Flippin’ through ‘Previews’? – April 2020

Well, who knows if the comics offered in Previews #379 will ever come out or, if they do, we’ll be forced to eat them as our last bit of sustenance before the zombie hordes take over, but the catalog is out, and we might as well take a look at it! Remember, I’m in blue, and Travis is in black, so let’s see what’s what!

I delayed on this partly because, hey, it’s not coming out for who knows how long, and also because weirdly enough, I actually STARTED a job in the midst of all this stuff.  Technically, it’s going back to a temp job I did a couple times last year, but I’m semi-essential!

Image:

Here are the solicitations.

John Layman told me about Chu (page 42) quite some time ago, at least the idea for it (I don’t know if back then it was more than that). It’s the story of Tony Chu’s sister, who happens to be a master criminal. I assume Tony will show up at some point! I’m very much looking forward to this, even if I don’t love Dan Boultwood’s art quite as much as I love Rob Guillory’s. But it’s still pretty good, and I imagine this will be quite keen.

I can’t remember the one series of Boultwood that I read, but I think I liked his stuff a lot.  I FINALLY grabbed the second and third Smorgasbord volumes of CHEW from my local shop the last new comics day, and planned to get the first one at Amazon, but then I started hearing about how Amazon is a less than ideal employer in these times, so everyone, give me suggestions of where else to get the first volume!  (Heck, my employer is providing a dinner for us each night, so we don’t have to get a meal otherwise, and while they’re certainly a huge enough business that the money is a drop in the bucket for them, it’s still a nice gesture!)

I always thought David López was an underrated artist, and now an online comic he drew and wrote, Blackhand & Ironhead, is in print on page 46. It’s about the daughter of a superhero as tries to live up to his legacy after his sudden death, and the villainous sister she never knew existed. Sounds fun, and it looks nice.

It does sound interesting.  I think he did the Beowulf adaptation that was pretty good looking in the last few years, didn’t he?

Nope, that would be David Rubín. López first came to my attention when he drew Will Pfeifer’s Catwoman series back in the day, but he’s done other stuff, too.

So Joe Casey and Dustin Nguyen are doing a one-shot about a Hispanic superhero named … America Vasquez? They’re coy about her first name, but it has to be “America,” doesn’t it, based on the solicit text? Are they just being coy about it so they don’t piss off the Disney Hegemony? Anyway, these two dudes know what they’re doing, so it should be good.

I’m going to get this, and from what I remember, this has been in the works for a couple of years.  It’s odd that Marvel just announced a new America series, didn’t they?

Bliss on page 52 sounds good, although we’ve seen this sort of thing before where a dude has to destroy people’s afterlives in order to earn favor with the rulers of the afterworlds.  I’m not liking the description of it as a 2 arc maxi series, which means it will be two trades for only 8 fucking issues, but que sera sera, y’know.

Getting it Together on page 54 sounds intriguing – it’s about two friends, one of whom is dating the other’s sister. Then things happen, like they do. Anyway, the creators I know – Jenny Fine seems to be the main artist, and she’s new – are good creators – Sina Grace, Omar Spahi, and Shaun Steven Struble have all done comics I like – so this might be worth a look.

Hey, these people will be there for each other, especially when the rain begins to fall, as shown by the umbrellas on the cover!

Hey, Black Magick is back on page 56. Boy, did they pick a bad time. But maybe when it does show up, it won’t be delayed at all!

I need to catch up on it!

I will probably get The Clock in trade, because it’s Matt Hawkins and Colleen Doran, but dang, the idea of a fast-moving illness devastating the world’s population hits a bit close to home, don’t it?

Jeez, I’ve been getting this in singles, and I’m glad I haven’t been reading it as it came out, given that description.  What’s interesting is that this series was delayed a couple years, I guess, so had it come out then, it would have been just near future scary sci-fi, instead of ripped from the headlines stuff!

I might snag Killadelphia in trade on page 67, since it’s 10 bucks for 6 issues and you know me, but the story sounded decent, with vampires in Philly and police corruption and such.  I feel like it’s going to be a little cliché heavy, but that might be ok depending on how heavy it is.

Ooh, I definitely want the LCD: Lowest Comic Denominator trade on page 68, a collection of the lowbrow humor comic done by Kieron Dwyer, probably best known for an artist run on Captain America.  I wonder if the stuff that got him sued by Starbucks will be in here?  Also, since this is volume 1, does this mean he’s doing new stuff?  This should be fun.

Ahem. Kieron Dwyer is, of course, best known for his Riddler story with Peter Milligan. Come on, sir, promote the blog!

Oops.  I forgot about that one …

I wasn’t going to mention it per se, but reading the solicit of Lucy Claire: Redemption on page 69 makes me think I should.  It’s done by original Rat Queens artist John “Roc” Upchurch, and from what I understand of the story, there was some domestic violence charges in his marriage and he maybe was kept from his kids.  He lost the Rat Queens job quickly too.  But the solicit text is about how Lucy was a celebrated hero and is now a despised miscreant, and her kids were taken from her.  So now she’s got to take up the mantle of hero again and get her kids back.  I’m not sure enough about what the story was with his wife and kids, but it sounded bad enough that I’m hesitant to buy his work again at this point, at least, but it sure sounds like he channeled his shit into a work of fiction well.

