Strap on the feedbag, people, 'cause we'll be here all night!
For 40 bucks, you can get Dragon Girl and Monkey King: The Art of Katsuya Terada on page 41. It's an art book, so I imagine it has a very exclusive audience, but art books are always fun, aren't they? (23 July)
Weirdly enough, Dark Horse has begun soliciting the New Lone Wolf & Cub (which they did last month) before they finished soliciting the original Lone Wolf & Cub Omnibus editions, volume 5 of which shows up on page 42. I'm not sure what that's all about. Oh well. One day I'll sit down and read all of these - I keep getting them, but I ain't reading them yet! (2 July)
Hey, look, it's another volume of MPD-Psycho on page 43! Dark Horse cracks me up with these. The four manga series that I read that are still coming out are this one, Eden, and Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, and Gantz, all of which Dark Horse publishes and three of which (Gantz is the exception) come out excruciatingly slowly. Man, I wish they were quicker. But good for Dark Horse! (23 July)
On page 47, we get three different versions of The Star Wars, the illustrated version of the original screenplay. I heard this wasn't very good, but Dark Horse does have some nice versions - the trade, the hardcover, and the deluxe hardcover - so if you really want it, you have a smorgasbord of choices! (9 July/13 August)
Dark Horse has RoboCop vs. the Terminator hardcover on page 50. This is written by Frank Miller and drawn by Walt Simonson, and it's 25 dollars. Is this from before Miller went crazy, because you won't be able to keep me away from this book if it is. They also have a "gallery edition" - IDW has started a trend! - with Simonson's original art on page 51. What say the masses? (2 July)
There's a Gilbert Hernandez book on page 53 called Grip: The Strange World of Men for 20 dollars. I don't know when the original issues came out, but it's never been collected before! I guess it's a mash-up of gangsters and superpowers, but who knows. As I must always note, I am not a big fan of the Hernandez brothers. Their comics just don't do anything for me. But this is still out there, so if you want it, go get it! (2 July)
Catalyst Comix gets a trade on page 57 - it's 20 bucks for 9 issues, which ain't bad. The last issue comes out this week, but so far, this has been a strange superhero comic with three semi-interconnected stories with a bunch of the Dark Horse superheroes from the 1990s. Casey and his collaborators have been doing an interesting job, and it's well worth a look. (2 July)
Fred van Lente and Freddie Williams II are back with Brain Boy on page 58. I'm still waiting for the trade of the last mini-series, but the stories in Dark Horse Presents were pretty good, so I imagine these are good stories, as well!
Speaking of Dark Horse Presents, the final issue shows up on page 61. Travis Pelkie, resident smart guy commenter, mentioned that Dark Horse is simply going to reboot this, which makes no sense, but still - it's the last issue ... for now! (21 May)
I'm not too interested in the description of Jack Kraken on page 65 - he's an agent for a secret agency protecting humanity - but Tim Seeley isn't a bad writer, and Ross Campbell does some of the art, so it might be something to give a look at when it shows up. (14 May)
Never Ending gets a trade on page 66. The premise is intriguing - a superhero never ages, so he slowly goes insane and needs the help of his nemesis to, I guess, die - and it's a nifty 10 dollars (it was only a 3-issue mini-series, but still), so I might have to check it out. (2 July)
There's a new Usagi Yojimbo trade on page 70, collecting issues #132-138. On page 71, there's The Sakai Project, which features a bunch of artists drawing everyone's favorite samurai rabbit, with the proceeds going to Sakai and his wife, who need some financial help. That's pretty neat. (2 July/23 July)
The next Brian Wood Conan trade is offered on page 72. As both Other Greg and I have mentioned, these are good comics, they're just not really Conan comics. It's odd. But they're fun to read! (16 July)
James Marsters, who played Spike, writes ... a Spike graphic novel, Into the Light, on page 76. I have no idea if Marsters is a good writer or not, but kudos to Dark Horse for the marketing strategy! (16 July)
I've never bought the Abe Sapien trades, but I really ought to. I dig the Hellboy-verse, after all. The fourth volume, The Shape of Things to Come, shows up on page 78. I don't know - I should track these down. (9 July)
