Celebrating the Unpopular Arts
 
Flippin’ through ‘Previews’ – October 2017

Flippin’ through ‘Previews’ – October 2017

With Halloween around the corner, our thoughts turn to … comics coming out in December! But where, oh where can we find those? Look no further than Previews #349!

So they’re immortal, but in all those centuries they haven’t picked up any fashion sense?

Could it be? Why yes, it’s Travis Pelkie, rocking the black text, while there’s Greg and his fancy blue text! It’s unpossible, yet somehow true!

Dark Horse:

Find the full solicits here!

Incognegro gets a new home at Dark Horse and a new printing on page 44. I never got this when it was at Vertigo, so maybe I should pick it up now. Did anyone read it back in the day?

Shockingly, I did read it.  From what I recall, it was pretty good stuff, with a good ending.  I’ve dug Warren Pleece ever since I saw Mobfire, a really early Vertigo book.  But yeah, this is probably a book worth your time and ducats!  Also, this is apparently one of the Karen Berger Books, which I now see the logo on the page.  Apparently going to be sequels and prequels too, which, meh.

Carla Speed McNeil is drawing an Empowered mini-series on page 46. I like McNeil’s art a lot, but she seems really mismatched for a mini-series starring Empowered.

I’m intimidated by how much Empowered stuff there is, so I don’t even know where to begin.

Adam Hughes is drawing Hellboy: Krampusnacht (page 50). Holy shit, Adam Hughes is drawing Motherfucking Hellboy!

Hopefully he’s been working on it since last Christmas so that it comes out on time …

Your cynicism will not dampen my enthusiasm, sir!

Is it the apocalypse?!?!?

American Gods HC 1 on page 56, adapting the Neil Gaiman book, is undoubtedly good, but I’ll wait for a softcover (or for the library to get it!).

Moebius Library: Inside Moebius part 1 HC on page 57 sounds cool and of course looks great (this cover seems more “bigfoot” than what I know of Moebius’s art), but this is the first of…3? HCs?  At 50 bucks a pop?  I will put this on my wish list!

On page 58 The Secret Loves of Geeks TP is a follow up to the Secret Loves of Geek Girls, which I didn’t get, but sounded good.  Both are available here, and both have a bunch of good creators.

Rebels: These Free and Independent States gets a trade on page 65. As usual, it’s not quite done yet, but the first series was good, and I imagine this one is, too!

I will probably pick up the trade of Bankshot on page 66, because I like Alex de Campi and ChrisCross, but did anyone read it? Do they want to offer an opinion on it?

I didn’t read it, and I’m sure ChrisCross is good (he’ll make you jump, jump for it), but the story sounded like generic action adventure stuff.  Undoubtedly well done, but still.  Is this dude Marcus King the brother of the guy from Stormwatch?  HAHA!

Yeah, but I don’t mind generic action adventure stuff if it’s done well, and de Campi is just weird enough to maybe pull it off. I’ll think about it!

DC:

All the solicits are here!

So DC is trying to steal Marvel’s thunder a bit (after Marvel tried to steal theirs, after DC tried to steal theirs … you get the idea) with “The New Age of DC Heroes,” as they’re launching a bunch of soon-to-be-canceled books spinning out of “Metal.” What are the odds on any of these lasting past … let’s say 15 issues? Not good, I suspect, but good for DC! Let’s check them out!

Oh, ffs, “vertical fold out covers”?  Did no one learn anything from the ’90s?

The Nineties ruled, Pelkie! How dare you insult the idea of chromium die-cut covers that glow in the dark and give you a hand job while you’re reading the comic!

I … I love all of the cover enhancements, actually (and there’s something coming later in the catalog where we can talk more about fun ’90s covers).  But the fact that they’re going to this well again …

The Immortal Men (page 79) has James Tynion IV writing and Jim Lee, of all people, drawing. It must be nice to be Jim Lee these days – you run the company, basically, and just draw whatever the hell you want, which in this case is a millennia-old battle between groups of immortal men. Like you find. It sounds stupid, but it will look nice, I guess!

If he lasts more than 3-4 issues on this, I’ll be amazed.

Oh, sure, but those few issues will look nice!

Damage (page 80) is basically the Hulk. It’s drawn by Tony Daniel, so does it really matter who’s writing it? (The answer is Robert Venditti, but it doesn’t matter!!!!)

Mashed up with Hourman, don’t forget.

Does he only Hulk out for an hour? That would be weird.

I do believe that’s what it says.  Yes, “Ethan fights to rein in the damage [ooh, titular line!] he unleashes when the beast inside him springs free for one hour a day.”

Ah, shoot, yeah, I missed that. My eyes glaze over occasionally when I read the solicits!

I think they have to, or else we’d go mad.  MAD!

The Silencer (page 81) by Dan Abnett and John Romita Jr. is about a retired assassin who is forced – by Talia al Ghul – back into the field. Well, that sucks. The book should look nice, I guess.

Wait, Leviathan, the organization of Talia al-Ghul’s from GMozz’s Bat-run, is decades old?  Since when?  Wasn’t it created after Talia was rejected by Batman?  And Talia is still alive, too?  These are a few of the reasons I am not impressed.

Don’t question the great and powerful Harras!!!! He didn’t run Marvel into bankruptcy and somehow get the same position at DC for you to question him, you peon!

See, that just seems like it would be awfully loud

More forthcoming, but these three don’t sound great. I mean, they sound mediocre, which is better than awful, but still. I do love what the “Comic Character Name Generator” spit out for the characters – Caden Park for Immortal Men, Ethan “Elvis” Avery for Damage, and Honor Guest for The Silencer. Wow, those are dumb. I think “Honor Guest” is my favorite, though.

They’re all stupidly good!

Every time Doomsday Clock is in Previews, my heart dies a little more … (page 82-83)

It’s going to rule, Pelkie! Accept it!!!!

I … I can’t!  I just saw that the ashcan has the story taking place November 22, 1992, which is the weekend after the Death of Superman.  NO!!!!  So stupid!!! (The actual death date was the 18th, which means I have 6 weeks for a certain column I need to write….)

There’s a new Holiday Special on page 87. Those are always fun. Some good writers and artists, and they don’t take it too seriously, so it’s probably pretty good value (10 bucks for 96 pages).

Dammit, every time I think I’m out … Dennis O’Neil is in this.  I can’t quit you (completely!) DC!!!

Batman is almost smiling in that cover! Doesn’t Andy Kubert know that Batman NEVER smiles?!?!?!?

I never noticed, until I printed out the order form for this month’s book (before the book came out), that DC actually lists its comics mostly in alphabetical order (barring highlighted stuff and imprints).  I’m so observant!

Wow, that’s certainly a … cover for Detective #970. Yep, that’s a cover all right:

T: Batman loves pulled pork SOOOO much!!!!

Weird if Green Arrow on page 104, the comic of a guy with a TV show, is reduced to just a monthly book, but there are 2 twice monthly Green Lantern books.

Does this Green Arrow look like Stephen Amell and occasionally does the salmon ladder shirtless? No? Mystery solved!!!!

I don’t know what a salmon ladder is, but I suspect that is in fact the reason.

Keep up, Pelkie! T: OK, point taken

I must have missed this, but it appears that Richard Kadrey is writing Hellblazer.  I’ve read at least one book and one story of his, and he’s pretty good, and a good choice for Constantine. (page 109)

I’ve never heard of him, so it does nothing for me. NOTHING!!!!

Man, I guess the last issue of Kamandi Challenge (on page 114) will be more poignant, with the epilogue by the late great Len Wein.

Oh man, Buttler’s going to love this one.  Scooby Doo Team Up 33 has the Scooby gang meet the Legion of Super Heroes.  Aw hell yeah!  (page 131)

Anarky: The Complete Series shows up on page 135. I have to check to see if I own this, because I know I didn’t get it when it first came out, and I don’t think I picked up the back issues over the years, and I should own it, because it’s Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle. Of course I want it!

I was curious as to why they wouldn’t include the first stories from Detective, but I guess there was a long gap in between those stories.  I assume Anarky must be appearing on some TV series?

I think the Anarky stories were in the first (and hopefully, not last) Breyfogle Batman hardcover. Oh wait, it’s right behind me, let me look … Nope, not there. So yeah, it would behoove them to get another Breyfogle Batman hardcover out, with those issues in them! And yes, Anarky has appeared on Arrow, but it’s a wildly different character.

