It’s the end of the year, so be sure to look through Previews #339 for Christmas presents … except for the fact that these comics come out in February! Suckers!

As per usual, Greg is in darkest black, while Travis is in cheery blue. They match our dispositions! Direct your ire accordingly!
Direct it at me, since I’m the reason it took so long for this to post! Sorry! And any Amazon links in blue are mine, too! Feel free to not use them if you’re mad at me, folks!
The Visitor: How and Why He Stayed (page 36) is about a witness to Hellboy’s arrival. It will probably be good (incredibly, pretty much every comic ever published dealing with the Hellboy “universe” is good), but it’s notable because Paul Grist is drawing it. Paul Grist is awesome.
Seconded! But let’s not short Gary Gianni, drawing Hellboy: Into the Silent Sea (on page 40), who is also an amazing artist of a different style.
Yeah, Gianni is quite good, as well.

There’s a new Empowered mini-series on page 46, not drawn by Adam Warren. I read one volume of Empowered and didn’t like it, but it’s nice that Warren has kept it going for 10 years. Good on him!
There’s a neat interview with Adam Warren on the flipside of Previews about Empowered. The only thing is that with 10 years of stuff to catch up on, I don’t know if I want to start on this! Especially because in the relists, they don’t have everything! It does look fun, though!
A bit disconcerting (even, dare I say, portentous?) that the DHP 31 description is about almost all the serials ending. But I guess a couple others are continuing, so this shouldn’t be the end. (page 50)
Resident Alien volume 4 is offered on page 51. These aren’t great books, I don’t think, but they’re just damned entertaining comics.
I’m behind, of course, but I thought everything I’ve read of it has been excellent. So nyah!
Soupy Leaves Home on page 52 is about Depression era hobos, so I’m in! Seriously, I like what I’ve read from Cecil Castellucci, so I’m quite interested in this. Although I’m not sure about that art style from Jose Pimienta.
It’s a “coming-of-age” story, so my eyes glazed over, but I’ll have to think about it.

World of Tanks, the Ennis/Ezquerra collaboration based on a video game, is collected on page 56. Perhaps Simon will let us know if there were reviews of the issues of this. Weren’t we just talking about Ennis war comics?
I might get this, but I’m kind of offended that it’s based on a video game. Yes, I’m weird.
But Alan Moore’s PONG is one of the most highly regarded GNs ever, man! Heh.
Twenty dollars is steep to pay for a 64-page comic, but it’s Milo Manara’s latest, Caravaggio: The Palette and the Sword, and I’m very tempted. SO TEMPTED!!!!
Dude has the ability to induce orgasms in women just by holding them. Gotta respect him for that! (page 62)
Lotta relists this month on pages 66-67. I may have to get Buzzkill or Power Cubed, or catch up on Mister X, Mind MGMT, or Nexus!
Oh, like I’m not going to buy The Wild Storm on page 71! I don’t know if Ellis “curating” the new WildStorm will be any better than when he “curated” the lesser-selling Marvel mutant books back in the day, but I’m still checking it out!
Ah, damn you, DC, making me intrigued by The Wild Storm! You’ll just burn me again at some point, won’t you? Warren Ellis must be making boatloads on this, I hope. Looks like he can just refigure some Injection scripts for this, though…/snark!

Lobo is in the Justice League (page 72). Yep. This has the stench of “JLD” all over it.
Remember how well it goes over EVERY TIME the Justice League starts spinning off into several different books? Oh, that’s right, NOT WELL!!! I wish Steve Orlando luck, he’s a nice dude, but this book just looks like it’s going to be terrible. This must be why the Batman and the Outsiders stuff is being reprinted, too.
I seem to be good at getting the first/zero issues of Batwoman, so I probably should get the Batwoman Rebirth issue on page 74 just to keep my streak going 😉
Somehow, I don’t mind Batman having a son in Damian, but Superman’s son is just friggin’ creepy! I DON’T KNOW WHY! (Super Sons 1 on page 75)
That’s because Superman is the representation of all that is good in people, and good people, as we know, don’t have sex. It’s just wrong!
I must be a saint!
All Star Batman 7 on page 77 has Tula Lotay on Poison Ivy. Enticing!
Yeah, I saw that. Good for Lotay! She’s a very good artist, and she seems nice.
Have you met her, or is that just based on social media interactions?
I met her a few years ago at San Diego, when Supreme Blue Rose just came out. I didn’t get to talk to her too much, but she was very friendly. I know, it’s a con, so it pays to be friendly, but it’s not always the case!
Oh shit, is that Captain Carrot on the cover of Superman 16? WTF? (page 99)
Sure, why not? As long as it’s not the Rabbit of Caerbannog, I think we’re good.

Bilquis Evely draws Wonder Woman #16 (page 104). Good for her! I told everyone when I first saw her work on Doc Savage that DC or Marvel would snap her up, and now she’s drawing Wonder Woman!
I saw her stuff on Shaft, and damn, that’s a great WW cover!

Tommy Lee Edwards managed to draw three issues of Mother Panic before needing a guest artist, so there’s that (page 107). Shawn Crystal isn’t as good as Edwards, but he’s not a bad replacement, so we’ll see what’s what with Edwards next month, I suppose.
Oh, you! I don’t care, I’m trade waiting all the Young Animal books. Hey, did you still need/want the YA ashcan? My shop still has a bunch. Merry friggin’ Christmas!
Nah, I’m good. Thanks, though!
Well, Earth 2 Society ends with issue 21 on page 111, and the JSA Golden Age collection is reoffered on page 128 (at a higher price, I believe), so next month, DC must be bringing the regular Justice Society of America back, right?
That Chaykin Flintstones cover on page 118 makes me feel funny.
It’s pretty funny, though.

Scooby Doo Team Up 23 (page 120) with Quick Draw McGraw and El Kabong! This series makes me so happy!
I’m not certain, but I wonder if the Paul Morrissey writing a story for Teen Titans Go! 20 (page 121) is the comedian who grew up in my area. I can’t find it on his website!
Did you get anything beyond the first issue of the new Batgirl? I’ll probably get this new trade on page 122, but I’m not certain.
I only got the first issue. It was okay, but I haven’t seen much about it since. I will probably try the trade, though.
I’ve been hearing that Priest’s run on Deathstroke is quite good, so I’m tempted by the new trade of that on page 123. Maybe!
Batman EGO and other Tails deluxe HC on page 126 — well, they almost let a whole year pass before exploiting Darwyn Cooke’s death!
Hasn’t this Batman by BKV book on page 126 been out before? I swear I’ve read it from the library! (I don’t REMEMBER it at all, but I thought I read it!) I thought it had a Kurt Busiek intro.
Beats me. It’s not terribly familiar to me, but that was when I wasn’t reading a lot of Batman comics.
As 25 bucks is a bit pricey, I’ll wait and see if the trade of Batman ’66 Meets Steed and Mrs. Peel is cheaper. Or ever even comes out. (page 126)
Batman and Superman in World’s Finest Silver Age TP 1 on page 127 — yes, please. Such a cool sounding collection!
Curt Swan AND Dick Sprang?!?!?!? I don’t know if I can handle that much bland art!
The Vigilante by Marv Wolfman volume 1 shows up on page 128. Isn’t Vigilante showing up on a television show, which is why suddenly we have Vigilante comics? That’s usually the only reason DC would bother reprinting something like this. It couldn’t be because the comics are, you know, any good. (Note: I have no idea if these old comics are any good.)
I have some early issues, and it was interesting. I think he’s on/going to be on Arrow. I do like the 2 parter that Alan Moore and Jim Baikie did in #17 and 18, so I wonder if they’ll include those issues if they reprint this series further.
Naturally, those are the only two issues of Vigilante that I own!
Wonder Woman and the JLofA TP 1 on page 130 — there’s a reason these stories were never collected before, isn’t there? OH SNAP!
Also on page 130 is a collection of Zatanna by Paul Dini. I think we all know how I feel about the character now, so you know I’m interested, but I think I have most of the stuff in this book. However, that Everyday Magic is the Vertigo oneshot, and I think that one is hard to find. Decisions!
On page 131, both The Flintstones and Wacky Raceland are offered in trade. I can’t stress enough how good these comics are. I haven’t read the final issue of Wacky Raceland yet (it came out this week), but they’re both almost unbelievably good, given the source material. Check these out, pronto!
Oh hell yeah, first volume of Flintstones is being ordered! And I have to get the Wacky Raceland trade, don’t I? DON’T I???!!!
OK, the second trade of Lucifer is titled “Father Lucifer”, also the title of a song on my favorite album ever, the recently reissued Boys For Pele from Tori Amos. So I’m reminded I have to pick that up. I may even pick up this comic!
DC still has rights to Mr. Punch? And wouldn’t the 20th Anniversary have been … several years ago? (page 140)
Well, maybe Gaiman and McKean have the rights but they’re letting DC still publish it. Beats me. And yes, I would think this might be closer to 25 years? Maybe it’s a typo?
I meant that DC still has the rights to publish it. It appears that Dark Horse has a lot of the Gaiman comics these days, so that was more what I was referring to. As for the year thing, I think it’s a “we’re too lazy to update things from the 20th anniversary HC we did a few years back”. I think they did a similar thing with the Kirby Fourth World omnibi — they didn’t change the jacket text on the SC version, so it was still saying it was a HC. HA!
Ah, I see what you mean about the rights. Yeah, I don’t know when DC got them.
Okay, I’m not a fan of Wonder Woman’s tattoos, but that statue of her leaning against the motorcycle on page 141 is hella awesome.
That is pretty good.

