this week’s comics

H at the Comic Treadmill wrote up a nice overview of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean’s Black Orchid mini-series, which featured a guest-appearance by your favorite swamp creature and mine, Swamp Thing. It also featured an appearance by a character named “Sterling,” and, in honor of yours truly, H was good enough to illustrate his post with images that referenced this Mr. Sterling.

And that’s where I got my new picture in that upper right hand spot on my website, featuring a phrase I’m sure at least some of you have thought to yourselves when reading my site in the past.

New comics day was yesterday, and unfortunately Diamond didn’t ship several books to us (including Nightwing, Black Panther, Powers, and, alas, Blowjob)…hopefully they’ll take pity on us and do an emergency ship for everything we were missing.

The new Alter Ego features articles and a checklist for the highly-regarded Golden Age artist Matt Baker, who died far too young. I’ve not seen this much information on him in the past, and, to be honest, I don’t think I’d even seen a picture of him before. One of the articles does state that he passed on in ’59, and apparently that had been a point of contention in the past (since Lambiek states he died in ’57, while Wikipedia says ’63). Whatever the year, I think we can all agree it was too tragically early. At any rate, the new AE has a lot of good info and plenty of art samples by Baker, and it’s well worth picking up.

Hey, Brother Voodoo is in the new issue of Gambit! Finally, a popular character is appearing in that book! (Oh, relax, I kid.)

The new issue of New Thunderbolts (which is new, you know) has an in-story reference to a website called “Thunderblog” — the address for which is www.marvel.com/thunderblog…and sure enough, it’s live (and doesn’t just redirect you to Newsarama, like the Hivejournal.com link from Intimates #5 does). For a second there, I thought the weblogs listed under “Blogs I Like” had live links as well, but alas, they’re just there as sight gags. The very least they could have done is have “Hulk Blog” link to the one true Hulk weblog. I did smile at the Judy Blume joke, though.

And no new comics day can be entirely bad if there’s a new issue of Flaming Carrot on the stands.

For no good reason whatsoever (aside from the fact that pal JP and I were talking about this particular item yesterday)…the DC Direct Bottled City of Kandor statue!

…and that’s including my seeing both Mannequin and Mannequin 2: On The Move in the theatres. I thought I’d do a brief comment or two on every comic book that we got in on Wednesday. Some caveats: first, as a full-line comic shop, that means we carry purt’near every comic book that comes down the Diamond pike…though, due to the vagaries of distribution, some titles that arrived elsewhere may not be here. Second, it’s just plain ol’ comics I’m looking at…digests, magazines, graphic novels, and the manga are left off the list to keep me from going insane. Well, more insane, at any rate. Also, I just cut ‘n’ pasted the list from our invoice…I’m mostly not bothering with the [cite] tags.

So, here we go:

AFTERMATH BREAKDOWN #4 – I swear, they had better start 1) putting “AFTERMATH” in big letters on the cover, or 2) just calling it “BREAKDOWN.” Not a big deal, I know, but it’s really beginning to grate on me.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #517 – We lost a couple subscribers at the store once John Romita Jr. was off the book. Hmmm.

AVENGERS EARTHS MIGHTIEST HEROES #8 – Actually sold fairly well for us, overall. Probably could have sold more if reorders were available on earlier issues. You know, the same old Marvel story.

BART SIMPSON COMICS #22 – A long time ago, prior to their existence, we were asked every day for Simpsons comics. Day in, day out, “please, sir, can we have some Simpsons comics?” And then the requests faded away…and that’s when the Simpsons line was announced. We all thought, “oh, great, wonderful timing,” figuring the line would crash and burn right away. Well, I am very happy to say that it’s still around, and still doing just dandy for us. Well played, sirs.

BATGIRL #61 – I haven’t actually looked inside an issue of this for several months now. Is she still in that creepy costume that turns off every parent looking for Batgirl comics for the young’uns?

BATMAN #637 – …versus Amazo in this issue. It’s always interesting to see Batman square off against someone not in his regular rogues gallery in his own book. That sort of behavior is usually reserved for JLA.

BATTLE HYMN #1 – Flip cover…the “Nazi villain threatening the pretty girl” cover is the best, reminding me of an old pulp magazine.

BETTY & VERONICA SPECTACULAR #69 – New format…now a “girl’s interest magazine!” Still looks like a comic to me. Check it out.

BIGFOOT #1 – You had me at the Richard Corben, lost me at the Rob Zombie. Sorry, man.

BLACK WIDOW #6 – Bill Sienkiewicz on inks. That weirds me out.

BPRD THE DEAD #4 – I like this comic an’ all, but I hope to see some actual Hellboy some time soon.

BURGLAR BILL #2 – I really should pick this up, since I got the first issue from its original Trident Comics release and liked it. But then, it’s probably been well over a decade since I’ve read it….

CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY #6 – we’re not going to see any more Cartoon Network Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast comics, are we?

CONAN #13 – It still stuns me that Dark Horse not only managed to get a Conan comic out in this day and age, but was able to achieve some success with it. Amazing.

CSI SECRET IDENTITY #1 – This comic attracts the attention of non-comics readers who wander into our store, but it’s an uphill battle to get them to buy it. Go figure.

DEAD AT 17 REVOLUTION #3 – Always nice art on the Dead at 17 books. Viper Comics does quality work.

DESPERADOES BANNERS OF GOLD #3 – We really need more Western titles. Who doesn’t like cowboys?