I was interested in getting the new Captain Atom series, and there’s the trade on page 136!

I was interested too, but man, it doesn’t sound like that series actually had any relevance to the DCU.

Isn’t that a bigger selling point?

I guess for some.  I’m surprised they didn’t use it as some sort of multiversal way in to the Watchmen universe or something.

I actually own most of the comics collected in Lobo by Keith Giffen and Alan Grant volume 1 on page 138, but I’m still tempted. The Simon Bisley art is soooooo good.

I might have all of it but the first mini, but yeah, this is fun stuff.  I have such a soft spot for this stuff!

Why isn’t Bisley drawing the Justice League?

Suicide Squad: The Silver Age trade on page 139 should have two words in the solicit text: “ROBERT” and “KANIGHER.” What the hell else do you need?

How do they not know who is doing the cover?  Aren’t they using the same cover as the HC?  I was tempted when it was first solicited, and I’m still tempted.

There’s also a trade of the ’90s Superboy‘s first year of his solo title on page 139, by Section Zero’s Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett (with Mike Parobeck and Humberto Ramos to boot), which should be good, but I have a lot of it, so I probably won’t pick this up.  I was just looking through some comics, and a couple of these issues cross over with Milestone stuff, but now I see that Milestone is coming back soon too.

Super Powers by Jack Kirby is collected on page 139. That just has to be wacky, doesn’t it?

I wonder, have the mini comics from the Super Powers action figures from that era ever been collected?  I have a few of those (and they factor into my comics origin story, so I should write about that!).

It’s an omnibus, so it’s pricey, but the Superman: Exile HC on page 140 collects what appears to be the run of Superman stories post-Byrne/pre-triangle era.  Good stuff, and I have plenty of it, so I don’t need this book, but it’s underrated stuff.

It can’t possibly be as wacky as Batman Odyssey, but Neal Adams tackles Superman in The Coming of the Supermen, in trade on page 141.

I’m tempted by this, but I did hear it wasn’t as wacky as Batman: Odyssey and it definitely wasn’t any good, so I’m not sure.

Yeah, Odyssey was so wacky it made up for being so bad.  If this isn’t as wacky, I don’t see the point!

Also on page 141 is the trade of Vigilante: Southland, which collects the full series, including the last 3 issues that weren’t in print before.  I may snag this, as it sounded interesting.

Astro City hits issue #50 (well, for this series, as they’ve passed 100 issue already) on page 143. Very cool.

Congrats to Busiek, Anderson, Ross, and all the others who have pitched in on the series.  I need to catch up at some point!

Rachel Pollack’s Doom Patrol run gets collected on page 145. I read the first story of her run and loathed it, so I dropped the book. I heard it got better, but I don’t know if I want to drop 35 bucks to find out.

I have read the story from Vertigo Jam (which was only 1 issue, so I don’t know why they say VJ #2 here), and it was … weird.  But the art was by Eric Shanower, so it was of course great looking.  Man, that Vertigo Jam book was excellent.  I love early Vertigo…  Oh, yeah, we’re talking Doom Patrol, though.  Yeah, that wasn’t enough for me to judge the series, though.

Page 145 also has the trade of Savage Things, which sounded interesting, and at 20 bucks for 8 issues, is a pretty good deal.  Secret government organizations never seem to get anything right, huh?  You kidnap some kids and train them to be unemotional killers, and then they won’t go along with your wishes, and that just is a bummer.

IDW:

It’s the entire list of solicits!

I’m getting the quarterly book in singles, but I think I’ll get the Black Crown books in trade.  But Assassinistas from Tini Howard and Gilbert Hernandez sounds fun, with ’70s action bounty hunter ladies that have gotten older and brought one’s kid along for the thrills.  Sounds like a good time, and since it’s Beto, of course it will be great looking. (page 154)

I figured you would enjoy that one!

The kid’s eyes really make this cover work

I don’t know why they need to reboot 30 Days of Night, but there it is on page 157.  It should look good because Piotr Kowalski is good.

Yeah, that makes no sense whatsoever. A few years ago I criticized Niles for going to that particular well so much, and he actually commented on the blog taking me to task. I guess I was suitably chastised, but now we get this, which is so weird I don’t know what to do about it.

Well, I get sequels and all, but a full out reboot like what this seems to be, by the same author, only 15 years after it started…I don’t get it.

Normally I wouldn’t care about Back to the Future comics, but Tales from the Time Train on page 158 has Megan Levens on art, and her stuff is good from what I’ve seen.

Ooh, Judge Dredd: The Dark Judges collected on page 172.  Wagner and Grant with Bolland and Ewins on art.  I’m a bit wary of the new coloring, though, but I’ll probably still get this.

Dang, that does sound cool. And yes, we should be wary of new coloring! But I’ll have to think about this …

Well, they don’t look friendly

Important and unfortunately seemingly timely, but We Spoke Out: Comic Books and the Holocaust sounds like an interesting collection of comics dealing with the Holocaust, and it appears to be a multi-publisher collection.  (page 183)

Yeah, I’m not going to get this, but I am curious as to the contents.

I do wish they were a bit more specific on that, at least.

Also on 183 is a much less serious topic with Screwball! The Cartoonists Who Made the Funnies Funny, about early wacky comic strips.

I don’t think this Tales from the Age of the Cobra book is the GI Joe tie in I’ve been waiting for (page 184).

I don’t remember if Four Women by Sam Kieth has ever been collected, but it’s on page 187, and if you haven’t read it, you should definitely get it. It’s one of Kieth’s best works. (Also, surprisingly, the Fox show Lucifer has started crediting Gaiman, Kieth, and Dringenberg in the credits at the beginning of the show. A pleasant surprise, but a surprise nonetheless.)

Whoa, that’s cool.  Yes, I do have Four Women in singles, and it is an incredible work.  Everybody should get it!

Page 188 has the trade of Satellite Falling, which is about a human bounty hunter on an alien world, and how she has to set things right.  This sounded interesting (sort of a companion to The Fuse), and the behind the scenes drama was intriguing as well, as apparently the first artist stopped working on the book without letting the writer know.

Fred van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey are back on page 192 with Comic Book History of Comics: Comics For All, which I guess is a continuation under a different name. I love the van Lente and Dunlavey collaborations, so of course I’m getting this!

I’m hoping there is eventually a big omnibus of this.

Image:

Full solicits are go!

I am of course behind on reading it, but the first trade of Rumble was quite good, and if we can’t have James Harren, David Rubín is a pretty good replacement, on the new #1 on page 194.  Eventually I’ll get this!

I missed that Harren wasn’t drawing it. Considering he was the only reason I liked the first arc, I’ll skip this. I wonder what he’s doing that he can’t do this?

OK, I was interested in Bonehead on page 196, as I like Bryan Hill on Postal, but parkour gangs?

I haven’t read much of it, but what I’ve read was neat, so let’s congratulate Richard Starkings and crew on the finale of Elephantmen with issue 80 on page 198.

Yeah, that’s neat. It hasn’t been quite as good as it used to be, but it’s still pretty amazing, so I’ll miss it, even though I’m glad Starkings is able to end it how he wants.

Always a good read!

I’ll probably nab the trade of Paradiso on page 199, as Kieron Gillen gives it a good blurb.  Even if it sounds like typical fantasy with artifact of power stuff.

You may have missed it, but Dylan Meconis is in the trade of Bitch Planet Triple Feature on page 203.  FYI.

I’m pretty sure I knew that already, but it won’t be enough to get me to buy it!

You can probably just snag the one issue she was in from the back issue bin at some point!

So I guess Divided States of Hysteria was just a mini?  Well, the trade is offered on page 204, and I’ll probably pick it up to see what all the fuss is about.

I might get the trade of Elsewhere on page 205, just because I have faith in Jay Faerber, but finding out that Amelia Earhart went to a fantasy world isn’t the most enticing sell for me. I don’t know.

Yeah, it’s an ok premise, but let me take the opportunity to say RINGERRRRRRRRR!!!!!

Generation Gone gets a trade on page 206, and I’ll have to think about getting it. Ales Kot can be a really good writer, and he can be a terrible writer, too. Which one is this?!?!?!?

