Hey, it’s the New Year! That means we get a brand new non-glossy cover on the latest Previews, we get to reset the celebrity death meter after 2016 declared war on the 1970s and 1980s, and Travis and I get to find out what’s going on in the greatest comics catalog in the known universe! Don’t be afraid of the bull-man holding an axe, grab your copy, and follow along! Remember, Travis is in blue, while I remain all Goth and shit. Let’s go!
See, war on the ’70s and ’80s wouldn’t be a bad thing, but it went after the good ones, dammit! Let’s go!

P. Craig Russell and Scott Hampton are drawing American Gods: Shadows (page 56), which is kind of neat. It’s been a long time since I read the novel; I probably should zip through it before the television series starts.
I guess I’ll find out when I look later, but is this a new story, or an adaptation of something in the book or TV show? I liked the novel, from what I remember. Gaiman seemed to break away from reusing Sandman riffs quite so much, like he seemed to be doing in Neverwhere.
I’m not sure. It has that subtitle, so maybe it’s brand new, so I’m not sure. It seems like it’s new, but maybe I’m just forgetting the novel more than I thought I was?
I don’t want to mention anything without saying spoilers. Other than near the beginning of the book, there’s the place with the Velvet Underground on the jukebox, which was way cool.
Ah, now that I look at the preview pages, yeah, this is an adaptation of the book. The subtitles are probably because they have to adapt it in multiple parts, like Marvel did with Stephen King’s The Stand, so they’ll need to have plenty of number ones. I’ll wait to see a trade, though! Plenty of Neil Gaiman reoffered on page 87, too.
Hey, Brian Churilla is drawing Hellboy now, cool!
Brian Wood and Andrea Mutti return with a new Rebels series on page 70. I dug the first series, and if Wood simply wants to do a series of mini-series when he can, I’m all for this. Especially as this is set in 1794, a time in American history that is not covered too often.
This being the second series, shouldn’t it be called Rebels Rebels? HA! I may have to get the reoffered trade of the first series.
Bwah. Ha. Ha.
Hey, why would they make sure to feature Alexander Hamilton on the preview page?
Adam Knave and D.J. Kirkbride, who did Amelia Cole at IDW, are at Dark Horse with The Once and Future Queen (page 72), the story of a modern 19-year-old girl who pulls Excalibur from a stone and becomes queen. Amelia Cole was a cool series, so this is probably going to be pretty good.
I know you’re surprised, but I’m behind on reading Amelia Cole, but what I did read was amazingly good, so I’m hopeful for this! BTW, I believe Amelia Cole was from Monkeybrain, but put into print by IDW. To be pedantic.
Digital comics? Get out of here with that weird crap!!!!
I’m getting this as a trade, though.

I’ve been interested in getting into Mister X, so Dark Horse finally doing archives in softcover (page 76) is good news. I’ll have to check this sucker out.
Have to see what it includes when I look, but if it’s the Los Bros H. stuff, it’s good!
Yeah, the Hernandez brothers stuff is in here.
Oh, wow, cool, 14+ issues for 25 bucks, yes, I’m in! I have the first 2 issues, I think, and they look great!
On the same page, we get Jerry and the Joker: Adventures and Comic Art, which is a memoir by Jerry Robinson and features unpublished art of Batman and the Joker. How DC is not publishing this I’ll never know, but it sounds really keen. It’s 35 dollars, so it’s a high-ticket item, but it’s probably worth it.
They’d probably have to acknowledge that Bob Kane didn’t do jack squat, so DC probably can’t contractually do a book like this themselves. And how the heck did Bob Kane negotiate such a sweetheart deal in the ’30s, but DC can still screw over Alan Moore?!
I think Kane’s sweetheart deal came about in the 1960s when the TV show was in production or when it was already on the air, but I’m not sure. Can anyone confirm? Still, your point is a conundrum!

Mike Grell’s Starslayer gets a trade on page 77. It’s pretty good – mostly for the gorgeous art, because the story is fine, but nothing special. Mike Grell art is always good to see!
I assume our pal Jeff will be interested in this, as he’s our resident First Comics fan. Ah, it’s the director’s cut that Windjammer/Valiant did, probably 20 damn years ago now. Damn! When did I get old?
Another cool book on page 77 is the HC of the complete 12 issues of Groo: Friends and Foes. I read a good deal of this and it’s the usual Groo fun. This is a bit more than the singles were, but it should be fun!
Tarzan on the Planet of the Apes gets a trade on page 81 – five issues for 20 bucks, which is what it would cost for single issues, so no love for trade-waiters! I don’t know if anyone has been getting this, but I’m not sure about the trade, so if anyone has any opinions, feel free to chime in!
Tarzan. Planet of the Apes. How would it not be good?!
Batwoman gets a new series on page 98. That’s nice. It’s by Marguerite Bennett (yay!), James Tynion IV (eh), and Steve Epting (yay!), so it might be interesting.
What, Jim Lee is off Suicide Squad? Actually, it’s amazing he lasted 12 issues. JRJR joins the team, which is interesting. (page 114)
Lee didn’t draw every issue, though. He drew something like 10 pages per, and there was a back-up story running through it, too. So it’s not that impressive.
Still, even lasting 12 issues at 10 pages per on a more than monthly schedule is the most he’s done in a while, I think. Of course, JRJR can knock out both issues offered this month in a weekend!
I like how they have the “Now a Nine-Issue Miniseries!” blurb about DK3 on page 123, as if that’s a good thing for retailers. HA!
DC is doing these insane annuals on pages 124-127, with their regular characters teaming up with the Hanna-Barbera ones. Adam Strange and the Jonny Quest gang is okay, Booster Gold travels through time, so meeting the Flintstones is bizarre but not completely so (the Jetsons are in the back-up story, so there’s that), Green Lantern and Space Ghost sounds like something that should have happened 20 years ago, and then there’s … the Suicide Squad and the Banana Splits. Now that one is something. The main story is drawn by Ben Caldwell, while Mark Russell and Dale Eaglesham do the back-up story, starring … Snagglepuss. As Tennessee Williams, it seems. I cannot WAIT to get that annual.
I saw a story about that Snagglepuss as Tennessee Williams story, and was instantly intrigued. I’m a bit torn, though, as I’m guessing they’ll collect these 4 annuals in one trade, so I may just wait for that! Also, the Adam Strange/Future Quest one has a backup where Top Cat meets Batman — oh, it’s written by Didio…. The GL/SG one has a Ruff and Reddy backup, where they’re kind of Martin/Lewis, and it’s done by Chaykin, so that should be fun. I’ll have to pull out the Dickies version of the Banana Splits theme song when this comes out!

