Wednesdays are like nerd-Christmas around here. This week’s picks:

Justice #5
If you’re not reading this, you’re dead inside. Go to your local comic shop and get yourself caught up. The first thing you need to know is that it’s an Alex Ross book. Everything’s upside-down–the bad guys are on television, going around the world and helping people. They’re curing diseases, making the lame walk, and turning barren wastelands into lush garden paradises. They’re setting themselves up to be humanity’s saviors, while the good guys are curiously absent. It’s a gorgeous title, and a great read. A

Nextwave #4
I’m surprised this book isn’t being talked about more. You can hear Warren Ellis’ British accent throughout the entire series, which is very cool. It’s about a bunch of second-and-third-tier Marvel heroes who stole a government plane (it might be a spaceship, too, but I’m not sure) and fight against their ex-bosses (the government) who make it their duty to unleash various and sundry bad things on the planet. It’s funny, the art is suitably cartoony, and it’s good to see Machine Man back in action. A-

Hulk #93
This issue (as well as #92) is part of the Planet Hulk miniseries, which is one of the stories that lead up to Marvel’s Civil War. What happened was that The Avengers gave The Hulk the job of repairing a malfunctioning satellite with the surreptitious purpose of sending him to a barren planet where he can’t hurt anybody. His ensuing rampage aboard the spacecraft threw him off-course and landed him on a planet where he is enslaved and made to fight gladiator-style in an alien arena. What I like about this series is that they’re letting The Hulk cut loose. It’s fun, rather than harrowing watching him wreak havoc on this other planet–knowing what we know about The Hulk, and watching his captors find out for themselves. It’s got a different tone than some of the other books leading up to Civil War–and I imagine that he’s going to come back home in the middle of it, which will be something to see, I’m sure. B+

Shaolin Cowboy #5
Honestly, I’m not sure what’s going on in this title. It sure is pretty, though. I love Geof Darrow’s art–it’s complicated and colorful and the pages are nice and thick and bright. There’s a talking horse, and a Chinese cowboy, and a baby that can only be handled with human hands, and two demons that do…something. It’s from Burlyman, so it’s got the Wachowskis’ fingerprints all over it–kung fu, guns, and philosophical demons. B