DR BLINK SUPERHERO SHRINK #1 – A long time ago, Rob Liefeld had some kind of “superhero psychologist” thing going as a potential movie project, didn’t he? And then there was Supertalk…there was some kind of minor trend regarding this topic going around, wasn’t there?

ELVIRA #142 – I wonder if, 15 or 20 years ago, Cassandra Peterson holed up in a studio somewhere and took thousands upon thousands of photos of her dressed up as Elvira, and is now slowly doling them out in advertising, calendars, covers for the comics, and so on. Then again, maybe not, since I’m sure we’ve seen some of these photos more than a few times….

ENNIS & MCCREA’S DICKS WINTER FUN SP #1 – I like Ennis. I like McCrea. Never warmed to this comic. No idea why.

ERIC RED’S CONTAINMENT #2 – First issue actually sold okay on this.

EXCALIBUR #10 – How many of you dumped this book after the Magneto reveal?

FANTASTIC FOUR #523 – I’ve noticed a decline in our sales on all FF-related books following the widespread release of the FF movie trailer. Coincidence?

FLARE #4 – Of all the ’80s comics I did not expect to come back….

FLASH #219 – Hey, who got Wonder Woman subplots in my Flash comic?

FOLLOWING CEREBUS #3 – “Dave Sim Interviews Harvey Kurtzman:” “Hey, Harv, you hate feminists too, right?” “Um, what?” In fairness, this issue does have a killer foldout cover. The countdown continues to Cerebus: The Untold Adventures….

GI JOE #40 – Dear God, number 40???

GRIMJACK KILLER INSTINCT #2 – I sold this comic to someone on Wednesday with two words: “Ostrander. Truman.”

HELLBLAZER #205 – Hey, this looks nothing like Keanu! Seriously, though, I’m wondering if Hellblazer TPB demand will drop now that the movie’s finally out. No one asked for any on Wednesday….

HUNTER KILLER #1 – Too bad the artist is leaving with issue #…I’m kidding, I’m kidding!

INVINCIBLE #20 – I’m only reading this in trade form (I like the look of the trades, and they come with lots of extra goodies), so looking at the monthlies is like looking…into the future! “Hey, who’s that guy? What’s he doing there…hey, what?”

JINGLE BELLE #3 – It’s a hard sell outside of Christmas-time.

LADY DEATH 10TH ANNIV ED QUEEN OF DEAD #1 – I have no idea if this is actually new, or a variant cover on a previously released comic, or a replacement on something that was shorted…Avatar can really try my patience, sometimes.

LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #3 – I’ve always loved the Legion, so I’m hoping this series will grab at least a few new readers and keep it alive. I liked the first issue, and the second really didn’t do anything for me (though, oddly, most everyone else really dug it). The new issue was an improvement, with a nice reimagining of Triplicate Girl.

LOSERS #21 – I probably should have been reading this comic. Ah, well, can’t read everything. Sorry.

MANGA CALIENTE #4 – Your choice porn selection of the week.

MICHAEL CHABON PRESENTS ADV O/T ESCAPIST #5 – The first issue of this series sold incredibly well, given the price point. Later issues have been harder sells, probably because they’re all waiting for the collections.

MYSTIQUE #24 – Sells okay for us…if you want to save it from cancellation, why, here’s an online petition you can sign. Online petitions always work!

NIGHTCRAWLER #6 – Isn’t Nightcrawler supposed to be fuzzy? That’s awfully smooth skin I see on the cover, there.

NIGHTWING #104 – I have a few people picking this up just for the Year One storyline.

NINJA HIGH SCHOOL #124 – A long time ago, I was chatting with an editorial higher-up at a former publisher of this comic, and I mentioned to this person that every time I looked at NHS, I couldn’t make heads or tails of what the heck is going on. That person’s reply? “Neither can I.”

OUTSIDERS #21 – Batman and Nightwing yell at each other for several pages. References to Identity Crisis are made. Hijinks ensue.

POWERS #9 – You know, I’m always this close to thinking that this is a comic I would really like. But every time I pick it up…I don’t know. It’s not the art…it’s always nicely illustrated. It’s not the writing, as such, I guess. Perhaps it’s that it suffers in comparison to the similarly-themed Top Ten, which I adored. Wheras Top Ten is about exploring the reaches of its particular milieu, Powers seems to be more about shock value. There’s nothing wrong with shock value, of course, but I guess I want something with a little more meat on its bones. Unfair? Probably. I’m glad other people really like it, though.

RICHARD DRAGON #10 – I still can’t believe, of all characters, DC revived this one. I mean, that’s fine and all, I guess. But where’s my Rima the Jungle Girl revival?

RIDE FOREIGN PARTS ONE SHOT – This was the series that, in the first issue, had a woman shooting a big gun at a bus while, er, touching herself, right? Well, you do have to admire a certain clarity of vision. This new issue features no women touching themselves, as far as I can tell, but it does have Ron Marz and Chuck Dixon. Whether that’s a warning or a promise is up to you.

ROGUE #8 – Does Rogue still look like the actress from the X-Men movies? I forgot to check.

RUULE KISS & TELL #8 – Well, give Beckett points for keeping the price points down.

SAVAGE DRAGON #120 – Little late for election humor, isn’t it? Ah, well, that’s okay, it’s still stuffed with Larsen nuttiness.

SEVEN SOLDIERS #0 – The first person I hear at the store say “I don’t get it” is going to get a sound thrashing. It’s Grant Morrison…just grab a hold and hang on, baby.

SILENT HILL PAINT IT BLACK – Dear God: Please, no more comics based on video games. Well, maybe Sonic, but that’s it.