Wait, wasn’t last month’s issue of Earth 2: Society the last issue? (page 130)
Like I pay attention to stuff like that.
I address our readers as well, not just you. Egomaniac …
Just a guess, but at the end of Death of Hawkman 6, I’m guessing Adam Strange is blasted through dimensions? (page 131)
Lots of DC trades on pages 140-145, but I’m looking at the trade of Batman ’66 Meets The Man from U.N.C.L.E. on page 144. That should be groovy!
Yeah, glad that’s out in softcover, as the HC seemed a bit pricey. Hope the Steed and Mrs. Peel crossover one gets a trade too down the road!
Face the Face was a decent storyline, from what I remember, just before the GMozz run started, and the covers all fit together. Don’t know if it was worth being in HC, though. (page 145)
Speaking of cool shit, on page 146 we get the Doom Patrol Silver Age Omnibus, which collects the entire DP run from the 1960s. It’s over a thousand pages for 100 bucks, and it’s over 40 issues, so you get your money’s worth. I own some of these, but I might switch to this sucker, just for fun. Who doesn’t want a giant hardcover that can double as a bludgeon for when you have to take down home invaders?
If you can’t injure others or give yourself a hernia with a comic collection, what is the point? WHAT. IS. THE. POINT?! Yeah, this one was on Amazon, then taken down, then apparently they figured out wth they were doing with it. I am interested, of course, and I want to see more Bruno Premiani art, as he’s an influence on Mike Allred!

Ooh, the second trade of Waid’s Flash run is offered, and that includes the Return of Barry Allen story, which is great.
Justice League: Breakdowns on page 147 collects the end of the Giffen/DeMatteis run on the title, but I thought that DC stopped collecting this run after the second big hardcover (or maybe the third?) because sales weren’t good, and now they’re skipping to the end and collecting that? That’s odd. Did they ever do the middle and I just missed it, or is there still a gap in their collection?
I don’t know. I thought they did trades for awhile, but don’t know how far they got. From what I see, they got to a sixth trade, which got up to JLA 35 and JLE 11, which means there are 16-17 issues in between that last trade and the Breakdowns collection. Hmm.
Well, that’s just weird.
Speaking of weird, on page 148 we get Legionnaires Book One, which collects, I kid you not, Legion of Super-Heroes #0 and #62-68 and Legionnaires #0 and #19-24. Yet this is “Book One.” THIS IS WHY I DON’T READ LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES, PEOPLE!!!!! I can’t make heads nor tails of the convoluted history. Why the fuck is this “Book One,” Legion fans? I still might get it, because this is when Lee Moder, Stuart Immonen, and Jeffrey Moy were drawing the book, and I know they look great, but seriously, what the fuck?
I have to chime in right now, as (apparently) our resident LOSH fan. These were the issues from the post-Zero Hour reboot of the Legion, when their entire history was changed and they started anew. Beyond that I will not inform you, heathen! Partially because that involves work on my part! But I had to comment on your godless heathen confusion about LOSH. Burn the heretic who knows not the holy books writ upon by Shooter, Levitz, Giffen, Stern, McCraw, Peyer, Waid, et al! I have a certain amount of this run, but I still may get this, because the Legion of Super-Heroes is the motherfucking shit, man!!!
What-the-fuck-ever, man.
You are so wrong, poets weep at the sound of your voice.
Over on page 149, a couple of neat ones. Now that the Byrne run is all collected, it appears, the Triangle/pre-Triangle Superman stuff is now collected as Superman: The Man of Tomorrow, in HC no less. Not sure they need that treatment, but then again, there’s Mignola and PCR art in here! And the ’70s Teen Titans stuff is collected as the Bronze Age Omni HC, pricey but it has Nick Cardy Wonder Girl and Lilith art in it.
I should probably get the Wonder Woman: Earth One trade on page 150, huh? Even though it helped get that Legend of WW book cancelled …
I have bits and pieces of Young Justice, and it seemed fun, so I may get the trade on page 150.
Savage Things, on page 152, has kids trained by the government to be assassins, and then the government wanted to kill them. I liked this more when it was the same basic concept for Insurgent, the 6 issue mini that DC cancelled after 3 issues. Print a trade of that, DC! Or someone!
The Filth gets a trade on page 158. This isn’t the worst Morrison comic, but it’s definitely down on the list. I know some people think it’s good, but don’t believe them, people! Don’t believe them!!!!!
“How can I tell my grandchildren I like it Thai ladyboy style?” — for that line alone, it’s great! I have the trade, and even got the Curing the Postmodern Blues book of essays about this title, but I haven’t re-read it The Filth itself in ages. I’ll have to pull my copy out!
On pages 170 and 171, we get a Judge Dredd: Deviations story about Dredd as a werewolf by John McCrea, and the original story, which has art by Steve Dillon. I cannot pass these up!

