Flippin’ Through ‘Previews’ – October 2019

Hey folks, it’s Travis starting the post again, as we discuss all the offerings in Previews 373, October for December.  Dang, it’s already at the point where the next new stuff after this will be for 2020?  This year went by too fast!  I’m in black, as always, and your pal and mine Greg Burgas is in blue.

Image:

The solicits are here.

Hey, they’ve (presumably) rebranded Near Death volume 3 as Over My Dead Body on page 58, a GN from Jay “RINGGGGGGERRRRRRRR” Faerber and Simone Guglielmini et al.  I noticed that volume 3 was cancelled, and I felt bad because I still hadn’t ordered the first 2, but now I have a chance to redeem myself and catch up!

Yeah, I hope this one actually comes out! That would be nice.

I’m not sure if I’m getting the first trades of Sea of Stars (page 60) or Sonata (page 61).  Both sounded kind of interesting, with Sea of Stars about a space trucker trying to save his stranded kid, who seems to be doing ok on his own, and Sonata a fantasy about a war between two factions on a “promised land” planet.  Sea of Stars is 5 issues for 15 bucks while Sonata is 6 issues for 20.  Hmm.

In the first one, the son’s name is “Kadyn,” which means the father should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity. Sonata‘s art was terrific and David Hine is a good writer, but I don’t know about this. It just doesn’t seem like my thing, but I might give it a whirl.

There’s also Unearth on page 62, a 5 issue trade for 15 bucks, about a flesh warping disease traced to a cave system containing all sorts of scary shit.  I’ll think about it.

I haven’t read volume 1 yet, but John Layman is always good, so I’ll probably just get Outer Darkness volume 2 on page 66, as well as lament that Chew Smorgasbord HC 1 is still apparently out of print, as I often lament about it.  NOOOO!

As usual, I haven’t read these issues yet, because Image solicits their trades so quickly, but the first arc was good!

Well, shit.  Postal is collected into a big ass HC on page 66, with the entirety of the first volume (25+ issues) for 60 bucks.  I lost track of it towards the end of that run, so I need to catch up, but what I read is really good.  It’s about a town in Wyoming that was founded as a refuge for criminals, and the seemingly autistic son of the founders trying to figure out his morality and his place in the town.

I haven’t read any of this, so maybe I’ll get this sucker!

I’m not sure where I left off with Rumble, but I liked what I read, so I may need to get volume 6 on page 68 and catch up with what I’ve missed.

Stray Bullets: Sunshine and Roses volume 1 gets a new printing, and maybe that means Lapham is going to start working on it again? The most recently-solicited issue never came out, I don’t think, and then there’s been nothing. It’s such a good series, and I want to read more of it!

I just encountered the phrase Nomen est Omen in a book I read, so now I sort of understand the title to Nomen Omen, the third issue of which is offered on page 81.  Apparently it’s selling well, since the first issue went to a second printing, from what I saw.

That issue’s story is called “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” which reminds me of an old DC story by … I want to say Ostrander, but I could be wrong, called “Total Eclipso the Heart,” because Eclipso was in it. I think that might be the best story title in comics history.

Maybe it’s this one?  Which I actually have, but don’t remember the title of the story.  Perhaps the colon in this one threw me off.

Ah, yes, that’s the one I was thinking of. Look at you, Mr. Comic Detective! John Rogers seems like a punny guy, so I’m not surprised that he came up with that.

Dark Horse:

Here are all the solicits.

Harrow County is back on page 94, so I’ll get that. I wonder if Bunn and Crook will do mini-series like this now, or if this is a one-off.

I have a whole bunch of Criminal Macabre stuff that I need to read sometime, but I’ve enjoyed what I have read.  I like Steve Niles’s stuff generally, and this new artist, Gyula Nemeth, does pretty good looking stuff from the preview here.  So eventually I’ll get The Big Bleed Out, the new mini on page 96.

On page 100, Kill Whitey Donovan is about a woman who wants to kill her fiancé but needs one of his slaves to help her trek across the South. I sure hope it takes place before the Civil War! This sounds and looks pretty interesting.

Yes, that was unclear about the time period.

Dean Kotz is drawing The Butcher of Paris, which is about a serial killer in Nazi-occupied Paris. Sounds like my kind of comic!

I don’t know what this means regarding newspaper strips (newspapers are dead, y’know, as I know very well!), but on page 106 is Nexus: The Newspaper Strips volume 1 — the Coming of Gourmando, which is a new tale of the iconic Baron/Rude character.  If I had the cash, I’d spring for the sweet big Artist’s Edition HC, showcasing the Dude’s work at a larger size.

I’ll probably get the trade as well, although the bigger format is so very tempting. It’s obligatory that I mention that the guys at my comic book store know the Dude quite well, and he’s … kind of weird. But you’ll have to trek to Mesa, Arizona to find out more!