Cosmic Scoundrels is a mini on page 146 from Andy Suriano, who’s done some fun comics, like (that one with Joe Casey). I’ll probably get the trade. (Also, that one with Joe Casey is Charlatan Ball, fwiw.)
Darkness Visible is a new series on page 147 from Mike Carey. Demons co-exist with humanity, and a dude gets possessed as part of the terrorist conflict between the races. Could be interesting. I liked what I read of Suicide Risk.
I just got the trade of Rowan’s Ruin, so if I like that, I’ll think about the trade of this. No pressure, Carey!
Update: Yeah, Rowan’s Ruin was okay, but it didn’t change my opinion of Carey as a mildly talented writer who always takes the most obvious path to where he wants to go. Nice art by Mike Perkins, though.
Cool, a 15th anniversary trade of the first 3 volumes of 30 Days of Night on page 148. I’m interested, although I think I have at least part of this.
Yeah, IDW really milks that franchise well.
Animal Noir (page 149) is a comic with anthropomorphic characters and weird adult movies in that culture. Strange sounding, and depending on the art, I’ll consider it. If it’s like this cover art, I’m not sure. I can’t read that statue’s writing!
There’s … um … preview art on the page, you know, underneath the cover.
OK, I may have cut and pasted from what I had written before the catalog was in print. Nevertheless, I am still up in the air on this!

Starstruck: Old Soldiers Never Die is on page 150. It’s “quasi-new,” in that it appears Michael Kaluta added quite a bit to it and it’s been recolored. I wonder when it first came out. Anyway, Starstruck is neat, and Kaluta’s art is amazing, so I’m getting this.
I got the Treasury edition and it looked great, of course, but I didn’t get the story at all, from what I recall. Kaluta made an appearance at a local hotel one time in the last few years. Dunno why!
The story is a bit wonky, I’ll agree.
I may search out the singles for cheap of Jackboot and Ironheel, as it sounded like an interesting WWII/horror story, and the art is neat, but that trade on page 152 is more than I want to pay.
Yakuza Demon Killers 4 on page 152 is apparently the conclusion. The Previews website kept referring to it as a 6 issue mini. I should have known better!
Weird. I think it’s always been offered as four issues in the catalog. The first issue was really frickin’ cool, I must say.
Based on this art on page 152 from the Box Office Poison color issue 2, Alex Robinson is updating some things, with e-books and Amazon and Hannity references. Damn you Robinson! Trying to get me to buy this again!!!
There’s a hardcover of William Gibson’s Archangel on page 153. I’m going to wait for a softcover (if it ever comes out), because 25 bucks feels a bit dear for this.
Me too! I wonder what Michael St. John Smith did, as the cover art shown credits him, but the solicit text doesn’t.
Hey, aren’t you a fan of Jess Fink and Chester 5000? Top Shelf has a new volume on page 155. Victorian steampunk porn, yay!
I AM! How did you remember? Damn, that was a sexy book. I am buying this!!! One handed action!

Highlander: The American Dream shows up on page 156. This is a series about Connor MacLeod wandering the States well before 1986, when the first movie came out, so the possibilities are endless. I’m not sure if I’m interested in this (despite liking the first and even the third movie – the second is one of the worst movies ever made), but Andrea Mutti is drawing it, so it will look neat!
All I know is the Queen song (“Flash! Ah-ah!”), but yeah, this sounds good for fans.
The MASK Annual apparently adapts the pilot episode of the TV show. Which presumably was adapted as a mini comic, which is where I remember this storyline from.
I was kind of interested in the Revolution stuff, so I will be considering the stuff on page 158, but I think the Aw Yeah! version on page 159 will be even better. It will definitely be cuter!
TMNT Project 100 on page 166 is one I’ll probably get, as the money will go to the Hero Initiative and it’ll have a bunch of neat artists.
X-Files Origins trade on page 169 was something I was vaguely interested in for the artists, I think. I like the X-Files concept, although I didn’t really watch the show. I’m so weird!
I think Brian just recently featured something about the Gold Key Star Trek books at the old place, showing how off model those books were. I’m kind of interested in this 100 page spectacular on page 170.
In this month’s “Kelly writes all the comics”, page 172 features Jem and the Holograms 24, which has Gisele Lagace on art now. The Misfits 3 has a Sophie Campbell retailer incentive cover that I hope I can get, and is apparently co-written by Sophie!
Man, Fiction House: From Pulps to Panels (page 177) sounds neat. It’s a history of the publisher with tons of stories and whatnot. It’s 50 bucks, but it’s also 300 pages long and is probably worth every penny just for the Matt Baker art (even if that’s only a few pages!).
Also George Tuska, Lou Fine, and Lily Renee! That’s one company I’ve heard about but haven’t read much of.

I’m probably going for the Vintage Romance Comics Covers Coloring Book on page 177. I got the Haunted Horror one just to look at the cover art in B&W (and now I need to look at it!). Should be fun.
Odd, the Corto Maltese In Siberia book on page 178 features a crossover with the Red Lanterns, if I’m reading the solicit correctly….
Bwah. Ha. Ha.
I already own The Rocketeer (in reprint form), so I’m not sure if I want to get the “Artisan Edition” on page 182, even though it’s cheaper than IDW’s Artist’s Edition (this is only 40 dollars), and the one I own – the Wally Wood one – is sweet. I’m very tempted by this.
Yeah, I’d say if you’re going to get one, a Dave Stevens one would be the one. I don’t own all the Rocketeer stuff, but it’s all (?) reoffered on this page too. I want the movie, but the DVD is 10 bucks at the local big box store! I’ll have to check my own Amazon link here!
I’m not that interested in Greg Rucka’s The Old Guard (page 188) – I might wait for the trade – but the fact that Leandro Fernández is drawing it makes me think that Peter Milligan’s The Discipline is toast. Too bad. It wasn’t great, but it was interesting, and it had a lot of potential. I guess we’ll see.
It sounds ok, but I’ll wait for the trade too. It’s not like I read The Discipline yet, so I can’t say if I’m sad or not!
Black History In Its Own Words is a HC by Ronald Wimberley on page 190 with illustrated quotes from black entertainers, as it appears they are the only ones who had anything to do with black history, from the solicit text. And black history only started in the last 20 or so years…. Fortunately the previews of the book make it look a bit weightier.
I may go for the 3 Skybound books on pages 192-193, since they’re all a quarter each. I can’t resist cheap comics! Even lameass Walking Dead! HA!
Interesting, Sun Bakery by Corey Lewis has been picked up by Image here on page 194. I think it was originally offered from Alternative, and I was interested, but was waiting on a trade. Not sure if those ones came out, though! Maybe I’ll get these in singles!
Gabriel Hardman does a horror one shot story, The Belfry, on page 196, about a crashed airplane and the people who survive, and how they may have been better off dead. I like his stuff on Kinski and Invisible Republic, so I may go for this, since it is a one shot, and the preview looks neat!