Ooh, there’s an Artisan Edition of the first issue of TMNT on page 175, with the original art and layouts. I am sorely tempted!
More TMNT, with the TMNT Universe volume 1, 5 issues for 20 bucks, and a backup story by Kevin Eastman and Billy the Sink. Maybe!
Weird but cool, with Tom Scioli doing a “comics adaptation” of the “movie adaptation” of his version of Transformers vs. GI Joe, on page 181. I don’t understand, but I may get it!
Helena Crash 1 on page 189 is a futuristic sci-fi comic about an ass-kickin’ lady. The sci-fi part is the idea that coffee would be illegal! Might be fun in a trade.
On page 191, we get Kill Shakespeare: Past is Prologue Juliet, which brings us a new artist for the series, Corin Howell, and only one credited writer, Conor McCreery, without Anthony Del Col. I loved Andy Belanger’s art on the series, but Howell isn’t bad, and the lack of Del Col worries me. I really like the series, but I’ll have to think about this.
I can’t remember, but I think Del Col was the dude who accosted me (nicely, mind you!) at the Boston Comic Con nearly 6(!) years ago and got me to buy the dollar version of the first issue. I think I’ve since read the first series from the library. Trade wait, sucka! From looking at the interview with Del Col on page 15, I think that was him, and it sounds like he might be working on a TV version of Kill Shakespeare, but his references to the comic sound past tense. Howell’s art seems cartoonier than one might like for this series, though.
American Barbarian gets a new printing on page 192. Tom Scioli’s weird-ass comic is, well, weird-ass, but it’s still pretty cool, and it looks great. Plus, there’s an introduction by Rob Liefeld!
Yeah, was there a HC before and this is a SC now? I know I passed before but I may get this now.
The Electric Sublime is in trade on page 193. This, of course, has not concluded yet, but I’ve really liked what I’ve read so far!
Hmm, a DM exclusive HC on page 194 of Infinite Loop, with development materials and annotations. I need to read the trade of this!
Yeah, that’s a dollar more than what the issues cost, so do what you gotta do. It’s a beautiful book, but a bit too moralistic.
Duck Avenger gets collected on page 198, but it’s awfully pricey, at 25 bucks for 3 issues for a trade. Grr.
Star Hawks on page 202 is another cool-sounding book from the Library of American Comics. It’s 50 dollars, but it’s a huge chunk of comics, and it’s Gil Kane on art. So, you know.
Hatcher probably likes this, and I believe Ron Goulart wrote this. Maybe Hatcher can tell us some more about this!

Jeff Lemire is doing a new series, Royal City, on page 207. It sounds a lot like Essex County, which is the best thing he’s ever done, so I might get it … or I might wait for the trade.
2017 may be the year I try to trade wait as much as possible. We shall see!

Man, I’m going to want Rat Queens on page 210, as I liked the first trade and Owen Gieni is really good, but this series has had too much iffy stuff going on behind the scenes. I’ll probably get the trade, though.
Yeah, but the iffy stuff should be over now that they fired the artist!
Not just the original artist/co-creator, but one of the artists that took over alleged she was pushed out, supposedly so the original artist could come back. As that didn’t happen, well, who knows, but it’s one of those things I need to ponder before I order. Yes, I think these things out too much!
Ah, I didn’t know that. Bizarre.
New Think Tank on page 215. I need to catch up! It was a good series in the first 3 volumes!
I figured if Copperhead came back, it would be without Scott Godlewski (he was just getting too much work from DC), and on page 216, it comes back with Drew Moss on art. It’s nice to see, though – it’s a pretty good comic – so I’m glad Jay Faerber was able to continue it!
I know I’ve heard of Moss and read stuff of his, but I can’t remember what. I loved the book, so I’m glad it’s back. Now they just need to get Umbra back!
Also, RINGGGGGEERRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What is Umbra? Do you mean Johnston and Mitten’s Umbral? Or the old mini-series Umbra that was just listed in a trade last month? What do you mean, Pelkie?!?!?!?
Dammit, yeah, I got confused by that listing last month. I meant Umbral! With an L! The one that’s apparently not really a word to spell check!
Word to the wise, Injection 11 is apparently 3.99 an issue now, not the 2.99 listed on page 221.
I didn’t realize that Nailbiter was ending. I liked the first trade quite a bit, but the second trade wasn’t quite as enticing. Anyway, the final issue is offered on page 235.
And yet I thought Shutter was ending, but page 241 says it will return. Okay then.
Cannibal sounded like an interesting take on zombie-type stories, so I might get the trade on page 248.
Phonogram is getting a giant, 50-dollar hardcover on page 249, which includes the three mini-series PLUS all the back-up stories, which were often quite fun. I’m tempted to get this, even though the first series, “Rue Britannia,” is getting colored. It might work, but who knows. Anyway, if you’ve never read Phonogram, you should get this. It’s really one of the best comics of the 21st century.
I think I’m in. I have an issue of the first series, and I got the singles of the last, and I love these two, so yeah. Any idea if the back matter stuff is in there, or will I still need to back issue dive for the originals?
Read what I wrote, tough guy.
I know you said the back-up stories, but I’m talking the Gillen text pieces. Which you did not, in fact, specify, sir! I hit you with my virtual glove and demand a duel for mah honor at sunrise, suh!
Oh, I see. Well, I should think if the stories are there, the commentary is, too. Whole hog, man!
I live in hope. But will probably get this regardless to go with the Young Avengers Omni that I still haven’t read yet!

Even though I have a couple issues of Tales From the Con, I will probably get this trade on page 250, as I like this stuff. Also, Chris Giarrusso went to the same college I did. He worked at a local comic shop while he was around!
Demonic is collected in trade on page 251, and it sounded like an ok story about a NYC cop who bargained his soul away. Maybe.
Glitterbomb on page 252 sounded like an intriguing horror story about an actress aging out of Hollywood and the weird thing that helps her exact revenge. I may get this trade.