Hey, weird is ok.  I think from what I heard a few years back (and I believe we discussed before) is that he might be dealing with mental illness.  If so, I hope he’s doing well.  He’s been pretty productive in the last several years, so I hope things are going better for him and his family!

The dudes at my comics shop like the Dude a lot, and they’re not really judging his weirdness. He does some things that don’t seem connected to any mental illness, though, and they’ve been worried about just the way he tries to provide for his family. I think there is some mental illness there, but generally, the Dude is also a bit strange. But hey, it seems like he’s doing fine, so let the Dude be the Dude!

Man, Mike Mignola must be swimming in dough if he can convince Adam Hughes to draw comics, but he has, and we get Hellboy and the BPRD: The Seven Wives Club on page 112, which I will buy solely because Hughes is drawing it. Okay, that’s not true, because I do dig the Hellboy-verse, but I always wait for trades, except when Adam Hughes is drawing one-shots!

I was waiting for the trade of Manor Black.  Doesn’t mean I’ll get it, but I was waiting for it.  It’s on page 115 and is by Bunn/Hurtt/Crook, and is about an old-time magician who wants to pass on his legacy to someone who respects it more than his own kids.  Might be fun.

See, this is why I’m struggling with how to purchase Dark Horse comics. This was only four issues, so the trade is more expensive than buying the singles, but for five-issue mini-series, the price doesn’t seem to go up that much, so it might be cheaper. It’s just annoying. This should be 15 bucks in trade, and five-issue series should be 18, and six-issue trades should be 20, maybe. Come on, Dark Horse!

They don’t have that Star Wars and Buffy cash to offset their prices any more!

EC Archives: Psychoanalysis on the same page is good stuff, from what I’ve read.  I may have reprint issues of this and don’t need it, but that’s neat that the Flowers For Algernon dude wrote some stories for it.

DC:

Check out the solicits here.

Vertigo – whoops, I mean “Hill House Comics” has The Low, Low Woods on page 4, which sounds neat. It’s by a writer who grew up in Pennsylvania, and she wanted to write a horror story set in Centralia, the ground under which has been on fire for 50 years or so. So she did. The only problem I have with it is that people seem to actually live in Shudder-to-Think, her fictional town (which sounds goofy until you realize that town names are weird – Pennsylvania itself has a King of Prussia, a Bird in Hand, and an Intercourse, and I’m sure other states have weird names, too), and almost nobody is left in Centralia because if you stay there too long, you tend to die of nasty diseases. Still, you can’t have horror without some people, so I’m sure there will be a reason people are still there!

Seriously, if you’ve never heard of Centralia, Google it. It’s really bizarre.

I didn’t realize Rafael Grampá hadn’t done any comics in 6 years, but he returns with Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child, a one shot written by Frank Miller on page 6.  I haven’t gotten to read Master Race yet, so I don’t know what happened, but this should look really pretty, at least!

Ugggggghhhhhh. I literally have no desire to read Frank Miller’s Dark Knight books anymore … and I’m going to buy this. Grampá is just that good.

Daniel Warren Johnson’s art looks really cool, so Wonder Woman: Dead Earth on page 13 should be good looking, but I don’t know if his writing is great, since I haven’t read (any?) enough of it to judge.  It sounds kind of neat, with Diana awakening centuries from now to find a nuclear wasteland.  Another thing I don’t get, though, is why books ship with variant covers by the same artist.  What’s the point?

Ducats, sir. DUCATS!!!!! You know people scoop them up, so why wouldn’t they do it? And they don’t even have to pay a different artist for a variant! Everyone wins, except the suckers who buy it on eBay before the price crashes, but those people deserve what they get!

Well, I know the point is to make money, but I hope they pay him for both covers too …

Oh hell yeah, Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen are doing a Batman GN a la Li’l Gotham!  On page 14 we have Batman Tales: Once Upon a Crime, and I am probably going to get this.  Just 10 bucks, too!

Well, shit. That’s awesome.

The couple of other DC GNs for kids on the next two pages sound neat too, but since they’re probably going to be available at my local libraries, I probably won’t shell out for them.  On page 15 is Shadow of the Batgirl, starring Cassandra Cain, who hasn’t been a favorite character but it might convince me with this book.  And on page 16 is Zatanna and the House of Secrets, which sounds cute.

Hey, look, they’re soliciting Doomsday Clock #12 for December on page 31. Does that mean it will be out in April?

I scrolled through an interesting theory (originally from Reddit, but posted at Bleeding Cool) that proposed that DC isn’t actually FUBAR but has planned things out with … timepiece precision, if you will, because several of their books, like this and some of the other “important” books, are all coming out that week before Christmas.  It sounded good, but I doubt they actually have their shit together that well.

I don’t know when volume one came out, but on page 84, volume 2 of Adventures of Superman: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez is offered, with some cool stuff.  I just saw something about fans petitioning DC to reprint his style guide, which would be pretty cool.

I’m not sure how they’re squeezing 400 pages out of that line-up, but I’m sure it will look purty. I’ll have to think about it.

