Flippin’ through ‘Previews’ – December 2017

Yes, it’s December, and that means it’s time to delve into Previews #351 and see what groovy comics lie within!

Yes, Travis is still here, always in black, while my text is in blue. Onward we go!

Dark Horse:

Full solicits ahoy!

On page 41, Mata Hari sounds interesting. It’s the story of … well, Mata Hari, the famous World War I spy. I dig spy stories, so I’m already pre-disposed to like this, and Ariela Kristantina is a good artist. I don’t know the writer, but I guess I will when I get this trade!

Emma Beeby is the writer, and I know she’s done a number of things for 2000AD stuff, but I don’t know particulars.  Should be a cool book.

The Originals gets a new edition on page 44. This is a pretty decent graphic novel, but I haven’t read it since it came out, so I can’t say much more about it. I remember liking it, but not loving it, even though Dave Gibbons’s art is stupendous, as usual.

I have three, yes, 3 copies of the preview of the original…um…Originals.  Don’t ask me why!  I will probably snag this version, though!  I suggest Quadrophenia for a soundtrack!

I still haven’t made up my mind if I want to get Fight Club 2, and now it’s in a nice trade on page 46 that costs only 20 dollars for 10 issues, which is handy. I know Cameron Stewart’s art is amazing, but I just don’t know. It’s really vexing me.

I read it.  It all depends on how much you like the original, and how much you like meta in your comics.  I worked on a draft of a review months ago and didn’t quite get to finishing it up, but maybe I’ll look again to try to help you make up your mind!

I like the movie a lot more than the book. But I do like meta stuff, so there’s that …

The movie is great.  I was annoyed that the HC didn’t include the variant covers, and I thought it was dumb that the FCBD story, which is really the ending of the first book, was included at the end of the book, but overall…well, the art is fantastic, but I had some real problems with the story.

Hmmmm …

Ethan Young has a new graphic novel out about life as a cartoonist in New York, Life Between Panels on page 52. Strange things are afoot as he draws his comic strip! Young is a good creator, so this might be fun to check out.

Cool dude, too.  Met him at a couple of shows and he’s quite nice.  He was doing a sketch of Jubilee at one show, and was looking up some reference of her outfit, and before he found it I made a joke about her probably having a high collar like all the nu52 characters, since Jim Lee drew her, and we laughed when the pictures of her he found did indeed have that collar!  Also, re: this book, I should add that this is the Complete Tails Omnibus, which is a book that I believe he’s self-published before, and this presumably collects and completes the story.  I never got around to buying this but I did like the comic about a 3 legged dog that he did, but the name of that is escaping me!

EC Archives: Extra! on page 61, which I believe was one of the post-Code books EC tried in an attempt to stick around.  I think that’s a series I have one of the reprint issues from the ’80s, but I’m not sure.  Great creators, of course, but too bad the blurb quotes Mark Evanier as saying it was “to” sophisticated!

Page 63 has the big damn finale of Elfquest: The Final Quest, I feel I should note.

I’m not entirely sure what’s included here, but on page 64, Aliens Predator Prometheus AVP: Fire and Stone is collected in one big 400+ page TP for 25 bucks.  Good writers like Chris Roberson and great artists like Juan Ferreyra are included in this, so I’m actually a bit tempted.

This was pretty good, actually. The hardcover was cheaper than buying all the series, I think, so I ponied up for it. Good mini-series, vaguely interconnected, and despite the presence of Ariel Olivetti for one series, mostly good art throughout. Definitely an entertaining read.

Reefer Madness, Craig Yoe’s compilation of Golden Age anti-drug comics, is offered as a softcover on page 65. I never got the hardcover, for whatever reason, so I guess I’ll order this. Maybe it will show up!

I think, from what I understand, that they cancelled that version and are doing this in lieu of the HC, if I understood the cancellations list.  No, I misread it, this trade must be a resolicit.  I’ll have to consider it yet again!

I guess the theme of this issue is big ass books, so Dark Horse has a ton of omnibi on pages 66-68.  I will point out that the Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service volumes (four so far, on page 68), are a lot of fun.  I don’t know if more are ever coming, though!

As you might recall, they had problems with the smaller volumes, too. It’s such a great series, and who knows if we’ll ever see more of it.

I only got into it with the Omnibi, and I believe that was your fault for featuring it in this column.  But I remember you mentioning that it just stopped with the smaller volumes.

DC:

Here are all the solicits!

