I wonder if a certain wall-crawler is coming back soon? If only Previews #305 could let us know!
For $100, you can get the entire Sin City sage in one volume on page 40. These are certainly good comics, but I haven't read them in a while so I don't know how they've aged, given how crazy Frank Miller has become. Still, over 1300 pages for that price isn't bad. I hope the binding is really good! (25 June)
Ghost #4 (page 43) has an interesting solicitation: it lists Kelly Sue DeConnick as the writer and Ariel Olivetti as the cover artist, but doesn't list an interior artist. Is that a mistake, or do they honestly not know who's drawing a book that's supposed to come out in two months? Or is it all prose? Weird. (2 April)
If you've been waiting for the trade on Bloodhound, the Dan Jolley book, the "second" volume shows up on page 48. As far as I can tell, it's the first of the new stories after Jolley got the rights back, but it's called volume 2 because the first volume was the old stuff that hadn't been reprinted in a while. I wasn't too overwhelmed by the short story in Dark Horse Presents, but I might check this out. (18 June)
Matt Kindt does a "silent" issue in Mind Mgmt #21 (page 52). I note this only because I'm sure it will be awesome, like everything else Kindt does with the series. (23 April)
There's a new Dawn of the Jedi trade on page 62, and I'll be getting it. Ostrander writes good Star Wars comics, probably because Ostrander is a good writer. (11 June)
I'm not sure if I can handle the ridiculous genre-smashing in Toshiro (page 74) - samurais, steampunk, zombies, monsters from other dimensions - but I might think about it. Because I'm a sucker. (4 June)
I guess Brian Wood is done with Conan, because on page 76 we get Conan the Avenger #1, which Fred van Lente is writing. Dark Horse falls into the reboot/renumber trap! Ohs dears! (23 April)
Peter Bergting is back with a sequel (I guess?) to The Portent (page 79), which will make Travis Pelkie happy. It's been a while since I've read The Portent, so I'll have to crack it open at some point. Still, Bergting is a good creator, so this should be a good book. (18 June)
Evan Dorkin has a new one-shot of The Eltingville Club on page 79. Dorkin is a bit hit-or-miss with me, but I might have to check this out. (23 April)
I'm not sure if Greg Hatcher will drop 50 bucks on Tarzan: Burne Hogarth's Lord of the Jungle (page 82), but you know he wants to! It is 264 pages, so it's not like it's a slim volume, but that's a good chunk of change.
I still haven't gotten around to reading the giant Lone Wolf & Cub Omnibuses that Dark Horse put out, and now they drop New Lone Wolf & Cub on us on page 83. Didn't the original run like a billion pages? Did we really need a sequel? (4 June)
For some reason, Justice League Canada (in Justice League United #0 on page 90) cracks me up. It's great that a Canadian writer gets to move them out of the States for a while and all, but it's just hilarious to me. I know it's a stereotype of us Yankees, but Canada doesn't seem like a place where horrible things happen, and while the Justice League can zip around at a moment's notice, I wonder how Lemire will make this group actually "Canadian," as it seems that might be a bone of contention. I'm not curious enough about this to drop 4 bucks on it, but I do wonder how Lemire will make it work. (23 April)
Everyone has been making fun of DC trying to launch a second Aquaman series with Aquaman and the Others (page 99), but I hope it does really well. I'm not terribly jazzed by the creative team (Dan Jurgens, Lan Medina, and Ed Tadeo), but I love the concept of a bunch of superheroes patrolling the ocean. I'm sure it will just be another random superhero comic that might last 15 issues or might last 30, but I can hope, can't I? (2 April)
I know other people have made this point, but it's still worth making: the reason having Wally West show up in The Flash Annual #3 (page 103) is dumb is because the reason people have an affection for Wally West as a character is because they followed his adventures for a long time before he became the Flash and "grew up" with him. They don't have any affection for a random character named "Wally West." DC doesn't understand this, and because they've severed themselves from their legacy, there are no more legacy heroes. So who cares if "Wally West" is one of "DC's most storied characters"? This person ain't Wally West. A lot of the best DC books from the last 20 years (before the reboot) is because of DC's history. That history no longer exists. You'd think someone in the DC front offices would know this. (30 April)
Supergirl #30 (page 111): Why, oh why does Emanuela Lupacchino have to keep drawing stuff I don't want to read?!?!? (16 April)
As cool as Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul's Detective Comics (page 114) will be - and I'm sure it will be cool - DC has kept the price at 4 dollars even as they ditched the back-up stories, which is dirty pool, so I'll wait for the trade, thank you very much. (2 April)
Arkham Asylum: Living Hell gets a fancy new hardcover printing on page 138. This is, I must say, one of the creepiest Batman stories you're ever going to read - it's not even much of a Batman story, as Dan Slott tells a story of a man who gets out of jail by convincing the judge he's insane, so he gets sent to Arkham. Yeah, bad idea. This is a really good comic, and I'm sure the hardcover is pretty danged neat. (4 June)
On page 140, the Ostrander/Mandrake title The Spectre gets a nice trade collecting issues #1-12, which tell a fairly complete story. I'm in the middle of writing about this comic for Comics You Should Own (it's taking a while!), but trust me - this is a really good book. Let's hope that DC gets around to collecting the entire run. (14 May)
Vertigo Quarterly: Cyan #1 shows up on page 145. I dig these Vertigo anthologies - they're not always great, but they usually have some pretty interesting work in them. Basing each issue on a color (God forbid we call this one "blue" - and yes, I know it's not the same!) is a bit gimmicky, but it could be very neat. (30 April)
Coffin Hill gets a trade on page 148. This doesn't sound like the best comic, but what does anyone who bought it say? I dig Miranda's artwork, but how's the actual story? It is, after all, only 10 dollars, so I might get it regardless, but still, if anyone has any thoughts, let me know! (14 May)
Page 167: Steranko Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Artist's Edition. GodDAMN, IDW!!!!
