The idea of the X-babies meeting up with the characters of the late Star Comics is far better in concept than it is in execution. I should have known.

IDW's Doctor Who #5

Still, I have had my fill of ludicrousness with last weeks Marvel Zombies, so I am happy. Funnily enough, the reprint of Planet Terry’s first issue offered in X-Babies #2 as a back up strip was far more enjoyable than the story itself.

Realm Of Kings: Imperial Guard had a good start, even if the Guard were suddenly mysteriously at ease with following Gladiator’s Majestorship (oo, look, I made a word!). Nothing really happened in this issue, it was just a primer setting up the interpersonal politics and dropping the bombshell that a team is to probe into The Fault, alongside the Starjammers, who only appear on the final page. Still, it shows promise.

The only thing that surprised me in this issue is the characterisation of Hussar, who all of a sudden has revealed a kinder, more reasonable side to her personality. We’ve not seen that before, she had always seem to be cut from more bloodthirsty cloth.

But for my recommendation of the week, I’m going to depart from the Big Two, and look to IDW.

Now I have been a Whovian since I first learned to hide behind the sofa from pepperpots with sink-plungers sticking out of them. I followed the Doctors adventures when he was cast into the wilderness by the BBC and the license was picked up by Virgin. If you didn’t know, the eighth Doctor had quite the career in books and audio plays before the relaunch four years ago with Christopher Eccleston as the Time-Lord. I saw Gallifrey split into duplicates, and saw Faction Paradox learn how to break every law of time. You could say that on this I was a continuity buff, proudly wearing my anorak for no-one to see.

IDW’s Doctor Who series, now on its fifth issue brings together elements of both the original Doctor(s) and the relaunched version. In their current storyline, they have the Krillitane making a bid to dominate or overthrow the Shadow Proclamation with thelp of the rhino-headed Judoon, all newer elements; while the Sontarans, Draconians and the Ogrons are all caught in the crossfire. The latter two I don’t think we have seen since Jon Pertwee travelled the corridors of the Time Vortex.

In fact, the defeat of these other races at the hands of the Doctor in the past make them very unwilling allies in the current plot, and I love it. If you fondly remember the years of Jo Grant and Sarah Jane Smith (the first time around), then this is a series not to be missed.

Well, Blackest Night #1 is out on the shelves, and as set up issues go, it was okay. As I feared however, it looks like the Blackest Night is going to swamp the War Of Light storyline in Green Lantern unless that carries on after this crossover is finished, which I doubt. It does run the risk so far of just being a zombie story I think, but I will refrain from criticism until we are at least three issues in.

Speaking of super-zombies however, the Super-Zombies title from Dynamite has sucked me in. A whole new universe of characters, politics and intrigue established from the get-go, and in four issues I have already begun to care about the characters. This has risen to the top of my must-read list, and if you haven’t seen it already, I advise picking the issues up and giving them a chance. Yes you will be confused as to who everyone is to start with, I still am and need to re-read it to check who’s who. However, I started reading the DC Universe with Crisis On Infinite Earths, and you can imagine how much back-reading I had to do to find out who everyone was there. My only regret is that with Super-Zombies, that back material is not available to dip into.

What has me really pumped however is how the return of the Milestone universe is rolling on, this week in The Brave And The Bold #25, starring Hardware and Blue Beetle. Hardware is his usual sociable self and we see the return of his age old adversaries The System. Oh yeah, and the new Blue Beetle was in it as well.

I adored the confrontation recently between the JLA and the Shadow Cabinet, culminating in Justice League Of America #34, where we learnt just how it is that the Milestone Earth is now part of the DCU. The mysterious Dharma used the power of Rift Fred Benson (from Worlds Collide) to merge his universe with the DCU.

(Erm, from pre Zero Hour to the New Multiverse, did he misfire and shoot past the post-Zero Hour earth? Hell of a pattern that, knit one, drop one, knit one. “Ma, I lost a universe, have you seen it anywhere?)

Anyway, for a geek like me that means for once, all the previously titles still stand in continuity. There was some really good stuff in the old Milestone, and I was very disappointed to see it go.

Now, we’ve seen Holocaust, but I can’t wait to see what’s left of the rest of the Blood Syndicate and what they are up to nowadays.

Of course nostalgia seems all the rage at the minute. Anyone else dig that updated sixties-vibe in Superman World Of New Krypton? And how about the latest revamp of the Red Circle characters? !mpact comics was a bit of a flop, although it too had some good stories. However, I am just old enough to remember some of the actual Red Circle comics themselves. The Crusaders, The Fly and Fly-Girl. Villains like the Brain-Emperor and Eterno.

I am pumped about these, and I look forward to seeing the latter four characters again. The legacy of The Fly with the legacy of Shazam – now that would be an interesting mix.

Oh and have you seen Octobers solicitations? The X-Babies are coming back, but get this, WITH PLANET TERRY! I was too old to read Planet Terry the first time round but that didn’t stop me then, and it won’t stop me now.

Recycling in the music industry is bad. But here in the comic world? It’s good to see all of these old friends again.

As long as they are not zombies.