DC is doing a crossover with the Young Animal line on pages 74-76. It apparently is going to do something to the continuity of the Young Animal line. It’s kind of depressing, because I guess Young Animal isn’t doing as well as they’d like and they’re bringing into closer conjunction with the regular DC Universe. At least that’s what it sounds like, but the Young Animal books weren’t outside of DC continuity – they were like the superhero books that became Vertigo before there was a Vertigo. Mother Panic is set in Gotham, and Batman is a presence in the book (he’s only been in it a few times, but his presence is still felt). Cave Carson is hanging out with Wild Dog and, earlier, the Metal Men. Justice League Europe showed up in Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol lo those many years ago, remember, and Animal Man was even in the group briefly. I’m not sure if that’s what’s going on, or perhaps this crossover is meant to separate the Young Animal line from the regular DCU, which would also be a dumb move. There can be quasi-superhero comics in the DCU that don’t always have Batman or Superman or Wonder Woman in them, you know! Or, I guess there can’t be, since those don’t sell.

Will any of these books come out on time?

Who knows. Doom Patrol is well behind schedule, but I think the others are on point, so we shall see if this keeps up.

Those Quitely covers, though.  Awesome.  This sounds like a wacky fun crossover, at least, and I’ll probably eventually get all these Young Animal books in trade, but I’m so far behind on everything else …

On page 81, we find The Brave and the Bold: Batman and Wonder Woman, which sounds like a trademark renewal if there ever was one, but which is a six-issue mini-series written and drawn by Liam Sharp. Sharp is a terrific artist, so I’ll probably check this out. I first saw Sharp’s work on The Incredible Hulk back when Peter David was writing it. It was cool then, and it’s cool now, even though he’s evolved. I don’t know why I mentioned that – I guess I was feeling nostalgic.

Yeah, his art on Wonder Woman Rebirth stuff was about the best part of his issues.  “I’ll say it again: LUSH!” (for all the Venture Bros. fans!)

I know why you skipped it, but how shitty a move is it in the solicit text for Green Lantern: Earth One HC 1 on page 82 to include “from co-writer and artist” but not then include the name of the woman, Corinna Bechko, who co-wrote the damn book with him?

Well, it’s shitty, but I assume they just wanted to make sure we knew the co-writer was also drawing the book, and Hardman is a bigger name. He’s married to Bechko (I’m pretty sure), so I imagine she doesn’t care that much. Or maybe she does. Who knows?

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, DC gives us Young Monsters in Love (page 83), with a terrific Kelley Jones cover and the promise of Guillem March, Frazer Irving, and Jones on art inside. This might be fun.

Ooh, I like this stuff anyway, but that lineup makes me want it even more.

Man, that Action 1000 HC on page 84 is tempting, especially if that never before published story is the one where Jerry Siegel was going to reveal Clark Kent as Superman to Lois.  Why won’t they say if that’s it, dammit!?

Y’know, I suspect that Ocean Master might not have become a bad guy if his name wasn’t “Orm”.  Just a thought.  (Mera: Queen of Atlantis 1, page 87)

Wait, howcum on page 89, the solicit to Batman 40 says that this story was previously slated to run in Batman 40?  Wha?

Don’t question the solicits! These people are professionals!!!!

Duly noted: Future Quest Presents 7 (page 120) has a story by Phil Hester with art by Steve Rude.  Hot damn!

Yeah, I saw that. Neat-o.

Batman ’66 Meets Wonder Woman ’77 gets a trade on page 129. That has to be awesome, right?

Natch.  I’m ordering this and hoping to eventually catch up reading all of the Batman ’66 stuff…someday.

Same page is Batman and Harley Quinn HC, from Ty Templeton and Rick Burchett, collecting a digital sequel to the animated movie.  Perhaps this will be in trade at some point, and I may get it then, because they do great comics.

A couple cool Bat books on page 130, with the B&W Noir version of DKSA, although I think the neon colors help make that book better, and a new edition of Gothic, the GMozz and Klaus Janson story that was probably my introduction to both creators, both of whom I still love.  Man, that second part where Bruce is getting punished at school is super creepy!  I’m glad that over at the old place I got to tell Mr. Janson in the comments how much I enjoy his stuff!

Man, I’m totally getting The Hawk and the Dove: The Silver Age (page 132), aren’t I?

Ditko, man!  And ditto!  Cool concept, but I don’t know that I ever read any of the old stories, but I did read the very trippy Secret Origins story from the ’80s.

Same page has a trade of DC Comics Art of Darwyn Cooke, which is an expansion of the Graphic Ink book, so I am very very tempted!

At least they’re just covers, because if they added actual stories, I would have been peeved. That’s a great book, too.

Page 133 has a book that’s coming out on March 21, so about 10 days early.  It’s Justice League Task Force volume 1.