Wow, yeah, I missed that it was by Upchurch, but that does really sound like … something, I’ll tell you that much. I’m going to skip this because it sounds dull, but if it’s him trying to get into how poorly he was treated, I have another reason to skip it.

I may get Olympia, the Curt Pires story of a superhero coming to the real world, and inspired by Pires’s father going for cancer treatment.  It’s in trade on page 71, and what I saw of the art was neat.

It’s 10 bucks for 6 issues, so Undiscovered Country v.1 on page 72 might sway me enough to find out what it’s about.  Maybe.

Yeah, it sounds dumb, but I’ll have to think about it.

I swear I saw that Savage Dragon 251 got cancelled, in the cancellations listings on Diamond’s site, and no SD issue is listed here.  Was Larsen planning to secretly end the series with 250 (set for the end of May, originally) and now all the delays are fucking that surprise up?

That would suck for him if it did, but maybe he’s just using the time to rework the issue and get some in the can?

Dark Horse:

Here are the solicitations.

Since I’m behind on it, I won’t get the Umbrella Academy spinoff on page 94, You Look Like Death in singles, but I will want the trade because I.N.J. Culbard is the artist and I dig his stuff.  And to reply to page 97, no, Dark Horse, the first issue of Apocalypse Suite was not the perfect introduction for new readers, the story from the FCBD book before that issue was the perfect introduction, and where I thought the series sounded amazing!

You’re kind of angry, sir. Maybe you should chill in your room for a while, and imagine that you’re, I don’t know, quarantined or something.

Man, it’s a good thing Dark Horse signed Lemire on with Black Hammer, huh?  So much stuff!

Resident Alien is getting a big ol’ omnibus – or two, given what’s collected here – on page 101. This collects the first three trades of the series, which is pretty good. It’s about an alien who looks human enough that he can pretend to be one, and he lives as a doctor in a small town where people mind their own business. Of course, things don’t stay calm all that long, because it’s a comic book, but it’s a nice hook. Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse are solid creators, and I think this will probably be a pretty good television show, if it’s not Covidelayed.

I hope that portmanteau doesn’t, ahem, go viral.  But yes, I loved the first batch of stories of this, and I need to catch up at some point.  It was so much fun!

Ooh, the Mike Richardson/Stan Sakai telling of 47 Ronin is in trade for the first time on page 110.  I love Sakai, so I should get this.

It’s okay. Not great, but pretty good.

Hmm, the two on page 111 are books that I probably should have gotten the first time around, but that’s ok.  Black Dog: The Dreams of Paul Nash is Dave McKean’s GN based on the life of the artist, and has new bonus material.  Moebius Library: Doctor Moebius and Mister Gir is in trade as well, which I think is mostly a collection of interviews with the master storyteller.

Yeah, I’m getting the Moebius Library books, but they’ve been oddly disappointing, because so much is sketches and short stuff and, now, interviews. I don’t mind that stuff, but dang, I want more comics, for FSM’s sake!

I like Troy Nixey, but I think I have the issues of stuff collected in Bacon And Other Monstrous Tales on page 112.  According to the page counts here, those stories comprise about a third of the size of this book, so what’s the rest of it?  (I’m pretty sure Boogie Picker was a multi part story, so that might be part of it.)

Ooh, Shock Illustrated comes to the EC Archives on page 116, one of the Picto-Fiction books that EC tried to stay alive with post-Code.  I don’t know that I knew that the Flowers for Algernon dude wrote comics, although I guess the better question is probably how Daniel Keyes, a dude who presumably worked for pulps and magazines back in the day, broke through with Flowers for Algernon to the point where it was homework to read when I was in school in the mid-‘90s.  How did he make the canon!?!

This is 50 bucks, but I’m thinking about it. And you go off on weird tangents, man. Just sayin’.

Kill Whitey Donovan is in trade on page 117. This sounded pretty good – a slave plots to kill a man who destroyed her family – and it looked pretty good, from what I saw, so I’ll probably order this. 

Yeah, I might get this.  I’m interested in Crone on the same page as well, because the “one last adventure” trope can be fun, especially since this is a woman as the champion, which isn’t done a lot, and the art is by Justin Greenwood, who is quite good.

Well, shit, I looked at the solicit for Tomorrow on page 118 from Milligan, and the line “will the survivors live long enough for the antivirus to reach them?”, and I got bummed out.  Thanks, Milligan!

Am I gonna have to get this second edition of Henchgirl on page 121 for the new story?  I’m on Gudsnuk’s mailing list and I haven’t heard about this yet! … yeah, I’m probably gonna get it.

Neil Kleid is a pretty good writer, so when he offers up Savor on page 123 and when the words “demon cooks” and “warrior chef” are included in the solicit, I’m intrigued!

