A brief look at new comics, and the End of Civilization. (Warning: Mike is a tad cranky.)
New comics day:
Battlestar Galactica #1 – Well, nobody wanted the #0 for a quarter, so I’m not holding out hope for this new issue, priced at $2.99, to do any better.
Mythos: Hulk – Yet another retelling of the Hulk origin, only with murkier artwork? Oh, good.
Snakes on A Plane #1 – Had a couple folks tell me “I can’t believe I’m buying a comic by Chuck Dixon,” but such is the power of Snakes on A Plane! Well, theoretical power, anyway, given its underperformance. Hey, it’s gonna kill on DVD, you just watch.
Little Lulu Color Special trade paperback – Reprints material yet to appear in the regular black and white reprint books…and it looks like some care was taken in the choice of material, as at least a few gags and/or plot points depend on being able to see the colors of things in the stories. As always, recommended.
Action Comics #842 – Cute Simpsons gag on the cover.
X-Isle #2 – Sorta review-proof: either you want to read a comic about a group of folks stuck on an island filled with monstrous creatures and man-eating plants, or you don’t. Fast-paced, yet creepy, with moody art (though it still has that slight “stretched to fit the page” look I’ve mentioned before).
CSI: Dying In The Gutters #1 – The CSI comics license gasps out its last breath as it abandons the CSI TV show fans who weren’t buying the comic any longer anyway, and focuses its attention entirely on insular comics fandom references. To be fair, it’s not completely terrible (and the strategy worked, since it got me to look at it and I’ve never seen an episode of CSI), but the comic might as well have been called CSI: One Last Grab at Direct Market Sales. Still, kinda worth it if you want to see a bunch of comics pros being presented as if they’re performing in a Murder Mystery Train Dinner Theatre.
Oh, and re: the Tokyopop situation: yeah, I really want to be used as a feeder store for Tokyopop’s online shop. Here, let me try to build an audience for your titles so that you can take them away from us and sell them yourself. That really makes me want to support your future releases. (This reminds me, in a way, of the Games Workshop strategy, where we sold GW product successfully for many years, building up a large local market for their material, and then, gee, GW opens up one of their retail stores about a mile away from us. Coincidence, I’m sure.) I know it’s their right to sell their books however they’d like, but it sure seemed to me over the years that Tokyopop saw having to offer books to comics shops as an inconvenience, or at least as an afterthought. I’m surprised they’re still bothering.
And now, Progressive Ruin presents…the End of Civilization. Crack open your copy of Diamond Previews dated Sept. 2006, and follow along. (Previous installments: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18)
p. 192-3 – Ghost Rider Johnny Blaze Bust:
Commemorate the forthcoming repeatedly-delayed box office car wreck with a statue that vaguely approximates the appearance of the starring actor. Only $79.99.
p. 431 – Moses Plush:
This has to be some kind of sin. I mean, doesn’t a plushie version of Moses violate at least a commandment or two?
p. 438 – Archie Modern Reggie Bust:
Have any of these Archie statues even slightly resembled the comic book characters they’re based on?
p. 448 – Hot Golfer Statue:
Yet another addition to my proposed “thisisafetishforsomebody.com” website.
p. 448 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Book of Darkest Magick Prop Replica:
“Carefully matched to the pivotal prop’s every detail, each book features a genuine leather binding complete with closing clasp. In addition, with over 500 blank pages at your disposal you can create your own spell book or start a demon database (or a diary or sketchbook)!”
Here’s a hardcover sketchbook…true, it’s only 192 pages, and it doesn’t look like something you once saw on a TV show, but it’s only $5.99 ($5.39 for Barnes & Noble members) versus the nearly ninety bones you’d be dishing out for the prop replica.
p. 450-1 – Rocky “The Italian Stallion” Robe Replica:
Sylvester Stallone’s porn film seems like an odd thing to commemorate in a prop replica, but, hey, more power to you.
p. 495 – Peanuts “Psychiatric Booth” Salt & Pepper Shakers:
Okay, I’m not posting this to make fun of it; I’m posting it because it rules.
Okay, sorry for the crankiness above; here, have some cute.
