DC/Young Animal: Milk Wars

This meta-trip through the American superhero comics genre kicks off when villain Manga Khan, seeking to transform the DC Universe, employs the services of Retconn, a company that promises to rewrite archetypal characters for “broad appeal” as homogenized, 1950s-style wholesome doppelgängers via the distribution of personality-altering milk. This elixir is forcibly delivered by a villainous (if somewhat conflicted) Superman in the guise of the impossibly white-bread “Milkman Man.” Batman, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the Justice League fall victim to Retconn, so the bizarre heroes of DC’s Young Animal imprint must set things right. In an effort led by the Doom Patrol, the nature of comic-book reality and its continuous rebooting is lampooned by rotating creative teams as diverse as the large cast of characters. Weird and visually arresting with a mod-squad, vibrantly colored style, and darkly funny (especially if the reader has a solid grounding in the lore of comics in general and DC in particular) this is a must-read blast of weirdness. It may perplex the layman, but for those immersed in the history of how publisher affiliations affect genre story lines, it’s great tongue-in-cheek fun—and likely to be remembered as the moment when the Young Animal imprint made its generational mark. (June)