Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello has been busy penning his Dark Horse Comics series Orchid since it debuted at San Diego Comic Con in July 2011. The twelve-issue run that centered on a dystopian theme described at the onset as "Lord of the Rings meets Battle of Algiers" comes to a close, but not before the rebel rocker visits Beach Ball Comics in Anaheim for a signing event!

This is the jumping off point for 27, a four-issue Image Comics miniseries from writer Charles Soule and artist Renzo Podesta that hits stores next week. The series focuses on Will Garland, a guitarist who is setting the music world on fire. He's just turned 27, and strange things are starting to happen. Is he about to become an unwilling member of the 27 Club?

In an e-mail interview, Soule talks about his music background and the mythology surrounding the live fast, die young mantra of rock 'n' roll. He also discusses the challenges of portraying the power of music in the soundless medium of comic books. 

It's a common and universally agreed-upon idea among critics that there's nothing easier--and in most cases, more fun--than writing a negative review. Your fingertips become razor talons dipped in vitriol as each keystroke becomes a savage cut into whatever it is that has offended your artistic sensibilities. 

But tying the medium of comics and graphic novels to just stories about Spider-Man and Batman is a bit like saying the novel simply exists to showcase the works of Jane Austen. And who wants that?

Take this week, for instance. The three most exciting works being released aren't even fiction, let alone have anything to do with fighting crime, fighting space aliens or fighting a spandex costume that rides up the crotch. Check out this variety:

With such a savory selection of nonfiction comics, it got me thinking: Which nonfiction writers would I like to see on a comic book? I've put together a list of journalists, bloggers and commentators and paired them with an artist. Find out the combinations I came up with after the jump.

Anyone who had ever hidden a friend's Farmville update dog-piled on the movie's negative depiction of women, claiming the filmmakers were either being sexist or simply finding a new way to stretch the truth in order to slam Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, the world's youngest billionaire martyr, whose reputation died so that we may status update for our sins.

This week, thankfully, the world of comic books--per usual--was the one oasis of sexual equality in the desert of mass media. New issues of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Gail Simone-written Secret Six join IDW's new reprint collection of early Blondie comic strips that don't show the ragged signs of age the current incarnation does. The pick of the litter, though, is Jen Van Meter's Hopeless Savages Greatest Hits, a collection of all the stories detailing the life of punk rock's first family. 

So was this just a long-winded way to introduce part two of my list of some of the best female comics creators who should be getting more recognition? Pretty much. If you haven't read part one, check it out here. Otherwise, head to the jump for the rest of the group.

The catch-22 of the matter, though, is that when a comic book company tries to open up the doors of its boys club to include a more feminine perspective--like Marvel's Girl Comics miniseries, which gets a collection as a hardcover this week--it ends up getting its nose slapped (albeit slightly deservedly) with a rolled up newspaper. 

Now gender is no guarantee of high quality work, but it is a fairly good gauge of finding comics that represent a different aesthetic or world view. So how do you find that talent without going broke (and trudging through a morass of subpar work)? Sure, if you're even a casual comic book fan, you've heard of big-name vets like Gail Simone, Alison Bechdel, Colleen Doran and Jill Thompson. And more educated fans probably know about established creators deserving more recognition, such as Becky Cloonan, Colleen Coover, Jessica Abel and Nicola Scott. But who are the up-and-comers? Where can someone find the next wave of top female creators?

You're looking at it. I've put together a two-part list (part two will run next week) of women artists and writers who I think are worth checking out and who I also hope can make big names for themselves in the field. 

Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Bluewater Productions, Devil's Due Publishing, Papercutz. You all whored out your covers and pages for a quick buck, and now look what's happened. You've got poor, old Archie Comics debasing itself by following your example. At least, Archie is trying a different tact by getting the two pols to push aside partisan politics and come together over matching sweater vests. 

Obama and Palin will be appearing in two issues--#616 and #617--and we decided Archie Comics needed a little assistance to make the cover of that first issue pop off shelves. Find out how you can help after the jump.