Ken Garing’s Planetoid was pretty good, and now he’s back with Planetoid Praxis, the sequel. I will wait for a trade, as that’s how I read Planetoid!
I read issue 1 and thought it was neat. I may get the trade offered here on page 198, and trade wait the rest!
Just a note, I saw that Frontier from Jonathan Hickman has been delayed until at least the spring, so ignore that #4 offered on page 209!
I noticed that issue #4 was being solicited when issue #1 hadn’t come out yet, so it was already late even before the first issue shipped, so it’s probably for the best. Annoying, but probably for the best.
Looks like The Wicked and the Divine has finally succumbed, and is now 3.99 cover price with issue 26 on page 222. And so goes the 3.50 price point, I think!
Arclight is collected on page 224. I was mildly interested as I liked Brandon Graham’s take on Prophet, so I may go for this.
Yeah, I love Marian Churchland’s art, and I got the first issue of this, but it was pretty boring. Maybe I’ll indulge in the trade in the hopes that it gets better.
Eclipse, on page 225, was about sunshine bright and hot enough to kill, which made it one of the books coming out recently with death by weather/climate. I may get this trade, as it’s one of those 10 dollar Image first trades, even though it’s just 4 issues.
I liked Harvest from the same illustrator, so I’ll probably pick up The Hunt trade on page 226, which has Celtic mythological horror stuff going on.
Lake of Fire gets a trade on page 227. Much to Simon’s chagrin, the final issue hasn’t shipped yet, but the first four issues are pretty keen. Yes, it’s aliens fighting in an old culture that doesn’t even have a name for aliens, which we’ve seen before, but it’s still pretty keen!
Matt Smith’s Barbarian Lord is great, so I’m totally getting this. Plus the story sounded neat. An adaptation of that Meat Puppets song that Nirvana covered? I’m in!
Hey, on page 228 is Pix: One Weirdest Weekend, which was out from some other publisher before, and I was mildly interested. I might actually get it this time! The title is still awkward, though!

Seven To Eternity, the new Remender/Opeña trade is offered on page 229, another 10 dollar Image book, another with only 4 issues. Sigh. The new normal, it seems! I was mildly interested in this mystic band trying to fight a god, so I might go for this.
On the other hand, I’ll definitely go for the first trade of Snotgirl on page 230. Art looks neat, story preview pages I’ve seen were interesting, so I’m in, especially since this is a 5 issue 10 dollar trade!
For some reason, there’s a hardcover Sunstone volume that does NOT collect the entire series, just volumes 1-3 (of five). I still haven’t gotten volume 5 yet (I don’t know if it hasn’t come out or if Diamond screwed over my retailer), but I’ve read the first two volumes, and they’re very fun. A nice romance with a lot of humor punctuated by many, many explicit scenes of BDSM. Who wouldn’t love that?
Odd way of collecting it. I know it’s planned to eventually come back, but this means the HC 2 will be volumes 4, 5 and the second go round v1, most likely. I don’t think v5 is out yet, as I have it on order and don’t recall having gotten it yet. It’s reoffered here on page 231 if needed, though. I like what I’ve read of it, but this is really kind of a book where you need a hand free, so a hardcover might be a little awkward to look through.
Yes, I just made a masturbation reference.
Well done! And thanks for explaining it – I think you were a bit too subtle.
Sex.
If you missed any of Velvet, there’s a nice 15-issue hardcover on page 232 for 50 bucks. It’s not exactly over yet (Brubaker claims he’ll return!), but these issues do form a nice arc. Plus, Steve Epting’s art is gorgeous.
Well duh. I do have the 3 trades, but I’ve only read the first. Really nice stuff, though!
Two neat ones on page 233, the latest arc of The Fuse (which I haven’t read, but the previous stuff has been fun) and the concluding volume of Meredith McClaren’s Hinges, which means I better order the 3 of those volumes now!
Nameless gets a trade (instead of the hardcover) on page 235. This is a beautiful book, and Morrison is on point, so it’s weird without being opaque. Cool stuff.
Yeah, it was really neat stuff, although I think I haven’t read the last issue yet. WTF is wrong with me?
And we should also point out our pal Sonia Harris does the covers and design of the Sex trades on page 235 as well. Hi Sonia! Haven’t said hi to her in ages.
Huh, Ghost Rider 4 on page 61 has the new iterations of the New Fantastic Four. Neato.

Damn, it’s the 20th anniversary of Thunderbolts? Oy! There’s a Busiek/Bagley story here in issue 10, too. (page 63)
Long haired Arcade, in Gwenpool 12? I dunno. Maybe it works. (page 69)
No. No, it doesn’t.
Wow, Kelly’s trying to write all the comics in one, isn’t that the Court of Owls after Hawkeye in issue 3 on page 70?
That would be funny if she’s just trolling Snyder. I doubt it, though – those masks are pretty common!

Stokoe variant cover on Nova 3 on page 77!
Is there a Wolverine movie or something coming out? (pages 90-91, 126-127)
Spider-Man’s Tangled Web gets a complete Omnibus on page 104. It’s $100, which is a lot, but that’s the complete series (22 issues, which, if you bought them all, is, yes, less than $100), and while I’ve only bought a few, the ones I own are excellent. The talent that Marvel assembled is impressive, and this is one of those weird but excellent series that Bill Jemas can probably take credit for. Bill Jemas: Apparently no one in Marvel Corporate liked him, but dang, Marvel comics under him were awesome.
Too bad that Double Take stuff was shitty looking interiors. Yeah, I own a number of these issues, and it’s a great bunch of creators. I know the Flowers for Rhino one by Milligan and Fegredo is beloved. I’ll wait to get it when Marvel inevitably has a big sale on their Omnibi and it’ll be much cheaper.
Spider-Man by David Michelinie and Erik Larsen (which are not all written by Michelinie nor drawn by Larsen) shows up on page 105 for $100. These aren’t great comics, but they’re classics compared to the ones that came right after them, the Mark Bagley era, which was awful. This collects a crapload of comics, including the ugly issue #287 (seriously, it’s not good) for no reason other than it was drawn by Larsen (it’s part of the five-part “Gang War,” so it will be completely out of context here). But they’re kind of fun comics, so you could do worse than drop a Franklin on this.
The Spider-Man 18 issue…well, I may be writing about that one at the end of the month. I’ll leave everyone in suspense!
Rob Liefeld, Chris Sims, and Chad Bowers are teaming up on a Deadpool original graphic novel (page 106). That has to be a sign of the Apocalypse, right?
Deadpool Too Soon? gets collected on page 113, and it sounded like an amusing look at some of Marvel’s more comedic characters.
On page 122, Cloak and Dagger: Lost and Found is offered. This collected the 1980s series and it chockers full of great artists … and Terry Shoemaker. It’s 35 bucks, but I might pick it up.
Night Raven: From the Marvel UK Vaults is on page 124. I’ve always heard good things about Night Raven, especially from the dude who works at my store, as he grew up in England. This has Steve Parkhouse, Alan Moore, David Lloyd, John Bolton, and others, so I’m sure it’s a cool comic!
I’m so in for this!!! I even liked the “follow up” mini called Nocturne that Dan Abnett wrote in the ’90s (if I’m recalling the details correctly!). Cool stuff.