SLEEPER SEASON TWO #9 – You know, almost two years in, I have no idea what this comic is about. None. Not a sausage. I know it sells well. I stock the trades. Couldn’t tell you a thing about it. Just one of those things, I guess.

SMALL GODS #7 – Sells well via mail order.

SOLO #3 – Full of Paul Pope goodness! I really like this man’s work.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #146 – I wonder how many kids that buy this are even aware that this was a video game character?

SPAWN #143 – Remember when this comic used to outsell X-Men books? How the mighty have…well, you know.

SPIDER MAN HUMAN TORCH #2 – “Finally, a Spider-Man comic I can sell to kids!” (“But, Mike, what about the Marvel Age Spider-Man?”) “Finally, a Spider-Man comic I can sell to kids that kids will actually want!”

SPIDER-MAN INDIA #4 – The only customers at our store who bought all four issues? Two comic savers: one who gets all Spider-Man, and another who gets all Marvel mini-series. No one…and I mean no one…looked at this comic and said, “hey, what a great idea! I can’t wait to read the continuing adventure of Spider-Man: India!” As far as I can tell, the express purpose of this series was to piss off actual Indian people.

STAR WARS EMPIRE #29 – Dark Horse tries to tie in the original Star Wars trilogy with the current movie series by having Luke encounter people who react negatively to his Skywalker family name. Not a bad idea, I guess. Like pal Corey has said in the past, Luke’s dad was “Space Hitler” — that’s not something people are going to forget too quickly.

STAR WARS TALES #22 – We were drastically shorted on our order of this issue. Poop. Though people are beginning to lose interest in this title anyway. I don’t understand why there had to be a format change, anyway…people liked the less-serious Star Wars stories. I’m sure, though, there were some exceedingly vocal fans who didn’t care for the non-reverential treatment occasionally given the saga who just couldn’t stop complaining about it. Ah, well.

STARGATE SG1 FALL OF ROME DRAKE PAINTED CVR #2 – Like Lady Death, above…no idea if this is new, restock, or what. Sigh…I guess I’ll check the paperwork today.

STRANGE #4 – Is anyone out there liking this series? Everybody seems to just grumble about it. Oh, and this is another series that has suffered because first issues aren’t available. If I could get more #1s, maybe I can move some of the #2s and #3s that are gathering dust.

STRANGERS IN PARADISE #71 – Feh.

TEEN TITANS GO #16 – Still sells great for us.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #20 – Completely shorted on our order for this title. Not that we’re really selling all that many of them.

ULTIMATE NIGHTMARE #5 – Glad to see Marvel has stopped being coy and called the trade paperback for this series Ultimate Galactus. Nobody was fooled, were they? Good stuff, though…Ellis’ tough guy dialogue for Nick Fury is a hoot.

UNCANNY X-MEN #456 – Alan Davis on art was almost enough to get me to buy it. Almost.

UNCLE SCROOGE #339 – New Don Rosa!

WALT DISNEYS COMICS & STORIES #654 – New William Van Horn!

WITCHBLADE #83 – If nobody likes this comic, why is it at issue #83? Goodness.

WITCHING #9 – Has a small following among our customers, but it never really grabbed me, I’m afraid.

WONDER WOMAN #213 – Why is Wonder Woman still blind? Is there no post-Crisis Purple Ray on the Amazon island? Is that previous sentence something I ever imagined myself writing?

X FORCE SHATTERSTAR #1 – God bless Rob Liefeld for, you know, just being Rob Liefeld.

X-23 #1 LTD ED VARIANT COVER – I.E. “Reprint.” Just say “reprint,” Marvel, we won’t laugh.

X-23 #3 – There’s nothing I can say about this comic that can beat pal Dorian’s review (under Jan. 31st).

X-MEN #167 – Even with Peter Milligan on the book, it has a long way to go to recover from the post-Morrison plummet.

X-MEN PHOENIX ENDSONG #2 LTD ED VARIANT COVER – For all the grief I give Marvel, at least they’ve finally seen the light and are offering reprints on in-demand books. They still do the Marvel Must-Haves, which nobody likes, but they’re trying, anyway.

X-MEN PHOENIX ENDSONG #3 – I wonder if it’s selling so well because it’s explicitly picking up from Morrison’s X-Men plotlines? Or are people just that enamored with the Phoenix character?

Y THE LAST MAN #31 – this comic is the perfect marriage of trades and monthlies. The trades support sales on the monthly book, rather than people waiting for the monthlies to get collected. They buy the first book or three, then buy back issues from after the end of the last book to the current issue. And Y monthly sales haven’t taken a hit. Well done.

***

Whew. I’m never doing that again.

Well, maybe.

I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Actually, I did enjoy seeing these snapshots of what everyone out there likes in the way of funnybooks. Well done, internet pals.

I know one or two people out there weren’t happy with these lists being all over the place, but considering that I usually tend to run off at the mouth on this site of mine, I figured a simple list would be a nice break for you! Besides, it was just one list (occasionally two) per weblog…tough it out, you’ll live. Not every post can be lesbian unicorns.

Besides, it made Fred Hembeck happy, and certainly that’s a worthwhile goal! Anyway, keep an eye on this post for future updates on other Top 100s, at least until it finally drives me insane.

Anyway, on to the new comics for the week…let’s see if I can keep it relatively short this time:

Tom Strong #31 – Michael Moorcock and Jerry Ordway are the creative team on this issue. It’s a beautifully illustrated comic, and anything that can give me a gorilla dressed as a pirate is dandy with me.