Yeah, it could be fun!

DC:

Here are the solicitations.

So DC took its sweet old time with this “three Jokers” thing, as Geoff Johns gets around to it on page 4. I don’t give a tiny rat’s ass about this and think that either there are actually three Jokers, which would be the dumbest idea in the history of comics (which, let’s face it, has had its share of dumb ideas) … or it’s some kind of weird psychological drama, in which case Geoff Johns is definitely not the guy you want writing it. But hey, at least Jason Fabok has had four years to draw this (I assume they got started on it right away!), so whenever it does come out (I’m going to say the release date of 17 June is going to change), at least it will come out in a timely fashion!

From what I’ve seen, Fabok is doing his best Bolland with the covers, while from the preview pages it looks like Johns is taking the most relevant part of Alan Moore’s work, the grid layouts of each page.  It’s always sounded like a dumb idea, but I’m morbidly interested in how this resolves.

On page 6 Dark Nights Death Metal 2 asks “what’s Lobo doing in space?”  Uh … isn’t that where he lives?

Yeah, he’s not an Earthling or anything. Next month in DC’s Previews: “What’s Greg doing … in Arizona?!?!?”

That’s … really an unfortunate design on that Catwoman costume, Sean Murphy (page 32).

It’s somehow form-fitting and totally unsexy all at the same time.  Plus, the whiskers!

Oh, yeah, the whole thing is bad, but I’m talking about the ill-placed seam. I mean, really.

Is that a seam or is it just reallllly tight fitting in the front?

Flash 757 on page 33 has the Legion of Zoom, which is a totally different sort of villain team up these days, isn’t it?  “We shall meet… at 3PM EST, and we will all log in and make our plans of EVILLLLLLL!!!” [BTW, we here at the blog still need to plan our Zoom meeting so we can all see each other.  Or do we want to see each other?]

Someone will write that story soon enough! And I don’t know if we’re going to do a Zoom meeting. I wouldn’t mind. People are busy, though!

I might get the facsimile editions on page 67, because they sound fun.  Batman 321 is a story of the Joker’s birthday with Simonson art, while Flash 135 seems to be the first time Wally West was in the yellow Kid Flash costume.

OK, I guess DC Classics is reprinting the Batman Adventures series from the ‘90s at 2 bucks a pop.  It was good stuff, anyway.  And apparently also on page 70 is Justice League 50, which was the first time the Three Jokers was introduced, so I guess whenever libraries open up again, I should look for this Darkseid War stuff.

A couple cool ones on page 77, with Collapser in trade, the story of a dude with a black hole in his chest, and Superman Man of Steel, collecting the Byrne stuff in HC.  If I didn’t have most of that stuff, I’d probably go for this.

Kirby’s Forever People are collected (again, I presume) on page 81.  Some day I need to get all of the Fourth World stuff.

Well, I’ll be damned.  I didn’t realize that after Neal Adams left, Green Lantern and Green Arrow were still teamed up.  There’s a HC collection of GL/GA: Space Traveling Heroes on page 82 that has some cool sounding stuff in it.

Until I know that issue 32 is included as a big damn poster, DC, I will not be purchasing this version of Promethea that is offered on page 86!

IDW:

Here are the solicitations.

Rob Liefeld is co-writing and drawing a new Snake Eyes mini-series on page 134. It will be gloriously awful, I’m sure.

Lookit alla them feet, though!

It’s a major breakthrough in Liefeld’s career!

On page 136 is a book collecting the original GI Joe Silent Interlude issue along with an expansion that Larry Hama and Jeremy Dale did back in ‘08 (holy shit, 2008 is long enough ago that you can say “back in” about that year!), and it’s out under the title of GI Joe: Complete Silence, and it’s just 4 bucks.  In case you’re interested.  When I read a bunch of GI Joe several years ago, I was greatly surprised at how good the book was at done in one issues and in the greater story arc stuff.

I dig Sophie Campbell’s art so much, but even that might not be enough to get me to buy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Reborn, Volume 1 – From the Ashes (yep, that’s the entire title) on page 139. But then again, it might!

Sophie is awesome, and I do like the Turtles, so I am tempted.

Hmm, is the Transformers ‘84 Legends and Rumors 100 page giant stuff (page 143) going to be reprinted in the trade of the Secrets and Lies series, or do I grab this on its own?  I do have a soft spot in my heart for Transformers, as it was a title I got very early on in my comics reading.

Dang, I’m going to have to get the “oversized magazine format” of Star Trek: Debt of Honor on page 151, mainly because it’s Adam Hughes art, but I’ve read that Claremont’s story is pretty good, too. Coolio!

I think I read it years ago but I can’t remember what the story was.  However, I may spring for this myself!

If the collection of Joe Hill and Martin Simmonds’s Dying is Easy mini stays at 20 bucks for HC, I’m totally in.  I was interested in the story of an ex-cop turned comedian who has to clear his name of murder.  It’s on page 154 and I hope they don’t jack up the price if I do decide to order this.

