Flippin’ through ‘Previews’ – November 2019

I grew weary of Travis stealing a march on me, so I started this post the day I got Previews #374 at my comics shoppe, and Pelkie can’t do anything about it! Let’s get to it! Travis, as always, is in basic black (’cause he’s so basic), while I am in fancy blue (because I’m really Iggy Azalea). Here we go!

Boo!  No, it’s cool, of course.  You should start the new post about the brand new for 2020 comics!  2020 is going to be my year, I can feel it (he says, yet again about the upcoming new year).

Image:

The solicits are here.

I will probably get Protector on page 38 in trade, because it sounds like an interesting sci-fi story in the future, put together by a group of people who have put out comics I’ve liked in the past.  We’ll see, though!

The creators are fine, but I’m not sure about the subject matter. It sounds like a fairly standard post-apocalyptic tale.

Matt Hawkins is always an interesting writer, so The Clock on page 44 might be dandy. It’s about millions of people suddenly contracting cancer and a scientist who has to figure it out. Hawkins does a nice job with these “science-based” stories, and, I mean, it’s drawn by Colleen Doran, so it will look excellent. I’ll probably get the trade, but who knows, maybe I’ll decide to get single issues.

If it’s 4 issues I’ll probably get singles, since Hawkins and Doran are both great.

Warren Ellis wrote early Witchblade stuff (page 50)?  Man, he didn’t turn down a job in the ’90s, did he?

He was the “Michael Caine in the 1970s” of comics!

Reaver sounded good, with the Dirty Dozen and Suicide Squad in a fantasy world setting.  I might get the trade on page 52.

I will probably get this solely on the strength of Justin Jordan and Rebekah Isaacs, because it sounds just okay, not great.

Thumbs was also a possibility, as it’s about a tech designer recruiting kids who are good at his games into his war against “The Power”, and the recruit who is in the middle of the factions after he’s injured.  The trade is on page 54.

With the cover tagline of Revenge of the Six on Savage Dragon 249 on page 75, do you think Erik Larsen got nostalgic for his Spidey days when he did that recent one shot?

Perhaps. I think he’s just trolling Marvel, because why not?

Dark Horse:

Here are the solicits.

It’s 20 dollars for 48 pages, but I’m sorely tempted by Notes on a Case of Melancholia, or: A Little Death on page 88. First of all, it’s about Death becoming a patient of a psychoanalyst because Death is worried that his child doesn’t want to partake in any grim reaping, which is fun stuff, and second, because it’s by Nicholas Gurewitch, who did The Perry Bible Fellowship, which was pretty genius. So I will probably pick this up.

That is cool looking art.

The Black Hammer/Justice League crossover is collected in HC for just 20 bucks, so that’s worth picking up.

We’ll Soon Be Home Again (page 91) is sure to be depressing, given that it takes place at a concentration camp during the Holocaust, but it’s about six kids who were in the camps, so it will probably provide a fascinating perspective. Plus, Peter Bergting draws it, and that’s a good thing.

That does sound like a good and important book, even though you’re right that it’s going to be depressing.  At least it’s not timely and governments don’t still take children from their families and incarcerate them …

Page 105 has Apocalyptigirl: An Aria for the End Times HC second edition, which is by Andrew MacLean of Head Lopper.  I kind of remember when this was first out, and I do like the title.  That pull quote sure is a backhanded compliment to the story, though, huh?  You might read it, sure, but it’s the art that you’ll actually like this for!

That is pretty funny. “I mean, the story kind of sucks, but it looks great!”

I’ll pick up Tommy Gun Wizards in trade on page 109, but it’s one reason I think I might switch back to single issues for Dark Horse stuff. It’s 20 dollars, and it was 4 issues, so they’re gouging you a little for waiting. Lesson learned, Dark Horse! You don’t have to be dicks about it, you know!

Plus, you would have gotten the original name here, Tommy Gun Wizards, because someone sent a C&D letter to them and the final issue will have a redacted title and the new title will be, I believe, Machine Gun Wizards.  Whoops!

That’s pretty funny. I really hope the Tommy Gun Wizards are either a famous all-male roller derby team or a famous Dungeons & Dragons group. I will accept nothing else!

That would be awesome.

Sir, how did you miss this one?!!?!?!  Page 113 — Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Omnibus volume 5!!!!!!!!  2020 WILL be a great year!!!  Fuck yeah!  And there was much rejoicing!  I’ll have to dig out and reread the other volumes.  Is there more beyond this one, though?

I didn’t miss it, I just didn’t mention it because I don’t trust Dark Horse. I’ll probably get this, given that it has yet-unpublished stuff, but I’m just annoyed about it all. I mean, I get that it doesn’t sell well and Dark Horse is a business, but it just annoys me. I don’t know if there’s more, but I hope so, because it’s so good. Damn it, Dark Horse!