Promethea #32 – it’s not a good sign when the inside front cover explains how to disassemble and reassemble the comic in order to read it the way it was intended. Yes, it does say that the comic can be read as is, but several of the pages are upside down, and…sheesh, I didn’t have the time for it today. I’ll take the comic apart tomorrow and figure it out then. By the way, for some reason the store got the autographed Promethea cover gallery, but not the accompanying hardcover. My reaction to the cover gallery? “Is it safe to touch something that Alan Moore has handled?”

Adventures of Superman #637 – there’s something about Superman’s face on this cover that bothers me. It’s not quite Alfred E. Neuman-esque, but it’s close…I can’t put my finger on it.

JLA Classified #4 – I admit, it is a little disturbing that the recently-deceased Sue Dibny is runnin’ around in this comic, complete with jokes about her possible pregnancy. However, if you read it with the knowledge that, sooner or later, Sue will most likely be brought back somehow, it’s suddenly a little easier to take.

Apocalypse Nerd #1 – good to see Peter Bagge back in action…not laugh-out-loud funny, but still amusing. Speaking of which, the 300+ page Buddy Does Seattle is now out, collecting the stories from Bagge’s first 15 issues of Hate. A steal at $14.95.

Pin-Up Art of Dan DeCarlo – I’m not generally a collector of girlie-cartoons, but it’s difficult to resist a book full of DeCarlo’s fine artwork. As pal Dorian notes, the fact that all the girls look like they stepped right out of an Archie comic is a wee bit disturbing…or appealing depending on how much of a pervert Betty & Veronica fan you are. And yeah, there’s a lot of orange spot-coloring in this book…Dorian didn’t care for it, but I thought it looked neat. It’s a gorgeous book, with great DeCarlo art…well worth picking up.

Green Lantern: Rebirth #4 – I didn’t realize how much I missed having GL arch-nemesis Sinestro around. What a great villain, with a great name (the only super-villain name that tops it is Captain Nazi*…now that’s evil). Plus, there’s a good sequence in this issue about why not just anyone can pick up a GL ring and start goin’ to town with it…it’s hard to work the ring. I get the feeling this may contradict previous stories, but, eh, big deal. I like this interpretation better.

We received our new Sin City trades today…might as well enjoy ’em while I can, because I don’t have any faith that we’ll get reorders on them anytime soon.

Tomb Raider #50 – last issue, apparently. I wasn’t a fan, but this comic had a fairly faithful following with some of our customers…at least one or two who only read this title.

I cheated, and read our sneak peek of Fantastic Four #523, due next week…the one that picks up with Galactus being stripped of his powers and reduced to being a normal human. Pal Dorian grumbled a bit about it, but I tell ya, this comic was just as great as I was hoping it would be. Made me laugh out loud in parts, it did.

* Speaking of Captain Nazi, halfway down this page, on the right-hand side, is one of those cutesy “super-deformed” icons of Cap’n N. Honestly, what’s up with that?**

** Try doing a Google search on “Captain Nazi” sometime…you can just feel your name getting put on government watch lists somewhere.

Yup, it’s the inevitable new comics day post. SPOILERS ahead…I mean it this time. Especially in the Fantastic Four bit.

The Simpsons/Futurama Crossover Crisis II is a perfect follow-up to the previous series from a couple years ago…it picks up right where the previous series leaves off, with the Simpsons invading the Futurama world. The reference to Frink’s “thick Canadian accent” kills me.

Planetary #22 has one of those covers that looks like it’s been weathered and beaten to pieces, and even though I know it’s just printed to look like that, I will do a double-take every time I see it for, most likely, the rest of my life. How do I know this? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #15, that’s why. Anyway, another fine issue, this time taking on the Lone Ranger (complete with a reference to the Ranger’s relationship to the Green Hornet).

Fantastic Four #522 – I’m totally spoiling the ending here, so skip ahead if you don’t want to know. Really. I mean it. Okay, you asked for it…now, pal Dorian groaned when he read the preview copy of this last week, but you know, I got a kick out of it, and I can’t wait to see how the next issue wraps things up. Basically, though the shenanigans in this issue, Johnny figures out a way to strip Galactus of his powers (based on the methods used to switch his powers with his sister)…leaving us with a powerless Galen at the end of the ish. Okay, I know we’ve seen this kind of story in comics and science fiction before, where a an extremely powerful (or just inhuman) being is reduced to mere humanity (cough cough Secret Wars II cough), but as a longtime Galactus fan this has me anticipating the last part of the storyline something fierce. (Yes, I have an empty life, why do you ask?)

WE3 #3 – Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s strangely affecting story about cyborg-animal weapons comes to its conclusion…it wouldn’t say it’s an entirely happy ending, as Dorian suggested to me yesterday, but it’s a tad bittersweet. I’m not sure how a sequel would come together, but I’d love to see one…three issues just didn’t seem enough.

JSA: Strange Adventures #6 – well, it’s over, and probably largely unnecessary, aside from getting to see the original Justice Society back in action again. However, any comic that can work in this line of dialogue:

“What have you done, Jack Williamson? Did you betray Lord Dynamo’s plans to the Justice Society?”

is okay by me. Plus it’s always fun to see Johnny Thunder get his due.

Lessee, what else…Luba #10 (the end of the series…a few nice call-backs to Poison River in here), Flash #218 (the Heat Wave life story…you know, these Rogues Gallery-focused issues sure cast some of the original Barry Allen Flash stories in a new light), and Legion of Super-Heroes #2 (okay, but hasn’t convinced me a reboot was needed).

