Russia of the Second Chechen War to spellbinding 1910s New York.

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.

*DC’s Blog DC Nation has stated that they’re not accepting anymore postcards for the renumbering of Wonder Woman #600, but they’ll be making some kind of announcement in the next couple weeks.
*Novelist S.E. Hinton (The Outsiders) is taking the leap to comic book author in early 2010 with an adaptation of her 1988 young adult novel Taming of the Star Runner.
*Spawn #196 will end the current Endgame storyline and will feature Todd McFarlane sharing art duties with Rob Liefeld.

Here’s a few of the costumed revelers that made the effort to dress up and visit us this past weekend. See ya next year!