I don't have any interest in The Strain, but you can get a nice hardcover for 30 dollars (collecting 11 issues) on page 80. David Lapham and Mike Huddleston are a cool creative team, but I just don't care about the subject matter at all. (9 July)
I am interested in The Secret Files of Dr. Drew on page 81, which collects a horror comic strip from 1949 written by Marilyn Mercer and drawn by Jerry Grandenetti. It's only 30 dollars, and it sounds pretty neat. (16 July)
Kiss Me, Satan gets a trade on page 81. This isn't a bad story about werewolves trying to kill witches and a strange dude protecting them, and there are some interesting twists. The reason you should get it, though, is because Juan Ferreyra kills on the art. (2 July)
Somewhat annoyingly, Dark Horse is releasing four issues of Grindhouse: Doors Open at Midnight in one trade, and presumably the rest in another. Each story is two issues long, so it's not going to split anything up, but it seems like they could easily get this into a decently-priced trade. This is 18 dollars for 4 issues, while Catalyst Comix (maybe because Dark Horse owns the characters?) is 20 dollars for 9 issues. Weird. (16 July)
The second volume of Gasoline Alley: The Complete Sundays 1923-1925 shows up on page 84. As you might recall, I love that comics companies are collecting old newspaper strips, but I have no interest in this, especially for $75. Still, it's neat. (9 July)
There's a new Axe Cop mini-series on page 86. I don't care at all about Axe Cop, but hey, there it is! (21 May)
Pictures That Tick, the latest collection of stories from Dave McKean, is offered on page 87. There's a $30-version and one for $100. (9 July)
DC's next weekly series, Futures End, begins on page 95. Is there a missing apostrophe in that title, or did DC really not think too hard about it? Anyway, it's a strange creative team of DC's top guys - Giffen, Jurgens, Azzarello, and Lemire are writing it, which is ... interesting. I hope those four dudes got locked in a room in Manitoba somewhere to hash out this entire year, because I would love to read those transcripts. The most interesting thing about this is that it takes place "five years from now." This is a smart idea, because five years in comic book time could be anywhere from five years to 25 years, so DC could simply never arrive at these events if they don't want to. Anyway, it begins in May. Huzzah!
I'm really curious if we've once again reached a point where slapping "Justice League" on the cover of a comic will sell it, no matter what. I mean, Justice League United (page 97) stars Animal Man, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter, Stargirl, and Adam Strange. Now that's a team that will sell books! (14 May)
How has no one come up with "Nightmare Nurse" before Justice League Dark #31 (page 99)? Holy shit, she's the character find of 2014 and she hasn't even shown up yet! (28 May)
Swamp Thing sure gets around, as he shows up in Aquaman #31 (page 101). Remember when you could tell that a guest star was in a comic to goose sales? Is Swamp Thing that popular recently that he will help goose Aquaman's sales? (28 May)
Secret Origins #2 (page 102) tells the origin of ... Batman. Well, thank Vishnu for that. We might have gone longer than two months without someone telling us Batman's origin! (28 May)
In Constantine #14 (page 106), our hero confronts a "hideous demon that's been feeding on the American Southwest for decades!" What does that mean, exactly? Is it eating the actual ground? That would be cool - it could find some aquifers, as we desperately need them. I'm curious about what that means. Maybe Ray Fawkes is going to reveal that it's been forcing good Christians to make pornographic wedding cakes for all those gay weddings! (14 May)
Superman #31 (page 113): "Lois's psi powers spike again"! Wait, what? Man, can't someone be a regular person in the DCnU? (28 May)
Batman/Superman #11 (page 115) is drawn by Jae Lee. I bring this up not because it's obvious, but because I noticed that the latest issue was also drawn by Jae Lee. I brought this up to the dude who works at my comics shoppe, mentioning that Brett Booth is no longer drawing it, and he said that he expected their sales to go down now. Had I any liquid in my mouth, I would have done a spit-take. He told me that when Booth started drawing it, sales went up. This makes no sense to me. Brett Booth is a lousy artist, I'm sorry to say. Jae Lee is very good. Yet at my shoppe, people would rather read a book drawn by Booth than Lee. I suppose it's because Lee's art is more esoteric and Booth's is more meat-and-potatoes, but seriously?!?!? So I got depressed. Man. I do like to be reminded that the Internet is a tiny portion of comics fandom, and often does not recognize the popularity of things that we like to look down on. But there you have it - Brett Booth, more popular than Jae Lee. This is the world we live in. (21 May)