Right below it is Aquaman: Death of a Prince Deeeeeee-Luxxxxx Edition, which is about … I’m going to say the death of a prince. I know, right? Anyway, Grell, Aparo, Newton – you know the drill! It’s probably keen.

I don’t know how interesting either Black Mask or Victor Zsasz are, but there are collections of stories of each on page 86.  The Zsasz one is printing a previously unpublished story, which makes me wonder why it wasn’t published originally.

I’ve read a lot of these, and they’re decent comics, so they’d be pretty good collections to pick up. I hate that Zsasz is the Grant/Breyfogle serial killer creation who’s become a recurring character, because we all know Cornelius Stirk is much, much cooler than Zsasz. I mean, as far as comic book serial killers go. You probably wouldn’t invite either of those dudes to your housewarming party.

What’s Stirk’s shtick?  I know Zsasz carves a mark in his skin for everyone he kills, and is named after the psychologist dude that suggests that mental illness is a construct (if I remember enough to condense and reduce his work in such a manner), but I’m blanking on Stirk.  (Just looked him up.  Hmm.  Maybe more interesting as a killer, but that visual for Zsasz can’t really be beat, y’know?)

Yeah, Stirk is a metahuman, and I’m not sure how much you could get out of his deal (I mean, Batman would figure out it’s him pretty easily), but I still think he’s cooler. Zsasz’s visual is pretty neat, though.

You’d think DC would publish that never-before-published Zsasz story in Batman: Gotham Knights: Transference (so many colons!), the trade of the first 12 issues of that series that appears on page 88. Hey, it’s Devin Grayson! I’ll probably get this, because I never picked up that series when it was coming out.

The Birds of Prey collections on pages 90-91 are interesting.  The Black Canary one collects the series from a few years back in a nicely priced book, the Harley Quinn one collects, I think, the first arc of the nu52 series, and the Huntress one collects the Batman/Huntress Cry for Blood mini.  Then they also collect what I think is the first Gail Simone arc in Murder & Mystery.

Damn, that is a big ass Green Arrow book on page 93, which is the first Mike Grell Omnibus.  It collects the Longbow Hunters mini, a Secret Origins story, and the first 50 issues from that GA series.  I encountered a random issue of that series when I was a new collector, and it confused me.  Maybe I can understand it now!

They’re quite good comics – very gritty, of course, and very steeped in the “real world.” That’s a bit of an unwieldy book, though. Sheesh.

Peter Milligan’s run on Hellblazer gets its first trade on page 94. Milligan’s run is really good, so if you missed it, here’s your chance to catch up!

He wrote probably the longest run on that book, right?  I think I have a lot of these in singles.

I think so. Fifty-one issues, which sounds like the longest run!

Ooh, a collection of the earliest Huntress stories on page 96, with a kick ass Bolland cover.  I may get this.

As pretty as Bolland draws, that’s about as far from a “kick ass Bolland cover” as you can get. It’s really dull, man! Still pretty, but dull.

OK, pretty, is that better?

The “Bwah-ha-ha-” Justice League gets a new trade on page 98, collecting a bunch of comics for only 40 dollars. What a good series. Will DC ever collect Justice League Europe, though?

Will they ever finish reprinting this run whenever they start to?  From what I recall, they seem to give up before they finish out Breakdowns.  Maybe because they don’t like JLE!

Oh, that Legends of the Dark Knight: Steve Englehart book on page 99 is probably well worth it.  That sweet ’70s run as well as the follow up mini, and a few extra stories too?  Nice.

Of course I have the important stuff in here – the six-issue 1970s run – so I might skip this. But it is tempting …

I like that 100th Batman Black and White statue on page 105, as it’s based on Todd McFarlane’s art (sorta …), although it needs more cape.

MOAR CAPE!!!!!!!

IDW:

The solicits are here.

Well, the new Joe Hill book, Dying Is Easy on page 132, has art by Martin Simmonds of Punks Not Dead.  Sounds interesting, as it’s a fair play mystery about a comedian that’s got a price on his head because he steals jokes, and the ex-cop comedian who’s tempted to do him in.  I’ll probably get the trade down the road.

Yeah, I’ll be trade-waiting this one, as well.

OK, this looks interesting, because even though I have no idea what this Lore podcast is, Wellington is one of those books where a historical figure turns out to have been a monster hunter.  I dig Piotr Kowalski’s art, so I may get this trade down the road.

I too, will get the trade of this. I do love how people think that if you’re good at one thing, you’ll be good at the other. I don’t know this dude’s podcast, but why does that make him a good comics writer?

Well, he apparently can tell a good story in a medium that’s sound-based only, so he must be good at a medium that … doesn’t use that sense at all.

When did they get a fifth member?  TMNT 101 on page 137 has story and art by the awesome Sophie Campbell, so eventually I may get this in trade as well.

