Happy New Year! Let's celebrate by scouring Previews #280 for obscure comics that we can read!
Jan Strnad and Richard Corben begin a new horror series, Ragemoor, on page 44. I mean, if horror comics are your thing. (21 March)
The Incredible Adventures of Dog Mendonça and Pizzaboy shows up in a trade on page 46. The stories in Dark Horse Presents have been pretty fun, so this might be a good thing to check out. Plus, it will make commenter The Dude angry if someone thinks the comic is Spanish. That's worth the price right there! (23 May)
Man, another volume of Empowered shows up on page 51, with a nice pull quote by veteran blogger Johnny Bacardi adoring it. Way to go, sir! (30 May)
Channel Zero gets a new trade on page 52, with a bunch of extras and "the now-classic Warren Ellis introduction." It's been years since I've read this, but I remember not loving it. Maybe I should crack it open again! (30 May)
Rick Remender's Fear Agent gets its last trade on page 54. I really like Fear Agent, and it's been too long since the previous trade showed up. This story can't end well, can it? (2 May)
Well, you knew it was coming: Manara Erotica volume 1 on page 68. I very much doubt I will get this, but I'm sure the porn is pretty! (9 May)
The Flash #7 (page 82) has no artist listed. That's weird. Is it an oversight, or do they not know yet who's drawing it? Anyway, I don't know if the story is any good, but how amazing has Manapul's art been on that title? (28 March)
Gail Simone gets around to confronting The Killing Joke in Batgirl #7 (page 98), although the solicitation doesn't say that we're actually going to learn why Barbara can walk so well after getting shot through the spine. Or has she already addressed this in Batgirl? I fear whatever explanation is offered, frankly. (14 March)
Chip Kidd and Dave Taylor have Batman: Death by Design Deluxe Edition HC on page 121. It sounds fairly awesome - Gotham is going through a construction boom, but something weird is happening around the construction sites - and I wonder if it's specifically tied into what DC is doing with Batman in the regular books. Isn't Snyder doing something like this? Man, DC is really obsessed with continuity these days, if that's true. Good for them! (30 May)
Marv Wolfman and Tom Mandrake fire up a new iteration of Night Force on page 124. Greg Hatcher will be standing in line at his comic book store for this one! (7 March)
DC has always been slow about getting their trades out, but in the DCnU, they're committed to making sure the extra-expensive hardcovers are out quickly, as pages 128-131 give us Justice League, Batman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman trades. Let's hope the softcovers aren't too far behind! (Because, honestly, paying five or more dollars than cover price of the issues just for a hardcover seems a bit much, doesn't it?) (2, 9, 16, and 30 May)
There's a new Hitman trade on page 134. Don't ask questions, just buy it! (11 April)
On page 135, Showcase Presents: All-Star Squadron volume 1 shows up. From what I hear, reading these stories will make my head explode because they're so thick with DC continuity. Is that true???? (18 April)
I'm sure Paul Cornell and Ryan Kelly's Saucer Country (page 139) will be excellent, but ... a presidential candidate saying she was abducted by aliens and she isn't immediately crucified by the media so much that there's absolutely no way her campaign can continue? Yeah, that's the most science-fictiony thing about this series! (14 March)
Fairest #1 debuts on page 140. I mean, Jack of Fables was so good, how could this not be? Although, the fact that Phil Jimenez is drawing it allows me to wonder if he's ever going to finish Otherworld. Remember Otherworld? What a weird series. (7 March)
There's a second Rocketeer Adventures on page 157. The first anthology featured some very keen stories, so I would expect more of the same! Plus, Billy the Sink does some art. That's always an event!
Outland gets collected on page 167. I never read as much of this as I did Bloom County because the newspapers I was reading at the time often didn't carry it, but I'll probably get it anyway, just to see what's going on. It never seemed to be quite as good as BC, but still.
Joshua Hale Fialkov writes Doctor Who #15 (page 173). I mention this only to link to a picture of Karen Gillan, who's leaving the show, presumably to move in next door to me. I'm sure my wife won't mind!
Saga #1 gets solicited on page 182. Yes, we're all excited about Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples's new series, especially as the first issue is 44 pages for $2.99. Just calm down, people! (14 March)
Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra show up on page 186 with The Manhattan Projects, which posits that the development of the atomic bomb was just a front to hide weirder projects. Well, sure. Of course. This is right up Hickman's alley, so I'm sure it will be keen. Ongoing, though? We'll see. (7 March)
So there's Glory #24 on page 210. I've been arguing with my retailer about this for a few weeks. He thinks getting Ross Campbell to do Glory is the absolute worst idea ever, because Mike Deodato originally drew the book (he did?), and Deodato's Glory was some sexy warrior chick while Campbell's is way too butch. So then, this past week, he claimed that J. Scott Campbell is one of the ten best artists working in comics today. I always laugh when he says stuff like that and tell him to get out of the store (even though it's, you know, his), but it's really amazing how different tastes can be. He reads some very interesting comics, but when he starts saying stuff like that ... I just don't know what to say. Although I'm sure plenty of people think that about me! (14 March)
(I didn't get a Marvel Previews this past week, so I don't know page numbers or shipping dates. Sorry!)