I'm going to get the Buccellato/Manapul run on Detective in trade, so I mock with love here, but for issue #31 (page 119), Batman meets up with a "mysterious man known as Sumo!" Um, he's a sumo wrestler. And he's known as Sumo? Really? Now I want villains like Accountant, Grocery Bagger, and Third Grade Teacher. They would dominate! (7 May)
Red Hood and the Outlaws #31 (page 125) features the team fighting against Lobo. Hey, is it Sexy Lobo? Should we alert Noelle Stevenson? (21 May)
In Sinestro #2 (page 126), is he actually fighting against a group called the Pale Vicars? I can't decide if that's awful or awesome. (21 May)
Apparently, Batman '66 #11 (page 135) will feature a "cameo by just about every Bat-villain ever." That should be fun. Jonathan Case is on art, too, so it will look amazing. (21 May)
The first arc of John Layman's work on Detective Comics gets a trade on page 138. It's pretty good - he actually creates a new, interesting villain. It's priced to move at 17 dollars for 192 pages! (25 June)
I can't believe I'm writing this, but I'm tempted to get Larfleeze volume 1 on page 140. I've heard some good things about it, and I really do want to give DC books a chance! Am I a crazy person? (18 June)
DC collects The Demon: Driven Out by Joshua Dysart and Pop Mhan on page 144. It's 6 issues for 10 dollars, so even though it's from something like 8 reboots ago, it might be worth a look. (14 May)
Next to it on page 144, we get Tales of Batman: J. H. Williams III hardcover, which is 50 dollars but runs 448 pages. I'm not getting this because I own everything in it, but it has a lot of very cool comics, from his early stuff on Batman (during the 1990s Moench/Jones run) to Legends of the Dark Knight (another story with Moench), to his more recent Batman work with Paul Dini and G-Mozz. Good stuff all around! (16 July)
The latest Batman: Black and White volume gets a hardcover on page 144. I'll wait for the softcover, but there's a nice collection of talent for this latest series! (23 July)
Showcase Presents: The Great Disaster featuring the Atomic Knights is on page 145, in case you're dying to read all these post-apocalyptic stories from (I presume) the 1970s. As with all the Showcase Presents books, it's packed with content for only 20 dollars. (18 June)
All the Before Watchmen books get softcover trades on pages 146-47. Get angry about them all over again! (June)
I'm really torn about the Doom Patrol Omnibus on page 151. I already own it, of course, and it's the best comic book ever (don't try to deny it!), but do I want a 1200-page collection? Actually, I really do, but I'm always worried about the binding on giant books like this. I wish DC would let us know that it's going to bound well! Still, if you don't have it, you should get it in some format. It's totally worth it. (30 July)
Graham Nolan is the first guest artist ever on Astro City (page 152), which is nice as Nolan is a fine artist. Good for him! (14 May)
Dead Boy Detectives volume 1 shows up on page 155, and DC, as usual, prices it really well - 10 dollars for 6+ issues. Marvel should be taking notes! (11 June)
I won't be getting the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 30th Anniversary Special on page 171, but it's pretty cool that IDW is getting a bunch of creators who have worked on the book over the years back together. That's a neat idea.
Ashley Wood has a new comic coming out: The Beautiful War on page 173. Wood is a fascinating creator, and this book does not seem to have any robots in it, so maybe it will be something unusually different from Wood!
The Maxx: Maxximized gets a trade on page 174. Let's hope the editors fixed the weird word balloon problem in the latest issue!
Speaking of Sam Kieth, he teams up with Chris Ryall again for Mars Attacks: First Born on page 175. That should look neat, at least.
It's 40 dollars, but I'm tempted to get Tribes: The Dog Years Special Edition on page 176 (it is 224 pages, so there's that). I don't know anything about it, but Inaki Miranda is a pretty good artist, so it will probably look pretty keen.
John Byrne fires up another Star Trek "photo-novel" on page 179 called The Mirror, Cracked, which is "part one." I took a look at the first Byrne "photo-novel" when it came out, but did anyone get it? I still think this is a bizarre idea, but if the books are good, who cares, right?