Fair enough, but it is so good and maybe if we all shout about it they will hear us and change their ways … nah, who am I kidding?

DC:

The solicits are here.

DC decided to just make up a #750 issue for Wonder Woman, so on page 2 we get a solicit for it, with a bunch of nifty writers and artists. I mean, that’s cool and all, but Wonder Woman debuted just after Batman and Superman, so why dock her 250 issues? If you’re going to make up an issue number, why not 800, 900, or 1000? Wait a minute … the wage gap between men and women is often cited as women making between 72% – 82% of men … and 750 is three-quarters of 1000 … is Wonder Woman begin subjected to the dreaded issue number gap? For shame, DC!!!!!

That’s weird because iirc, when JMS was doing both Superman and Wonder Woman for those few weeks, I thought both of those comics were “#700”.  I could be wrong  (I am, it was at #600).  But Wonder Woman has had over 125 issues since the new 52, so right there that’s wrong (again, not quite).  But WW (the series) might have been quarterly for longer?  I think your explanation is funnier, though.

The Brian Azzarello/Emanuela Lupacchino Birds of Prey series, which I thought was an ongoing, has been downgraded to a 96-page one-shot, which is weird. Did Azzarello find out he only had one idea about the BoP, so he sent a nice note to Danny D saying, “Yeah, we don’t need any more space thx”? Beats me, but the Black Label Prestige Format books are really nice-looking, so I hope this will be too, and if it’s a one-shot, I can buy it without waiting for a trade!

I know there was outcry about Azz doing this book, and the scheduling went funny, so that fed into it, plus there’s that new Harley and the BOP movie coming.  Black Canary’s life is still going through the “ringer”, though!

An outcry? Whatever do you mean, sir? (Checks Google, sees no mention of an outcry, just the cancelation and re-solicitation.) Explain yourself, Pelkie!

I swear I thought there was outcry because Azz did what he did to Wonder Woman, but maybe I was just projecting.  Or hallucinating.  I don’t know!

Hill House Comics has Daphne Byrne on page 6, which is about a teen in 19th-century New York who, it seems, is possessed and uses it to do some damage against bad guys. It’s by Laura Marks, who’s a television writer, which might be fine, but it’s drawn by Kelley Jones, and that is, of course, awesome. So this is probably on my trade-waiting list.

I’m the same, ever since this was first mentioned a few months back when Hill House started (or “started”, because I think they have the same scheduling issues that Young Animal had …)

Man, what the hell with these imprints? When will DC learn? They can pay people months in advance, so have six issues in the can before you start announcing shit! It’s not fucking hard!

On page 8, we get Superman: Heroes, in which Bendis and a few others examine what it means to be Supes in a world where he has revealed his identity. Wait, did that happen already? If it didn’t, that’s a pretty big spoiler there, DC. Sheesh.

I don’t think it’s happened yet, but I did just hear about it.  This whole rumor about the “5G” DCU is annoying as well, with all the characters supposedly getting replaced/updated or some such.  But it’s nice to see on that cover that Tom Petty is back from the dead and doing Aquaman cosplay.

So … it’s the 1990s again? Wait, is Bob Harras involved? (Checks Google, learns that Bob Harras is DC’s EIC and VP.) Damn it, Bob Harras!!!!!

Speaking of spoilers, the solicit for Detective Comics Annual 3 is calling on page 22.  Great cover by the Dude, though!

Oh, yeah, I already had that “spoiled” for me (I use quotes because I don’t really care all that much about spoilers). Good job, DC!

So Morrison’s Hal Jordan-as-Blackstar thing is only 3 issues (page 29)? Should I have known this? How weird. Why didn’t it just go with his Green Lantern epic? Odd bit of scheduling there, DC.

Yeah, when the first issue was solicited it did say 1 of 3.  I don’t know why it wasn’t part of the regular series, but either it was to differentiate it or to sell more with that sweet sweet #1! money.

So The Oracle Code might be good or not – it’s a graphic novel about Barbara Gordon’s first days after her paralyzing injury, so that might be interesting – but maybe, juuuuuuuust maybe, she shouldn’t “undergo physical and mental rehabilitation” at the motherfucking “Arkham Center for Independence.” I mean, come on, Barbara, you had to know going in that it might not be a good idea to go anywhere with the Arkham name attached. Sheesh.

I get what you’re saying, but these young adult GNs they’ve been putting out seem to have their own continuity, so it’s not like Arkham is necessarily associated with bad shit in this version of Barbara Gordon.