Man, you’re too clever for me!

Occasionally I get off a good one.  (That’s what she said!)  (And I just ruined it!)

On page 134 is a collection Wonder Woman: Forgotten Legends, which collects the 4 issue mini from just before the Perez run, I believe, and a couple of other things.  I believe that was the first time WW was written by a woman, Trina Robbins, who drew it too and co-wrote with some guy named Kurt Busiek, dunno if he did any more stuff.  I have that mini and it’s been years, but I think it’s decent fun stuff.

On page 136 is a book that will make a fun trade, Deathbed by Joshua Williamson and Riley Rossmo, about a famed adventurer who returns after disappearing for years, near death and telling his tale to a reporter.  I have faith in this creative team (how did Vertigo manage to snag this book, though?  HA!)

That does look neat. I’ll get the trade!

There’s a giant Ex Machina: The Complete Series Omnibus on page 138. It’s $150 for 54 issues, which ain’t bad, but it’s over 1400 pages, and who knows what’s going on with the binding. Is this Brian K. Vaughan’s best work? I’m going to go ahead and say yes.

Why does the phrase “damn with faint praise” come to mind?  I thought what I read of this was ok, but I’d put Runaways a little higher up.  Of course, I’m not all that much of a BKV fan overall.

Well, I wouldn’t think so – I really like Ex Machina. Runaways is probably second for me. I’ve never been a huge BKV fan, either, but I’ve read quite a bit of his work.

The Sheriff of Babylon finally gets a big 12-issue hardcover for 40 bucks on page 138. I really liked this comic – it’s not quite as good as King’s Vision series, but it’s still pretty excellent. If you skipped the two trades, get this!

I did read and like Vision, but I think it was a bit overhyped to me (so much so that NO comic could compare to what it was built up as from what I gleaned from what I’d read about it).  I can wait and see if the library gets this too.

IDW:

Yes, the full solicits are here!

The Black Crown line gets a new book, Punks Not Dead (page 146), which appears to justify the lack of an apostrophe, as a wayward 15-year-old finds out he can see a dead punk named “Sid” who becomes a father figure to him. Sounds ridiculous but fun, and Martin Simmonds is a pretty good artist, so this should be a keen book to check out.

I assumed that the apostrophe wasn’t there for a reason.  There were preview pages of this in the Black Crown Quarterly 1, but I only flipped through that so far.

I was going to mention the GI Joe vs Six Million Dollar Man book on page 149, but after hearing that IDW cancelled the Scarlett’s Strike Force (page 150) before it started because some people got the sads that Aubrey Sitterson doesn’t think lockstep with them, I have some qualms about any IDW book right now.

Yeah, that thing was weird. It doesn’t put me off IDW books, but it was kind of strange. I mean, I agree with him a little about 11 September, but he had to know writing about it like a colossal douchebag would get him in trouble. As for the “changes” he was making … IDGAF, really. People need to worry less about fictional characters being changed. Everything about that controversy made everyone dumber.

I’ll probably get the trade of Clue on page 154. Paul Allor is a pretty good writer, and who doesn’t love a good murder mystery?

After watching the movie I’m willing to take a look, but how could it be as fun as that?

Page 157 has the TMNT Universe v.3 which has a Sophie Campbell drawn story in it, so I will eventually get this book.

I will also be getting the trade of Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse: Mr Wormwood Goes to Washington (even though they use the plural “gentlemen” in the solicit!) on page 170, because Ben Templesmith is awesome and his Wormwood stories are hella fun.

Mike Carey and Peter Gross have a new comic called The Highest House about a slave boy … somewhere, who befriends a powerful “entity” with its own agenda (page 171). It’s vague, but whatever. I’m still not a fan of Mike Carey’s writing, but some people like this creative team!

For a companion to the Originals, or perhaps Blue Monday, or even Deadenders, the novel on page 174, The Scooter Chronicles: A Southern California Modyssey may be apt.

The art on The Spider King (page 175) looks neat, and I should be all in on the premise – in 956 A.D., Vikings have to defend the world against aliens that crashed on the planet – but we’ve seen this plot before, and fairly recently, so I’ll have to think about it.

When did IDW start publishing X-O Manowar?

There’s that, and a few other books like it, as well.

Prison Ship gets a new printing on page 176. I don’t know anything about this, but it’s by Bruce Jones, who’s not bad, and Esteban Maroto, who’s quite good. A lone woman hunting escaped convicts on an alien world? Sure, why not?

I assume the plot will necessitate that she gets that jumpsuit the rest of the way off, because reasons.

