Here are the newest comic releases from Valiant Entertainment. The big one here is the new A&A: The Adventures Of Archer & Armstrong; it is definitely my pick of this group. Too often comic books take themselves too seriously, whereas this seems to take delight in having a good time. But take a look through them all, you might find something that’s just right for you!

Ignition Vol. 1
Written by Various
Penciled by Various
Colors by Various
Edited by Andrew DelQuadro
215 Ink
Release Date: Available for Pre-Order
Cover Price: $29.99

So, there’s a review in here, promise, and it’s going to be about the new collection from 215ink called Ignition Vol. 1. The lede is just, as people who call writing a profession say, buried. First, I need a moment to qualify what I mean and give a frame of reference. So, sorry, but: you can always circumvent that by skipping to the end if you’d like.

There’s been something of a renaissance of creator owned content lately, with a bevy of titles being announced from creators like Grant Morrison, Steve Niles, Brian K Vaughan, and other industry heavyweights. Although artistic control has been a high profile issue in the comics world at least since the early 90s -what with the Creator’s Bill of Rights in 1988, and the creation of Image Comics in 1992- the past calendar year has seemed like something of a watershed moment for the publicity and frequency of creator owned projects. Every major publisher, I believe, has an imprint dedicated to these projects, and the whole thing smacks of a cash-in. That sounds cynical.

FUBAR #2, Empire of the Rising Dead
Stories by Jeff McComsey, Benjamin Truman, Shawn Aldridge, Rafer Roberts, Kevin Johnson, Steve Becker, Stephen Lindsay, Jennie Wood, Dominic Vivona, Mark Bertolini, Lonny Chant, Phil McClorey, Matt Kendzior, Kyle Kaczmarczyk, Michael Isenberg, Oliver Mertz, Michael McDermott, Jorge Vega, Timothy Zaprala, Jeff McClelland, Richard Meyers, Helaine Crawford, Eric Spohn, Ronald Montgomery, Mike Imboden

FUBAR Press and Alterna Comics
Release Date: January 11, 2012
Cover Price: $14.95

Oh FUBAR, you had me at “blarg.”

FUBAR #2, Empire of the Rising Dead is a 200+ page, World War II with zombies, short story extravaganza. Whereas the first issue took place in the European theater, this issue takes place solely in the Pacific theater. It’s all here: Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, island hopping warfare, geishas, evil Japanese scientific experiments, shark attacks on stranded sailors, and Tuskegee. But, you know, with zombies.