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BATMAN MOVIES HBO Max welcomes six more live-action Batman movies on August 1. At last, we can compare Keaton, Kilmer, Clooney, Bale and Affleck in real time. (Not to mention Nicholson, Ledger, Phoenix and Leto.) HBO Max
Old Guard
THIS
WEEK COMIC BOOK
Planetary From the current glut of superhero stories has come super-antiheroes: mere humans devoted to taking down superheroes (The Boys), or self-hating superheroes destroying themselves (The Umbrella Academy). Planetary, an epic 1998-2009 comic series created by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday, goes a different way. Its characters, while wisecracking and damaged, love humanity and love dealing with monsters, aliens and weirder stuff still. (“It’s a strange world; let’s keep it that way,” goes their mantra). While Netflix could bring Elijah Snow, Jakita Wagner and The Drummer to the screen, this series, collected in one big omnibus, is meant to be read and imagined. Wildstorm/DC, $45. –Geoff Carter
Music
Janet Jackson: The Velvet Rope It’s widely considered one of the most influential pop albums of all time, and it’s the perfect record for both reflection and hope during this time of uncertainty. Featuring Joni Mitchell on “Got ’Til It’s Gone,” Jackson’s 1997 magnum opus chronicles her experiences with domestic abuse, sexuality, losing a close friend to AIDS and more, removing the “velvet rope” barrier between herself and her fans. It’s peak Jackson—simultaneously joyful, powerful and free. –Leslie Ventura
Book
Action Park Life today is all about safety restrictions. Even if you ignore the pandemic lockdown, we live in a world of seat belts, air bags and soft, cushioned edges. Escape the guardrails by venturing into a foreign land known as 1980s New Jersey in the new book Action Park: Fast Times, Wild Rides, and the Untold Story of America’s Most Dangerous Amusement Park. It’s co-written by Andy Mulvihill, the son of the park’s bombastic late founder, so expect inside knowledge and first-person stories of a dangerously fabulous bygone time. –C. Moon Reed