On page 177, the old Epic comic from Rick Veitch, The One, is getting remastered and recolored.  I have this series, although I didn’t have it all at once, so I’ve only read the first issue or two.  But Veitch is good, so even though I have the original comics I may get the collection of this down the road.  That sidebar on the cover, heh.  Hope they catch that “insightul” typo at the bottom of the cover, though!

Someone alert Chad Nevett about that Jim Starlin Marvel Cosmic Artifact Edition on page 180!

I miss Chad. I wonder how he’s doing.

I used to look at his Twitter when the link was in the Line columns, but I haven’t in ages.

I don’t know why the flip side of the catalog tells us about IDW’s Full Bleed Comics and Culture Quarterly if they aren’t going to tell us how to order the damn thing.

Image:

Check out the solicitations here!

Great, Kick-Ass is back (page 164). How nice.

I suppose you don’t think that it kicks ass?  (I hate myself for that one.)

I’ve never read it, as it came out after my Millar boycott went into effect, but it just looks so, so stupid. But others seem to like it, so if Millar wants to bring it back, more power to him.

On page 187, we get Vs by Ivan Brandon and Esad Ribic. It’s a series about war being a spectator sport and soldiers getting sponsors and all sorts of fun stuff like that. I like Brandon and Ribic, but hasn’t anyone noticed that whenever Ribic draws something for Marvel, he can only do about three issues before getting replaced? How long is it going to take for this comic to come out?

Sounds to me a little bit like Veitch’s Army @ Love, the Vertigo book from a while ago.

I think I only read one issue of that, so that didn’t click. But if you say so …

Richard Starkings and Shaky Kane are working on The Beef on page 188. You don’t even need to know what it’s about, because Starkings and Kane will be sure to make it bizarre and awesome.

Yeah, I am ordering this, of course.  Actually, it’s 5 issues, so I’ll be getting the trade.

On page 189 is Death of Love, by Justin Jordan, Donal Delay, and Omar Estevez, which sounds goofy with a guy warring against the Cupidae, but that cover looks creepy but good, so I may get the trade of this 5 issue mini as well.

Alex de Campi has a four-issue, weekly series in February called Twisted Romance (pages 190-191), each with a different artist telling, well, twisted love stories. The issues also have back-up stories and prose stories, so these should be neat packages. Skip the Avengers weekly event and get these instead!

I haven’t gotten the catalog as of now, so I’ll wait and judge based on the artists, but I’ll probably get this, or at least the trade.  OK, now that I’ve seen it and seen the creators involved, I am heavily considering this in singles.  It’s 48 page issues at 4 bucks a pop, so better value than some comics!

Bingo Love on page 198 sounds like a sweet love story about two women who fall in love in the early ’60s but since that kind of thing was frowned on, couldn’t be together, but reunite decades later.  Combine that with the Jenn St-Onge art and I think I’m in.

Damn, I’m so far behind, I missed Firebug in Island, but it’s collected and completed here in a trade on page 199.  I really dug Johnnie Christmas’s art (and name!) on Sheltered (also reoffered here too), so I’m strongly considering this one.

Page 200 has the first trade of Redlands, the book by Jordie Bellaire and Vanesa Del Rey that all the cool comics kids seem to like (possibly because Bellaire has threatened to color all their comics incorrectly) (joking!).  Interesting sounding story about a town sort of run by witches, if I understand this solicit, and what I remember of other solicits for this book. Hey, it’s just 10 bucks for 6 issues, so why not?

On the flipside of that, Sacred Creatures volume 1 on page 201 is 23 bucks for the first 6 issues, but it IS over 300 pages.  I was just saying how I dig Klaus Janson above, so I will most likely grab this one.  There’s a vast conspiracy, yeah, but it might be fun.

I’ll probably get this. It looks keen.

The second trade of Genius, Cartel, is offered on page 210.  I really liked the Pilot Season issue years ago, and have the first volume…I think, so I will probably get this.

I’ve been getting the singles of Ghost Station Zero, the second Codename Baboushka story, but I’m so far behind, I can’t tell you if the trade on page 211 is worth it.  It is a buck less than the singles, and you probably get all the covers, which I didn’t with how I got it.  So I should have waited!

I didn’t love the first series, so I’ll skip this. You may have a different opinion, of course!

Also on page 211 is the second volume of Glitterbomb, but I haven’t read the first volume of that either.  My 2018 resolution is to catch up with my comics reading!

Speaking of comics I still haven’t read, Horizon volume 3 is offered on page 213.

It’s been pretty good so far. I haven’t read the third arc yet (because not all of them have come out), but it’s an interesting comic.