I’m debating this myself.  Maybe.

The struggle is real!

They’ve made Happy!, perhaps Grant Morrison’s worst comic (although I have a friend of Facebook who insists it’s good!), into a television program (which I will watch, because it might actually work okay on TV), and so they’re giving us a “deluxe edition” on page 208. This is a terrible comic, and it makes me sad that it’s probably one of the few Morrison books which could conceivably be adapted to television. But there it is!

I hope they include the guy who says “cunt” a lot.  Yeah, I dunno if it’s GMozz’s worst, but it wasn’t top of the pops.  (Are you friends with Darick Robertson on FB? 😉 )  Maybe the extra pages here are what will make the book good?  (HAHAHAHA!)  In better news, I did see that apparently Cameron Stewart has had the scripts to the last Seaguy for the last 3 years, so hopefully he’ll get that done by the time Vertigo reboots next year (I’m dropping so many headlines I’m seeing about NYCC!).

Boy, that would be nice. (And no, I’m not friend with Robertson.)

Kill the Minotaur gets a trade on page 209. I’m getting this because it sounded pretty neat and Lukas Ketner is a really good artist!

Yeah, I’ll probably spring for this.  It sounded keen, even.

I will probably get the trade of Moonstruck on page 210, because I love Cher (I also love this joke, as I already used it for this book!).  Hey, Lumberjanes by the same writer was good, and a werewolf barista should be fun.

Shouldn’t the title be listed as Mage, Volume 3: Book Two, The Hero Defined?  So confusing!  (page 224).

Crap, I missed Postal volume 5, I think, but I can get that and volume 6 on page 227.  Good stuff.  I think I actually talked about the first three volumes at the old place.

Well, shit, if I’d known Retcon was just a 4 issue mini (page 229), I might have gotten it in singles.  Well, I was going to get the trade anyway …

It could have been a “stealth-mini,” in that it was supposed to be an ongoing but the sales were crap, so they just claimed it was a mini-series all along. Marvel does this all the time!

That’s true.

That variant cover for Royal City 8 on page 231 is disturbing …

That’s sexist, dude.

If Courtney Love wants to grow a beard, you shouldn’t judge her!

Marvel:

Solicitations ahoy!

Page 2: Phoenix Resurrection: The Return of (Adult) Jean Grey. If that is actually printed on the cover, with the parentheses and all, I will laugh and laugh and laugh. It doesn’t appear to be the case from page 3, but I would still love it. I think Marvel should go all in with this stupidity. Of course, I think that with the addition of the parenthetical, this should be a porn comic, but that’s just me.

Is Greg Land doing covers?  Then it will be a porn comic!  HIYO!  Yeah, why is Jean Grey so beloved, anyway?

I honestly thought that Leinil Yu cover was Greg Land for a second, which depressed me because Yu is such a good artist. And I never understood why anyone really liked Jean Grey. Claremont had to turn her into God to make anyone care about her, after all.

Yeah, Yu is good, but sometimes his scratchy stuff takes over too much.

Is she scorching them with the power of her explosive flatulence?

OK, howcum Marvel 2-In-One (another porn title, actually) gets a new #1 on page 6, while Tales of Suspense on page 21 starts with issue 100?  2-In-One began and ended in the time since Tales of Suspense ended, didn’t it?

DON’T QUESTION THE ALL-MIGHTY KNOWLEDGE OF JOEY Q AND HIS MINIONS!!!!!

Um, why does Galactus have a yellow costume now on Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (page 64)? I mean, the purple is dumb, but it’s at least a bit menacing. Now he looks like a lemon-flavored Oreo (which are fairly tasty, shockingly enough).

Mmm, lemon Oreos.  Um, I dunno.  It must be the SJWs ruining Marvel, I think.  I actually have no idea what’s going on with Galactus.  He was in a few early issues of Squirrel Girl, still in the purple, iirc.

‘I dare you to make fun of my color scheme!’

So for X-Men Gold #18 (page 69*), the solicits imply that Nightcrawler is dating Rachel Grey. This is why I’m sad about the fact that time no longer passes in the Marvel Universe, because there’s no way Kurt isn’t something like 20 years older than Rachel, in which case, dude. Come on.

* Nice.

Would he be that much older than her?  Well, they were teammates in Excalibur.

I think he would, because it’s always been implied that Rachel was born before Jean died the first time, and if that means she’s an adult, it means our universe X-Men are much older than we think … you know, for it to work, Scott and Jean would have had to have Rachel when they were, like, fifteen, so I think we should just move on from this line of questioning.

Isn’t Rachel from the future, though, or am I just way out of it on my X-Men lore?  But yeah, I thought she was supposed to be younger than Kurt et al, but was from the future so not on the same timeline per se, so maybe not as young as she would be in this timeline?  It’s still kinda weird, I’ll grant you!

I think this might cause some problems for Logan (page 71):

T: Frank Miller scoffs. SCOFFS!!!!!

So Marvel hired Ed Piskor to do X-Men: Grand Design, which is a unified history of the X-Men (page 77). Piskor would be the person to do this, but Marvel does know that their characters are fictional, right? Anyway, it boggles my mind that Marvel and DC occasionally throw out these weird-ass, indie-feeling projects, because it just makes me realize that they could do it a lot more and choose to be mediocre. Sigh.

That’s true.  The Strange Tales from maybe 10 years ago, Girl Comics, some other Marvel things that I’m blanking on, then Batgirl, Prez, some other things from DC … just throw more money at good indie creators, big 2!  This sounds interesting, though.  Although someone should get Piskor some paper that isn’t already yellowed before he starts drawing on it …

I might pick up that True Believers of the Phoenix story from Bizarre Adventures 27, since it’s in color.  It’s only a buck, right? (page 92, and other Phoenix issues on page 93 as well).

So, I never read your reviews in order to avoid spoilers, but is the Vision series collected in a big HC on page 96 worth the scratch?

Yeah, definitely. It’s 40 dollars, which is already cheaper than the single issues, plus it has the “director’s cut” crap included, PLUS it’s one of the best Marvel comics of the past … decade, maybe? At least of the past five years. So yeah, it’s totally worth it.

I’m very curious to read Black Panther: The Man Without Fear, which is offered in trade on page 100. It seemed wildly stupid when Marvel dropped Daredevil from his own title (he was dead, after all, wasn’t he?) and threw T’Challa in there, but David Liss is a decent writer and there was some cool art on the book. It’s a big chunk of comics for 35 dollars, so I’ll have to think about it.

I … I don’t know, was DD dead?  Yeah, didn’t Francavilla do an arc on this (he says, without the catalog in front of him)? (yes, he says, with the catalog in front of him)  I just picked up a novel of Liss’s at the library for cheap because I like his stuff, so I may consider this.

Speaking of Black Panther (he must have a movie coming out or something), on page 101 we get a trade of Panther’s Quest by Don McGregor and Gene Colan, which ran in Marvel Comics Presents for a while. Is this any good, good readers?

What was this Immortal Iron Fists book by Kaare Andrews and Afu Chan on page 107?  A digital thing, as it’s the first time in print?

Beats me. I guess it must have been digital.

This month’s egregious use of the word “classic” comes on page 110 with the new printing of Power Pack Classic.  HA!  I love that joke!

I only read the Punisher one, but it was PAD and Lea Hernandez so of course it was decent, but the Marvel Mangaverse is collected on page 111.  Chuck Austen is involved, but it appears just on the art side.

Those fully painted comics that Marvel did in the wake of Marvels are collected on page 112 in the Avengers: Tales to Astonish collection.  Pricey, but you are getting PAD, Busiek, and James Robinson as writers.  I never read these.

That does sound neat.

The Jason Aaron run on Punisher Max is collected (sans the Christmas special), as drawn by Steve Dillon, in the complete collection v7 on page 116.  I’m tempted, as I was tempted on the HC before.  Maybe the Omni will be slashed whenever Marvel does another warehouse sweep out.

Cable: The Nemesis Contract, from Joe Casey’s run, gets collected on page 117. I’m pretty sure I’ll skip this, but it features Stephen Platt art! HOW CAN I RESIST STEPHEN PLATT ART?!?!?!?!?