So far from what I’ve seen, DC’s Dollar Comics seem to be good and important books (or “important”, at least), and most of these ones on page 71 are, but Detective 554 is the debut of … Black Canary’s mid-80s costume?!?  The sad thing is that I’m probably going to get it!  I’ll probably get the Batman Adventures 12 with the first comics appearance of Harley Quinn, because Mike Parobeck was fucking awesome and gone too soon!  And that Brave and the Bold one is well in advance of Batman/Catwoman #1 …

Because I am a sucker, I might get Animal Man by Grant “I was Deadpooling it before it was cool, kids!” Morrison Book One on page 72. I own all the issues, but I still might pony up. Such a good series!

I acquired the run in the last few years as well, but while I understand that this is a great book and well worth reprinting, didn’t they just do this trade in the last couple years?

I’m pondering Absolute Fables on the same page, but I think that’s probably too rich for my blood.  I had a chance to get that series in singles for real cheap but missed out because I didn’t have cash at the moment.

Man, they went all in for Batman White Knight, huh, with yet another edition of it on page 74.  I read it and it was pretty good, but not quite great.

Page 75 has a third volume of Batman: the Dark Knight Detective from the ‘80s, including the arc that Sam Hamm, the ‘89 movie screenwriter, did, although they don’t highlight that.  And there’s also Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam, which was a kids’ comic from maybe 10 years back?  and includes work by Art Baltazar, Franco, and Stephen DeStefano.  It must have run longer than I remember, because this includes the first 12 issues, but this is listed as book 1.  Unless that’s a scam on DC’s part?!

Because I am a sucker, I might get Ex Machina Compendium One on page 76. I own all the issues, but I still might pony up. Such a good series!

I read the first arc or two, and thought it was ok.  Is this volume 1 of 2, then?

I would imagine.

Same page features Flash of Two Worlds deluxe edition, which was another one they published just a few years back (although probably further back than I remember).  It’s good Silver Age stuff, by which I mean it’s goofy and heartfelt.

Ooh, I’m torn, because I’m not sure how good these comics are, and they’re probably easy enough to get in back issue bins, but Justice League: Corporate Maneuvers on page 79 collects the first 4 issues of Justice League Quarterly.  Some really great artists on that, too, though!

Well, we guessed wrong about who the star of the Legion 2 issue lead in comic was, as the immortal lady was not Bendis’s latest Mary Sue.  It’s in the solicit for the Road to Legion collection on page 80, but I won’t spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet.  I take no blame if Burgas spoils it though!

I have to reorder the Famous First Edition: New Fun HC on page 81, because they delayed it for some reason.  Is that a different, slightly less racist cover than the previous solicit had?

It looks like the same racist cover that they had originally!

I’m definitely getting Superman: The Man of Steel Omnibus by John Byrne volume 1 on page 83, despite the $125 price tag. I’ve been wanting to get into Byrne’s Superman for years, but I keep not doing it, so no more excuses!

Goddamn, that’s a great chunk of comics.  I’ve collected a certain amount of those issues, but I’m not sure what I do or don’t have.  I’ll have to ponder this one.

I’m also tempted by that Spectre Wrath of the Spectre Omni on the same page, collecting a ton of his Silver and Bronze Age stuff.  I need moar money!!!

I think I have the Showcase volumes of Jonah Hex or else I’d want the Weird Western Tales: Jonah Hex HC on page 85.  Well, more than I want it anyway!

The whole “wedding” stuff was stupid, but that Catwoman Wedding Dress statue on page 89 is purty.  Probably because Joelle Jones is a really good artist.

I also enjoy that Harley as Robin statue on page 91.  It’s fun, but it’s nothing I’d pay for.

IDW:

Here are the solicits.

Dammit, I’m going to be tricked into buying Usagi Yojimbo in a different format, aren’t I?  I probably have the early stuff in the Fanta collections (does this mean IDW has the rights to all the Fantagraphics AND Dark Horse stuff to reprint?  As far as I could tell, Fanta could reprint the stuff they originally published but Dark Horse couldn’t reprint that stuff), but this is in COLOR, dammit, so I might be getting it, maybe even in singles.  Argh!  (page 130)

Resist, Travis!

I’ll try!

I’ll quote Charlie Brown in re: the book on page 147, Afraid of Everything: “That’s it!”

Page 149 has the Ted Adams/Gabriel Rodriguez adaptation of The Island of Dr. Moreau in HC, but it does include Rodriguez’s pencils in the back, which probably look damn cool.  I might consider this.

It’s not worth the price, because 25 bucks is steeeeeeep. It’s a very good story, so if you find the two issues, get those. I’m sure the un-inked pencils will look cool, but not for an extra 15 dollars!