That’s Pollock. When he stabs you, he does it with such force that your guts spill out all over the floor in random patterns. It’s pretty cool.

Nice, sir!

This looks interesting.  I Can Sell You A Body is from Ryan Ferrier and George Kambadais on page 139, about a disgraced TV psychic who has a price on his head after a dead mobster got annoyed at him.  Kambadais did the great Double Life of Miranda Turner, so I’m glad to see he’s doing more stuff.

I’m not sold on Ferrier as a writer, but this does sound pretty cool, so maybe I’ll give it a look.

Ooh, Star Trek The Motion Picture was adapted into comics by Marvel by Marv Wolfman, Dave Cockrum, and Klaus Janson, and now IDW is putting out a facsimile edition of the magazine (presumably for the 40th anniversary) on page 153.  I may get this.  I also like the cover of Year Five #9 on the same page with Chekov’s Phaser, a great title!

When they hired Cockrum, did they say, “Okay, Dave, can you draw dozens of characters just standing around? You can? You’re hired!”

Hmm, The Kill Lock on page 155 sounds interesting, where 4 robots found guilty of an irredeemable crime, as it says, are bound together so that when one dies, they all do.  So now they’ve got to work together to stay alive.  Sounds cool, and looks neat.

I have the issues of Clue: Candlestick, and read the first 2 of 3, but I haven’t finished it yet.  I enjoyed the first two issues and they had neat puzzles that I didn’t get around to doing yet.  So I don’t know if it ended well, but the first two parts were quite good stuff by Dash Shaw, and the trade is on page 161.

You’re so Travis. I’ve been waiting for this trade, so I’m glad it’s here!

OK, I guess I should probably get this.  Johnny Dynamite is collected on page 163, which is the detective that Peter Cannon Thunderbolt’s creator Pete Morisi did.  It’s also got a Max Allan Collins and Terry Beatty story of the character too (which might be from when he was in Ms. Tree in the late ’80s).  I think they own the character now?  I’m not sure.

That does look neat-o.

I swear they offered An Embarrassment of Witches before, but I’m not sure.  It’s about two childhood friends trying to be adults post-college and I guess they’re witches?  I don’t know, but the art looks neat, by Sophie Goldstein, who also cowrites with Jenn Jordan.  It’s on page 165.

Did Peter David name the book?

I’m not sure I noticed that pun in the title.  But I did write this, like, weeks ago, so I probably forgot in the interim.

Hey, it’s a new Love and Capes on page 166, The Family Way!  I’ve enjoyed the parts of this series that I’ve read before, and got to meet Thom Zahler at a con and he was a cool dude, so I might get this even though I don’t have all of the previous stuff.

I mean, you should be able to catch up easily enough – it’s Superman and Lois Lane, essentially, except they don’t dick around for 60 years before finally getting together. It’s very good, and it’s nice that he’s doing more of it. And yeah, Zahler is a cool guy.

Marvel: INCOMING!

The solicits are all here.

Dammit, am I going to have to get this INCOMING! thing just because Kelly has a story in it?  Stay strong, Travis, don’t cave!  (page 6)  This is going to be Marvel’s Identity Crisis, isn’t it?  Ugh!

Yeah, you don’t have to buy anything, you know. I’m skipping this, but I do hope it’s Marvel’s Identity Crisis, because that’s universally loved, isn’t it?

Of course.  I know I don’t HAVE to buy anything, but I try to buy all of Kelly’s stuff because she’s good and I like to pretend that having known her at the old place means we’re friends so that I know somebody successful.  Don’t judge me, dammit!

I may have to get that True Believers Man-Wolf in Space one on page 16, because, y’know, werewolf guy in SPACE!!!

That’s right, Marvel wanted to get Conan so they could cross him over with muthafuckin’ Moon Knight!  Eat it, fanboys!  It doesn’t have to make a goddamn bit of sense! (Conan: Serpent War on page 18.)  Although I may have to get the True Believers Valley of the Worm adaptation on page 20.

You put some respect on Moon Knight’s name, sir! Also, I guess Marvel doesn’t just have the Conan license, but the license of the entire REH catalog, because Solomon Kane is in this comic?

OK, I’m not sure what the Eternals: Secrets from the Marvel Universe is collecting, since it’s stuff from What If from the ’70s.  Weird.  There’s also a facsimile edition of the first issue of the Eternals by the King, and both are on page 34.

I guess it had to happen that Dr. Strange gets his hands healed, so he can be a surgeon again.  But he’s not giving up that Sorcerer Supreme gig, and who can blame him in this economy?  It’s still written by Mark Waid and it’s drawn by Kev Walker, so it will look pretty cool, but it’s a new #1 on page 42.

Dude’s gotta make a living! I like how he’s now “surgeon supreme,” according to the cover on page 43. Way to not be egotistical at all, Benedict!