Avengers Assemble #1: "One Of The Greatest Avengers Villains Of All Time Gets Reinvented For The Modern Age Just In Time For The Blockbuster Movie Event Of The Summer!" Yawn. Am I old because I don't care, or am I smart because I don't care? You be the judge!
Amazing Spider-Man #5: "Special Guest Artist Leinil Yu Brings Together The World’s Two Favorite Super Heroes ..." Spider-Man, maybe, but Captain America? Really, Marvel? If you say so ...
According to the solicits for Daredevil #10, "It’s Not Too Late To Start Reading The Book Everyone Is Talking About!" Doesn't that imply that there IS a time when it will be too late? Like, when issue #12 or 15 comes out, your retailer won't let you buy it unless you've bought the previous twelve. "I'm sorry, sir, but Marvel sent out a memo that it's too late to start reading the book everyone is talking about. You should have picked up issue #10!"
The Children's Crusade gets a hardcover for $35. I probably will wait for the trade before making a decision on this, because even though I've heard it's a mess, I'm still curious. Plus, Jim Cheung doesn't draw enough stuff these days, man.
So this month, Marvel solicits those nifty hardcover graphic novels that, while they retell the early years of Marvel characters and therefore aren't terribly revolutionary, at least feature solid talent. Who doesn't want to see Jamie McKelvie draw the first year of the X-Men? Or read Antony Johnston or Cullen Bunn doing Daredevil and Spider-Man, respectively?
Marvel also collects a bunch of old Spider-Man graphic novels from the old days. The only one I've read is the Charles Vess one, but you really haven't lived until you've seen Charles Vess painting a Spider-Man graphic novel. It's ... something, I'll tell you that much.
Warren Ellis's run on Secret Avengers gets a hardcover. The first five issues have been superb, so why wouldn't the sixth one be as well?
The old Wolverine/Nick Fury graphic novels are also getting collected. I've read the Howard Chaykin one, but not the others. Are they any good?
Onward we go, to the back of the book!
Forty dollars for a Daniel Clowes "monograph" focusing on his art might be a bit pricey, but Abrams Comicarts has it for you on page 231!
Arcana Studio doesn't often have very good stuff, but occasionally, they seem to come up with a decent comic. On page 241 they have Howard Lovecraft and the Undersea Kingdom by Dwight MacPherson and Thomas Boatwright. MacPherson knows how to write interesting horror stories and interesting kids' comics, so the adventures of a young H. P. Lovecraft sounds pretty neat. Plus, Boatwright isn't bad at all.
On page 271, Boom! has Kitchen Sink Press: The First 25 Years retrospective, featuring stuff from 1969-1994. This sounds pretty interesting, and it's only 15 dollars.
I'm not sure why Interiorae, from Fantagraphics on page 300, sounds neat, but it does. A surreal fantasy set inside a mundane apartment complex? Why the hell not? This has been serialized before - has anyone read it?
I honestly have no idea if NBM's new Three Stooges volume 1: Bed Bugged! is any good, and frankly, I'm not that interested in it, because I've never found the Stooges even remotely funny, even when I was 10 years old. However, this is coming out in conjunction with the new movie, which gives me a chance to link to Kate Upton as a bikini-wearing nun. Yes, she appears like that in the movie. God Bless America!
New England Comics has the 100th issue of The Tick, which guest-stars Invincible. Yes, you read that correctly. I ought to be getting more of these Cereno/McClaine issues, but I'm a horrible person. I'll be picking this one up, though!
Speaking of Antony Johnston, on page 317 Oni offers his graphic novel The Coldest City, about the death of a MI6 officer a few weeks before the Berlin Wall comes down. It sounds pretty groovy! (16 May)
Oni also has The Secret History of D. B. Cooper (page 318), a new ongoing by Brian Churilla. It appears that Churilla gets to draw a lot of monsters, and he's dang good at that, so this ought to be fun. (14 March)
I know I was disappointed by Frenemy of the State, but Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis are back with another series, Bad Medicine, which is Oni's excellent FCBD full first issue thing they do for this year. It's drawn by Christopher Mitten, it's about a doctor and a detective trying to solve a weirdo crime, and it's FREE!!!!! (5 May)
Radical seems to have fallen off a bit with their output, but on page 324 they have Hotwire: Deep Cut in a trade paperback. This is the second mini-series about the character by Steve Pugh, and it's almost as awesome as the first one. Let's hope he does more!
I'm a tiny bit worried about Atomic Robo: Real Science Adventures #1 from Red 5. Why would I worry about a new ongoing starring Atomic Robo? Well, because Scott Wegener isn't drawing it. Now, I would really hope that Brian Clevinger and Wegener will continue to pump out mini-series while this ongoing is going on, so to speak. Wouldn't that be nice?
Universe has an interesting comic on the bottom of page 330: Corto Maltese volume 1: The Ballad of the Salt Sea by Hugo Pratt. I'm curious about this, but the last time I read something by Pratt ("Indian Summer"), it wasn't very good. Tell me this is different, fans of European comics!
Old and classic Italian comics are as good a place as any to end this post, so let's do so! Get out there and make the new year one where you demand better comics from your retailer! Tell him to make more room on his shelf for something other than Justice League! You can do it!!!!