Man, there are a lot of X-related trades on pages 125-131. Epic Collections of X-Factor, X-Force, Excalibur, and New Mutants are all tempting. Ok, not the X-Force one so much…
Let’s move on to the back of the book!
Cerebus in Hell? 2 is offered from Aardvark-Vanaheim on page 249, as are the Archive portfolios 3 and 4, in case you missed the Kickstarters and want some neat pages from Church and State.
Action Lab offers a variant cover from Henchgirl’s Kristen Gudsnuk on Voracious: Feeding Time 3 on page 251. She’s got a mailing list that you can join, if you’re interested!
Also from Action Lab on page 252 is the second issue of Cougar and Cub from our pal Nick Marino. If I haven’t posted it by the time this goes up, I’ll soon be looking at a preview of the first issue that Nick so kindly offered me!
I know we’re being wary of AfterShock‘s pricing, but they have another trade on page 259 that looks interesting. Second Sight is by David Hine and Alberto Ponticelli, and it sounds like the creepy kind of horror that Hine is very good at. Will it be $17.99, or will Aftershock raise the price? One can only tremble with anticipation!
I hope/suspect that they’ve worked out the kinks in their pricing, so I will probably get this, as I am in a forgiving mood come the holiday season. Plus, this was one I wanted, so yeah, I’ll consider this. However, it’s one that will be more likely to be cut earlier on. I’m not that forgiving!
Hey, cool, American Mythology has the return of Buzzboy with a Pokémon parody, Digital Monster Mayhem, on page 264. I’ve gotten a couple issues of Buzzboy before, and they were fun retro superhero sidekick adventures. Glad it’s back!
Also from American Mythology is Bedtime Stories for Impressionable Children, which besides having a great title, also features a story from Jim Shooter. He am tall. There’s a variant cover from Mark Wheatley on this too, so I’m intrigued, particularly since it’s called the “you axed for it” cover.

Amigo. I loves ya, but you seem to solicit too many books or something. Unleash 3 and the third Rogues! trade, Hearts and Tombs, are both resolicited. That Rogues! trade is one I’ve been waiting on for ages! I still loves ya, though, so I’ll probably order the Cabinet of Doctor Caligari book by Diego Olmos, which is based on the movie, and the Ertito Montana book Street Tiger, a vigilante book (page 266).
Kid Beowulf volume 2: The Song of Roland is on page 267 from AMP! Comics for Kids. Volume 1 was quite pleasant, so I expect this one to be, as well!
I haven’t read it yet (shocker, I know!), but like I said, Alexis went to the same high school I did, just a few years ahead of me, and I’ve seen his stuff before. I have some of the early versions of Kid Beowulf, even! I’m definitely in for this!
Antarctic has on 269 Cadmus, a one shot (maybe!) adaptation of the Greek myth (I guess. I don’t know this one!) with some nice looking cover art here by Samantha Beck. I’m intrigued.
It says right in the solicit that it’s a “retelling” of the myth. Learn to read, Pelkie!
Archie has an 80 page Josie and the Pussycats comic on page 274, which I am in for. Unless they cancel it like they apparently did to the Reggie reprint one they were going to do!
Atria has Explorers Guild volume 1, Passage to Shambhala on page 276. Three things: 1. Kevin Costner? 2. 770 pages? Damn, that’s big! 3. Despite 1 and 2, it does sound kinda neat.
I saw the Kevin Costner thing on this (he’s credited as co-writer) and did a double-take, too. Very weird.
Do I fold and go for the Aspen Universe Revelations trade on page 279? I have an unholy affinity for Aspen stuff!
You must resist, sinner!
OK, WTF Avatar? What is this “final printing” of Providence Act 1 HC on page 282? Does this mean the version I got will be less collectible? Or are you just trying to get rid of copies that you couldn’t sell before?
This seems really dumb. Of course they’re going to reprint it at some point if there’s enough demand. Unless Avatar hates money, which is possible.
Speaking of Avatar, they reprinted a chapter of a serial in Cinema Purgatorio twice, in issues #6 and 7. They’re not going to reprint issue #7 with the corrected chapter, which is fair enough, but apparently issue #8 will simply skip the seventh part and go straight to the eighth. So I guess trade-readers will get the entire story, but what about serial readers? WHAT ABOUT US?!?!?!?
Big Planet/Retrofit has Lovers in the Garden by Anya Davidson on page 288, about 1975 NYC, heroin, ‘Nam vets, and cops and reporters all caught up in shenanigans, with a garish day-glo sheen. Sounds interesting!
Black Mask has Quantum Teens Are Go on page 290, which is about punk teens who are building a time machine. Like you do. The preview art on page 291 looks neat, so I might pick this up.
Just the name alone is convincing me to look into this further. I may go for the singles, as Black Mask seems to be slow on getting trades out. The Disciples just came out in the last couple weeks, and that was from awhile back! And on page 289, they offer a trade of Clandestino, about a revolutionary up against a military coup. I was sort of interested, so I may go for this, especially since it’s 10 bucks.
Boom! has another DC crossover with Planet of the Apes/Green Lantern on page 294. But wha-?! How do that work, when the Planet of the Apes is EARTH!!! (um, spoilers) Those variant covers are friggin’ awesome, though. I may go for a trade of this.

I did not know that Dark Crystal was entirely puppets. I was very small when we saw it at a drive-in theater (double bill with ET, maybe?). I do have a DVD with that, Labyrinth, and Mirrormask, so I’ll have to watch them (and pontificate here about them!) eventually. Anyway, here on page 297 is Power of the Dark Crystal, an official sequel to the movie in comics form.
Wait, you didn’t know that? Isn’t that something all geeks know? Come on, man!
I’m intrigued by Death Be Damned on page 298, by Bens Acker and Blacker and art by Hannah Christenson (wasn’t that Anakin in the Star Wars prequels?). A woman can’t die until she gets revenge, but every time she’s “killed” she loses some memories. A possibility!
Kelly is forcing me to buy a trade of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Pink, on page 300. Forcing!
Jeez, it took forever, but the second trade of We(l)come Back is finally offered on page 301. Yargh, it’s 20 bucks for 4 issues. Luckily the first trade was just 10 bucks, so it kinda evens out. Also, the first trade was quite good. Despite not having the Sweathogs in it! (That joke brought to you by your grandparents!)
Boom! is really, really slow with their trades. What do you care – you don’t read them anyway!!!!!
It’s great that Boom! sold 400,000 copies of Big Trouble in Little China/Escape From New York (issue #5 is on page 305), but a good deal of that came from Loot Crate, so I’m not sure if that’s really fair. Good for them, though!
I am shocked, SHOCKED, that companies might massage their numbers in this way! SHOCKED!!!
I will be disappointed if issue 4 of Mega Princess, on page 307, which features the gang in prison stripes, does not have some sort of “pony in zebra stripes” joke/comment. Don’t let me down, Kelly!
I always feel so dirty (well, dirtier than normal) when I look at the Boundless solicits. The “stunning” cover for Hellina: Scythe 1 on page 309 is so dirty!
Here’s a good way to not feel that way: Don’t look at them!
Not sure if that Deadworld Chronicles book from Caliber on page 315 is new stories, but I always liked what I read of that world. There is also a coloring book on the same page. Where are all my red crayons?!
I can’t believe these are new. I didn’t think Caliber did new stuff anymore.
Capstone Publishing has Gods and Thunder, a GN of Norse myths, with work by Louise Simonson in it (page 315). A Simonson telling Norse myths? It can’t work!
Creative Mind Energy has a new imprint on page 319, Vault Comics, with Fissure and Heathen as the first books out from them. This is the third company to solicit Heathen in the last year or so. Perhaps if I order it this time, it will actually come out? The preview I saw at Bleeding Cool was pretty neat looking.
I saw that. Poor Heathen, it just wants to get published!
John Carter: The End? I thought the Disney movie would have been that for that property! HA! (Dynamite, page 323)
Paul Cornell and Jimmy Broxton are doing Vampirella for Dynamite (page 327), beginning with a 25¢-zero issue. They did a decent job on Knight and Squire, so this might be good.
Oh, I loved Knight and Squire. Good to see them back together. I’ll buy that for a quarter!
I really, really, REALLY hope that the price on The Shadow: The Death of Margo Lane Limited Edition HC (Diamond Exclusive Hardcover) is a typo (page 329), because even with all those adjectives attached to it, there’s no way it’s $199.99. Is there? Is Dynamite that crazy?
Sweet fuck what? It’s not even like they’re saying that he’s signing the thing, which would be one thing. For that price, he better be blowing you too! (Um…well…I did meet him and he was nice enough, but actually…no.) That evil lady in the background loves Bugles, too, I see!
It’s the same price as the singles, so I will probably get the Shaft: Imitation of Life trade on page 337. I loved the first mini from Walker and Evely, so I expect more goodness here!
Lots of Vampirella Master Series books re-offered on page 339, so that you can say things like “Alan Moore did a Vampirella story?”.
I haven’t read his newer stuff that I’ve gotten, but Dan Schaffer’s stuff is interesting, and Malefic on page 340 from Devil’s Due/1First sounds neat, with an asylum inmate who might be the devil. I will be trade waiting though, because 5 bucks an issue for 8 issues?

