Alternate Cover: This week's new comics

Now that the Wolverine movie undoubtedly has people flocking to their local comic shops for the first time in years, one has to wonder what they'll encounter. This week I'm going to pick a few books out of the shipping list and explain why I think - or don't think - that they'd be worth picking up for new or returning comics fans.

ACTION COMICS #877
This week there's an issue of DC's flagship Superman title - one of the longest running comics in the industry - is released. There's one major problem for incoming readers: It doesn't actually have Superman in. Fair enough, it's not like there's any Superman publicity to play off, but it's not exactly going to help, either.

UNWRITTEN #1
It's a Vertigo (Mature Readers) title about the son of an author on whom a famous series of books about a young wizard was based. Imagine if JK Rowling had based Harry Potter on her son, and he didn't like it. That's the angle they're going for. I believe the twist is going to be that he turns out to have actual magical powers, but we'll see. Not sure where they're going with the story, but in a rare smart move, Vertigo are pricing the debut issue at $1. If that, combined with the obvious Harry Potter influences, doesn't convince interested punters to give it a go, nothing will.

WOLVERINE #66 - #70 (reprints)
WOLVERINE #73
WOLVERINE WEAPON X #2
Yikes. More Wolverine than you can shake a claw at. The vast majority, sadly, are various chapters a story arc set in an alternate future where Wolverine has shaved his head and become a pacifist. Not going to play up to the movie crowd, I suspect. Wolverine: Weapon X #2 might drag in a few readers with its low number and dutifully delivers an arc guest starring characters from the movie. Slightly more concerning is Wolverine #73, a stand-alone issue which is coming out BEFORE #72 (the conclusion of the aforementioned future-based arc) and that's got the potential to confuse everyone involved. It's not the best lot of Wolverine comics, that's for sure, but since the movie's a week or two back they can just about get away with it.

ANGEL NOT FADE AWAY #1
Buffy fans might be tempted by seeing a comic version of spin-off Angel with an enticing #1 slapped on the front, but once it stands revealed as a comic adaptation of the season 5 finale, it's not likely to leave people looking forward to more.

All in all, not a very enticing week for comics, particularly those that might be accessible to new readers - but then that's one of the problems with how the industry has changed in recent years. Individual issues aren't just unattractive to new readers - they're actively repellent of them sometimes!

James writes Alternate Cover every Monday at Den Of Geek. His previous column can be found here.