Major Bummer #5

There's something refreshingly unheroic about this December 1997 DC series, and issue #5's cover captures that spirit perfectly — a close-up of a bleary-eyed young man brushing his teeth with toothpaste foaming everywhere, a soda can resting nearby, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else. Doug Mahnke's pencils and John Dell's inks deliver the image with striking detail, making even a morning routine feel oddly compelling. John Arcudi's Major Bummer continues to find humor and humanity in the thoroughly reluctant superhero, and this issue — subtitled "No Matter or How I Stopped Worrying and Saved the World" — promises exactly the kind of deadpan adventure the title delivers so well.