There's another Monkeybrain comic getting published by IDW, as Amelia Cole and the Hidden War gets collected on page 181. This sounds neat, but I missed the first volume, so I might have to track that down first.
On page 182, the first trade of Samurai Jack is solicited. I'm planning on getting this - has anyone been reading the single issues and can offer an opinion about it?
I love looking at the My Little Pony solicits just to see who's working on them. My Little Pony: Friends Forever #5 is written by Thom Zahler, who's a good writer. Have I missed him on the book, or did he just start on it? I'm not going to buy it, but good for Zahler making some coin off a licensed property!
I should have known that "V-Wars" stood for vampires (page 187), but I must admit the first thing I thought of, especially with that cover, was a completely different "v" word. I might actually buy that comic!
Rogue Trooper Classics #1 shows up on page 192. If you have a hankering for the original Gerry Finley-Day/Dave Gibbons comics, these are in color for the first time!
Weird Love on page 197 features a bunch of pre-Comics Code romance stories, and I really want to read "I Fell for a Commie." I mean, don't we all at some point in our lives?
Dang, I would love to pick up Flesh & Steel: The Art of Russ Heath on page 199, but it's 50 bucks. Still, I'm very tempted (it's also 320 pages, which is nice), but we shall see. There's too much groovy stuff I don't own!
Speaking of stuff I don't own, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents: The Best of Wally Wood (page 199) is also very tempting. It's 25 dollars for about half the pages of the Russ Heath book, and I'm sure it's amazing. Dang.
I was curious about getting The Red Star when IDW offered the "preview" last month, and this month volume 1 shows up (page 200), and it's ... 50 dollars. Man. I mean, it's 8 issues and 328 pages, but that's still a good chunk of change.
IDW cranks out another Artist's Edition that I can't afford (page 201) - this time it's Hellboy, and once again, I curse my lack of funds. Curse you, lack of funds!!!!
One reason why I hate Mark Millar: these days, he writes such creatively bankrupt stories (MPH on page 206 is "What if the Flash were a bad guy?") that are so obviously movie pitches, but he has the coin or the cachet to attract wonderful artists, in this case Duncan Fegredo. There's no way in hell I'm buying this, and the fact that it's drawn by Fegredo makes that even more annoying. (21 May)
Warren Ellis has a new science fiction comic, Trees, on page 210. I'm very curious about this, because if the aliens landed a decade ago and haven't done anything, how has the world changed at all? I have confidence in Ellis, but it's still an odd conceit. (28 May)
I love the idea of C.O.W.L. - the world's first superhero labor union (page 214). I'm not the biggest fan of Kyle Higgins, who's writing this, but it's still very intriguing. (28 May)
Jamie S. Rich writes Madame Frankenstein (page 216), which is basically what it sounds like - a man reanimating the love of his life, from which complications ensue. Rich is a good romance writer and a pretty good "weird stories" writer, and the art by Megan Levens looks pretty cool, so I'll have to check this out. (7 May)
On page 222, there's a new Burn the Orphanage ongoing, as well as a trade of the mini-series from last year. I was waiting for the trade of this anyway, so I'm glad it's here! (7 May)
Chew/Revival is offered on page 223, and of course I'm getting it. This crossover can't possibly work, which means it will be awesome. (28 May)
The final issue of Fatale shows up on page 226. It's a really good series, so I'm very keen to see how Brubillips brings it all together. (21 May)
Saga #19 is offered on page 226, coming back from its break. I think I'm done with Saga. I just can't love it, and the few moments of brilliance aren't worth the annoying shit that comes in between it. (21 May)
The first trade of Black Science is on page 229. So far, this is a cool comic, so if you've been waiting for the reasonably-priced trade (6 issues, 10 dollars), here it is! (28 May)
Volume 1 of Drumhellar is also on page 229. I haven't been reading this, but I'm curious about it. Riley Rossmo on art is never a bad thing, so I might have to drop some ducats on this (although it's 15 dollars for 5 issues, so it's not quite as good a value as Black Science). (28 May)
There's a "fifth anniversary" trade of I Kill Giants on page 230, with some new stuff. I Kill Giants is a brilliant comic, and if you haven't read it yet, you really should. Here's your chance! (7 May)
On page 231, volume 1 of both Manifest Destiny and Umbral show up. Both of these series have gotten off to very good starts, and both are 10 bucks for 6 issues, so how can you pass them up? (14 May/28 May)
