It’s new comics day, it’s new comics day….
- Flash #214 – do my eyes deceive me? Did I just see an in-continuity reference to The Best Doom Patrol Story Ever? (under March 31st…it may not come up right due to the way the pictures load) The events of Identity Crisis begin to have some impact outside of that mini-series, and this issue plays off the events very well.
- Plastic Man #10 – another “done-in-one” issue, featuring Plastic Man and friends versus a vampire! Very funny, as this series continues to be one of DC’s best.
- Teen Titans #16 – this is the first issue of a Titans comic I’ve bought in about 12 years, and I only picked it up because it guest-stars the Legion of Super-Heroes. It’s the beginning of the wrap-up of Superboy’s time-travel adventures, and a character drops a not-so-subtle prophetic hint about how this will be the last adventure of this version of the Legion.
- Tom Strong #28 – Brian K. Vaughan and Peter Snejbjerg are the fill-in creative team for this issue, which delivers a story focusing on the Strong family’s robotic manservant Pneuman. Nicely done.
- As is Vaughan and Tony Harris’ Ex Machina, where Mayor Hundred’s superheroic past begins to catch up with him. However, I hope there’s more to the reasoning behind the attacks beyond the theory presented in this issue…seems a little…too facile, you know what I mean?
- Haven’t had a chance yet to read Cosmic Guard #2 (it’s a Jim Starlin comic, which should be description enough for some people…if you like Starlin (and I do), you’ll like this) and Uncle Scrooge #334 (another fantastic-looking 34-page Don Rosa story). And that was pretty much all I bought today.
Other new releases:
- Army of Darkness: Ashes to Ashes #2 – asked about every day for the last month, sold like 3 copies today now that it’s finally out. I’m sure we’ll sell out eventually, but I just like how this sort of thing always happens.
- Doom Patrol Vol. 2 – The Painting That Ate Paris – if you haven’t been exposed to the true successor (in tone and spirit) to the original ’60s series, you’ve got to pick up this book. Also includes the above mentioned Best Doom Patrol Story Ever.
- Hino Horror volumes 9 and 10 arrived today…dear God, these things look absolutely terrifying. Seeing as how it was a horror-themed story that finally got me to pick up one of these darn manga things that we seem to have a whole wall of, I think Hino Horror may be next on the list. Plus, that’s a great photo of the cartoonist inside!
- Puttin’ The Backbone Back is a nice small softcover of sketches and flyer work by Jim Mahfood, well-priced and handsomely packaged at $9.95.
- Dictators: Saddam Hussein #1 from Antarctic Press…hot on the heels of the Dictators: Hitler series, of which we didn’t sell a single copy. So why did we order this second series, you may ask? Because every once in a while, we get Ted Nomura fans who must have everything he’s done, and boy, I don’t want to be the one to look into that fan’s eyes and say “Sorry, sir, we’re fresh outta Hitler.”
- Nightcrawler #1 – beginning Marvel’s newest short-lived X-Men tie-in series! Oh, I’m sorry, did I say “short-lived” out loud?
- Elric: Making of A Sorcerer #1 – now, I’m not a reader of the Elric novels (in fact, I just recently read my very first Moorcock book – a 34-year old paperback of Behold the Man), but I have to say this is a very attractive comic, thanks in no small part to artist Walt Simonson.
- And that Mr. Monster comic from Atomeka I mentioned yesterday is also out on the shelves. Entertaining mayhem, and well worth your attention.
In other news:
- So pal Corey and I are talking about Identity Crisis, and somehow we jokingly suggest that the murderer is going to be revealed to be the Silver Age Flash, Barry Allen. We laugh about that for a moment…actually, I begin to laugh, then I start to think “you know, maybe….” And then I realized that fans hate DC now as it is because of this series, and making Barry the killer would only stir up the flames more…which only convinces me further that it’s a great damn idea.
My other idea is that it’s Jean Loring who killed Sue Dibny, and that it was Sue Dibny from the past, having time-travelled from the past into the DC Universe’s present on some adventure or another with the Giffen-era Justice League, discovers her own murder, and attempts to do in Loring in revenge. Yeah, I know, but I have to keep occupied somehow during lulls at the store.
- Identity Crisis #1 has gone back to press for a new printing…doing a black and white “negative” of the art doesn’t do it any favors, especially considering that the cover wasn’t all that great to begin with. But some people do like the Mike Turner art, so we ordered plenty of the 2nd printing, and we’re sure we’ll sell through.
- You know what’s selling really well for us right now? The Akira Capsule Toy assortments. If you don’t know what these are, these are little opaque plastic egg thingies that contain one of an assortment of miniature toys based on Akira…the toys are packed randomly inside, and you have no idea which ones you’re getting. Our customers love these things.
And, um, that’s it, really. Oh, I’m also finally getting around to reading last week’s Alter Ego, which continues the Julie Schwartz tribute, and contains some Gil Kane goodies as well, not to mention an interview with Russ Heath.