Romulus on page 253 was a trade I definitely was interested in, as the writer Bryan Hill is good on Postal, and it sounded neat like Buffy or RRH. Probably!
Ooh, the second volume of Jupiter’s Legacy is collected on page 255. I know that you’re no Millar fan, but Quitely art is great, and the first volume of this was better than I expected.
Also on 255 is the final trade of Revival is offered, and I need to catch up on this, as this was a really neat series.
I know this isn’t the place for it and I know I’ve said this before, but the launch of America on page 2 just makes me think of it again. Here’s Marvel launching a book with a well-regarded writer of prose who may or may not sell well in that medium (I have no idea), with a character who might be “uncontestably awesome,” as the solicits say, but who knows if she can sell a book, and I wonder if the target audience – teenage and young twentysomething women – will buy the book. My retailer constantly points out that his Marvel sales are way down because the people who are committed to buying single issues are middle-aged white dudes, and they don’t give a shit about America Chavez. Everyone was hyped about Ta-Nehisi Coates writing Black Panther, and I find it somewhat amusing that even people with a vested interest in making sure it’s a hit are writing about how boring it is. I don’t know how the diversification of Marvel is going, sales-wise, because all I have is anecdotal evidence from one store, but it’s not good from that perspective. I admire this effort, but I really wonder if these books – Ms. Marvel, Hellcat, Squirrel Girl, Black Panther, Thor – are selling enough to justify alienating three-quarters of their readership. Are they making up the sales they’re losing in other ways? I really would like to know. Anyway, America is a new series. Good for her!
I’m tempted to just say that if middle-aged white dudes can only get into comics about the same fucking characters they read when they were 10, they should maybe grow the fuck up already. Actually, that’s all I will say.
Sure, I agree with that, which is why I don’t read a lot of straightforward superhero comics anymore, but the point is, lots of people do read that, and forcing them to make a choice like this without making sure that other readers are picking up the slack seems silly on Marvel’s part. Unless, of course, they know that women and teens are picking up the slack, then I say fuck those old losers!
I suspect they realize that they need to open up their comics to readers that aren’t just us middle-aged white dudes (shit, I do have to include myself, don’t I? ARGH!) or there won’t be a future market when we’re all dead. Although that’s strategic long term thinking, and no one’s ever accused Marvel of that …
R.L. Stine is writing Man-Thing (page 12). Again, a prose writer doing comics. Who knows if this will work out?
I don’t even understand this solicit. However, issue 2 does have a backup story drawn by Christopher Mitten (page 14).

I will consider a trade of Iron Fist on page 20 down the road, as Ed Brisson and Mike Perkins is bound to be a good creative team.
Speaking of which, Hulk #4 gets offered on page 31. I’m just pointing this out because last Wednesday, I saw several people put Hulk #1 down because there was no Hulk in it. I mean, Marvel might want to do “serious” comics, but sometimes, you just need a Hulk wrecking shit.
I risk the wrath of Dan Slott, but Warrior One losing a fight to the main character and having to call himself as Warrior Zero smells a lot like Henchman Zero from the Venture Bros., in Silver Surfer 11 on page 68.
Wow, Monsters Unleashed: Monster-Size HC on page 100 features giant images of a pencil making drawings! Woo-hoo!
Oh my friggin’ god, they have the nerve to solicit a 35 dollar trade that’s a prelude to the next Marvel event, with absolutely no information, on page 111. How ridiculous!
Yeah, I saw that. That takes some giant balls, I’ll tell you what.
I was vaguely interested in the Cage! trade on page 113 by Genndy Tartakovsky, and it’s offered for 13 bucks for 96 pages. A bit pricey.
Yeah, and it just didn’t look that good. It might be, but not for that price.
The second trade of Black Widow is offered on page 116. Earlier in the solicits, it says something about issue #12 being “the end.” I don’t know if that means the end of the arc or the end of the series. I guess we’ll see!
Probably the end of the series. 12 issues is about as long as any decent creative team lasts on Marvel books anymore!
On page 120 we have a PAD Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man complete collection. There was a nice done in one issue with art by Mike Wieringo about a lady who thought Spidey was stalking her, iirc. Don’t know if the rest of this is worth it.
I’m puzzled as to why it doesn’t collect the entire series. Was David not the first writer on the series? I thought he was.
Looks like he was, but the first 4 issues appear to be part of the Other storyline, so they probably didn’t want to include that and confuse the issue.
Oh, yeah, now I remember that. Man, what a weird story, and I didn’t even read it.
Hey, they’re collecting that Mockingbird stuff that caused so much nerdrage, like, a week after it came out, with the “Ask Me About My Feminist Agenda” t-shirt, on page 134. It sounded ok, but I passed on the first trade, so I won’t be getting this.

On page 136 there’s a complete collection of the Kaare Andrews Iron Fist: The Living Weapon series. I don’t know how good that was, but I was mildly interested.
Let’s get to the back of the book!
Not only is Cerebus in Hell? 3 offered from Aardvark-Vanaheim on page 268, with the Super-Cerebus Robot Look-Alikes on the cover, but the Cerebus Archives 1, 2, 3, and 5 are offered. They’re Artist’s Edition portfolios of the first pages from the corresponding phone books (volume 5 is from Jaka’s Story), and they’re neat. Too bad Sandeep Atwal’s name is listed backwards under the writer’s credits for CIH? 3! (Ruh-roh, the cover says 5 bucks but it’s solicited for 4! I’m getting it regardless, but be wary!)

The Best We Could Do from Abrams Comicarts on page 268 sounds a bit like Vietnamerica, as it’s about Vietnamese refugees making a new life in the States, but I like that kind of thing, so I might check it out!
Yeah, it might be interesting. I’ll wait to see if a library gets it.
Our pal Nick Marino thinks that Cougar and Cub will only release the first issue in print before later collecting the series as a trade, as he said over in the comments of my look at issue 1, so order #3 on page 271 from Action Lab with caution!
Well, that’s strange. I like that business model, but only if all of them are released digitally – mixing print and digital seems weird. So I guess I’ll wait for the trade!
Well, I assume they’ll also all be available digitally, they wouldn’t have just the later issues and not the #1. Would they?
Our beloved Aftershock (ahem) collects Animosity on page 274, about thinking and talking animals being less than happy with how humans have treated them. We’re screwed. It sounded interesting and 15 bucks is reasonable…if it stays at that price!

American Mythology is the new home of Mike Wolfer’s Daughters of the Dark Oracle, and they offer on page 285 a “Bloodbath Variant” of Orgy of the Vampires 1. You know it’s good because she has blood on her boobies.
Yeah, I saw that. I’m a big fan of Wolfer’s art, even if his writing leaves a bit to be desired, so I’m hoping they bring his Widow Archives back into print. I missed volume 2 when it came out last year, and now I can’t find it anywhere!
Amulet Books has Nathan Hale’s new book One Trick Pony on page 288. Aliens that feed off of electrical devices infest Earth, and a young girl is a member of a family of people who rescue devices where they can. Like her kick ass robot pony. Sounds kinda neat.
These Archie one-shots on pages 296-297 sound fun. The Sabrina one sounds ok, as does the Jughead: the Hunger one where he’s a werewolf, but I especially like the Little Archie one by Baltazar and Franco, and the Archies one by Segura, Rosenberg, and Eisma, with a Xaime Hernandez cover!
MariNaomi is an interesting creator, so even though it’s a memoir, I’m thinking about getting I Thought You Hated Me from Big Planet/Retrofit on page 310. It’s about her friendship with another woman over 30 years, and it sounds kind of neat.
It does sound interesting, so I’ll consider it.
Matt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins have Grass Kings on page 313 from Boom!, which is a series about people living off the grid and the mystery that’s swirling around them. This sounds keen, so I’m probably going to get it.
I hope it crosses over with Postal and Briggs Land! Actually, it does sound pretty neat. I’ll wait for a trade because I’m like that!