On page 156, we find the third and final volume of The Walled City Trilogy, which is about Hong Kong. The first two books have been amazing, and writer Anna Opotowsky was going to send me a .pdf of the third, so I could tell you about it before you needed to order it, but I assume that’s gone by the boards due to … events, so if I do get this before it comes out, I’ll be sure to write about it. But I’m confident it will be as good as the first two!

I should see if these are at a local library.

On page 157, we get a graphic novel about the band Redbone and their importance to the Native American movement of the 1970s. Sounds pretty neat.

I know “Come and Get Your Love” from being raised on classic rock radio, but didn’t realize they were Native Americans.  I’m interested in this story partly because what bits of it showed up in Scalped were intriguing.

Invisible Men: The Trailblazing Black Artists of Comic Books is on page 159, and I’ll be getting it. Mostly for the Matt Baker art, but also for the historical aspects, which I’m sure will be fascinating.

I hope they include some women like Jackie Ormes, and don’t figure that just because she got her own book she doesn’t deserve to be included here.  I realize the literary reference they’re using for the title, but I hope that doesn’t exclude any other female Black artists.

Women? Black women? Drawing comics? Why, that’s preposterous, sir!

I almost missed that I Can Sell You A Body was in trade on page 161, and it sounded good about a supernatural real estate agent who gets tied in with the mob, plus it has art from the very good George Kambadais.

Since I got to see last year at Ithacon some photocopies of the B&W art from this volume, I should probably get Simonson’s Ragnarok on page 162.  He talked as if he might not get to do more if the sales aren’t there, so maybe I’ll catch up with this stuff.

Marvel:

Here are the solicitations.

Joe Kelly and Chris Bachalo have Non-Stop Spider-Man on page 2, which should be fun, as they’re good creators. I’m curious about whether this is a one-shot or a mini-series or an ongoing, because it doesn’t say (Yahweh forfend Marvel gives out that highly classified information!). I’m a bit puzzled by Bachalo’s presence here – he was on Deadpool, but now he’s off that, so why does Marvel keep jerking him around to different titles? It’s very weird, unless this is a one-shot and he’s … going back to Deadpool? I don’t know, but it doesn’t make sense, and it’s kind of annoying. The dude is slow, we get it, so why do you keep putting him on new titles so quickly?!?!?

I think he did a 5 or 6 issue run on Deadpool, which is about what he does, I think.  I assume he’s Marvel exclusive and they have to give him certain stuff to do.  I assume this is a series and not just one shot but who knows?  But on the Alex Ross variant, why is there a Gwen bikini pic and why is JJJ reaching for it?

Yeah, that’s … odd. I’m pretty sure he did only 4 issues on Deadpool, but I could be wrong. I just don’t get why Marvel doesn’t try to keep artists on one title longer. It’s really annoying.

Oh, I do agree with that.  I think part of it is that Marvel and DC try too hard to double ship issues and artists are lucky to get 2-3 issues in a 3 month period, so by the nature of the shipping the big 2 do, artists just can’t keep up.  Not everyone is Kirby!!!  (And that’s another dumb thing about this quarantine stuff, because if I’m understanding right, the comics companies are telling their creators to stop working, when this is EXACTLY the time to build up a backlog of material!!!)

That’s probably true. And don’t get me started on them telling people not to work. Sheesh.

I’m mildly interested in the Darkhold book on page 5 because I liked the concept in the ‘90s and Steve Orlando is doing his first Marvel stuff.

So Fu Manchu is now Zheng Zhu?  Shang-Chi 1 On Page 6.

I suppose they’re just tired of dealing with Sax Rohmer’s estate. Not the worst move in the world.

Actually, if I remember right, they’ve been calling his father that since about the time of Bru’s Secret Avengers run.  I thought they were still hinting that it was Fu Manchu then, but I’m not sure now.

Mhmm, I probably have the stuff reprinted in Marvel Tales Captain Britain on page 36 but I might get it.  Not very encouraging that he hasn’t had a significant story in 30 years tho, is it?

Poor Captain Britain. Man, the Braddock family has been done dirty for three decades now.

I might also snag the True Believers Saturnyne issue on page 39.

Shit, Alex Ross managed to make X-Force look cool on the cover of Marvel 4 on page 47!

I like how even Ross can’t make Cable’s stupid-ass Liefeld gun look any better, though.

Colleen Doran is drawing Captain Marvel: Marvels Snapshot on page 48. Good for her! Boy, it’s almost as if there are a lot of great artists out there that Marvel could employ or something!

Yeah, I definitely need to get the collections of these Marvels celebratory comics.  Damn good stuff.

Oh yeah there is the America Chavez book on page 50.

It would be cool if Marvel did just have a character called Classified who was facing the Avengers in August (page 51).

That would be a stupid/cool character, I’d bet.

Man, I hope I can find a cheap copy of the Marvel Horror Lives Again Omni on page 103, because it sounds cool but I don’t know the stuff enough to spend that kinda money.