Dial has a fun title, Secondhand Heroes, where brothers get powers from yard sale items. Sounds cute! (page 341)
Under the heading of “Things I Never Thought Would Get Collected” is Umbra on page 344 from Dover. This was an Image (?) from a while back about weird things afoot in Iceland, and it’s not bad. But it seemed to have disappeared without a trace, but here it is, back! Yay, weird reprints!
Yep, GCD says Image from about 10 years ago. I swear that this either was offered before, or our pal Drew Ford told us about this before he left Dover. I’m interested, as it sounds creepy cool (by the Puma Blues writer and Butcher Baker artist) (right?).
Yes on the writer, no on the artist. You’re thinking of Mike Huddleston, not Mike Hawthorne.
May I direct your attention to Drawn And Quarterly‘s offerings on pages 344 and 345? We get a new Peter Bagge bio of an accomplished woman, Fire!! The Zora Neale Hurston Story, and if it’s like the reoffered Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger Story, it’s going to be pretty good. I’d say either would be a good Bagge starter. We also get books by Daniel Clowes and Vanessa Davis, and the one I’m really considering, the Definitive Edition of Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks. I’ve always heard good things!
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters gets resolicited on page 350 from Fantagraphics. I hope it comes out this time!
It sounds more interesting this time around, for some reason! I’m interested in the stuff on page 351, like To Have and To Hold by Graham Chaffee, who did The Big Wheels years ago. I also am amused by the juxtaposition of Take That, Adolf! and the Matt Furie book with Pepe the Frog. Heh.
First Second has some interesting stuff on page 352 and 353, with Decelerate Blue, about a dystopia (yawn, I know) where people are in a hyper-speed lifestyle, and rebellion comes by slowing down. There is also The Time Museum v1 by Matthew Loux, where kids from all over history work at a … time museum and have to defend it. Sounds fun. Also reoffered is the amazingly good The Shadow Hero. I highly recommend that one (and may even buy it now, instead of just get it out from the library!).
I don’t care about the Games Workshop and Warhammer 40K stuff on page 353 and 354, but damn, they have some great creators, like Dan Abnett, Ian Edginton, David Lapham, Rahsan Ekedal, and Tony Parker. Wow.
Those are good creators!
Finally, Graphic India comes out with a trade of Mistry, P.I. on page 358. I thought this sounded interesting and the art looked good but I foolishly passed on it, and while my guy had (has?) the first 4 issues, I don’t think he ordered the fifth and final issue. I may go for this, unless he has the first 4 issues cheap!
Heavy Metal has some trades of interest. Interceptor collects the series about people stranded on a planet of vampires, while The Doorman is about a dude who watches the door on Earth that can take you anywhere in the cosmos and why he’s suddenly targeted by intergalactic assassins. Both sound neat!
Interceptor is a resolicit, as I’m fairly sure that I ordered it before, but yeah, it sounded very wacky. The Doorman sounds fun (the ol’ one day from retirement thing!), and I think Eliot Rahal writes for the Daily Show or at least used to, iirc. Issue 285 of HM itself sounds pretty neat as well, with Haspiel, de Campi, Carla Speed McNeil (would she be Speed McNeil or just McNeil?), and that James Jean cover is freaky fun. Sexy rabbits on the cover of a magazine? It’ll never work! (page 358)
Peter David and Sal Velluto’s Phantom trade gets resolicited on page 360 from Hermes Press. I hope it comes out this time!
Also from Hermes on page 358 is Walt Kelly’s Adventures of Peter Wheat v1, collecting comics the Pogo guy did to promote a brand of bread. Sounds cute. And I may even order that Phantom book this time, but I’m STILL torn on which version to get!
There’s some preview art from Snow Day from Humanoids on page 358, and it looks pretty keen. The book is on page 360 – a murder mystery in a small, insular town is an old but good plot.
Yeah, the art reminds me of someone else, but I’m blanking on who. I’m intrigued enough to consider this.

