Beautiful

For Star-Lord, some tunes are worth traveling “Across the Universe.” More than just a Peter Quill one-and-done story (even though it is a Peter Quill one-and-done story), writer Gerry Duggan and artist Chris Samnee deftly structure issue #5 to set up possibilities for the next story arc and provide more connective tissue between the comics and the Guardians of the Galaxy films, even as they remain separate continuities. The good news is that Marvel has provided a continuity worth following. Peter’s exchange with a Nova Corps agent establishes several future plot points, including the Corps’ efforts to recruit new officers, the fact that no one in the universe is fond of Earthlings, the Corps is in immediate trouble, and the current status of Thanos. Duggan reinforces the notion that Earthlings are reviled throughout the universe via a humorous exchange with two Benvarians later in the issue. Duggan’s smart script also gives us an interesting technological tidbit about Peter’s use of

DC Comics’ Rebirth slate is chugging into its second year, which means giant sized anniversary issues — issue #25s for the double-shipped books — are hitting shelves and kicking off new arcs. For Batman that means part one of the highly anticipated “War of Jokes & Riddles” storyline, a plot that has been seeded through writer Tom King’s run on the book from the very start — pulling back even further to play in the sandbox set up by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s now-legendary run in the New 52’s “Zero Year” arc. The issue begins in media res during one of the Joker’s murderous plots — he’s auditioning stand up comedians, and then executing them when they fail to make him laugh — coupled with narration boxes that are instantly recognizable in King’s trademark poetic style that inform us what we’re seeing is a flashback, a story being told in the past tense by an outside observer. RELATED: Batman: War of Jokes and Riddles’ Inciting Incident Revealed This is the first time the Jo

What happens when we die is an eternal question that has plagued mankind since we first gained cognitive abilities, and for good reason. Dying is terrifying, objectively. The idea that one moment you’re here and the next moment you’re not, and you never will be again, it’s enough to send anyone into an existential crisis. Some people cope with it through religion and tales of an afterlife where — if you’re a good enough person — you’ll be rewarded; some people believe in reincarnation, so that when you die you manifest in a new form and continue the cycle of life and death; then there are people who believe that when you die, you die and that’s it. Euthanauts offers possibly the first new idea in post-mortality reasoning in a good long while, and wraps it up in a beautifully presented and darkly foreboding package, delivered by three of the biggest breakout stars of the past few years. The ideas presented in Euthanauts are so captivating, you can’t help but wonde