Page 240 gives us Invincible #112: "Robot continues his quest to take over the world ..." Wait, what? Man, it's been a long time since I read Invincible, can't you tell? (21 May)
There's a new arc of Rat Queens beginning on page 244. I haven't been reading this, but if you were interested in starting, I imagine this is a good place for it! (7 May)
So Original Sin (page 4) might be the greatest comic ever, but it seems fundamentally flawed to me. I know I haven't been keeping up Marvel history, but if someone killed Uatu, what's the big deal? He's a fucking Watcher - why would he have anything compromising about Marvel heroes when all he's supposed to do is watch? I'm sure it's been explained at some point, but someone holds the "Marvel Universe's darkest secrets in the palm of their hands"? Why would Uatu have that? Shouldn't it be in his head, which is now splattered all over the place? Anyway, it's the latest Marvel event. Huzzah! (7 May)
Does anyone want to guess why Cyclops has never gotten a solo ongoing, as he's getting on page 18? Maybe because calling it "Cyclops, the Dude With the Stick Up His Ass" wouldn't sell. Good for Greg Rucka getting this published, though! (7 May)
Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, a new mini-series by Mike Benson and Tan Eng Huat, shows up on page 26. I imagine this will be pretty cool, and probably even better as a trade, which is how I will consume it! It also just reminds me that Marvel doesn't even try to work around the licensing problems with the old series, because they're dicks. Yeah, I said it. (14 May)
On page 40, we get the Thanos Annual, which I love because Marvel can't even be bothered to come up with an interesting name for it, as an annual implies a regular series, which doesn't exist. Still, it's Starlin and Lim doing a Thanos book, which should be kind of cool, if you're into that sort of thing. (28 May)
Bendis fires up Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man on page 42. Man, Marvel keeps beating the Ultimate horse, don't they? Is this comic still even close to as good as the series was back in its heyday? (7 May)
I know this is just the whining of an old man, but once again, I bemoan the loss of interconnectedness in Marvel comics. On page 61, Fantastic Four #5 promises that the team is "held accountable for the destruction of Manhattan!" Remember back in the old days when other comics would at least pay a bit of lip service to the destruction wrought in other comics? I will wager a lot of money that the "destruction" of Manhattan isn't mentioned in other comics whatsoever. Sigh. I'm old. (28 May)
So the cover of X-Force #5 (page 67) shows Marrow:
My question is: Why does she have half of her head shaved? Does she think it looks cool? It looks ridiculous, of course, but is there an in-story reason for the ridiculous cut? These are pressing questions!!!! (14 May)
This is a terrifying cover for Painkiller Jane: The 22 Brides (page 77), and not in a good way:
Look at that thing! It's freaking me out! I don't really want to get this, but it has a story with art by Steve Mannion, and I really want to see Steve Mannion draw Painkiller Jane (I also want Steve Mannion to draw pretty much anything, but that's a whole different story). (14 May)
Bendis and Oeming are bringing us The United States of Murder on page 78, which is about an America that is ruled by organized crime families. It's just another series that Bendis and Oeming can ignore after an issue or two! (14 May)
Man, $75 for Jeph Loeb and Time Sale: Yellow, Blue and Gray (no Oxford comma? for shame!) on page 81. Yes, this is a big chunk of comics, but man, they're just not that good. Sale makes them look stunning, of course, but this was after Loeb jumped the shark, if indeed he was ever on this side of said shark. (6 August)
Hey, do you want to pay $200 for a giant edition of Marvels? Well, now you can, if you turn to page 82! Sheesh, Marvel. (6 August)
I figured Marvel would eventually bring out a complete collection of Fury: My War Gone By, and there it is on page 84. It's 35 bucks for 13 issues, and it's a very good series, so if you missed it, check this out! (6 August)
I might have to get Amazing X-Men volume 1, because it's not priced badly (18 bucks for 6 issues), and while the story sounds ridiculous, Jason Aaron is a good writer and I rarely get a chance to see Ed McGuinness's art, as he's usually working on books I don't want to read. Hmmm ... (18 June)
Avengers: The Legacy of Thanos appears on page 103 for some odd reason ... is Thanos somehow important these days? This is Roger Stern and John Byrne, and I really ought to get it. It's $35 dollars for 256 pages, so it's a bit pricey, but still. (11 June)
Devil Dinosaur gets a complete collection - there were only 9 issues - on page 106. Oh, Kirby. Will we ever get enough of you? (28 May)
You know what's coming ... the back of the book!