Because you have the sense God gave ya?  No, I think I have a good chunk of this run that I got cheap, when I started collecting up a lot of Joe Casey stuff (since Chad at the old place was a big fan).  Man, the ’90s, amirite?  Ladronn and JHW3 are also on this, though!

They should have stuck a sweet STEPHEN PLATT cover on this!!!!!

Let’s get to the back of the book!

The latest Aardvark-Vanaheim Cerebus in Hell? one shot is The Vark Knight Returns, on page 252.  I hope to talk about the CIH? one shots soon.

Cerebus Vark Knight Returns cover
T: Somewhat less iconic…

Also on page 252, from Abstract Studios is the Terry Moore 25th Anniversary Sketchbook.  He draws good, so this is probably good.

Action Lab has The Consultant on page 256, which is about a dude who makes sure the public images of superheroes aren’t harmed. Sounds fun.

Also on 256 is the first trade of Toyetica, which has a unique look, and is based on toys being based on real, tiny people.  The FCBD story looked interesting, so I may try this.

On page 260, AfterShock has the first trade of Babyteeth, about a pregnant teen whose kid happens to be the Antichrist. Fun stuff, there! AfterShock has put out some decent comics, so I’ll give this a try.

I will probably be going for this as well.

Alterna has a couple of things I’ll point out.  FUBAR: Empire of the Rising Dead 5th Anniversary GN — FUBAR is actually pretty good zombie stuff, and I don’t think I have this.  Weird one, though, is the Scrimshaw TP.  2 issues for 15 bucks, when those 2 issues have just been reprinted in their $1.50 line?  Wha?

Yeah, that’s bizarre. I’ve been waiting for trades on these $1.50-books, and I really hope they’re not too expensive. This does not fill me with hope.

See, I think Alterna put out a lot of the stuff they’re doing for $1.50 already, which is why they had the material to be able to print stuff that cheap.  I don’t know how much they’ll be doing trades (I know the Mother Russia book was out in singles, and possibly a trade, but I don’t know about the other stuff), but I hope they don’t go crazy like this either!  Even though I’m getting the cheap singles!

Well, I’ll be!  The main cover of American Mythology book Casper and Wendy on page 272 is by Jenni Gregory, who did the book Dreamwalker back in the 90s.  Glad to see she’s still doing comics work!

Travis is happy, so all is right in the world!

The latest Archie Marvel Digest features the X-Men, on page 278.  I plan on writing about these this week as the latest one should be out Wednesday, but as a preview, I’ll say they’re good and worth getting.  Heh, funnily enough, the same page features the Mighty Crusaders 1 (as Archie tries yet again to make that happen), and the variant cover is an homage to the Giant Size X-Men cover they’re using for the digest.

It’s nice that Aspen can keep making dough off of Michael Turner Big Two art nearly 10 years after he died.  I guess.  If you ignore the creepy part about it too…. (page 285)

Boom! has a new mini-series about Judas on page 296. That should be cheery! (And their full solicits are here!)

If you get a 10% discount and pay in half dollars, this series costs 30 pieces of silver, dontcha know?

At least he’s pretty stylin’!

They also have a new Klaus special by The God of All Comics and Dan Mora on page 297. I own the series and the first special but haven’t read them yet. They’re purty, that’s for sure.

Sounds amusing too, as it goes after a soda company using Santa in their marketing.  Someday I’ll get these comics, but not this month.

Pizzeria Kamikaze on page 299 sounds like an interesting hardcover GN, by Etgar Keret and Asaf Hanuka, about an afterlife for suicides where they still have to work crappy jobs.  Sounds interesting.

Also on 299 is Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Fairies 1, which has story and art by the quite good Matt Smith of Lake of Fire and Barbarian Lord.  (I think I met him at the Boston Comic Con in ’11, iirc.)  I may snag just this issue, or maybe even wait and get the trade, as Tyler Jenkins is on a future issue, as well as Benjamin Schipper and Celia Lowenthal, neither of whom I can recall hearing of before, but I may just be blanking.

I have some issues but haven’t gotten around to reading them, but Bodie Troll is collected on page 301.  It collects, presumably, the Red 5 stuff as well as a bunch of other stuff.  272 pages for 15 bucks is a pretty good deal, and I like Jay Fosgitt’s art style.  I will consider this.

So that thing is about to abduct her and do who knows what, and she’s … into it? This is too weird for me, man

I was interested in Destroyer – sorry, I mean Victor LaValle’s Destroyer – when it first came out, and Boom! has a trade on page 304. It looked pretty neat, so I’ll probably pick it up. The last Frankenstein getting vengeance for her dead son? Why the heck not?

I was mildly interested, but not enough to get this.

Also on 304 is the first HC of Grass Kings by Matt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins.  It’s the first 6 issues for 30 bucks, so I will be waiting for the trade paperback.

Caliber has Winter War on page 320, which I will be getting because it’s about the Finnish fight against the Soviets during World War II, which is a very keen and almost forgotten part of that war. So I want to read a comic about it!

Huh, sounds interesting.  So, the Soviets weren’t able to Finnish what they started right away?  (wah wah wahhhhhhh!)

I’m going to ignore that awful pun and just show the cool cover

Also from Caliber on that page is Sherlock Holmes: The Retired Detective, which is written by Gary Reed, so it was probably pretty good.

Chapterhouse has a Die Kitty Die Christmas Special on page 321.

Well, unless my shop hasn’t been getting them, the book is really late, so I don’t have a lot of confidence in this coming out at Christmas.

On page 322 from Conundrum Press is The Collected Neil the Horse GN, collecting the 15 issues of the comic book that started at Aardvark-Vanaheim.

So Dynamite is publishing Barbarella (page 324). Good for them! I have no interest in this, but good for them! (Their solicits are here!)

Jeez, remember how Duran Duran had a comeback with “Electric Barbarella”, and that song is, like, 20 years old now?  I’m feeling decrepit!  This looks good, anyway, so I might get the trade down the road.

There are, of course, something like 8 covers for this

The Shadow: The Death of Margo Lane, by everyone’s favorite Matt Wagner, is offered in trade on page 338. This looked really cool, so I’m glad the trade is coming out!

And it’s not 200 friggin’ dollars like that one version.  I may go for this.

Ever since Devil’s Due/First offered it, I’ve been curious about The Black Flame, and now we get a nice collected edition on page 342. I don’t know if it’s any good, but it’s Peter Gillis and Tom Sutton, so it’s probably at least decent. We shall see!

I do believe it was a back up in … Warp, maybe, from the original First Comics.  I’m intrigued as well, but I don’t think quite enough to get it.

Fantagraphics has a bunch of neat stuff on pages 348-349 (not Neat Stuff, mind you).  The latest Love and Rockets magazine; the latest issue of Beto’s weird sex comic Blubber; a book of interviews with Gil Kane, Sparring with Gil Kane: Debating the History and Aesthetics of Comics; The Battle of Churubusco: American Rebels in the Mexican American Wars which sounds interesting, about soldiers who deserted the US Army for the Mexican; and the first 3 volumes of the Complete Crepax — the first two in a box set, and if the box opens as the picture appears to show, that’s some nifty design, as the box opens where the lady’s mouth is; and the third volume has some adaptations and a story of Baba Yaga as a lesbian villainess, which of course caught my eye.  Because I’m a bad person.

On page 350, FPG offers Thicker Than Blood, a three-issue series from 2008-2009 with Mike Ploog drawing and Simon Bisley painting a story about two brothers who travel across Scotland and come across all sorts of horrific creatures. I remember when this came out, but I never got it. Now you can get the black-and-white version with just Ploog’s pencils or the version with Bisley’s paints. I don’t know which one to get!!!!

Yeah, that’s fucking annoying that they didn’t print a cheap version of both versions in one book.  You get both in the pricey artist edition type book, I think, which is nice, but argh!

Cool cover, though

Graphic India has a trade of Avatarex by GMozz on page 354.  Nothing I’m going to get yet, but someday down the line, probably.  I like Chris Burnham, but I ain’t paying double for a variant cover by him, though.  Jeez.

I wish it wasn’t so pricey, but Hermes Press has on page 358 Babes in Arms: Women in Comics During the Second World War, a hardcover collection of Golden Age comics by female creators about the War.  Cool stuff.

That does sound neat. And yes, it’s spendy, but it’s also 300 pages.