Thor: The Worthy is one of the cool “bring back some of the old timers to do new stories” books that Marvel has been doing this year, and this one has Walt Simonson writing a tale with Beta Ray Bill and Thor, while our old pal Bill Reed will like that a new Thunderstrike story is included, as well as a new Sif story.  It’s on page 46.

Are they seriously calling Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz “unforgettable”? As always, I get that hyperbole is the name of the game in the solicits, but how did they manage to write that without cracking up whenever they tried to get out the word “unforgettable”?

Hey, that’s not necessarily a good thing!

Our pal Kelly is killin’ Avengers over in Captain Marvel on page 77.  It looks to me like Ant-Man or Wasp armor, so that’s not good.  I’ll be reading this in trade!

Yay, cosplay covers are back!!!!! They were so good the first time around, so they brought them back! I guess the one for Gwenpool Strikes Back (page 78) doesn’t completely suck.

Damn, there are so many books with Doctor Doom in them, I can’t even keep track for my Doom-lovin’ friend.  I’ll have to let him know about soooo many!

More entirely too rich for my blood but too cool to ignore comics with Timely’s Greatest: The Golden Age Sub-Mariner by Bill Everett — The Post-War Years Omnibus (whew!) on page 110, with lots of cool stuff, apparently never before reprinted.

The Black Widow Omnibus on page 111 is packed with goodness, with lots of GNs and early Avengers appearances and all.  It might be worth a look, if I was a rich man!

Yeah, I’ll have to think about it. I’ll probably pick it up.

Speaking of if I were a rich man, that Sensational She-Hulk by Byrne Omnibus on page 112 is probably pretty good.  I liked the one issue where she got stuck inside … was it a TV, or a TV Guide?   It’s fun!

It was pages of the Comics Buyers Guide, or some such price guide from that era. Very funny. I have to check to see how much of this I own, because I love what I do have, but I’m not sure if it’s all of it.

Yeah, but she was in a TV guide too, issue 5 I think.  Dr. Bong put her there somehow.

Wait, what the fuck is this shit on page 113, with a HC of Amazing Spider-Man: Full Circle?  This book isn’t even out yet in its regular issue form, and they’re already pimping out a dee-loox version?  Damn you Marvel!

Wow, Marvel doing something annoying? Quelle surprise!

I like Declan Shalvey’s art, but I wouldn’t have guessed he’d have done enough to do the Marvel Monograph art book on page 114.  I’m tempted, though.

OOOOOHHHHHH!!!!  Daredevil/Elektra: Love and War Gallery Edition is a hardcover on page 115 collecting the titular GN as well as Elektra Assassin in a big size book, and surprisingly, it’s nicely priced at 40 bucks!  I’m going to wait for Simon to tell us that the mousetrap will spring on us and it’ll be like, 75 friggin’ bucks, but I will most likely order this without (much) hesitation!

My copy of the graphic novel is kind of beat up, so I’ve always thought about getting one of these new reprints. Looks like I’ve waited long enough!

I’m in for volume 2 of Captain Marvel on page 132, because I get pretty much all of Kelly Thompson’s work that way.  I still need to buy the first trade that’s waiting for me at my LCS!

You really ought to get out of the house occasionally.

Invisible Woman trade on page 137 is 16 bucks for 5 issues, which isn’t terrible, and I’m sure the Waid story will be good.  I don’t think I’ve seen any art by Mattia De Iulis before, though.

Punisher Kill Krew is in trade on page 139. Gerry Duggan is a pretty good writer, but the main reason to get this is because Juan Ferreyra draws it, and it’s, as usual, amazing-looking.

Ooh, I’m probably going for the Crazy TP on page 142, even though I’m getting the single issue, because this collects a bunch of stuff from the magazine, as well as the Obnoxio the Clown one shot.  Also, Marvel Meow variant covers, which I don’t remember seeing, but hey, why not?

I highly recommend X-Statix: The Complete Collection volume 1 on page 148.  Such good stuff!

I still haven’t read all of that. For some reason, I missed some issues at the end, and then I finally found them, but I never read them. It’s coming up soon in my back-issue reading, so we’ll see what’s what. But what’s collected here is, yes, excellent.

Weird, same here!

I don’t even know what the Black Widow stuff is in the Welcome to the Game trade on page 154, but it’s penciled by Billy the Sink, Goran Parlov, and Sean Phillips, which is pretty friggin’ great for an art lineup.  Who is Richard Morgan, though?  Name doesn’t ring a bell.

Beats me. I didn’t know who he was when he wrote those series, and I still don’t. They’re pretty good, though – worth a look.

I liked the first trade of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur well enough, even though I didn’t keep up with the book, but on page 156 is a new trade called Full Moon, which probably collects the first two volumes of the original trades, for just 13 bucks.  It’s cute stuff.

There’s a big, cheap book collecting the Eric Shanower/Skottie Young Oz stuff on page 157, and I may go for it.  Shanower knows his Oz stuff, I know that!

MOAR AGE OF BRONZE, PLIZ!!!!