We also got a letter from Dave Sim, announcing a price increase on the Cerebus trades…how long do you think it’ll be before we see a Tales of Cerebus series, with stories from various periods of Cerebus’ life? Oh, and the letter is hand-signed by Sim, so I fully expect someone to put it on the eBay. (Not me…I’m not that much of a jerk.)

And the new Wizard (we got a double-order of one cover instead of receiving both covers, for some reason) has a preview of Mark Millar’s run on Ultimate Fantastic Four. The preview reveals an upcoming storyline in which Reed finds an “alternate universe” or some such thing during a visit to the Negative Zone – a universe where Reed and Sue are older, married, and have two kids. Basically, the article implies that “Ultimate” Reed has found the regular Marvel Universe. Now, I am fully expecting an Ultimate Universe/Marvel Universe crossover at some point in the future (probably when they decide to do away with one or the other), but I’m thinking this isn’t going to be it. I’m expecting the “alternate” FF to be interdimensional monsters in disguise, or something similar.

The first volume of the Scholastic Books color Bone volumes came out this week…I’m not sure how I feel about them. The color is nice, though the pages do have a slight “scanned and Photoshopped” feel to them, and it’s hard to beat $9.99 for the package. I’m tempted by it, if only because of some of the minor art changes between the comics and the collections, and because the spine on that complete Bone volume, while appearing to be fairly solid now, seems like it won’t survive the test of time.

And, those of you who decided to order your copy of the Simpsons Season 5 DVD set through your comic shop, like I did…it’s out finally.

It was new comics day…

Bob Burden also plugs another couple of his projects in the back pages…Mullet Force 6 and Dynamite Girl, to which I say…um…hey, Flaming Carrot’s back!

Other books out this week:

Superman: Strength #1 – the first part of Scott McCloud‘s prestige format series has come out, and it’s a lot of fun…the art by Aluir Amancio and Terry Austin took a while for me to get used to, but it did grow on me as I read though this issue. The art is over breakdowns by McCloud, and if you look at the first panel on page 5 (the “My God he’s fast!” panel), that’s pure McCloud layout if ever I’ve seen it. The story itself has Supes facing a group of villains in Metropolis, as Pa Kent is relating a story of Clark’s youth to Lois, and I’ll say that the flashback story is the more interesting of the two, so far.

Peter David‘s long-awaited return to the Incredible Hulk has arrived, and after years of either “Hulk smash,” various writers trying to emulate David’s approach to the character, and Bruce Jones’ non-Hulk Hulk run, here’s hoping David will bring back some freshness to the character. He manages to give the Hulk a new ability, as well as flashing back to Bruce Banner’s high school days (a period I don’t think has been covered much in prior Hulks). It’s all set-up, but it’s interesting set-up, and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

In case you all thought you were finished with Identity Crisis, Flash #217 continues the crossing-over action, as the Rogues Gallery hold a funeral for their fallen comrade. Whatever you though of IC, at least Geoff Johns seems to be following through on that series’ implications very nicely.

Swamp Thing #11 – you know, every single issue of this comic could just be Swamp Thing fighting Arcane while zombies wander around Houma, like this issue is, and I’d be perfectly happy.

Other new releases:

DC Horizon is a freebie item that your local funnybook purveyor should have available, and this new edition is all about Grant Morrison’s Seven Soldiers of Victory project. You know, if anyone else claimed that they’d be doing a 30-something issue series (in the form of multiple mini-series) featuring secondary DC characters, I’d wonder what they were smoking. But Grant Morrison? I know he loves this stuff, and after reading the preview, it’s going to be brilliant. (But I’m still wondering what he’s smoking.)

Girl Genius Vol. 3 hardcover – I already have this material, but this is a high-quality package. It has puffy hard covers! Pick it up and squeeze it…it’s downright huggable!

There are far too many Elektra books out this week. It’s almost as if Marvel expects the movie to do well.

The Constantine movie adaptation is here…the art, by Ron Randall, is actually pretty good. I don’t know about the story…I flipped through it, and if it’s any reflection of the actual film, apparently we’re going to be told over and over and over and over and over and over again that Constantine is “damned.” “Hey, is that John Constantine?” “Yeah, he’s damned.” “Hi John, howya doin’?” “Oh, I’m damned. You?” Also, I really hope Garth Ennis is getting some money from this film.

The Constantine movie trade paperback is out as well, reprinting the adaptation as well as some select stories from the Hellblazer run. I swear to you, the Garth Ennis story is part one of his first storyline on the title, and it ends with a caption that says “read the rest of this story in the Dangerous Habits trade paperback!” Those bastards!

The Doctor Solar Man of the Atom hardcover from Dark Horse appears to be shot from the original printed pages of the Gold Key series, but it actually looks nice, I think. If only that Battle of the Planets Gold Key reprint book could have done the same, instead of featuring low quality black and white scans; maybe we could have sold a couple copies, back when anyone cared.

Your “too late for Christmas” Christmas covers for the week: PVP #13 and Strangers in Paradise #70. Eh, maybe they’re just early for this coming Christmas. Same with our much-delayed free Cerebus autographed Christmas cards. Sigh.

Youngblood Imperial #1 prominently features Alan Moore’s creation Doc Rocket on the cover, notable for being one of the few female superheroes to be referred to as “Doc” or “Doctor,” as far as I can recall. (Here’s another.) I liked the character during Moore’s all too brief run on Youngblood, but, um, I’ll pass this time.