On page 366 Keenspot Entertainment offers Wickedpowered v1, a comic by Owen Gieni, who I believe we both like on Manifest Destiny and other comics, so I’m interested in this one. Sounds like a parody of Saturday morning cartoons. I wish Gieni would finish that one comic with the alien lizards, the name of which escapes me, and I can’t find it, but it was from Big Dog Ink, so it’s probably been forgotten after Aspen bought them up. ARGH! It had one issue to go!
Kodansha features Clockwork Planet v1 on page 367, about a steampunk-ish world where an amateur tinkerer who dropped out of high school has an automaton girl crash into his house. And then they gotta save the world.
I forget, did you get Klaw from Magnetic Press, offered again on page 372?
Yes, I did. But I Pelkied it, so I’ll get to it at some point.1
1 Pelkie, to Pelkie (verb). The act of buying a comic and then not reading it in a timely manner, possibly months or years. From the German, “pelkischen,” which means, literally, “setting your alarm clock and asking your wife to wake you up so you don’t miss the invasion of Poland but then your battery died and your wife realized the Nazis are monsters and she ran off with the dashing British attaché and you slept in because you had too much victory strudel the night before.” The Germans have a word for everything!
Nightlights on page 373 from Nobrow Press sounds deceptively cute. a young girl plays with creatures of light in her room at night, and draws them in the morning. A new girl at school notices the drawings, but things turn sinister. I like what I can see of the cover, so I am interested.
You know I have to read the first volumes of both, but Kaijumax Season Two and Wet Moon book 3 are offered from Oni on page 380.
Colleen Coover’s Small Favors gets a fancy hardcover collection on page 381 (also from Oni). This is very cute, as you might expect from Coover, but I should warn you, in case you don’t already know: it’s pretty much wall-to-wall porn. There’s hardly a story at all, just women getting it on. It’s charming porn, but yeah, wall-to-wall. Some people might not know that?
“Warn” me, huh? You mean “convince me to buy it”, right? I actually have the 7th issue of this, and oh boy it is adorable porn! That makes 3 sexytime books offered in this month’s catalog, and 2 of them are in big hard…covers, to make one handed fun difficult. Sex. Solo sex. Actually, this collection had been in the works for YEARS over at Top Shelf (after Coover’s Gingerbread Girl was published there, I presume), so I wonder why they ended up not doing it? Man, they lost Marshal Law too. Of course, it’s not like Chris Staros is hurting for awesome comics to publish, though!
I didn’t mean specifically you, Pelkie. I meant the general “you,” as in the people who we hope to read our column even though you’re still a co-contributor.
Damn, Papercutz is putting out The Only Living Boy faster than I can write about not reading them yet. It’s up to volume 4 offered on page 382, and the first 3 are re-offered in case you missed them.
Ooh mama, there’s some cool Rebellion/2000AD stuff on page 386. A 2000 AD 40th Anniversary Special, which says it’s got a Steve Dillon Judge Dredd story in it, so I wonder if he got to finish it before his untimely passing. There is also 2000AD’s Greatest: Celebrating Four Decades of 2000AD, where creators pick their favorite one off stories, which is neat. There’s an expanded history of 2000AD with Thrill-Power Overload, and there is also a trade of the Cursed Earth Saga from Judge Dredd, which I think I have to get this time, since the HC sold out very quickly!
Neat one from Scout on page 388. Smoketown is a book a la Stray Bullets or Criminal, with interconnected storylines of a criminal nature. I may try the first issue.
Also on page 388 is Haddon Hall: When David Invented Bowie from SelfMadeHero, about the neighborhood where Bowie lived before his big burst of fame. Cover has a neat style, so I’ll consider this.
I mentioned this elsewhere, but on page 390 Soaring Penguin Press has brought back Meanwhile… with issue 5… and a tripling of the price (doubling of the page count, I think). I need to read these to see if I want to get a subscription, but I doubt I’m ordering from Previews. YOW!
On page 390 as well, from Space Goat, there’s Zombie Camp, featuring art by Dev Madan, of Young Heroes in Love fame.
Fame?
Titan has Forever War on page 398, and they’re making a big deal about it being optioned by Warner Bros. and that it’s starring Channing Tatum. Hey, whatever sells books, right? I’m not as big a science fiction guy as you might expect, but I did read some when I was a lad, and The Forever War (why did Titan drop the article?) was one of those books I read more than once, because it’s really good. But damn, is it bleak. Anyway, the art looks superb, and I’m sure they didn’t change too much of the story, so this might be interesting to check out.
Unless I’m mistaken, this is actually a reprint from some time in the ’80s. I almost think my local library had a copy of the collected version in the adult section back when I started reading comics, oh so long ago! I’ll wait and see how they re-collect this, and maybe seek out the novel in the meantime.
It probably is, but I just like that they’re reeeeeeallllly making sure we know that C-Tates is starring in the movie.
I was waiting to see, but there is a collection of The Chimera Brigade on page 408, which sounds like a Heavy Metal version of superheroes. Which is not necessarily a bad thing.
On page 418 from Toonhound Studios, we get Tenko King v1, where a 10 year old boy wants to escape his medieval-y village and see the world. Might be ok.
Also on page 418, from TwoMorrows, we have Back Issue 95, spotlighting Moon Knight, Night Nurse, Ghost Rider, Eclipso, and I, Vampire, which sounds very cool. Cover is by Billy the Sink a la his Neal Adams clone days. Perhaps our pal John can let us know if he’s got any articles in this one? (I think I’m getting it regardless. In fact, I ought to just get a subscription to BI! Of course, then I might have to do more than just skim it!) They also have a couple reoffered other mags and books, including the Kirby Five-Oh! book.
I actually played Darkstalkers, maybe at an arcade, maybe somewhere else, but I may eventually check out a trade of Udon‘s Street Fighter vs. Darkstalkers, the zero issue of which is offered on page 421.
Britannia gets a trade on page 429 from Valiant. I suspected that they might pull the old “$9.99-trade” gambit on this one, but thought that because it was only a four-issue series, I might be safe, so I bought the single issues. But alas, this is a better deal at 10 dollars. The final issue hasn’t come out yet, but this has been a pretty keen series, with Milligan being creepy and Juan Jose Ryp drawing the shit out of it, like he does.
I was interested, of course, with that creative team, and also wondering how it ties into the greater Valiant U. I’m glad it’s a 10 dollar trade, because it’s now a definite buy!
Viz Media tempts me with the Revolutionary Girl Utena box set, as I’ve heard this was good, but then the sample art misuses the word “born” when they mean “borne”. So then I say ixnay! Page 431, in case you’re not as unforgiving as I!
Lots of interesting books offered. Page 448 has The Ages of the Justice League, the solicit of which tantalizes — what crossover character WAS affected by the post-9/11 political climate? I likes me some British Superheroes, so the book by Chris Murray would be fun if it wasn’t so pricey. And the Watchmen Chronology book that John discussed is offered too. Hey, I know that guy who did the foreword!
Over on page 449, we get an Unbeatable Squirrel Girl novel, by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale, who have done some neat comics, so I’m cautiously optimistic, and we have Grim Death and Bill the Electrocuted Criminal from Mike Mignola and Tom Sniegoski. What do they know about creepy books?
On page 452, Alan Moore’s Jerusalem is offered again, as well as a book about how He-Man is influential. On page 453, we have Neil Gaiman writing about Norse myths, and Will Murray, Squirrel Girl co-creator, writing about Pat Savage.
I forgot the part of Star Trek The Next Generation where Picard wore a dress (page 472).
Ooh, the DC figures on pages 499 and 503 are neat, with Supergirl, Dark Knight Returns, Superdoom, and the Batgirl of Burnside. Cool.
Our pal John will like the Monkees figures on page 518!
Wowie, that Iron Man Samurai figure on page 564 is neato!

