It's unfair, really. Even if you ignore the dual Obama-bandwagon-jumping of President Evil and Drafted: One Hundred Days (pitting the president against zombies and aliens, respectively), there's a lot to look for in stores this week.

Marvel focuses on familiar faces with its Marvel 70th Anniversary anthology, new Uncanny X-Men: First Class retro series, Dark X-Men: The Beginning franchise redo and Hulk: Broken Worlds parallel-green-dude collection.

IDW does the same with a GI Joe: Best Of Storm Shadow anthology. And a collection of the alternate history "what if the Klingons fucked everything up" story, Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Last Generation.

DC, meanwhile, make a great play for winning the week even before you get to Wednesday. For one thing, there's Jeff Lemire's The Nobody (which we reviewed last week). There's also a collection of the recent spin-off comic from NBC's Chuck, a re-issue for the oversized (and extra-paged) edition of DC: The New Frontier and a specially-priced ($1) new edition of the first issue from Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's wonderful All-Star Superman.

Plus, of course, there's the new deluxe hardcover Superman: Whatever Happened To The Man of Tomorrow, which collects all of Watchmen and V For Vendetta writer Alan Moore's work on the Man of Steel under one set of hardcovers for the first time.

The only competition for that line-up comes from Dark Horse, who's releasing a handsome hardcover version of horror comic Pixu: The Mark of Evil by indie sweethearts Becky Cloonan, Vasilis Lolos, Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba (Consider it highly recommended).

But, still. Wednesday Comics has our attention and our heart - A weekly 12-issue series of oversized strips by some of comics' best cartoonists, starring some of DC's best known characters (and some lesser-known but equally awesome - Adam Strange? The Metal Men?), it has the potential to be either the kind of comic that reminds you of the medium's potential, or a terrible carwreck. But either way, we'd be first in line to pick it up. Just the thought of seeing Paul Pope, Karl Kerschl, Eduardo Risso and Ryan Sook artwork at that size in the first place makes our fannish hearts go all a-flutter, never mind writing from Kurt Busiek, Neil Gaiman, Walt Simonson and many, many more.

Whether it's weekly proof that comics can dazzle and entertain or watching the leader of the free world shoot aliens in the head, consider your local comic store the place to be tomorrow... and if none of the above sounds your scene, set your peepers on this week's Diamond Distributors Shipping List, Daddio, to see what else you cool cats could be reading. Just don't bother us; we're going to be wondering whether we should frame some of that gorgeous newspaper-size Wednesday work...

The first project for DC's Vertigo imprint by Lemire, known for his indie series Tales From Essex County, The Nobody brings a quieter, less cynical sensibility to the line. This is the comic equivalent to a Bright Eyes record, with all the beauty and annoyance that that comparison suggests; there's a wonderful willingness to recognize stillness and melancholy at play in this book, but that's almost rendered toothless at times by what seems, at times, like a willful refusal to do the same to the darker side of human nature in anything beyond cartoony strokes that lack convinction... For all the danger hinted at throughout, moments that should come across as terrifying and alien instead seem weightless and dishonest.

(The plot of the book, although this isn't necessarily the most plot-driven book, is that Griffen, a man covered head to toe in bandages, arrives in the small town of Large Mouth and keeps himself to himself, much to the consternation of the townsfolk. When a series of crimes occur after his arrival, he becomes the main suspect, which leads to a confrontation with the failed experiments in his past as well as the local authorities.)

There's a lot to recommend in The Nobody; Lemire manages to perfectly conjure a feeling of bleak disconnection that perfectly matches his lead character's sensibility, transcending the intentionally-pulp nature of the plot (reinforced by the chapter breaks, which use pulp magazine and comic cover cliches to illustrate the story about to unfold). The ambiguous nature of the ending adds to this, allowing for both a straight-forward and an allegorical reading depending on the reader's taste, and bringing a greater weight to something that otherwise would be in danger of disappearing through its own introverted nature (Again, something that fits with the lead).

Lemire's art, scratchy and awkward in the best ways, may be the star of the book. It's simple enough to keep the reader's attention but detailed in all the right ways, especially the flashback/inkwash sequences and the evocative way he portrays the characters' environment (It's all about the negative space, especially the way Lemire shows the town of Large Mouth in the winter). There's something in particular about his characters - skew-wiff, imperfect and familiar - that keeps you engaged even when the writing threatens to lose itself in its own preciousness.

This is science fiction almost by accident; it's really a story about people after the science fiction, about what happens once the credits have rolled and everyone's left the theater. Whether it's a success in doing so, I'm still not sure. The Nobody is definitely an interesting book, and one worth reading, but days later, I'm still conflicted about whether or not it was actually a good one.

The Nobody is released July 8th in comic stores.

