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Matt Wagner has written and drawn comic book characters of all shapes and sizes at many publishers, but he’s still most closely associated with two of his own creations: Mage and Grendel. While the Grendel saga has certainly generated the higher number of pages, it’s Mage that is clearly the more personal of the two. And now, Wagner has begun the third and final 15-issue series in his comic book trilogy with Mage: The Hero Denied #1, as his protagonist faces the most dangerous and deadly challenge of his life. Namely, a family. RELATED: Matt Wagner Ends Mage Saga with Final Chapter The Hero Denied The first two entries in the trilogy (Mage: The Hero Discovered and Mage: The Hero Defined) introduced us to Kevin Matchstick, the reincarnation of Arthur Pendragon himself. Wielding a magical baseball bat with the powers of Excalibur, Kevin fights off dark spirits and mythic creatures with the aid of a mystical advisor with the title of the World-Mage (Mirth in the first volume, Wally Ut

Having extricated The Psycho Pirate from Bane’s base of operations in Santa Prisca at the end of his “I Am Suicide” arc, Tom King and returning artist David Finch kick off “I Am Bane” in “Batman” #16, where Bane makes a play to get him back. Bane also makes a move against specific members of the Bat-family, but not before King explores the dynamic between the men behind the masks, not as a Bat-family, but an actual one. King’s exploration of the relationship between Bruce and the boys he helped raise is a rare look at how a special family interacts in a surprisingly normal and light-hearted way, highlighting another tremendously structured and executed issue in King’s impressive run. RELATED: Tom King Just Changed the Very Foundation of Batman’s Origin Story There has been no shortage of stories over the years featuring Batman in action alongside Dick Grayson / Jason Todd / Damian Wayne, and even a few featuring these characters teaming together in various combinations, but relati

“Hip Hop Family Tree” #1 creates an in-depth and incredibly satisfying look at the history of hip hop as a narrative. Ed Piskor, sole creator of both this series as well as the previous volumes, takes readers on a journey from the basketball courts of the Bronx and Queens into nightclubs as the indelible American artform goes from teenage groundswell to viable commercial commodity. The book is wordy, packing a lot of text onto every page, but Piskor’s script breezes by, dropping readers in and out of key moments in the evolution of the culture, stitching together moments across the ’70s as the major players begin to evolve party hosting into a higher art — some by accident, and others through calculated planning. Piskor’s love of hip hop sizzles off of the page. There are so many ideas and so much content packed into this issue the staples could pop. He begins the journey by focusing on DJ Kool Herc’s South Bronx dance parties as one of the birthplaces of the culture, expanding out q

The second entry into Marvel’s evergreen Original Graphic Novel program, “Amazing Spider-Man: Family Business,” written by Mark Waid and James Robinson, is a continuity-light adventure that gives readers everything they need to know in one compact dose. With almost ninety pages of original, painted story, this graphic novel focuses on Peter Parker discovering his long-lost (and heretofore unknown) sister is in the family business as a C.I.A. agent, like his parents, Richard and Mary Parker. Pete and his newly-discovered sister, Teresa, are half of the dramatis personae in this adventure. There are other characters on hand, sure, such as super-criminal-for-hire Cyclone and Emile Chigaru, the elder Parkers’ mission controller, but the other half of the major players is rounded out with Wilson Fisk — the Kingpin — and Marvin Flumm, better known as Mentallo. Fisk does away with the “tabloid names” on page one, choosing to address Mentallo as Mr. Flumm. Unfortunately, halfway through the

“The Undertaking of Lily Chen” by Danica Novgorodoff has a title with a double meaning: “undertaking” as in an important or difficult task or venture, and also “undertaking” as it relates to funerals and the procedures of burial. The plot is driven by the folk custom of “corpse brides,” which Novgorodoff explains via an epigraph quote from “The Economist” and then expands with a Chinese history as the story begins. The hero, Deshi, needs a female body to provide a bride for his dead brother. Driven by family duty and guilt, his thoughts turn to murder in the first moment he sees the titular Lily Chen. The prologue is a small tour de force of efficient and emotionally potent exposition. The opening hook is excellent, establishing the hero and the central conflict quickly and suspensefully. In this section, Novgorodoff uses facing pages in alternating prose and pictures to weave together past and present. The pacing for this section is perfect, and Novgorodoff’s prose is poetic, making