Hey, look, it's an issue of Frankenstein Alive, Alive! on page 177! Won't that be swell? And if you want to catch up, you can get the first two issues collected for 6 dollars on the same page. Handy, that. I wonder how long the issue after this one will take?
Hey, there's a Red Star Treasury Edition on page 184. This collects a bunch of annuals and one-shots to prepare us for new hardcovers coming up next month. I've read one issue of The Red Star in my life, and it was ... okay. I might have to check this out, though, just to see what's what.
Jason Aaron and Jason Latour have Southern Bastards on page 200, a story about ... well, bastards who live in the South? It doesn't sound that great, but Latour's a good artist and I imagine it will be somewhat entertaining. Whenever I mention Latour, however, I have to bemoan the lack of the final issue of Loose Ends. Wouldn't it be nice if that came out before the Earth falls into the sun? (30 April)
Joe Keatinge has a new series on page 208 called Shutter, about a famous explorer on a strange Earth (as in, one with all sorts of weird creatures) who's forced to return to adventuring because of reasons. Keatinge can be an interesting writer, and the art by Leila Del Duca looks pretty good, so maybe I'll have to check this out. (9 April)
Hey, look, Dream Police is back on page 210. I bought the original issue and found it a bit intriguing, but I still don't trust Straczynski as a writer. Still, the idea of cops patrolling the dreamscape is pretty cool. I'm torn! (30 April)
I've been wondering when Image will get around to releasing a giant hardcover of the revamp of Glory, and on page 217, they comply! This is 12 issues for 35 bucks, and I'm sure it will be a really nice package. Glory is really good - Joe Keatinge's story is tremendous, and Ross Campbell's art is superb. If you've been waiting for this, here it is! (23 April)
Three by Kieron Gillen and Ryan Kelly shows up on page 219. This is an interesting story of helots in ancient Sparta, and it's pretty good. This volume includes annotations, which are, of course, awesome. (9 April)
Here's why Marvel's policy of "ship this book every week, and twice a week if you can!" isn't the smartest idea. Kaare Andrews is launching a new Iron Fist book (page 6) and, you know, good for him. But if you're going to get this, you're getting it as much for Andrews's art as you are for Andrews's writing (probably more so, honestly), and Andrews isn't going to be on art for very long even with a monthly schedule. So will this just turn into Savage Wolverine eventually? (9 April)
Mike del Mundo's art on Elektra (page 8) looks a-MAH-zing (sorry, I've been watching a lot of Happy Endings recently), but like Andrews, I can't imagine he'll last very long, and for 4 dollars, I can wait for a reasonably-priced trade. (23 April)
Hey, look, it's X-Men Legacy (page 13), which has switched from a Legion solo book to a Nightcrawler solo book ... um, guest-starring Wolverine. Of course it does! (9 April)
Daredevil #1.50 (page 18): Tom Brevoort is just fucking with us now, isn't he? (9 April)
As much as I think the solicit writers for Marvel are often a bit too smug, Deadpool #27 (page 30) being called "the most important 27 in the history of comics!" is pretty funny. Deadpool has to be marrying Agent Preston for some bizarre reason, right? (9 April)
Did you know that Moon Knight (page 37), the first issue of which has not actually come out, is "the best new comic of 2014"? The Marvel solicits say so, so it must be true! (2 April)
Speaking of which, She-Hulk (page 43), the first issue of which has also not come out, is "2014's sleeper hit." What's Marvel going to do if She-Hulk sells 100,000 copies? It won't be a sleeper hit then! How does one define a sleeper hit, anyway? If it sells 15,000-30,000 copies, that's just a regular comic, right? Can any Marvel property really be a sleeper hit? If Moon Knight is the best new comic of 2014, I would consider that more of a sleeper hit, because I think Jen is slightly more well-known than he is. Or maybe she isn't. Man, the solicits make my head hurt. (2 April)
I've been contemplating buying the Marvel Masterworks that collects the Steranko issues of Captain America, and now Marvel is nice enough to release that volume in softcover on page 88. That's mighty swell of them! (30 April)
Continuing their new-ish policy of releasing original graphic novels, on page 90 we get Mike Carey writing X-Men: No More Humans, in which the X-Men wake up one morning and find that all the humans in the world have disappeared. I'd really be interested in getting this ... except Salvador Larroca is drawing it, and I've really gotten annoyed at his artwork in the past decade or so. But then I look at the black-and-white samples they have on the solicit page, and it looks really good. You don't suppose Marvel would release this without color so they don't muck up Larroca's art, do you?