Lion Forge has a collected edition of Jazz Maynard on page 371, which is six issues for 20 bucks in hardcover, which ain’t bad. I got the first issue because I wasn’t sure if it was a one-shot or not (the original solicit was poorly worded), and it was a pretty cool first issue. Nice art, gripping story … although the idea that the lead is such a bad-ass is a bit far-fetched. Still, this is a neat comic.

Good to know.  I think the next Previews was out digitally after issue 1 was solicited, so before I put in my final order to my LCS, I saw that this wasn’t a one shot, and I dropped it myself (that original solicit … grr!).  But it sounded neat and I may get the collection.  Although now I look again and see the cover calls this “The Barcelona Trilogy”, which makes me wonder if this is just book 1 of 3.  FFS.

Cyril Pedrosa has a new comic (well, “new” in that it’s now in English – I have no idea if it’s really new or not) from NBM called Portugal on page 377. It sounds a bit dull – a cartoonist is going through a mid-life crisis and hopes a return to his childhood country will spark him – but Pedrosa is a really good creator, so I’m checking this out.

I would also recommend from NBM the paperback of Rick Geary’s wonderful Treasury of Victorian Murder on the same page.  Always good stuff from him.

Oni offers up the first trade of Kim Reaper on page 380, which sounded cute, with a college girl crushing on another who is a part time grim reaper, but the previews pages here might be enough to turn me off of this book.  Not something I’m digging.

On page 386, Oni also has You Have Killed Me in softcover, which I guess it’s never been available in before. This is a really neat noir comic, with some very early Joëlle Jones artwork. It’s pretty keen!

I’m in on that.  I wonder if the trade of this will come out before the trade of Lady Killer 2!

Well, the final issue of that series finally came out, so there’s nothing stopping the trade now!

Sharknife volumes 1 and 2 are offered on page 388.  Did you read this?

Nope. Saw a bit of it, didn’t seem like it was my thing. I know a lot of people like it, though.

On page 392, Rebellion/2000AD offers Faceache: The First Hundred Scrunges, a collection of a boy with a rubbery face that he can use to mimic others.  Creator Ken Reid is beloved by the British creators we all love, and Beardy McGrumpypants does an intro for this.  I may go for it!  What a great character name!

On page 394 from Scout Comics comes Ghosts of Hiroshima 1 by Jim Krueger and Luigi Borillo, a story of a man burdened with guilt that makes him create a way to free a soul from Hell.  Sounds intriguing, so I hope Scout does a trade somewhere down the line (of all their stuff, really!).

That does sound neat. As with Chapterhouse above, I don’t know if Scout is very late with Smoketown or if Diamond continues to screw over my store, because it’s been a while since an issue showed up, and that’s a good series. So I might wait for the trade on this, too.

Sucks to be that dude

I don’t recall hearing of Silver Sprocket before (it appears they’re being highlighted as new on page 25), but they’ve got two cute books on page 399, Be Your Own Backing Band, about punk rock by the talented Liz Prince, and Catboy Collected Edition, with a cat turned into a boy due to his owner’s wish on a shooting star.  I may try both.

On page 402 is Crazy Quilt, a collection of Frank King’s pre-Gasoline Alley stuff from Sunday Press Books, with an intro by Jeet Heer, whom I see on the Twitter, and based on his love of the boring ass Gasoline Alley, I can safely dismiss his opinions now 😉

I think, although I’m not sure, that them’s fightin’ words.

Also on 402 is Supernaut volume 1 from 215 Ink and Michael David Nelsen, which sounds like a take on the Starlin version of Captain Marvel.  Might be interesting.

I seems like you’re more right than you thought, because it looks like this is 40 years old, which would put it during the Starlin Height of Weirdness. Looks pretty keen, though.

I’m not all that interested in Titan‘s Under: Scourge of the Sewer, but that is, of course, a sweet James Stokoe cover on page 404.

I ordered one of the volumes of Under a long, long time ago and it never showed up, so I’m a bit bent out of shape about that, because I like both creators. Maybe I’ll get this, maybe I won’t. But you’re not wrong about the cover:

Sweeeeeeet!

FYI for some of our audience, but there is a Kim Newman book, The Man From the Diogenes Club, offered on page 417, with short stories of the group.

I’m not big on mercs and antiheroes, so TwoMorrows offering Back Issue 102 with that for a theme wouldn’t intrigue me much, but then they include Wild Dog, which I like, and Archie meets the Punisher, which I love, so I may have to get this.  If our pal John has a piece in there, too, I guess I have to get it!  Maybe I should order a subscription from the catalog that was handily included in #100 …

Also on page 422 is Jack Kirby Collector 73, with stuff about Kirby’s one shots, and damn, that Big Barda cover looks sweet.  I’m in!

Fact: Barda is awesome

Valiant goes ’90s on us with the Quantum and Woody revival on page 426-428.  Extreme Ultra-Foil, which uses “actual comics foil from the ’90s”, which makes me believe they’re grinding up and recycling old Extreme/Image comics and finally finding a purpose for them.  And then there’s the Clayton Henry “Most Variant Cover of All Time”, with embossing, lenticular, die-cut, individually numbered, chrome, hand stickered, 2 foils, fifth ink…it’s like a back issue bin had an orgy and this magnificent baby oozed forth!

Jeebus. I have a feeling my retailer will order that actual cover, so I’ll have to keep my eye out for it.

Viz offers up a bunch of Junji Ito books on page 437, including the new volume Shiver.  I should get into this stuff, but I think it might be too scary for me!

Scaredy-cat.

Well, that’s weird.  Both Kodansha on page 364 and Yen Press on page 444 have volumes of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, which is a great title, at least.  Why from both?

Don’t question the vagaries of manga publishing, you fool!

A book about Joe Sinnott: Embellishing Life, on page 457, from Hermes Press.  Bound to be good.  “His work on the Beatles”?  What do they mean?  And don’t tell me to google it, that’s effort!

Just Google it, man!

On page 458 are a couple of the Conversations books in SC, with one on Ed Brubaker and another on Michael Allred.  I may get the Allred one.

When I see figures like the Bloody Red Sonja Pop on page 528, I’m glad Previews only gets here once a month.  (Yes, I hate myself for that one too.)

I fear that she will come to life and kill Travis for making that joke

That Ghost Rider Pop on his motorcycle on page 531 is kinda neat, especially the glow in the dark one.  And that’s where I tap out!

As always, thanks for reading, everyone. Previews has many treasures, and it’s stupid that it’s up to us to find them, but that’s the nature of the comic book business, unfortunately. So grab your catalog and dive right in!

31 Comments

  1. tomfitz1

    “Why yes, it is time for our monthly aunt through Previews. Join the smart one and the dumb one and let’s go!”

    I have a question: when I first saw this quote in my email, I was wondering: Who’s the smart one and who’s the dumb one and why?

    Otherwise, nothing of interest for me to buy.

    1. Greg Burgas

      Eric: Hey, a new government! Excellent!

      That video was pretty funny.

      Not as funny as the Dutch national team coach scoffing at the idea that Sweden would beat Luxembourg 8-0, but still funny!

  2. Yeah, I am indeed pretty excited about that Scooby/Legion crossover. Every issue of Scooby-Doo Team-Up is so damn fun.

    I’m sort of curious about The Immortal Men, just because I’ve always enjoyed the motley crew of immortals DC has trudging through history. I don’t know much about this series or how much it features the old favorites, but I’ll be interested to see what’s up.

    I’m torn about Super Powers. It was…not great. But Kirby!

    Somehow I didn’t catch that Panther’s Quest was a Gene Colan thing. I might have to get it for the art alone.

    I’m kind of tickled that Archie is doing another Mighty Crusaders, because I’ve always enjoyed the endless reimaginings of their superhero line. I really wish they’d reprint more of the Golden, Silver and Bronze Age stuff, though.

  3. frasersherman

    As someone who enjoyed McGregor’s Jungle Action run on T’Challa, I’ll look for Panther’s Quest.
    Love the idea of Immortal Men. I actually pitched DC on a proposal involving their many immortals a couple of decades ago (obviously to no success).
    Damn that was an awesome Big Barda cover. Mr. Miracle remains my favorite of the Fourth World books.