Savage Dragon #231 is on page 226, but that’s not why I’m highlighting it (although it features “Savage Sex Dolls,” so maybe I should). I want to talk about the most recent issue (I mean #228, as #229 just came out this week, although it has some of what I’m talking about, too). If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, you really should. Just start at the beginning and slowly page through it until you get to the page. You’ll know which one!!!!! I don’t really want to say too much more, because it’s just … something. Really something. Utterly bizarre and, while not completely out of the blue or tonally off, just something that is … man, I can’t even describe it without giving too much away. Trust me. Find the issue!

I am intrigued.  I’ve always liked Savage Dragon over the years and have picked up a lot of it, and I really should catch up.

Marvel:

Oh, you know the solicits are here!

X-Men Red (page 3) is just all kinds of wrong. First of all, how many color-coded X-Men books can they create? Where’s X-Men Chartreuse and X-Men Puce? On the other hand, it’s nice to know that Marvel always learns its lessons about flooding the market with product. Second, Namor is on this team? Really? I know he’s “Marvel’s First Mutant” and all that shit, but nobody really buys that and Namor, famously, does not work and play well with others. I hope Namor spends the entire first five issues eyeing Laura Kinney and saying “That’s not Wolverine” … and that’s all he says. That would be fun. Tom Taylor and Mahmud Asrar, both fine creators, deserve better than this.

It’s all of the creators around our age range who grew up with the ’90s X-stuff that want to bring it back to that now, and all of the readers of the same era that they want to bring back.  Damn nostalgia!

At least Marvel is spotlighting the creators on some of the books.  Mostly white dudes with beards, but still.

That’s their company motto! “Do you like white dudes with beards? Then read Marvel comics!

I should pitch something then, but they’ve probably met their quota by now, right?

Arrghhh! I knew I shouldn’t have shaved my beard! It’s the only thing keeping me from writing the X-Men right now!!!!!

They’re still trying to mix Spidey and Broadway, Amazing Spider-Man Annual 42 on page 26 has a story by a playwright.  I hope no one was injured in the making of that story!

Daniel Kibblesmith is writing Lockjaw (page 47)? Really?

On page 62, what is Jubilee doing?

“Every single time, that douche nozzle Gambit would be posing like this!  Ooh, I can throw some playing cards!  Lookit me!  Dork-ass!”

I actually ripped page 63 just a little bit because I was poking it with my index finger so hard to show it to one of the dudes at the comic book store. Marvel is teasing Wolverine’s return, and so we get a full-page ad of him (a panel from Marvel Legacy) with “Where Is Wolverine?” across the top. So far, so not annoying. Then there’s a starburst next to him that reads “Find him in post-credit scenes at the end of key Marvel titles, starting this January!” This set me off to the point where I ripped the page a little. COMICS DON’T HAVE POST-CREDIT SCENES!!!!!! THEY AREN’T MOTHERFUCKING MOVIES, YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!!! Yes, I know Marvel cares not about funnybooks and wishes they would go away so they can make awesome movies that all kind of run together after a while into a congealed mass of tight clothing and sweet abs, but you still publish comics, you know, and trying to make them more like movies is just stupid. This made me irrationally angry, I admit, and I wish Marvel would just drop Wolverine into their comics in the background, kind of like a “Where’s Waldo” situation (he could even wear a striped shirt) – Wolverine eating a burger in the background, Wolverine heading into a “massage parlor,” Wolverine arguing with his accountant – and just let us figure it out. That would be neat.

That would be fun.  Actually, if the scenes take place on pages after a page of the creator credits for the issue, they are technically post-credits scenes.  Y’know.

You’re dead to me, Pelkie.

What?

DON’T TAKE MARVEL’S SIDE IN THIS ARGUMENT!!!!!

Jeezus, the 2 issues of X-Men: Grand Design are collected in a trade for 30 fucking dollars on page 82.  Yeah, it also includes the original X-Men 1 recolored by Ed Piskor, which is intriguing, but day-um!

I saw that. Maybe this is Marvel’s strategy to get us to stop waiting for the trade? Make it so expensive that it would be insane to wait?

Jim Starlin and Alan Davis are teaming up again for Thanos: The Infinity Siblings, a short-ish (112 pages) graphic novel on page 84 that’s the first of a trilogy. These dudes worked together recently on a fairly fun Guardians of the Galaxy book, so this should be nice. I’m not spending 25 dollars on it, though. Maybe all three will be collected together down the road.

I’ll point out the Avengers and Infinity Gauntlet book on page 86, which was a retelling of that story by Atomic Robo‘s Brian Clevinger and Brian Churilla, and was pretty fun.

