I just finished "The Sugar Queen" by Sarah Addison Allen and "Joyland" by Stephen King (which was surprisingly subtle and nuanced — for King! KING!), all of which were really helping me come down from the mess of awesome that was "Perdido Street Station."

They're shirking their book features here at the AV Club.

Quick correction though: Semplica Girl Diaries was actually published in The New Yorker in October 2012.

Okay, @avclub-62ae6d9e1a24836a391716549223464f:disqus , I asked the person I got that claim from — the lady who runs the comic book store I go to, and she explained to me that it is and it isn't a new continuity. So MarvelNow essentially condensed and restarted a lot of stuff to make it easy for anyone to jump on.…

I'm not the biggest fan of Justice League or JLA. (I haven't read JL Dark — despite loving MIlligan and Lemire.)

That's because DC has really been limping in their trades. The first story of Wonder Woman is really 12 issues long, and Hades — the candle headed kid — and I think it was Lennox, all play out in the second volume, along with Diana's own revelations and motivations.

Dick & Damian Batman & Robin was one of the highest points of Morrison's run, right up there with Black Glove, I think.

I think one of the editorial problems at DC at the moment is that they're trying so hard to rebuild the shared universe, to make it so you're reading what Batman's doing  over here while simultaneously Superman is doing all this other, wonderful shit, and it all has to come back together in some continuity-driven…

I'm going to call bullshit on that. Even if they've never had massive events, Marvel resets their universe pretty regularly — whether it's Scarlet Witch showing up or just a convenient brushing off of stories. Marvel NOW is a separate continuity from regular Marvel.

There is none. Zero Year is going great so far.

"Morning Glories' is so fantastic.

I dug Black Beetle.

What else did everyone read this week?

"Marvel and DC have such a stronghold on superhero stories that it’s easy to forget there are captivating costumed adventures at other publishers, but books like Catalyst Comix show the freedom available to smaller companies that don’t have to answer to corporate overlords." 
You know, this is why I wish DC would…

I always miss the Dark Horse books because they're not offered on Comixology, which is where I usually browse before heading to the store. So thanks for the directional nod!

This is probably the best book so far this year. Well researched and well delivered and terrifying at what that church gets away with.

YES!

Both "Cosmicomics" and "If on a winter's night a traveler" are really strong books.

And Marvel doesn't release an over-indulgence of shit that 13-year-old boys think are cool? Have you seen Deadpool? The forty thousand Avengers titles?

" There are many reasons why Marvel Now! has proven a bigger creative success than DC’s New 52, including a stronger editorial focus and consistent creative teams made up of writers and artists who want to work together, but what really differentiates these two re-launches is that Marvel has kept its history while…