  4. Eric van Schaik

    It’s a miracle. I’m going to buy a recent Marvel Comics TPB. Ans the lucky basterd is… Vision HC. I already heared some good words, but Greg being positive makes it’s easy. 🙂
    Babyteeth looks interesting. Apart from that my 3 floppy’s.

    This makes my (calender) total for 2017 at $ 988,19. I think most of you will laugh at that amount but until now it’s still manageable with my current situation.
    Let’s here some other numbers people…

    1. Greg Burgas

      Eric: Oh, sure, put pressure on me for The Vision to be good! 🙂

      I’m impressed that you can buy comics with what’s going on, so that’s an impressive amount. Next time I do my month-end wrap-up I’ll have to add up my totals. As usual, I’m spending far too much on comics!

  5. Edo Bosnar

    Oh, man. Panther’s Quest is finally being collected and reprinted? Jeez, it’s been like forever. Yes, I’ve read it (won’t say how – but suffice it to say I would be nice to have tangible book to hold in my hand), and thought it was pretty good – not as good as Panther’s Rage or the Klan story in Jungle Action, but still worth reading (of course, that’s coming from someone whose head canon pretty much only recognizes Panther solo stories only if they’re written by McGregor).

    I’ve also read Incognegro – not back in the day, but about 2 years ago (found a very cheap used copy of the original hardcover). Also very good – didn’t set my world on fire, but it’s a good story with, as Travis noted, a very satisfying conclusion.

    Also … hand jobs? Man, those ’90s comics were wackier (pun intended? You decide) than I thought…

  6. Jeff Nettleton

    Fashion sense? This is Jim Lee we are talking about, not Howard Chaykin.

    “Oh, ffs, “vertical fold out covers”? Did no one learn anything from the ’90s?”

    This is still Jim Lee we are talking about.

    Black Flame was a back up in Starslayer, at First.

  7. Simon

    Cry “Christmas!”, and let slip the reindeers of war?

    > “Previews #349!”

    You go Xmas-shopping in a roach motel???

    > “Join the smart one and the dumb one and let’s go!”

    Waldorf: Which is the smart one?
    Statler: The one who stayed home?

    > G: “Incognegro”

    Well-meaning but forgettable, kinda formulaic and manichean. Akian. (Is depicting evil Southerners caging people “tackling racism”?) His “power” is “to pass for white”, his “secret identity” is “being a Negro”, his “adventures” are “punching Klansmen”, isn’t it yet another crypto-superhero?

    And this being B&W and a reprint, why priced so high? (Mainstream pubs release such page count for $8 in FC, even for OGNs.) If it’s a hardcover overpriced for libraries, why not read it there?

    * (6 pages) https://bnccatalist.ca/viewtitle.aspx?ean=9781506705644
    * (w/ samples) https://thewrightopinion.wordpress.com/2008/03/09/review-incognegro/
    * https://comicsworthreading.com/2008/05/22/incognegro/

    (Also, does its upcoming prequel INCOGNEGRO: RENAISSANCE mean omnibus-with-bonus double-dip ahoy?)

    > “DC”

    The Events Gnomes Biz Plan:

    * Phase 1: Endless events
    * Phase 2: ?
    * Phase 3: Endless profits

    > “Doomsday Clock”

    Nice to see neither of you two calling it “fan fiction” like so many do, which is totally unfair. Geoff Johns being no fan of Alan Moore’s WATCHMEN, his AFTER WATCHMEN is no fanfic — just “hate fiction”.

    > G: “I don’t remember if Four Women by Sam Kieth has ever been collected”

    Don’t remember the 2002 collection advertized as having a different ending? Great time to fully switch to trades.

    > “Image”

    Good news: Image are keeping up their shipping at $17 of books baited at $15. (Such as EAST OF WEST VOL. 7, despite 95 story pages, or BY CHANCE OR PROVIDENCE, despite 70.) Diamond let “premier” pubs do so sans mousetrap tag now? Progress!

    So, their wares can be read for free without that preorder malarkey, yay! In other news, Titan is shipping SCs for books baited as HCs (such as TOTAL TANK GIRL OMNIBUS), because why give suckers an even break?

    (BTW: “solicits are go” link broken by a colon.)

    > G: “Ales Kot can be a really good writer, and he can be a terrible writer”

    Pynchon readers may remember that “Kot” is German for “shit”, but it’s also Albanian for “worthless”. Fortunaly for Aleš Kot, he’s Czech! Unfortunately, his books are from Ales Kraut?

    > G: “If Courtney Love wants to grow a beard, you shouldn’t judge her”

    That wasn’t Rich Johnston fêted for a Pulitzer???

    > “Marvel”

    The Covers Gnomes Biz Plan:

    * Phase 1: Endless covers
    * Phase 2: ?
    * Phase 3: Endless profits

    > G: “why does Galactus have a yellow costume”

    It’s, hear, it’s *gold*, son! Dontcha get it? They’re… Golden Galactus and Silver Surfer, alchemical pals! And boy, does that colored gal look mean! Is she some terrorist from Al-Qaemi? They almost had a funny there! Joke, that is.

    > G: “Babyteeth, about a pregnant teen whose kid happens to be the Antichrist”

    You think it’ll be better than RACHEL RISING?

    > G: “[Judas is] pretty stylin’!”

    Mebbe he’s just pal with Klimt and Druillet?

    > T: “Pizzeria Kamikaze […] by Etgar Keret and Asaf Hanuka”

    Kinda like Boom saying “The Raven” is a comic by Edgar Poe and Richard Corben? This one is by Hanuka, after Keret’s short story. (They also pass it for an OGN, apparently just because of the recoloring?)

    The black-and-silver original was meandering but nice, just not $25 nice. (Also, the ad’s “full-color” conflicts with its “PC” tag, maybe it’s some brown-and-cyan reprint? No samples is no good omen.) If it’s a hardcover mousetrap overpriced for libraries, why not read it there?

    * (w/ 2 samples) http://www.readaboutcomics.com/2007/02/12/pizzeria-kamikaze/
    * http://comicsworthreading.com/2006/07/12/pizzeria-kamikaze/

    > T: “Bodie Troll”

    Isn’t it cool how they call this collection too an OGN? Or do they justify it by adding “all-new original stories about Bodie’s continuing adventures”? And when did 272 pages become “massive”? Can its marketing tell us who’s the target for a book?

    > T: “Grass Kings […] for 30 bucks”

    ALLEGEDLY, your honor! Do hardcover mousetraps overpriced for libraries deserve preorders?

    > G: “Winter War”

    Blue corner: Finn. Red corner: Stalin. Kurt Belcher: shadin’. (Still in bookstores or Amazon with ISBN 0985749393.)

    * (5 pages, blurbs) http://www.calibercomics.com/winter-war.html
    * https://www.cosmicbooknews.com/content/winter-war-3
    * (w/ 1 sample) http://www.stevensurman.com/winter-war-issue-01/

    (By the by about Caliber’s war comics: Don Lomax’s HIGH SHINING BRASS from last Flippin’ is out in bookstores. Looks like POD (blacks are shiny as on a xerox or laser printout) but decent, hi-res POD not ruined by pixellation.)

    (Some day, instead of ordering dead-tree books, you’ll buy the right to print a copy from your local POD shop, as they did in 1960s scifi. You mark that, kid!)

    > T: “The Collected Neil the Horse”

    “Neil has a sense of magic to it that is in no way syrupy or cutesy. It should be read by every man, woman, and child in the English-speaking world.” — Jackie Estrada

    “One of the most original [of the 1980s B&W comics.] This is a fun, weird, and important look at a long lost era of comics history. Highly recommended!” — John Porcellino

    “[I]nspired by the manic adventures of Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck, along with a healthy dose of surrealism à la Winsor McCay’s Little Nemo, Neil got caught in a photocopier, producing hundreds of Neil clones; he met Mr. Coffee Nerves and consumed a gallon of the stuff, with expected rubber-legged results, and he and his cigar-chomping pal, Soapy the Cat, went to Hell[.]” — Trina Robbins

    “Delighted at your continuing Neil the Horse efforts […] and I’m particularly enthusiastic about your continuing probe of the medium. I welcome you as a fellow explorer.” — Will Eisner

    “May the Horse be with you!” — Katherine Collins (née Arn Saba)

    * (w/ 8 pages) http://www.spitandahalf.com/product/the-collected-neil-the-horse-by-arn-saba-katherine-collins/
    * (w/ 5 pages) https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2017/09/20/neil-horse-rides/
    * http://shawnconner.com/2017/06/collected-neil-the-horse-book-review/

    > G: “Dynamite is publishing Barbarella”

    But Alternative has the cooler Barbarella, see NURSE NURSE below.