Goddamn, that Parker Martini Edition on page 150 is pricey, but so, so worth it to have Darwyn Cooke and Richard Stark/Donald Westlake stories all together.  This is volume 1 of 2, but maybe I can save my shekels up and order this and the second volume later in the year.  I’m so lucky I got to meet Cooke at a con, and he was so friggin’ nice, as was his wife.

That’s a lot of money, man. I mean, they’re great comics, but dang, that’s a lot of money. I do love how they write “Tragically, Darwyn died several years ago”. First of all, I have to imagine most people reading this know that Cooke is dead. Second, he died in 2016. Is that “several” years ago? It’s a weird adjective to use, is what I’m saying.

The way I’ve always used several, it makes sense.  Is this concerning to you because you took Latin?

No, it’s just that “several” to me seems longer. “Few” is the word I would have used, but that’s just me. “Several” feels like at least 10 years ago. It’s just a question of semantics, I suppose, and it’s not too important.

Hmm, maybe I should tell my Doom loving friend about the Kirby FF Artisan Edition on page 152.  It’s semi-inexpensive and won’t take food out of his kids’s mouths if he buys it!

Marvel:

Here are the solicits.

Thor 1 on page 4 says “the Black Winter is coming”.  Where have I heard that before?

On page 8, the solicit for Guardians of the Galaxy asks “who will accept the mission?”  Well, on the covers, it looks like it’s Starlord, Rocket, Moondragon, Nova, and I think Quasar and Marvel Boy.  Is the solicit writer just asking us who these characters are, because I get it, I don’t know who everyone is either anymore!

I like the Superlog variant cover for Revenge of the Cosmic Ghost Rider 2 on page 10, where it points out his Cosmic Thigh and his Cosmic Navel, among other parts.

So on pages 11-13 we get the solicit for this Iron Man 2020 event, but apparently it’s also Iron Man ‘90s style, because Force Works comes back, ffs, and the cover of Iron Man 2020 1 will have a 5th color “flourescent” ink treatment, which I assume uses flour to make it purty.  Probably some environmental thing.  Unless they mean fluorescent ink, which is something different, but they did write it the other way in 2 different places!

So much to unpack. First of all, did Marvel steal Bob Harras back from DC? Jeebus. Second, a 5th color?!?!?!? That’s MADNESS!!!!

Third, who the fuck is Arno Stark?

Arno Stark is Tony’s brother, I think, and was always the secret identity of Iron Man 2020.  They revealed him as Tony’s brother in the Gillen run, I think? No, wait, I just looked it up, I guess Arno was the actual Stark child and Tony was adopted to be the healthy stand-in when Arno was sick a lot. [Greg’s fourth point edited out by Travis to eliminate him looking extra dumb][Coward!]

Someone high up at Marvel was like, where’s our Arkham Asylum, can we make one of those, feature crazy criminals and maybe do a dark TV show or movie soon, and some poor intern or something who thought being a Marvel intern would be great because they’ve read all the comics and seen all the movies is like, hey, there’s Ravencroft, where they held Carnage, and that high up person said fuck yeah baby and now we get this Ravencroft shit on pages 14-18.  Although I’ll probably grab a few of the True Believers comics because they reprint good old stuff.

Are you okay? Did you get that out of your system? You don’t want to rant about why Sabretooth is dressed like Original Recipe Wolverine? You can, you know. This is a safe space for your rantings!

It occurred to me to talk about Sabretooth, but I figured I can’t hog all of the good rantings!

I’m interested in a few of the one shots that are THE END of characters, on pages 19-25, so I’m torn on whether I should get the singles or wait for a collection.  You’ve got Erik Larsen on Captain America, Joe Kelly and Mike Hawthorne on Deadpool, the Captain Marvel one “reunites” our pal Kelly and Carmen Carnero from the regular CM series from … a few months ago when they worked on it still?  Ooh, also, you’ve got Damion Scott art on the Miles Morales one.  Even the Venom and Dr. Strange ones might be cool.

How is Hawthorne a “record-setting Deadpool artist”? I’m very curious about that phrase. (Googles it and finds out that Hawthorne has drawn more pages of Deadpool than any other artist. Well, that’s great. Why is that noteworthy? I mean, good for him, but this is what we’re celebrating?)

Hey, they have to come up with something, because while I like his stuff, I don’t know that Hawthorne is a “name” artist.

Our pal Kelly Thompson gets a chance to launch a new character in a solo title with Star on page 26.  I’ll probably just get the trade on this one.  Was that Captain America The End book part of the deal with Erik Larsen to keep him from pushing back against them having a character that has the same name as one of his?  (I thought Larsen’s Star looked a lot more like this Star, but my memory was playing tricks on me!)

Beats me. Good for Kelly, although I give this 12 issues, and that’s if I’m feeling generous.