Belly Button #2 – I only took a brief look through it, but it doesn’t look like the name “CRUMB” appears anywhere on it. I mean, I understand and all, that Sophie doesn’t want to look like she’s riding on Pop’s coattails…but wouldn’t most people interested in this book already know she’s R.’s daughter? Losing the last name would seem a little disingenuous…unless it’s an intentional meta-joke of some kind. (Of course, if her full name is in the book and I missed it…well, never mind.)

I’m sorry I don’t talk enough about the manga that comes in, since, while I am familiar enough with it to note what’s selling and what isn’t, I really am not enough of an aficionado to really go into details on individual books. Hey, but we do carry a lot of them…still friends? I will note that $24.95 for the new digest-sized Ghost in The Shell book seems a little excessive. I’m sure it’s necessitated by production costs and licensing fees and whatever, but that price point guarantees that it’ll be going into the hands of hardcore manga fans and not to casual readers who may have seen the movie on cable.

Oh, and did I mention that Proof of Concept is out? Proof of Concept is out. Here’s my review, and here’s Pal Dorian’s.

New comics yesterday, I talk about ’em today! SPOILERS AHEAD – I mean it this time! Avert your eyes!

• Well, Good Lord, Identity Crisis #7 is out, and as it turns out, one of my joking theories* about the identity of the killer was, well, sorta on target (except my idea was much sillier). Of course, I didn’t say anything about motivation, which is just barely less than the actual motivation given to the killer. Anyway, if you didn’t like this series, don’t worry; as soon as the inevitable hardcover and softcover collections stop selling, everything that happened in this series will be undone. Sue Dibny: Rebirth, coming in 2008!
• Fantastic Four #521 – here is the discussion pal Dorian and I had last week, after Dorian flipped through the advance copy of this comic:

  D: “So, the new issue of Fantastic Four is using a mostly-forgotten bit of trivia about Galactus as a plot point.”

  M: “That he has some sort of familial relationship with Death?”

  D: “No….”

  M: “That he grows smaller as he grows weaker?”

  D: “No….”

  M: “That he originally came from the universe that precedes the current universe?”

  D: “No….”

  M: “That he’s perceived differently by everyone who sees him?”

  D: “Yeah, that’s the one.”

  M: “Did I disgust you with my Galactus knowledge?”

  D: “No, no…I knew most of that.”

  M: “Well, how ’bout that his real name is Galen? Or that he’s from the planet Taa? Or that his space station was called Taa II?”

  D: “Okay, now I’m disgusted.”

• Girl Genius #13 – each issue of this series just gets better and better…Agatha and Krosp learn more about the peculiar personalities of the circus with which they’re traveling. Lots of fun, and can’t wait for the next issue.
• Plastic Man #13 – Plastic Man takes on the evils of (gasp) File Sharing! Though hardly the prime focus of the issue, it’s still a nice little thumbing of the nose at those scare tactic anti-file sharing ads that have been popping up in the comics lately.
• Deep Fried Vol. 2 #1 – if there’s a comic more filled with wrong fun than Jason Yungbluth’s, I don’t know what it is. Featured terrifying strip: “Ghastly Cash – The Poor Little Rich Ghost!” Yes, it’s another play on the old “Casper is the ghost of Richie Rich” thing, but Yungbluth does it better than you’ve ever seen it.
• Shaolin Cowboy #1 – I didn’t know what Dorian was talking about when he mentioned a 10-page single panel, until I had a chance to look at it myself. He’s right…it’s one panel spread over 10 pages, as drawn by Geof Darrow. I haven’t read it, I have no idea what it’s about (aside from mayhem), but it’s drawn by Darrow in his usual highly-detailed style and looks fantastic.
• Zippy: From Here to Absurdity – another collection of a year’s worth of Zippy the Pinhead strips by Bill Griffith, complete with footnotes. Look for the disturbingly Nancy-esque cover. Always good stuff, though reading a year’s worth of Zippy within a relatively short time is probably not recommended…it kinda affects your perceptions, you know?
• Ocean #3 – the latest issue of the Warren Ellis and Chris Sprouse series, with a scary science fictional idea re: controlling one’s employees that I don’t think I’ve seen before. I also want to note Chris Sprouse’s expressive art…the range of emotions he conveys is impressive.
• Ex Machina #7 – this issue contains probably the most reasonable real-world reaction a person would have upon seeing someone’s “ray gun.” That’s not a euphemism, but, in context, it could very well be. Yeah, I know, I’m being coy for someone shouting about “spoilers” earlier.
• Alter Ego #43 – all I gotta say…El Santo! This issue contains a long article on Mexican comics of the Silver Age, including reprints of American comics as well as original comics produced in that country. No chance to read it yet, but a flip through the issue reveals (as is usual for this magazine) a wide variety of great illustrations.
• Madrox #4 – somehow forgot to get a copy for myself. Gosh darn it.
  