The end of an era occurs in “Superman Family Adventures” #12 as readers bid farewell to the magnificent corner of the DC Comics publishing line that Franco Aureliani and Art Baltazar so lovingly cultivated. In the half-decade since the creative duo introduced “Tiny Titans” #1, they’ve provided words and pictures for all ages reads that feature Captain Marvel and Mary Marvel, all of the Teen Titans in any incarnation filtered through the cutesy lens Baltazar himself uses to see the world, the Green Lantern Corps and members of the Justice League. This final issue of their latest collaboration lives up to its title in every regard. For the most part, editorial at DC stayed out of their way, allowing the duo to be creative and crazy, bringing readers such fun concepts as Bat-Cow and Super Pets. In “Superman Family Adventures” #12, Art and Franco bring each of Superman’s families in for a turn in the spotlight: Jonathan and Martha Kent; Jor-El and Lara; Superboy and Supergirl; the Justi

In “Superman Family Adventures” #8, Superman learns a little more about his past and the Super Pets encounter a new foe disguised as a friend thanks to the creative minds of Franco Aureliani and Art Baltazar. The issue opens with a peek into the daily activities of Superboy and Supergirl as they learn what it means to be Kryptonian on Earth. Right away, Baltazar and Aureliani unleash madcap fun, giving readers of all ages teases and cameos designed to delight. Baltazar’s deceptively simple style is engaging and contagious, giving rationale and life to even the most ridiculous situations. Truly playing to all ages, Baltazar and Aureliani include scenes where Krypto, Streaky and Fuzzy drive the narrative. Like the greatest Saturday morning cartoons, the human characters only hear the expected noises from the Super Pets, but the reader knows what is really going on. That spirit of fun pervades every panel of this comic, including the revelation that purple and green are “evil colors”

“Superman Family Adventures” #2 is a nice little cure-all for comic book fans (or younger readers with the potential to be fans) suffering from an early onset of summer boredom. As you can tell from the cover image, this issue has an extra-special spot for Bizarro and also provides Fuzzy, the Krypto mouse, with a few panels in the spotlight. Franco and Art Baltazar unleash the inherent zaniness that would surround the Man of Steel and put an extra coat of cute on it all when Bizarro crashes into Metropolis and winds up ruining the day for Jimmy Olsen. In addition to introducing Bizarro, the fun-loving co-creators of “Tiny Titans” expand the Superman universe quite a bit, giving Jimmy a trio of new pals and bringing in a crew of tiny heroes for a guest appearance. Superman, for me, is a character best enjoyed in the summer. Maybe it’s because of the movies from way back, or maybe the red, blue, and yellow costume is just so evocative of summer celebrations, but whatever the reason, Su

Who knew the secret to unlocking the true awesome of Superman would be found in the insanely fun pages of “Superman Family Adventures” #1? He is a character drastically underutilized to full capacity and Art Baltazar and Franco spell out the key here as being to have the most amount of fun possible with the Man of Steel. This series, firmly aimed at kids, is the ultimate example that true all-ages books exist and they are amazing. There isn’t much depth to the story here. Baltazar and Franco aren’t out to write layered narratives with multiple plot lines threading over time. Instead, they establish a backdrop on which to hang multiple moments and ongoing punchlines. There is a complexity to the gags that pop up throughout these pages. Ideas are set up and played for more than one laugh. It is also important to realize each laugh will actually come out of your mouth. This is a funny comic that delivers. If you have never read a Superman story before — and we can only hope this comic

There’s a panel early in the first issue of writers Justin Jordan and Nikki Ryan and artist Morgan Beem’s The Family Trade that signals all the promise of series. The story’s protagonist, Jessa Wynn — a teacher moonlighting as an assassin — looks out over the Free Republic of Thessala, a giant, interconnected city afloat in the Atlantic Ocean. Colloquially known as “the Float,” it’s a stunning sight, rendered in gorgeous watercolors by Beem. It looks cobbled together, an assemblage of mismatched parts, stacked high and stark against the expanse of the sea. Nonetheless, it’s a beautiful view from the top, Jessa admits, and then, you know, she gets back to the business at hand, the slaying of a rising politician, a wealthy would-be-tyrant preaching a message of making “the Float glorious again” to the city’s dissatisfied citizens. RELATED: The Family Trade Brings an Oceanpunk Universe to Image Spoiler alert: it doesn’t work out as planned. But that scene — the sprawling panoramic vie