There’s a book on page 314 written by Liz Prince of Will You Still Love Me If I Wet the Bed? and other stuff, called Coady and the Creepies. It’s a 4 issue miniseries about a punk band that was in a bad van accident. So bad, Coady’s actually a ghost now! I’ll probably get the eventual trade.
Well, I see that Brave Chef Brianna on page 315, about a young girl who cooks for monsters, has a “chalkboard back cover”. Ok then!
Apparently Andy Belanger and Rob Guillory make decent scratch from drawing wrasslin’ comics, as they’re doing the WWE WrestleMania comic on page 317. And thank you, spell check, for capitalizing the M in WrestleMania!
I’m interested in Strange Fruit by Mark Waid and JG Jones on page 318, but I’ll wait to see if there’s a trade. I also was interested in the Lucas Stand trade on the same page, about a dude that has to send demons back to hell. We’ll see if I get that!
I don’t have any interest in Lucas Stand, and I got the first issue of Strange Fruit and thought it was just okay. There’s no reason to get the hardcover, in other words. I wonder how the controversy over it shook out?
The Last Contract gets a trade on page 319. Ed Brisson writes good crime comics, and this is a crime comic, so it will probably be good. LOGIC!
Indeedy. I’m in.
Right next to that, Weavers is collected, which I’ve been looking forward to. It sounds like a very creepy story, and the art was terrific. Huzzah!
Yeah, I’m probably in for this. Damn you, Boom! Too many good comics this month!
If I read the first trade before the order date (HAHAHAHAHA!!!), I may go for Goldie Vance v2 on page 320. It sounded good, anyway!
My daughter liked the first trade!
OK, an endorsement from the presumable target demographic. Bodes well!
Damn, I don’t know if the thing is any good, but those covers for Planet of the Apes/Green Lantern 2 on page 321 are so damn good!

Final issue of Mega Princess on page 325. If you haven’t been getting our pal Kelly’s magnificent series, why won’t you listen to me?!
Trade-waiting, man!
OK, an acceptable answer. But man, it’s been so fun so far!
I try to not look at the Boundless covers, but I’m weak, so very weak. I will leave it up to Greg as to whether we’re showing you the “sacrilege” cover of Hellina: Scythe 2. It’s got a lady pressing her breasts on top of Aleister Crowley’s head, when he’s in that pose with his hands by the side of his head. What?!
Man, I really try to ignore Boundless in these posts, because we gots to keep it fucking classy, but that is a fun cover, even though I’m sure the comic is so very, very awful (I looked at one Boundless comic in my life, and it makes Faust look like Shakespeare).

Nice to see Caliber is still putting out books. On page 335, Counter-Parts, where people can get Temporary Personality Grafts, sounds interesting, and I’ve seen stuff by Stefan Petrucha and Barry Crain that I liked. Same page is the second book of Velda Girl Detective. I’ll have to read the first one before the order date (snickers at himself). Why does she have no pants on?

Pants are for losers, yo.
Chapterhouse has the first volume of Die, Kitty! Die! on page 336. Of course, not all the issues in this trade have come out yet, but it’s been a very fun series so far. I’m not sure how long it can last, but it’s a fun satire of Archie-type comics, with more sexiness than you expect! The biggest problem, of course, is that 25 bucks is a bit steep for it!
I think it’s a webcomic, from what I saw, and they may have more in the can. Oh, I think you mean how long the concept can last, yeah, that seemed like it’d be hard to sustain long term. But yeah, I yelped at that cover price!
Creative Mind Energy offers Karma Police on page 338. I own this trade but sadly have not read it yet, but the first issue was pretty wild, and Chris Lewis, who writes it, wrote the wacky Drones, so I trust him. Man, I really have to catch up on my reading. I feel like you, Pelkie.
Weirdly bearded and frightening to small children? I did like Drones, so I’m intrigued. Wait, you have the trade but now they’re doing single issues? WTH, comics?! To be precise, this is from the Vault Comics imprint of CME. However, they do reoffer Deadeye: Begun in Blood on page 337. I forget, did you get that one?
Lewis and Gregori did a Kickstarter for the trade, I think, which is why it exists. But they did it themselves, so now that they’re at a publisher, I guess they’re trying to sell the single issues. It makes perfect sense! And yes, I did get Deadeye. But I’ve Pelkied it so far.
I’m glad that I’ve become a verb, but sad that it is describing “not reading the comics you buy”. D’oh!
I like how Dynamite completely seems to gloss over the fact that Zenescope did several years worth of Charmed comics. That’s about the only interest I have in the new Charmed comic on page 347, however. OK, maybe there are 2 or 4 or 6 more interesting things about it.
Boobs.

Speaking of Anthony Del Col (and we were, above), he’s writing Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: The Big Lie on page 349, which turns the detectives into noir characters. At least he admits that he was inspired by Afterlife With Archie! I honestly think this sounds hella cool, but I could be in the minority!
It sounds interesting, but what would interest me more with some of these types of licenses would be if writers stopped trying to find the dark underbelly of concepts and write the concepts…”straight”, for lack of a better term (as in, Death of a Salesman is straight drama and operas are musical drama). But I’ll probably get the trade!
The Vampirella model on the cosplay variant cover for issue 1 on page 351 has New Jersey tattooed on her arm, I think.
Man, that’s hilarious. Keep it Klassy, Dynamite!