First up was new monthly The Unwritten, by the Lucifer team of Mike Carey and Peter Gross - both spoke animatedly about this series, which explores both the power and the danger of fiction. Unwritten will follow boy Tom, who has never managed to escape the shadow of his author father. Based on the real-life Christopher Robin from A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh, Tom is also a character in his father's fantasy books; everywhere he goes, people know him only as Tommy the wizard. When someone asks him to explain his true identity at a convention, Tom realizes he actually has no idea who he is, and so begins a journey of personal discovery ... and a battle with a shadowy conspiracy who might prove to Tom that he is more fiction than fact. Unwritten's first 32-page issue will be $1.00, and is out in May.

The new ten-issue series Daytripper is the first and longest English language work by creators (and artists of Casanova) Fabio Moon and Gabriel Bá, and it takes place in Brazil. Its hero is a lowly obituary writer who dreams of higher callings, yet finds himself overshadowed by his renowned Brazilian author daddy. There's a lovely element of magical realism, too, teased Berger.

New monthly Greek Street is Peter Milligan's angsty, dark take on visceral ancient literature. Milligan set classic Greek tragedies in the modern-day location of London's SoHo, which as he told it is the home of "the lowlifes, the gangsters, the brothels." When young orphan Eddie escapes the children's home, he goes to find his mother - and subsequently sleeps with and murders her. He runs away to Greek Street, and a bloodline of tragedy follows him. His first 32-page story will be in an oversized issue that appears this summer, and is again just $1.00.

Jeff Lemire also has a new graphic novel, The Nobody, which will appear in hardcover in May. It's essentially the story of The Invisible Man, updated to a small fishing village in Maine. Berger said it will be in 2-color and will cost $20.

Next up is the intriguing Luna Park, a time-travelling historical crime thriller. How's that for genre-bending? It follows a Russian gangster who goes back in time to Coney Island, and also journeys through Russia. Luna Park, written by Kevin Baker and drawn by Danijel Zezelj, will be out in November.

Berger was specifically excited to reveal Vertigo's new original graphic novels, which all center around the theme of travel or immigration - racial identity, and how that fits in with a larger human message. The first one she announced, Gone to Amerikay, is written by Stagger Lee's Derek McCulloch and has art by Vertigo favorite Colleen Doran. Amerikay is a sweeping historical drama that follows three generations of an Irish family. They're just starting it now, though, so no word on when that will be released.

Cuba: One Story is the graphic novel that actually made Berger cry. It's the fiction-tinged memoir of Inverna Valesquez, who has never before written comics. "Inverna has been my second mother for 25 years," confessed artist Dean Haspiel. "She told me many stories of her time in Cuba — she was in Castro's army, she was a surgeon, ... I pushed her to purge, to write her story. I was so thrown by what she wrote that I said, 'Karen, I have to have a meeting with you!' I brought Inverna in, and she spoke for one and a half hours. By the end of it, Karen had tears in her eyes. This is my most personal collaboration." Cuba comes out next year, and will also be in 2-color for a "different look," according to Berger.

Finally, Berger presented a quirky-looking travelogue by indie artist Sarah Glidden. How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less is the true story of a Jewish girl's birthright tour through her native country - the twist is that Glidden was raised in a left-wing, pro-Palestinian family in America. She went on the tour to challenge her own viewpoint a little, and ended up experiencing a complete emotional and spiritual awakening about the nature of humanity. Editor Jonathan Vankin clearly loved it; he says that while it's meaningful and serious, it's also undeniably clever and funny. That'll be out within the next year.

Finally, it was time for an update on Fables. Bill Willingham couldn't be at the con, but he sent this letter, which editor Shelly Bond read aloud (with no small amount of indignance):

Karen - Don't let Shelly give all the great Fables crossover secrets away at the panel. You know how nervous she gets speaking in public ... and how she has to hit the bottle for four or five belts beforehand! Definitely don't let her reveal that Jack will be sneaking back into the Fables book, or that Snow and Bigby will be exiled to Jack's book. And we definitely don't want her to blab about the new Jack Frost and his relation to our current Jack, or what happens when Jack ends up babysitting Bigby and Snow's cubs. Basically, Karen, don't let Shelly say anything!

That was followed by the exciting news of the first Fables prose novel, Peter & Max, for which Berger displayed a working cover image featuring two pipers. Steve Leialoha will provide illustrations. Unfortunately, Berger revealed, those rumors of an ABC TV series are about to die down - "that's not happening right now," she said, "but maybe someday."

Vertigo's pushing monthlies for all their worth - Berger would like you to know that if you have ever considered buying issues as they come out instead of waiting for the trade collections, this is the time to do it! And they've also placed a high priority on original graphic novels with a politically relevant bent: Promising stuff, surely, from the best cerebral comics publisher out there.