Other new releases, not bought but notable:

• DC Rarities Archives – Oh, dear me, $75.00? I so want this book (reprinting the New York’s World Fair comics and the Big All-American Comic Book), but I really, really, really can’t justify the expense right now. I’m especially frustrated since Big All-American is one of those comics I’ve wanted for years. Ah, well.
• Wizard King Trilogy Book 1 softcover – this collection of Wally Wood’s work is in color and…um, I believe it’s slightly edited. As in some of the nude figures now have had nipples painted away and/or recolored to make them appear as if they’re wearing clothes. A quick Google search reveals that Evan Dorkin has noticed this as well.
• Swamp Thing: Bad Seed TPB – I appreciate DC putting low price tags on the first volumes of their trade paperback lines. Having the first Fables at $9.95 really helps us sell the book. Granted, this particular series of Swamp Thing may be a slightly harder sell, but good on DC for keeping the price down.
• Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Year One #5 – did they really drag out a five issue mini-series over most of a year, or am I imagining things? (I’ll have to check the cycle sheets at work and find out).
• Spider-Man: India #2 – we managed to sell a couple of the first issue to people who buy all Marvel #1s. Without that incentive, I don’t imagine we’ll sell any copies of the second issue.
• Krazy & Ignatz in “Necromancy by the Blue Bean Bush” – I have to hand it to Fantagraphics…they put out some handsome comic strip reprints. I don’t think these strips have ever looked better.
  

Other fun on new comics day…having a glitch on our credit card machine wipe out all its programming, so I have to spend the better part of an hour on hold with the card processing company and letting the software download into our machine at 1200 baud. Luckily, this was at the end of the day, and I only ended up having to turn away one credit card customer (a regular, thankfully, so he’ll be back for his goodies later). Still, put that on my list of things not to do on new comics day.

* Thanks to The Comic Treadmill for finding my post for me!

(SPOILERS, as per usual. Don’t blame me, buddy!)

Let’s get it out of the way…Space Ghost #1 came out yesterday, and it’s selling reasonably well for us thus far. I imagine I’ll probably have to put in a reorder before too long (assuming reorders are available, of course).

As for the quality of the book…well, you can take a vacuum to the desert, and you can vacuum for hours and hours and hours, and when you’re done you’ll still have a desert.* That’s sorta like this Space Ghost comic…you can dump as much “serious” content into this comic as you’d like, but you’re still gonna end up with freakin’ Space Ghost. Say, Space Ghost has a pregnant wife? I’m sure nothing’s going to happen to her!

That said…it’s not a bad-looking comic. It’s one of those rare instances of fully-painted superhero comic art actually looking like cartooning, and not like a long series of photo references. The art, by Ariel Olivetti, has a goofy charm that’s totally in contrast to the story’s events. And I also want to note the unusual shade of blue at the bottom of front cover…looking at a scan of it online doesn’t do it justice. It’s a painfully…neon? electric? shade of blue that you need to see in person…very eyecatching.

If you’re looking for a version of Space Ghost that’s slightly more serious than the one that’s on Cartoon Network, but not quite as “grim ‘n’ gritty” as this new version, find yourself a copy of the 1987 Space Ghost one-shot from Comico. It’s just as serious as it needs to be (i.e. as serious as the original cartoons were) and it’s chock full of Steve Rude goodness.

Other new funnybook arrivals:

Adventures of Superman #634 – absolutely fantastic. Last week, when we got our preview copy of this issue, pal Dorian showed me the cover, and pointed out the very subtle (and slightly disturbing) hidden images. I may never had noticed if he hadn’t drawn my attention to it. The interior is a lot of fun, too, as Mr. Mxyzptlk gets mixed up in a battle between Superman and the Parasite Twins. As a result, Mxy ends up in the “real world,” interacting with DC Comics’ staff in some of the clearest photos I’ve ever seen used in a comic book story…we’ve come a long way from those grainy black and white photos that used to pop up in the Bullpen Bulletins every once in a while. Also appreciated is the much more sympathetic portrayal of Mxy, as opposed to the evil little S.O.B. he was following the mid-80s Superman revamp.

Terra Obscura Vol. 2 #4 – did anyone else think this issue read really fast? I got to the end of the comic and thought, “wait, is that it?”

Ex Machina #6 – there’s a discussion between a couple subway workers near the end of the book that made me blush, and I’m someone who has to hear discussions about gay porn on a fairly regular basis. So, fellow retailers…for God’s sake, don’t sell this to kids! Well, otherwise, another fine issue…I find myself really enjoying the flashback sequences that take place during Mayor Hundred’s career as a superhero…they have a “real” world Astro City-esque feel. A

JLA #108 – anyone disappointed that the first issue of Kurt Busiek’s run didn’t feature enough of the Crime Syndicate will be happy with this issue, which has the Syndicate almost to the exclusion of anything else. Well, there are some Qwardians in there, too…I wonder if this is a nod to DC’s brief attempt at retconning the original Crime Syndicate into Qwardians a few years back. Anyone else remember that? I seem to recall a giant Phil Jimenez drawing of all the Justice League villains that had those big Qwardian bug-eyes badly edited onto the faces of the Syndicate members.

Fantastic Four #520 – I love the FF, but aside from Stan ‘n’ Jack, and a couple other people since then, the book is rarely done well. I have been enjoying Mark Waid’s run on the title, and this issue had a good laugh out loud line (regarding Reed’s fear that Johnny may try Galactus’ patience)…it’s a shame that Waid’s leaving the book after this storyline, especially given the big brouhaha when he and Wieringo were temporarily forced off the book a while back.

Cosmic Guard #4 – I’ve given up on this comic. I normally enjoy Jim Starlin’s work, but I think my patience has officially run out on this particular title. It’s not bad work** by any means, but I don’t think I need to see yet another variation on the “kid gets superpowers he’s not ready for” storyline. The cosmic stuff from the first issue hasn’t made a reappearance, and the “hero corrupted by power” theme is currently being done better in Firestorm.

Green Lantern Rebirth #1 2nd printing – this cover, featuring Hal Jordan as Green Lantern, was probably the one they should have used in place of the Hal as the Spectre cover on the first printing. Oh, and we were shorted half our order on these for some reason.