I was interested in the Control series, a political crime thriller, and the trade is on page 354, so I might go for it.
The Six Million Dollar Man: Fall of Man mini is offered in trade on page 359, and I heard the one issue does a neat storytelling trick. Heck, Van Jensen is the US’s official Comic Book Ambassador, it says! Dunno what that means, but hey, congrats to him!
On page 372, Pussycats returns with a 2 issue story called Sex, Drugs, and the Impossible. What do you mean, AND? Anyway, page 373 offers the first mini in trade, and I was (of course!) interested, so maybe I’ll get these.
Those just sound awful. I mean, really.
I’m not saying they’re literature, but…hell, what am I saying? No doubt when the list cutting begins, this won’t actually make it (too much other stuff that sounds actually good!), but I won’t deny that I’m considering it!
Cathy Malkasian has a new book, Eartha, from Fantagraphics on page 374. I’ll have to get that!
Don’t think I’ve seen her stuff.
Temperance is a superb comic, and I’ve never read Percy Gloom, but I know some people swear by it and the few pages I’ve seen look very cool.
Hey Fanta, if I want stupid, poorly drawn superhero comics, I’ll get Marvel stuff. BURN! More seriously, this All Time Comics thing on 374 sounds dumb. If Gary Groth is resorting to this, how soon before the next Fanta begging for money fundraiser effort?
However, then they’ll do a book like the John Stanley bio here on the same page, and man, I forgive them! I voted for Little Lulu as one of my top 10 runs for the poll at the other place. How did it do?
Humanoids has Sanctum on page 384. It’s written by Xavier Dorison, whose stuff I’ve liked, and it’s 20 bucks for 200 pages, which is always a consideration with Humanoids books (as the Metabarons books, which are half the length but 10 more dollars, attest to on the same page). So I might check this out – creepy weird stuff under the ocean!
Kodansha has a tribute to Akira’s Katsuhiro Otomo on page 394 that I may go for, as Stan Sakai and the Hanukas are involved.
Locust Moon‘s Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream HC has a listed price this time. But it’s $160, so I doubt I’ll get that. Maybe. I’m thinking about it.
NBM offers the Kerascoet books Beauty and Miss Don’t Touch Me in a set for 55 bucks. I’ve pondered these books a few times, so I will consider this! Did you get one of these?
Yeah, both of these are worth getting. Miss Don’t Touch Me is better, but they’re both quite good.
Oni has Redline, described as a dark sci-fi comedy about a colony on Mars. Hmm. I thought it sounded better than the preview comes across, from the description on the flipside. Well, it’s on page 402 if others are interested.

Oh, FFS, Letter 44, you’re a comic book, not a TV show, so you don’t have a MID-SEASON FINALE! You just can’t keep a schedule! (page 404)
Well, it has kept a pretty good schedule – there’s been some guest artists, but those are designed, it seems, because they’re flashback issues – so I don’t know if it’s that. But that is an annoying affectation. I wonder how long it will be gone.
I may have unfairly tagged them with the poor schedule label, so apologies on that part, at least.
Well, I ordered volume 1 of the new format Bad Machinery book last time, I guess, or the month before, and now I’ll get volume 7, the Case of the Forked Road, this time on page 406, and fill in the gaps once they re-offer the rest!
Rebellion/2000AD has one you might like, with The Order: Die Mensch Maschine on page 413. 13th century Germany, a secret order of warriors defending the earth from otherworldly creatures, Teutonic Knights with robot heads…sounds fun!
Yeah, that does sound fun. I might have to give it a look!