Well, you’re being extremely generous since it says right there that it’s a 5 issue mini …

Whoops! [See? I OWN my mistakes, Pelkie!]

I at least said that I had made a mistake!  You could have edited this out as well!

OK, that Weapon Plus: World War IV visual of Man-Slaughter on page 39 is pretty frickin’ cool.  But why, Marvel?  Is the world clamoring for a hardass Man-Thing? (giggle)

Well, I mean, you were, just to make that joke.

I’m tempted on that Wolverine 3D on page 41, because I think I’ve read that issue before, but it would be cool to see John Buscema and Bill Sienkiewicz art pop off the page (even more than it already does!).

Amazing Spider-Man: Daily Bugle on page 42 is a mini about the paper chasing stories about Spidey and DD, and it’s by Incognegro’s Mat Johnson and Mack Chater, so it should be pretty good stuff.  I’ll look for the trade.

Alan Davis and Paul Renaud (I’m blanking on what I know him from) team up to do an Avengers/Defenders crossover mini.  Should be fun.  It’s called Tarot and the first 2 issues are on pages 44-49.

Renaud has done some Star Wars stuff for Dark Horse and some DC stuff, but I know him from the fact that he never seems to last longer than two issues on anything. I don’t know what his deal is!

So on page 50 we’ve got the first 2 issues of our pal Kelly’s run of Jessica Jones in print in individual issues.  This was a digital first series that was then collected in a print trade (which of course I haven’t read yet), and now they’re printing the individual issues.  I’m not sure why, but congrats to Kelly because I’m guessing that makes her some more royalty money, and that’s always good!

I know they’re trying to make Xemnu cool and scary in Immortal Hulk on page 59, even giving it a different name with The Hulk That Was, but I’m sorry, I can never see Xemnu and not think of She-Hulk’s “I Have No Mouth And I Am Mean!” tagline. Sorry, Marvel, you ruined Xemnu as a terrifying character!

Man, everybody’s trying to do something with Watchmen.  Captain America is fighting Rorschach in issue 18 on page 60!

The crossover you never thought you’d see!

I wouldn’t pay the money they’re asking for the Deadpool Merc for Hire statue on page 109, but it does look cool!

I didn’t know they already did an omnibus of Amazing Fantasy, but there’s a new printing of it on page 111.  Way cool.

… I’m sorry, I was just wiping the drool out of the corner of my mouth at the sight of Steranko is … Revolutionary! on page 114, collecting his Nick Fury stuff.  Day-um!  Is the “triple double page spread” going to be a poster or fold-out in this?

I would imagine it will fold out. I really want to get this, but I already have these in a very nice package, so I’m not sure. Dang it!

I dig Morbius the Living Vampire, so I’m wishing I could afford the Omni on page 115 of all the early stories.

That History of the Marvel Universe Treasury Edition on page 120 is not a bad deal, considering that I think the original issues were about 5 bucks each.  That’s what it works out to per issue with this $30 book, plus it’s extra big.  I’ll probably spring for this because I was looking forward to reading this.

Yeah, I’m getting it as well. Very cool-looking!

OK, why does it sound like not everything from Marvel Comics Presents (the latest version) is collected in the Tales Through the Marvel Universe book offered on page 138?  Why not collect it all, Marvel?!

Simple. The main story was a Wolverine one that ran through the entire thing, so they’ll collect that separately, because it’s Wolverine and they can make some extra cash. Easy-peasy! That’s a really dumb cover, by the way.

Ah, of course!  And that cover does look like it’s for a more … specialized audience.

Ooh, page 140 has a couple of good ones, with Death’s Head: Freelance Peacekeeping Agent collecting the early adventures of that character, and the Marvel Monograph featuring Art Adams as well.  How can you pass on one of the most iconic Marvel artists around?!

Well, I can. I mean, I’m sure it will look nice, but it will just be all pin-ups, so it’s not that interesting. I will probably get the Death’s Head one, though.

They already have to have a new printing of the Fantastic Four Epic Collection volume 3: The Coming of Galactus (page 146)?  I thought this just came out within the last year or so.  Well, no wonder, because it’s friggin’ awesome!

Taskmaster gets a collection on page 148 of his early stories.  He’s got a cool hook in being able to copy anyone’s moves, but how interesting is he otherwise?

On page 149 is an Epic Collection of the earliest Black Widow stories, but I swear that they either did this exact book before or something very close to it.  Weird.

Page 150 has the third volume of the Classic What If? series, including the comedy issue, and also has the second volume of the Jason Aaron run on Ghost Rider, although it appears most of the volume isn’t from his issues but tied into the run.  I’m considering this collection, because I didn’t get those minis that are collected here.

