New comics day round-up.
- Swamp Thing #5 – starts off with a nice John Totleben-style monster (actually Swampy’s daughter Tefe), which gave me a nice nostalgic feeling.
- The 3 Geeks Super-Sized Swimsuit Spectacular – while the whole comics/swimsuits thing is very 1990s (and pretty much played out by the Amazing Heroes specials long before Marvel and Image started doing them), don’t let the title scare you off…this is classic 3 Geeks material. Fun stuff, and our regular does of the Geeks are sorely missed.
- Liberty Meadows Sourcebook #1 – yes, yes, I know this comic was funnier back when it was called Bloom County, but I like the art, and it does amuse. Besides, a little cheesecake never hurt anyone. (Of course, this isn’t exactly a little cheesecake…this is Frank Cho we’re talking about.) Anyway, this is sorta the Marvel Universe for Liberty Meadows, with very, very brief descriptions of the characters involved, accompanied by a couple of typical strips featuring the character in question. Cho does provide some commentary regarding the origins of some of the featured strips, and has a section of strips that had previously been unreprinted for various reasons. Not essential, unless you’re a sad old completist fanboy like me.
- The Comics Journal #261 – haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but a quick flip-through looks promising. Already Tom Spurgeon’s review of a Joe Casey issue of Superman has got pal Ian going. And the mag has a great cover to boot…look for the piercing gaze of Phoebe Gloeckner.
- Tom Strong #27 – written by Steve Aylett and illustrated by the always-welcome Shawn McManus, we get another mind-bender of a story that reassures me that Alan Moore’s “retirement” hasn’t much hurt the ABC line.
- DC Comics Presents Batman #1 – the first in the Julius Schwartz tribute issues, and a lot of fun. A nice touch is the reprinting of the original inspirational cover on the inside front cover. Both of the stories are fairly clever as well, with Len Wein’s story being the standout as he has fun with the editorial edict of “Batman as urban legend.”
- Mad Magazine #444 – yup, I’m still reading it, and still enjoying it…and still being surprised by ads in the magazine. Yeah, I need to get over it. (Is that Land of the Lost DVD set advertisement everywhere? Before you ask…yes, I bought it already.) Not all the humor in the magazine works for me, but heck, the Marginals alone are worth the price.
- The Goon #7 and B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs #5 – I know that issue of The Goon, which guest-stars Hellboy, came out a couple weeks ago, but we ran out right quick and I gave up my copy to a customer because I am good and pure of heart, and I knew we had a restock coming, too. It’s a fun read…we’ve carried Goon comics since the beginning, but I’ve not read one ’til this issue. I really don’t need to get hooked on another comic. Argh! B.P.R.D. answers a few questions about Abe Sapien’s origins, and, as is typical, raises a few new ones as well.
Also out this week: Seth’s Clyde Fans Book 1 hardcover is another handsome publication from Drawn and Quarterly…Kid Firechief is a small paperback by Yikes creator Steven Weissman – attractive, a bit steep at $12.95 but worth it…Trucker Fags in Denial by Jims Goad and Blanchard is just as family-friendly and heartwarming as it sounds, and very funny as well – here’s a sample that is not work-safe, so don’t blame me if you get fired….
Also, John Byrne’s Doom Patrol #1 has picked up a bit…we’ve actually sold through about 3/4 of our copies since I last wrote about it, but there are still an awful lot of people who give it a look and a pass. Hopefully the people who are picking it up will stick with it.
