I don’t get the chance to stand on my soapbox and preach about all the comics I love much these days.  I have time to read…or write, but not usually both as of late.  So you probably don’t know this but I’ve been spending a lot of time reading Dark Reign over the last several weeks.  There have been things I liked, things I hated, but mostly things I was indifferent about.  One of the notable exceptions was Rick Remender’s Punisher (if you’re wondering another story I loved was Lethal Legion, it hasn’t got much press but it’s a terrific side story about the kidnapping of Norman Osborn and features the return of Simon Williams, so it could be important as the Marvel Universe moves forward).  I couldn’t get enough of Remender’s showdown between Frank Castle and The Hood; the 80’s bad guys Remender brings back to life with a fresh coat of paint were great.  Plus the flash back to Castle’s new partner Henry’s child hood was …. intense.  What can I say I’m an animal lover.

As a comic critic I’ve always said that if traditional print comics are to thrive in the digital age that publishers are going to have to start trying new things and taking risks.  So imagine my elation when Radical Publishing announced that they were moving to a thick book format (60 pages) for certain titles that would carry a retail price tag of just $4.99.  Now granted that’s not exactly reinventing the wheel but it’s a huge step in the right direction.  Throw in online previews of the first 15 pages and an original story from Rick Remender along with an Alex Maleev alternate cover and I’m sold on The Last Days of  American Crime.

Remender’s new book is a three issue mini series that starts in December.  Set in the not to distant future it’s a sci-fi story about a small time criminal who finds himself with a small window of opportunity to pull off the biggest heist in the history of crime. You can check out the first 15 pages here As for me, I wasn’t nearly as impressed by the preview as I was by the idea of trying something new, but at least there will be 45 new pages to convince me to keep reading the series when it hits shelves.