THE END collections are reprinted on pages 152-153.  I think I’ve read all of these except the Wolverine one.  As I recall, the FF and Hulk ones are pretty good (if only because the Hulk one has Future Imperfect in there), while the Iron Man one is meh.

Dynamite:

The solicits are here.

I imagine that the Dynamite offices have a dartboard with all their licenses in the various spots, and they declare the dart is, like, Red Sonja, and this month the dart hit the Chaos stuff, so that is probably what explains Red Sonja: Age of Chaos on page 160.  I won’t believe otherwise!

That seems plausible.

I’ll probably get the first volume of Red Sonja and Vampirella Meet Betty and Veronica on page 177, because it’s undoubtedly very good comics … yes, that is why.

I mean, it will probably be goofy fun, beyond just the cheesecake factor, so I might get it, too, but I’ll have to think about it.

I guess it’s “rerelease Kelly Thompson comics in a different format month”, as her Nancy Drew mini (which I still haven’t read) gets the HC treatment on page 178.  I may snag this anyway, depending on what else is on my list.

Remember, it ends on a cliffhanger and there doesn’t seem to be more on the horizon (unless this re-release is in anticipation of it?), so take that into consideration.

It’s on to the back of the book!

Of course I inform you all of the latest Cerebus in Hell? one shot from Aardvark-Vanaheim, on page 222 this month (the early part of the book must have been short, that’s about 20-30 pages earlier than usual).  This time it’s House of Cerebus, with an homage to the first Swamp Thing cover.

OK, I’m not sure 15 bucks for 48 pages is going to be worth it, but I’m intrigued by Action Lab‘s offering on page 226 of Time Shopper (oh, it’s a hardcover).  It’s about a dude who can travel in time but gets distracted by how affordable stuff is in the past.  That’s a funny concept.

That is pretty funny.

AfterShock has a few trades that I might consider.  Descendent on page 239 is about a cult that kidnaps children and the conspiracy theories related to that.  Orphan Age on page 240 was the one we talked about a few months back where all the adults die and how the world turns out 20 years later.  On page 241 is Killer Groove, about a musician in the ’70s that gets involved with a hitman and how that affects him.

I’ll probably get all of these!

Our pals at Amigo have a new series set in the world of Rogues! with Barbara the Barbarian on page 245, as well as another volume of Ghost Wolf starting.  I may have to pick both up, because Amigo does good stuff.

I’d love to get the first one, but Amigo’s scheduling has fallen off the planet, so I don’t know if I’ll ever get it. It’s very frustrating.

American Mythology is reprinting another Alex Toth Zorro comic with AM Archives Zorro 1958 Dell Four Color #822.  I’ll probably snag this one!

I have some Toth Zorro comics, and I know it doesn’t really matter if they’re presented in order, but I’d still like something like that. It’s probably out there, but I don’t know where.

Do you mean a complete collection of his Zorro work?  I thought there might have been one at some point but I’m not sure.

Yet again Arsenic Lullaby offers up The Devil’s Only Friend, on page 250.  This one has been offered a few times over the years (since 2014, it seems, if I’m reading the Diamond code there right), and maybe it will finally come out.  I like Douglas Paszkiewicz’s stuff, so I will be reordering this again!

Travis lives in hope!

Antarctic Press offers Cat Shit One, a war manga about Vietnam but done with animals, on page 252.  It sounds interesting, and I’m intrigued that Diamond didn’t make them censor the title!

I might snag the trade of Jughead’s Time Police on page 256 from Archie, because it’s got art by Derek Charm and I dig time travel stuff.  And I’ll get the Betty and Veronica Friends Forever: What If? issue on page 258, because alternate universes are always fun.

Sina Grace wrote the Jughead book, and he’s pretty good, too, so this will probably be good.

I never got Neonomicon, so I might grab a copy from Avatar on page 262, to fill in more of the gaps in my Alan Moore collection!

I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but there’s a lot of rough sex in it. Just so you know.

I think Loud from Maria Llovet and Black Mask on page 270 is a resolicit, but I’m not sure.  I’m pretty sure I ordered it and didn’t see it come out yet, so there’s that.

Yeah, it’s definitely a re-solicit. Black Mask is another company that seems to have a bit of an issue with getting their books out. Sigh.

In this case, it might be that Llovet was working on that book for Boom! with Azz.

Comicmix has an Omnibus of the old comic Whisper on page 277, although it doesn’t make it clear how many issues are included.  They reprinted some of this a few years back when Norm Breyfogle had health issues, didn’t they?

I think so? I own the Breyfogle issues, so I didn’t get that one, but I might get this one. It seems to imply that it’s the entire series, right, except it’s “volume 1”? Dang. It’s well over 300 pages, so it has to be at least 15 issues, right?

Well, the series ran 37 issues plus a couple others from Capital and a Special, so it’s a lot.  But I would guess around 15 issues.