SelfMadeHero has one for the crossword geeks (hi!), with Fun: Spies, Puzzle Solvers, and a Century of Crosswords on page 414, about the history of the puzzle and some other possible uses for it, it seems!
That’s … something, I’ll give you that.
Titan seems to have started to put the number of issues of a series under each one of their books, which is nice. On page 424, Hatcher and Jeff or Edo (I can’t remember who!) will like the Anno Dracula comic by Kim Newman. I may have to get the short story book on page 425, since they rave about this stuff.
And on page 432, we get trades of the new Hard Case Crime stuff, which I was waiting for. I’ll be getting Peepland for sure, Triggerman probably, and maybe The Assignment. Several amusing things about that — the fact that the book got “reassigned” with a new name (I assume the movie people decided that (Re)Assignment was more offensive?), and then the trade is on sale Feb. 15, while issue 3, which is presumably a part of that book, doesn’t come out until a week after that! HA!
I’m definitely getting Triggerman and Peepland, but The Assignment is 20 bucks for 3 issues. That’s tough, man. But the name change is amusing.
I don’t know if it said, but I assumed that the issues of The Assignment were …ahem…larger packages than most single issues.
Page 448 has TwoMorrows offering Alter Ego 146, with Doug Moench in the ’70s, which is probably interesting. They have Hero-A-Go-Go! as well, a book with wacky ’60s superhero comics, so I might look into that. I also point out that Back Issue 91 offered here again has a piece by our pal John about J. Jonah Jameson (that I still need to read and not just skim!).
Valiant offers a new X-O Manowar series on page 452, and it sounds interesting how they’re doing it, where Matt Kindt is working on the different arcs with different artists all at the same time. Plus, there’s this set of the first three issues with extra content offered on page 453 as well that may be worth pondering. The pencil previews on page 455 are pretty.
That schedule makes my head hurt.
Is “oversized” really the PC term for the Faith deluxe HC on page 461? Come on, Valiant!
I will consider the 4001 AD deluxe HC on page 462, as that sounded interesting.
Did you get the League of Regrettable Superheroes? That’s reoffered on page 486, as a new companion volume, The Legion of Regrettable Super Villains is offered. They both sounded neat. I’ll wait to see if they do a slipcased set at some point.
No, I didn’t get it. Both do sound keen, though. So much pondering!
Nothing particularly great or particularly egregious in the back of the back of the book. It’s like they’re not really trying!
Well, I guess that’s it for this month. Take a look at Previews, see what you like, and order what you want! Don’t be a pawn of the Marvel and DC conglomerate! There’s a lot of cool comics out there!
Welcome, I’m Si McClure! You might remember me from such other eulogies as “Immortality Isn’t Forever” and “Janet, Shmanet”. Today, we are gathered to mark the passing of 2016. We’ll remember it until we don’t, and then no one will. Buffet’s open!
> “G: Hey, it’s the New Year!”
New year, new civilization!
> “G: we get a brand new non-glossy cover on the latest Previews”
Oh boy!! We get to read a new back of the book!! …Are we there yet?!
> “Dark Horse”
…Are we there yet?!
> “DC”
…Are we there yet?!
> “IDW”
…Are we there yet?!
> “Image”
…Are we there yet?!
> “Marvel”
…Are we there yet?!
> “T: a prelude to the next Marvel event, with absolutely no information”
#MarvelLogic: Retailers Will Gladly Pre-Order $35 “Classified” Trade
> “G: Let’s get to the back of the book!”
Yayyy!! Back of the book time!!
> “G: I Thought You Hated Me from Big Planet/Retrofit on page 310”
Mari Naomi’s nonfiction PEANUTS with good samples and reviews? I’ll gamble on that!
* (3 pages) https://catapult.co/stories/the-making-of-a-comics-memoir
* (4 samples) http://retrofitcomics.com/post/141898397732
* (3 samples) http://retrofitcomics.com/post/149127613507
* (w/ 2 pages) https://blackgirlnerds.com/bgn-book-review-thought-hated/
* (w/ 1 page) http://www.opticalsloth.com/?p=24545
* http://www.comicsbeat.com/review-i-thought-you-hated-me-by-marinaomi-longevity-of-friendship/
* (more reviews) http://marinaomi.com/ithoughtyouhatedme.html
> “G: Grass Kings on page 313”
Izzat code for weed dealers? But I’ll be happy to ponder a trade once its issues have been smoked!
> “T: Coady and the Creepies”
Izzat Boom’s answer to JEM & THE HOLOGRAMS? Good to see Liz Prince take their money until she can release another ALONE FOREVER or TOMBOY! (BTW, their FCBD pamphlet has a COADY excerpt, but you’d think they’d offer the series only after releasing the sampler?)
> “T: the “sacrilege” cover of Hellina: Scythe 2”
Hey, she’s got armor nipples, just like Batman!
> “T: Nice to see Caliber is still putting out books”
Caveat? Their recent reprint of DAYS OF DARKNESS had terrible production values, even by Caliber/Transfuzion’s shoddy standards. (Looked like some inkjet printout, even the lettering a pixellated mess.) Wouldn’t order from them sight unseen, but YMMV!
> “T: Velda Girl Detective”
Why is Columbo after her?
> “G: [LETTER 44]] has kept a pretty good schedule – there’s been some guest artists, but those are designed, it seems, because they’re flashback issues”
Yup, after each 6-issue arc with the main artist, there’s been a guest-artist flashback issue like clockwork: issues 7, 14, 21, 28 (and I guess 35 of 35). I’d wager they’ll go into an extra trade in the end!
> “T: Teutonic Knights with robot heads”
I didn’t know Robotman was Teutonic.
> “G: I guess that’s it for this month”
Meanwhile, at Abattoir Diamond, ARSENIC LULLABY: THE DEVIL’S ONLY FRIEND has been cancelled for the second year, sigh.
> “G: Take a look at Previews”
Well, for “Free Comic Book Day Month”, may I suggest D&Q’s sampler of DELISLE & FINDAKLY? (Their respective HOSTAGE and POPPIES OF IRAQ are two good graphic memoirs, the latter nominated for Angoulême 2017.)
— WITCHER: CURSE OF CROWS by Paul Tobin & al. (p. 82, allegedly $18 from Dark Horse)
* Unreviewed finale!
* Not the original art team!
* $18 mousetrap for 110 story pages!
* I can wait or forget, but YMMV!
* (3 pages) https://www.comixology.com/The-Witcher-Curse-of-Crows-1/digital-comic/420640
— AFAR by Leila del Duca & Kit Seaton (p. 206, $15 from Image)
“Young adult sci-fi”? Looks to me like teen fantasy with few panels and a monkey, but YMMV!
* (5 pages) http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/04/06/520465/
— THE BUNKER final VOL. 4 by Fialkov & Infurnari (p. 407, $20 from Oni)
Let’s see how it ends! [Ends? Nothing ever ends. ~Adrian.]
—
TLDR: Is that all there is? Is that all there is? If that’s all there is, my friends, then let’s keep dancing. Let’s break out the booze and have a ball, if that’s all there is.
Well, I’ll have to look at my copy of Velda volume 1, but that’d be a shame if the Caliber stuff is printed like poo.
The Arsenic Lullaby is lateness, not necessarily cancelled, if I read the code right. I may be wrong.
Wow, you know it’s a sparse month if it got Simon down to only a massive comment, instead of a hideously massive comment 😉
I had the original Pacific issues of Starslayer, plus the first three First Comics issues. I sold that stuff a while back; but, I have scans, so no real interest in the hardcopy. Still a fun little series; nice swashbuckling action; but, the storyline is wrapped up rather quickly. As I recall, the original production material and art are long gone, which is why the Windjammer Director’s Cut had to be digitally reproduced, with the art tweaked by Clarke Hawbaker. Ironically, I just posted a review of the original story on the Classic Comics Forum (http://classiccomics.org/thread/4034/guys-non-dc-marvel-reviews?page=5&scrollTo=192821)