If you've become obsessed with, I don't know, Age of Ultron #10 (we certainly don't know anyone like that around here, do we?), you can get the trade of the entire epic on page 103. You know you've been made to want this more than you've ever wanted anything, even though you're not sure why!!!! (7 May)
You know you want to check out the back of the book. YOU KNOW YOU DO!!!!
I really should just suck it up and get Nat Turner, which gets a new printing on page 252 from Abrams. Maybe I will.
On page 262, Archie offers the first trade of Afterlife With Archie for 18 bucks. You might recall I was disappointed with the first issue of this series, but I might get the trade. I mean, at least I know the art is excellent.
If you're a fan of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, there's The Complete Sabrina the Teenage Witch: 1962-1971 on page 266. I don't have a ton of interest in it, but it is only 10 dollars for 500 pages, so it's a good deal!
Some of you may have skipped the giant hardcover of Über when it came out, so Avatar was nice enough to offer a softcover trade for 20 dollars on page 271. This is a pretty good book about super-soldiers in World War II, and that's not a bad price for 6 issues.
On the next page, 272, we find Caliban by Garth Ennis and Facundo Percio. It's about a spaceship that crashes into an alien ship and the horror that ensues. I'd like to be optimistic about this, because it's Ennis, but recently, he's been more interested in being disgusting than telling a good story. Let us hope he reins it in a little. And if Percio is working on this, I guess Anna Mercury is officially dead?
Boom! has some interesting stuff in their section. On page 287, Dead Letters is about a dude who wakes up in a crappy motel with no memory but with guys with guns chasing him. It's a clichéd set-up, but it's all about the execution, so we'll see what's what.
Then, on page 289, we get Translucid, about two arch-nemeses and what makes a person a superhero and what makes them a supervillain. It could be interesting, of course, although I think it feels like the writers are leading us to an obvious place. Yes, I got that from the solicitation for issue #1.
In the "Archaia" section of Boom!'s solicitations, we find Darklight, a story that takes place in the distant future when the universe is falling about and three different species have to work together to save it. I don't know writer Chad Kultgen, so I don't know how it will read, but Piotr Kowalski's art should look pretty keen.
Scam gets a giant hardcover trade on page 305 from ComixTribe. This sucker is $35 and collects not only the mini-series but a ton of other stories by various creators. That's kind of cool, but that's a lot o' cash money. I wonder if Travis ever finished reading this and can offer up some thoughts?
Dynamite continues to throw money at Jeff Parker, as he launches Flash Gordon with Evan Shaner (page 310). Good for Parker, say I! I'm sure this will be a nice-looking trade. (9 April)
On page 334, we find Jane Irwin's self-published Clockwork Game, a book about the 18th-century automaton that dazzled people across Europe. You can read the entire thing on-line, but I'm just going to buy it - it looks really neat.
The trade for Watson and Holmes is offered on page 343 from New Paradigm Studios. This puts the two in present-day Harlem, and it's not bad. It's not great, but it's not bad.
Jamie S. Rich and Dan Christensen bring us Archer Coe & the Thousand Natural Shocks on page 348 from Oni. Rich is a good writer, and the idea of a hypnotist who becomes a murder suspect sounds pretty neat, so I might have to check this out. (11 June)
On page 354, we find Thaniel #1 and 2 from OSSM Comics. I bought issue #1 last weekend from the writer, and it looks pretty cool. I'll have a review up this week, I think. I just wanted to point it out.
A while ago, I reviewed the first chapter of San Hannibal when it showed up in Omega Comics Presents, and now Pop! Goes the Icon has it as a separate series on page 358. It's a pretty cool noir detective story, and I'm very keen on reading it.
SelfMadeHero has The Cigar That Fell in Love with a Pipe on page 362. It's about Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth and, well, cigars. It sounds pretty darned cool, if you ask me.
On page 365, Titan offers the trade of Death Sentence. I debated about getting this - a story about people who contract a virus that gives them incredible powers for a few months before killing them - in singles, but I decided to wait for the trade. And here it is!
Joann Sfar has a new book out on page 369 from Uncivilized Books about the modernist painter Pascin. It's being resolicited, so maybe it will show up this time. I like Sfar's work, but I don't have a lot of it. I'll have to think about this.
Paul Pope's Escapo gets a new printing on page 389 from Z2 Comics. I dig Pope, but I don't know anything about this. What say you cool people who already own it? Good stuff?
Well, we made it to "Z," and there's nothing grabbing my fancy in the really back sections, so I'll call it a day. As always, let me know about things you find groovy in Previews, and we'll all have more stuff to pre-order! Whoo-hoo!