Princeless: The Pirate Princess One-Shot shows up on page 267 for one thin dollar. That ain't bad, I tells ya!
On page 268, you can pick up Dry Spell #1 by Ken Krekeler. This was a graphic novel a few years ago, but I guess somehow Krekeler is splitting it into a few issues. It's excellent, so if you missed it the first time around, here's a chance to check it out!
Also on page 268, The Final Plague is offered in trade. I read the first issue, and it was okay. It's basically animal zombies, which isn't a bad hook.
On page 271, you can find a trade of Ghost Cop from Antarctic Press. A cop murdered in 1947 comes back in 2013 when people are getting killed in the same way he was? That has "awesome" written all over it!
In Kevin Keller #14, Kevin becomes a superhero. Well, of course he does. It's a new storyline from Archie Comics on page 274!
On page 278, you can get the first trade of Jirni from Aspen Comics. I just love that it's called "Jirni," to be honest. Anyway, down in the corner of this page, there's a little ad that tells fans to pre-order "what's being called the most beautiful indie book on the shelf!" Who's saying that? I really want to know.
I have no interest in God Is Dead, volume 1 of which shows up on page 281 from Avatar, but hey! volume 1 shows up on page 281 from Avatar!
Avatar also has Simon Spurrier's webcomic, Disenchanted, on page 282. Apparently it's about a slum below the streets of London where all the creatures of folklore end up. Sounds charming. Spurrier is an interesting writer, though, so I might have to mosey on over to the webcomic and see what's what before deciding whether to buy this.
Nightbreed #1 is on page 297 by Marc Andreyko and Piotr Kowalski. I might get this in trade, but I might not. I'm probably prejudiced because the movie was so very ridiculous, and I can't get past it. Oh well. There it is, if you're interested.
I am interested in The Woods, which is on page 299. A bunch of students and teachers from a school disappear in a forest and end up somewhere mysterious, which sounds neat. Plus, I don't really have anything against James Tynion IV and I dig Michael Dialynas, so this should be pretty good.
On page 302, we find The Savage Brothers Deluxe Edition, which is only 10 dollars. Andrew Cosby and Johanna Stokes are decent enough writers, but this features early Rafael Albuquerque artwork, which is the reason I might have to pick it up!
Daryl Gregory's run on Planet of the Apes comes to an end with volume 5 on page 303. I really liked his run, so I'll have to get this.
I'm pretty interested in The Last Broadcast on page 305 - it's about a group of people underneath San Francisco discovering a bunker that belonged to a 1930s magician while, at the same time, a young magician gets a package about the old magician's death. Weird, wild stuff. I don't know the creators - André Sirangelo and Gabriel Iumazark - but why should that stop me?
The Killer Omnibus volume 2 is on page 306. These two stories aren't quite as good as the earlier ones, but they're still worth reading, so it's nice that they're in one handy package.
Interesting Drug on page 306 is about a man from the future who offers a regular schlub a chance to create a drug that will help the user travel through time. Complications ensue, naturally. I know I've read stuff by Shaun Manning before, but I can't say what, and Anna Wieszcyzk is an interesting artist, so this might be kind of neat.
I've never been that interested in Herobear and the Kid, but the first story is collected on page 312, if it's your thing. That's always nice to get a decent trade of older comics!
Conundrum Press offers Spain & Morocco by Alex Fellows on page 316. This doesn't sound like my thing, because it seems to imply that it's a coming-of-age book, but it looks really nice, so I might cave and get it. I mean, even it's a coming-of-age story, it takes place in Spain and Morocco, so it has to be somewhat keen, right?
On page 316, Disney Comics (wait, isn't that Marvel?) has Space Mountain, which is based loosely on the freakin' roller coaster. It's written by Bryan Q. Miller, which is odd enough, and it's drawn by Kelley freakin' Jones. I might have to get this for the sheer oddness value.