Ooh, that Eternals Monster Size book on 104 is another I’d like to find cheap.  It interests me but not near full price lol.

I’m very tempted by the Excalibur Omnibus on page 105, but some things will probably stop me from getting it. First, I own most of the issues contained within. Second, it’s the first 49 issues of the series, and a good one-third to half of them are crap. However, a lot of this is by Alan Davis, and it’s just gorgeous. So I’m tempted!

I think I have almost all of this too, shy of one or two of the specials.  I’ve always liked what I read of this.

I love how Marvel and DC keep reprinting stuff with just a little bit extra and jacking up the price, as God Loves, Man Kills gets an “extended cut gallery edition” for 35 frickin’ dollars on page 110. The original was, what, 5 bucks? And they’ve really never added so much that the price should go up by … what, 600%? Sheesh, come on, Marvel!

Yeah, when I saw the 2 issue thing a little bit ago, I knew they’d collect it but not for this much.  Does this include any of the real early Neal Adams art done for this before Anderson came on.

I’ll probably get the trade of Star on page 118 by our pal Kelly, although I’m curious about the Birth of a Dragon subtitle.  Star was a Savage Dragon character – is Marvel trying to confuse the market?!  They did have to change the Marvel Zombies Resurrection (on page 132) from Respawn …

You’re weird, man. I missed that this time around, because now that you mention it, I did write a thing about it before the blog decided to start eating our drafts, so yes, I will get that, too.

I am weird, thank you!

I was interested in a lot of those The End issues, and now there’s a trade on page 134.  I might get it!

Against my better judgment, I’ll probably get Ravencroft in trade on page 137. I’m not a huge fan of Frank Tieri, but he’s not terrible, and I just like the idea of horror comics inside the Marvel Universe. I’ll definitely think about it, but I’ll probably get it.

I don’t even remember how Ravencroft worked in to Absolute Carnage, and I read that.

I’m interested in Hellstrom: Evil Origins on 139, because he’s a neat character.  But wouldn’t he also be Son of Satan during the day and not just at night?

Nope. During the day he’s mild-mannered Dan Hallistorm, accountant and puzzle enthusiast!

Dynamite:

Here are the solicitations.

Waitaminnit, the new Green Hornet series has him protecting … an alien infant?  Super, man! (Page 178).

That is kind of funny, though.

At least the Frank Miller homages are better (they’re by Stephen Mooney) and more iconic than some of the others that have been featured (list on page 173).

Boom! Studios:

Here are the solicitations.

There’s a giant Irredeemable Omnibus on page 213, and it’s only 50 dollars for 40 issues, which sounds like a sweet deal. Has anyone read this? It’s Mark Waid, so I can’t imagine it’s bad, but does anyone have an opinion of it?

I’ve only read a little and it seemed quite good.  I might spring for this.

Strange Skies Over East Berlin gets a trade on page 216 for only 15 dollars. It’s a pretty keen story, with neat art.

The covers looked cool, from what I saw!

Did they just list the Bill and Ted books together in a set in the last month or 2 for, like, 50 bucks, and now list those same comics in one Omnibus on page 218 for only $30?  Save the Universe was pretty good, but c’mon, Boom!, what are you trying to pull?!?

I thought those were different, older comics. These are more recent. Or am I misremembering?

You’re thinking of the Dorkin omnibus, which was stuff from the ‘90s.  This is more recent stuff, but I thought there was a separate listing of these books in their original trade printing.  I’m just glad I didn’t decide to order that set!

Onward to the back of the book!

The latest Aardvark-Vanaheim Cerebus in Hell? One shot is Attractive Cousins on page 231, which parodies the first appearance of Supergirl.  And hey, Superman had a boner for Supergirl in the first appearance, so it’s not that weird!  The Cerebus in Hell? crew also released some digital comics for the corona stuff, which I still need to download but I hope to tell everyone about once I read them!

I’m vaguely tempted by AC Comics listing of Golden Age Greats Spotlight volume [20, it looks like from the picture of the cover] on page 238, because it’s Fawcett reprints, but it’s 30 bucks and from another issue of theirs I have in this series, it’s just a stapled comic, not a book, and for that many pages and that price that’s no good.

Ugh, that’s terrible. I get they want to keep costs down, but dang, that ain’t right.

Same page has Action Lab with Shinobi Ninja Princess in HC for the two volumes in one book, about a girl who’s both a normal girl and a Ninja Princess, as one might be; and The Argus volume 1, about an agency that polices time travel that’s made up of different versions of the same dude throughout his life, and one of them is a rogue operator.  Sounds neat.

Also from them on page 242 is Villains Seeking Hero, which sounds like it will be a fun look at a somewhat over the hill villain having to get a second chance to become great again.

Kill A Man from AfterShock is on page 244 and is an OGN about a mixed martial artist outed as gay who has to turn to the guy who killed his fighter father in the ring in order to get another shot.  It could be interesting.