Identity Crisis #1 3rd printing – just wanted to mention that this came out as well, in case anyone still needs a copy.

Plastic Man On The Lam trade paperback – it’s formatted like that Chip Kidd-designed Plastic Man book from a few years ago…you know, with the cover slightly larger than the pages inside. Oh, and hold your nose if you take it out of the plastic sleeve…the book is quite pungent. Hoo boy. Good comics, though.

In other news:

Those of you who bought the first two volumes of The Complete Peanuts as they came out, and were a little miffed that a slipcased set was released…the slipcase is now available for order from Diamond, separate from the books. It’s only $4.95, so start nagging your retailer today!

Commenter Anonymous points back to that Love Is eBay auction I mentioned the other day…it ended at $274.99. Let me repeat that…$274.99.

* Why, yes, I am master of the analogy. Why do you ask?

** Your mileage may vary, depending on your Starlin tolerance levels.

New funnybook day! Spoilers may be afoot, so watch your step (or, um, something like that):

• Essential Tomb of Dracula Vol. 3 – man, this is a fat, fat book. It’s gonna take me forever to plow through this thing…given I just finished the Essential Monster of Frankenstein, I’m not sure I’m ready to start another marathon Marvel monster session. Yeah, I know, “boo hoo, I’ve got too many comics to read!” But it looks good, like the previous volumes…one of the stories from the Tomb of Dracula magazines reprinted herein is by Steve Ditko, so you Ditko fans take note!
• Ocean #1 – this is the first of the mini-series by Warren Ellis and Chris Sprouse which, while it had my interest, I had pondered waiting for the eventual book release (because that’s just the kind of killing-the-comic-industry guy I am). Pal Dorian had a compelling argument for not waiting, in that it’s a six issue series and bimonthly, so it’s well over a year wait for a trade…thus convinced, I went ahead and grabbed it. And it’s good — all set-up (Inspector Kane is a prototypical Ellis bastard/hero on his way to investigate shenanigans on Europa), and it got a nice cynical chuckle out of me regarding a reaction to a book Kane is carrying.
• Plastic Man #11 – Didn’t spot Plas on the cover right away, which made me feel very silly a little later when I did notice him. Which is okay, since this is a very silly issue…DC continuity freaks stay away, as this issue will give you heart palpatations. Baker gets in some good jokes regarding the whole Luthor-as-President storyline, Smallville, and our own real-life President. Edwina, the vampire’s daughter from last issue, is surprisingly still around. The art style is slightly different as well, it seems to me…a little simpler, with machine-lettering instead of Baker’s hand-lettering. Anyway, another great issue, and I hope Plastic Man sticks around for a while longer. (EDIT: I’m told that Baker does all his lettering by “machine” – or, rather, computer…which makes sense…so let me amend my statement to “machine-like lettering.” I still like its look.)
• Identity Crisis #5 and Firestorm #6 – okay, read Firestorm after IC. Not that there are any major spoilers or anything, but it’s probably better for both stories if you do so. In IC, a lot of theories some of us had about the identity of the killer(s) may be thrown out after this issue, and…well, I want to say more, but I really don’t want to spoil anything. And Firestorm is still quite interesting, as the “hero” of the book continues his apparent moral decline. He goes through some of the superhero motions, but keeps makng increasingly selfish decisions…he gets called on it by a couple of superhero Big Guns, but one gets the feeling the new Firestorm doesn’t really take the hint.
• Madrox #2 – Peter David’s mutant-detective comic continues, with some revelations about the nature of Madrox’s duplicating powers, particularly the slight personalities differences among his duplicates. (I’m not a regular X-comic reader, so I could be wrong that this is new.)
• Other new arrivals: Luba #9 (more goodness from Beto, with a shock ending!), JSA: Strange Adventures #3 (Johnny Thunder proves why he gets to hang out with the Justice Society — it’s a scene we’ve all seen a hundred times before, but still effective), Fantastic Four #519 (I’m a sucker for Galactus stories; the only reason this is an Avengers: Disassembled crossover is apparently to explain why the Avengers aren’t also facing this threat to New York, it appears), 1000 Steps to World Domination (trade collection of Rob Osborne’s mini-comics…I particularly like when Rob reveals to his wife that he’s making a list of things to do in order to dominate the world, and her response is “I don’t want anything like that in the house”), and Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror #10 (the Pat Boone-scripted story is hysterical!).
• That new printing of Identity Crisis #1, the one with the original Turner pencils printed in a “negative”-style reversed black and white, is terribly unappealing. Not that the image was all that great to begin with, in my opinion, but doing this to it didn’t do it any favors.
• Jimmy Olsen Adventures Vol. 2 by Jack Kirby – another fine full-color trade paperback reprinting Kirby’s nuttiest DC work. If only we could get a good color reprinting of the other Fourth World comics (those black and white volumes just didn’t do it for me).
  
  
  

• Dorian pointed this one out to me: Neferu the Cat, a hardcover album from Safcomics…didn’t get much of a chance to flip through it, but the cartooning is top-notch from what I’ve seen, and the plot (Neferu and his cat-friends stuggle to protect themselves from the encroaching dominion of the dogs) may not sound like much, but it really looks entertaining.
• Archie #552 – am I the only person who saw this particular word balloon (located to the right), and pictured Archie keeping Dilton Doiley in a pit, telling him to rub its lotion on its skin? No cover gag Archie Comics could come up with could compare, surely.