Darby Pop seems to be back with Fake Empire Deluxe on page 278, about two fairy sisters who live in modern day New York who are asked by their father King Oberon to find who killed their sister, the Tooth Fairy.  I thought this came out before but maybe under a different name?  There’s also Frank N. Stein, Private Eye from the Young Heroes in Love artist Dev Madan and writer Keith Champagne, who has done some cool stuff too.

Sigh. Both of these sound good, and I will order them, and then I will cross my fingers and hope that they actually show up. And don’t think I didn’t notice you drop a Young Heroes in Love reference there, Pelkie! There is a zero per cent chance you knew that Madan drew that comic without looking it up. Or are you so in on YHiL that you know everything about the entire creative team? Inquiring minds want to know!!!!!

Dude, I totally knew that.  I did have to look it up to see that Dan Raspler was the writer, but I did know that Madan was the YHiL artist!

You should run the fan club!

I think Fantagraphics is publishing this new Richard Sala book, Poison Flowers & Pandemonium, as “three books in one” because when they offered some of this stuff separately they didn’t get enough orders.  Maybe.  I swear they just offered a new Sala book not too long ago.  He’s really good though, so I’m considering this new one on page 288.

I’m considering the one from Gallery 13 on page 292, The Strange Ones, about a pair of teens, I think, who meet up at a rock show and start a friendship in NYC.  The cover art looks interesting and it might be ok.

I kind of like how Goliath‘s Dirty Girls Having Fun photography book is on the same page as all these Disney and Garfield books on page 294.

I mean, it’s the same target audience, ain’t it?

Owly: The Way Home is a new color version, with words, from Graphix on page 296.  I thought words defeat the purpose of the stories being accessible to all ages, but what do I know?  I think the cartooning is great and all, but be careful if you give this book to a kid with diabetes, because sometimes the stories are sickeningly saccharine!

I made some enemies several years ago on-line and in the real world by announcing my burning-hot hatred of Owly, and now I can do it again! Man, I hate Owly. I can’t even like it as a kids’ book, because if I were a kid older than 14 months and someone gave this to me, I would throw it back at them and demand Joseph Conrad. And if I were younger than that, I suppose I could chew on it for a while – that might be fun. Jeebus, I hate Owly. Can you tell?

Hot damn, I feel vindicated!

Our pal Hatcher might like to know about Hermes Press reprinting the paperback tie-in novels to Dark Shadows, starting with the eponymous one on page 298.  The ad says the show is coming back to prime time next year, which I’m noting because I originally misread it and thought it was going to be a daily soap opera.  Why can’t I read?!?

It’s okay, sir. If you don’t know how to speak, either, you can be president some day!

Hermes also has How to Alienate Friends & Avoid People: The Lazy Goth Method, which is about a goth girl who’s lazy, and I am so down for it but for a few reasons: 1) it’s 30 dollars for 128 pages; and 2) it sounds like it teaches lessons about accepting yourself for who you are. Blech. Just bring the funny! So I have to think about it.

Yeah, the samples made me not like it, or else I would have mentioned it.

Jesus, I was digging it when I saw the ad and the interview with the Allreds in the early part of the book, but 40 bucks for Bowie: Stardust, Rayguns, & Moonage Daydreams HC from Insight on page 302 seems a bit steep.  Argh!  I do love Bowie and Allred, though, so I’ll probably cave and get this!

Bowie was only good when he was a member of Tin Machine. PROVE ME WRONG!!!!!

I offer “All The Young Dudes” as evidence!  Also, the line from “Station to Station” with “it’s not the side effects of the cocaine/ I’m thinking that it must be love”.  Actually I am a big Bowie fan and I appreciate that you recognize that Bowie did good work post-1983, which some of the “tributes” to him right after he died seemed to forget.

Tin Machine was da bomb, yo.

Sweet, The Plain Janes, which were some of those DC Minx GNs that they fucked up marketing properly somehow (is the fact that it was DC nuff said?), is collected in one volume with a new story from Little Brown Book for Young Readers on page 306.  It’s a fun little story about having to move to the suburbs and surviving high school as an artsy teen.  Plus, it’s got art by Jim Rugg.

So, I guess Lion Forge is being rebranded as Magnetic Press.  Or re-renamed, I guess.  Things seemed to be weird with them lately, so this doesn’t surprise me.  (ad is on page 307 about the change)  No, wait, I come to pages 314-315 and see that apparently Oni bought or allied with Lion Forge now.  OK, that’s interesting.  They’re probably a good fit, but I don’t remember hearing that news.