    > G: “Portugal”

    Angoulême 2012 winner. Very nice art, very light story. (244 story pages, but 9-panel average and oversized format make the price decent.) Doesn’t its ad copy make it sound like self-indulgent autobio crapola, Greg?

    > G: “It sounds a bit dull – a cartoonist is going through a mid-life crisis”

    That’s another way of putting it. Actually, it’s also a family story about three generations of immigrants, in present time and flashbacks. First third is about our artist and his wife. Second part follows directly but revolves around his father and aunt. Last third investigates the grandfather (who emigrated) and his brother (who stayed and spawned today’s Portuguese cousins).

    No pathos or melodrama, it’s as meditative as some Taniguchi mangas, but the artist is more detached than a Murakami protagonist and his belated coming-of-age isn’t too deep or new. Still, it’s a quiet nongenre GN that’s easy to foist on civilians once read, so there’s that.

    * (w/ 3 tr. pages) https://comicsgrinder.com/2016/09/11/review-portugal-by-cyril-pedrosa/
    * (w/ 6 untr. pages) http://www.comicsandcola.com/2014/04/translation-wishlist-cyril-pedrosas.html
    * (mixed, w/ untr. samples) http://old.brokenfrontier.com/columns/p/detail/picturesque-portugal-by-pedrosa

    > T: “Be Your Own Backing Band”

    Fun vignettes for Razorback mag? The 9- and 12-panel grids make it meaty enough, but do mousetraps deserve preorders, especially from fly-by-night pubs? Still, Liz Prince is indeed to be watched out for, later from a bookstore.

    * (w/ 5 pages) https://www.radiatorcomics.com/shop/graphic-novels/be-your-own-backing-band/
    * (4 pages) https://store.silversprocket.net/products/liz-prince-be-your-own-backing-band-graphic-novel

    > Mr. T: “Junji Ito […] might be too scary for me!”

    You could know by peeking at the many UZUMAKI pages below. Or the classic 32-pager “The Enigma of Amigara Fault” @ http://brasscockroach.com/h4ll0w33n2007/manga/Amigara-Full/Amigara.html

    > G: “Scaredy-cat.”

    Well now, did *you* try UZUMAKI?

    > T: “I’m glad Previews only gets here once a month”

    CBR Greg once or twice vividly evoked Diamond’s elite staff of “two-toed sloths”. And, according to a zoo’s notice, sloths climb down once a week to pee and once a month to poop. What are Diamond’s weekly and monthly outputs? (Now your joke seems classy, Travis!)

    [CONTINUED ON 4TH WEEK FOLLOWING.]

    — NURSE NURSE by Katie Skelly (p. 268, $15 @ Alternative)

    Barbarella meets Halo Jones for “a pleasantly demented story” of “epic space adventure” and “pop manga” fun? (Still in bookstores with ISBN 0985415002.)

    * (w/ 1 page) https://comixcube.com/2011/01/15/colonists-be-safe/
    * (w/ 3 pages) http://highlowcomics.blogspot.com/2012/06/black-and-white-nurse-nurse.html
    * (mixed, w/ 2 pages) http://www.tcj.com/reviews/nurse-nurse/
    * (6 pages) http://indyworld.com/imprints/sparkplug-books/katie-skelly/nurse-nurse/
    * (DeForge blurb) http://wowcool.com/Nurse-Nurse.html

    — HOW TO BE ALIVE by Tara Booth (p. 288, $8 @ Big Planet/Retrofit)

    Painted vignettes with the chromatic exuberance of Gauguin? (Already in bookstores with ISBN 194039869X.)

    * (w/ 5 pages) https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2017/08/29/review-how-to-be-alive-by-tara-booth/
    * (w/ 2 pages) http://www.comicon.com/2017/09/11/tara-booths-how-to-be-alive-is-a-manual-for-acknowledging-we-are-alive/

    — GETTING OUT OF HOPE by James Cadelli (p. 322, $18 @ Conundrum)

    Interesting, though prolly no CAGES or LIFE: A USER’S MANUAL. Three panels apage may feel short (like 100 usual pages for $18, which suckers made the new DM standard). Prolly more sensible to wait for reviews… but gambling on it like a sucker. (Already in bookstores with ISBN 1772620149.)

    * (4 pages, summary) http://www.conundrumpress.com/new-titles/getting-out-of-hope/
    * http://mtlreviewofbooks.ca/reviews/getting-out-of-hope/

    — MISTER MORGEN by Igor Hofbauer (p. 322, $25 @ Conundrum)

    Charles Burns meets Hans Rickheit with spot red and gray. Haunting like a Bosch woodcut, Greg. (Five stories of 50/40/30/30/20 pages, eight 4-to-8 pagers, 210 story pages.)

    A retired star living in a public zoo, a strange electrician meeting stranger tenants, a contagious escapee jumping into a crowded train, a bag lady used by a protracted police plot, a secret porn movie made for Stalin — bizarro realism in a Soviet-era city.

    * (4 pages) http://www.conundrumpress.com/new-titles/mister-morgen/
    * (4 pages) http://www.conundrumpress.com/news/igor-hofbauer/

    — FORLORN FUNNIES [Vol. 2] #1 by Paul Hornschemeier (p. 348, ALLEGEDLY $8)

    Overpriced mousetrap unlikely to complete its cash-grab prepub — but isn’t it nice to expect a new Hornschemeier GN?

    — LOVE MACHINES [VOL. 1] by Josh Trujillo & various (p. 378, $20 @ Northwest)

    What if Neil Gibson wrote a “historical romance” anthology, Greg?

    * (10 pages, synopses, blurbs) http://www.joshtrujillo.com/lovemachines
    * (w/ 3 samples) http://www.brokenfrontier.com/love-machines-review-josh-trujillo-ryo-kawakami-michael-schisler-ben-bishop-jb-wolfe/
    * (w/ 2 samples) https://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/05/21/josh-trujillo-spreads-the-love-with-love-machines-out-on-comixology-today/
    * (w/ 2 samples) http://comicsalliance.com/josh-trujillo-love-machines-review/

    — LETTER 44 VOL. 6 (OF 6) by Charles Soule & al. (p. 385, $20 @ Oni)

    Why not hype Disney-Warner’s fake #1s and let good series die on the vine? (But Oni flees to another book distro, so Diamond may not be terribly careful with their DM books from now on, “in order to encourage the others” — maybe another reason to get it from a bookstore?)

    — LOOK STRAIGHT AHEAD by Elaine M. Will (p. 393, $20 @ Renegade)

    What if SWALLOW ME WHOLE had ONE FLY OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST, Greg? Reprinting a Xeric Award winner and Joe Schuster Award nom you can read online until you know whether you want a copy.

    * (full story) http://blog.e2w-illustration.com/?webcomic_post=look-straight-ahead-chapter-1-cover

    * (w/ 4 pages) http://comicsbulletin.com/review-look-straight-ahead-takes-me-one-fascinating-and-frightening-places-comic-has-ever/
    * (w/ 5 pages) http://comicsbulletin.com/elaine-will-another-reality-behind-our-own/
    * https://comicsworthreading.com/2013/08/06/look-straight-ahead-recommended/
    * http://www.cbr.com/look-straight-ahead-depicts-mental-illness-as-only-a-comic-can/
    * https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-9918669-0-8

    — Five tried-and-true relists for Xmas? Sure, why not:

    WORLD OF TANKS (p. 76), as good as WAR STORIES’ Tankies arcs.

    * (w/ 2 pages) http://www.freaksugar.com/cest-la-guerre-world-of-tanks-roll-out-5/
    * (w/ 2 pages) http://gamingshogun.com/2017/04/30/quick-review-world-tanks-graphic-novel/

    FROM NOW ON (p. 270), speculative fiction about time-travel and aliens.

