As we've already seen elsewhere on this site, it's impossible to create a comics column without having a terrible pun in the title. Luckily for those readers with a weaker constitution, I could only manage a mediocre one. Before we get started, I feel like I should give it to you straight - I'm a Marvel Zombie. Not the worst kind, since I'm very open to buying DC comics under the right circumstances (and as long as no-one sees me) but if you're here looking for coverage of One Year Later or Infinite Crisis, then you'd best head over to Seb Patrick's column, Panel Beating, where he'll be the one who gets to unwravel that mess. The rest of you, well, you're pretty much fair game. Here's how it's going to work - I'll be reviewing a few titles every week, mainly Marvel stuff, but don't be surprised to see some indie and manga mixed in, and after I've delivered my incredibly poignant and incisive remarks on the artwork and writing, I'll assign it a grade based on how I'm feeling at the time. Sound familiar? Well, suck it up, I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel here.

For our extra special premiere column, you'll find me reviewing Vertigo's American Virgin #1, from Marvel, Thunderbolts #100 and Son of M #4, and Oni Press' Local #4 (which washed up on UK shores a week late.) Because it's a lean week, I'm also throwing in my favourite comic from last week, Ms. Marvel #1.

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AMERICAN VIRGIN #1

Publisher DC (Vertigo) • Writer Steven T. Seagle • Artist Becky Cloonan

After the success she had with Brian Wood on last year's Eiser award winning indie, Demo, plenty of people have been wondering where Becky Cloonan would turn up next. The wait is over, and it all seems worth it. American Virgin, by one-time X-Men writer Steven T. Seagle, is easily my favourite comic of the week.

Seagle's writing is nothing short of brilliant. In the space of a single issue, he's created a fully realised main character, introduced the series premise, and begun building up the supporting cast, not to mention the twist at the end of the issue. The protaganist in question, Adam, is a virgin. He's happy to admit it. So happy, in fact, that he's practically made a career out of going around the country as part of the "Save Yourself" campaign trying to teach young people to abstain before getting married. Not only does he make a living out of being a virgin, he truly seems to believe in it, and Seagle makes you understand that viewpoint in a way that doesn't come across as - excuse the pun - preachy. Personally, I can't stand Adam and his unwavering belief in himself, so I'm looking forward to the inevitable moment when his resolve cracks, and if things keep on the same way they do in this issue, that's not likely to be that long.

I love the artwork - that much I could've told you before I even picked it up - Cloonan is literally the reason I bought this book, and she doesn't disappoint. All of her characters have a distinctive look and style, you can tell she's putting effort into everyone. When she's drawing someone attractive, they look attractive, and when she's drawing someone ugly, you damn well know about it. A lot of this is less experimental than her work on Demo, but given the format, that's to be expected. She still shows an excellent range and the ability to convey the tone brilliantly - compare the first page to the last if you've got a copy, and you'll see the type of fluidity she gives her style. It's so appropriate, you don't even notice. All this, with a hilarious and surreal Frank Quitely cover slapped on it. You can't complain at all.

This kind of story, while hardly unique in comics, is odd to see coming out of one of the Big Two. It looks like it'd be far more at home coming out of an indie publisher like Oni or SLG, but having it come from a large publisher is certainly no bad thing. Let's hope it translates into the proportionately large sales work of this quality deserves. A+

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LOCAL #4

Publisher Oni Press • Writer Brian Wood • Artist Ryan Kelly

Just so we're clear before you read this, Brian Wood is probably my favourite writer in comics at the moment. Call it full disclosure. However, Local #3 was also my single favourite comic since, well, the 4 or 5 issues of Demo which previously held that title, so it's fair to say he's set himself a high mark to beat...

Just to re-iterate for those of you still fumbling around in the dark, Local's gimmick (or 'high concept') is that it's a series of single-issue tales set in real locations, taking place roughly a year apart in the life of Megan, a teenage runaway (actually into her 20s now) who appears in every issue, as either a background, supporting, or main character. This issue she's cast in a supporting role, while the focus of the issue is a nameless city businessman who kidnaps her and goes to find his brother for one last chat.

It's a bleak issue, that's for sure. It's clear Megan's going to be screwed up as a result of what she's involved in, and it's going to be interesting seeing what sort of effect this will have had on her a year down the line when issue #5 comes out. One of Wood's many strengths is that he can take craft realistic character-drive situations which draw you in, and in this issue, the motivating factor is a guy who's been driven to extreme measures when his life collapses around him because, let's be honest, he's spectacularly missed the point of it and that's pissed him off proper good. It's fair to say that it's not Wood's strongest story - thematically it seems to retread some of the ground he covered in an issue or two of Demo, about family relationships and obligation, but it's enjoyable stuff that does nonetheless expand the ideas.

For what is essentially an entire issue of talking heads (with a small amount of gunplay) artist Ryan Kelly deserves a lot of credit for bringing the story to life. The location for this issue is Dixie's Diner in Missoula, Montana, and Kelly makes a convincing case for the surrounding landscape, even though I've got no idea how accurate it is. The bonus material in the back of the issue is a concept nicked from Demo, but one which can't be praised enough - after the story, we get to see short commentaries (with playlists) from Wood and Kelly, Kelly's single-page thumbnails for the entire issue, bonus pin ups by guest artists and a set of "My Local" entries by fans, which is more than enough to keep you going once the story is over.

The only complaint I have about the whole thing is that it somehow arrived a week late in the UK, which sent me into a franzy visiting all the local comics outlets trying to make sure I hadn't been beaten to the purchase. Such is the momentum Local is building. Now's the time to grab your copies. A.