On page 253, also from AfterShock, is the trade of Shoplifters Will Be Liquidated, about a security guard in a big retailer who discovers a society living underneath the outlet. This has recently been re-shelved under “non-fiction.” It sounds fun; I’ll probably get it.

I am intrigued.  Another one for me too.

Albatross Funnybooks has a Fearless Dawn Meets Hellboy one-shot on page 256, and that should be fun as all get-out. It’s drawn by both Steve Mannion and Mike Mignola, and their styles are markedly different, so I’m very curious how it will look.

Oh hell yeah!  I think I’ll probably snag both covers, too, and I try to avoid that sort of thing, but those artists are both so good!

American Mythology does some good stuff, and here on page 260 is Vampire Dad: Beast Blanket Bingo, about a new vampire who’s a psychologist for monsters, and the beach vacation he takes with his family.  The art is by Eric J, who I think was the first Rex Mundi artist, and it’s apparently based on a cult indie film, which I must find out about.  On the same page is American Mythology Monsters, which I guess is an ongoing with new takes on old monsters.  Zorro Masters Don McGregor reprints Lady Rawhide #1 from Topps, on the next page.

Eric J shows up in some weird places. I wonder what he does for a living, because he doesn’t do nearly enough comic art. And if AMP isn’t going to reprint the entire Lady Rawhide book, what’s the point? (I mean, maybe they will, but it’s unclear if they are.)

Amigo has Ice Cold Kills on page 264, a Nordic noir one shot about a woman meeting her online boyfriend just when his criminal past is coming back to get him.  Oops.

It’s too bad, but I just don’t trust Amigo to get their books out on time. Maybe getting bought will help that.

I don’t care as much about “on time” but more on “at all”, yaknowhutimean?

Sadly, you make a good point.

See, I’d like to say that Patriotika from Antarctic Press on page 267 sounds intriguing even though we’ve seen gods and mortals bound together before, but there are a couple of reasons why it might seem like I’m interested in something else.  But it might be good other than those!!!

I saw that and thought it sounded intriguing, but I figured I’d let you, um, handle it. And you did with aplomb!

There’s an Archie Meets Flash Gordon one-shot on page 269 written by Jeff Parker. I mean, sure, why not?

It looks fun, anyway, even if it makes no sense.  On the next page is Betty Cooper Superteen one shot, which also should be fun with Brittney Williams art.  And on page 271 is the trade of the Archie ‘55 mini, where Archie becomes a hip new rock n roll star.  And then on page 272 is a big book for 10 bucks of the best of Archie stuff, and the World of Archie Jumbo Digest reaches issue 100, with a Jughead’s Time Police appearance.  Archie comics are fun stuff!

You said Dead Man’s Run from Aspen was good, right?  The trade is reordered on page 275, so I might snag it now.

Yeah, it’s worth a look. It’s not the best thing in the world, but it’s entertaining.

Muttering to myself as I flip past the Avatar Press books that are supposedly on sale …

Don’t even point at them!

Black Mask is doing more trades (finally collecting a whole bunch of their prior single issue offerings?), and Mayday on page 290 sounds cuckoo, from writer Curt Pires; and Pirouette on 291 sounds weird about a young woman raised by her clown parents in the circus.  I don’t know the creators, but the cover art looks cool.

I’m pretty sure I own Mayday in single issues, and if I’m remembering correctly, it was weird. I don’t think I’ll go into the garage and dig through my back issues to find out, though.

There’s some Moebius books from Book Palace on page 292, if you want more art from the master.

Yeah, I saw those. I’ll have to think about it.

Am I going to want the Tarot Witch of the Black Rose trade v1 20th anniversary edition from Broadsword Comics on page 294? I don’t know!

Of course you do! 120 pages of terrible comics with oodles of nudity? What’s not to love?

I will probably pick up The No. Ones trade on page 295 from Cave Pictures Publishing. A team of superheroes do something horrible, and they’re cursed to be forgotten. Sounds interesting. I’m sure you got this in singles, so I’d ask you how it was, but I’m also sure you’ve been Pelkieing it!

Actually I didn’t get this, but I wanted it, so I’ll probably get this trade.  The artist is the person doing the art on the new Marvels X comic, so I guess we can see why Jim Krueger and Alex Ross and Marvel like the work so much!

The same page has Authorised Happiness from Cinebook, which is an interesting look at what might happen to the world if things get super over regulated.

I’m trying to think if I’ve read anything by Mort Castle, and I’m guessing I have, but on page 296, Clover Press is bringing his Deadly Election novel back into print, because it sounds like it’s a bit prophetic.

Dead Reckoning offers Atlas at War! on page 300, which is a collection of 1950s Marvel war comics by such people as Heath, Severin, Krigstein, Maneely, Robinson, Ditko, and Kirby. You know, standard hacks. Why Marvel isn’t publishing this is beyond me, but despite its hefty price tag, I’m snapping this up.

Yeah, I’m going to have this high on my list.  Marvel makes weird publishing decisions, man.

Full Moon Features has Deadly Ten Presents: Grim Rapper on page 316.  Grim.  Rapper.