Dynamite:

Man, they’re totally going to get me to start buying the Vampirella magazine in facsimile, aren’t they?  Issue 2 is offered on page 181, and if I get around to reading issue 1 before I put in my order, I may decide to get this.

At some point Red Sonja and Vampirella Meet Betty and Veronica got expanded to 12 issues, and issue 7 is offered on page 196.  I do like the Jack Chick tract homage cover by Robert Hack.

I might consider The Boys Omnibi on page 201, since they’re signed by Ennis at the original cover price, but I basically have all the stuff.  I like in the solicit for the dollar version of issue 1 on the same page they’re trumpeting the “new promotional material for all of Dynamite’s Boys merchandise and publications” — i.e., they’re trying to sell us on the fact that it includes ads, ffs.

That’s quality marketing, though!

Boom!:

Get all the solicits here.

The Red Mother does that usual “person with a replaced body part is weirdly affected by the new part” thing, but it sounds like maybe the Red Mother is some ancient thing too?  It could be ok so I may check out the trade, but if you want the singles, issue 1 is offered on page 210.

“Jeremy Haun returns to his The Beauty roots …” begins the solicit. The Beauty hasn’t actually ended yet, so how can it be a “return” to his roots when he hasn’t left the damned roots yet?

Man, how did Power Rangers and TMNT not crossover before now?  That’s crazy.  The first issue is offered on page 212, but I probably won’t read it until the library gets the trade down the road.

Hmm, Big Black: Stand at Attica is probably a neat story of the story of the prison uprising, and it’s GN on page 216.  The art looks neat and I’m sure it’s an important story.

Ooh, was Klaus: How Santa Claus Began out in trade before this?  Oh, I think from the Diamond code that yes, it was, but still, I may need to get it.  It’s on page 219 while on 218 is the new, horizontal special The Life and Times of Joe Christmas.  You’ve read this, right?  Is it any good, or is GMozz not the right guy to be doing this?

I actually have not read this. I own the first trade and a one-shot, but I’ve never gotten around to reading it, and when I was thinking about it, more came out, so I figure I’ll just wait until the God of All Comics is done with everything he wants to write about Santa Claus before diving into it. So I can’t help you, sorry. The art is terrific, though!

Back of the book!

At the start we get Vark Thing, parodying Swamp Thing with a sweet cover by Dave Sim, the latest Aardvark-Vanaheim Cerebus in Hell? one shot, on page 244.  The first volume of the original series in its remastered form is also available there too.

Action Lab has a good sounding one with Supermom: Expecting Trouble on page 250, where a superhero is pregnant and the bad guy she’s trying to stop from taking over the world is the father.  Oops!

That sounds fun.

Have you read Dark Ark from AfterShock?  The first 15 issues are offered in a HC on page 254, and it’s about a sorcerer playing Noah with vampires and other spooky creatures at the same time that Noah’s building his ark.  I’ve been interested but I’m not sure I want to drop 50 bucks on this, either.

I read the first trade, and it was fine, but nothing so special that I felt the need to get the other two trades. For what that’s worth.

Also from them is Mary Shelley Monster Hunter in trade on page 262, which sounded fun, of course, because why wouldn’t she be?

Yeah, I’ll give this a look.

Issue 50 of World War 3 Illustrated is offered on page 264 from AK Press, and it’s the Shameless Feminists issue.  I’ve read issues of this before and I might get this one.

A LADY Zorro?  What will they think of next?  (American Mythology, page 266)

More importantly, what’s Mike Wolfer doing drawing this? Wolfer’s a terrific artist, but he rarely draws anymore. I assume the Zorro money is good enough for him to actually draw this, which means I’m actually interested in getting this. Dang.

Also from American Mythology is Scary Christmas, a collection of Christmas themed horror stories from Mike Wolfer and unnamed artists, on page 268.  I might take a chance on this.

Antarctic Press has The V-Card on page 275, a mini about a vampire who … hasn’t bitten anyone in 380 years?  I’m not sure, but he’s mistaken for human by a Great Vampire Killer, so hijinks undoubtedly ensue.

I thought A Wave Blue World just featured the first issues of Dead Legends and Mezo not long ago, but here are the first trades of each on page 276.  Both sounded good, with the first being about a fighting tournament and the latter being a Mesoamerican inspired fantasy series.  You get review copies of A Wave Blue World stuff, don’t you?  My email’s at the bottom of this page, folks!

I occasionally get them. I didn’t for both of these, though. So sad. I know Chin-Tanner’s been talking up Mezo on Facebook, but I don’t know how the trade is ready already, unless the digital versions were done a while ago and the print versions are coming out quickly. I’ll probably get both of them!

I was going to rage about Aspen and the ad for Lola XOXO volume 3’s final issue on page 281, with the “everything has lead to this” bit, but then I see that Avatar has yet another “ultra-sale” when they never shipped the stuff from the last time(s) they did this.  Dare I attempt to order this shit again, and be disappointed yet again when I don’t get Rover Red Charlie and all the other stuff, or do I wash my hands of them?  Or do I email Rich at Bleeding Cool who claimed he’d look into it if I didn’t get the sale prices at my shop?