I'm sure you've missed characters like Purgatori, Chastity, and Evil Ernie, so Dynamite has you covered, as Tim Seeley is writing a new event, Chaos, which brings all the old Chaos! characters back. We have been seriously lacking Purgatori comics recently, so let's all give a big hand to Dynamite! (7 May)
Howard Chaykin returns to the Shadow with Midnight in Moscow on page 321, a story set in 1950. This has train wreck written all over it, but at least with Chaykin, the train wrecks are usually entertaining! (7 May)
On page 323, Mark Waid launches another Gold Key character, Doctor Spektor: Master of the Occult. He and Doktor Sleepless ought to have a crossover right quick! (28 May)
There is no way I'm going to spend 50 bucks on Heart of the Beast, which has been remastered for its 20th anniversary on page 327, but it's by Dean Motter and Sean Phillips, so I'm actually tempted. Nice of them to bring it back into print - maybe a softcover will come out at a lower price point? [Ah, crap - I screwed up. At the very top of the page, it's noted that the unsigned version is $25, while it's the signed one - by all three creators - is the 50-dollar one. I just missed the print at the top, because I suck. That does make a hell of a lot more sense, I will say. And it's also a much better price - now I might have to check this out!]
Noir volume 1 is on page 332 - a team-up between the Shadow and Miss Fury to stop a mysterious organization from killing the Shadow's ex-lover, who happens to be a world-class thief. Of course she is! I don't know if this is any good, but that's not a bad set-up.
I really don't want to spend $95 on Witzend on page 344, but I'm very tempted. This is a magazine published by Wallace Wood in the 1960s, featuring work by Wood and a bunch of other excellent artists. Dang, I really want this.
I've never read any Carl Barks Donald Duck comics, but Trail of the Unicorn shows up on page 344, with "meticulously restored" art and "insightful story notes by an international panel of Barks experts." So there's that. I'll have to think about this.
The Amateurs on page 345 sounds bizarre - it's described as surreal, so that's not surprising - with a severed human head that still talks, and butchers who have a strange amnesia, and all sorts of other weird stuff. What's not to love?
Magnetic Press has Naja on page 356, which sounds intriguing. The perfect killer is targeted by another member of her organization, so she tries to find out why! I've never heard of Bengal, the artist, but a quick poke around the Internet makes it clear that the art will look really nice.
On page 363, there's a collected edition of James Stokoe's Wonton Soup for 20 dollars. I've been wanting to read this for years, so I'm glad it's getting a nice collection. I'm really looking forward to it! (2 July)
The Bunker gets its first trade on page 364. I know this has been available on-line for a while, but the first issue just came out, and it was pretty neat. So if you're waiting for a trade, here one is! (30 July)
We haven't reached the end of the issues contained in Letter 44 volume 1 on page 368, but so far, it's been a good read. So you should check out the trade! (30 July)
Rebellion/2000AD has an actual serial on page 372, with Brass Sun #1. It's by Ian Edginton and I. N. J. Culbard, and it's about a solar system with a clockwork sun, which is dying. A young girl has to restart it. It sounds terribly steampunkish, but also kind of neat. I'm just surprised it's a serial from 2000AD. [Edit: I guess this is the sequel? I guess I'll have to find the first volume?]
Oh, there's a new Atomic Robo series, The Knights of the Golden Circle, on page 372 from Red 5 Comics. Any new Atomic Robo comic is cause for celebration!
Speaking of I. N. J. Culbard, SelfMadeHero has his Celeste, which sounds extremely weird. Odd things start happening to people across the globe, and I imagine they're connected somehow. It sounds neat.
Titan Comics has a new Alien Legion story on page 378, written by Chuck Dixon and drawn by Carl Potts and Larry Stroman. That's kind of keen. Dixon, as you know, writes some damned fine war comics.
On page 386, Valiant has Matt Kindt and Clayton Crain doing Rai - they're pretty proud of it, as they show six full pages of Crain's painted artwork. Like all the Valiant stuff, I'll wait for the trade!
Well, that's enough for this time around the catalog. I hope you find your own cool things to order, because you can't trust they'll magically appear at your comics shoppe, unless it's a really, really awesome place! So have fun checking Previews out!