“Venomnibus” (page 94) is pretty clever. 

And The Madness has Kelley Jones art, if for some reason you can’t find it in a cheapo back issue bin.

Hey, we mentioned Runaways by BKV above, and here’s the omnibus on page 95.  Good stuff.

Let’s get to the back of the book!

The latest Cerebus in Hell? one shot is Amazing Cerebus 1, an homage to Amazing Spider-Man 300, of course. (page 248, from Aardvark-Vanaheim, of course!)

Action Lab has Athena Voltaire #1 (page 250), a new ongoing series about everyone’s favorite 1930s adventurer. Good for Steve Bryant for getting to this point – it really couldn’t happen to a nicer fellow. I’ll have to check out the artist, because I’m not familiar with him, but I’m looking forward to this nevertheless!

I’ll probably just wait for the trade, but cool beans.

On page 254 is Adaptive Books, whom I do not recall before, but they’ve got Fairy Godbrothers v1 from Ken Kristensen and M.K. Perker, whom I believe were the creative team on Todd, the Ugliest Kid in the World (if I remember the title correctly, too lazy to look it up).  It’s about brothers transported to the world of fairy tales as the Brothers Grimm originally told them, which sounds interesting.  I’ll consider this!

Perker’s a good artist, too, so it will look nice. Andrea Mutti, another good artist, draws the one next to it, which is about a soldier experiencing PTSD.

On page 262, AfterShock has two trades I’m picking up: Jimmy’s Bastards, the Garth Ennis/Russ Braun book about James Bond’s kids coming back to haunt him, and Eleanor and the Egret, the John Layman/Sam Kieth book about an art thief. Both sound awesome, and I know Layman’s book looks wonderful, because I saw pages from it before it was published!

Yeah, I think I’m in on both of these.  They both sounded fun.  I’m still waiting on the first Chew Smorgasbord HC, as the second and third got to my shop ages ago, but the first isn’t there yet!  Also, I’m bummed that DC didn’t hire Layman and Guillory for a Plastic Man book, which would have been awesome.

Holy shit, is that something that could have been possible or is it just something that you came up in your fevered brain? Because now that you’ve said it, I don’t want to live in a world where that comic does not exist.

I’ll find the Bleeding Cool link where I saw it.  Apparently Layman was hoping that post-Chew DC or Marvel would hire him and Guillory for a fun little thing, but they weren’t hiring, and Plas was pushed as something Layman wanted to do, and they even had a Guillory Plas sketch in the post.  Of course, my computer, she-a no like the BC site very much, but perhaps yours is better!

Man, I have to have lunch with Layman so I can bug him about this

Hot damn!  Casper and Hot Stuff from American Mythology on page 267 is drawn by Eric Shanower!  Neato.

He should be making money doing his Trojan war stuff!!!!

Amaze Ink/Slave Labor has Rebel Angels by James Turner on page 270, which was solicited over two years ago and never came out. I really hope it does this time, because I dig me some James Turner comics.

Damn, was it that long ago?  Yeah, it’s been on my list too, so I’ll be reordering it.  I know SLG went through some financial difficulties a while back, so hopefully they’re at a better place.

As Edo told us, those Marvel Digests from Archie are pretty cool, but I love how on page 275, the image of Black Panther is nearly cut off even though he’s the featured character!  HA!

Avatar offers some Warren Ellis GNs again on page 284.  I ordered a bunch of those Avatar books when they had that huge sale awhile ago, but none of them have gotten to my shop yet.  Did you get anything from that?

Nah. I either had everything they were offering or had no interest in it whatsoever. Same here.

Black Mask has Beautiful Canvas in trade on page 289, and I’ll probably get it. Ryan K. Lindsay is a good writer, and Sami Kivela is a good artist, and it sounds neat – a hitwoman finds out her girlfriend is pregnant, which means she needs to reassess her life – so it’s a go for me!

Yeah, I was trade waiting on this, so I’ll probably get it.  Same page also has Come Into Me 1, which is creepy body-sharing SF/horror, with art by Piotr Kowalski, so I’ll probably get it in trade.

It’s by the writers of The Dregs, which I loved, and Kowalski’s a good artist, so yeah, I’ll get the trade as well.

On page 301, Boom! says that Grass Kings is headed to its final arc with issue 12.  Well.  Hopefully they’ll do a nice big collection of the whole thing at some point. (Boom!’s solicitations are here, by the way.)