I will point out that Aspen has a bunch of GNs on page 282, so I can put Lola XOXO on my list again.

OK, first of all, chillax. It’s just comics. Second of all, I thought you were going to rant about the fact that “lead” in that statement should be “led.” THE PAST TENSE OF “LEAD” IS “LED”!!!!! HOW HAS THIS KNOWLEDGE BEEN LOST IN THE PAST DECADE? ARE WE ALL GETTING STUPIDER?!?!?!?!?

Bedside Press has several interesting books, but I’ll highlight just the one on page 292.  Science! is a GN about a genius girl at a prestigious science academy dealing with a lot of weird stuff, like the holographic ghost of her father.  Could be fun.

Broadsword has a coloring book on page 297 featuring Tarot and all their other characters.  I’m sure the kids will love that.

Chapterhouse is finally resoliciting the first trades of Agents of P.A.C.T. (page 297) and Freelance and Fantomah on page 298, and now they’re 12.99 each.  Not too much of a bump up but still.  I might get these because I like the stuff they’ve done so far, and a lot of them sounded cool, particularly Freelance, which sounded a bit like Planetary.

Also on page 298 is Thorgal volume 0 from Cinebook.  I think I came across one of these books but I don’t know that I ever read it.  It’s European, so it must be good, right?

Ooh, here’s one that Hatcher will like.  Collins Crime Club has The Hooded Gunman: An Illustrated History of Collins Crime Club on page 300, a history of the crime novel imprint.  I’m interested too so hopefully a representative of the company will see that we’re interested and send us review copies!

Damn, ComicMix has a lot of good stuff on pages 300 and 301!  Ha.i.ley is a GN about a husband who has an affair with a housekeeping AI that goes all Fatal Attraction on him, and he and his wife have to fight for survival.  His Name Is Savage! is a continuation of Gil Kane’s seminal character, written by Steven Grant, so it should be decent.  The Grimjack Omnibi are reoffered as well.  But the one that really makes me happy is a collection of the old Vertigo series 2020 Visions, which is written by Jamie Delano and features art by Frank Quitely, among other greats!

They all sound quite neat. I know I got some of the Vertigo books, I think, but maybe I’m thinking of something else. Still, it’s good to see all of this cool stuff!

Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc. has Tarzan and the Valley of Gold on page 310, which is apparently a Tarzan novel written by Fritz Leiber.  I don’t know if I was aware of this before.  It doesn’t intrigue me enough to buy it, but I want to read it someday!

Fantaco has Gore Shriek: Delectus 2 on page 311, in several formats.  I’m not sure who all is in this, but I recently snagged an early issue of this comic for real cheap.  Yes, I’m bragging.

I know a guy who used to work for them back in the 1980s. I wonder if he has any issues lying around.

Fantagraphics is reprinting their Krazy Kat stuff with the George Herriman Library: Krazy & Ignatz 1916-1918 on page 312.  I don’t know if I “get” Krazy Kat, but I like it, and having spent a lot of time with a crazy cat in the last year, I’m a bit more partial to cats than I have been before.  I’m also interested in Comics Ad Men on the same page, featuring advertising art done by lots of guys more famous for their comics work.  I think they should include the Sea Monkeys ad, but it doesn’t look like they list Joe Orlando.  And I’m not even going to look at page 313 with all those sweet huge ass collections!  I don’t have the money for any of them!

I’m intrigued by the two offerings from Floating World Comics on page 314.  Unsmooth is a one shot by E.S. Glenn about an artist who has trouble selling his work, so he turns to crime.  Semi-autobiographical, it says.  Wildest Dream is an inexpensive sketchbook HC of Gary Panter’s stuff, who’s done lots of strange stuff over the years including work for RAW and the set of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.  20 bucks ain’t bad for this, so I’m going to have to think about it.

It would be funny if the “semi-” part of the autobiographical stuff is that he’s an assassin. “Yeah, I wanted to write about my life as a assassin, but I needed an ‘in,’ and what better way than frustrated artist? Those guys are crazy, man!”

On page 317 Harper Perennial has Anyone by Charles Soule, his latest novel, about technology that allows for body swapping.  I enjoyed his novel The Oracle Year, and his comics work has been pretty good, so I’ll look for this at the library.

I assume Bob Marley in Comics from NBM on page 329 is printed on rolling papers?

Are you implying that Bob Marley smoked a lot of marijuana? That’s slanderous, I think!

Scout Comics has an interesting one shot called Eskimo Kisses on page 349, co-written by Christopher Sebela, who’s done good work, and it’s about cannibalistic creatures in Northern Canada. Might be good.  Also on the same page is a trade of Forever Maps, about a dude who finds maps that are the same but keep leading him different places while also imbuing him with immortality.  Sounds like a cool concept.

