My Space Dark Horse Presents, Vol. 1

Anthology compilations are usually a crapshoot at best, so it's a delight to discover a collection as rich, colorful and diverse as this. Rock stars, mythic beasts, superheroes, American history, horror and sci-fi explode across the pages, offering something for everybody without a dud in the lot. Summarizing the amount and kind of fun to be had is difficult, but highlights include the charming adventures of oddball rockers “Sugarshock” in an intergalactic battle of the bands penned by Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer ) and gorgeously drawn by Fabio Moon; Peter Bagge's (Hate ) hilarious “Founding Fathers Funnies”; the POV narrative of Adam Warren's neurotic female superhero, “Empowered”; Steve Niles and Brian Churilla's werewolf/vampire superhero duo, “Scratch and Suck”; a creepy Christmas yarn from Mike Mignola (Hellboy ) and his B.P.R.D. creative compatriots; and Eric Powell's the Goon handled in “cartoony” fashion by five different illustrators. A veritable buffet of exactly what makes comics good, this is a solid winner. (Oct.)