I don’t know what this Berserk movie is, but the Slan figure is a character called the “Whore Princess of the Uterine Sea”. Um…
I’ll leave everyone on a nicer note, with this bit of trivia from Graphitti Designs on page 468 — the first 2 t-shirts they did were of the Rocketeer and the Spirit. Cool!
I apologize for this post being so late. As Travis noted, it was all on him!!!!! He has been summarily punished, but considering he willingly gave up his entire nervous system and replaced it with co-axial cable, I’m not sure what good it did. I’m not sure why he replaced his nervous system with co-axial cable – that’s a topic for another day!
Have a nice day, everyone. Be sure to check out Previews so you can find all the cool comics your friends don’t know about! That’s why we read comics, right – so we can be cool in front of our friends?
I can’t get over the anatomy of that Malefic cover. I mean, there’s probably 2 or 3 more examples of thighs bigger than a waist on this page alone, but it’s usually not feet too. I know it was supposed to be some perspective, but her head would need to be 10 feet away, or the feet would have needed to be much closer to the eye/camera.
M-Wolverine: Ha! I didn’t notice it too much, simply because your point about perspective, but looking at it a bit more, it does seem a bit wonky.
First, all this talk about Gaiman, reminds me that it’s almost been a year since Miracleman book 2: the Silver Age was supposed to come out, but never did (we’re talking about books coming out in February, 2017?)
Second, Chaykin has always drawn women to be unnaturally sexy, so yes, you should feel weird about that Flintstones cover.
Third, what’s with all the price changes in IMAGE? I was paying the $2.99 prices for books like CHEW, SEX, and then all of a sudden, it went up to $3.99. Why do books like SPAWN, THE WALKING DEAD, and SAGA stay at $2.99 and then everything else goes up?
Fourth, The Dark Crystal are NOT puppets, they are muppets! This is Jim Henson’s creations. You DON’T call them puppets! It’s an insult.
Fifth, does anyone know how long CIMENA PURGATORIO is expected to run for? Alan Moore’s supposed to retire from comics and I would think that PROVIDENCE and C.P. would be the last of what he’s working on. I’m not really liking C.P. at all and seriously considering dropping the book, even though, Moore and Ennis is the main attraction.
Tom: Yeah, the Miracleman thing depresses me. I wonder what’s up.
I always assume Spawn, TWD, and Saga can remain at 3 dollars because they’re either really big sellers or the writers make money from other ventures and don’t need to raise the price. Kirkman and McFarlane have to be rolling in some dough, after all. But I don’t know.
I have no idea how long Cinema Purgatorio is set to run. I’m completely opposite you, though – I think it’s excellent. I love all the serials, even the Civil War one, which doesn’t have the greatest art. But to each his own!
“Despite not having the Sweathogs in it! (That joke brought to you by your grandparents!)”
I watched that show, as a kid; so watch it buster!!!!
Then again, I am a grandparent.
If the Forever War in question is with Dutch artist Marvano, it’s a reprint. It was originally published by NBM (in color) and serialized in Cheval Noir, at Dark Horse (in black & white). It was very faithful to the novel, though truncated and extremely well rendered by Marvano, who has a good eye for capturing military action. He also did Berlin: The Seven Dwarves, at Cinebook (or, probably more accurately, that they reprinted in English). The NBM editions were readily available, in recent years, though the middle volume (they did it in 3 installments) was scarcer and went for big bucks.
At one point, Ridley Scott had the option for the Forever War; don’t know if he ix involved with this proposed movie or if his option lapsed. The Sci-Fi Channel was also going to do it and I am so happy that never happened, based on the other adaptations they did. Spelling isn’t their only problem.
Outside of the Alan Moore issues, the Vigilante isn’t worth the price. The comics were nothing special and not terribly memorable, apart from the ending. The character was better used in New Teen Titans.
Jeff: Yep, it’s the Marvano one. Reprints ahoy!
THE SILENCE OF THE TURKEYS — Rookie FBI agent Travis Starling is stumped by the Diamond killings. (See episodes “Clutching at Straws” and “Forgotten Sons“.) We join the story as he strikes an uneasy deal with Dr. Gregory Lecter, AKA “Greg the Gory”…
> “G: be sure to look through Previews #339”
Would you like a fine Chianti with that? And for its “Unsung Heroes Month”, what could be better than p. 228’s I KILL GIANTS or p. 345’s THE DEATH-RAY? (Also, the ad for February 2017’s Previews has its theme back, but instead of 2015’s “Black History Month” it’s become “Kids Comics Month”, heh.)
> “T: Soupy Leaves Home”
We are thankful for a rehash of KINGS IN DISGUISE with a bait-and-switch mousetrap!
> “T: World of Tanks”
Unreviewed #4–5 and mousetrap? I’ll be thankful for a reviewed relist, but YMMV! (I’m Star-ordering his 303 instead!)
> “T: I may […] catch up on Mister X, Mind MGMT, or Nexus!”
MIND MGMT is one of the very best stories of recent years, and unlike the others it’s a complete one.
> “G: The Wild Storm”
We are thankful for Jim Lee claiming, “I can’t wait to see what Warren and Jon have in store for fans in February.” (And for not adding, “Of course I’ve read it, it’s just for plausible deniability!”)
> “T: Mr. Punch”
I’m thankful to have it already, as I remember it as a 90-pager oversized to 9×12″ to accomodate Gaiman’s text, McKean’s art, and a much longer title. This one is backpadded, but shouldn’t the ad mention its size? Rootle-dee-toot, that’s no way to do it!
> “T: Cosmic Scoundrels”
We are thankful for those “Space-fairing bachelor scalawags”, sic! (Are they a little that way, or just fans of space fairs?)
> “T: the Corto Maltese In Siberia book on page 178”
Train heist and love stories in a historical setting, Greg. Be thankful! (Also the last Corto with an adventure-strip feel, despite some more reflexive bits ala Buzzati’s TARTAR STEPPE. After that, the dreamlike aspects will take over!)
> “G: I’m not that interested in Greg Rucka’s The Old Guard”
Gaddafi is jealous of Rucka and his women! But yay for a new SEX CRIMINALS arc p. 203! (And isn’t its variant’s ad suggesting that SAGA is sexless?) I’ll be thankful for a new trade! (Plus past volumes relisted for Greg! Can you forgive it for not really being a heist story, and be thankful for an offbeat rom-com, not unlike GROUNDHOG DAY? Vols. 2 and 3 just get better and betterer!)
> “T: Arclight is collected”
Unreviewed #4? (Could the former 8HOUSE: ARCLIGHT be an incomplete VOL. 1?) Just as for MIRROR, I’ll be thankful for a reviewed relist, but YMMV!
> “G: a hardcover Sunstone volume that does NOT collect the entire series”
I guess a 800-page HC “would have been… unwieldy?” (Also, Vols. 1–3 total 384 pages but the HC is claiming 504 pages to justify its price. With two such padded collections, they’ll milk $100 instead of $75.) As for Vol. 5, it’s been pushed from August to January… (Maybe Šejić shoulda gone with Image central?)
> “T: a book where you need a hand free”
SUNSTONE is a great rom-com that just gets better as the cast expands. Be thankful you found another use for it!
> “G: Nameless gets a trade”
We are thankful for NAMELESS’s softcover being $15 in Previews and $17 in DC’s ads on websites! (Considering how Lex Luthor baited the HC at $20 and shipped it at $25, caveat pre-emptor!)
> “Marvel”
We are thankful for BULLSEYE #1 (p. M6) and its digital credits sounding like a catchy tune, “(W) TBD (A) TBD, TBD”. (Having a plot before a writer ain’t editorial fanfic, man!) Meanwhile, ABANDONED SACRED BEASTS (p. 430) credits “(W/A/CA) MAYBE”! (…Alright, pen name. But same page, FUKUFUKU KITTEN TALES caused Mike Sterling’s ruin!)
> “G: Unless Avatar hates money, which is possible.”
Did you miss the fabled $40 pamphlet p. 283? We are thankful for Avatar’s “Century Edition” of PROVIDENCE #11 that will charge 10x for 32-pagers! (Why bother with a fickle crowd of stingy $4 suckers when you can just milk the few that count? Worked for Chanel and Apple!)
> “G: Umbra on page 344 from Dover”
Bait-and-switch mousetrap? (And isn’t it strange how the digital edition is $17 too? Isn’t the print one likely to end up more?) I’ll be thankful for a safer relist, but YMMV!
> “T: Fire!! The Zora Neale Hurston Story”
Overpriced hardcover, bait-and-switch pub? I’ll be thankful for a softcover, but YMMV!
* (excerpt, blurbs) https://www.drawnandquarterly.com/fire-zora-neale-hurston-story
> “T: Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks”
Remember Alan Moore’s JACK. B. QUICK in TOMORROW STORIES, with farmers casually discussing quantum physics or relativity? Well, HICKSVILLE is kinda similar in featuring a town of hicks casually discussing the finer points of comic-book history. Be thankful it’s reprinted!
> “G: My Favorite Thing Is Monsters gets resolicited”
The fact it didn’t come out means not enough suckers took the bait, so they’re more likely to up the price in your back. Be thankful it’s got a mousetrap to give it a veneer of legality!
> “T: Decelerate Blue”
