It was a week of a million comic announcements and some honestly perplexing publisher moves. And when I say publisher, I truly mean singular. Anyways, let’s explore all that and more in Comics Disassembled, as I look at ten things I liked or didn’t like from the week of comics, led by one cool comic!

1. A Cool Book!

“This is 100% fun comics, delivered with total confidence, visceral joy and absolutely no winking to the camera,” is what writer Al Ewing said about the upcoming Metamorpho: The Element Man ongoing series he’s doing at DC with artist Steve Lieber, colorist Lee Loughridge, and letterer Ferran Delgado. While I knew I was in when I saw it was Ewing and Lieber working together, that statement amplified my excitement, even if I knew it was a hype statement made for a press release. Metamorpho or not, I love the idea of “100% fun comics” in this moment in time, especially when it’s from talents like Ewing and Lieber and when it’s a series that’s apparently all done-in-one stories.

That is a flavor of comic that doesn’t exist as much as it should, and I could not be more thrilled about this series. That’s it. Cool creators doing a cool book, and to make it even better, it’s a Christmas present for us all. It’s apparently releasing on Christmas Day, so, we’ll likely have to wait a day or so to buy it. But buy it I will! I am all in on fun comics like this! Good job team!

2. A Weird Look!

IDW continues its recent streak as the most stunningly odd publisher in the direct market by a good amount. Its week brought all the Rich Johnstons to the yard, as the maestro of Bleeding Cool covered the investor call IDW CEO Davidi Jonas did — which the exec did from the confines of his car — at great length and over a series of articles this week. And what a bananas experience that must have been, as Jonas walked investors through what seems like any thought that came to his brain in a rather unusual environment for such a call. Those thoughts included: The fact that the publisher has had a tough few years and how if things had went differently everyone would have a yacht! That George Takei is working on another graphic novel with Top Shelf (via IDW)! That they’re working on a new superhero line, Bible comics, and more crime/serial killer/mafia comics! That they’re launching a new horror imprint and working with a giant horror licensor! Basically, they’re doing everything, perhaps in pursuit of that aforementioned yacht.

That seems like a plan! Perhaps a bit broad and aspirational. Maybe too much. Possibly with questionable aims. But a plan nonetheless! That said, the most talked about bit from IDW this week actually came from a Bleeding Cool article from the 10th, which I just want to say from the top is an extremely unverified item. In fact, I’m not even really going to get into it — it involves a possible plan for a collective page rate IDW creative teams could get and their path to a higher earnings ceiling — because it seems there’s some skepticism about how accurate it is. But when you combine that with the all over the place plan Jonas announced and the mere fact and that he took that call in his car and you understand why anyone would believe anything said about IDW at this point. It basically means they’re the first comics publisher to enter the The Tyson Zone. While that’s an intriguing record for a publisher, it’s also not where you want to be exactly!