Mister X is great all the way through. I like the Los Bros issues, though their art wasn’t totally in sync. I wish Motter could have done both art and story. Paul Rivoche and Seth did fine work and were a bit more in that Deco aesthetic, though the Bros captured some elements of it. Great stories, though, which led to Terminal City and Electropolis (which ties all three together).
Anno Dracula is tons of fun and it’s about time Kim Newman wrote some comics. He’s as good as buddy Neil Gaiman, with more of a pulp sensibility. As good as Anno Dracula is, jis Diogenes Club stories would make even better comics. Picture the Avengers (Steed & Peel) mixed with 1970s Doctor Who and you get an idea of the fun. there is a mix of eras, so you have Richard Jeperson and his aid vanessa, which is the Steed & Peel stuff (with some Jason King thrown in), while there is Edwin Winthrop and Catriona Kaye, for a Nick & Nora Charles-style duo. Plus some others. his ore recent Secrets of Drearcliff Grange School (an English boarding school for girls with special abilities) and Angels of Music (a literary Charlie’s Angels, with the Phantom of the Opera, as Charlie) would also make great comics.
I’ll have to check out your Starslayer review, Jeff.
And I’ll be getting Anno Dracula in trade, almost solely because you and Hatcher dig it. See what you do to me!?
I wouldn’t call Coates’ Panther boring at all (I had problems, but that wasn’t one of them). I found Rue Britannia so dreadful I was surprised I liked Gillen’s Young Avengers.
Jeff, I like Anno Dracula (though even by my standards, the references got a bit heavy), but the Diogenes Club collection fell flat for me. Outside of fashion, it never felt very seventies to me, which I find a drawback in historical fiction.
There are 3 collections (well, if you leave out the earlier edition of Seven Stars) from Monkey Brain Books, with the first having the more 70s stuff, with Richard Jeperson. The other two move around in time, in various stories, with more of Winthrop & Kaye, some Jeperson, some kid detectives and Dr Shade ( a pulp character who is both real and the subject of a comic strip). The stories in the first, Man From the Diogenes Club felt 70s enough for me and I liked the characters. Your mileage may vary. The second, Secrets includes ciphers, which you can solve along the way, which add bits to the stories. It also includes a meeting between Richard Jeperson and Derek Leech, Newman’s demon/entertainment magnate, from The Quorum and The Original Dr Shade.
frashersherman: I didn’t read Black Panther, so I can’t say. I just read more than a few people complain that it was boring. But that’s just second-hand knowledge!
I will say that Rue Britannia is the weakest of the three Phonogram mini-series. I still love it, but Singles Club and Immaterial Girl are much better. Whether that will sway you or not, I don’t know, but it’s true!
I did find a lot of the first TPB to be heavy on set-up for whatever’s following–it read more like a big epic novel than a series (don’t mean that as a compliment, even a multi-part comics story should have some sort of payoff per issue). But there’s a lot happening, and I didn’t find it boring.
I really, really hate that Wakanda is now a failed state; from interviews, I gather Coates does too, but felt it was the logical outcome of everything the 21st century’s Big Events put the nation through.
While I liked the concept of phonogram, no, I’ve no urge to read further. The protagonist’s way too annoying and the endless discussions of 1990s Britpop didn’t even remotely interest me.
That Star Hawks book caught my eye immediately, but then I saw the hefty price-tag and that fact that it only collects one year’s worth of the strips – I already have the (unwieldy, I’ll readily admit) complete collection which I bought from a guy here in Croatia for about 20 bucks.
The Starslayer book, on the other hand, has me quite intrigued; I had the first few issues of the original series published by Pacific and remember really liking them.
By the way Jeff, I’ve been enjoying your various posts at the CCF…
Thanks, though I didn’t have much artwork to highlight for it and I was kind of tired. I don’t know if I conveyed the fun of it. It’s a light read from Grell, much like his early Warlords. It’s hard not to like space pirates, Arabs on Mars, and vikings in stellar longships, even with some dicey intrigue. Too bad any collection is devoid of The Rocketeer and Groo backup stories.
Jim Lee doing 12 issues isn’t all that amazing. That seems to be par for the course for as long as I can remember seeing him doing on whatever series he was working on at the time.
Unless someone knows of any series that he did pass the normal 12 issues?
Still no new MIRACLEMAN series announced from MARVEL. I’m getting tired of waiting for this. How long does it take to produce 4 new issues out of a 6 issue mini series (the first 2 issues would be reprint)?
Think about it, 20+ years for the lawsuit, plus 1+ years for all the reprints to get out of the way, plus the past year of waiting for nothing = what?
What a way to start 2017!!!!
Tom: Well, I’d be impressed if Lee did 12 consecutive issues of 20-22 page comics. I think he only ever did that on Batman, and I imagine he had some serious lead time on that.
The Miracleman thing is really upsetting and worrying. I agree with you – what the heck is going on with it?!?!?!?
Every time I read about some new Gaiman project my fanboy rage takes over and my immediate reaction is, “WTF? How about you finish those Miracleman issues you’ve had 20 years to write?!?!?!?!”
There has to be some reason for the delay. Is it just that Miracleman didn’t sell enough for Marvel to justify finishing it? Is Gaiman wanting too much money? Is Buckingham under contract to someone?
Hey Greg,
Love to see you guys back and running. I just found the new site a week ago. I missed your CBR stuff so I was stoked.
Anyway to comment on your demographic responses I can only speak to my LCS but one of my best friends owns the shop and he’s noticed a large uptick in diversity in the last few years. The white males, like me, are still loyal but he’s getting a more diverse, but racially and gender-wise, who do buy the books like Squirrel Girl.
The only problem that I see is the style of buying habits. Based on the people I’ve talked to men seem to want to come in every week for their pull lists. My female friends, however, usually have a short list and then wait for everything else in trade. Add to that you can buy those same trades on Amazon for much cheaper and that may be why you see a lack of foot traffic for books like America in stores.
I always buy local unless I have an Amazon gift card. Or it’s something frumiously expensive–then I usually buy used.
One of our local comics stores has a club for adult women to get together and discuss a given series each month. Seems to work well for them.
hjwilson: I’m glad you found us! We tried to get the word out as much as possible, but we know some people are still looking for us. So we’re always happy when old fans stop by!
That’s very cool about what you see at your store. I know a place near where my parents live that experiences that, too – the owner told me years ago that 30% of his clientele, easy, is female, which I thought was great. But I also know that buying habits are changing, and I wonder if digital and trades makes up for what Marvel might be losing on the front end. If it were up to me, all single issues would be digital and only trades would get published, but I’ve been told I’m crazy. But I do wonder about stuff like sales, and it’s frustrating because Marvel and DC don’t really tell us anything about that (beyond how many print copies each store orders, but that doesn’t tell us much about the greater sales).
As I noted, mine’s just one store in a relatively conservative part of the country (Mesa, AZ, isn’t as crazy as some people think, but it’s still fairly conservative). So that’s why I’m always glad to hear stories of other stores where it’s different!