Bait-and-switch mousetrap on what smells like teen fare ala BATTLE BOY? I’ll be thankful for a reviewed relist, but YMMV!
> “G: The Germans have a word for everything!”
Their WW2 playpals too! Such as “nyotaimori” (dining on a naked woman), “fukujyoushi” (dying on your belly, that is during sex), “yobai” (stealing into a girls bedroom in the dead of the night in order to make love), or “kakekomijyousha” (running to get on a train before its doors close).
> “T: Kaijumax Season Two”
I looked into Zander Cannon’s KAIJUMAX #1 1-DOLLAR ED (p. 374, $1 from Oni), being spurred by Astro’s annotated Previews! (Downsized to new stuff by a retailer; this month’s anecdotes about Ottawa, Montreal, and museums were fun, eh.) It’s even possible to decide right now about VOL. 1 ($10 with Star code OCT151567), because that #1 is thankfully online! Aaand… a little light for me, but YMMV!
* (26-page #1) http://www.nerdspan.com/read-kaijumax-1-for-free-on-nerdspan/
* If buggy links: full-size pages 03, 20, 22, 24
* http://comicbookroundup.com/comic-books/reviews/oni-press/kaijumax/6
* http://talkingcomicbooks.com/2016/02/25/43274/
* (mixed) http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-62010-270-1
* (negative) http://www.seattlereviewofbooks.com/notes/2015/07/31/thursday-comics-hangover-kaijumax-loses-its-balance/
> “T: Wet Moon”
Be thankful for WET MOON jump-on VOL. 3, Greg! Now heating up with stalking! Murder! Pregnancy! Alien ghost! FBI chimp! Missing cat! Closet trekkies making out! (And in a much evolved art style: comparing the “Who’s Who” pages of Vol. 1 and Vol. 3, you’d think the original cast died in a plane crash.)
> “G: Colleen Coover’s Small Favors”
Overpriced and undersized HC that looks like 180 pages of story (4-panel grid, mostly) backpadded with 70 pages of stuff (pinups, covers, sketches, prose)? Thank Oni for no favors! I’ll be thankful to ponder a fair softcover, but YMMV!
* (w/ 4 pages) http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/11/23/limerence-press-print-small-favors-definitive-girly-porno-collection-colleen-coover/
* http://comicsworthreading.com/2016/11/23/small-favors-to-return-from-onis-limerence-press/
> “G: Have a nice day, everyone.”
Or a nice grave, six feet under Diamond’s:
* THE CAN OPENER’S DAUGHTER. (SelfMadeHero running out of suckers?)
> “G: Be sure to check out Previews so you can find all the cool comics”
We’re thankful for 4 more temptations!
— FOGGY NOTIONS by November Garcia (p. 260, $5 from Alt/Hic & Hoc)
Vignettes ala Marjane Satrapi or Julia Wertz? Got a notion to gamble on that!
* (2-page comic) http://novembergarcia.com/work/comics/giant-beasts/
* (3-page comic) http://novembergarcia.com/work/comics/catholic-girls-a-dei-in-the-life/
* (more comics) http://novembergarcia.com/work/comics/
* (7 vignettes) http://hicandhoc.tumblr.com/post/136929456501
* (more vignettes) http://novembergarcia.com/category/comics/
* (w/ 2 samples) http://highlowcomics.blogspot.com/2016/10/minis-sspina-ngarcia-bberry-mturbitt.html
— FIRES by Lorenzo Mattotti (p. 344, allegedly $35 from Dover)
Absolute masterpiece. It’d be in good company with Prado’s STREAK OF CHALK (or Kubrick’s THE SHINING), I’d say. Terribly pricey (especially from bait-and-switch Dover) but you should be thankful for a new chance to read it, even if from a library!
* (w/ 4 pages) http://the9thblog.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-use-of-colors-and-shape-in-fires-by.html
* (w/ 1 page) http://www.versopolis.com/long-read/19/fires-in-mattotti
* http://www.comicsreview.co.uk/nowreadthis/2010/11/06/fires/
* http://www.paulgravett.com/profiles/creator/lorenzo_mattotti
* http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-87416-048-2
— SPANIEL RAGE by Vanessa Davis (p. 344, allegedly $17 from D&Q)
Overpriced softcover, unconvincing excerpt, bait-and-switch pub? I’ll be thankful for reviews, but YMMV!
* (excerpt, blurbs) https://www.drawnandquarterly.com/spaniel-rage
— HILO standalone BOOK 1 (of 6) by Judd Winick (p. 385, $14 from Random House)
“AAAAH!” An all-ages variant of BARRY WEEN, minus the swearing but hopefully not the edge? Now a NYT best-seller that lost the mousetrap and gained samples, so I’ll try it!
* (w/ 5 pages & text spoiler) http://boingboing.net/2015/09/26/hilo-the-boy-who-crashed-to-e.html
* (w/ 12 pages) http://www.cbr.com/judd-winick-flies-high-with-hilo-the-boy-who-crashed-to-earth/
* http://www.sequentialtart.com/article.php?id=2837
* https://comicsgrinder.com/2015/08/13/review-hilo-the-boy-who-crashed-to-earth-by-judd-winick/
* (blurbs) http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/236029/hilo-book-1-the-boy-who-crashed-to-earth-by-judd-winick/9780385386173/
— TLDR:
Jude Terror treading cards! (Collect them all!)
Simon: You’re mean this month. Maybe I like being a sucker!
I do appreciate your use of Marillion song titles, though. Well done!
Maybe one day I’ll be in the mood to give Sex Criminals another chance. That day is not today, though!
Man, I love that Green Lantern/PoTA cover so much…
Edo: That is pretty cool, isn’t it? It’s just one of the many variants!
A really slow month for me: only 5 books! (Savage Dragon/Astro City and Stray bullets as monthly’s Lazarus TPB 5 and only Eclipse as a new purchase. More money for other stuff (music/bluray).
quick history of NightRaven
originally appeared as 3-page strips in Hulk Comic drawn by David LLoyd ending with a 6-part story drawn by John Bolton.
The character was eventually brought back for a number of graphic novels (House of Cards, Death Duty)
Between the Hulk comic strips and the graphic novels, the character was featured in monthly magazine Savage Action in a format more closely resembling the pulp inspirations – prose accompanied by the odd picture – these were credited to a pulp style pen name (Maxwell Stockbridge – or something like that). After Savage Action was cancelled these stories were continued in various other monthly magazines – and the writing was soon taken over by Alan Moore who significantly improved the series taking it in a new direction to the modern day (i.e. the early 1980s) before handing the series over to fellow Northampton writer, Jamie Delano.
(I’m deliberately being vague about the details to avoid spoilers).
As for Alan Moore’s PONG, I understand he’s taken a bath since… 😉
I did read Vigilante when it came out – decent but nothing special (some of the Paul Kupperburg issues were good, and there were a couple by Alan Moore…).
One thing that bothered me was that the plot of the origin issue (7) was strangely similar to the second issue of Dennis O’Neils run on the Question suggesting either one was imitating the other or they were both drawing from the same source.
I’ll confess, I loved Vigilante. But it was…uneven. Really the Wolfman stuff was the worst. A convoluted origin for such a simple character. It’s like he had to fit Teen Titans somehow. Probably one of the most widely accepted retcons ever.
But after that they were doing stuff with their Punisher knock off the Punisher wouldn’t get to do much later. While Castle still fighting super heroes, Vigilante had already gone “MAX.”
Night Raven is good pulpy comics. Lloyd had a good handle on that sort of stuff (V for Vendetta was pretty pulpy).
Corto Maltese in Siberia is generally considered to be the apex of the series, in terms of story.
UMBRA and FIRES AND MURMUR are two collections I set up before leaving Dover. For me, UMBRA is one of the best things that Image ever put out during it’s early days of publishing. But the original story felt a bit crowded, as it attempted to fit in only three issues. So I am excited to see the creators taking advantage of this new collection to add a few pages, giving the ending a bit more room to breathe. As for FIRES AND MURMUR, FIRES is arguably one of the most important graphic novels to ever come out of Europe. The fact that it had been out of print in English for so long was, to me, criminal. Really humbled and honored to have had some small part in putting this one back on the shelves for English speaking audiences.
OH…and I had talked to some of the creators a while back about collecting NIGHT RAVEN, but was unable to make it happen. So I really happy to see this one!
Interesting…does that mean that Night Raven isn’t fully owned by Marvel, or were you just trying to put it together for Marvel?
I like the idea of Cap Carrot being an actual bunny instead of a walking talking humanoid rabbit! I hope that’s where they’re going with this, at least for starters.
Unless I screw up, my column Wednesday will be finally reading the Cougar and Cub 1 preview that Nick gave me.
However, I understand from the Bleeding Cool post about said book that the final order cut off is today, so if you want to take a chance, get your order in to your shop owner!
If I decide it’s not good, though, I ain’t apologizing.
And I intended to comment more on this column, but I forgot to get to it. Sometime in the next couple days!
P.S.:
* Read HILO VOL. 1 from the library, cut it from my list. (What would have been a solid #1 is literaly padded to 90 pages. Okay to read, less to own.)
* And there are advance reviews of DECELERATE BLUE, THE TIME MUSEUM, and NIGHTLIGHTS via http://comicsworthreading.com/2016/12/20/good-books-to-order-for-february-2017/