Yeah, I read a while back that Oni and Lion Forge were merging. Magnetic Press was a small concern that republished European stuff before they merged with Lion Forge a few years ago. Now, I guess they didn’t want to be part of Oni (or Oni didn’t want them?), so they’re independent again. As long as their Sergio Toppi books and Infinity 8 (both on page 309) keep coming out, I’m happy!

I’m interested in Dreaming the Graphic Novel: The Novelization of Comics by Paul Williams (this guy?) from Rutgers University Press on page 334, because the arguments about what constitutes a graphic novel and all intrigue me.

I was going to make that same joke, but I would have tried to find something of him from The Muppet Show, or perhaps his cameo in Baby Driver?

I’m blanking on the Baby Driver cameo, a movie from the last 5 or so years that I’ve actually seen!

He’s the arms dealer whom Jamie Foxx gets twitchy about and shoots.

OK, Scout has an interesting one on page 336 with Tart, about a boy who vanishes in 1950s NYC and the young woman named Tart Acid who appears out of nowhere to find him, because if she’s on the case, a demon is loose.  I might just wait and get the trade when it’s offered soon.

I like how the solicit reads: “All she knows that if she’s been sent, a demon is loose and threatening the history of the world.” Yeah, because that happens so frequently. Anyway, Scout also has, on page 335, trades of Crucified, which is about a hit man sent to kill a new Messiah who decides not to do it, and Red Winter, about a New York cop living in Moscow (of course) who gets involved in a gang war. Both sound keen.

Well, yeah, that’s why she knows that shit is going down, because she is so rarely sent.  C’mon, man, keep up!

Yeah, that’s the way it’s supposed to sound, but to me, it sounds like this happens a few times a month. “Oh, dang, I guess I have to get out of bed because a stupid demon is threatening all existence again. I was going to binge-watch Manimal, but I guess I’ll save the world!!!!”

I thought the FCBD issue of Hope from Source Point Press was pretty good, about a superhero whose identity is revealed to the public and how that tears her family apart, and now the trade is available on page 337.  Cool.  They also have the Horror Double Feature one shot on the same page, which might be ok, and on the next page is another Seeress one shot, Embla of the Dead, which I think is about a Viking woman?, and also Paradox, a one shot from Phillip Sevy, who I think was one of the Line It Is Drawn artists at the old place (our pal John Trumbull will set me straight!), and it seems to be about a variation of the Grandfather Paradox, so it should be interesting.

The fine folks at TwoMorrows are putting out great stuff as usual.  On page 349 we get Alter Ego 163 about Dave Cockrum, and Comic Book Creator 22 features P. Craig Russell, a Scottish hotel with Frank Quitely artwork on the walls, Derf, and hey, Dave Cockrum!  On page 350 is Draw 36, with record-setting Deadpool artist Mike Hawthorne (well, don’t I feel dumb[er] now?) and Yanick Paquette.

Man, I know there’s a lot of stuff in these books, but I completely don’t remember anything about Valiant‘s KI-6: Killers, offered in trade on page 358.  When were those singles offered?  Oy.

Beats me. I barely pay attention to Valiant, and definitely not their single issues. This does sound decent, but I don’t want it if it’s tied into the rest of their sprawling universe. Maybe it’s off in the corner somewhere minding its own business.

Oh, I think it’s probably a spin off of Ninja-K.  I suppose you’re right, though, that I liked Britannia because it didn’t have any noticeable ties to the rest of the Valiant Universe.

I might snag Mall from Vault on page 364, about a post-apocalyptic society based in the mall, because it could be cool.

Oh, man, those Golden Age Flash and Green Lantern shirts on page 414 look cool, as does that Adam Hughes women of DC one on page 415, although is it a toga party with them?  I know I’ve seen that art before but I forget where it’s from.

I think it was just a promotional image they did a few years back (or is it “several”?). Prior to 2011, I think, because Barbara is still in a wheelchair. I don’t think it was for anything specific.

So last month, I think (it’s all blending together any more), we saw R2-D2 Barbie, and this month, on page M43 we get Rosa Parks Barbie, which seems … trying too hard, to say the least?

Wow, that is trying too hard. Dang, Barbie.

They should at least sell a bus that she can ride in, but she only fits in a seat near the front of it …

Aw hell yeah, Bat-Mite Funko Pop on page M64!  I have officially become a Funko Pop guy because I ordered those Mad Men ones (although it doesn’t appear that the Peggy one, the one I wanted most, came in at the comic shop.  I should be in this week to see what’s up though!).

All the stories I’ve read with The Batman Who Laughs have been kind of stupid, but I have to admit that things like the statue on M71 look pretty kewl.  I guess when it’s close to the Judge Death look from Judge Dredd comics, it would be, though!

Well, that’s it for this month, everyone. Have a nice day, and don’t forget to find the comics you want deep in the bowels of Previews!