So What? Press, which is affiliated with Drew Ford’s It’s Alive!, I believe, has Tales of the Night Watchman and the Red Hook team up for The Untold Legend of Luna on page 351.  It’s probably cool, and I can’t decide which cover to get!

Man, Source Point Press is putting out a lot of good comics lately on pages 352 and 353.  Doll Island is an homage to slasher films from the ’80s, which, yawn, but the cover art looks suitably creepy.  The Seance Room is a place that exists outside of time and space which house six trapped ghosts, all within a castle owned by an eccentric (the rich term for crazy, y’know).  Classic Pulp: Horror will tickle the horror bones for those of us missing Haunted Horror.  Kringle is a book about Santa going postal when the reindeer get slaughtered, and people trying to remind him of the meaning of Christmas.  The Love She Offered is a trade of the series that was about a dude who KNOWS that his daughter’s ex-boyfriend was the one who killed her, and he’ll do anything to make him confess.  Uh oh.

Tinto Press has a couple of artier ones on page 356 with The Seeker by Liz Valasco, a Halloween story where the magic was real, and Theth: Tomorrow Forever by Josh Bayer has a struggling young artist (yawn) who has fantasy discussions with Wendy O. Williams.  Hmm, wait, maybe that will be interesting.

215 Ink has, on page 365, Freaks and Gods Giant Sized one shot, apparently part of the Tales of the Dark Tunnel storyline? Anyway, I had a moment of hearing the Quantum Leap intro when reading the solicit text about how these adventurers hope the next trip to another realm will take them home.

Same page has the good people at TwoMorrows give us Back Issue 118, the theme of which (Greatest Stories Never Told) would have me getting it even if it didn’t feature the X-Men/Cerebus crossover that wasn’t!

Of course, I’m way behind on my Back Issue reading, but I’ll get this!

Vault has, on page 374, the first trade of Queen of Bad Dreams, with a story not unlike Nightmask or Inception or that Sarah Shahi show (I made this comment before, didn’t I?), about people that can go into people’s dreams and track down entities that emerge from dreamer’s minds. Might be good.  Page 376 has Test volume 1, about a person trying to get to a mysterious Midwestern town that has future tech that shouldn’t exist yet.  It could be interesting, and it’s by Christopher Sebela and Jen Hickman, et al.

Fairly Legal? That Sarah Shahi show? Man, you were watching a different show than I was if that’s the case. I want your drugs, man! (Yes, I’m kidding. You’re thinking of Reverie, which you have referenced before, but I’m not sure if it was in conjunction with this comic, in which case, you’re thinking way too much about canceled Sarah Shahi shows!)

Ooh, I’ve read about The Rose of Versailles before, and now Udon is bringing it to English readers complete for the first time.  It’s on page 398 and boy does it look pretty.  I believe it was an influence on Colleen Doran’s style.

Junji Ito adapts a Japanese novel with No Longer Human from Viz on page 401.  I still have only read bits and pieces of Junji Ito’s stuff. I could rectify that with the offerings on page 405, which seem to be pretty much all the stuff Viz has to offer!

Kodansha has Saint Young Men volume 1 on page 420, a manga about Jesus and Buddha living together in modern Tokyo.  Why not?  Could be amusing.

Ryan from Panda Mony Toys, who do the AlterNation toy series, commented on a past Flippin’ about my comments on their toys, and the inside front cover and first page of the flipside is a spread of their stuff.  They are cool looking toys, I’ll give them that.

That Tim Drake Robin diorama on page M18 is neat looking, and he was my Robin.  I even dressed up as him one Halloween!

Sub-Zero was always my Mortal Kombat player, so I did stop to look at page M24 a little closer at a diorama of him.   Coo’, coo’.

M26 has one of your favorites, Jubilee, in a cool looking diorama, as well as an “animated” Black Panther statue that has him playing with a ball of yarn.  How cute!

I saw the Jubilee one in Marvel’s Previews, and I’ll probably get it. Then I’ll just need Psylocke to have all four of my favorite X-Men! (Or, in this case, X-Women.)

A couple of the Archie horror characters are featured in statue form on M48, with Jughead the Hunger and Vampironica in her cheerleader outfit.  They look neat.

Barbie X Star Wars figures on page M60.  Of course Leia makes sense, and even the Darth Vader look is cool, but an R2-D2?  That’s just weird.

Those NFL figures from Pop! on page M66 look like they’re about to do the Super Bowl Shuffle …

Ooh, I’m tempted by that Office Pez dispenser on page M70, because the Prison Mike episode is really funny.

I hope Bob Ross’s estate gives a lot to charity or something, because they sure seem to be willing to license his image out a lot.  (I’m one to talk, I own a Bob Ross Funko Pop.)  Here’s a bobblehead of him on page M122.

Have a nice weekend, everyone. We hope you find some cool stuff in Previews, because if you can’t fight the monopoly, you might as well use it wisely!