You’re not the only one who can engage in clever wordplay, you know!

On the same page is the 50th Overstreet Price Guide, and were this the ‘90s, I might be drooling over that Spawn/Spidey cover by McFarlane.  Wizard always was drooling over that idea in the ‘90s, for some reason.

If I get around to watching Parasite on Hulu, I might want to get Grand Central Publishing’s GN in storyboards of the movie that Bong Joon Ho did in preparation for the movie, on page 318.

I like what I’ve read of Hero Tomorrow’s Apama book, so I will eventually get the trade of Bloom, the first of 4 issues offered on page 322.

This sounds neat, but I didn’t mention it because I figured I’d mention the trade when it shows up.

Barbarella is offered again, now in SC, on page 325 from Humanoids, so maybe I’ll get this.

Insight has a second edition of Bowie: Stardust, Rayguns & Moonage Daydreams HC, with a Previews exclusive cover, I think, and it’s on page 327.  I might pass again, just because it’s 40 bucks, but it IS Bowie and Allred!!!

Mad Cave Studios has Wolvenheart in trade on page 330, about a group led by Van Helsing that protects the space-time continuum, and that gets infiltrated by villains of the past.  It’s 7 issues for $20, and it sounds like fun.

Ugh, I hate when they call people like Elizabeth Bathory a “serial killer,” because she wasn’t. Sure, she was crazy and killed a lot of people, but she wasn’t a serial killer. That’s like calling Genghis Khan a serial killer. Come on, people!

Isn’t it more that she didn’t do a lot of her killing as the ruling authority, but for her own personal gains?  From what I remember in a book about female serial killers that I read (which was illustrated by Dame Darcy), even if the “bathing in virgin’s blood” wasn’t true per se, she was essentially torturing some of her housemaids to death.

I just want to know what their definition of a serial killer is, because it seems like you have to have a broad definition to include her. But that’s just me.

Magnetic has Gunland volume 1 on page 331, a sci-fi western where dinosaurs are ridden instead of horses, and there’s a girl with uncanny skills with revolvers.  It’s volume 1 of 3, I think, based on the ad on the cover fold out.  It looks good.

And on page 332 they have Mr. Invincible, a superhero who uses the conventions of the medium to win.  It looks quite good, actually.

NBM continues the oddest series around with yet another comic about the Louvre, Red Mother With Child on page 334. It’s about a man from Mali who wants to get an old sculpture he saved to the museum. These comics are all quite good, so I’ll be getting this one!

I guess Chris Samnee has been busy, with not only the Fire Power book and series, but Oni has Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters on page 340, about a girl looking for her sister Jonna, who’s become a big monster.  Sounds cute.

Samnee never seemed particularly slow to me, and it’s also possible that one of these books has been delayed, so that could be it. This does sound pretty good.

Oh, I didn’t mean to imply he’s slow.  Actually, other than Die! Die! Die!, we haven’t heard much from him in the past couple years, so apparently he’s been working steadily, just none of the stuff has been ready to come out until now.  And then of course corona stops that …

I hate to break it to you, but Samnee didn’t draw Die! Die! Die! That would be Chris Burnham.

Good stuff on page 347, with the first (of 1, though?) trade of Catalyst Prime: Seven Days, about the Catalyst/Lion Forge superheroes (wait, why is it called a “temporary cover”, the one by Stjepan Sejic?). Shadow Roads, the Sixth Gun … continuation? is onto volume 2, and Heartthrob is up to volume 3 — I liked the first volume but apparently missed volume 2.

Shadow Roads isn’t really a continuation, just a story set in that universe. It’s quite good.

Another couple cool PS Artbooks softee volumes on page 350, with Beware! Terror Tales volume 2, with cool horror comics and The Man From Planet X done by Kurt Schaffenberger, for just 25 bucks, and Weird Tales of the Future volume 1, which has a lot of Basil Wolverton art.

Both sound good, but that first one is really neat.

Rebellion/2000AD is still publishing despite the corona virus, although there are some changes in the release dates.  I would recommend a lot of the stuff on page 352.  Judge Dredd Megazine 42 has the conclusion of the Vigilant storyline as well as the bagged trade featuring stories of the original characters.  The 2000AD Summer Sci-Fi Special 2020 has some new stories and good old stuff.  Also, Strontium Dog, one of the great characters of 2000AD is reprinted in a new HC.  Cool stuff!

Red 5 Comics has Queen of Cosmos Comix by Barbara “Willy” Mendes, with new stuff and reprints of her ‘70s underground stuff, which is neato, and on page 353.

On the same page is Bering Strait, a GN from Robots and Monkeys, set in the Ice Age and told from the POV of a Neanderthal tribe, which is an intriguing storyline.

