Fans of prog rock/electronic group Coheed and Cambria will be happy to know that singer/guitarist Claudio Sanchez is still plugging away at The Amory Wars comic, with the current 12-issue maxi-series, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3, which is the third storyline of the overall series arc. The maxi is currently on issue 9 which will be released on March 30th, with Peter David (X-Factor, Aquaman) joining Sanchez on the scripts and artist Aaron Kuder illustrating.

The same day, publisher BOOM! is also re-releasing the first issue of In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 for $1—the perfect opportunity to jump on if you missed it last year. If that’s not enough, the second trade for the IKSSE:3 arc will be released on the same day, with art by Batman and Robin illustrator Chris Burnham.

The story takes place a decade after the events of Second Stage Turbine Blade, the first comic adaptation of the Coheed and Cambria mythology (based on the band’s second album) which is as dense as it is fascinating. Rather than trying to sum it up, I’ll allow good old Wikipedia to give you the scoop on this story of potential humanity-destroying viruses, attempted infanticide, and galaxy-spanning adventure:

Ten years after the "…Turbine Blade", son Claudio emerges from the depths of Shylos Ten, the Fence's "quiet" planet where the Red Army performs its brutal interrogations and imprisonments. In finding out that his entire family has been murdered, Claudio begins his quest for vendetta. His foes, Supreme Tri Mage Wilhelm Ryan and General Mayo Deftinwolf sense that he is still alive and holds special powers. They know they must stop him before he defeats them. Meanwhile, Inferno (Jesse Kilgannon) takes up arms against the Red Army (“Man your Battlestations”) in an effort to seek the same kind of vengeance on him. In Claudio’s re-emergence he teams up with Ambellina, the Prise who is cast out by her peers and forced to be his guide. The pair along with Sizer, a disassembled IRO-bot, seek out Inferno to find answers as to why his family were killed, but their plans take an unexpected turn in a ship called The Camper Velourium, piloted by a believed to be racist psychopath named Al.

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Tags Amory Wars, Boom Studios, Chris Burnham, Claudio Sanchez, Peter David

Two Batmen—one of whom is minutes away from a potentially paralyzing hemorrhage—and Robin take on Thomas Wayne impersonator Dr. Hurt and his 99 Fiends, all the while the Joker has set up a train loaded with nukes beneath Gotham city. Yeah, so this book should totally answer the question about where the kitchen sink went.

As the culmination of Grant Morrison’s run (so far) on Batman, this issue, entitled “Black Mass,” sees the return of Bruce Wayne to the Bat-mantle (or at least one of them—more on that later) and the final confrontation with Dr. Hurt/aka El Penitente/aka the leader of the Black Glove. For all intents and purposes it’s one of the least crazy issues as Morrison tries to smooth out the edges for the next phase of Batman comics. In terms of quality, it’s pretty good—we get art by Cameron Stewart and Frazier Irving, and Chris Burnham tricking my eyes for a minute into think Frank Quietly had come back for a couple of pages in the finale. If there’s one real complaint I have, it’s that it didn’t go double-size and all the way, instead delivering the conclusion and the next tease. That’s not to say it’s too short—I guess I’m saying I wanted more of it.

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Tags Batman, Batman Incorporated, Black Mass, Bruce Wayne, Cameron Stewart, Chris Burnham, Frazier Irving, Grant Morrison

PRESS RELEASE

Berkeley, CA - 30 September 2010 - In December, another Golden Age classic will get its next issue with the NEXT ISSUE PROJECT: CRACK COMICS #63.

The NEXT ISSUE PROJECT: CRACK COMICS #63 picks up where Quality Comics' CRACK COMICS #62 left off in 1949, with all-new stories by modern day creators. The all-star line up includes ALAN WEISS (Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man, Tom Strong), ERIK LARSEN (SAVAGE DRAGON, Amazing Spider-Man), HERB TRIMPE (The Incredible Hulk, BPRD: The War on Frogs), PAUL MAYBURY (POPGUN, COMIC BOOK TATTOO), TERRY AUSTIN (Uncanny X-Men, Superman Adventures, Green Lantern), ADAM McGOVERN (Dr. Id), PAOLO LEANDRI (Dr. Id) & CHRIS BURNHAM (OFFICER DOWNE, ELEPHANTMEN). Weiss provided the cover, and MIKE ALLRED (MADMAN) contributed a gorgeous variant cover.

"The NEXT ISSUE PROJECT is for any fan of comics, not just fans of Golden Age books," says editor Erik Larsen. "Often, the promise of Golden Age comics -- where creators were making up the rules as they went along and were blazing new trails -- was more exciting than the reality of Golden Age comics, where creators were essentially mimicking some of the same dull formulaic writing found in other mediums at the time. Everyone who contributed to CRACK COMICS #63 was intent on fulfilling the promise of the Golden Age and delivering a book that was more than a mere homage, but also a thrilling glimpse of what comics could be -- if only creators were allowed to run wild with the characters they were handed! These creative dynamos jumped at the chance to present their own take on these Golden Age heroes and demonstrate comics' true potential!"

NEXT ISSUE PROJECT: CRACK COMICS #63: Captain Triumph! The Clock! Spitfire! Molly the Model! Alias the Spider! Space Legion! Some of the greatest creations from yesterday are brought back to life by some of the greatest creators of today! Fans have marveled over the years as, one by one, characters from comics' Golden Age have been revived for a modern audience. The NEXT ISSUE PROJECT is an ongoing series that continues a classic discontinued title for a modern audience! All stories are complete, self-contained and cool as all hell! All books are Golden Age sized, but these aren't simply an homage to Golden Age comics: They're updated classics by modern masters for a new generation!
NEXT ISSUE PROJECT: CRACK COMICS #63 (Weiss: OCT100451; Allred: OCT100452), a 48-page full-color Golden Age sized comic book for $4.99, will be in stores December 22, 2010. Previous issues of Next Issue Project -- NEXT ISSUE PROJECT #1: FANTASTIC COMICS #24 (OCT071967) and NEXT ISSUE PROJECT #2: SILVER STREAK COMICS #24 (OCT090364) -- are available now.

Tags Adam McGovern, Alan Weiss, Chris Burnham, Crack Comics, Erik Larsen, Golden Age, Herb Trimpe, Image Comics, Mike Allred, Paolo Leandri, Paul Maybury