ICYMI, Heavy Vinyl (on page 305) is the new name for Hi-Fi Fight Club, because I guess there was an issue with the other name?  (You’d think the concept would be a bigger problem than the name …)  Of course, now Paul Pope will have to sue …

When that was first offered, I wondered if they’d have problems with the name, and I guess they did! Someone should really vet these things more closely …

On page 315 is another long-delayed one from Canton Street Press, with Charlton’s Nightshade reprinted in a book.  Got to add that one back to my list!

Yeah, that one bugs me as well, as I was really looking forward to it. Maybe now it will actually show up!

Chapterhouse has come back with cheap stuff on page 316, including holding the line at 10 dollar trades, like the third Captain Canuck, the third Pitiful Human-Lizard, and the second Northguard, as well as the first collection of Fallen Suns.  I’ll have to see what I got last time.  However, the Die Kitty Die HC is still a 25 buck thing, grrr.

It’s wrong to say Frank Cho is BACK with the Dejah Thoris 1 cover on page 321 from Dynamite, isn’t it? (You can find Dynamite’s solicitations here.)

If you making bad puns is wrong, then I don’t want to be right.

I’ve never seen Pumpkinhead, but that is a creepy Kelley Jones cover on page 322.

I’m thinking hard about that James Bond: M one shot on page 329 because PJ Holden is a good artist.

There is an omnibus of The Bionic Man on page 334.  I do not know if this is any good, but it is duly noted.

Dover has a bunch of titles offered again on pages 341-343, so if you missed anything, here’s your chance to catch up!

Fantagraphics has some neat stuff on page 350, like the new Ho Che Anderson GN Godhead, where a corporation creates a device to talk to God.  There’s also a HC book of Dave Sheridan: Life with Dealer McDope, The Leather Nun, and the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers that sounds good if you’re into underground comix.  On 351 they also reoffer a collection of Blazing Combat, edited by Nero Wolfe’s number one man (oh, wait, no…).

Farrar, Straus and Giroux has Speak: The GN on page 352, which has art by Emily Carroll.

Also on 352, from First Second are a couple of interesting ones.  Box Brown has a bio of Andy Kaufman, Is This Guy for Real?, while Jen Wang has an interesting take on the Scarlet Pimpernel, sort of, with The Prince and the Dressmaker, about a prince who stuns Paris as a female fashion icon, and the dressmaker who helps him dress.

Well, I never got around to reading it yet, but I did get NVRLND from 451 Media Group, which is now offered in trade on page 354, a modern dark take on Peter Pan.

Sweet lord, it’s pricey, but it is 1400 pages, so The Complete Girls with Slingshots from Iron Circus Comics on page 361 might be interesting.  I’d have to check out the (I assume) webcomic, but that would take more time than I have before I have to put in my order, though.

Yeah, that’s a lot of ducats ($75), but I’ll probably get it. A few years ago, I bought the first two volumes at the Phoenix comic con, and then I left them there at some point when I put my books down to buy something else. It was frustrating, but oh well. Either the next year or the year after that, Corsetto was at the Phoenix con and I told her the story, and she told me that this book would be in existence down the line, as the two trades I had bought were no longer in print. I’ve liked what I read of it, so I’ll probably plunk down the cash for it. Plus, Iron Circus is Spike Trotman’s publishing concern, and Trotman is pretty awesome, so there’s that.

Lion Forge/Magnetic has Black Comix Returns on page 368, which is certainly important to highlight black creators, but looks like it’s just a who’s who book with some sample pages by the creators.  I thought it might be more of an anthology.

I don’t know anything about Mad Cave Studios on page 377, but Battlecats 1 looks like it might be a fantasy in the vein of some of the ’80s cartoons, so it might be worth a look.

Oni’s My Boyfriend is a Bear OGN on page 384 would be a completely different book from some publishers.  This actually looks kind of charming.  The bear is an actual bear, and he’s wearing an Arcade Fire t-shirt in the preview pages!

Oni needs to put what is collected in their fucking solicits, because I want to know what issues are in The Damned v2 on page 387, dammit!

I agree with you, but in this case, I can tell you: it’s the first five issues of the new series. So there you go!

On page 388, we get a trade of Stumptown: The Case of the Baby in the Velvet Case (it’s not what it sounds like!). This is another pretty good story, and it’s too bad that Stumptown seems to have ground to a halt.

“Like a Velvet Baby Cast in Iron”.  I’ve been confused about where to start with Stumptown, but I think I have some issues that I snagged for cheap from the back issue bin.

No acknowledgement of my “ground” pun for a comic set in Portland, a coffee mecca? Come on, sir!

I will claim that we probably shouldn’t be encouraging each other in our horrible puns, but it’s certainly not that I missed the pun entirely.  No.  Nope.

