One of the most-anticipated New 52 titles this week is the new Batman and Robin, which continues the excellent series launched by Grant Morrison. Lapsed Batman fans hoping to jump into this title with a quick introductory story or narration bubble might be left in the dust.

“They don’t like my bony body/they don’t like my dirty hair,” Girls vocalist Christopher Owens sulks on “Honey Bunny,” and it’s already clear the band’s not doing much to change their image as mainstays of the American Apparel ad school of music.

Mega-rager Atrocitus and his Red Lantern Corps have their own series now. It’s bloody, horrific, and every other badass adjective you can imagine.

Mister Terrific (aka Michael Holt) is the third smartest man in the world, but towards the end of the old DC continuity a villain had reduced his intelligence in the final Justice Society of America issues to the point that he couldn’t even read anymore.

Why are all vampires, werewolves, witches, and warlocks so good looking? The CW’s The Secret Circle, the latest in paranormal shows, does its part to keep the fantasy of aesthetically appealing supernatural genetics alive.

This record compiles some classics from the influential Malian musician/bandleader Sorry Bamba, giving Western fans of West African music a nice retrospective of a perhaps lesser-known artist.

Demon Knights is set in DC Universe’s Dark Ages, with Jason Blood wrestling with a very angry demon (Etrigan) inside of his body. Vertigo’s Madame Xanadu and the last Knight of the Round Table, Excalibur, make an appearance.

I think there are a lot of interpretations to Troop 142, an original graphic novel concerning Boy Scouts and adult chaperones up at a summer camp. It’s a credit to the creator, Mike Dawson, that the book is so rich with genuine-feeling human interaction and characterization that it merits discussion as literature rather than pop entertainment.

I was eight years old when Pocket Full of Kryptonite was released.