Page 354 and 355 feature a bunch of cool Scout Comics stuff.  It Eats What Feeds It is described as a grimy horror romp, and if the interior art is as good as the cover, this story of a woman needing a caretaker at her Louisiana bayou mansion should be good.  Kyrra: Alien Jungle Girl is collected in trade, and as I remember, it started in DHP then came to Scout for at least an issue, and overall was neat looking because of the Craig Rousseau art, but I don’t remember if the story was all that great.  It’s another take on Tarzan, essentially.  I can’t remember if I got Metalshark Bro, and I certainly didn’t read it yet, but MSB2: Assault on Hamzig Island is available.  Murder Hobo: Beaten, Broken, & Buggered sounds odd, about an adventure land where well-intentioned adventurers rescue murder hobos.  It sounds like it will either be awesome or stupid.  And Yasmeen sounds like it’s going to be quite good as well, with a young woman who was captured by terrorists in Iraq and enslaved gets reunited with her family in the US 2 years later, and the family doesn’t see the depression she’s in.  This sounds a lot more serious than a lot of Scout books, so hopefully it’s done well.  I may get the singles to find out.

I’m not in love with The Great Gatsby as much as some people are, but on page 356 Scribner has an adaptation with illustrations by Aya Morton, who’s quite good, so I might pick this up.

Would people love Gatsby as much if it weren’t for that amazing imagery at the end?  I can almost quote it directly from memory, but I won’t try.

Secret Acres has an interesting one on the same page with The Marchenoir Library, a collection of “covers” from an imaginary comics series about a singer/songwriter working as a superheroine to pay off debts.  It’s a bit speedy for something like this where I don’t know the artist and the concept is a little too precious, but it’s intriguing enough that I’ll consider it.

On pages 357 and 358 are Source Point Press books, and they have a good selection of stuff.  Backfired sounds interesting, about a dude that has to pitch his superhero comic to a movie studio, except maybe he hasn’t actually done enough work on it yet? (When would that stop Hollywood?!)  The Boston Metaphysical Society comes out in trade, and it’s an alternate late 19th century steampunk world, where supernatural forces must be battled.  Sounded interesting.  Hollow is a four issue series reimagining Ichabod Crane as a warlock and the story as fitting in the Cthulhu mythos.  The cover looks neat.  No Heroine is from the writer of Dead End Kids, which I think I got in trade but of course haven’t read yet.  It’s about a ‘90s punk chick trying to find the friend that will keep her sober, but he’s held by “heroine-dealing vampires”, and I’m not sure if it’s cooler if that’s a typo or not.  And The Seance Room has stories of ghosts, not unlike the Vertigo House of Secrets series (man, that was good stuff!  Where is Teddy Kristiansen now?).

On page 360 from Th3rd World Studios is The Superfogeys, about a nursing home for the super powered set.  Could be fun.

TwoMorrows has another good one with Comic Book Creator 24 (page 369).  It spotlights Tim Truman, Scott Shaw!, and features Patrick McDonnell talking about comic book pastiches in his strip Mutts.

Viz Media has what sounds like a good one with Spy x Family on page 411, where a spy has to pretend he’s married to an assassin and they’re raising a young telepath daughter.  Sounds fun!

I kind of like the retro Marvel black light posters calendar on page 438, even though, as the late great Mitch Hedberg put it, a black light would just show that “the mustard stain didn’t come out”.

Dang, that’s keen. I need a calendar, so I might pick this up!

On the flip side are some fun toys. Like the corona ready Psylocke on M28!  No, wait, that’s some Mortal Kombat lady. Still, her face mask is stylin’!

Don’t tease me about a Psylocke statue. I already have Rogue, Dazzler, and Jubilee, and Psylocke would complete my quartet of awesome X-Ladies!

On M49 are some fun looking Back to the Future toys, although I think Playmobil is for real little kids. But the wheels turn up so it flies!!!

Don’t you dis Playmobil, sir! If Will Farrell can play with Legos, why can’t we all play with Playmobil?

Man, them Squirrel Girl and Cosmic Ghost Rider toys on M53 look really neat with the vehicles. It’s a good thing I’m a grown up and won’t get these …

I will show that I didn’t see Gremlins by asking why there is a Flasher one on M54 if they’re all nekkid anyway. Also, interesting thing that occurred to me is that Trump was in the second one of these as well as the second Home Alone, so the guy just glommed onto already popular stuff. What a dork.

If we were guaranteed Bob’s Burgers figures, the gf and I might want the Fox figures on M55. But there’s no guarantee!

Zoinks! M55 has more Playmobil stuff with the Scooby gang and the Mystery Machine. Cool.

Whoa, those Beavis and Butt-Head figures on M57 kick ass!  I want Cornholio!!!

On page M66, Edgar Allan Poe is … the Punisher!!!

I bet someone will turn the Willie Nelson Funko POP on M67 into a bong.

Well, that’s a terrible bet, because I’m sure someone already has!

Oh, there’s a Trivial Pursuit Bob’s Burgers edition on M113, so my lady and I might be getting that.

And … that’s all she wrote. This is later than usual, but retailers have some extra time to order, so if you’re feeling confident about stuff coming out, there’s still time to do so! Have a nice day, everyone, and stay safe!