2000AD offers a HC of The Beatles Story on page 392, which is probably cool, as well as reoffering the 4 Zenith volumes.  Man, I really ought to get those, shouldn’t I?

I still haven’t read Zenith, even though I own the trades. The fancy version underneath them is catching my eye, though! (Not enough to make me buy it, but still.)

Man, I’m tempted on Seven Seas Entertainment’s Devilman: The Classic Collection v1 on page 395.

On page 402, T Pub has the sixth volume of Twisted Dark, Neil Gibson’s anthology series that features, well, twisted stories. I read the entire six volumes not too long ago, and the series is really good. It’s also not finished, even though this claims it’s the “final volume.” It’s the final volume of this cycle, but Gibson noted that he has at least six more volumes in him. We’ll see when they show up! But this is still quite good, if you’re interested.

Wait, how did you get to see volume 6 if it’s just been solicited now?  Dammit, I need to get on more review and comp lists!

Ah, but this was just me being in the right place at the right time, specifically Seattle during ECCC in 2016. Gibson was there, and he had this volume on sale, so I bought it. I don’t know why it took so long to come out in Previews, but that’s the reason I have it, not because I’m on a review list.

Well, that explains it.  I’m still waiting for the time that anybody quotes me for a blurb!  I’m not cool enough yet!

There’s the latest Lone Sloane book by Philippe Druillet from Titan on page 412. I say “latest” but of course these books are 40 years old, so I just mean the latest one that Titan is reprinting. These are astonishingly beautiful comics, and given that they’re from the 1970s, they’re pretty trippy, too.

Lone Sloane: Gail (Simone?  am I just weird?  do I really have to ask that?).

I forget if you were interested in the Beautiful Death, but it’s got a deluxe HC on page 412 as well.

I’ll have to think about it.

Oh, I guess the original version of Back Issue 61 from TwoMorrows was a treasury/tabloid size (I was confused at first), to go with the subject, and now is available in a magazine size.  That’s cool.  The new issue, 103, is about editors, and features an interview with Diana Schutz and a feature about Assistant Editors’ Month from Marvel!  Damn, TwoMorrows always has good stuff!  (pages 428-429)

Udon is evil, with that Ménage à 3 volume 1 about a virgin comic geek and his 2 hot roommates, appealing to my baser instincts and all with art by Gisèle Lagacé, on page 430.

While it appeals to my cheap comic sense (as issue 1 is $1.99), I think I’ll wait for the trade of Cult Classic: Return of the Graveyard Gang from Vault Comics on page 440.  It sounds too much The Big Chill meets the Goonies.  “Much-anticipated” Cult Classic Universe?  I’ve never even heard of it.  Art is by Felipe Cunha, who drew some of Doctor Crowe, which I looked at before.

It’s much anticipated by two or three people, Pelkie! They didn’t put a number on how many were anticipating it muchly! You and your quantifications can suck it!

Gawd, lookit all that academia-speak about The Doorway to Joe: The Art of Joe Coleman on page 460.  A sample: “often been described as subtended by binary oppositions”.  Who would buy it based on this?

That is the greatest collection of words ever assembled. It’s worth quoting in full:

Finallty [sic], the complete monograph with all the work of the unique and subversive artist Joe Coleman. The visions of Joe Coleman; monstre sacré of the New York City art scene, infamous for his explosive performances and the eschatological sentiments of his icon-like paintings; have often been described as subtended by binary oppositions – the sacred and the profane, sinfulness and morality, the hero and the outcast, the artist within and/or against the rest of the world. These contradictory forces coexist, dividing us all, and Coleman’s paintings, like obsidian mirrors, reflect them in their perpetual and often disquieting negotiations.

There are at least five words or phrases in this solicitation that, if one uttered them out loud in front of others, would earn them a punch in the face. That’s some concentrated pretentiousness right there!

In the book section, there’s Neon Visions: The Comics of Howard Chaykin on page 462, which sounds neat. It focuses on his 1980s work, back when he was good. I might have to pick this up.

It does sound interesting.

Hey, Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey have Action Presidents 1 and 2, about Washington and Lincoln respectively, on page 465.  Wasn’t this originally a self-published comic?

I don’t think so. I know they’ve been planning this for a long time, so I’m glad it’s finally here, because I will be buying these suckers, but I don’t think it’s ever seen the light of day before. Of course, whenever someone writes humorously about Washington, I think of this classic:

Nothing in the back is particularly interesting or egregious, so I guess that’s it for us!

Thanks for reading, everyone. We hope you find some cool stuff deep in the bowels of Previews!