New comics this week, and other exciting features.
- Astro Boy Movie Adaptation #3 – Not selling at all at our shop, and we’ve dropped our orders down to one copy, just so we have it in case someone wants it someday. The movie itself isn’t due out ’til the end of October, and I haven’t heard a single customer express any interest in it. Maybe once the film is a little closer to being in theatres, we’ll start hearing some buzz.
- Chew #1 (4th print), #2 (3rd print), #3 (2nd print) – It’ll be nice to have copies of #1 again, since we got shorted on our orders of the previous reprint and they were never replaced. Lots of talk about this book online, and we’ve sold well on 1 and 2…though last I checked, we still have a few 3s left.
- DC Library – JLA by George Perez HC – I got into the Justice League comics when these were coming out, and I sure picked a good time to do so because, man oh man, Perez on the book was something else. It’ll be nice to have these on…well, slightly better paper than the paper they were originally printed on. This book includes the two-part Secret Origin of the Red Tornado, which is a particularly nostalgic favorite of mine.
- Dead Romeo #6 – Surely somebody somewhere must have read this.
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? #2 – The first issue of this Philip K. Dick adaptation had reasonably strong sales for us, the second issue not quite so much but still respectable. The series is getting a handful of folks though the door that don’t normally buy the funnybooks, and with any luck they’ll keep with it though the (good gravy) 24-issue run, unlike all the folks who bailed out on Marvel’s Dark Tower series.
Also, I just noticed pal Ian is editor on the book. Ian, dude, I’m telling you: DECKARD VS. CTHULHU. It’ll sell itself.
- Final Crisis Aftermath: Run #5 – This ended up being the only one of the FC Aftermath books I followed, though I hear Dance is pretty good, too. Look, I can’t read everything. But something about the lead character in Run (Mike, the “Human Flame,” who killed the Martian Manhunter in Final Crisis, and the depths to which this guy is sinking in his ongoing quest to become a major player…there’s a dark, schadenfreude-ish humor to this series that I’m really enjoying in a horrible, sick way.
- Iron Man: Armor Wars #2 – Not sure why this needed to be a separate mini-series, aside from making sure there are as many new Iron Man trades and hardcovers as possible on the shelves when the new movie is releas…oh, never mind, I think I know the reason. And isn’t there an Ultimate Armor Wars about to come out, too? I was going to say something about retelling old superhero stories/events over and over again, but duh…that’s not a bug, that’s a feature, as they say.
- Irredeemable #6 – Sold through multiple reorders of the trade collecting the first four issues, as well as plenty of the 99-cent fifth issue. Looking forward to possibly strong sales on #6. This series has been a good read, though each issue feels like it’s too short…probably because you’re left anxiously awaiting the next installment. Like the recent Battlestar Galactica series, it manages to be dark and almost fatalistic without being oppressive, which can be a thin line to walk.
- Jonah Hex #47 – Ooooh, hang on, little buddy, the movie’s almost here! Sales should pick up right before then, so enjoy ’em while you can!
- Magog #1 – Not sure the world demanded a Magog series, but, you know, it is Keith Giffen writing, so it may end up being strangely entertaining.
- Marvel Zombies Return #1 – Originally was going to be a series of one-shots, but Marvel wisely decided to present it as a sequentially numbered mini-series, which may help sales a bit. Also features the return of the Marvel Zombies from the earlier series (like Spider-Man, Hulk, and so on) which may turn around the franchise a bit after the not-quite-so-well-received Marvel Zombies 4.
Sometimes I look at what I’m writing about, and I just shake my head.
- Marvelman by Joe Quesada poster – Most of our posters at the shop tend to be bought by (or for) younger folks. I didn’t order very heavily on the Marvelman poster.
- Red Tornado #1 – Remember my mention of nostalgia for the Red Tornado origin story from JLA? That same nostalgia will probably drive me into at least looking at this series. “My name is Mike, and I have Red Tornado nostalgia.” “Hi, Mike!”
- Solomon Grundy #7 – Ended up being a pretty good little series, and though the last issue is a Blackest Night tie-in, Scott Kolins I think will make it all flow smoothly enough.
- Star Wars Invasion #2 – Not that the Star Wars franchise hasn’t done its share of backwards-looking, fill-in-the-gaps stories, but for some reason publishing a comic now that ties into one of the big Expanded Universe novel events that ended years ago feels a little peculiar.
- Strange Tales #1 – Marvel characters by Peter Bagge, Nicholas Gurewitch, Paul Pope, Johnny Ryan, James Kochalka, Michael Kupperman, Junko Mizuno, and many, many others…this is going to be one spectacularly weird book. This means (more or less) that Johnny Ryan is officially drawing Disney characters. What a world, what a world. (Here’s Johnny Ryan drawing a Disney character unofficially…don’t worry, it’s Safe for Work.)
In other news:
- DAYS in the making! It’s the second action-packed installment of The Variants, the video webseries about the gang what works at a comic book store. Highly recommended!
- Pal Dorian asked for requests on what comics he should talk about, and he answers those requests right here with some thoughtful commentary and shocking opinions. (No, Dor, not The Killing Joke! Noooooo!)
- Secret Supreme Leader of the comics blogosphere, Neilalien, has been gathering links related to the Disney/Marvel hoohar, and Tom Spurgeon has links to some analyses as well. Also, Tom has an old Spider-Mickey pic illustrating his post, taken from Spider-Man Annual #5. I should have remembered that, when I made my merchandise prediction the other day, as we used to have the original artwork for the pages that image came from hanging in our shop. (Before you ask…nope, sold ’em years ago.)