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THUNDERBOLTS #100

Publisher Marvel • Writer Fabian Nicieza • Pencils Tom Grummett • Inks Gary Erskine

When I reviewed New Thunderbolts #13 (AKA Thunderbolts #95) a some months ago, one of my criticisms was that the plot is often too dense for anyone except the hardcore fans. Well, this issue totally blows that out of the water. I officially have no idea what's going on. A bunch of stuff happens and apparently, it was all as planned. My biggest hope is that the ending to this book is going to clear the deck for an entirely new setup because it's been a rollercoaster ride of confusion since its relaunch. I find myself wishing that next issue we're going to find a reunited version of the classic team because at the moment, the book's strength is the characters far more than the plot. (And while I won't repeat it, all the praise I gave the art team in my last review still stands.)

Fabian's use of the Genis-Vell incarnation of Captain Marvel has been a low point for this series. He's on record as saying parts of it were editorially mandated and he admits he's not happy with his own handling of the matter, so it's good to see that he's thrown in the towel and written the character out for now. As a big fan of Genis, it's been quite jarring for me to see him so badly used and it's at least fitting that the guy who brought him to life in his original exxxtreme 90s series (when he was called 'Legacy') gets to clear him off the table in a significant manner.

As a package, this is a great issue for Thunderbolts fans. It does, despite its failings, give a double-sized wrapup to the series' ongoing plots, as well as re-presenting classic hard-to-find T-bolts tales from the original creators, two nobodies you may have heard of called Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley. Thunderbolts Annual '97, which details the way Zemo assembled the original team, and a Thunderbolts story from "Tales of the Marvel Universe," a post-Onslaught one-shot featuring one of the team's first public appearances, round out the rest of this issue's 100 pages. Can't fault the format one bit, even though I've already got both of these issues myself. Disappointing lead story, it has to be said, but the backups are enough to drag the grade up. C+

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SON OF M #4

Publisher Marvel • Writer David Hine • Artist Roy Allen Martinez

Son of M #4 has been very loosely tied in with House of M up until this point. Quicksilver, having experienced a slightly understandable case of nervous breakdown (either that, or he's displaying the moral ambiguity that comes with being Magneto's son) has kidnapped his daughter, stolen the terrigen mists, and plans to use them to restore the powers of the world's mutants, oblivious to the fact that it didn't really work when he tried it. It's kind of hard to tell whether or not the writing is making some extreme leaps of logic, or that Pietro has just about turned into a complete lunatic.

He's taken the Terrigen mists to Genosha on the rationale that the surviving powerless mutants are there, even though they're clearly not, and all he's encountered is a de-powered (and thankfully, de-tentacled) Callisto. He then exposed her to the Terrigen mists, which have promptly re-activated her powers in a completely debilitating fashion, as they did to Quicksilver himself. Which brings us to the end of the issue, which features the astonishingly low-profile post-HoM reappearance of Magneto. You're damn right you're going to want to see the next one, which I'm hoping is going to feature the first meeting of father and son since father tried to crush son with a big lump of metal for screwing up the planet.

Plot-wise, it's pretty tight, all aside from Pietro's rationale which I'm pretty certain is intentionally spotty. The artwork from Martinez has a Quitely-esque nature, sort of realistic yet stylised. The change in Luna's appearance and attitude from her unspoilt Inhuman look to her more human attire accurately reflects her increasingly dark attitude, as Pietro screws her up the way only a parent can. There's evidence that this isn't the end of either of them - they're both taking hits of the Terrigen Mists to keep their powers working, so there's still a chance for the formerly-human Luna, though I'm not so sure of Pietro's chances when the Inhumans catch up with him... B.

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MS. MARVEL #1

Publisher Marvel • Writer Brian Reed • Pencils Roberto De La Torre • Inks Jimmy Palmiotti

Just in case you're on the fence about this series, let me take a moment to tell you to BUY IT. Brian Reed may not have much in the way of credentials (Bendis connection aside), nor is De La Torre a guy you may have heard of, but let's face it, this is the a great way to find out about them. The writing and art on this title is top notch, and for a fledging series there can be no better start than that combination.

Carol Danvers, as a character, has a lot of history. More than most people are going to care about. Luckily for anyone not interested in that amount of backstory, this issue requires you to know only two things: 1. Carol's an Ex-Avenger, and 2. She's way down on her profile. In more than a slight nod to metafiction, Carol, who began life as a female Captain Marvel and a flagship character, has been a little sidelined over the years. After a brief return to the spotlight as an alcoholic in Iron Man and an Avenger during the Busiek Heroes Return era issues (calling herself 'Warbird') there's been very little for plenty of time before and after. After the events of House of M, where Carol found herself as the most popular non-mutant hero around, she's looking to recapture some of that status in the real world.

This is a truly original spin on the superhero concept. A hero who actively admits that they want to raise their profile. It's not totally mercenary - she does admit that she wants to stretch herself so she can do more good, but it's not devoid of self-interest either, which only serves to give things a slightly more human feel. The opening scene where she fights Stilt-Man, and then relates the encounter to Jessica Drew (Brian Reed's other charge, Spider-Woman) hits all the right notes and adequately sets up the status quo so that we understand why she wants to change it. The final scene, where she investigates an earthbound object only to discover a nest of the formidable alien Brood leaves me wondering whether her solo outing is going to work out that well, and eager to find out next issue. A.