    * (w/ 4 pages) https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/07/from-now-on-short-comic-tales-of-the-fantastic-by.html
    * (w/ 6 pages) http://www.page45.com/store/From-Now-On.html
    * (6 pages) http://www.spitandahalf.com/product/from-now-on-by-malachi-ward/
    * https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-934460-91-7

    ROVER RED CHARLIE (p. 286), an uplifting answer to PRIDE OF BAGHDAD.

    * (w/ 2 pages) http://forbiddenplanet.blog/2013/reviews-the-world-has-gone-to-the-dogs-rover-red-charlie/
    * https://samquixote.blogspot.com/2014/05/rover-red-charlie-review-garth-ennis.html
    * https://robpatey.com/2014/06/02/rover-red-charle-6-review-wagging-away-the-wafts-of-we3/
    * https://comicsfondle.com/2014/06/03/rover-red-charlie-6-may-2014/

    THE GAMES PEOPLE PLAY (p. 350), a brisk history of the int’l Tetris scandal.

    * (w/ 6 pages) http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2016/08/12/tetris/6EQqDjS9HBF9WZR3p0qUSJ/story.html
    * (w/ 4 pages) http://www.page45.com/store/Tetris-The-Games-People-Play.html
    * https://comicsworthreading.com/2017/05/07/tetris-the-games-people-play/
    * https://ijustreadaboutthat.wordpress.com/2017/03/27/box-brown-tetris-the-games-people-play-2016/

    UZUMAKI [aka SPIRAL] (p. 437), creepy horror about creeping obsessions.

    * (w/ 15 pages) https://mercurialblonde.wordpress.com/2013/05/30/the-horrific-mechanations-of-junji-itos-uzumaki/
    * (w/ 3 pages) http://weirdfictionreview.com/2013/11/deep-spiral-dark-universe-junji-itos-uzumaki/
    * (w/ 2 pages) http://www.panelpatter.com/2015/05/the-maddening-spirals-of-junji-itos.html
    * (w/ 1 page) https://dialhforhouston.wordpress.com/2014/08/27/manga-review-junji-itos-uzumaki/

    (Such backorders may be unreliable and slow from Diamond, but you could also get them inside of a week from a bookstore, or even using your Amazon powers for good.)

    —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —
    FOLD HERE TO STAND

    1. Eric van Schaik

      Simon, how long does it take for you to go through Previews? The last few years I look only on internet for the solicitations, and at this wonderful site for stuff that I missed. The past few months its kinda slow. But when I look at stuff that most of you highlight I’m a minority.

      1. Simon

        @Eric: It’s done in increments, maybe two hours for the catalog and three for the googling? (Digital Previews being available from [REDACTED] around the 20th, there’s time for daily doses of baloney.) And it allows to quickly search-in-file for the names of all interesting creators beforehand, so “going through Previews” can skip credits. (Plus skipping lame pubs and unknown second volumes, obvs.)

        Maybe more importantly, Previews is just one step, for books that earn it. We don’t have to preorder anything, the rest can get released and reviewed (like books, albums, movies, games, etc.) — and be picked up or ordered later on our terms.

        Still, if you find it kinda slow, did you investigate the backlist of your fav writers? Or gamble on one book outside your comfort zone per month, maybe after googling samples or reviews? Or sample stuff from your library, based on review sites? For instance, radiating from superheroes to scifi/fantasy, did you try:

        * Valiant? Such as Kindt’s DIVINITY, Van Lente’s IVAR TIMEWALKER, or the 12 free PDFs of #1s Johanna pointed out @ http://comicsworthreading.com/2017/07/28/valiant-reworks-website-posts-free-comics-if-you-can-find-them/

        * Fiffe’s ongoing COPRA (online #1), Graham’s complete PROPHET, Hickman’s complete THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS and ongoing EAST OF WEST, Soule’s complete LETTER 44, Kindt’s complete MIND MGMT, etc.

        Oh, and the discussions @ http://atomicjunkshop.com/2016/10/13/in-defense-of-fun/

        1. Eric van Schaik

          @Simon: Slow isn’t always bad. With my current situation (divorce a short while ago) I can’t spend gigantic amounts of $$$.
          I gamble from time to time (thanks to this column). Mostly trades.
          Copra, East of West and Manhattan Projects (a finished product?) I already order in trades (Copra thanks to Greg pointing them out many months ago).

          Apart from comics I also like music (not only AATT :)) and specially going to concerts. Going to the movies is a hobby too.

          Every time I look at the solicitations I still hope that Marvel and DC have something nice, but I think like more people who visit this site I’m done with both of them. TPB’s of old stuff is the only interesting thing.

          I have most of the old Valiant. But thanks for the suggestion.

          1. Simon

            @Eric: Yes, THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS concluded last year (two storylines in 6 volumes). For free, you also have plenty of good series still online, such as:

            * STRONG FEMALE PROTAGONIST (superhero/drama, ongoing) by Mulligan & Ostertag @ http://strongfemaleprotagonist.com/issue-1/page-0/
            * GUNNERKRIGG COURT (fantasy/romance, ongoing) by Thomas Siddell @ http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archives/
            * DIGGER (fantasy/comedy, complete) by Ursula Vernon @ http://diggercomic.com/
            * BOOKHUNTER (action/comedy, complete) by Jason Shiga @ http://www.shigabooks.com/bookhunter.php
            * NIMONA (adventure/comedy, complete) by Noelle Stevenson @ http://gingerhaze.com/nimona
            * MARRY ME (romance/comedy, complete+sequel) by Crosby & Mokhtar @ http://marryme.keenspot.com/d/20120730.html

            And Zainab Akhtar thawed her site for a diverse list of graphic works @ http://www.comicsandcola.com/2017/10/50-modern-comics-part-1.html

  8. Which Die Kitty Die ones have been late, Greg? I’m pretty sure everything they’ve solicited has come out so far, unless I’ve missed something. Must be Diamond hating your shop like they do.

    A couple of you said that Immortal Men would involve the immortals of the DCU, but I’m not sure from what I read that it does involve previously seen characters. I could be wrong, though.

    Thanks to Jeff for the Black Flame info.

    1. It’s true, I can’t tell if it does include some of DC’s longtime immortal characters or not, but my curiosity largely hinges on that. If not, it’s going to have to work harder to hook me.

    2. Greg Burgas

      I haven’t gotten issue #3 yet, which was solicited in June (so an August release). I got the first two issues of the latest series and the Summer Special, so it’s not like Diamond WON’T send things to my store. I don’t know if those have come out yet, but I didn’t get them. I usually go to Midtown Comics every six months or so to get some books I might have missed, so I’ll probably do that soon.

      Smoketown #4 came out this week, so that was nice.

      1. Simon

        @Greg: Have Diamond lists, will F3 the 2017 folder.

        (2017.05.24) MAR171572 DIE KITTY DIE HOLLYWOOD OR BUST #1 CVR A RUIZ $3.99
        (2017.07.05) APR171506 DIE KITTY DIE HOLLYWOOD OR BUST #2 CVR A PARENT $3.99
        (2017.07.26) MAY171354 DIE KITTY DIE HOLLYWOOD OR BUST SUMMER SPECIAL #1 CVR A PARE $3.99
        (2017.10.11) AUG171439 DIE KITTY DIE HOLLYWOOD OR BUST HC $24.99

        That’s interesting, but what could it mean? …Oh.

  9. Louis Bright-Raven

    I wonder what Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons think of Martha Washington being in the DC Universe playing the role of Charlie from THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT.

  10. Corrin Radd

    So this is off topic, but I can’t find any discussion of this online, so I’ve got to ask here because I know some of you read it–what the heck is going on in Stray Bullets Sunshine and Roses 28? Are we supposed to know what the banana really was? I can’t find any clues in the issue other than people vomiting whenever they see him eat it. Are the bananas supposed to be poop? Or what? I can’t figure it out.

    1. Greg Burgas

      Corrin: I haven’t read the issue yet (this past week has been hectic), so I can’t answer that, but now I feel like I have to go read it right away! 🙂

  11. Andrew Collins

    “Well, that’s weird. Both Kodansha on page 364 and Yen Press on page 444 have volumes of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, which is a great title, at least. Why from both?”

    The Yen release is the novel series while Kodansha is releasing the manga. I’m glad Japanese “light novels” have finally caught on as a format in the US but sadly, most of what is coming out doesn’t interest me and most of what I would love to see translated into English will certainly never come out here (either too long a series or too old…)

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